The Mountain Quotes Say “I Conquered It”. But did you?
I hate the word “conquer”. In the adventure world, it’s everywhere. From climbers shouting “I conquered it!” at the summit, to mountain quotes on glossy posters claiming we should seek to “conquer” these peaks. I’ve probably used it myself some time ago. But the more I have delved into mountain climbing, the more it has really bothered me.
By dictionary definition, to conquer something is to acquire by force; to gain; to win; to gain victory over.
But mountains are not a prize to be won nor an object we can take control of. Yes, in order to reach the summit, we need to push ourselves. We need to overcome our own mental barriers. We need to really want it. Upon reaching the summit, we feel a sense of elation that is incomparable to anything else in life. Whether up a local hill or the top of Mount Everest, at that point we feel we could take on the world.
You could say that when climbing a mountain, you conquer your own mental barriers; your own worries or woes; your own self-doubt.
The mountain, however, is a being of its own. Mountains have emotions comparable to that of a teenager. Calm, collective and welcoming, summoning you into a false sense of security. But they can turn volatile and hostile at a moments notice. And so they deserve the respect of elders.
The mountain sees your arrival. It feels your excitement and anxiety. It judges your gear, your skills, your patter. If you are lucky, it will choose to let you tread its trails, to reach its height. At the summit, you are gracefully allowed to see the world from the mountain’s perspective. Overlooking the land beyond its flanks, it reveals a true sense of both power and serenity. You embrace this, if only for a moment, before you must retreat to your life lower down.
No mountain quote can ever portray the feelings encountered on a peak. Every summit feels different. Even the same summit at a different time of year, or with a different set of circumstances, feels entirely new. With each summit we reach, we take away lessons from the mountain. Its confidence, wisdom and peace rubs off on us. Equally, we let go of a lot too. The mountain has the ability to abolish our worries and fears; our doubts and sorrows.
Therefore, no matter what the mountain quotes say, we can never conquer a mountain. If we simply conquered these peaks, then who would be there to help us in our time of need? And why would we want to? The mountains give us far more than we could ever give back.
“It is not the mountains that we conquer, but ourselves.” — Sir Edmund Hillary
