The Best George Mallory Quotes

September 23, 2017

What Are Your Favorite George Mallory Quotes?

George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an British teacher, explorer, and mountaineer. During the 1920’s, Mallory went on three British expeditions to Mount Everest. On his last Everest expedition in June 1924, Mallory disappeared while attempting the northeast ridge of Everest with Sandy Irvine.

After being lost on Everest for 75 years, Mallory’s body was found by Conrad Anker at 26,760′ (8157 m) on 1 May 1999. His body was well preserved and positively identified. Unfortunately, Mallory’s camera was not found. Therefore it still remains unknown whether Mallory and Irvine summited the highest peak in the world before their mountaineering accident. If they did, they would have been the first men to stand atop Mount Everest.

Mallory’s early expeditions to Everest definitely earned him a spot in the history books. Numerous films and books have been written about George Mallory. His name can be found on California’s high peaks on Mount Mallory, his story may potentially become a musical, his name lives on at a court at Cambridge, and the list goes on.

As a true mountain enthusiast, Mallory earned his spot in history. Before his untimely disappearance, he said some things that will still ring true today. Perhaps, Mallory’s most famous quote came when he was asked why he wanted to climb Everest. His response, “Because it’s there.”

Below you’ll find a selection of the best George Mallory quotes:

Why do you want to climb Everest? Because it’s there.
We will stomp to the top with the wind in our teeth.
What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life.
We don’t live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means, and that is what life is for.
The greatest danger in life is not to take the adventure.
Just to lie here in the sun with great white peaks all around me and the biggest glacier in Europe at my feet, to eat from time to time, to sleep a little and dream a great deal- it is a heavenly existence.
How to get the best of it all? One must conquer, achieve, get to the top; one must know the end to be convinced that one can win the end – to know there’s no dream that mustn’t be dared. . . Is this the summit, crowning the day? How cool and quiet! We’re not exultant; but delighted, joyful; soberly astonished. . . Have we vanquished an enemy? None but ourselves. Have we gained success? That word means nothing here. Have we won a kingdom? No. . . and yes. We have achieved an ultimate satisfaction. . . fulfilled a destiny. . . To struggle and to understand – never this last without the other; such is the law. . .”
Why do we travel to remote locations? To prove our adventurous spirit or to tell stories about incredible things? We do it to be alone amongst friends and to find ourselves in a land without man.
To struggle and to understand. Never the last without the first. That is the law.
My mind is in a state of constant rebellion. I believe that will always be so.
My intention is to carry as little as possible, move fast and catch the summit by surprise.

Which of these George Mallory quotes is your favorite? Did we miss any quotes that we should add to the list? Tell us in the comments below.

To read more about George Mallory, pick up one of many books and films on Amazon. Learn more about Mallory on Wikipedia.com.

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