Larry Rigsby, left, shakes hands with Passang Nuru Sherpa. Passang was hurt in an ice fall that killed two Sherpas, but he reached the summit a short time later. (Special / Larry Rigsby)

Larry Rigsby said it was the toughest decision he and his fellow mountaineers ever had to make - to continue their attempt on Mount Everest after the deaths of two Sherpas or scuttle a lifetime of dreams and three years of endless preparation for their one shot at the world's highest peak.

In the end, the part-time Coloradan and his teammates - like so many other climbers before them - vowed to push ahead, eventually putting their leader, Lakewood attorney Doug Tumminello, on top of the 29,035-foot mountain last week.

"Our general feeling was if the (other) Sherpas called (off) the climb, we would have called the climb. I think we would have really respected their decision," said Rigsby, who turned back short of the summit because of altitude-induced health problems and was recuperating last week on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

In what has been the second-deadliest season on Everest, many mountaineers, including the likes of Sir Edmund Hillary, are asking whether the price is too much and if climbers are losing sight of what's important in light of their singular quest for the summit.

"Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of the mountain," Hillary, 87, told the New Zealand Press Association in the wake of news that some 40 climbers continued past a Briton struggling and subsequently dying high on the mountain.

Mountaineers concede that the lure of Everest can be insatiable, and under perfect conditions the climb is not particularly difficult, with the most-dangerous sections protected by anchored ropes set by the Sherpas and climbed using ratchet-like mechanical ascenders.

This year, a record was set for the oldest climber to reach the summit, a Sherpa climbed the mountain for an unprecedented 16th time, and even a former Polish Playboy playmate reached the top.

But conditions rarely are perfect above 8,000 meters (the mythical "death zone" above 25,000 feet), and climbers - who pay as much as $75,000 for a guided expedition to Everest - often make bad decisions high on the mountain, their judgment about the fast-moving weather, their stamina and their abilities clouded by summit fever and lack of oxygen.

"It's a huge commitment in money, and it's a huge commitment in time," said Aspen's Steve Marolt, who turned around short of the summit in 2003 and plans to return next year. "When you've expended the kind of energy and resources to get there, most people do put blinders on."

Still, he said it "sickens" him to hear of climbers intent on reaching the summit who marched past solo climber David Sharp after he collapsed above 28,000 feet on May 15.

"How could you possibly walk past another human being who needed your help and not give it to them? That's pathetic, in my opinion," Marolt said.

He acknowledged