"Let's not mince words: Everest doesn't attract a whole lot of well-balanced folks. The self-selectio..." — Jon Krakauer

The way Everest is guided is very different from the way other mountains are guided, and it flies in the face of values I hold dear: self-reliance, taking responsibility for what you do, making your own decisions, trusting your judgment - the kind of judgment that comes only through paying your dues, through experience.

I've had a lot of crappy jobs, but one of my favorites was working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. What I loved about it was, you got paid for what you caught.

Military investigations are designed not to find anyone guilty. And you can't investigate up the chain of command, which is a huge impediment.

Most friendly fire incidents aren't investigated properly because of neglect or a natural inclination to cover up the embarrassing fact that they killed one of their own.