THOUGHTS

“Only as wilderness do mountains have lasting value for mankind, and that is something that must be protected. Unlike the cultural landscape, an area in which humankind dominates nature, the mountain wilderness must be seen as a space where humankind voluntarily renounces all further development and does not live permanently. But if the development of the mountains continues ad infinitum, we will destroy not only the mountain wilderness but also the potential of the mountains as a source of experience – and ultimately deprive mountaineering of all meaning. The potential of the mountains will always be the silence, the danger, the sublimity: They compel people to be alone with themselves, to wait, to seek detours, to exercise moderation and to recognise their individual limits.”