Into Thin Air: Gripping Account of Ascending Mount Everest

Have you ever felt the urge to accomplish some feat of physical endurance?

Maybe you have considered skydiving? Or perhaps the thought of bungi –jumping has crossed your mind from time to time?

Author Jon Krakauer had an obsession of a different sort. He wanted to scale the world’s highest mountain peak. His goal became a reality on May 10, 1996, when he reached the 29,028- foot summit of Mount Everest. In this excellent book, Into Thin Air, Krakauer gives a personal account of his ascent to the top of the mountain, describing in vivid detail the obstacles, fear, and tragedies that came along with this daring feat of human endurance.

Basic Contents of This Book:

There are 21 chapters in “Into Thin Air”. They are as follows:

1. Everest Summit, May 10, 1996, 29,028 feet
2. Dehra Dun, India, 2,234 feet
3. Over Northern India, March 29, 1996, 30,000 feet
4. Phakding, March 31, 1996, 9,186 feet
5. Lobuje, April 8, 1996, 16,200 feet
6. Everest Base Camp, April 12, 1996, 17,600 feet
7. Camp One, April 13, 1996, 19,500 feet
8. Camp One, April 16, 1996, 19,500 feet
9. Camp Two, April 28, 1996, 21,300 feet
10. Lhotse Face, April 29, 1996, 23,400 feet
11. Base Camp, May 6, 1996, 17,600 feet
12. Camp Three, May 9, 1996, 24,000 feet
13. Southeast Ridge, May 10, 1996, 27,600 feet
14. Summit, May 10, 1996, 29,028 feet
15. Summit, May 10, 1996, 29,028 feet
16. South Col, May 11, 1996, 26,000 feet
17. Summit, May 10, 1996, 29,028 feet
18. Northeast Ridge, May 10, 1996, 28,550 feet
19. South Col, May 11, 1996, 26,000 feet
20. The Geneva Spur, May 12, 1996, 25,900 feet
21. Everest Base Camp, May 13, 1996, 17,600 feet
Epilogue- Seattle, November 29, 1996, 270 feet

Krakauer begins his account by describing his euphoric, yet exhaustive and disoriented cognizance that he felt when he finally reached the summit of Mount Everest. He felt a sense of accomplishment, but he was so tired, so sore, and so sick that he couldn’t summon the energy to celebrate. He hadn’t slept in more than 2 days. He was constantly coughing and short of breath, and he had two separated ribs. Under these circumstances, it was difficult to be demonstrative in his feeling of accomplishment.

In the next few chapters, Krakauer details his arrival in India and the preparation for the climb ahead. The leader of the team was Rob Hall, a native of New Zealand and an expert in mountain climbing. Hall had already led several successful expeditions in the past, so Krakauer and the rest of the team felt confident that they were all in good hands.

Now, it was time to start climbing. Up, up, up they went, hiking through frozen grounds and vast wilderness. There were several camps along the way where the team would stop, refuel with some heavy food, get a little sleep, and then wake up the next day and trudge forward and upward, to the top of Mt. Everest. There were a total of 13 members of the Rob Hall crew and each member was determined to make it to the highest point on earth, regardless of what obstacles might get in the way.

Taking on this type of task takes a lot of courage, stamina, and perseverance. But even when these qualities are in abundant supply, there are still going to be some unexpected occurrences that get in the way of achieving the goal of reaching the summit. The most obvious obstacle is, of course, the volatile weather conditions. When you reach altitudes like those approaching Mt. Everest, the weather conditions can be so harsh and so quick to change that human progress is often forced to a dead halt. Krakauer mentions several occasions where the temperature was fairly warm during the day, with the sun shining brightly in the sky. Then, when the sun started to go down, the mercury would plunge 50 degrees or more, with a strong wind blowing that would chill your body right to the bone! Snowstorms, avalanches, and other conditions were a frequent occurrence. The crew never really knew what to expect next. Numbed faces, frozen limbs, frostbitten hands and feet, and shortness of breath from low oxygen levels were just some of the obstacles that stood between the climbers and the summit of Mt. Everest.

Not all of the crew members made it to the top of Mount Everest. Several of them, including the leader, Rob Hall, perished in their attempt to scale the mountain. The other members who lost their lives in this year (including people from other expeditions) were Andy Harris, Doug Hansen, Yasuko Namba, Ngawang Sherpa, Scott Fischer, Chen Yu- nan, Bruce Herrod, and Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa.

Final Thoughts:

Krakauer really knows how to write a suspenseful, gripping book! He describes the scenes in graphic detail, making you feel like you’re right there with him, feeling the extreme cold; the physical exhaustion; the sense of accomplishment; the helplessness against nature; and the terrible grief when he loses his friends.

You can sense a feeling of guilt, on the part of the author. He seems to be struggling over his possible responsibility in the death of some of his fellow climbers. There was an occasion where he saw one of the other climbers trapped in ice and snow, but with the harsh conditions, Krakauer decided not to try to rescue them. Could he have done something, anything, differently that might have resulted in the saving of one of these lives? Krakauer doesn’t delve deeply into this issue, but you can tell that it’s bothering his conscience. Personally, I think he should forgive himself and I don’t believe that anyone else should criticize him for his actions or lack thereof. Given the circumstances, how can anyone say, with certainty, that he/she would have been able to rescue any of these climbers? With the extremely high altitude and the inadequate oxygen, a person becomes disoriented and confused, and doesn’t always behave or think in a rational way. On top of that, the weather conditions were unbearable. If I was in a situation like this, where my own life was at risk, my fingers were falling off, my eyelids were freezing shut, and I was gasping for air, I think I would have been forced to choose saving myself before saving anyone else. And since I wasn’t there on this expedition and I have never experienced anything like this, I don’t feel that I’m qualified to criticize Krakauer for his lack of action.

Taking on this type of feat might seem a little crazy to most of us. Why would anyone risk live and limb just to say that they stood on top of the world? The cost is a little outrageous, too. The nation of Nepal charges at least $10,000 per climber, for permission to attempt the climb. And if you make your attempt as part of an expedition team (like most climbers do), you can expect to pay tens of thousands more dollars (Hall charged $65,00 per climber), for the guidance and services of a professional.

This book is available in both paperback and hardcover editions. The paperback version is the one that I read. The hardcover version was first published in 1997 and the paperback version in 1998. The paperback sells for $7.99, and I have seen it advertised in used book circles for only 95 cents.

One small criticism that I have of this book is with its chapters. First of all, there is no table of contents. The book begins with an introduction, followed by a personnel list of the members of several different expeditions, and then a set of pictures, showing some of the members of Krakauer’s expedition. It then goes directly into chapter 1, without any table of contents. Also, I don’t like the naming of some of the chapters. I like the way the author shows the altitude level that he was at, for each chapter, because it helps to place the reader in the right frame of mind. But I don’t like the blandness of the titles of the chapters, and the fact that he repeats some of the chapter titles. These are minor issues, I know, but I still felt they were at least worth pointing out.

“Into Thin Air” is an excellent book that combines grisly conditions with human determination and adventure, to result in a gripping account of courage and, ultimately, human tragedy. This book won the 1997 National Book Critics Circle Award for General Non- Fiction for its excellent writing. It’s an intense book, the type you won’t be able to put down until you finish. It gives new meaning to the old saying: Truth is often stranger then fiction.