A Personal Review Of Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer

When I turned around, I realized it was too late. I was alone, and I had to find my way back to camp in the wilderness. Of course, this is not the wilderness with trees and lakes. This is the Wilderness resort. When I was in fifth grade, my family, friends, and I went on a vacation. One night we went to the ball pit late at night and the pit was about to close. My friends went to the bathroom, claiming to come back for me. After five minutes, I discovered what was happening, they abandoned me. After searching for them, I decided to try and find my way back to my room alone. Being only ten years old, the hallways seemed to be never ending and I had no idea where to go. I sprinted through the hallways with adrenaline pumping throughout my body.

I suddenly became confused and frustrated. I even went into an elevator to go up a level, but I soon came to realize that I was on the highest floor already. On the brink of a nervous breakdown, I soon recalled the path to my room and a sense of overwhelming joy set in. About five years later, I was assigned to read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. This book is about an Everest expedition in 1996 that went terribly wrong. When I read the book about Everest, it brought back this memory with climbers being left for dead, confusion, and a sense of joy for summiting the mighty mountain.
Into Thin Air, a non-fiction account by Jon Krakauer, takes place on the mystical and glorious mountain that is Mount Everest.

Krakauer elaborates on the deep history of the mountain as well as the courageous men and women who have climbed it He also goes on to talk about the rich culture of the native Sherpa people who have a reputation for being naturally talented climbers due to their exposure at high altitudes. On the way up the mountain, he paints a picture of the various geographical locations on the mountain. During his ascent, he climbs with a large expedition with a wide variety of people. He gives the readers an insight into their personal lives while not climbing. Most importantly, Into Thin Air is the account of what occurred on May tenth and eleventh of 1996, where a tragic storm took the lives of eight climbers on the mountain. Being set to climb Everest by Outside magazine, Jon Krakauer describes all of the events and aftermath of this

tragedy.
Throughout the book, Jon Krakauer keeps the reader on edge with his writing style by generating suspense and expressing his feelings through the organization of the book. A common pattern of Krakauer’s is to write chapters that are at the climax of the book, and then bring the reader back down the mountain. He then writes about characters or the history of the mountain. Not only does he create suspense and make the reader irritated, but he is trying to give the reader an insight of how deeply frustrated he became with other members on the expedition. While waiting on the mountain for ninety minutes, Krakauer explains, “I felt frustrated about wasting so much time and peeved at falling behind everybody else. But I understood Hall’s rationale, so I kept a tight lid on my anger” (218). Rob Hall, the leader and co-founder of Adventure Consultants, wanted the group to stay together because it was night and he wanted the group to stay close to the guides. The frustration Krakauer experiences at this moment relates to the way he writes the book. The reader wants to continue, but Krakauer puts limits on how quick the reader can discover what happens to the various characters on the mountain.
Along with creating suspense, Krakauer gives the reader rather extensive background information about certain characters that further enhances the reader’s connection with the climbers.

A perfect example of an emotional connection is when Krakauer gives the reader extensive knowledge about Rob Hall. Krakauer dedicates several paragraphs about Hall’s accomplishments and personal background, further establishing the connection between the reader and Hall. For example, he talks about Hall’s wife, Jan Arnold and mentions, “Arnold would have returned to the mountain again this year, except that she was seven months pregnant with their first child” (Krakauer 64). Informing the reader about a new child on the way, Krakauer makes the death of Rob Hall much more emotional and bitter. Hall is depicted as a positive and accomplished person; however, Krakauer chooses which characters to talk about and he also gives an unfair description of some characters such as Anatoli Boukreev and Sandy Hill Pittman. Krakauer would often talk negatively towards these characters. For example, he shares his opinion about Anatoli Boukreev’s writing style when he suggests, “But Boukreev’s refusal or inability to play the role of a conventional guide in the Western tradition exasperated Fischer (194). The author accuses Boukreev for the result of Fischer’s poor health, which will be a major factor for his demise. Giving the reader his opinion, it influences the reader’s judgment of Boukreev and makes

the reader dislike him. Krakauer continues to share his opinions about Sandy Hill Pittman when he includes, “‘Sandy could be exhausting to be around, because she needed to be the center of attention and was always yapping away about herself,’ remembers Jane Bromet.” (Krakauer 155). Including this quote is an indirect hint that Krakauer does not think too highly of Pittman. By sharing his opinions about several characters. He also describes the connection and loyalty between certain characters that further intensify the reader’s connection between teammates.
Throughout Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer creates a theme of loyalty and respect among the climbers of the expedition. One example of loyalty is the connection between Doug Hansen, a postal worker from Seattle that is on the expedition, and Rob Hall. Previously, Doug Hansen attempted to climb Everest with Hall and was turned around just below the summit. Hall wanted him to attempt the summit with him again, and gave Hansen a reduced rate for climbing the mountain. On the way up, Hansen is under the weather and wants to turn around before the summit again. Hall goes down and convinces Hansen to finish the climb. Unfortunately, the strong bond that Doug Hansen and Rob Hall have will result in their death. When Hall is with Hansen, Krakauer states “Unsure whether there was oxygen waiting for him, Hall decided that the best course of action was to remain with Hansen and try to bring the nearly helpless client down without gas” (295). Hall could have saved his own life but, he was extremely committed to not letting Hansen die that he risked his own life to keep Hansen alive.
There are countless morals and lessons that you can take away from Into Thin Air. One of the most important lessons in my opinion is that you must stick to your plan and to be a team player. In the book, this was one of the most crucial mistakes that Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, leader of the Mountain Madness expedition, made. There were many parts on the expedition where rules were not enforced. In addition, there are several instances where team members do not cooperate to achieve a common goal. Eventually, every small mistake resulting from not sticking to the plan led to extremely larger and severe mistakes that could have prevented tragedy.