May 5, 2006

The Ethics of Mountaineering, Brought Low

By MAURICE ISSERMAN

Ten years ago this month, several dozen expeditions clustered in a sprawling tent city at base camp on Mount Everest, each hoping to get its own members to the 29,035-foot summit. They included at least seven commercial ventures — at the time a recent innovation in Himalayan climbing — that, for hefty sums, guided clients up the mountain. Jon Krakauer, a writer for Outside magazine, signed on with the expedition led by the New Zealander Rob Hall, an experienced climber

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