Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.

I think global warming is a very real problem for our world. I've seen the changes that have taken place in the Antarctic, in the Himalayas, where the natural ice has sort of faded away, and there's no doubt in my mind that we're living in a strange world, a world which is not easy to understand or handle, But there's nothing you can do about, you just have to live your life as best you can.

In those days we were punished very frequently and I felt that it was often unjust, and so I would resist the desire to agree with many, many things. So I used to get beaten quite frequently and I more or less accepted it as part of life.

It's all bullshit on Everest these days.

I get older I get more cantankerous, but June [Hillary] gets a bit more cantankerous, too.

I have to admit I do get a bit depressed at times and you know I think about the good old days when I was charging ahead.

I have a number of heroes I still have warm feelings about. [Derek] Shackleton, for instance, was definitely, and still is, one of my great heroes.