I'm Going To Paraphrase Thoreau

In Climbing, Having Confidence In Your Partners Is No Small Concern. One Climber's Actions Can Affect The Welfare Of The Entire Team.

When A Young Person Is Moved By A Passion And Feels Compelled To Go On This Sort Of Quest, I Think You Have To Let Him. You Can't Stop Him. In Our Culture We Don't Have Formal Rights Of Passage Like In Some Ancient Cultures. Subjecting Yourself To Risk... May Be Something You Have To Go Through To Be A Man Or A Woman.

If You're Bumming Out, You're Not Gonna Get To The Top, So As Long As We're Up Here We Might As Well Make A Point Of Grooving. (quoting Scott Fischer)

My Reasoning, If One Can Call It That, Was Inflamed By The Scatter Shot Passions Of Youth And A Literary Diet Overly Rich In The Works Of Nietzshe, Kerouac, And John Menlove Edwards.

Weeping...betraying A Sense Of Loss So Huge And Irreparable That The Mind Balks At Taking Its Measure.