Breathtaking! Definitely a must read. ( )

NF

A real eye opener into tackling Everest. KIRKUS REVIEWAnd onto thin ice--Krakauer's (Into the Wild, 1995) hypnotic, rattling, firsthand account of a commercial expedition up Mt. Everest that went way wrong.In the spring of 1996, Krakauer took an assignment from Outside magazine to report on the burgeoning industry of commercially guided, high-altitude climbing. Many experienced alpinists were dismayed that the fabled 8,000-meter summits were simply "being sold to rich parvenues'' with neither climbing grace nor talent, but possessed of colossal egos. From childhood, Krakauer had wanted to climb Everest; he was an expert on rock and ice, although he had never sojourned at Himalayan altitudes. While it has become popular to consider climbing Everest a lark and the South Col approach little more than a yak route, Krakauer found the altitude a malicious force that turned his blood to sludge and his extremities to wood, that ate his brain cells. Much of the time he lived in a hypoxic stupor, despite the standard acclimatization he underwent. As he tells of his own struggles, he plaits his tale with stories of his climbing comrades, describes the often outrageous characters on other expeditions, and details the history of Everest exploration. The writing builds eerily, portentously to the summit day, fingering little glitches that were piling up, "a slow accrual, compounding imperceptibly, steadily toward critical mass,'' when a rogue storm overtook the climbers; typical by Everest standards, it was ferocious in the extreme. Time collapses as, minute-by-minute, Krakauer rivetingly and movingly chronicles what ensued, much of which is near agony to read. Unjustly, Krakauer holds himself culpable for aspects of the disaster, but this book will serve an important purpose if it gives even one person pause before tackling Everest.A brilliantly told story, and one that won't go begging when the year's literary honors are doled out.

Jon Krakaur recounts the events leading up to one of the worst days in the history of climbers of Mt. Everest. He chronicles the characters in several different climbing teams in painstaking detail thus starting out by illustrating the divergent characters who, though they may not particularly like each other, will have to watch out for each other’s lives.

I was enthralled by the story but was left wondering why anyone would want to endeavor it. Ambitious people not used to losing or quitting may have just wanted bragging rights. They’ve tasted the exhilaration that mountain climbing can bestow, the feeling of completion from seeing the world from the top of a mountain peak, the peace and calm at lower levels. But on Everest you’re barely breathing.

What climbers may not have realized was they needed to develop a team mentality, to be able to trust fellow climbers to successfully manage risks as well as their equipment as well as to do so oneself. Teammates needed each other to be not just physically but also mentally ready. In this account, not everyone was ready and some were woefully unqualified. One guy came with new boots and didn’t know how to attach crampons, but even the experienced may have had skills which hadn’t been practiced lately.

The entire ordeal took several months. Climbers endured weeks of agony climbing up from base camp to each of the next two levels and down again, acclimating themselves to the lower air pressure and oxygen at higher altitudes. Then they got one shot to climb all the way to the summit. Some climbing days were as long as 17 hours in dangerous weather, high winds, temperatures well below zero, snow storms, unsanitary conditions, sparse food, heavy loads, limited oxygen tanks. Diminished brain capacity from thinner oxygen led to confusion, lethargy and other ailments. Some broke bones, became snow blind and got frostbite, infections from unsanitary conditions, hypothermia and more.

Pleasures were evident when pain was alleviated: Climbers’ hands froze but then they got warm, their feet got tired but then they rested, they suffocate but then you got oxygen, they were bone-tired and then slept And getting to the top was only half the job. They needed to plan on leaving in time to avoid being caught in bad weather or nighttime. Climbing down, the body works fulltime

People who run the climbing expedition companies are in business. And China, Tibet and Nepal from where climbers can start, all want the economic benefit and charge up to 60K. Sherpas receive a pittance compared to the expedition companies. But Sherpas are of the area and understand the climate. They should be acknowledged that they know what they’re talking about because they’ve grown up with that. But they’re pitted against each other for the coveted jobs, competing for the only way they can earn more money which also led them to bad decisions.

For such a long, slow nail-biter adventure story, I found it odd that the main passages describing emotions conjured by exploring and mountaineering were confined to quotes from past accounts included as chapter introductions. ( )

I've been wanting to read this ever since I became obsessed with extreme mountaineering survival and disaster stories. There's something about people willingly venturing into an environment so hostile to human life, and the ways that can go wrong, and the moral questions that come up in these extreme situations, that is utterly fascinating to me.

Jon Krakauer was present during the 1996 Everest disaster, when a storm engulfed climbers on the highest slopes of the mountain and several lives were lost. He seems to be quite honest in his account, the mistakes he made, and committed to giving his companions a fair hearing. He is frank that altitude sickness may have affected his memories, and his realisation that he may have been wrong about who he saw enter camp is haunting.

A great window into the world of extreme mountaineering, the psychology that drives summit fever, and how small decisions can so quickly turn to disaster in such an environment. ( )