Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

Into Thin Air is a top notch survival story by author and successful Mt. Everest climber Jon Krakauer, about the 1996 Mt Everest expedition climb. A few survived but most perished. This is a riveting exciting story that draws the reader in learning about the extreme difficulty climbing the tallest mountain in the world Mt. Everest and the even more dangerous and deadly decent. I found this an exciting 295 a page burner. I read it in two days and couldn't put it down. We see in late April 1996 at the 17,600 feet base camp Ron Hall's group of paid clients, professional guides and native helpers(Sherpa) getting acclimated to low atmospheric pressure and setting up 3 camps further up for the assault to Everest's 29,028 summit. We see supplemental oxygen and DEX an injection medicine to help against brain and lungs swelling up with fluid because of only 1/3 atmospheric pressure at the summit. When going passed 25,000 feet we see that you enter the "death zone" where you start dieing. No one can live at these elevations for long and people only have a short period of time for their climb and the even more dangerous decent before brain cells die, fluids accumulate in lungs and in brain. Even the rugged Sherpa helpers are not immune to the low pressure. We see the Sherpa being low paid and very religious and superstitious to the mother mountain. Almost all were very loyal, gave their best effort and helped the clients as much as they could. We see a number of groups including a South African group,a Japanese group, a lone Swede, an IMAX $5 million paid group to video their accent, Ron Halls group and more.There was even a 27 year working postal worker named Hansen in his late 40s who saved money working two jobs for his second attempt at climbing Everest. There were some doctors and some in their 50s as well as a 97 pound woman,and a celebrity woman and others. Ron Hall was a businessman and an experienced Everest climber and so was his competitor Fisher. Many of his group paid $65,000 each to be guided to the summit. INMO he took too much risks with inexperienced high altitude climbers, a celebrity woman, who with others was unqualified for the accent and a danger and a drag to other members. Hall did try to have everything organised with the best guides and local rugged Sherpa helpers used to high altitude ( many did not use supplemental oxygen) and having the team acclimated to high altitude. Climbing Everest and the more difficult decent is no game, deadly serious and death is close at all times. Unfortunately an unforeseen weather front comes in with almost hurricane force winds and -70 below zero temperatures with snow and ice. The author Jon Krakauer and another make it to the top and just barely survive the decent. Most of the other members of the expedition make it to the top but are so weak plus having high altitude sickness INMO should of turned around and aborted the climb rather than trying to make it to the top. They are trapped because of the weather and can't come down and run out of time, supplemental oxygen and die in the "kill zone". We see the heroism others have to try to save members who are almost frozen with severe frost bite, massive lung fluid swelling problems and others dieing before their eyes. Krakauer saves a few but even to this day is haunted that he was only about 300ft from a member and was so exhausted and almost non functioning to try to save him. The reader learns the hardships of climbing Mt Everest and the even the more deadly part... the decent. An amazing store of inner strength, perseverance against odds but at times foolishness to continue without recognising the trouble you are in and the almost impossibility of the decent because of massive fatigue, no supplemental oxygen left and high altitude illness. The reader gains deep empathy for the troubled survivors and the people who perish. Some of the survivors lost body parts due to severe frostbite and were psychologically scarred for the rest of their life with nightmares and more. 5 stars on this amazing survival and adventure book.

This book is such a gripping read. I struggled to put it down each day, and thought about it - and the people within it - quite carefully at the end of each chapter. It's a powerful reflection of this true story, yet it is not totally describable in one category of either adventure or memoir. To me, it's truly not about one person's account - it is a continual tribute for many people and a profound place. Jon Krakauer captures and delivers such spirit in his writing of this harrowing experience on Mount Everest. His writing brings you right into the moment, into the depth and the gravity of each part of this journey. He does not sum up nor glance by anything - it is a genuine tribute to the entirety of the human experience with him, and with each climber on this trek. He is respectful, reporting facts and yet a true vary of serious emotion emanates within his tone as he maps out the circumstances, timing and journey. With his writing, I was so heavily invested in each soul accounted for in this trek, that I literally wept at difficult moments he lays bare in this book. His writing delivers the impact of the weather, the terrain, the travel, environment through the eyes of a stranger and through familiarity, the emotions, the tiny speck that the climber is in relation to their surroundings - and the cultures involved. I recommend this book to be read by any writer, to appreciate the talent of the painting of words into a canvas of woven story-telling. This book is a MUST read for the adventurer and for anyone who appreciates a challenge and gravitates to a calling. This book is a memorial to amazing people who dared to follow their true personal north in their lives. This testament is also a tribute to the consideration of humanity's passion for seeking and surmounting the most critically dangerous and yet beautiful elements of nature.

This book is an impressive narrative about decisions and their consequences. A real and hard analysis carried out. More than a report, a legacy. Outstanding book.

Such a provocative read. Makes one question the stupidity and selfishness of the climbers, that makes them forsake all others in the name of glory. Not to mention those climbers who only made it to the summit because they were virtually carried by the Sherpa's, but still get the glory. There are always going to be glory hunters it is imprinted in our DNA. One would hope that there have been significant changes to the regulations regarding permitting climbers up the mountain, but I'm guessing that the almighty dollar wins out in such a poor country.

First of all I want to say that I'm not a climber and I have no desire to become one but I'm totally fascinated by these people that go and risk their lives to get on top of the highest mountains. This book is written extremely well and in my opinion is a very balanced recount of the events that took place on Everest in May 2006. Krakauer has been attacked from many people saying that he didn't portray the truth of what happened or the characters of certain climbers but I totally disagree with that. I think he's done a great job in trying to make sense of the tragedy and he doesn't blame anyone in particular for the outcome of the expedition. He merely points out many things that went wrong and things that could have been done differently (also from his part). Overall this is a great read.

A very well written, objective view of what happened in 1996 from someone who was actually there. Mr Krakauer offers an honest analysis of the events, his fellow climbers, guides and himself. You know you've done a good, honest job when not everyone is happy with the story. People tend to hide their shortcomings and tell only the parts of the story they want others to know. Mr Krakauer tells it how it is, regardless of who will like it and who will not. This includes admitting his own shortcomings, which is both admirable and courageous. I don't for one second think he was to blame for anything, but honesty about how one feels and views themself is important not only in the storytelling but also in the healing process. I hope Mr Krakauer has found some healing and meaning in his life from this experience. I would recommend this book to everyone, it is so well written that I am now seeking out his other work.

A fascinating and informative story. A few photographs would have been a nice addition to help understand the terrain but that is s minor quibble. Highly recommended for anyone who would like to understand what it might be like to climb Everest.