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finishing reading jon krakauer's "into thin air" - 7/10. former best seller a number of years ago. it is a personal account of a a disaterous mount everest climbing expedition in which leaves 12 dead. it goes to show how numberous small errors can compound into a disater. it also is a study on ambition, human nature, decision making, mis-information, leadership and management. i'd say the entire expedition was done under "the fog of war". this book is going to be discussed in one of my fall courses this year.

anyways on a lighter note, most mountain climbers aspire to climb the "7 summits" which consists of the highest peak on each continent. i looked it up on the web, and i think kilimanjaro in tanzania (Africa) at 20 000 ft is doable (everest is about 29 000). apparently it requires no technical mountain climbing skills. it is just a 6 day hike with mandatory local guides. the climbing(hiking) package costs under 1000. the website says you can bring children over 10. no oxygen tanks are needed. compare this to everest in which would cost 65000 to join a commercial expedition. anyone want to go (to kilimanjaro)? i've previously climbed half dome in yosemite at 5000 ft.