I don’t know why I’ve always been fascinated by stories of Everest climbs. Books. Movies. TV shows. But I have. I’ve been watching DVDs of a TV series on an Everest expedition this week and it’s riveting.

These climbers put their bodies through unbelievable torture to say they’ve summitted Everest. Climbing Everest without oxygen, if you’re an asthmatic, is crazy. Trying to climb without sufficient mountaineering experience is insanity. Snow blindness. Cerebral edema. Pushing your body so hard your heart practically beats itself to death–I can’t believe that people would risk death to summit.

We all have our personal challenges, but this is one that I’ve been trying to wrap my head around for some time. I still don’t get it. But maybe I’m not supposed to.