If there's a necessary purpose behind the activity, then absolutely, but to take these risks in the kind of weather there for no reason other than personal gratification is about ego.
The most disturbing thing for me about this thread and those that take the "he got what he asked for" and the "oh well, we'll look for ya next spring" attitude is this:
Nobody lives their life without making decisions that others think are stupid, or deceisions that somehow have affected the current condition they are in. This can be eating habits that lead to poor health, or less than admirable driving habits, or a sport that causes injury, or whatever.
God forbid they have a child, or a loved one, who makes a wrong decision, or does something "stupid" and finds themselves fighting for their life. They would think about it differently. They wouldn't be saying, "Oh well, Johnny, you drove dangerously and now are laying on the side of the road, if you can drag yourself to the hospital and prove you can pay for it, we'll see what we can do to help you."
And for those that are whining about all the people dying for other reasons everyday .. HELLO!! this particular thread and story is about lost climbers.
How dare you say that because I am mourning a young someone who just died of heart failure (and I am), that I can't have compassion for the families of these missing men.
Thank God for SAR. These dedicated and hardworking volunteers that live day to day for the opportunity to help someone who has found themselves (by their own hand or otherwise) unable to help themselves.
On that presumption one should naturally conclude that climbing Everest is always ego.
Get to know a little about climbing and you'll come to a whole different point of view. It's an extreme sport and ego has virtually nothing to do with it. Furthermore, winter climbing is a completely different sport than rock climbing or summer climbing. It requires different training and equipment.
I have done some winter trekking (and a little bit of winter climbing) and its incredible to be in such an environment. However, it's no more ego driven than snowshoeing or crosscountry skiing. Ego just has nothing to do with it.
I think this thread has gotten all bent out of shape because some folks can't comprehend the attraction that mountains have to certain people.
I think I see what you are saying but let me try another tack.
I think people start out climbing for the same motivation folks try other sports. People are trying to overcome their fears, they are trying to strengthen their bodies and their minds, and they are trying to prove to themselves that they can achieve something difficult. There is powerful byproduct of such effort...self-respect.
So, to the extent that by "ego," you mean self-respect, you are correct. If, on the other hand, you define "ego" to mean self importance or conceit, IMO you are incorrect.
Note that I say self-respect is a by-product. I don't think it can be the prime mover or it becomes something ugly and selfish.
A few weeks ago, I saw a show on TV about a man who, after being paralyzed in an accident, had become a wheel chair marathoner. He said that he hadn't realized it, but before he discovered racing, he was gradually giving up on life. But once he discovered racing, he came to realized that he could still do the impossible. He said that racing saved his life.
Anyhow, hopes that clarifies my position.