I’m no mountaineer, but I’ll guess the misunderstanding here stems from where one draws the baseline. If you’re someone who spent years climbing in the Alps or in Colorado, then I assume that Everest simply may not be an upgrade. It’s like doing an easy climb in the Alps at half the oxygen and more severe weather—in terms of athleticism, there’s no extra achievement. The sherpa in the article probably talks about very fit “urban” people, which is still very different different from an experienced mountaineer. I may still be off though.