I can't imagine deciding at age 9 that I wanted to climb the tallest mountain in the world and then not spend time actually gaining experience that would help one climb the tallest mountain in the world.

The main job of the guides and sherpas is to tell you when to turn around. Your main job is to do what they say.

I had a college professor who was a mountaineer. He told me one time that when people ask him to train them, he only takes people who want to learn because they want to climb mountains. If anyone said they were climbing for a cause (save the whales, feed the children, women's rights, cancer research, etc) he would say no. Why? Because people who climb for a cause are less likely to turn back when things get dangerous because they're scared they'll let down the cause. He said the most important thing in climbing is knowing your actual limits and when to say no.

She didn't want to be a climber, she just wanted to be able to say she summited Mt. Everest and get a picture. Hubris.

The fact that she continued to summit, even after being told her actions might put others lives in jeopardy tells me everything I need to know about this woman. And none of it’s good.

You forgot to add that she lingered up there on the summit for a whole 25 minutes celebrating, and ignorant that her oxygen supply was nearly running out. That the owner of the tour company warned her two times-- once when he passed her going up and another time when he was coming back-- that she should turn back, but she thought that she knew better than everyone.

She was in Canada. She had access to the Rockies. She had no excuse for making Mt. Everest her first mountain.

This is like after finishing the tutorial, she goes straight to the final boss

The fact she wouldn’t back down when the guides said it would endanger their lives too is unbelievably selfish

My favorite part is how she spent a year supposedly preparing For the climb but didn't even bother to learn how to put the shoes on let alone anything else.

Every corpse on Everest was once a motivated person

This video is remarkably kind in its description of this woman and her actions. What she had was not determination. It was stubbornness and selfishness. When people tell you that what you’re doing will kill them, and your reply is “but I wanna stand on top of a mountain” …….

I bet all she was thinking before reaching Base Camp is how she was going to be able to present her story at a company conference about how determination can overcome all!

Sherpas are people who are genetically more accustomed to the decreased air in mountains than most humans. When they tell you not to keep going, you listen.

The Sherpa who tried to revive her then wrapped her in her flag was very kind to do so. I’m amazed the reality didn’t sink in during her time at base camp; I guess she was accustomed to her determination bulldozing a path in the corporate world, but nature doesn’t give a toss how determined you are, and that should have been very clear on the trek to base camp.

"See this guy? He has a job. His job is to know about mountains. You also have a job. Your job is to listen to him because you do not know about mountains."

"Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory." Ed Viesturs, American mountaineer who has summited all 8,000 meter peaks.

So she rock climbed at a local gym and thought she was experienced enough to hike Everest? That is absolutely wild.

Wealth, entitlement, and arrogance. I can imagine all her life nobody ever told her “No”. When the Sherpas told her “No, don’t do it”, she ignored them because she knew better. “I can do it because I carried a 40kg suitcase up and down my stairs for a few weeks.” This was like someone who’s never swam in their life learning how to dog paddle, then going straight out to swim the English Channel.

I don't understand. She had the passion ever since she was a child, but never bothered to learn the necessary skills to accomplish the feat? If you truly have a passion and desire, you do everything you can to ensure success. Not train for a year, walking trails and lifting suitcases and then show up and "I'm ready for you all to teach me".