For those who have read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I just finished it and it is a spectacular book. He’s a wonderful writer and the story IS so engrossing. HOWEVER, I’m left feeling like I’m missing something. The book is a tale of a massive tragedy but really the author sleeps through most of it in a tent. Now on the one hand he was just a client and didn’t have experience on Everest or at high altitude. He made sure he was safe so he didn’t take any resources from others. BUT he is a great climber. He talks about how he was told to stick with the group and not climb ahead. And he seems to be one of most physically fit of the clients. And he just went to bed without so much as checking to see if the 9 others that were at the summit were en route? He just left Beck sitting on a ledge blind and went back to camp? What about his friendship with Doug? There’s a sense when you read the last part of the book that he’s really emphasizing things he did to help and minimizing that he took shelter for most of the night/next day. Now I think most of this is that this is a true story. This is what a human would actually do in an emergency. Take care of themselves, get to safety. I know that’s what I’d do. And I can’t fathom the exasperation and confusion you’d be feeling that far above sea level. But just something that stuck with me.
by Radsmama