The best climbing quotes to get you motivated

A mountain can be anything from a jagged peak in the vast wilderness to an individual mental barrier. The next time you need an inspirational shift in your thinking, remember the words of famous author Jack Kerouac, “In the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”

Climbing has a strange pull for those who have found its embrace. Others may not understand your love for it, but here at Boulderflash, we do. So, if you need a little motivation or want a short history lesson on climbing lore, check out our list of climbing quotes below.

“As a professional climber, that’s the question you always get: Why, why, why? It’s an ineffable thing; you can’t describe it.”- Jimmy Chin

“Climbing is an artistic, creative thing; it’s about being spontaneous, traveling, seeing the world, hanging out. It’s a balance of setting goals while enjoying the process, being ambitious without being too competitive.” – Chris Sharma

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.” – John Muir

“There are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” – Alex Lowe

“It goes, boys!” – Lynn Hill

“Better we raise our skill than lower the climb.” – Royal Robbins

“The best part of climbing is when it all clicks and gravity ceases to exist.” – Chris Sharma

“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” – Anatoli Boukreev

“When in doubt, run it out.” – Unknown

“Turn your brain off and send.” – Chris Sharma

“Never did I explore life as intensively in its beautiness, as while hanging on two fingertips freely over the deep hollow.” – Wolfgang Güllich

“I feel a hint of pity for those who don’t get to experience the crisp air and excitement of mountain climbing. Are they ever really awake?” – Tommy Caldwell

“We should be less afraid to be afraid.” – Emily Harrington

“I’ve done a lot of thinking about fear. For me the crucial question is not how to climb without fear―that’s impossible―but how to deal with it when it creeps into your nerve endings.” – Alex Honnold

“Climbing and soloing aren’t worth dying for, but they are worth risking dying for.” – Todd Skinner

“Without a rope, there is no fear because to fall is unthinkable.” – Catherine Destivelle

“The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.” – Conrad Anker

“It don’t gotta be fun to be fun.” – Carl Tobin

“As I hammered in the last bolt and staggered over the rim, it was not at all clear to me who was the conqueror and who was the conquered. I do recall that El Cap seemed to be in much better condition than I was.” – Warren Harding

“Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.” – Hermann Buhl

“If you succeed with one dream… it’s not long before you’re conjuring up another, slightly harder, a bit more ambitious, a bit more dangerous.” – Joe Simpson

“I’m not thinking about anything when I’m climbing, which is part of the appeal. I’m focused on executing what’s in front of me.” – Alex Honnold

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary

We have all found a love for this strange activity that lets us move our bodies and learn about ourselves. Whether we’re bouldering at the gym or romping around on a mountainside, climbing has a way of making us feel connected. As Alex Lowe once said, “The best climber in the world is the one having the most fun!”

Your experience is yours only. Inspirational climbing quotes help us overcome, understand, and inspire- whatever it is they need to do for us. Let us know your favorite motivational quote or film in the comments and why you love it!

In the words of the famous naturalist John Muir, “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

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