That mountain often seems to bring the worst in people. It becomes an obssession. I worked at Intrade for a few months and its obsession eventually killed John Delaney, the CEO of Intrade.
It’s basically the achievement treadmill. Either you realize you eventually have to get off the treadmill or you die trying to make it to the end.
No, it wasn't "the mountain" that brought out the worst in these people. It was quite simply the obsessive pursuit of money, acclaim, and ideology.