Expedition Quotes

“A darkness different from Ember's, but just as frightening...”
― Jeanne Duprau, The Diamond of Darkhold

“As the head of an expedition, you can't pussyfoot around being polite to everyone. You have to show your teeth once in a while; a little growling goes a long way.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“The first rule of an expedition is that everyone should stick together.”
― Tahir Shah, In Search of King Solomon's Mines

“Spend sixteen weeks in the jungle and you being to question your own sanity, especially when you are the one goading everyone else ahead.”
― Tahir Shah

“And if the worst, or best, happens, and Death comes for you in the snow, he comes disguised as Sleep, and you greet him rather as a welcome friend than a gruesome foe.”
― Aspley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World

“The ability to tell a good route from a terrible one is a valuable skill when leading an expedition. Unfortunately for us all, it was a skill I did not possess.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“Previous experience had taught me that any expedition marches on its stomach.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“Running an expedition can bring out the worst in a man. It can make you a power-crazed monster.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of pleasure.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“Small mistakes, the lack of care, little accidents, and somewhere a tipping point is passed and things go badly wrong. Expedition history brims with tragedies built out of incremental missteps.”
― Alan S. Kesselheim, Let Them Paddle: Coming of Age on the Water

“Untamed thinking turns your reality into a wild expedition.”
― Talismanist Giebra, Talismanist: Fragments of the Ancient Fire. Philosophy of Fragmentism Series.

“Ours was not going to be a clone of the usual expeditions, oozing with sleekness. It was clear from the start that oddity was our advantage.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King : The Quest for a Lost City

“You can’t gather much if you won’t go on risk expedition. Leaders never fear the thorns; they’ll still go in for the beautiful roses no matter the number of pricks they’ll get.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Leaders' Ladder

“Slig jubel og henrykkelse har Kristiania vel aldrig før været i, som da Grønlandsfarerne kom tilbage. Sexti Tusing Mennesker modtog dem på Bryggen, femti Tusind fulgte dem til hotellet, ti Tusind raabte niti Tusind hurra, en gammel pensjoneret Oberst fra Kampen skreg sig simpelthen ihjel på Stedet.”
― Knut Hamsun

“The next day we pursued our journey upon mules; and as we ascended still higher, the valley assumed a more magnificent and astonishing character. Ruined castles hanging on the precipices of piny mountains; the impetuous Arve, the cottages every here and there peeping forth from among the trees, formed a scene of singular beauty. But it was augmented and rendered sublime by the mighty Alps, whose white and shining pyramids and domes towered above all, as belonging to another earth, the habitations of another race of beings.”
― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

“Damp veils of mist swirled around them. They were dreadfully cold (Moomintroll thought longingly of his woolly trousers) and surrounded completely by an awful floating emptiness.
"I always thought clouds were soft and woolly and nice to be in," said Sniff, sneezing. "Ugh! I'm beginning to be sorry I ever came on this expedition.”
― Tove Jansson, Comet in Moominland

“...she offered an assortment of reasons about why she was walking. The kids were finally out of the house. She heard that no woman had yet thru-hiked in one direction. She liked nature. She thought it would be a lark. I want to see what’s on the other side of the hill, then what’s beyond that, she told a reported in Ohio. Any one of the answers could stand on its own, but viewed collectively, the diversity of responses left her motivation open to interpretation, as though she wanted people to seek out their own conclusions, if there were any to be made. Maybe each answer was honest. Maybe she was trying to articulate that exploring the world was a good way to explore her own mind.”
― Ben Montgomery, Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail

“Du kan tenke dig seks bitte små mygg marsjerende over et forferdelig stort laken.”
― Fridtjof Nansen

“Life is not a quest. It's a voyage of discovery. An expedition through yourself and life.”
― Silvie Mateljan, soulpedition

“I refuse to listen to the insidious arguments of the skiers, who are constantly trying to persuade me to abandon the kayaks. I trust my kayaks and will not give in. I have reminded my companions of my unswerving conviction on more than one occasion.”
― Valerian Albanov, In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic

“Make an expedition to your mind, for it is the most rewarding journey.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, Night of a Thousand Thoughts

“Ekspedisjonen har nå hatt tre velsigninger og to pujaer. Etter mine beregninger må dette være nok. Vi må være den mest velsignede og beskyttede ekspedisjonen noen sinne.”
― Arne Næss, Drangnag-Ri – Det hellige fjellet