A better hill to die on

Mt. Siple

Anyone who goes on a Himalayan mountain expedition is dicing with death.  The death rate on these expeditions over time has been perhaps 1-2%.  Going by the historical record your worst odds are on Annapurna, where 50 have died against 130 summits.  The odds are much better on Everest.  They've had a bad season this year, but most climbers make it back.  Everest has claimed only 300 lives against 6,000 or so successful ascents.

It got me thinking, though - could you spend your life better?  Is there a mountain worth taking some risk for?  Let's say you have one shot to bag a major peak.  You don't want a suicide mission, but you can tolerate plenty of risk.  Is there anything left out there that's pure?  A genuine achievement where you could go all-in and walk away with the laurels, or die like a Spartan instead of standing in line watching your oxygen run out?

For the discerning high-risk alpinist I propose Mt. Siple, a beautiful mountain that - just look at it - doesn't seem all that hard.  No craggy ridges, nice smooth sides.  Lots of snow, so you'll have to plot the route to minimize avalanche risk.  And you'll have to do a lot of the prep on your own, because unlike Everest where even the dead bodies are landmarks, hardly anyone has ever looked at Mt. Siple, much less gone up it.  There's no official maps, just this rough drawing from USGS:

I think you could set up on Lauff Island, motor in to Cape Dart, and go right up that ridge to the summit.  It's only about 3,000 meters, but it stands alone and is very prominent, so the views from the summit should be awesome.

The only really tricky bit is getting to it:

Still, it's right there - a first ascent opportunity!  Did I mention it's a potentially active volcano?  Well yes, it is.  But all life is risk.  Get out there and live a little!

(link)