Why do people try to reach the top of Mount Everest?


Reaching the summit of Mount Everest presents a challenge few can actually achieve.  The summit is the highest point on Earth and is located within the "death zone" at an altitude of 29,000 feet, where no human life can survive sustained periods of time.  Most lack the technical climbing skills necessary to reach the summit, of those who attempt it, 4% die on the mountain which is littered with corpses as the bodies cannot be easily removed.  Expeditions are also cost prohibitive, in total they can cost over $100,000 and that does not guarantee summiting nor surviving.  Because of all this, most put summiting Everest near the top of most difficult feats a person can accomplish, only about 6,000 people have done it as of 2023.