Well a bit less risk in trying to go up a hill than going up the side of a crater you're stuck inside of. If you start to slip too much you simply go back down. Off road vehicles do that all the time. Of course their drivers get the luxury of good stereo systems and a cooler full of Bud Light.

Well I'm still hoping, by the time Spirit reaches those hills, that there's just as much of a component of tourist in the engineers as the quest for science. The long range goal of keeping the general public in awe and keeping the funding coming should be well-mixed with the scientific desire to concentrate on the details. I often show the recent Rover pictures to friends and acquaintences and it's very apparent the pictures that blow them away and keep their interest are the ones showing landscapes with great relief. The Opportunity area pictures, despite their richness in terms of scientific interest, are passed over quickly with little excitement. Of course the Jerry Springer crowd and their short attention spans shouldn't dictate all choices on where the Rovers go but we have to throw them bones from time to time. Had Lewis and Clark had the ability to transmit back pictures from their explorations I doubt that all the pictures would have been rock outcroppings.