Athlete

These guys make a lot of money. Of course it's hard and dangerous work, but Sherpas are the rich people in Nepal. If you make so much money, you can somehow lose reality.

Of course I climbed Everest without oxygen, but it's not the end of the story for me. The summit itself is not what counts. It's how'd you get there, what'd you climb, and there are really great opportunities to climb on this mountain. It's a beautiful place.

My first climb was on lead; there were pitons, no bolts.

It's really impressive what those like Messner and Walter Bonatti have done - they are a big part of the history of alpinism.

Everest is how it is right now. We have to fix ropes up there; we have the commercial expeditions. If you don't like that, go on another mountain or choose another part of the mountain. There's still space for everybody.

Everybody has to choose his or her own way to climb a mountain. I don't give an opinion. But there needs to be enough room for others.

You can, maybe, do something like Annapurna once in a lifetime. Then don't try to do it again.

No one in Switzerland knows me as the Swiss Machine, and that's good, because I don't like it.

It's like a living process. You start out, and you see the Eiger north face, and you think, 'That's impossible.' Then you start to dream. Then you climb the Eiger north face. Then maybe you go to the Himalaya.

I never expected to make a living from climbing, but it got to the point where I either had to get a job or start trying to make some real money from it. I didn't want to be 45 and a dirtbag.

I don't need to come back to Everest.

I don't like talking about climbing that much. You don't have to discuss; just do it.

I don't like being restricted. When I climb, I feel free and unrestricted; away from any social commitments.

I'm getting older, turning 40 this year. I had a period where I thought each expedition had to be something harder, something faster. But you can't go on like that, or you're going to die.

Today, to find a challenge is really hard. In the Alps, everything is done. The new lines, almost all of them are finished. So to find a new challenge, it's all beginning to go to speed.

The goal is not to solo. Of course, it is possible to move fast in alpine style also with a partner. I just need the right partner.

Annapurna was a special situation. It was a lifetime dream to finish that route. When I started climbing the South Face, I really expected not to come back alive.

I don't cheat.

That's what it's all about. It doesn't matter if you climbed the Eiger's north face in two hours and forty-seven minutes or in two days. If it's your challenge, and you're happy with it, that's the most important thing.

When you go to the mountains, you really have to accept that there is always a risk. It's more dangerous than sitting at home watching TV. It's really sad.