Another Cold Adventure: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Ah, climbing Mt. Everest. Yes, it had crossed my mind once or twice, even though, in general, I don't spend much time climbing mountains.

But Jon Krakauer is one of those rare writers who leaves his armchair and wanders the wilderness. In this particular case, Outside magazine had given him the opportunity to take any adventure he wanted, all expenses covered, in exchange for an article. Who can say no? So Krakauer settled on Everest and signed on with an expedition group.

But this was, coincidentally, no ordinary summer on Everest. It was May 1996, when a number of climbers would end up dead on the mountain.

What struck me in reading this book was how little wilderness experience most of these climbers had. These were not people who spent leisure time camping, hiking, backpacking, climbing. They are more the kind of people who want to push themselves to achieve extreme goals, like climbing the five highest mountains on earth. And for a price, there are those who will guide people up those highest peaks. The figure
$40K comes to mind. But the $40K doesn't guarantee that you will even see the top, because there are numerous factors which need to line up - weather and health being the two main ones.

Krakauer expanded his Outside article in writing Into Thin Air. He isn't preachy, but it doesn't take much for the reader to question the ethics of these climbs and climbers. Some climbing teams refused to help those who were in trouble, not lending needed equipment, such as radios, or walking right over the bodies of the dying on their own way to the summit. On the other hand, those who could easily make excuses, such as the team working on an I-Max film, were extremely generous with all of their resources, putting their own agenda aside to aid fellow humans.

Since "Climbing Everest" has such power as an experience and as a metaphor in our culture, reading this is a good way to get perspective on what exactly is involved. At the moment, debates continue about what restrictions, if any, should be placed on these expeditions, and the bodies of those who died remain where they fell, because bringing them back down is all but impossible.

Krakauer is also the author of Into the Wild, which was recently made into a film of the same name, and Under the Banner of Heaven.