Fiennes has a fear of heights. He thought if he climbed Mount Everest, he could get rid of his fear. In 2005, he climbed Mount Everest, but he couldn’t make it to the top because he didn’t feel well and had to go back. Climbing Mount Everest didn’t help him get rid of his fear because he said it wasn’t vertical enough. So he thought he would climb the very vertical Mount Eiger in the Swiss Alps.