"All summer, I'd looked at these mountains as goals totally focused on the biggest one, K2. I had thought about their elevation and the technical challenges they presented to me as a climber. But that morning,...for the first time, I simply saw them. It was overwhelming."...

"despite his weakened state, his lack of food and warm clothing, his poor odds of surviving if he didn't find some of both sometime soon, Mortenson felt strangely content." - Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin