I don’t deny that there can be an element of escapism in mountaineering, but this should never overshadow its real essence, which is not escape but v…

- Walter Bonatti

Climbing is not a battle with the elements, nor against the law of gravity. It's a battle against oneself.

- Walter Bonatti

For me, the value of a climb is the sum of three inseparable elements, all equally important: aesthetics, history, and ethics. Together they form the…

- Walter Bonatti

We [climbers] demonstrate in the most stunning way of all - at the risk of our lives - that there is no limit to the effort man can demand of himself…

- Walter Bonatti

The solitary ascent of the Dru had the immediate effect of expanding the horizons of my ideas about mountaineering. It made me aware of possibilities…

- Walter Bonatti

If in normal conditions it is skill, which counts, in such extreme situations, it is the spirit, which saves.

- Walter Bonatti

The mountains have rules. they are harsh rules, but they are there, and if you keep to them you are safe. A mountain is not like men. A mountain is s…

- Walter Bonatti

I've always been incapable of accepting fate, and I've always refused to die, and that has helped me to survive.

- Walter Bonatti