NO ONE DOES IT BECAUSE THEY ENJOY IT:

Serial summit disorder: When a self-admitted climbing 'yahoo' stood atop the highest summits on every continent, it notched up the standard for vertical achievement to Seven Summits and a PR agent (Jenny Dubin, October 5, 2004, LA Times)

Ed Viesturs is down $1,000, and he has only himself to blame. In 1997 Viesturs — arguably North America's premier high-altitude mountaineer — found himself slogging across climbing's largest stage for the ninth time. Joining him on the big E were four of the world's most experienced climbers, who by that point had tagged the roof of the world a total of 14 times. This time, however, the thrill was gone.

"It was a hot day, and we were bored and decided that we'd had enough of this mountain," recalls Viesturs, 45, over drinks at the Hotel Yak & Yeti in Kathmandu, Nepal. "We vowed that day never to come back." And just like that Everest Anonymous, climbing's own 12-step program, was born.

The pact they made carried stiff penalties. Should any of them set so much as a crampon into the Khumbu Icefall, the glaciated gateway to Everest, a payout of $1,000 would be required to each member who remained on the wagon.

But temptation would overcome solidarity. This spring Viesturs and three other Everest Anonymous members had returned to the peak and had to shell out a grand to the remaining holdout, New Zealander Guy Cotter.

Viesturs and his associates are among thousands of sea-level averse souls afflicted by a compulsion for high-altitude adventure. And not just Everest (though that works for a quick fix). The bug is so hard to resist that a growing number of climbers are determined to top the highest peak on each continent — dubbed the Seven Summits. Beyond that, some seek a higher thrill still — the ultimate in alpine summitry — scaling the 14 highest mountains, those taller than 8,000 meters, or 26,250 feet.

Call it serial summit disorder, a habit bordering on obsessive hand-washing. And it is driving a wedge between purists, out for the challenge, and those who are looking for a little more gain — say, bragging rights, fame and marketing dollars.

Adventurers now compete for the title of the youngest, oldest or the first of their nationality to climb the Seven Summits, which comprise Everest, Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), El'brus (Europe), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Kosciuszko (Australia) and Vinson Massif (Antarctica).

Some veteran climbers say that the growing mania for records and serial peaks has elevated quantity over quality, with the climbing lost in a stampede for payoffs beyond the summit. They deride the increasing number of woefully inexperienced wannabes as trophy hunters.