This Thursday we had the great honor to welcome Krisztina Szalay, our beloved literature teacher from ELTE. She mingled with the youth so perfectly that if we posted a transcript of the session using first names, nobody would believe that she has gray hair. Upon being asked how she liked the club, she kept answering: ‘Very pleasant.’

Our topic was meant be thought-provoking, and it may have fulfilled that goal. However, we agreed on almost every point, so this time no heated debate could take place.

Weeks ago the media was overwhelmed with articles on the unfortunate case of Zsolt Erőss and Péter Kiss – two climbers who disappeared on their way to the summit of Mount Everest. This is not at all unusual. Climbers are ceaselessly exposed to accidents. What possibly drew the Hungarian people’s attention to this particular event is the raw fact that Zsolt Erőss, a highly experienced climber, lost no fewer than six of his companions throughout his trips. The very last one, Péter Kiss, actually left his master to return to the ground, but finally turned back to help him.

Erőss left two little kids behind who will grow up without a father because he felt he needed to go on an “ego trip” instead of settling down at the age of 45.

Two serious moral questions arise in light of his past:

• As an experienced climber, do I have the right to drag along people who trust me blindly?
• Do I have the right to choose the mountain over my family after a series of misfortunes? Isn’t it a dumb way of pushing my luck?

Our opinions were unanimous. Professor Szalay even pointed out how “banal and boring” the nature of this issue is.

For an elegant ending we went around the room and each person shared one story with him being in danger or having a near-death experience. We had everything from getting stuck in the center of Lake Balaton to jumping off the balcony. Not to mention climbing a fence with barbed wires to a “maximum security” property with gigantic oil silos – under the favor of the night, in a high school camp.

We took out the good old Taboo game to have some fun near the end. Join us next week when we are going to bring up an extremely controversial topic. The time has come for an overheated debate!