"...Columbus never would have sailed. Alan Shepard would never have taken his ride..."
I don't get your analogy. What great benefit to humankind would come as a result of these guys successfully getting to the top of Mount Hood and back? Unlike Columbus, Shepard etc., we never would have even heard of the Mt. Hood climbers had their expedition not been a disaster. And we certainly wouldn't be hearing about them every fifteen minutes if it weren't a slow news week.
In a free society these guys have an absolute right to climb any mountain they choose, but they don't have the right to expect to be rescued from the consequences of their own choices, especially when such rescue could put the lives of others at risk. I'm for billing the families of these guys, if only to make others think twice before they do something foolhardy.
I wish the rescuers the best of luck and hope the climbers make it back safe. But to equate their wintertime escapade with exploring space or discovering new continents is specious. None of the explorers you mentioned had reason to expect rescue of any kind if their endeavors failed.
Call it bold risk taking, pushing the envelope, etc...constantly seeking to improve oneself is a uniquely American trait. While the people I mentioned did so on a national scale, those who do so on a personal scale also contribute to an overall societal improvement. Hence the analogy.