Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics and others with a shaky hold on reality.

Common sense is no match for the voice of God.

I love being outdoors, being in the mountains and the desert, and my wife enjoys that too. That's one of the things that sustain our relationship.

When I start any book, I have no idea what I'm going to do.

This forms the nub of a dilemna that every Everest climber eventually comes up against: in order to succeed you must be exceedingly driven, but if you're too driven you're likely to die.

But [Everett] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do.

Almost every magazine piece I've ever written, I felt like I haven't done it justice, like it was just a gloss.