Category: Challenging yourself and overcoming hardships
"We do not have to be fearless, we do not have to be perfect. ... Be proud of ourselves, be proud of other women." — Grace Pezzella She Explores, "Sweat and Solidarity: Taking Up Space in the Outdoors"
"The best thing about climbing with other women was we shared the lead. Most of my partners were guys who were stronger climbers than me, who liked to take me climbing, not just go climbing. But following was like being the passenger instead of the driver." — Jan Redford End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood
"It is important to remember that throughout history cultural conditioning and opinion had strongly centered women in the home. Consequentially, they generally possessed none of the necessary skills to survive alone in the wilderness. In the era we are describing women were constantly told that they were weak, frail, uncoordinated, and less intelligent than men. Thus it is not surprising that they had little drive to be strong and capable out-of-doors. Most women did not have the mental attitude to look at wilderness as a different dimension, a fresh horizon, freedom, excitement, or a growth-producing experience." — Anne LaBastille Women and Wilderness
"Women are invited to join the party at base and advanced base to assist in the cooking chores. Special rates are available. They will not be permitted to climb, however. … Women are not strong enough to carry heavy loads. And the high altitude—women aren’t emotionally stable enough to handle it." — Unknown Told to Arlene Blum when she asked to join a Denali expedition
"When the situation is hopeless, there’s nothing to worry about." — Edward Abbey The Monkey Wrench Gang
"On the bike, I’d have either a good day or bad day. Typically the good days would be when I had some sort of tailwind; then the next day, I’d have this horrible headwind. I thought a lot about how that’s a good metaphor for life for women that generally have this kind of headwind that they have to work against; as a white male, I probably have that tailwind kind of pushing me through life a little bit. It’s not fair to expect a woman to achieve the same things, yet give her a headwind entire time—and it could be a little headwind or a massive hurricane." — Rob Lea via Shawnte Salabert Adventure Journal, "Rob Lea Swam the English Channel, Climbed Everest, Biked the US—In Six Months"
"You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, 'You are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe that you have been completely fair." — President Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 Howard University Commencement Address
