Exploring Extremes

The first expedition to successfully reach the South Pole was led by Roald Amundsen, with a team of four men. They reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911 (UNESCO.org).

The first expedition to successfully reach the North Pole is credited to Robert Peary, who reached the Pole on April 6, 1909, leading Matthew Henson and four eskimos (enchantedlearning.com) . However, there is some dispute on the accuracy of this fact, and others believe that the first true reaching of the North Pole was done by Roald Amundsen on May 12, 1926...

The Everest expedition in 1924 was led by George Mallory. He and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, went missing during their expedition, and their fates were unknown until Mallory's body was discovered in 1999 (malloryexpedition.com).

The first person to successfully reach the summit of Mt. Everest was Sir Edmund Hillary, who reached the summit on May 29, 1953 (enotes.com).

I suppose there are many reasons why people would want to do things like this. They could range from wanting to set a record to simply searching for information or perhaps even seeking a reward in money (though I'm not sure any were offered...). Anyway, I would rather not engage in activities such as these, for the main reason that they're so hazardous that death is a highly likely possibility. I don't know about others, but I'm not willing to risk my life just to explore extreme cliamtes or set a world record!