“During my thirty-three hours on the Eiger I seemed to have been in a dreamland; not a dreamland of rich enjoyment, but a much more beautiful land where burning desires were translated into deeds.”

-Jürgen Wellenkamp, German mountaineer, 1930-1956.

This quote comes from the book The White Spider. Wellenkamp is describing his experience of climbing the North Face of the Eiger, and how it felt like a dreamland for him. There’s a lot going on here, but what resonated with me was his distinction between enjoyment and his burning desires. The experience of mountaineering is indeed joyous, but there’s something deeper going on here. Climbing a mountain is one way to achieve verticality. By conquering gravity and making the summit, a burning desire within each of us is temporarily satiated. This is the desire for verticality, and Wellenkamp views it as much more beautiful than the dreamland of climbing. His burning desire to achieve verticality was directly translated into his deeds on the mountain, which culminated with a successful summit.

Quote taken from: Harrer, Heinrich. The White Spider. London: HarperCollins, 2005. 179.