They just tend to have a lot more money.

Seriously, it is astonishing to me how many people run marathons and climb mountains just to be able to "wear the t-shirt." Some aren't serious athletes. A lot of the runners are slow and many of the climbers have someone hauling their butt up the hill (not to mention the tons of gear required to live and climb at high altitude). These folks aren't Frank Shorter or Sir Edmund Hillary . . . and I'm not suggesting you have to be to do these things. But too many people are seeking acceptance or wanting others to be impressed that they finished a long run hours after the leaders did, or that some dude from Nepal dragged them to the top of Everest or some other high peak.

The great mountains are not an amusement park. The problem with Everest is that the local economy is desperately poor and the trekkers and climbers are a source of revenue that the politicians lack the willpower to limit.