All of us knew that climbing was a sure way to stay poor, a lousy way to impress people and definitely no way to meet girls.

All of us knew that climbing was a sure way to stay poor, a lousy way to impress people and definitely no way to meet girls.

For me an adventure is something that I can take an active part in but that I don't have total control over.

What I saw so clearly when I started climbing was adventure. Difficulty was only an ingredient. I never thought to wonder about grades, just as I never thought to wonder what Tarzan might bench press. I found the closer I moved to sport, the closer I felt to science - and the closer I moved to adventure, the closer I felt to greatness.