I’ve never understood the desire to climb Mt. Everest, especially now that it’s been done so many times–about 1,200 times since 1975, in fact. (Sir Edmund Hillary made the first successful ascent and descent 50 years ago next week.) There’s no scientific or exploratory value to it anymore; it’s all about satisfying personal egos. Jon Krakauer’s harrowing book Into Thin Air made clear how dangerous this activity really is. Success certainly requires physical prowess, bravery, and determination, but there’s no shortage of deadly forces outside your control, such as the weather, so it requires foolhardiness as well. Why not just play Russian roulette? Or run through traffic? At any rate, this is the time of year when there’s a narrow window of opportunity to make it to the top of the world, and earlier today Everest was conquered for the first time in 2003. Congratulations to the climbers.