Why do it? “Because it’s there.”
In 1923, on a trip to New York City, Englishman and explorer George Mallory was asked “Why climb Mt. Everest?” His famous reply: “Because it’s there,” says something important about the human spirit.
George Mallory. Photograph courtesy of The Alpine Club Photo Library, London--via National Geographic.
Why do anything? From getting out of bed in the morning to going to the moon, our species often does things because we are driven to do them, often by intangible forces. We are driven to conquer new frontiers, driven to uncover the mysteries of life, driven to discover and to learn.
In the early 1920s George Mallory’s obsession was to do something that had never been done before: Climb the highest mountain on Earth.
RIESTER strongly identifies with people and organizations with a burning mission. We have a diverse group of clients. One group of our clients broadly includes clients with a cause. Causes we work on include promoting recycling, sustainability–including renewable energy, education, exposing the severe dangers of addiction (our work serves as a deterrent) and a variety of issues related to promoting better health.
George Mallory died in his effort to conquer Mount Everest, yet what he did speaks to me in the broad sense that the men and women that change the world do so because of a burning desire to break through boundaries.
RIESTER client Clark Planetarium has been offering a preview of the National Geographic film “The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest” which opens at Imax theaters nationally August 6, 2010. The film is constructed around the story of the discovery of Mallory’s body on Everest in 1999 by American Conrad Anker. Directed by Anthony Geffen, “The Wildest Dream” reconstructs Mallory’s story from the early 1920s, including his final and fatal ascent of Everest.
Thank you to Salt Lake City’s Clark Planetarium for the special screening last night. Thanks too to Conrad Anker, George Geffen, the people at National Geographic and everyone else behind this film–especially George Mallory.
What do you do, or what challenge do you take on, because it’s there?
