“On the mountain, you are merely a tiny life form bound to the immense power of nature. A single rock or snowball has the power to become the landslide or the avalanche that kills you. Hidden crevasses could be anywhere, waiting for you to fall in. Yet, I survived. Call it luck if you want. But for me, mountains are alive. They have allowed me to see their unparalleled beauty and scenery that many people can only dream of. They let me reach their summits and return safely. As a result, with the current destruction of our planet, it is my mission to defend it — a kind of debt that I owe to the mountain gods.”