My mother really was the strength in our family. She would sort of keep us in line and I admired her very much .

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.

The Sherpas play a very important role in most mountaineering expeditions, and in fact many of them lead along the ridges and up to the summit.

I still think have this deep desire for our Himalayan Trust - that we raise the necessary funds, that we do all the things that the Sherpas want us to do, and I would like to see us working together with them on these projects. Even though I'm old and decrepit I still have this strong feeling that I would like to carry these things out if it were still possible.

Despite all I have seen and experiences, I still get the same thrill out of glimpsing a tiny patch of snow in a high mountain gully and feel the same urge to climb toward it.

Adventuring can be for the ordinary person with ordinary qualities, such as I regard myself.

I still had the same affection for New Zealand as I've always had. Didn't change at all.