Name a few alpinists who were defeated by Alaska's harsh wilderness. What were the similarities among them? How was Chris McCandless different?

John Waterman is a very talented young climber from the suburbs of D.C., whose drive to climb dangerous slopes intensifies as he loses his mind, and who eventually embarks on a suicidal assent of Denali, and is never heard from again. I think there are similarities in both men having the intrepid desire for adventure. I don't think Chris loses his mind or becomes suicidal.