[LisaMalia]

You guess? Go put your ample fanny back on the couch. Say no to Lewis and Clark, Colombus, Lance Armstrong, Edmund Hillary, and these poor self-gratified guys.

You don't have to get personal, and my fanny is fine and firm, thank you.

I would not put my children, and family members through my untimely death, just to be a "thrill seeker".

Did these men have a mission to change the world, as the ones you mentioned above? If so, enlighten me, please.

And while you're at it, say a prayer for those who have, and continue to, risk their lives in this rescue mission. And for the families.

[Dark Skies]

Did these men have a mission to change the world

Change starts with one's self. I know climbers and runners and cyclists personally. They are trying to change themselves. They are trying to become vibrant. They are trying to shake the negativity of those who say they shouldn't try.

Defeatism never wins...never!!!

[Jezebelle]

Very well said.

You make an especially good point about the 180-degree difference between someone fighting for their country to make the world better and safer for their countrymen going in harm's way than some thrill seeker climbing a mountain for kicks or whatever personal gratification - adrenaline rush, one of the climbers or pseudo-climbers here referred to it - by trying to climb to a frozen summit in the dead of winter with Cat-4 hurricane winds and -30 degree temperatures.

It is an absurd comparison and quite an insult to our men and women in uniform. It's ironic that some of those very same military people are risking their lives to save the two remaining climbers.