The Reality of Making Poor Choices While Climbing Everest

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            I recently read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. This book drew my attention as it is about one of the worst accidents of climbing Mount Everest. The author, Jon Krakauer was part of the group that decided to attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest and was encountered by a storm. He published Into Thin Air after he wrote an initial article about the disaster, but he wanted to share more about his experience. Into Thin Air was published one year after the accident in 1997.
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            One unique aspect of Into Thin Air is shown in all the questions the book poses that even Krakauer still thinks about. When Jon was climbing Everest, he was guided by Rob Hall. Hall set a turnaround time for the team at two o’clock. At two they were supposed to turn around even if they had not reached the summit. Rob did not enforce this rule and the last of the group only left after 4 PM. Krakauer survived because he was far ahead of the group. He was even ahead of a climbing group in front of him, so he only was only caught by the edge of the storm. Another question that Krakauer thinks about is how they did not see the storm coming. There are no answers to these questions, and it is also difficult for any of the climbers to remember because they were all affected by the altitude.
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            The climbers may have made simple mistakes purely because of their arrogance, Krakauer highlights this throughout his book. His guide Rob Hall even claimed to be able to bring any reasonable fit person to the summit. The leader of a different group that was also caught in the storm said he built a yellow brick road to the top. Their arrogance caused some of their group members deaths which most likely could have been avoided.
            Overall, I think Into Thin Air is and interesting book for anybody who likes learning about other people’s experiences. The book really shows how Krakauer felt about his experience climbing Everest. It also gave me a completely different perspective on climbers. I think that looking back as a climber can be difficult as they often are not fully capable of making choices with low oxygen levels.

Comments

  1. DanielDecember 16, 2019 at 9:36 PM

    I like how you explained the effect of reading this book on your view on mountain climbers. The unique perspective this book brings on climbing is extremely interesting. I also feel like it seems a bit much to trust only one persons perspective on a particular event. His view on this subject may be biased, but nonetheless, seems like a great book I would be willing to read in the future.

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  2. HozaifaDecember 18, 2019 at 7:10 AM

    Wow, this looks like a sad and impactful book. I'll definetly keep this book for future reading options.

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  3. HozaifaDecember 18, 2019 at 7:12 AM

    Wow, this looks like a very sad and impactful book. I'll make sure to keep this in my future reading list.

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  4. Emily C.December 19, 2019 at 4:58 PM

    Into Thin Air sounds like an interesting book about an event, told through the eyes of someone who was there. This first person view of the situation makes it more personal and emotional. It's particularly interesting that the author poses unanswered questions that he reflects on throughout the book, which seem to make the event more captivating and mysterious.

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  5. TeoDecember 19, 2019 at 7:01 PM

    Good job! This book seems really interesting and scary. It seems like a really emotional book, and wonder what it would be like to see some of your friends go and you be the only one to survive, and by mere inches. It almost seems like a movie, but it is very real. Next time I think you should focus more on what the book does and what makes it unique or exciting to strengthen your post a little bit more. But overall, good job on the post.

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  6. ArjunDecember 20, 2019 at 7:12 AM

    I like how you mentioned that this book changed your perspective on mountain-climbers which shows how impactful the book is. One can see how impactful this book is by your descriptions of how emotional this book is.

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  7. SAhmad DastDecember 20, 2019 at 8:26 AM

    Nice review. Your description of this book makes it sound chilling (that was intentional) and the fact that it is a nonfiction book makes it even more so. I like how you point that this isn't the fault of just one man, but the arrogance of all the guides. The emphasis you place on the fact that the man who tried following the rule and the others die shows how important following that rule is important. Overall nice review.

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  8. anyaktDecember 20, 2019 at 9:22 AM

    Into Thin Air seems like an interesting book that gives insight into what climbing mt everest can be like. I think the aspect of the unanswered questions is particularly intriguing and makes the book possible seem more real and relatable. Maybe I will check it out sometime. Good post!

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