An amazing, honest personal account of Mt. Everest disaster that reads like edge-of-the-seat thriller. It certainly put me off climbing anything that is higher than the highest point of Florida (Google it!!).
Highly recommend!

I read this year's ago and thought that it was a great read. But now I'm not into reading books about climbing mountains as a sport. It is 1 thing to take a hike, another...

But I will add this. What kind of person can take a hike up a mountain where he or she sees a lot of dead bodies, And when they see that someone is in serious trouble and needs help, they walk on? I do not want to know that person.

I am just one of many readers. When I give this book two stars it most accurately answers the question how did I react to the book. This is how I rate all my books. This book was OK! That is what 2 stars is said to mean on GR! That does not mean it was bad. I will explain why I have reacted as I did so hopefully you can more easily determine how you may react to the book. Why all this explanation? Because I am thinking that if I only give this book two stars that will give an unfavorable impression, and it isn’t a bad book. I am tired of everyone rating books favorably when that is not really how they reacted to the book. You see it all the time. People say they liked the book, and then give it a five star rating. A five star book is supposed to be amazing. You are supposed to leave a five star book dazzled. Sorry for that long-winded explanation, but this has been bugging me.

Jon Kraukauer is a journalist who has written for the sports magazine Outside. His climb of Mt. Everest was initiated by a request for an article on the commercialization of the mountain, the highest in the world. Such an article preceded the writing of this book, and it sets the tone for the book. I was unaware that the commercialization of Mt. Everest would be a central theme of the book. I was unaware that the book would be directed toward mountaineers and sport enthusiasts, that being because it grew from the article in the sports magazine. If you are a mountaineer yourself, you will be more interested in the detailed exposition of who has climbed which mountains and when and with which equipment. (I prefer trekking and I am not gear oriented.) The history of climbing is interesting, but here you get a rundown of each climber’s accomplishments and failures. I couldn’t keep all the different “big names” straight, and there are many, both in this excursion and in the numerous others mentioned. This information interrupts the telling of what happened in the 1996 Everest disaster, which is what drew me to the book. Who were at fault? Why did it happen What can be done to improve safety? Is there one answer? No, of course not. Sandy Pittman/Sandra Hill has written articles and spoken of her view of what happened. There is also Anatoli Boukreev’s book : The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest. In his book, Krakauer clearly criticizes Boukreev, but it was Boukreev who saved Sandy’s life. All three were there, along with so many others.

Climbing Mt. Everest has become a business, a commodity to be sold, and on that day when the storm hit there were so many people there were bottlenecks and queues up there near the summit. Mountaineering, at least on Everest, is not a solitary sport! So at the bottom lies also my dislike of “the crowd” and of a sport that seems to me ridiculous. If people choose to put their lives at risk, well then they better be prepared for the consequences. Krakauer’s belief that it might be worthwhile to forbid the use of bottled gas, which enables all too many to attempt what they are untrained to do, is not a bad idea. How do you enforce that?! Do you deter people through exorbitant fees? All of this is discussed. Very little of the book is exciting, and at the end I don’t know if I have any clear answers.

The author narrates the book himself. Not a bad job, but I did laugh at how he pronounced the Swedish mountaineer, Göran Kropp’s, first name. Someone could have told him. It is such a common name. It made me wonder if he pronounced other names incorrectly, the Sherpas’ for example.

Finally, I think this book should have made clear what draws people to the mountaineering sport. I still don’t understand that. Krakauer just says it has an attraction for some and once you are hooked, well you are hooked! I want to understand what they feel, see, experience. I only saw the business side of the whole thing. He states that the view at Everest is unexceptional, and at high altitudes you can easily destroy your body! So why do they do it? This book never answered that question for me. It cannot be for fame or recognition because so many do not succeed. So what is it?


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Into the Wild 4 stars

I can't even imagine how Jon Krakauer was able to write this story which came out
in 2007, just one year after the deadly expedition in May 1996....where nine climbers
were killed on Mount Everest.

Krakauer is an astonishing journalist, and writer. His telling 'this' story was particularly
compelling being an experienced climber himself. He was physically there when the tragedy took place.

"Descending from Camp Four after the storm, at 25,000 feet, Krakauer turned to look back
at the upper reaches of the peak, where his friends, Hall, Harris, Hansen, and Fischer
has lost their lives. Nimba had perished on the South Col, just twenty minutes from shelter".

In the author's notes at the end of the book, Krakauer mentions an article he wrote for
'Outside', which angered several of the people and hurt the friends and relatives of some Everest victims.
He says, "My intent in the magazine piece, and to even a greater degree in this book, was
to tell what happened on the mountain as accurately as honestly as possible, and to
do it in a sensitive and respectful manner".

This book is not about blame - but about understanding what happened. Krakauer
admits his own mistakes and points out mistakes of others. For example - much is
mentioned of Anatoli Boukreev's actions on the mountain. (senior guide- the only climber who had climbed Mt. Everest previously). Krakauer praises numerous of his heroic actions.
He also mentions real concerns he had of guided ascents up Everest, the use of oxygen
by guides, the inexperience of people who paid $65, 000 each to be
escorted to the world's highest peak.

I said in my first sentence - yeah I couldn't imagine how Jon Krakauer wrote this book,
when he himself was in the midst of a traumatic experience. With feelings of
guilt, he went back to interview other survivors to get the truth ---
BUT.... What I CAN imagine is the rip-roar there must have been when this book first came out.
Ugly attacks of blaming- judging- ( negative attacks on Krakauer -- self serving money gambit), and a lot of egos thinking they know "more to the story"...
People like to blame.....and it's a shame!!

This a tragic story -- real human beings did the best they could in unexpected circumstances.

Jon Krakauer did a remarkable job writing this book --- and I'm glad he did.

***NO SPOILERS***

May 10, 1996 was a very, very bad day to be climbing to “the roof of the world.” On that day, journalist and avid mountain climber Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest with a group as part of a guided expedition. He was on assignment for “Outside” magazine and was one of the few in his group to survive this expedition after a ferocious storm hit out of the blue. Into Thin Air is as much a meticulous detailing of this tragedy as it is a personal catharsis: “ . . . what happened on the mountain was gnawing my guts out. I thought that writing the book might purge Everest from my life.”

For those who know little to nothing about climbing Mt. Everest (or mountain climbing in general) Into Thin Air is a good place to start. There’s a lot that’s covered, and Krakauer’s a very well-organized writer who didn’t skimp on the details necessary to bring to life the reality of high-altitude climbing. It’s pretty grim, at best: Mt. Everest climbers are guaranteed to encounter plenty of corpses on their journey to the summit (there are now more than 235 on the mountain); they must travel across crevasses via metal ladders; and they’ll struggle for breath more and more the higher they climb. The harshest reality? That one in ten dies. This climb could be ultimate adventure or agonizing death. Krakauer explained all this in a highly engaging, vivid manner. At no time is any of this dry, and even for those who aren’t outdoors types, Into Thin Air will prove compelling.

Something Krakauer made clear early on is how very crucial adequate acclimatization is. No climber arrives at the foot of the mountain and just starts climbing. Climbing is done in a series of organized phases, with climbers climbing to and resting for a few days at a series of five camps located at increasing altitudes on the mountain.

He also gave lots of attention to the growing commercialization of climbing Mt. Everest, and it’s fascinating to read about. This awe-inspiring mountain may be a natural wonder, but access to it is far from free. Anyone who wishes to climb it must fork over tens of thousands of dollars, and most climb as part of guided expeditions.

Though Krakauer is a journalist, his style is never unfeeling or distant. Intermingled with climbing facts and thorough portraits of the other climbers on the mountain are his own musings, fears, and personal admissions. A few times he wondered whether he was being snobby in his judgments of the others in his group; he described crushing, altitude-induced headaches so excruciating that even moving his eyeballs hurt; he struggled greatly with survivor’s guilt after so many of his new friends died hideous deaths. At one point, thinking about a missing friend that he’d spent an hour searching for in vain: “I fell to my knees with dry heaves, retching over and over as the icy wind blasted against my back.”

Krakauer was so forthright and unafraid to share his lowest moments and the feelings of guilt that consumed him that I also felt that anguish. There’s simply no way not to empathize with him. To my disbelief, some critics have called Krakauer “cowardly” and “selfish.” I can only wonder exactly how much better they'd behave under the same horrendous circumstances.

On the surface, Into Thin Air is a story about mountain climbing and tragedy, but deep down it’s an emotional survival story. It has a universal resonance. All lovers of nonfiction--outdoorsy or not--will want to read this.

I read this the first time when it came out in paperback. I did not recall too many of the details, except that, sadly, 8 people died.

By then, the mountain had become a crowded tourist attraction that drew many with dubious motives. One was a NYC socialite whose incompetence endangered the other climbers. For large stretches she was literally dragged up the mountain by one of the Sherpas and would have died on the way down if not for special treatment.

Once a big storm hit, it became utter chaos and was too much for many to cope with.

This is a riveting account of the Mt. Everest disaster back in 1996. It provides a wealth of information about climbs of this type as well as the physical tolls on the climbers.

The only reason I've rated it a 3 is because I question the motive of the author in writing the story. The fact that I'm uncertain is his doing. Was he trying to convince me he did all he could do on that climb? I wish he had faced this question dead on.

Uff vaya relato y que tragedia!!
Muy bien contado por Krakauer ya que fue parte activa en dicha escalada y madre mía que suplicio.
La verdad es que está tan bien relatado que hasta parece que sientes el frío a medida que escalan y las penalidades que pasaron, tanto en la subida como sobre todo en la bajada al monte Everest.
Si es que aunque uno vaya preparado e intente controlar las condiciones climatológicas,, el clima puede ser impredecible y en ocasiones se juntan diversos factores y algo de mala suerte o bien decisiones poco claras (lo cual es normal a 7500 metros..) y ocurren estas tragedias, como lo que ocurrió la primavera del 1996.
El único pero que le pongo, que a veces resultaba algo liosa la lectura, ya que aparecen una importante cantidad de escaladores de distintos grupos que intentaban la ascensión, y una veces a algunos los nombra por el nombre, y otras por el apellido, y claro, eso daba pie a algo de confusión.
Valoración: 8.5/10
Sinopsis: Mal de altura se ha convertido en una lectura obligada para todo amante de la literatura de montaña, de aventura o de viajes. Un best seller internacional tanto por la calidad de la historia como por el acierto con el que su autor, Jon Krakauer, nos narra lo sucedido.

Qué más se puede decir de una tragedia que conmocionó el mundo de la montaña incluso transcendiéndolo… quizá sólo que merece la pena empaparse de la intensidad de las palabras y el estilo gráfico del autor que consiguen atrapar al lector y nos llevan en este viaje literario hasta el corazón mismo de lo inevitable.

Mal de altura se lee como una buena novela, pero no es ficción. Jon Krakauer partió hacia el Himalaya en 1996 para escribir un reportaje sobre la creciente explotación comercial del Everest. Su intención era analizar los motivos de que tanta gente esté dispuesta a someterse a riesgos antes reservados a alpinistas profesionales. Tras coronar la cima más alta de la Tierra, Krakauer comenzó el peligroso descenso, pero no todos lo consiguieron; hubo muertes, hubo heridos y mucha controversia. Esta obra suscitó tanta polémica que Krakauer se vio obligado a escribir un post scriptum de réplica, incluido en esta edición.
El tiempo se detiene mientras Krakauer perfila y relata conmovedoramente lo sucedido.

# 20. Un libro ambientado en la nieve. Reto Popsugar 2024.

„Wszystko za Everest” jest jednym z najważniejszych klasyków literatury górskiej (jeśli w ogóle nie najważniejszym). Krakauer z niezwykłą precyzją opisuje katastrofę na Evereście z 1996 roku, kiedy to trzy komercyjne wyprawy zaatakowały górę i w wyniku nagłego załamania pogody prawie dwadzieścia osób zostało uwięzionych pod szczytem. Jest to opowieść o tyle przejmująca, że sam autor był jednym z członków wyprawy kierowanej przez Roba Halla i — jako jednemu z nielicznych — udało mu się wrócić z Himalajów żywym.

Z początku wyjątkowo mi się ta książka dłużyła, ale trochę zrzucam to na mój sposób czytania — sięgałam po nią raczej z doskoku, a potem trudno było mi skojarzyć powiązania między opisywanymi postaciami (a pierwsza połowa to właśnie zarys ówczesnej sytuacji na Evereście; przedstawienie członków każdego z zespołów i relacji, jakie między nimi panowały). Pierwsza połowa "Wszystko za Everest" jest bardzo spokojna ze względu na to, że Krakauer zdecydował się na drobiazgowe przedstawienie całej wyprawy od początku do końca — ma to sens i nie warto się zniechęcać. Od drugiej za to ciężko się oderwać i czyta się ją jak najbardziej wciągającą powieść. Oczywiście wokół książki pojawiło mnóstwo kontrowersji, z których autor tłumaczy się w posłowiu, ale nie zmienia to faktu, że jest to najlepszy i najprawdziwszy zapis wydarzeń z 10 maja 1996 roku.

Ale „Wszystko za Everest” to nie tylko opowieść o jednym z najbardziej dramatycznych momentów w historii Himalajów, to także mnóstwo ciekawych przemyśleń autora na temat sensu wspinaczki komercyjnej i relacji między człowiekiem a naturą.

I honestly feel weird rating this because it is a personal account of a very tragic event, but this really didn't do much for me. It wasn't a bad book, but it definitely wasn't for me.

My 5 star rating reflects both the quality of the book and a lifetime passion for mountains. I've devoured in the past all books and magazine articles I could find, following climbers from Cerro Torres to Eiger or Matterhorn, Trango Towers, Kilimanjaro or McKinley. The Jewels in the Crown have always been the Himalayan peaks, with their musical names promising adventure and fame to the bold and determined climber: Nanga Parbat, Makalu, Annapurna, Kangchenjunga, Chomolungma, Lhotse, Dhaulagiri, Gasherbrum, Nanda Devi, Nuptse - the final challenges in the attempt to eliminate the white spots from the world maps. Jon Krakauer's account of the 1996 doomed attempt at climbing the highest mountain in the world as part of a commercial expedition is a worthy addition to my Mountain themed bookshelf.

I didn't pick up the book in order to find out the ultimate truth about the events that culminated in one of the deadliest climbing days at high altitude. I was already aware of the numerous controversies surrounding the publishing of his reportage, and I decided to be circumspect in accepting the facts as presented. This is an eye-witness account of somebody who has been in the thick of it, directly involved in decisions that meant life and death for members of the summit teams on that unlucky day. It probably has its share of finger pointing and self serving selective presentation of facts. A second source of interference that I detected came from the fact that the story was comissioned by Krakauer publishers with a predetermined theme, and I suspect that they had their say in the final version of the book, especially regarding the dangers of commercial guided expeditions and amateurs promised a safe climb to the top.

My reservations about the book were soon forgotten as I become immersed in the day to day grind of preparing for the crucial moments in the "death zone" - acclimatization ascents, health hazards at base camp and above, the interplay between members of the team and between different expeditions. Krakauer puts these preparation weeks to good use, sketching detailed portraits of the main actors in the drama, getting the reader familiar with them and with the technical aspects of high altitude climbing, and letting the later chapters be focused on the unfolding events on the peak and in the aftermath of the devastating tempest that left all previous planning and training irrelevant.

Krakauer training as a journalist is visible in the clear cut prose, the depth of his research and the high emotional impact of the human interest stories behind the cold facts that left 9 people dead. One of the things that drives home to me the merciless nature of the Himalayas and the devastating effect of the lack of oxygen and the physical exhaustion of the climbers is the casual mention of climbers passing by frozen corpses on their trail to the summit, bodies that have lain there for decades in some cases, and that nobody tries to bring down to Base Camp because of the risks the rescuers are exposed to. 8000 m above sea level is called the "death zone" for a reason : humans are not meant to live here, and the body will refuse to function, no matter how strong the will of the climber is, or how good his training.

Krakauer and his team mates are not inconsiderate of the risks, in fact they are well aware of them from past ascensions and numerous accounts of previous expeditions. The author does a good job here exploring the motivations, himself included, that drive people to put their lives at risk: fame, the call of adventure, the pride of belonging to an elite group, curiosity, self-fulfillment, commercial interests, escape from the tediousness of a life without real challenges, and so on.

He also speaks clearly about what a high altitude climb really feels like : you have no time to admire the landscape or to think deep thoughts about existence and fulfilled dreams; you are too busy dragging thin air into your lungs three times for every step forward, too exhausted after three nights without sleep, after weeks without proper food, your brain slows down for lack of oxygen and your eyes are blinded by snow and ultraviolet light. Every hour spent in the "death zone" increases the risk of remaining there for ever. Here's what Rob Hall, the most famous guide on the mountain in 1996, had to say :

With enough determination, any bloody idiot can get up this hill. The trick is to get back down alive

Jon Krakauer may be subjective in what he included in his account, but he convinced me as a reader that he was there on top of the world, and he survived to come back with a warning about overestimating ones prowess, disrespecting the mountain and taking risks with people's lifes. His lesson about excessive commercial interests and lack of organization between different teams has not been learned: sadly, just while I was in the middle of the book, I saw an item on the news that on 21 May 2012, 4 more people died on Everest, not in accidents, but due to exhaustion. Apparently 150 people tried to climb the summit on the same day, producing a traffic congestion on the most dangerous part of the climb.

I will end my report, with a quote from when Jon first saw the peak, on the trail to base camp :

The summit looked so cold, so high, so impossibly far away. I felt as though I might as well be on an expedition to the moon. As I turned away to continue walking up the trail, my emotions oscillated between nervous anticipation and a nearly overwhelming sense of dread.

From the first experience on Mt. McKinley, Krakauer lets the reader understand how idiosyncratic and crazed many of those who climb the world's highest peaks are. Do you fantasize about roping yourself and trusting your life to a line of fellow climbers? Can you contemplate the degenerative effects on your body of trying to exist in the environment 5 miles above sea level? Is this a team sport or an opportunity for individual triumph? Krakauer masterfully puts you in the scene and makes it real.