Thaindian News

Washington, Dec 23 (IANS) People who pay as much as $50,000 to climb Mount Everest often do so out of selfish motives, says a study.

“In order to escape the rules, contraptions and stresses of daily life, many people search for new and liberating experiences that transcend their normal bureaucratic and corporate existence,” say the study authors.

But it seems competition and conflict rear their heads even on romanticized adventures like climbing to the top of the world, said Gulnur Tumbat of San Francisco State University and Russell W. Belk of York University.

The authors conducted an ethnographic study of commercialized climbing expeditions on Everest, which focused on paying clients, the Journal of Consumer Research reports.

The research discovered a tendency for paying climbers to jostle for position rather than cooperating in a communal atmosphere, according to a San Francisco State and York University statement.

“What they have is a forced companionship for many, far from any real spirit of community,” the authors write.

“Money versus personal skill and experience compete as climbers argue that they deserve to summit the mountain while others there do not.”

“Our study finds that extraordinary experiences, when bought in the marketplace, can be destructive of feelings of camaraderie and reinforce an individualistic and competitive ethos that I, the climber, am the only one who matters,” the authors said.