Mountaineering is an activity that is considered too extreme for most people; it involves climbing the tallest mountains, in the harshest environments imaginable. Of the few people that choose to partake in this hobby, only a small percentage will ever experience standing on the summit of Mount Everest. Reaching the summit of the world’s tallest mountain requires pushing the human body to its absolute limits, while minimizing exposure to the numerous perils along the way. While attempting the dangerous feat of climbing Mt. Everest, many people succumb to the extreme altitude, some to extreme weather, and others to various hazards such as ice falls or crevasses. One hazard that climbers face while climbing Mt. Everest is the human body’s response to the extreme elevation. “Officially, surveyors in 1954 measured Everest to be 8,848 m (29,028 ft) high” (“Tackling Everest”). At this elevation there is not enough air pressure to sufficiently meet the human body’s need for oxygen. This lack of oxygen effects people differently, some people experience a negative reaction that results in many different deadly health issues. “Climbers typically died during descent from the summit, often developing cognitive …show more content…
Everest and any reasonable person would assume it has to be cold. The mountain is covered in snow and glacial ice year round. Most attempts are made during the spring time, although the mountain has been climbed during every season. A typical attempt at reaching the summit, from base camp, will take multiple days. Climbers must prepare themselves to function in below freezing temperatures for extended periods of time. “…though spring seems an absurd concept in a place where the temperature warms to only 25 Degree C in May, and the winds howl at up to 130 km/h” (Nemeth). In order to function in these extreme conditions, climbers must use specialized clothing and equipment that is made to endure such a harsh
Ever since people knew it was possible to reach the summits of Mount Everest, about 4,000 people have attempted to climb it and one in four people have died from doing so. “Once Everest was determined to be the highest summit on earth, it was only a matter of time before people decided that Everest needed to be climbed” (Krakauer 13). The very first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest was in 1953, and ever since then about seven percent out of every 4,000 people that attempted have died. In the novel, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, he documents his journey to the summit of Mount Everest.
Everest in 1996. This became the deadliest expedition to ever climb with 15 people losing their lives. Krakauer explains his intrinsic motivations to accept this challenge and many of the mistakes that helped lead to the disasters of that day. He includes himself, and explicitly blames himself for at least one person's death. The experience affects him profoundly, and in addition to telling the story, the book focuses on how Krakauer is forever changed as a result of what happened. All of the clients have difficulty adjusting to the altitude, tiring easily, losing weight and moving slowly. The climbers' experience in mountain climbing and at high altitudes varies some of them are quite qualified, others very inexperienced and highly reliant on the
Everest is an unbelievable mountain that has taken the lives of a number of the greatest climbers in history. It was my job to ensure that clients make it up that treacherous mountain safely. My name is Rob Hall. I was the main guide and cofounder of a climbing company called Adventure Consultants. My friend, Gary Ball, and I used to be professional climbers. Together we succeeded in climbing to the highest summit on each of the seven continents in seven months. This was our greatest achievement. After this, we decided to start our own company guiding clients up large mountains. In May 1992, we successfully led six clients to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately, Gary died of cerebral edema in October 1993 during an attempt on the world’s sixth-tallest mountain. He died in my arms and the next day I buried him in a crevasse. Despite the pain that his death had caused me, I continued guiding for our company and eventually led thirty-nine climbers to the summit of Everest.
Climbing makes for a difficult expedition, you need to give up the wrappers when you was ascending. You need to give up the heavy things, you need to give up your wrappers, and you need to give yourselves. Sometimes we need to give up our lives to climb the mount Everest. According to snow storm, the energy, the oxygen and the people who desired prove themselves the spring’s 96s expedition to mountain Everest was destined to be the most tragic.
Climbing Mt. Everest is an accomplishment that only a limited number of people can say they have accomplished. Despite statistics that illustrate most fail or die trying, numerous people are drawn to the mountain each year and truly believe they can be among that elite group. In the spring of 1996, Jon Krakauer, a journalist for the adventure magazine Outside and a passionate climber himself, was offered the opportunity to climb Mt. Everest. The original offer was to join an Adventure Consultants team led by Rob Hall, a respected and well known guide, climb to base camp and then write a story on the commercialism that had penetrated this incredibly risky but addicting sport. Without much hesitation Krakauer accepted the offer but not to just go to base camp; he wanted the top. The expedition started out as predicted but an unexpected storm the day of the summit push turned this expedition into the most devastating expedition of all time. Krakauer was changed for life; an article on the commercialism surrounding the mountain would no longer suffice. Into Th...
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is an adventurous story about a Mount Everest expedition gone wrong. The journey up the mountain is like previous trips, but once they reach the top of the mountain all hell breaks loose. A massive storm traps climbers stuck on the top of the mountain with little to no oxygen, no shelter, and nowhere to go. Oxygen depletion alone can kill someone and make them vulnerable to novice mistakes. Krakauer notices when he is lacking oxygen as he says, “The world beyond the rubber mask was stupendously vivid but seemed not quite real, as if a movie were being projected in slow motion across the front of my goggles. I felt drugged, disengaged, thoroughly insulated from external stimuli” (179). HACE, a medical condition in which the brain swells, is caused by a lack of oxygen and can kill people within 48 hours if not treated. With a lack of shelter, the climbers are exposed to Artic-like conditions.
In “Into Thin Air” written by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer goes on to explain how climbing the Everest is so popular, people often neglect how difficult and life threatening the whole experience actually is. As mentioned, Krakauer’s
The cost for a guide to bring someone up the mountain can be upwards to $70,000. People wanted to go regardless of their health and condition and guides would just do their job and just lead people up without knowing if they are weak or not ready for the climb.”Why did veteran Himalayan guides keep moving upward, ushering a gaggle of relatively inexperienced amateurs […] into an apparent death trap?”(Krakauer 8). This quote is an example of how the guides treat the people climbing up the mountain with the. They disregard the condition and state the people are and just keeping leading them up asking or knowing if they are weak and not ready for the climb up. Not only is this part of guide’s fault for people becoming injured or dead it is also the person’s fault for not thinking about themselves and the state and condition they are in to try to climb up the mountain.”It can't be stressed enough, moreover, that Hall, Fischer, and the rest of us were forced to make such critical decisions while severely impaired with hypoxia”(Krakauer 285). Jon Krakauer is responsible for some of the deaths of people mentioned in the book because of the decisions he made. Krakauer himself said he had guilt for not fully helping the people with hypoxia. The timing and decisions he made for descending back down also did play a role in how he caused some people to die instead of helping
In the story “Sharon Wood: No Limits,” by Sharon Wood, the author describes Woods experience on Mount Everest. In the story Wood overcomes many obstacles to achieve her goal. She had to handle the extreme cold weather along with the heavy bags they had to carry. Due to lack of oxygen they also needed to carry oxygen tanks with themselves. It requires a lot of strength and determination to climb one of the tallest mountains in the world. Sharon Wood was an inspirational, and discipline woman. Finally, only Wood and her climbing partner, Dwayne Congdon, made it to the top. Rest of the team did not have enough ability to make it to the top. After all the struggle Wood went through; she had finally reached the top of Mount Everest. This was
Have you ever wanted to prove to everyone that you are a hard worker that is willing to give up everything to go on an adventure? If this is you than Everest is the perfect place for you. A great deal of Everest’s dangers are expressed in his book which should either inspire you to try this journey or sway you away from the treacherous mountain. In the story, “ Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer a true story is told of a dangerous voyage up and down Everest. The climb up was arduous and long according to Jon, but the climbers sacrificed everything to get to the top, which most of the climbers achieved. However, emotions shifted when a storm swooped in and killed many of the climbers that were stuck on the summit, around 12-19 in total. The devices
In the article “Responds to Krakauer”, by Anatoli Boukreev he argues against the topic of Krakauer's accusations, Krakauer argues that Boukreev wasn’t well prepared to climb Mt. Everest. He mentions that boukreev wasn’t making his best decisions on May 10, 1996. Boukreev argues that his experience has been for over twenty years and that climbing in a high altitude. Boukreev explains how he’s been on top of Mt. Everest and most of his time up there he requires no oxygen. He mentions how it’s not as necessary to him when climbing. Krakauer not only only mentions the oxygen but he also mentions how he wasn’t well dressed for climbing the top of Everest. That if he would’ve been well prepared the tragedy wouldn’t of had happened. Boukreev also
In an informational article, by Guy Moreau, titled Why Everest?, Moreau writes, “In recent years, this problem has been made worse by the large number of climbers who want to conquer Everest.” The article also says that, “The climbing season only lasts for about two months…Climbers need to leave the final camp by late morning. Then, there can be so many of them in the death zone that there are traffic jams. Some days, up to 200 people set off.” Since there are delays, people have to stay longer, and they “…can suffer exposure and use their precious supplies of oxygen.” Many people end up dying since they all thought they could climb the
At 11.30am local time, on the 29th of May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world, Mount Everest, at 29,029 feet. For 46 years their triumph was undisputed; until May 1st 1999 at 11.45am. At 27,000 feet below the Yellow Band on the North side of Mount Everest the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition made mountaineering history. Following his senses, Conrad Anker, a world renowned American mountaineer, decided to stray from the search group. He came across not one but two bodies, both from the modern era judging by their clothing. Ignoring these he continued to search the Yellow Band. One in ten people who make the summit die on the slopes; bodies litter the vast summit area.
On May 10th, 1996, a mountaineering expedition turned into a disaster when an unexpected storm hit Mount Everest and eventually took twelve people’s lives along with it. While some events are agreed on the disaster, what actually happened that night and the events leading up to it are heavily debated. This debate can be seen in the books Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev where they disagree on crucial details leading up to the climb. Although Anatoli was the better climber, Jon Krakauer’s account is more credible due to his knowledge on the subject, great character, and determination to show the most honest account of the story possible.
Mount Everest, the world’s highest point at 29,035 feet, is a special trophy among high altitude mountaineers. Standing atop the world’s highest point a hypoxic climber clad in a fluorescent down suit is above everything else on the planet, for a moment that individual can reach farther into the sky than any other. Arms raised in a victorious salute, a climber feels like they have conquered something that few others ever have, and justifiably so. The summit is usually the final fruition of months, sometimes years of planning, weeks of travel and acclimatization, and days of endless plodding at a feeble, learning-to-walk pace.