Those of you who like climbing and also liked Into Thin Air would also do well to read Joe Simpson's climbing classic Touching the Void, which is one of the most terrifying things I've ever read as a climber. I'd been meaning to read it for some time, but finally managed to find the time around 2005 while convalescing after a factor 2 20' lead fall which left me with a compound tib-fib fracture, a broken nose, and a shattered left hand. Those accounts make me well aware that I got off easy. I don't climb much anymore.

I 'get' the Everest thing. Standing on top of a mountain is an amazing feeling. Standing on the tallest mountain around is even better. While I have a lot more respect for someone who's climbed K2 or one of the Gasherbrum peaks (which are arguably much harder than Everest) or even some unnamed tiny peak in their (my) own back yard, I understand why someone would want to 'bag' the tallest thing around. But these people are making decisions which involve large risks, whether they choose to acknowledge them or not. There are some pundits which are trying to shift at least some part of the blame regarding the Canadian woman's death to her bargain basement outfitter. Sorry, that doesn't fly with me.