crush.

"There have been joys too great to be described in words, and there have been griefs upon which I have not dared to dwell; and with those in mind I say, Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end."

~ Edward Whymper, The Ascent of the Matterhorn, 1865

Whymper wrote about the tribulations he experienced on the ill-fated first ascent of the Matterhorn (the last so-called 'Great Problem' amongst the Alps before the next generation of climbers turned their attention to the ridges and direttissimas and then the north faces) in which he watched in horror as four men on his team fell four thousand feet down the most difficult mountain in all of Europe to their certain deaths.

But maybe his writing rings true in a greater context; certainly beyond the act of climbing mountains, in it I think perhaps a more profound meaning can be found. Particularly the last phrase. Particularly that last phrase. I can hear it repeating in my head as I commit it to memory ...