Everest wasn't like any other mountain. Only one of ten climbers who attempt the mountain stands on the summit. And for every three climbers who do scale the mountain, one dies trying. The facts aren't welcoming. But you don't plan a trip to Everest believing those facts will apply to you.

Only when we accept full responsibility for our lives will we have the confidence and courage to risk.

the deepest part of me is, and will always be, a climber. ... No matter where I go, I always feel like a climber.

Our ability to respond positively to setbacks, fuels our creativity and lays the foundation for future successes.

For those moments when it's just you and the rock and the ice and the snow, life always makes sense.

that's exactly what climbing is to me. ... Expression. What a painter does on a canvas, what a writer can do with the twenty-six letters in the alphabet. It's the key that unlocks my spirit, the clearest representation of who I am. When I'm focused, climbing is almost an unconscious act for me. I don't have to drive myself, I'm already driven.

When life gets tangled there's something so reassuring about climbing a mountain. The challenge is unambiguous.