Why Do We Climb Mountains?
Why do we climb mountains? Do we like to feel “on top of the world”? Do we want to see the view? Do we just enjoy nature? The small hikes, the small mountains, they’re understandable. People who go on day hikes need a break, and they want to feel nature. That is not the focus of this article. Why did anyone climb Everest? Or K2? Why do people die every day trying to get to the top of some of the most desolate, inhumane conditions on Earth? There is a community of individuals among us that spend their lives preparing for the absolute worst possible living conditions, just to get to the top of a mountain. They are fascinated by the difficulty, by the insanity, and sometimes by the fame as well. For the purposes of this article, I will refer to them as climbers. To the rest of the world, climbers are absolutely nuts. Take Alex Honnold for example. Alex Honnold recently became the first person on the planet to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite. This means that he climbed a 3,000...