How a person acts in a time of panic can determine their courage. It can be difficult to judge a person by their courage. Just like in “the Wizard of Oz.” people from all backgrounds can be courageous by small acts. In Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, Rob Hall showed great courage during his ascent of Everest, and that helped make this tragic expedition end up better than it could have. Rob Hall, the Kiwi guide of the Everest expedition group of Adventure Consultants, was the head guide during the terrible accidents of 1996. He led his team through many obstacles, facing them head on and never faltering until his last moments. Even in his dying breath he didn’t succumb to fear and didn’t want anyone to worry about him. Rob Hall would not leave Doug Hansen alone, even though he knew Hansen would die eventually, and didn’t desert him until there was a 100 percent certainty that Hansen was dead. Even though Hall himself had told all of the Adventure …show more content…
After leaving Hansen, the guide had to lead himself down the mountain, desperately trying to avoid frostbite and death. On his way down, Hall’s oxygen tank was running dangerously low and was covered in ice, which he had to abstain from using too much oxygen and had to de-ice his mask. This takes great strength and perseverance in a situation where most would crack under the pressure. Hall had to make it down the mountain alone and get to his group so he could see his pregnant wife again, He didn’t only have to think about himself in his dying moments but also about his wife back at home carrying his unborn baby girl. While he was dying he sent a message to her telling her that he loves her and everything is going to be alright. In saying these words, he knew he was going to die but he never showed fear and only tried to make everyone else feel better. Rob Hall was not a man to show fear, as fear could lead to
In order to continue climbing Everest, many aspects of climbing need to be improved before more people endanger their lives to try and reach the roof of the world. The guides have some areas that need the most reform. During the ascension of Everest the guides made a plethora mistakes that seemed insignificant but only aided in disaster. The guides first mistake is allowing “any bloody idiot [with enough determination] up” Everest (Krakauer 153). By allowing “any bloody idiot” with no climbing experience to try and climb the most challenging mountain in the world, the guides are almost inviting trouble. Having inexperienced climbers decreases the trust a climbing team has in one another, causing an individual approach to climbing the mountain and more reliance on the guides. While this approach appears fine, this fault is seen in addition to another in Scott Fischer’s expedition Mountain Madness. Due to the carefree manner in which the expedition was run, “clients [moved] up and down the mountain independently during the acclimation period, [Fischer] had to make a number of hurried, unplanned excursions between Base Camp and the upper camps when several clients experienced problems and needed to be escorted down,” (154). Two problems present in the Mountain Madness expedition were seen before the summit push: the allowance of inexperienced climbers and an unplanned climbing regime. A third problem that aided disaster was the difference in opinion in regards to the responsibilities of a guide on Everest. One guide “went down alone many hours ahead of the clients” and went “without supplemental oxygen” (318). These three major issues: allowing anyone up the mountain, not having a plan to climb Everest and differences in opinion. All contributed to the disaster on Everest in
Into Thin Air is a spectacular novel written by the well-celebrated author Jon Krakauer from his true experience. This account on the 1996 Everest tragedy is described through Krakauer’s perspective as events leading up to the tragedy unravels around him. Due to his hysteric state on everest, Krakauer later took much time and effort into interviewing
Being responsible is a huge factor in guiding a mountain climbing team. There are a lot people on each team, and some are more experienced then others, so it takes a lot of coordination and cooperation from everyone. Rob Hall, because of his experience, knew he was responsible for making sure that everyone on his team was prepared for the summit of Everest. With that knowledge Rob Hall utilized his organization skills and "he'd fine-tuned a remarkably effective acclimatization plan" (p.74) that would enable all members of the team to adapt to the scarcity of oxygen in the atmosphere. Along with making sure he had an arrangement for how to acclimatize his team he also managed to consult "with the leaders of all the expeditions planning to climb Everest in the spring," and they agreed on which team "would be responsible for establishing and maintaining a route through the icefall" (p.80). Rob Hall had a very heavy load that he was responsible for as a guide in 1996 and he demonstrated how reliable he was in the way he took care of business using his ability to plan ahead and stay organized.
Throughout history, there have been countless times whenre individuals have courageously fought for change and societal justice. For instance, Gandhi helped India gain their independence, even though the circumstances were extremely risky for him, and could have led to his arrest or even death. However, he continued to persevere through it all, and was able to accomplish great things for his country. Another example is Malala Yousafzai, who promoted the education of girls in her country. Despite the clear threat of the Taliban, she continued to fight hard for her cause. Courage can be defined in many different ways, such as the ability to persevere and accomplish something in a frightening or risky situation. Examples of courage can be seen all around the world. Without courageous people, society would not have been able to improve. Being courageous is difficult, and requires an abundance of dedication and perseverance. It also includes remaining strong, despite the challenges that may occur along the way.
Rob Hall, the leader of adventure consultants, was 35 when he perished within the climb he led. He was always fun, efficient and methodical throughout the novel. Being described as lengthy and athletic Rob Hall led the expedition with a commanding attitude. He was one of the only people Krakauer actually trusted on the mountain as it was described that the climbers put their faith in the guides not each other. This also meant that Hall was incredibly important to the other climbers as well. Hall acts as a sort of father to the climbers while also maintaining a friendly relationship. He was known to make an effort to converse with each of his clients everyday along with pulling more than his fair share of work. Krakauer best describes this with “Hall loved being a guide, and it pained him that some celebrated climbers- including but not limited to sir Edmund Hillary didn’t appreciate how difficult guiding was, or give the profession the respect he felt it deserved” (153). Krakauer said this to show how much Hall really did love what he was doing and always tried to be the very best.
Vulnerability impacts any individual throughout each new and interactive experience. To become vulnerable is to open up to the consequences of frantic outcomes. Individuals will lead to vulnerability to cope with a trauma that has created a solemn change to a lifestyle. Jon Krakauer explains how the trauma of Mt. Everest changed his outlooks on reality, through different coping mechanisms. Krakauer uses his writing in his book, Into Thin Air, to cope with the guilt of surviving the terror that occurred upon Mt. Everest, as well as to understand what actions caused each outcome. Within an excerpt from Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer is reflective towards his audience of how vulnerability shaped the experiences upon Mt. Everest to cope with the
Courage presents itself in people in different ways, and at times can take untraditional forms.
The lives of Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were interesting and exciting lives. The two men made an important imprint in the name of mountaineering by climbing and being guides on Mt. Everest. These men were both very experienced climbers who both loved doing it.
From giant feats to little achievements, courage is shown world-wide. One story of world-wide courage is of a man who was a Croatian in a prison camp full of Muslims, that the Croatians ran. He was a sort of guard that stood up for the people in the camp, even though he knew his fate (Broz). Svetlana Broz, the author of the article telling stories about courage, says, “Then they brought over a civilian, a man who was Croatian like they were...They ordered him to choose a dozen of us from the lines and to decide how we would be killed...Without a second thought he turned to the armed murderers and said, ‘You should be ashamed of yourselves! These people are innocent. Release them…’ Then he turned to us and, looking right into our eyes, said, “I’m so sorry. This is all I can do. I know they will kill me tonight.’” He used courage in the conflict he was facing; whether to stand up for what he knew was wrong or to conform with the rest of his people. If he wasn’t brave, he wouldn’t have been able to stand up to the other guards. And, although he died that night, his efforts weren’t in vain. Rescued months later, some of the people in those lines survived the camp. Another story of courage is about Anusha Jeyapraba, from Sri Lanka, an island off of India. She watched a bloody war and saw violence constantly, for most of her life. An article about her new, beatific life says, “It was sheer resiliency and courage that helped her rise up each time she encountered another difficulty. Thanks to this resiliency Anusha is rebuilding her life”("Courage, Resiliency and USAID Support"). She persevered, had courage, and was able to live a happy life after her conflict. On the other side of that, Sophie Scholl, sadly, was killed after she was caught with the anti-Nazi pamphlets. But, even in the end, she had courage. Jacob Hornberger describes the confidence Sophie Scholl, her brother, and their family friend
In Chapter 20 “Tell me, if you can, what is courage?” Rachman explored what courage was through analyzing military soldiers and astronauts. Military soldiers carry out dangerous tasks and their become more confident after the tasks. Therefore, to be fearless or less fearful, training and acquiring necessary skills are important to prepare soldiers or people in general to perform psychological competence and courageous acts. Also, courageous actors possess characteristics such as calm, confidence, psychological competence than fearful people.
What happened on Everest in 1996? This case study is a perfect example of everything going wrong at precisely the right time. It wasn’t just bad luck, poor planning, inexperienced climbers, bad weather, or improper mindset, it was all of these things combined and more, at the most crucial of times that caused these people to die. The case study explains in great detail how these two groups of very driven people did not become a team or several teams and work together to reach their common goal. They each remained individuals working next to each other, but failing to see the value in teamwork. The two groups were led by some of the most experienced high altitude climbers in the world, but they did not communicate and pay attention to the signals that were very evident when viewed in hindsight, five people lost their
Messner and his long time climbing partner, Peter Habeler persisted through the unthinkable by climbing Mount Everest without bottled oxygen. Possibly the largest thing he persisted through was the death of his brother, Gunther Messner, which haunted him for years. (Chip Brown, 2005). In 1970, Messner was on an expedition when disaster struck: Messner and Gunther had climbed the Rupal face of Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat. When Gunther started to show signs of altitude sickness Messner tried to find a quick route down the mountain. While they were climbing down, Messner got ahead of his brother. When he went back to check on Gunther, however, he discovered Gunther had been swept away by an avalanche. This tragic experience did not stop Messner from pursuing new challenges. (Reinhold Messner Biography, 2015). In spite of all the knockdowns and challenges, Messner went on to climb Nanga Parbat twice more. He has taught everyone a lesson, when life knocks you down, keep on
It is the worst mountain accident in the history of Everest. Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, who were professional mountaineers, each of them had established commercial climbing companies named Adventure Consultant for Hall, Mountain Madness for Fischer. They had plenty experiences of climbing 8000ers mountains, and both of them had fully confidence about coming back from Mount Everest.
Approximately 200 frozen corpses litter the face of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world and one of the most frequently climbed. If anything, the gruesome sights are a testament to the fact that despite the experience and knowledge of Sherpa guides and modern technology, mountain climbing is at its heart still a dangerous and risky sport. Still more people are not killed but become entangled in horrific situations, and rescuers must attempt to save them with high-risk maneuvers. But mountain climbing is a conscious decision on the part of the climber, and rescuers should not be held accountable for the decisions of the climbers. Furthermore, rescuers frequently die in rescue missions. Thus, climbers should not demand rescue
Have you ever had moments in your life when your own courage or someone else’s courage put you in awe? Was it that moment you saw firefighters rushing down the street to unknowingly help strangers in a burning building? Or, when you saw your baby brother finally build up the courage to ride a bike without training wheels for the first time? For many, the world “courage” has boundless meanings. Courage helped me become a woman and to close a roughly written chapter in my life I thought I could never close.