into the wild

I have to disagree that there is some kind of mental disturbance common to people who like to climb mountains. In any pursuit there can be an over indulgence, climbing is no different. Climbers like Krakauer climb because of the challenge and freedom of it all. Some climbers climb to get away from the mundane narrative that repeats over and over in the "civilized" world. Chastising all climbers with some type of anxiety-disordered compulsion isn't fair.