You would never know if you had to ask

Why - a question concerning the cause or reason for which something is done, achieved, etc.
  
Have been rained with this 1 question by many so far. Which is the reason for this subjective post

A simple question which renders me incapable of a good and convincing comeback. Ever so opinionated and handy with words on most occasions, i find myself short and all i can muster is : "i just want to do it"

For some who may not know, the first men known to attempt Mt Everest in 1924 is George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. He may have been the first person to summit all 8850m of it before he disappeared and died after he was last spotted few hundred meters from the summit. With all due respect, Sir Hillary and Norgay may have came in second best. When asked why he wanted to climb Everest, Mallory gave a simple reply "Because it's there". Such little words spoken but invokes much thought within one. I really feel like i'm on the same page with him on this one. 

 
   Right, Mallory.   Left, Irvine
  
Mallory's body found in May of 1999

75 years after he was last spotted



Which brings me back to my title: "You would never know if you had to ask"

Something to share which i'm inspired by James Richmond:

'Why do you do it?' friends often ask, perplexed,
Brows raised, minds sorely vexed.
'The world out there is dangerous!
Aren't you scared? Why do this?
You need steady work, a house, two cars!
...You have only a fourwheeldrive, and sleep under stars!'

Dear friend, if you must ask, you cannot know
This curiosity that drives me so.
To you it is hidden; in me rises unbidden!
But one day the world I'll have ridden
By iron steed, then perhaps this need
Will have vanished, finally vanquished!
That day will find me on deathbed,
With no regrets for the life I led.

Will you be able to say the same?
Or will you despair a life worn plain?

I will stake my African memories
Against your estate of a thousand trees.
Pit my Ghanaian sunset
Against your private jet.
Weigh my horse rides at sunrise
To your Italian suits and ties.
I'll rejoice in friends before I go,
Not the figures of my stock portfolio.

And, amazingly, there are more like me;
They reject slavery, and are truly free.
They took the chance we all had,
And honestly it makes me sad
That you didn't.
You thought you couldn't...
What?
Live without the luxuries
Of all our modern amenities?
You choose the bonds of mortgage, but claim to be free,
Wasting a lifetime absorbed by TV.
Why watch it? but live it!
One life's all you get!
Don't put off 'til morrow and continue to borrow

The lives of strangers; 'tis the greatest of dangers
To the soul
Which grows old
Before its time.

Hercules, Columbus,
Guevara, Odysseus,
Champlain, Agamemnon,
The list goes on...
What have they in common?
Regardless man or god,
The soil of continents they trod,
Not in search of gold but adventure!
Not growing old 'cause they ventured
Far from safety; but far be it from me
To Judge...

The pitiless pity us
With souls black pitted.
Pray! save it for those less spirited.
For us... our horizons are unlimited.