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**Expanded Article**
On June 8, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine made a fateful attempt to summit Mount Everest. Expedition member Noel Odell watched their progress from camp. In a brief clearing, he saw them as tiny black spots moving towards a great rock step. But then the clouds obscured them, and they never returned. Since then, Everest has remained unforgiving. The air at the summit is as thin as that at a commercial jetliner's cruising altitude, and the combination of thin air, moody weather, and typical mountaineering challenges makes it a deadly environment. Bodies like that of "Green Boots" often remain on the slopes for years, becoming macabre landmarks.
Despite this reputation, the events of May 10-11, 1996, stand out. Five people, including two experienced guides, died after ignoring their turnaround times and getting caught in a storm. Jon Krakauer, a surviving climber and journalist, initially wrote an article about his experiences for Outside magazine. Later, he expanded it into the book Into Thin Air. This book has become a classic of outdoor writing, despite counter-publications from other participants. Krakauer's gift for writing allows him to vividly describe the beauties and terrors of the mountainside. The book is compact and briskly paced, with a brief history of mountaineering on Everest and Krakauer's account of his Adventure Consultants expedition. He mostly stays within his own experiences, but also pieces together what happened to those who died when he wasn't present. Krakauer struggles with being both journalist and participant, but generally strikes a good balance. He attributes the disaster to the crowds and the resulting traffic jams on the mountain. The book has faced criticism from some, like Anatoli Boukreev, but with time, the different accounts seem less important. Everest is an inherently dangerous place, and it's hard to blame anyone for errors in judgment when hypoxia and other factors come into play. Dying on Everest is a privilege few can afford, and those who attempt it are on an ego trip to some extent. But there's also something mysterious and awe-inspiring about their determination to reach the summit, even as time and breath run out. Krakauer shows that the cost of Everest cannot be measured in money alone, and that the price of life is death.
On June 8, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine made a fateful attempt to summit Mount Everest. Expedition member Noel Odell watched their progress from camp. In a brief clearing, he saw them as tiny black spots moving towards a great rock step. But then the clouds obscured them, and they never returned. Since then, Everest has remained unforgiving. The air at the summit is as thin as that at a commercial jetliner's cruising altitude, and the combination of thin air, moody weather, and typical mountaineering challenges makes it a deadly environment. Bodies like that of "Green Boots" often remain on the slopes for years, becoming macabre landmarks.
Despite this reputation, the events of May 10-11, 1996, stand out. Five people, including two experienced guides, died after ignoring their turnaround times and getting caught in a storm. Jon Krakauer, a surviving climber and journalist, initially wrote an article about his experiences for Outside magazine. Later, he expanded it into the book Into Thin Air. This book has become a classic of outdoor writing, despite counter-publications from other participants. Krakauer's gift for writing allows him to vividly describe the beauties and terrors of the mountainside. The book is compact and briskly paced, with a brief history of mountaineering on Everest and Krakauer's account of his Adventure Consultants expedition. He mostly stays within his own experiences, but also pieces together what happened to those who died when he wasn't present. Krakauer struggles with being both journalist and participant, but generally strikes a good balance. He attributes the disaster to the crowds and the resulting traffic jams on the mountain. The book has faced criticism from some, like Anatoli Boukreev, but with time, the different accounts seem less important. Everest is an inherently dangerous place, and it's hard to blame anyone for errors in judgment when hypoxia and other factors come into play. Dying on Everest is a privilege few can afford, and those who attempt it are on an ego trip to some extent. But there's also something mysterious and awe-inspiring about their determination to reach the summit, even as time and breath run out. Krakauer shows that the cost of Everest cannot be measured in money alone, and that the price of life is death.