Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer
1997
333 pages
Published by Anchor Books
********************
FTC, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal: Do you really have any doubt as to how and where I acquired this one? It’s too old for an ARC, so you guessed it…I bought it.
********************
Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics, and others with a shaky hold on reality. -p. 92
In 1996, journalist Jon Krakauer agreed to climb Mt. Everest on assignment for Outside Magazine, to write about the companies that guide climbers up the mountain. Outside shelled out $65,000 to secure a place for Krakauer with one such company, Adventure Consultants.
Krakauer originally wrote a lengthy article for Outside, but he was haunted by his experience with Mt. Everest, so he sought some sort of relief by expanding the article into this book. In Into Thin Air, Krakauer describes the long, arduous journey up the mountain, and the resulting tragic descent. It took something like a month to reach the summit (at 29,028 feet, the highest point in the world), as the team stayed at various camps on the way up the mountain to acclimatize to the increasing lack of oxygen. And while not all members of the team made it to the summit, Krakauer did. Unfortunately, after he reached the summit, a storm rolled in and many of the climbers who were behind him that day were trapped on their descent. Bad weather, bad decisions, oxygen deprivation and other factors all combined to result in tragedy…eight people from different expeditions died. Into Thin Air is Krakauer’s attempt to reconstruct what happened and make some sort of peace with the decisions that he made on that fateful day.
Krakauer includes this quote from Walt Unsworth’s book, Everest, which really sums up how I feel about mountain climbing after reading this book:
The American public has no inherent sympathy for mountain climbing, unlike the mountain countries of Europe, or the British, who had invented the sport. In those countries there was something akin to understanding, and though the man in the street might on the whole consider it a reckless risk of life, he acknowledged that it was something that had to be done. There was no such acceptance in America. -p. 139
I agree. There’s no acceptance here, either. This was a fascinating book, because it really solidified my dislike of a sport that seems so reckless, both in terms of people’s attitudes towards their bodies and their lives, and their disregard for the mountain itself. As much as I want to be open-minded and let people do as they please, my brain was screaming WHY throughout this book. I just don’t get why people feel the need to climb a mountain:
- That records temps of 100 degrees BELOW 0. (Holy mother, that’s cold.)
- Where you can’t breathe (which has resulted in tons (literally) of discarded oxygen canisters lying around).
- Where many, many people lose their life, and are left where they die. This means should you choose to climb the mountain you will be walking by many of these dead bodies (that do not decompose). That gives me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies. And if you don’t lose your life, chances are good that you will at least lose a toe or finger (or maybe even a nose or an arm) to frostbite. Or maybe you’ll be a victim of HAPE or HACE, in which the lack of oxygen does bad things to your lungs or your brain.
- That costs tens of thousands of dollars to climb. The permit alone, for one person, in 1996, was $10,000.
- That results in an every person for themselves mentality. As one climber stated, “Above 8,000 meters is not a place where people can afford morality.” -p. 253
In the end, this book left me feeling appalled. It’s astounding to think of everything that is sacrificed (life, limbs, money, peace of mind for some of the survivors, the beauty and sanctity of the mountain) just so people can say they’ve conquered the tallest mountain in the world. Why do people feel the need to push themselves in the name of conquering nature?
And it’s not really the book or the author that is appalling…it’s the story. Because in the end, I was left feeling like Krakauer had come to similar conclusions. He’s received a lot of flak for telling this story, and I can totally sympathize with the family members who were outraged by the book. On the other hand, I think it’s a story with a very dramatic moral, one that’s worth reading.
I loved this book, as well as Krakauer’s Into the Wild. I think he does an excellent job of illustrating these kinds of activities that I’d never do in a million years.
Wow. Of course you know I’m not a big nonfiction fan so I probably won’t be reading the book itself, but I had no idea about all the things involved in mountain climbing that you talk about. That’s really scary.
(on a sidenote, I have to just say I love reading reviews about the nonfiction I will never have the attention span to read myself. Especially reviews that really say a lot about the book, like this one. It’s better to read the review than the book for me. I know, I’m pathetic.)
Amanda´s last [type] ..Theatre- by William Somerset Maugham
I read this back in the day after it soon came out, and I was pretty much left with the same impression. I am just amazed at how some people are willing to spend so much money just to do this, and to leave trash behind (not to mention the dead bodies). I also was bothered by how willing the climbers were to get the local people to act as their pack mules.
I can see mountain climbing up to 14,000 feet (my husband and older son did this this summer, with boy scouts), but that is a walk in the park compared to Everest at 29,000 feet.
Valerie´s last [type] ..New Post- I’m on “Scene of the Blog” Today!
I have read this book several times – there’s something about it that I find I need to revisit occasionally. I remember the events that Krakauer describes vividly from live reporting on the Seattle NPR station (where I was living). I had a tenuous connection to one of the guides that died through a friend who had grown up climbing and climbed with him throughout his childhood. I really respect Krakauer’s honesty and willingness to explore his own motivations. It’s a great book.
Caitlin´s last [type] ..Book Review – The Group by Mary McCarthy
Okay, I grew up in the Adirondack Mountains. I walked to school in -20 with no gloves. Actually, anything above 0 is just not cold to me. But -100??? OIADJKLFSLJAPIDJKLMCEWPLOFIJKAWEN;LDSKN
I didn’t even think that was possible on planet Earth.
EL Fay´s last [type] ..Purgatorio- Cantos 1-10
Actually, with all the Dante reading I’ve been doing, Mount Everest sounds a lot like the Ninth Circle of Hell (where temps are exactly the opposite of what you might think).
EL Fay´s last [type] ..Purgatorio- Cantos 1-10
I read this years ago and remember enjoying Krakauer’s writing.
michelle´s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday
Nature always wins!
I have a feeling this book would leave me thinking, “God, how stupid some people are.” I’m not sure I have the sympathy capacity to really have any feeling for the stories therein. Krakauer is pretty cool, though.
Andi´s last [type] ..Prioritizing Reading
Read this several years ago with my book group and thought it was fabulous. There was also an IMAX movie, Everest, that I saw around the same time… powerful stuff.
JoAnn´s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday – August 11
I loved this book. I actually listened to it on audio and Krakauer read it. There is a documentary called Storm Over Everest that David Brashear did and he has several of the climbers from that day in it. All of them are now missing toes and fingers and some of them are missing most of their hands and feet. Most of them say it wasn’t worth the price.
Stefanie´s last [type] ..Griffin & Sabine
Great review – I remember thinking the same thing about how and why people want to climb mountains. The whole thing seems nuts!
If you liked this, you should also read the Russian’s account of the same expedition. He took exception (I think he has since died) to Krakauer’s account. They give very different perspectives but I remember liking Krakauer’s more. But that might just be because I read it first?
I found the title at wiki: The Climb – a book by Anatoli Boukreev .
raidergirl3´s last [type] ..Welcome
I haven’t read this, but my husband is just obsessed with mountain climbing and with Everest. He’s read pretty much everything out there and knows all the different camps and routes and all. I don’t think he has any desire at all to do it, but is fascinated by the people and the process.
Lisa´s last [type] ..A visit with Trish and her hot-cycle
One of my all time favorite reads…..Raidergirl is right, Boukreev has since died in a climbing accident since he published The Climb. But I also concur that Into Thin Air is the better account.
Michele@ A Reader’s Respite´s last [type] ..Top Ten Reasons for NOT Finishing The Brothers Karamazov
I read this back when it was new and have seen several documentaries about the climb (including the Imax film Everest and the more recent Storm Over Everest). I wasn’t as outraged by the idea of climbing as you were, I think, but I was outraged by how it had been turned into a business where taking so many people, so recklessly became the goal, rather than taking only those who proved they’d have a chance. And then the idiotic pushes to get to the top even when it was clear they’d missed the window.
My favorite Krakauer book is Into the Wild, which depicts a similar fool-hardy risk of life but on a smaller scale.
Teresa´s last [type] ..Star Island abandoned
I loved this book … it was gripping and had a “you are there” quality to it that just sucked me in.
I do feel conflicted about some of what you say as I lost my dad in a mountaineering accident (not in Everest in anything). It IS very hard to understand the drive that some people have to do such things. It is unexplainable and often results in heartbreak for more than just the person doing the climbing. Yet knowing my dad, I knew that he felt a need to be the mountains and felt a kind of peace there that he never found elsewhere. Coming to terms with that need of his versus our need for him is something I’ll probably never be able to reconcile but, ultimately, it is hard to deny someone you love something that feeds their very soul.
Jenners´s last [type] ..Review- The Passage by Justin Cronin
My husband read this and had much the same reaction. I’ve never understood mountain climbing–of course, I pretty much don’t understand the appeal of most “you could die” activities. But the trash these people accumulate and leave behind is appalling–these people should be charged extra to cover the cost of having their trash and waste, to say nothing of their dead compatriots, taken off the mountains.
Lisa´s last [type] ..Backseat Saints
I loved this book, but I think I read it as sort of a dystopia book.
rhapsodyinbooks´s last [type] ..Review of “Broken” by Karin Slaughter
I can say that I will never read this. My current book has me on edge already at page 12 – about a disaster at sea and I seriously don’t know if I will read any more – too tense!
Wow . . . stepping over dead bodies! That is definitely creepy. This sounds like a very interesting book.
Stephanie´s last [type] ..Guest Post Over at Eclectic-Eccentric Today!
If you can’t breathe without assistance, that’s probably a good indication that you should think about proceeding.
bybee´s last [type] ..Lit Biopic
I can’t ever imagine doing this, or even wanting to do this! It sounds dangerous, frightening and unsafe. I think this would definitely be a great book to dive into, and I can imagine that I would feel much like you. Great review, Jill!
zibilee´s last [type] ..The Secret Lives of Baba Segis Wives – A Conversation with Aarti
This is truly an amazing book, isn’t it? I actually bought a hard cover edition of this one…and I, too, was left appalled by this “sport.” I guess a part of me can understand the exhilaration of making it to the top…but so much can be and is sacrificed in the “challenge” that I wonder what drives people to do this (maybe the simple “because I can” attitude). Great review!
Wendy´s last [type] ..Serendipity
I, too, have no inherent sympathy for mountain climbing. I do not see what the fascination is. The way I see it, it’s a lose/lose: try and
faildie or try andsucceedbe haunted by it for the rest of your life.That said, though, I have a certain fascination with reading or hearing about these reckless souls and their journeys, so I definitely have this on my TBR list.
Jessica´s last [type] ..Literature 101- Plot
I’ve not read this or anything else by Krakauer, but I also didn’t know that this explored more of the mental repercussions rather than just the physical act of climbing. I personally don’t get it, either. Having the personality I have, I think Europeans (particularly the British) understand it more because they are all about conquest and the like, but that could just be my post-colonial feelings
Aarti´s last [type] ..Joint Review- The Secret Lives of Baba Segis Wives
I read this book so many years ago, I remember little except that there a mountain, frostbite and death. I, too, have no sympathy for the sport or those who participate, but then I am a huge chicken. I can’t see needlessly risking my life just for the hell of it. That said though, I think surfing is an extreme sport. I think – shark, getting hit in the head with the surfboard, etc. I remember enjoying the book though, so there must have been a palatable moral to it, as you’ve mentioned in your review.
Trina´s last [type] ..Three Percent- A Rational Discussion about Amazon
I don’t get it either. I mean, I’ve enjoyed climbing small mountains here in the US but it’s not that cold if you go at certain times of the year.
I don’t listen to audio books too often but I did with this one. Into Thin Air is better on audio although I did have the same let-down feeling at the end.
Ti´s last [type] ..Book Shout-Out- Strangers at the Feast
I haven’t read this particular book by Krakauer, but I have read two of his other books, Into the Wild and Under the Banner of Heaven, both of which I really liked. I had similar issues as you do with mountain climbing as I did when reading Into the Wild, not really fully understanding the choices made.
I recently heard a story about a boy who is off climbing mountains–you really have to wonder about his parents, considering how dangerous the sport is. I imagine they’ve ensured every precaution is taken? Still, it’s scary.
Literary Feline´s last [type] ..Review- The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C Morais
I had a very vague prior knowledge about the book and wasn’t quite sure what it was about. Your review intrigued me to say the least. I used to hike mountains back in high school and I can relate to the satisfaction of conquering yourself in the nature. Of course nothing to the extreme degree like above, but really these people who do go to that extend fascinate me immensely.
mee´s last [type] ..Shaun Tan and Neil Gaiman at Sydney Opera House
This was one of my all-time favorite books. So sad, so scary, so emotional. I wish I were brave enough to climb Mt. Everest, but I’m not. Yes, there are appalling aspects, but it was the drama and terror and got to me. Yes some stupidity and very, very decisions. But I can’t imagine the feeling of being able to stand on the very top of the world.
I read the original article in Outdoor magazine — I member the news of that May. I was fascinated, but I’m always attracted to survivor stories.
Beth F´s last [type] ..Review- Angelology by Danielle Trussoni
My husband and I listened to this on a road trip when it came out. It’s still one of his favorites.