Aren't myths nicer than reality?

[Ibex]

From Wikipedia:

Whillans was well regarded for his capacity to deliver a cracking one-liner off the cuff. One example which encapsulates his wry humour concerns him encountering a team of—to his mind—poorly equipped Japanese mountaineers attempting the north face of the Eiger. "You going up?" Whillans asked them. "Yes! Yes!" came the reply. Pause, then Whillans: "You may be going a lot higher than you think." Whillans participated in the 1972 European Everest Expedition, attempting to climb Mount Everest's southwest face. The expedition was plagued with personality conflicts and the withdrawal of many climbers. While in camp, some other climbers overheard news that England had lost a soccer game to Germany. "It seems we have beaten you at your national sport", said a German. After a pause Whillans replied, "Aye, and we've beaten you at yours...twice." Another incident occurred one night in an alpine hut when two climbers were engaged in a whispered conversation disturbing the sleep of other climbers, one of whom was Whillans. Eventually he demanded that they shut up; there was a brief pause before one of the youths aggressively refused to be quiet, remarking into the darkness "who do you think you are?" The gruff reply of "Whillans" was followed by complete silence. However, Whillans's biographer Jim Perrin suggests many of these stories are myths.