There's no difference between a pessimist who says, "Oh it's hopeless, so don't bother doing anything." and an optimist who says, "Don't bother doing anything, it's going to turn out fine anyways. Either way, nothing happens."
The future of Yosemite climbing lies not in Yosemite, but in using the new techniques in the great granite ranges of the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The evolution of climbing in Yosemite should inspire climbers to explore and enhance techniques in other significant mountains worldwide.
Yvon Chouinard's quote emphasizes that while Yosemite is a revered location for climbing, the true progression of the sport lies in adapting and utilizing the climbing techniques developed there in other granite ranges around the globe. It suggests that innovation in climbing should not be limited to one area but should extend to all places where climbing can be pursued, thus broadening the horizons of the sport.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a climbing workshop, the instructor referenced this quote to inspire participants to seek new challenges beyond their familiar climbing spots.
More from Yvon Chouinard
All quotes βI think risk is important. I don't care if it's a great financial risk or a physical risk. You only get out of something what you put into it and the fact that you are willing to risk something means that you are going to get a lot more out of it.
The solution may be for a lot of the world's problems is to turn around and take a forward step. You can't just keep trying to make a flawed system work.
We're a part of nature. As we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. It's a selfish thing to want to protect nature.
Evil doesnβt have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and the opportunity to do good and you do nothing, that can be evil.
The reason it was so scary was that there was only one climber capable of rescuing us, and that was Layton Kor, and he was in Colorado.
Similar quotes
Am going to cross Pacific on a wooden raft to support a theory that the South Sea islands were peopled from Peru. Will you come? I guarantee nothing but a free trip to Peru and the South Sea islands and back, but you will find good use for your technical abilities on the voyage. Reply at once.' Next day the following telegram arrived from Torstein: COMING. TORSTEIN.
Adventure is something out of the usual pattern, a point at which you cannot avoid confronting the unknown, so that you have to dig inside yourself to find the courage and resources to deal with what may lie ahead, and to succeed.
An adventure is never an adventure while it's happening. Challenging experiences need time to ferment, and adventure is simply physical and emotional discomfort recollected in tranquillity.
As a rule, anything that is pretty you avoid when on an expedition in the polar extremes. Normally anything other than white means a hazard such as a crevasse.
There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.
Specifically choose not to take a GPS. Just create a challenge. You can climb Everest or walk across Antarctica with minimal gear and still have that sense of adventure. But in terms of exploration, Google Earth has this world mapped down to the square foot.