I'm just going to come out and say it: I just don't get it.

Even after reading this book, I just cannot understand why anybody would want to climb Everest. If nobody had ever done it before, I could understand it from the perspective of exploration and new discoveries, but this is a mountain that has now been climbed so often it has a serious garbage problem. From Jon Krakauer's descriptions in this book, it actually sounds like a bit of a shithole (or the opposite of a hole, I suppose).

Krakauer lists several different, contradictory statistics on how likely you are to die climbing Everest, but they were all far too high in my opinion, especially for something that's essentially a pointless exercise. I mean, I do understand that it's impossible to live a life free from risk... but there's a big difference between necessary risks and playing Russian Roulette and climbing Everest seems no different to me than pointing a gun at your head with one bullet in the chamber and pulling the trigger. It serves no more purpose to society and is just as dangerous.

Ah, maybe I'm just a grumpy old bastard with no sense of adventure! Who knows? However, when reading about this horrible tragedy on the slopes of Everest, the fact that their being there in the first place was essentially completely unnecessary just compounds the tragedy for me.

Krakauer certainly brings the whole affair to life; when reading this book I actually felt chilled to the bone at times. It was a harrowing read and a powerful one. I actually cried at his descriptions of how his teammates lost their lives.

There were aspects of his writing I wasn't that keen on. For example, I wish he hadn't kept referring to people by their first names one time, then their surnames the next time they were mentioned and then, in one case, even their nickname. If he'd been consistent in referring to them just by one name throughout I wouldn't have had to keep flipping to the list of participants at the front of the book to remind myself who he was talking about. Maybe the fault is with my memory rather than his writing; benefit of the doubt and all that.

I also didn't like the lengthy post script that dealt with his battle with one of the other climbers about the veracity of their different accounts. I can see the need to mention it, but not at such great length! A whole tenth of the book is taken up by this bickering-heavy post script! It was ugly and left me with a bad taste in my mouth as I finished the book.

All in all, I'm glad I read this, but I very much doubt I'd ever want to read it again. Such a senseless loss of human life with, as the author himself states, absolutely no lessons learned from it. Tragic.

My overall take is that ambition outweighs experience for a large number of people attempting to climb Mt. Everest. It was astonishing to learn just how many people arrive at base camp having little to no experience, inadequately provisioned, or lacking appropriate attire. One person notes that they are wearing brand new, not broken in, boots and acknowledges that this is not wise.

According to Jon Krakauer, most climbers are seeking "a state of grace" rather than fame, money or simply thrill seeking.

Krakauer's wife Linda accepts that climbing is a "crucial, if perplexing part of his life." Linda doesn't climb herself. After falling and breaking her arm and injuring her back she has let climbing go.

One thing that has always struck me is the lack of color and general bleakness of the surroundings as you climb higher on Everest. I hadn't really considered the conditions of the camps as adding to the bleakness. However, Krakauer describes in detail the squalor of the camp with nothing to read but the nutrition labels on canned goods.

The weight restrictions for their Everest expedition is so strict that climbers couldn't include books, magazines or other reading material, which might add both color and diversion in the downtimes. I can't imagine being without a book. Indeed, Krakauer writes, "there is nothing to look at but the bleak confusion inside the tent and the scaly bearded countenance of one's companion."

Another thing I learned is that the effect of the high altitude and exhaustion causes the climbers to be inattentive to safety precautions. Regarding the effect of high altitude on the brain, Krakauer writes, "one's intellect becomes dull and unresponsive."

Additionally, I was surprised by the queue of climbers waiting to assail down a sheer cliff face. I hadn't imagined that such a wild place could be so crowded.

Later, Krakauer discovers that "our mess tent [...] had been transformed into a field hospital." Sherpas bring in the Taiwanese climber Makalu Gau and the doctors begin "examining his frozen hands and feet which had a dull whitish sheen like a dirty bathroom sink." They exclaim that it is the worst case of frostbite they have seen.

When asked by one of the doctors if he can photograph Gau's severely injured hands and feet, "the Taiwanese climber consented with a broad smile; like a soldier displaying battle wounds, he seemed almost proud of his gruesome injuries." He will later undergo surgery to remove fingers and reconstruct his nose.

To conclude: "Climbing mountains will never be a safe, predictable rule-bound enterprise. This is an activity that idealizes risk-taking. The sport's most celebrated figures have always been those who stick their necks out the farthest and manage to get away with it."

While I may appreciate their drive and ambition, however I cannot relate to the risk-taking factor.

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

n  “Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics, and others with a shaky hold on reality.”n

n  n

Welcome to one of Kelly’s creepy obsessions! (Advance apologies - this might get rambly.) Okay, so I’m totally obsessed with all things Everest and CAN. NOT. WAIT. to see the movie that details the same tragic events which are covered in this book (even though just watching the preview in IMAX 3-D made me have diarrhea). I have spent the past month watching EVERYTHING Everest-related on Netflix and You Tube. (Note: I highly recommend the television series Everest: Beyond the Limit as well as Ultimate Survival: Everest – unfortunately the IMAX Everest documentary which was filmed during this fateful 1996 expedition didn’t end up so great. Kudos to the filmmakers for attempting to produce a final product, but really once you’ve watched 8 of your fellow climbers die your heart probably isn’t in the project so much.)

Anyway, back to my bizarre fangirl squeeing. Because I’m ignorant I had no clue that Into Thin Air was an Everest book or that it was THE Everest book detailing the storm of the century . . .

n  n

(Note #2: The film is the same story, but the rights to Krakauer’s book were not purchased in order to make it – it’s a conglomeration of all of the survivors’ memories.) I had read Into the Wild and enjoyed Krakauer’s ability to spin a tale, but wasn’t thrilled with the story as a whole so I put his name on the backburner of authors I would read in the future should I come across him. Then everyone started reading Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town which brought him back to the forefront and me searching for his books – which leads to long story long HOLY SHIT HE WROTE AN EVEREST BOOK?!?!?!?!?!

Please note I have zero desire to ever attempt to climb Mt. Everest (or anything higher than a flight of stairs). EVER. First, I’m fat and have resigned myself to the fact that I will always be at least a little bit so. Second, I’m terrified of heights. We’re talking I can’t climb a stepladder. And third, EVEREST. Seriously. You know what you die of on Everest? Your BRAIN F-ING SWELLING TO THE POINT WHERE YOUR EYEBALLS BULGE OUT OF YOUR HEAD. Either that or you drown on your own lung juices. Drowning in water terrifies me, drowning because I was dumb enough to attempt to climb to the height of where a jumbo jet flies is beyond my comprehension. All that being said, I did the next best thing to really make me feel part of the action – I read this book while walking at a 30% incline on my treadmill. Just like being there I’m sure . . .

n  n

I can never wrap my brain around the fact that people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to go on a vacation where there is a one in four chance of dying rather than reaching the summit. That’s cray. I also am one of the nutters who, although totally obsessed with the climbing of Everest, doesn’t really want anyone doing it. Everest is one of the natural wonders in the world – and due to the “cool factor” that one gets should they reach make it safely to the top and back down again it is also the home of 10 tons of garbage and heaping pyramids of human waste. It’s also a place where inexperienced adventure seeking overgrown children think they can buy their way to the top, but as Rob Hall (one of the expedition leaders who lost his life to the mountain) said . . .

n  “With enough determination, any bloody idiot can get UP this hill. The trick is to get back down alive.”n

For a price of between $50,000 to $100,000 nearly anyone can attempt to make the climb and many believe the hiring of Sherpas and the hopes of being “short-roped” if the going gets tough will let them achieve their dream. While Krakauer was lucky enough to be matched up with some experienced climbers (between Rob Hall and Scott Fischer’s groups there was TONS of publicity/advertising money at stake so they needed everyone to summit safely in order to promote their expedition companies) they were still a rag-tag team of climbers that mixed expedition leaders, guides, sherpas, a lawyer, several doctors, a personnel director, a publisher, a postal worker and a journalist together. The reality of an Everest expedition is this - once you’re at altitude and the shit hits the fan. . .

n  “You might as well be on the moon.”n

And with the price being one that the wealthy can easily afford (or that the middle-class can save a lifetime for in order to achieve the biggest bucketlist item out there), Mt. Everest doesn’t even have to throw the curveball of bad weather. This . . . .

n  n

is often times the kiss of death. With the summit visable from this vantage point, climbers are nearly impossible to turn around – leading to a greater chance of hypothermia, frostbite, not making the descent before dark, running out of oxygen, etc. In my opinion, it should cost a million dollars per person to climb Everest. That would be enough money for clean-up and deter the wannabe super(wo)men from attempting the climb. Because seriously, while this book was fascinating in a “watching a trainwreck” type of way – it should have served as Exhibit A of why massive changes in the rules/regulations regarding Everest needs to happen.

Recommended to anyone who likes to experience adventure and defy death from the safety of their reading chair. My only advice is to familiarize yourself with the specific locations which are continually talked about with respect to the Everest climb. Places like the Lhotse Face, Khumbu Icefall or the Hillary Step. It’s easy to forget the danger that is the Khumbu Icefall if you don’t know that this is what it looks like . . .

n  n

The beginning of this book was so slow and bogged down by stories and research about Mount Everest. While I found it interesting, it constantly took me out of Kraukauer's journey to the summit and the tragedy that was about to unfold. Once we got about halfway through the book to where they were making an attempt at the summit, I absolutely flew through those pages and read half the book in one night. I read the Book of the Month edition, so there was a postscript written by Kraukauer in 1999 about The Climb, which was another account by a guide on the mountain during the same tragedy. Kraukauer's perspective was well-research but also very tragic and traumatic. I'm interested to see the other perspective on what happened, but I'm very happy I finally read this book!

4.3

Why did I read this book? Because it was there...that is, I went to the bookstore and it was there on the sale shelf. This book did everything possible to dissuade me from becoming a mountain climber. Mountains that you cannot hike up in shorts while walking your pet spaniel, should be admired from afar

What a read to start 2018! I enjoyed the majority of this, and I'll admit I fell down a bit of a black hole when it came to the controversy behind Krakauer's perspective. Review will be up tomorrow! :)

I am rating this based upon Krakauer’s writing style, not based on the book subject. I am too close to the subject to give it an accurate review.

Like the other books by Krakauer, that I have read, it tries to be very descriptive and give points of view from many of the books subjects.

And after reading this memoir, I want to read his memoir about the Eiger.

Memorable in a heartbreaking kind of way!

I have never read a non-fiction which was literally unputdownable, the way this book was. I just couldnt keep it aside for a minute and finished reading it in 2 days! I dont remember finishing a non-fiction that fast. Now it is one of my all-time favourites.

I love to travel and I am adventurous at heart (even though I have never done anything adventurous in my life). As a result, I reallyyyyy liked this book.



"In order to succeed you must be exceedingly driven, but if you're too driven you're likely to die" - a quote from the book.

Lot of reasons for liking it:
-> I love the way he goes into details. He described each and every member of the various expeditions. He told us exactly what sort of a person he/she was, what kind of mountaineering background they had which kind of helped in understanding them.
-> I love the way he gave minute details of the ascent. His book made me realize it was no joke to climb Everest. Each and every challenge they faced at every level would help people understand how difficult it is to scale such a mountain.
-> He talked a lot about the various illnesses or ailments one can face when they are at such a high altitude. HACE and HAPE were something new that I was not aware of earlier.
-> Hats off to brave men : Rob Hall and Andy Harris, who risked their lives to save Doug. Rob's death was very hard to digest. Comparing them with the Japanese team which did not bother to help anyone, makes them kind of heroes eh?
-> He talks about the IMAX team's expedition too. I watched the IMAX video before reading the book and had a fair idea of what happened. They even showed Beck in the video. Even though I knew a lot about the disaster before reading the book, Jon had me engrossed with his great narration.
-> Descent was so scary that even though I knew what happened, I wished that not many must lose their lives.
-> Author's own feelings add weight to the story. Having climbed mountains earlier, he still feels uncertain about getting down safely. This clearly shows how bad the situation was up there.
-> One can easily imagine how high the summit is and how difficult it is to reach Everest's summit by reading this book.
-> I guess it is all about fate though. Nothing is in our hands. Beck survived which itself was surprising to everyone and Hall who could have survived did not.
One thing I learnt after reading this episode is that - anything can happen, anything can go bad even though it has been meticulously planned ahead of time once you are at such a high altitude. So one has to always take a risk when they go mountaineering.

Jon says this which is so true - "The strongest guides in the world are sometimes powerless to save even their own lives"
"Climbing mountains will never be a safe, predictable, rule-bound enterprise"

Updated (10/31/2012):

Watched the movie day before yesterday and it was pretty good. It followed the book very closely but still book is better. The movie missed showing some details present in the book.

I wasn’t particularly interested in mountain climbing, but I quickly got absorbed in this book and obsessed about learning more.

What makes people want to do something like this? The experience is not just incredibly dangerous, but also seems quite miserable, as you are in squalid conditions and sick most of the time. Krakauer talks about how even when he summited, he was so light-headed and exhausted that he didn’t even really feel that happy. He just wanted to get back down the mountain. The book helps you understand the mindset of climbers and why they do this.

One of the tensions climbers have is how on the one hand, there are established safety rules drilled into them. For instance, you need to have a fixed turnaround time, where if you are not within spitting distance of the summit, you turn around, no matter how disappointing it is. But on the other hand, they are incredibly focused and motivated on making it to the summit, and often have the self-confidence (and arrogance) that they have the ability to will their way to their goals, no matter the obstacles. One of the guides in the book, Scott Fischer, told his clients, “it's not the altitude that's important, it's your attitude, bro”. Most of the clients seemed to have the belief that there was nothing that would stop them from summitting.

Rob Hall, another of the guides, was actually quite good at adhering to safety protocols. But he had a day where he let his guard down. He didn't stick to his turnaround time rule. From reading the book and hearing the stories of the climbers, you can see how incredibly difficult it would have been to disappoint his clients and tell them it wasn’t going to happen. But on most days, he probably would have done so. He had a reputation for being strong willed and being able to tell his clients difficult messages they needed to hear for their own safety. But he didn’t do that on summit day, and there were tragic consequences as a result.

The story takes place in 1996, and it seems like the commercialization of climbing Mt. Everest has gotten even more extreme. This New York Times article was interesting, and the photo in there of the long line of climbers pressed up against each other is incredible.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/wo...

I’ll also recommend the movie Everest, made in 2015, which tells this story. Apparently Krakauer didn’t like the movie, though it doesn’t seem to contradict him much. It just tells it from a different perspective. The visuals in the movie are quite stunning, and I thought it was a nice complement to the book.

Jon Krakauer describes his trip to hike to the summit of Mount Everest in Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. It was the spring of 1996 and Outside magazine asked him to write an article about his experience as well as the growing interest with inexperienced hikers traveling to Everest for a summit experience. Fees were ranging around $65k to be a part of a guided expedition. Commercialization had come to Everest.

The first few paragraphs in the introduction grabbed me and sucked me into the story immediately. Among Krakauer's five teammates who reached the top of Everest, four perished in a freak storm that blew in without warning. By the time Krakauer made it to Base Camp, nine climbers from four expeditions were dead and three more lives would be lost within the month.

Krakauer's descriptive prose made me feel as if I was climbing alongside him with temperatures ranging to 100 degrees below zero, hurricane strength winds, and rapidly depleting bottles of oxygen. The impact of high altitudes on breathing, decision making, and mobility can be debilitating and lead to serious injury or death.

I learned many new vocabulary words including cumulonimbus and obdurate.

I looked up how many deaths occurred on Mount Everest in 2023. One article indicated that 13 died and 4 were missing which would be the highest death record if the 4 missing are dead. In 2014, 16 people lost their lives on Everest.

The link below is a photo of the lines of people climbing Mount Everest.

https://content.api.news/v3/images/bi...