“Because it’s there” was the reason given climbing Mount Everest by George Leigh Mallory (subsequently used by Edmund Hilary, et al).

For many explorers the challenge has been to knock it off the list of challenges to be overcome. That is the driving force behind them – they may have moments of exhilaration during their conquest, they may have moments of pride or even fame afterwards – but the drive, that is just to have achieved it. After completing the Everest expedition, Hillary’s words “We’ve knocked the bastard off”, say it all.

For many an adventurer, this drive is insatiable. They take on challenge after challenge, to strike each off their list – not always with the outcomes that they wanted. Well over 300 people have known to have perished on Everest in the last one hundred years. It wasn’t until 1953 that Everest was first summited and 6,664 people are known to have now achieved this feat. Despite that, 17 people died attempting to knock it off their own list in 2023.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE, is a world renowned explorer and adventurer. One of his famous quotes gives some perspective on what continued to drive him: “I am doing this for many reasons, some of which I don’t fully understand. That there is an inner urge is undeniable.”

That isn’t to say that the drive of Sir Ranulph, or any other adventurer, leads them into reckless pursuit. Methodical planning, training and mental preparation are the foundations of any successful expedition. For most, this planning and preparation period is significantly longer than the expedition itself. The Transglobe Expedition, (1979-1982) led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, for example, was seven years in the planning for the three it took to complete.

We can learn much from the attitudes, approaches, successes and failures of all of those who have pushed themselves through these intrepid, dangerous experiences. While the autobiographies and stories of the adventurers themselves provide insight into drive, planning and the successful navigation of challenges along the way, the stories of the less successful attempts can be enlightening. They can show how sometimes just narrow margins or the unexpected turning of events or weather, can end in catastrophic or fatal results.

For most of us, the failure to achieve our goals doesn’t lead to loss of life. Occasionally there is loss of pride, sometimes a financial loss. But to have clarity on our goals, to set out with the right planning and preparation and to learn from those before how to navigate the challenges we will face is something we can adopt to help us be more successful.

We can scale our own mountains.