Dying on the Way Down

Here is the intriguing story of Mount Everest climbers who ignore hard-and-fast rules and refuse to turn back within 200 feet of the top. Catching "summit fever," they throw caution to the winds, achieve the top, but as a consequence die on the way down - a modern parable of the temptation to abandon spiritual principles for a momentary desire, only to find ourselves dying on the way down.

Right now, the Khumbu Glacier on the southwest face of Mount Everest in Nepal is teeming with activity. It's the site of the Everest Base Camp at 17,500 feet, and expeditions from all over the world have gathered to make an assault on the world's highest piece of real estate.

It's climbing season. This is the month when, if the summit of Everest is going to be achieved, it needs to be done.

Although in Nepal, it is now dark, in the very early hours of the morning, you can be certain that at this precise moment, climbers are stirring from their tents at Camp One, 19,500 feet; Camp Two, 21,300 feet; Camp Three, 24,000 feet; or Camp Four at 26,000 feet. A typical attempt on the summit will begin around midnight from Camp Four. Even now, climbers are getting into several layers of underclothing, overshirts and windproof and goose-down jackets, slapping on crampons with two-inch steel spikes on the soles and toes, packing their gear, stowing bottled gas, and grabbing ice axe, climbing...