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Early on a difficult climb, especially a difficult solo climb, you constantly feel the abyss pulling at your back. To resist takes a tremendous conscious effort; you don't dare let your guard down for an instant.

— Jon Krakauer Into the Wild (1996)

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More quotes by Jon Krakauer

A trancelike state settles over your efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream.

Into the Wild (1996)

In solo climbing the whole enterprise is held together with little more than chutzpah, not the most reliable adhesive.

Into the Wild (1996)

I've come to terms with the fact that uncertainty is an inescapable corollary of life. An abundance of mystery is simply part of the bargain — which doesn't strike me as something to lament.

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (2003)

But now that I was finally here, actually standing on the summit of Mount Everest, I just couldn't summon the energy to care.

Into Thin Air (1997)

There are some ten thousand religious sects — each with its own cosmology, each with its own answer for the meaning of life and death. Most assert that the other 9,999 not only have it completely wrong but are instruments of evil, besides.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Jon Krakauer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.