Are you willing to risk your life for a dream? The headline was written in bold letters when 11 climbers died in just 16 days. The highest death toll ever recorded for Everest. There have been numerous debates on Social media, harsh words exchanged on why people are willing to die just to summit the highest mountain in the world. Some even said that it is not a good idea to die for a lump of rock. As a mountaineer myself, I would partly agree with the comments. As a mountaineer and trail runner, most of us are aware of our mortality. We can die anytime in the mountains. I personally experienced near accounts of my own mortality. I almost fell off from a cliff twice during a solo hike in the woods. Was I happy? I was happy to go home alive of course.

Anything can happen in the mountains, whether it is small or tall, the risk is almost the same. No matter how good you are as an endurance athlete, you cannot fight back against nature.

Are you willing to die for your dream? I think this is a question that most people would not want to hear but most mountaineers are aware that they can die because of their dream. But when a mountaineer summits a mountain, he/she always has an insurmountable amount of optimism that he/she will go home alive. We cannot stop people from climbing Everest because like anybody who has dreams, they will try their best to succeed, even if it means they need to make several attempts.

The people in charge of the expeditions were plain greedy to allow several expeditions partake at once. Before you can climb a mountain such as Everest, you must be an experienced climber who summited numerous mountains in your lifetime. The words," physically fit" will not suffice.

As a mountaineer who feels saddened about the recent deaths, I just want to say that," We are just a spec compared to nature, we must humble ourselves, only then can we survive."