Could I Climb Mount Everest?

I am currently reading the book "The Kid Who Climbed Everest" by Bear Grylls. It is the story of Bear and his attempt at climbing the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. For those of you who don't watch the Discovery Channel, Bear Grylls is the star of the show "Man vs Wild", which is a very cool show about surviving out in the middle of the wilderness. Anyways, reading the book has got me thinking..... Could I achieve such a goal as climbing Everest if I really put my mind to it? If I had the luxury of no job, and had time to train.... could I conquer this mountain beast? I mean it is only 29,035 feet tall (almost 5 miles) and temperatures at the summit (top) can reach -100 degrees. That can't be too tuff? But seriously, if I was able to accomplish something of this magnitude, I would feel invincible. Hmmmm...... Maybe I will start off easy by hiking some local hills and see how that goes. :)