Blog Entry #1: King of the Mountain

Many of my friends and family members asked me which book I had chosen to read for this English summer course. When I told them I was reading Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, I received positive feedback from everyone who had previously read the book. So far, the first third of the novel has held up to its praise as one of the greatest “adventure books of all time” (The Wall Street Journal).

In the introduction section, Krakauer quickly summarises the disaster of May 10^th, hinting at what is later to come in the novel. After reading the introduction I never expected Krakauer would begin the first chapter with his summit of Mt. Everest. Doing so, he paints a good picture of what it is like to be on top of the world. Literally! He describes it as a “spectacular sight” (Krakauer 4), seeing the “the vastness of Tibet… beneath his feet” (Krakauer 4). When I was eleven, I hiked Mt. Washington in New Hamphsire, which is approximately 6,288 ft tall (4.6 times smaller than Mt. Everest). I had many of the same feelings flowing through my body as Krakauer did at the summit. Reading some of his descriptions brings back memories of the beautiful views from Mt. Washington. His impeccable use of imagery throughout the first part of the book allows me to almost feel the thrill of climbing such a goliath like Mt. Everest. His mental imaging can be so deep at some points that I can almost feel the altitude sickness. It could just be fatigue because I always find myself reading at night, although I like to think otherwise for the fun of it.

As Krakauer uses imagery to constantly create a view of the whole mountain, he also uses foreshadowing, which stimulates my curiosity of what is to come. In one part of the book, Krakauer describes how his climbing teammate Doug Hansen had to take many days off from climbing due to throat issues. This knowledge led me to question if Doug will ever summit, especially knowing that he had to turn back 200 ft away from the top a year earlier. I disliked when Krakauer exposes that neither two of Fischer’s publicists would have “imagined that this would be the last conversations they would ever have with Fischer” (Krakauer 194) after they spoke to him over the phone on May 6^th, 1996. Leaving out so much information leaves me to repeatedly wonder what truly happened on Mt. Everest during the disaster on May 10^th.

While reading the novel I began to wonder how the human body adapts to higher altitudes. Experienced climbers and Sherpas (Himalayan citizens) have an easier time with the minimal amounts of oxygen at higher altitudes. Usually intermediate climbers like Krakauer would need supplementary oxygen to be able to breathe and function properly. When Krakauer was descending from the summit he ran out of oxygen and his brain was working at the “mental capacity… of a slow child” (Krakauer 4). An intermediate climber like Krakauer could easily lose consciousness and fall to their death if they did not have enough oxygen intake. It turns out that the reason Sherpas and experts like Rob Hall find it much easier to climb at those high altitudes is because their bodies have adapted to such high altitudes by producing more red blood cells and capillaries so extra oxygen can be taken in per breath. I now understand why complete rookies like me could never be able to simply join a group and attempt the accent of Mt. Everest.

So far, the novel Into Thin Air has kept me thrilled and at the same time, terrified of what is to come.   The book allows the reader to experience the adrenaline rush of a mountaineering expedition like Mt. Everest. The disaster that occurred on May 10^th, 1996 has always haunted Krakauer and his only way to feel free was to share his story of the worst disaster on Mt. Everest to this day, hoping people from all generations can learn and understand the risks of conquering the tallest mountain in the world.

Mount Everest