Foto: Bill Tilman.
Billedet viser Mischief på Østgrønland ved Skjoldungen og det er sendt til Tilman's ven og bjergklubbens daværende formand, Erik Hoff. 
Den håndskrevne tekst på bagsiden lyder: 
In Skjoldungen in Halvdans Harbour. Had a look at the big rock peak but did not bag it. A very fine one indeed.
(klik på billedet for større kopi)

Citater
Tidligere besøgende kan starte her

I seem to distinguish two sorts of climbers, those who take a high line about climbing and those who take no particular line at all... I can hardly believe that the second sort are such fools as I imagine.
George Mallory,
1886-1924

De som har følt hvad livet blandt tinderne er eller kan være for et menneske, behøver ikke at læse om det, og de, som aldrig har følt det, vil saa allikevel ikke forstaa.
Carl Wilhelm Rubenson,
1985-1960

These men who [bolt] the rock with such monotonous regularity, where performance lack all originality, imagination and inventiveness - it can only be assumed that they make lousy lovers.
Doug Scott,
i MoRe, 1993

Pæn atletisk fyr i fyrrene. Bjergbestigning, yoga, ambitiøs, intuitiv, følsom, kærlighedsfuld. S/M forførelsesleg, transformation, selvudvikling. Søger passende, oprigtig pige. Ægteskab mulighed. Barn velkommen. Nordsjælland/København. Billet POL 37535.
Anonym,
i Politiken jan. 1995

These smart, articulate, attractive and strong men I know among climbers must have something in common. Is it fear or emptiness?
Brev fra kvindelig læser
i Rock & Ice

Both!
Svar til ovenstående.

Kvinder er noget lort. Det eneste man kan stole på er ens udstyr.
Bent Ro Dahl

It's really so unimportant whether someone climbs a 5.14. It's only a personal satisfaction.
Wolfgang Güllich 

"What is the use of going up mountains"? is a question which is often put. To such I would say: "Go up a good-sized mountain and you will know!"
Edward Whymper, 1861

Will work for $ food or drugs. My name is Steve & I have a big old backbone. I will carry your gear to the base of any climb. I'm trying to raise $ for Gunks trip. Also possible barter for gear/beer.
Leave name & campsite.
Steve, Camp 4 note, 1994
(typisk klatre-undskylding: Når man er i vest-USA vil man til øst-USA). 

The essence of the sport lies not in ascending a peak, but in struggling with and overcoming difficulties.
Mummery, 1895 (den moderne klatrings fader)

If you ever kill yourself on a mountain it just invalidates all your past success.
Don Whillans (engelsk hardman I 50'erne og 60'erne og skaber af adskillige barske "one-liners")

The mountains will always be there. The trick is for you to be there as well.
Don Whillans

You might get up big walls, but it's in getting down that all the dangers lie. Get that wrong and you are in deep, deep doo-doos.
Victor Saunders, 1993

There is no direct route to take when crossing rivers and rocks. You should explore the way as you go.
Guru Rinpoche, Indisk mystiker og troldmand (ca. år 900)

If there are no famous hills then nothing needs to done. But since there are many they must be visited.
Chang Cha'o, kinesisk vismand


Tom Patey var en af Skotlands mest farverige klatrere i 60'erne. Han var kendt for sin uvilje til at binde sig ind i et reb, og for hans meget humoristiske noveller, artikler og sange, der er samlet i bogen "One man's mountains". Han omkom under en abseilulykke i 1970. Et lille citatpluk lyder: 

The man who sacrifices a sunny day transporting some inadequate fellow up a climb (which he, the incompetent, selects) deserves every penny he earns.

A solo climber: One man falling alone

A roped party: Several men falling simultaneosly

Safety helmet: A sefety device for climbers falling headfirst. If the fall is long the climber may become completely impacted in his helmet into a small globular mass, which can be easily stowed in a rucksack (see "mountain rescue")

A carefull climber: A slow climber

A climbing-nut: A reckless climber

A running belay: A cowardly second

An alpine veteran: Someone who has been to the Alps

An expedition: Going climbing in country other than one's own

A classic route: Much loose rock and grass

A Diritissima: A very long free fall or "Plunge"

Overhanging: Vertical

Vertical: Steep


Aid-climbing with Royal Robbins: 
When I emerged on to the top of the cliff, Royal glanced inquiringly at my hands. They where criss-crossed with cuts and covered in blood. "Back home in the States" he remarked, "they say you can always distinguish a good Aid Man by his hands."
"Lots of scars?" I suggested hopefully.
Royal shook his head gently. "No scars," he said.


No tiny fingers, No tiny toes
The memory lingers but the digit goes
In an Eastern Railway carriage, where the River Ganges flows
There are Twenty Tiny Fingers and Twenty Tiny Toes.
Chop chop chop chop chop chop chop chop chop

Sidste vers i en sang om den franske Annapurna-ekspedition, 1950


Men hensigten, spør folket, meningen, maalet? Der er ingen hensigt, der er intet maal. Tindesporten er meningsløs som selve livet - derfor kan dens trolddom aldig dø.
Peter Wessel Zapffe
Tindesport 1933


Q: What's the difference between a bad golfer and a bad climber ?
A: A bad golfer sounds like this: "Whack... Damn!"
A bad climber sounds like this: "Damn... Whack!"

Først når jeg ser breen, forsvinder kvalmen.
Fridtjof Nansen

Tilman-citater:
Harold William (Bill) Tilman (1898 - 1977) var - kort fortalt - en af det sidste århundredes største bjerg-udforskere, der bl.a. sammen med Eric Shipton foretog talrige rejser i Himalaya; altid med lavt budget og kort planlægning. Han følte allerede i 1953, at Nepal var overrendt med turister, og foretog derefter alle rejser til søs, mest ombord på sit lille skib, Mischief. Tilman har skrevet en lang række meget læseværdige bøger. Han forsvandt i Sydatlanten ombord på skibet En Avant.

Get back to real climbing! No need for frills such as sponsors, expedition notepaper, computerized menus and all that oxygen nonsense!
1976

All travel is dull exactly in proportion to its rapidity.
1937, Snow on the Equator

The heaviest stone which melancholy can throw at a man, is to know that there is no breakfast.
1949, Two mountains and a river

Whatever happens in this world never let it spoil your dinner.
1957, In Mischiefs Wake

We live and learn, and big mountains are stern teachers.
1949, Two mountains and a river

In my view every herring should hang by it's own tail. Anyone venturing into unfrequented and possible dangeous waters does so with his eyes open, should be willing to depend on his own exertions, and should neither expect nor ask for help. This confidence that is placed, and successfully placed, in being rescued fosters carelessnss or even foolishness, and condones ignorance.
1961

I will not guess at the angel for fear of being called a liar, but it seemed to me that a man with a long nose, standing upright, could haved wiped it on the snow.
1947, When men and mountains meet, Zemu Gap.

On dealing with avalanches the only safe rule is to take every precaution, trust nothing, and expect one day to be caught out.
Ibid.

Abstinence from low pleasures is the only means of meriting or obtaining the higher.
Ibid.

We ignored a lesson that we have learnt a dozen years before; that to climb a mountain for it's height and fame alone is infinitely less rewarding than to attempt a peak whose form has charmed, or to cast new ligth upon an attractive mountain range.
Eric Shipton
om sit og Tilmans forsøg på Muztagh Ata, i 'Mountains of Tatary'

* * * * * * * * * 

Gritstone is not limestone and is consequently lots of fun to climb.
Johnny Dawes

If yo train on a wall and work at it, you can definitely get up those [hard limestone-] climbs, whereas the same is not true for grit.
Johnny Dawes

I respect limestone climbers for their stamina, but they're going to find a new name for their sport.
Johnny Dawes

The thing that are most enjoyable are plummelig up 5bs on seacliffs, or soloing HVS on grit.
Johnny Dawes

Competition are the only future for sports climbing. Climbing as a mass sport on artificial climbing walls has long ceased to be utopia. Next to football grounds and tennis halls we will soon have climbing halls and natural rock will again be just as lonely and ignored as when climbing was a sport for individuals.
Heinz Mariacher, 1985

Indoor competition will give rockclimbing a chance to return to what is used to be. A way of living: Poor but free!
Stefan Glowacz, 1988

You see, adventure and danger are inextricable parts of climbing, remove them and you have something else, the shallow and socially acceptable pastime that is rapidly becoming as popular as step-aerobics.
Dave Pegg, 1994

Sportklatring er ingen af delene!
Ukendt

All you need is chalk and balls and you're ready to cruise.
Jimmy Jewel, engelsk soloklatrer, dræbt under klatring

There are old climbers and bold climbers, but there are no old, bold climbers.
Paul Petzoldt

There are only three sports - mountain climbing, bull fighting, and motor racing - all others being games.
Ernest Hemingway

Klatrere har aldri hatt så lite status og vært så lite verdt som nå. Og kanske aldrig hatt så dårlig drag på damene.
Marius Morstad, 1995

Everst: The world's higest mountain. It's height of 29028 ft has now been officially amended to 29034 ft to take account of the climber who is normally observed at the summit.
Steve Ashton

Everest is the ultimate feather in the pseudo-mountaineers cap.
David Breashears

Letting inexperienced people loose on a 8000-meter peak is like giving a drunk an Uzi with a full clip.
Greg Child

Eventyrlige oplevelser beror på uduelighed.
Vilhjalmur Stefanson, canadisk polarforsker

Bjergbestigning er sjovest, når bjergene er høje og stejle.
Pingo, i 'Rasmus Klump som bjergbestiger'

Believe in yourself. Seek adventure. Take care. Have fun.
Royal Robbins

I don't want to write about climbing; I don't want to talk about it; I don't want to photograph it; I don't want to think about it; all I want to do is do it.
Chuck Pratt