25 Inspiring Quotes from—and for—Women Climbers and Mountaineers

By Lauren Manfuso

Whether on Buzzfeed or Climbing magazine or one of the infinite number of blogs out there focused on climbing and mountaineering, chances are you’ve seen a post almost exactly like what I had in mind when I set out to write this blog. 

“40 Inspiring Quotes for Aspiring Adventurers.”

“27 Uplifting Quotes for Injured Runners.”

“33 Energizing Quotes for Basket Weavers in Dire Need of Motivation.”

(Okay, so the last one was a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea: Name the pastime, and there’s a blog post floating around there, full of inspirational quotes meant to keep you motivated and raring to go.)

Having worked in marketing, journalism and communications for 20-plus years, I understand exactly why magazines and bloggers love these kinds of lists (we even have a name for them: we call them “listicles”): Readers love them, they tend to get a lot of traffic, and they typically take very little time to write. 

If I’m being honest, those are exactly the reasons I had in mind when I suggested Ascend publish the blog post you’re about to read. In fact, when I sat down to write it, I was convinced I could bang this post out in an hour or so and then move along to the next item on my to-do list. 

I was so very mistaken.

Don’t get me wrong: There are tons of inspirational quotes out there about climbing and mountaineering—and no shortage of blog posts aggregating them for would-be readers. That is, until you add the word “women” to your search query.

I tried more combinations of search terms than I can count, but the results were always basically the same: a small handful of quotes from a small handful of women, often buried among quotes from two- and three-times as many men. In retrospect, it’s not particularly surprising: Throughout much of climbing and mountaineering history, the main characters have so often been men.  

And so, what started as a simple, straight-forward blog post suddenly became something comparatively more involved. But, more importantly, it also became something more imperative than (hopefully) an effective piece of clickbait (well-meaning clickbait, yes, but clickbait nonetheless). 

There are, after all, amazing women out there who are not only doing incredible things in the outdoors, but also speaking about their endeavors with eloquence and hope, strength and grit. And there are aspiring outdoorswomen out there who need to hear what they have to say so that they can face their own projects and challenges, secure in the knowledge that success is just as possible for them as it is for the men whose names have long dominated sport. 

And so, without further ado, check out 25 Inspiring Quotes for Women in Climbing and Mountaineering. While most are from renowned climbers and mountaineers, some are from women who may never have set foot on a mountain or rock at all. But, either way, they’re right. 

On Hard Work and Perseverance

• "99 percent of my training is falling. Training for climbing means falling over and over again." Janja Garnbret, Slovenian professional rock climber, Olympic medalist, and World Cup winner

• “I was amazed that what I needed to survive could be carried on my back. And, most surprising of all, that I could carry it.” Cheryl Strayed, author, podcast host, and traveler

• “Climbing is unadulterated hard labor. The only real pleasure is the satisfaction of going where no man has been before and where few can follow.” Annie Smith Peck, American mountaineer and adventurer (1850 – 1935)

• "If you're not falling, you're not learning." Maureen Beck, American mountaineer and adaptive climber

• "Height has nothing to do with it, it is your strength that counts." Lynn Hill, American rock climber, first to free-climb The Nose on El Capitan

• "I always thought I had the same strength as guys and knew I was capable of showing what was possible. That's the beauty of climbing: You can all climb the same routes." Ashima Shiraishi, American rock climber

• “You can’t move mountains by whispering at them.” Pink, Grammy Award-winning musician

On Risk

• “People ask why do I do what I do. Why do I go into harsh alpine terrain and continue pushing on through the storm? And it comes down to what’s most memorable in my life. What’s going to build me as a person. Fighting through and trying my hardest and not knowing if it’s going to go well while using my intuition builds super strong memories and keeps my head super clean.” Brette Harrington, American professional climber and alpinist

• “Once you’re born, you enter a world of risk. It’s part of life and what makes life exciting. There’s a lot to climbing besides the obvious, such as dealing with fear. … Life is not about the situation but how we deal with it.” Kitty Calhoun, American alpinist and rock climber

• “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Helen Keller, educator and author

• “If your nerve deny you, go above your nerve.”  Emily Dickinson, American poet (1830–1886)

  
  

On Possibility and Empowerment

• "If a girl can climb mountains, she can do anything positive within her field of work."  Samina Baig, Pakistani mountain climber

• “Why can’t we women climb to the top of mountains—with our clothes—and share a message of empowerment for women?” Cecilia Llusco, Bolivian mountaineer

• “It goes, boys!” Lynn Hill

• “What are men to rocks and mountains?” Jane Austen, British novelist (1775–1817)

• “We should be less afraid to be afraid.” Emily Harrington, American professional climber and alpinist

• "The wall will always look bigger up close. And that's exactly why it's worth climbing." Sasha DiGiulian, American professional rock climber and IFSC gold medalist

• "To me, climbing is for anyone. It's for everyone. I have the power to do whatever I want with the holds in front of me and my creativity." Brooke Raboutou, American rock climber and Olympic medalist

• “My biggest RED FLAG in climbing: feeling like I don’t look the part or like I don’t physically fit in with my peers. For years I felt like that was a weakness or an area to improve on. As if one of my goals should be to change my actual appearance... But guess what? Strong is a FEELING, not a universal look.” Micheala Kiersch, American professional rock climber

On Purpose and Personal Fulfillment

• "All that matters is to follow what's in your heart. It's important to be your own leader."  Lhakpa Sherpa, Nepalese mountain climber, 10-time Everest summiteer

•  “There's no glory in climbing a mountain if all you want to do is to get to the top. It's experiencing the climb itself, in all its moments of revelation, heartbreak, and fatigue - that has to be the goal.” Karyn Kusama, American filmmaker

• “To aim for the highest point is not the only way to climb a mountain.” Nan Shepherd, Scottish author and poet

• “If I get on a project, and I try a route and I can’t do all the moves, it’s nothing. But then if somehow I piece it together, it becomes this dance, this piece of art.” Margo Hayes, American professional rock climber, first woman to climb 5.15.

• “Although I deeply love oceans, deserts and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty. They keep me continuously wanting to know more, feel more, see more.” Victoria Erickson, American writer

• “We must lose our wild hearts from time to time, I believe. We must so that we know why we need them. We must, so that we remember that in order to be found we must go into the wilderness. Sometimes, it is only in the getting lost that we can find our way back home.” Jeanette LeBlanc, American writer

  
  

Do you have a favorite quote from an incredible woman in climbing? Share it with us on Instagram! 

About the Writer

Lauren Glenn Manfuso is a climber and communications professional based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Her work has appeared in Climbing magazine, Prevention magazine, the Miami Herald, USA Today and others. She is also a climbing instructor and youth coach based at Sportrock Climbing Centers in Alexandria, Virginia.