Book Review: Into Thin Air

Jon Krakauer, an accomplished climber, joined a commercial expedition run by guides for paying clients, many of whom had little or no climbing experience. In “Into thin Air” he gives a thorough and chilling account of the ill-fated climb and reveals the complex web of decisions and circumstances that left a group of amateurs fighting for their lives in the thin air and sub-zero cold above 26000 feet, place climbers call “The Death Zone”.

Into Thin Air reveals the harsh realities of mountaineering and echoes with frantic calls of climbers lost high on the mountain and way beyond help. On May 9^th 1996, five expeditions launched an assault on the summit of Mount Everest. The conditions seemed perfect. 24 hours later one climber had died and 23 other men and women were caught in a desperate struggle for their lives as they battled against a ferocious storm that threatened to tear them from the mountain. In all eight climbers died that day in the worst tragedy Everest has ever seen.

With enough determination, any idiot can get up this hill, observed Rob Hall, the leader of a commercial expedition on his 8^th tour of Mount Everest. “The Trick is to get back down Alive”. This book covers journey of Jon’s 1996 expedition starting from Dehradun, India to top of Mt. Everest and back to Seattle, USA. Every point of stop while trekking to Everest (“Sagarmatha” in Nepal language) base camp is clearly explained with all experiences.

Using all his powers of observation and reportage, Krakauer simply takes me to Everest, to a monastery where a lama proudly shows off a picture of himself posing with Steven Seagal, to the base camp. Everest can be climbed from Nepal region and Tibet region. Experiences from both sides are shared in this non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. Stories and strength power of Nepalese Sherpa are also shared. Up until May 1996, Mount Everest had been climbed some 630 times and had claimed 144 lives.

Although a record 12 people died in 1996, 84 reached the summit, which actually made it a safer than average year. One who wishes to know about what it takes to climb Everest (world largest mountain) and what happened in 1996 storm which took lives of famous climbers in theoretical and picturization way, Into Thin Air is a perfect read. With this book, I finished my 25 readings of life; next book to read is “Land of the seven rivers”.