Into Thin Air Disaster

The main character and protagonist, Jon Krakauer, is a United States client and journalist who is on an expedition to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest. He takes the reader through his horrifying experiences on the mountain, including the death of his team, lack of oxygen, and horrible weather. The conflict in this novel is an internal and external conflict. It is an internal conflict of man vs. himself. Jon Krakauer, had to go through mental states of giving up and dying on the mountain

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

For the duration of the novel, Krakauer and his teammates independently withstand an experience like no other. Specifically, “‘If you get killed,” she argued with a mix of despair and anger, “it’s not just you who’ll pay the price. I’ll hao pay, too, you know, for the rest of my life. Doesn’t that matter to you?’” (Krakauer ) In this example, Krakauer’s wife, Linda, shows the consequences of proceeding to climb Mount Everest. Throughout the entire trip, Jon Krakauer constantly has to caution himself that he has family back home, and if he does not make it out alive, not only will he pay the price, but his family would be devastated. This is a continual concern that lingers with him along his journey on Everest. Another psychological dilemma that occurs is the residual effect on Krakauer. For instance, “Mortality had remained a conveniently hypothetical concept, an idea to ponder in the abstract. Sooner or later the divestiture of such a privileged innocence was inevitable, but when it finally happened the shock was magnified by the sheer superfluity of the carnage…” (Krakauer ) Here Krakauer portrays how the tragedy of the “Everest Disaster” affects him subsequently. Jon Krakauer ascends the mountain as a magazine journalist, but descends as a soldier with emotions of bleakness and desperation. The fact that Krakauer still consumes his thoughts with this terrible

On May 10, 1996, nine people perished on Mt. Everest. Jon Krakauer, a writer from Outside magazine, was there to witness the events and soon after write the book, Into Thin Air, chronicling the disaster. Jon Krakauer is not only the writer and narrator of Into Thin Air but is also one of the main characters. Originally Outside Magazine planned to send Krakauer to Everest in order for him to write a story for the magazine. The climb was completely financed by the magazine with one of the leading Everest guide groups led by Rob Hall, an elite climber. Krakauer divides the people on the mountain into two main categories, tourist and elite. The elite being guides and Sherpas like Hall, Harris and Ang Dorje,

In all three article, “Helicopter Rescues Increasing on Everest”, “Why Everest?”, and “Ranger Killed During Rescue of Climbers on Mount Rainier” all have different points of view regarding the issue of emergency rescues of mountain climbers.

Mount Everest is 29,092 feet tall. Imagine climbing this mountain with little to no experience. Would you survive? In the nonfiction novel Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer and his recruited crews try climbing this mountain. With many deaths along the way to the top, readers are quick to blame characters in the book. However, character stands out from the rest: Krakauer. In the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer is the most responsible for the other character’s deaths because he recruited and dragged along inexperienced mountain climbers, pushed them harder than they should’ve been pushed, and watched them suffer.

Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air is an adventurous, nonfiction novel set on Mount Everest in 1996. The main characters consist of Rob Hall, Scott Fisher, the guides, and Jon Krakauer, the protagonist. The main conflict occurs when a snow storm hits on the group’s descent, and the expedition battles the obstacles created by it. Jon, a writer, is asked write an article about the commercialism on Mount Everest. Many climbers go missing during the expedition’s descent amid a severe storm. Although Krakauer and many others survived, nine lives were lost. In Jon Krakauer’s narrative, he demonstrates perseverance; although there was a horrible storm that could have killed everyone on the mountain, he was determined to live, and was able to survive.

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

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer shares Jon’s first hand experience of one of the most dangerous seasons of climbing on Mount Everest. Krakauer himself experienced the tragedies of 1996 on Everest because he was writing an article for Outdoor Magazine about the commercialization of Everest. Multiple guides during this season suffered from having an over-abundance of pride which often led them to making questionable decisions that ultimately led to the deaths of not only climbers but also guides. Hubris found among Rob Hall, Scott Fischer, and Anatoli Boukreev helped cause the tragic events to transpire on the 1996 Everest expedition.

In the year 1953, late May, two climbers finally reached the summit of their expeditions. Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay gazed down from the tallest summit on earth at the valleys surrounding them and sighed a breath of relief, as they were the first people to ever ascend the beast known as Everest. 46 years later Jon Krakauer’s book “Into Thin Air” tells of the harrowing and demanding road to the peak of Everest. I bet you are probably thinking what would prompt these smart men and women to put themselves into such a hard and narrowly survivable situation. In this paper we will go over a couple of the reasons that causes people to climb Everest. First personal achievement, Secondly glory and fame, and Third Adrenaline rush or The pull

Jon Krakauer wrote the book Into Thin Air that takes place in 1996 on Mt. Everest. Jon Krakauer not only was the author of this book, he was the main character. He also is the protagonist and, because this book is nonfiction and a memoir there cannot be an antagonist. Jon Krakauer, a journalist for Outside magazine is sent to write about the rise of commercialization of Mt. Everest. Krakauer then asked if he could have one year to fully prepare himself to climb Mt. Everest with Rob Hall’s expedition. As the team climbs the mountain they run into some minor problems. When Krakauer and his team tried to reach the summit, a storm hits and traps many people causing a major conflict. Not only was Krakauer the sole survivor of the group of people he was with when the storm hit, when he got back down to the base camp many more had died. Krakauer’s novel shows that you can never be too careful, and always expect the unexpected.

In the article it says , “ Nepalese government would provide a pittance of 40,000 rupees , or US410 “ (Morrow 1). This explains that the Sherpas are being neglected in insurance claims for greivance and not being fully satisfied with the funds that the Napalese goverment are providing them for their services. In the article it also says , “ In Nepal , the average person makes less than 700$ each year (Mandelbaum 1). There is obviously a problem due to the fact that the government is pocketing about 20 million dollars in permit while the Sherpas are being placed into extremely dangerous situations. Lastly , another concern is the retrieval of dead bodies during the hike up everest. The Sherpas are becoming upset due to the fact that they cannot retrieve the dead. In the article it says , “ each of these villages there are houses with missing men where widows and orphans have had their husbands and fathers taken from them by the mountain “ (Morrow 4). This explains the grieving that families have to endure due to tragic accidents on top of Everest. Another issue is that there must

Everest and has supposedly “risked his company’s reputation.” Two years after, 16 out of the 25 Nepalese guides were killed from the exact wedge of ice which led to the question if mountaineering should be banned (Source two). There were many ways that this incident could’ve been avoided. If Brice and his group escaped out safely, then why didn’t they tell anyone about the enormous wedge of ice that averted them from going any further? If there was a flag that said “HAZARD ABOVE,”then it would have been evaded easily. In my opinion, I believe that in this situation, Brice should be the one to be

Letting a loved one attempt to climb to the top of Mt. Everest is something to worry about everyday. Due to many reasons such as limited oxygen, and also not knowing when something bad is coming towards the way of the sherpas and cause madness. Identically, according to AP the avalanche existed when “a massive piece of glacier sheared away from the mountain along a section of constantly shifting ice...known as the Khumbu Icefall---a treacherous area where overhanging immensities of ice as large as 10 storey buildings..” (Morrow 11). Moreover, in the article “Exploiting The Sherpas”, there are also many concerns with the safety of the sherpas, life insurance benefits, and the concerns for the dead. To begin with, the safety of the sherpas isn’t payed attention to, while climbing mountains. The wealthy climbers don’t care that the sherpas are being put onto a dangerous job. What the people really care about is just getting to the top of Mt. Everest to give the media something to talk about. For instance, “Sherpas are placed in dangerous situations so that wealthy, novice climbers can summit the world’s most famous and romanticized mountain” (Mandelbaum 2). Sherpas are basically paying for their

On May 10, 1996 six people died trying to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. These people were parts of two expeditions that were in the Himalayas, preparing to ascend the summit for six weeks. The first group was under the direction of Rob Hall, who had put 39 paying clients on the summit in five years. Hall was considered the leader of the mountain and the man to see no matter what the discrepancy. Group two, headed by Fisher, who like Hall, was trying to start a profitable business in providing the experience of climbing Mt. Everest to all for the price of 60 to 70 thousand dollars. Unfortunatly, neither man would live to tell the tale of this expedition.