It is among the most shocking images of this summer, of a human traffic jam on Mount Everest. Quite contrary to what's suggested in romantically lone wolf selfies atop the world, it is now revealed that winding queues of literally hundreds of climbers can be shuffling shoe to shoe, to ascend the summit in peak season. It brings to mind desi hill stations, which too can sadly belie much storied promises of cool and calm relief from the scorching plains, as tourists galore turns them into smoggy and belligerent letdowns. Of course a touristy Niagara atop the Everest is altogether deadlier. Because on an icily precarious ridge 29,000 feet high, with oxygen supply running down fast and painfully, people perhaps dropping down dead around you, the logjam means simply turning back is not an option. That’s why it's called the deathzone. And why the Nepal government, accused of issuing a reckless number of climbing permits, is being asked to do a better job of traffic control. Sustained international pressure will hopefully usher in regulatory reforms, and also nudge mountaineers to check out Everest's sister peaks. Meanwhile in India several climbers are feared to have died in an avalanche, while attempting to summit a virgin peak on Nanda Devi which sits above 25,000 feet. This is a reminder that no matter the advances in technology, from super insulated gear to better weather forecasting, mountain climbing remains a very dangerous sport. As Jon Krakauer wrote in Into Thin Air, "Attempting to climb Everest is an intrinsically irrational act-a triumph of desire over sensibility." It is the desire to go to the ultimate top, conquering the mountain but also the self, with all its vulnerabilities and fear.