Exploring Extremes

The South Pole was first reached by Roald Amundsen in December of 1911.

http://www.enotes.com/history-fact-finder/exploration-settlement/who-was-first-person-reach-south-pole

The North Pole was first reached by Robert Edwin Peary on April 6, 1909.

http://www.wisegeek.com/who-was-the-first-person-to-reach-the-north-pole.htm

In 1924, George Mallory led an expedition to Everest in which he died.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_climbing_Mount_Everest#1924:_Mallory_and_Irvine

The first documented people to reach the Summit were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest#First_successful_ascent_by_Tenzing_and_Hillary

I think people would want to do these extreme things because it is their passion and they might feel like they have to because someone special in their lives has done it. Someone might want to do that because they enjoy those kinds of things. I would not do something like that because it is not my passion and I think doing that would be very crazy. From my point of view it is perfectly fine to risk your life for something that is your dream and you really really REALLY have to and want to do this.