I Am Watching

the National Geographic Channel's documentary on Mt. Everest. Of course, this year is the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay's successful climb.

Some people think climbing the mountain is some act of courage. Hundreds have done it, hundreds have died trying to climb it. To do it one has to have either a big bank account or a high credit limit. It's strictly a rich man's game.

Watching anything about Everest makes me sick. The IMAX film about Everest a few years ago (when all of those people were killed) scared me shitless, especially when the climbers were going over the crevasses. Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air, was great, but it scared me shitless. I still can't get out of my mind the person who tried to take a dump in a crevass and fell over backwards to his death. I know it's tacky, but he certainly was scared shitless. Watching and reading stuff like that is like watching the Great Wallendas trying to do the seven-person pyramid on the highwire with no net. Forget it.

Anybody who tries to climb that mountain has a screw loose in the head. The Hilary excuse of climbing it "because it's there" doesn't cut it and is no excuse.