Why I Will Go Paddling Again But Will Never Climb Everest

Went paddling down the Broad River yesterday on a total whim.  It was perfect because my right foot has been in a bad shape, and I've been wanting exercise that won't strain it.  We went at a breakneck speed of ~1 mph, T-boning each other, stopping at a swimming hole every hour, running the same rapid 20 times, sipping beer, and looking at fish on the way.  At a time where all I could think of in the humid, thickly vegetated South was the endless view, colorful rocks, snowy peaks, and crisp air of the West, this little day was what I needed to remember how I came to love Georgia.  The peaceful river, the weathered rocks, tall draping green trees...

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Finished watching the first season of Everest: Beyond Limit last night, and I have decided that if there's one thing I will never do, it's attempting to climb Everest (or K2 or any other eight-thousanders).  I've become quite interested in hiking/mountaineering/climbing/whateveryoucallit ever since climbing some fourteeners in Colorado, and also ever since those climbs, it always boggled my mind how in the world people could climb Everest, which is twice the elevation of the ones I barely made up.  The Discovery Channel show showed me how they do it, and it is just insane.  So here it goes, why I would never climb Everest, no matter how much money, time, or hiking experience I had:

1. It doesn't seem fun.  Frostbite, delirium, running out of oxygen while stuck in a "traffic jam" of a dozen other climbers from some other team, passing decades-old corpses along the way, getting sick yourself, watching other people get sick and/or die.... It is a ridiculous obsession at that point.  I like hiking because I can get a great exercise, take in breathtaking views, enjoy the company of friends on the way, see mountain animals and wildflowers, and feel peace away from everything after getting through thrilling challenges.  From what I could see from the show, these people were too close to plunging to their death for various reasons to take in and savor anything.  Granted, Discovery Channel was trying to keep the footages extra suspenseful and intense for the viewers, but I really could not picture these delirious people continually collapsing from hypoxia and hypothermia savoring anything.  It just looked miserable.  After all of that, if you are lucky, after a month-and-a-half climb you get to the top and spend half an hour catching your breath and frantically taking pictures before you have to head down as quickly as you can before running out of oxygen.  Then, if you are lucky, you come back down to nurse and/or chop off your frostbitten appendages and/or spend a month and a half in the hospital for various reasons. 
2. It is selfish.  It's hard to believe these people have wives and/or children.  They are putting themselves in something they know can easily kill them, and by deciding to participate, it's practically saying, "Dear my loved ones, I would hate to leave you behind in this world, but conquering this mountain is more important to me than being there for you.  Hopefully I will come back safely, but I am willing to gamble your futures for this personal goal of mine."  I can't imagine my dad or future husband leaving me for two months so they can put themselves in grave danger for a chance at personal glory!  Even the guy on prosthetic legs who summited and returned alive, who I guess inspired disabled people by being the first legless man to climb Everest (he had lost his lower legs to frostbite while climbing something else), said in his interview that if he knew how bad it would be, he would not have done it.  He ended up having to cut off one more inch off from each leg among other consequences he suffered.

What I would like to do someday, though, is hike to the Everest Base Camp (~17,000 ft).  That would be challenging and beautiful enough!  By the way, Everest: Beyond Limit is a good show, even though I just gave a bit away.  I'm gonna watch the second season, too, haha...