I’d like to remeber Bonatti freely quoting Stefano Benni, an italian writer.
“Walter Bonatti died today. Others were Great. He was Unique”
And two marvellous quotes from the man himself:
“La realtà è il cinque per cento della vita. L’uomo deve sognare per salvarsi ”
Reality is five percent of life. Men must dream to save themselves.
“I would have liked to have climbed the Eiger. I once got about a third of the way up in a couple of hours when the rockfalls began, so I came back down. You see, the real essence of mountain climbing – of really knowing and loving the mountains – is not getting to the top. It’s having the humility and self-awareness when necessary to be able to stop 100 metres from the summit and make it down alive.”