4 ms·

Climbing Mt. Everest has nothing to do with exploration, and hasn't had for a long time. It's an industry catering to reckless thrill-seekers.

• mwsfc 16y ago
  Has an industry sprung up around climbing Everest? Yes. Are all Everest climbers reckless thrill-seekers? No, no and No.
  • mkramlich 16y ago
    I would argue that if climbing Everest is not reckless thrill-seeking then nothing else is.
    • mwsfc 16y ago
      Joyriding your car and doing donuts in the middle of mainstreet on a Friday evening would probably fall into the "reckless thrill-seeking" category every time. Yes, a good number of Everest climbers may also fit that bill. But it's incorrect and not particularly insightful to attribute that characterization to the entire endeavor.There are many good reasons why someone would climb Everest or any mountain for that matter. What is the particular objection? That climbing the mountain quite possibly can lead to one's premature and needless death? So can launching yourself on top of a rocket. Yet I don't see too many astronauts being accused of reckless thrill-seeking. And no, it shouldn't matter on the former if the primary motivator is personal in nature. Personal exploration can be just as valid as public exploration, as is often the justification for going into space.
      • mkramlich 16y ago
        > not particularly insightful what is HN with all the passive aggressive insults of other people's comments?
• RickHull 16y ago
  > Climbing Mt. Everest has nothing to do with exploration At an organizational level, you are correct. There are very few places left unexplored by the human race on this planet. However, on an individual level, if you have never been to the summit of Everest, then it is very much a personal exploration. Maps and guides reduce the required effort from superhuman to formidable, but I see a clear exploratory factor. At a personal level -- answering the question "what have I explored" rather than "what has the human race explored" -- the chasm between having crossed the Hillary Step and merely having read a description of it is vast. You are exploring your own limits in a purely figurative sense, and this could be boiled down to "thrill-seeking", but you are also literally exploring the terrain and geography, figuring out how to hoist your own personal mass beyond each obstacle. It is this very personal sense of exploration that I think drives most non-professional mountaineers. Also, even at a macro / organizational level, completely new routes are tried (explored!), and the route through the Khumbu Icefall changes every year.
  • andreyf 16y ago
    There are very few places left unexplored by the human race on this planet. Actually, IIRC, most of our oceans are completely unexplored.
  • dennisgorelik 16y ago
    On personal level I can explore Mt. Everest over Internet and get better understanding of what it is than someone who climbs it. Assuming that we both spend equal amount of time (me researching, and the climber -- in preparations and climbing).