Mountains Make Poor Receptacles For Dreams.

But Now That I Was Finally Here, Standing On The Summit Of Mount Everest, I Just Couldn't Summon The Energy To Care.

At That Stage Of My Youth, Death Remained As Abstract A Concept As Non-euclidean Geometry Or Marriage. I Didn't Yet Appreciate Its Terrible Finality Or The Havoc It Could Wreak On Those Who'd Entrusted The Deceased With Their Hearts.

Everest Has Always Been A Magnet For Kooks, Publicity Seekers, Hopeless Romantics And Others With A Shaky Hold On Reality.

Those Who Would Assail The Book Of Mormon Should Bear In Mind That Its Veracity Is No More Dubious Than The Veracity Of The Bible, Say, Or The Qur'an, Or The Sacred Texts Of Most Other Religions. The Latter Texts Simply Enjoy The Considerable Advantage Of Having Made Their Public Debut In The Shadowy Recesses Of The Ancient Past, And Are Thus Much Harder To Refute.

Most Climbers Aren't In Fact Deranged, They're Just Infected With A Particularly Virulent Strain Of The Human Condition.