If you want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind.

In climbing, having confidence in your partners is no small concern. One climber's actions can affect the welfare of the entire team.

It is true that I miss intelligent companionship, but there are so few with whom I can share the things that mean so much to me that I have learned to contain myself. It is enough that I am surrounded with beauty.

Once you believe that God is speaking directly to you, there is no discussion.

Sometimes my need to love hurts-- myself, my family, my cause. Is there a cure? Of course. But I refuse. Refuse to stop loving, to stop caring. To avoid those tears, that pain...To err on the side of passion is human and right and the only way I'll live.

There is nothing glamorous or romantic about war. It's mostly about random pointless death and misery.

The thing that is most beautiful about Antarctica for me is the light. It's like no other light on Earth, because the air is so free of impurities. You get drugged by it, like when you listen to one of your favorite songs. The light there is a mood-enhancing substance.