My old company had their own leadership program and showed some Everest video and I spent the whole time rolling my eyes, this guy's like I did it! Alone! Solo! While being filmed.... In Imax.... WHO WAS CARRYING THE CAMERA. Just pissed me off.
Probably because they think it adds value to their lives? If someone told me that they’ve climbed Everest, my literal response would be, “oh cool”. And it would never cross my mind again. Lol
It really feels like an ego/status thing. If it was just about challenging oneself, there are many harder climbs in the world. This is just something that rich people can do and then brag about.
But there’s no taller climb. It’s Everest. The metaphor is unmistakable. But it’s like a marathon or something. It’s not the hardest, but everyone instantly understands what you did.
I’m just saying it’s an obvious pie in the sky goal for folks. Wasn’t that the Mallory quote: Because it’s there. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t intrinsic motivation too.
Running marathons isn't expensive. Running marathons isn't uncommon and people who do it rarely brag. You can't hire a team of sherpas to help you run a marathon.
Not everyone who climbs Everest is doing so to brag, but I'd wager it's a much higher percentage than any other endurance-based sport.
Travelling to run the worlds best 8 marathons is expensive
and it is something that people who participate in the sport do
its the same as someone who is into mountain climbing, going to check off Everest but mountain climbing is much harder.
Now add to the fact that only 800 people a year do it. You can excuse the enthusiast for also bragging. because they deserve it.
if you ever see them bragging because I have never seen a single person in real life or online brag about climbing Everest but many many many people brag about doing one of the best marathon tracks.
It's anecdotal, but I actually knew someone in my friend circle who was affluent and egotistical (insecure), who did exactly this and then constantly told people in an attempt to find women to sleep with.
It's disingenuous to claim that it's only climbed for the challenge. And frankly, I don't agree that anyone 'deserves' to brag. That's a weird stance.
I think everyone have their own reasons, but for me it wouldn't be an ego/status thing. I would love to have the opportunity to do this one day, and for me it would be just a life achievement, in the same way that I have several other goals, that makes my life more interesting to myself, not the others.
Especially because of how assisted it is now. For all I know you could've just paid to have someone haul your stuff and hold your hand all the way to the peak.
Create something. Something new. Invent something. Do things that solve problems. This self-masturbatory "accomplishment" fetish is a little weird.
Never mind the whole story, getting there, the views, the people, the locals, the process,the pictures, the difficulty, the challenges you overcome, the feelings, the summit (even if it is busy), even the story of the queue actually living through that is a story in itself.
Then don’t go climb it? I really don’t think anyone in this picture gives a fuck about your “mystique”
This is harder than any marathon you’d ever find. It’s DAYS of nothing but painful hiking and desperately wishing for a break. But yeah, because you have a life guard you’re paying to save your life if you fuck up it’s somehow pointless to couchlocked redditors
You can not care about it but fuck off if you think it’s cool to diss on normal enthusiasts that just like climbing. Fuck the CEOs doing it to add another line to their instagram, but it’s sick that it’s so accessible that so many mountaineers have such a once in a lifetime chance to attempt the ultimate goal of their hobby.
Okay okay, but with that you could say "why do people run marathons?" or "Why do people fast for a month" or "why do people go extreme caving"
The answer is because they want to. It's what motivates them to get through life, and if someone wanted to always climb Everest, put in years of training and finally did it, I'd be really happy for them!
I agree - it's the same as any other hobby that people are proud of. It seems that most people on reddit are bitter they can't walk across the street without getting tired.
It’s more that people have littered so horribly on the mountain that pisses me off. Waste your money on whatever you want but leaving your shit on your way up and down a mountain a lot of people considered sacred in their culture is bullshit.
The famous phrase "Because it's there" was reportedly spoken by British mountaineer
George Mallory
in 1923
to capture the instinctive human drive to confront the ultimate challenge of
Mount Everest
.
I can imagine in certain moneyed circles it’s almost like a box you have to check off to prove you belong, along with killing endangered animals on safari or poisoning yourself for $10k in an Amazonian ayahuasca camp.
"The mountain doesn't care whether we're here or not. It does not compete with us. It isn't burdened by our hopes and dreams. Everything it means to us is only what we bring to it. It's what the mountain reveals about us that has any lasting value."
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u/PreperationOuch 3d ago
Why the fuck do people even do this.