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I’d always known, in the abstract, that climbing mountains was a dangerous pursuit. But until I climbed in the Himalayas this spring, I’d never actually seen death at close range. And there was so much of it: Including three members of an Indo-Tibetan team who died on the north side just below the summit in the same May 10 storm and an Austrian killed some days later, 11 men and women lost their lives on Everest in May 1996, a tie with 1982 for the worst single-season death toll in the peak’s history. . .
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Climbing mountains will never be a safe, predictable, rule-bound enterprise. It is an activity that idealizes risk-taking; its most celebrated figures have always been those who stuck their necks out the farthest and managed to get away with it. Climbers, as a species, are simply not distinguished by an excess of common sense. And that holds especially true for Everest climbers: When presented with a chance to reach the planet’s highest summit, people are surprisingly quick to abandon prudence altogether. “Eventually,” warns Tom Hornbein, 33 years after his ascent of the West Ridge, “what happened on Everest this season is certain to happen again.”
Making Meanings
from Into Thin Air
First Thoughts
1. Which person in this true story did you sympathize with most? Why?
Shaping Interpretations
2. Which sensory details in Krakauer's descriptions have remained most vivid in your memory after reading the article? Why?
3. Choose one tragedy that happened on the mountain—for example, the death of Rob Hall or Doug Hansen or the loss of Beck Weathers’s right hand. Draw a cause-and-effect diagram similar to the one to the right to show the complex causes that led to the tragedy.
4. Are there any real-life heroes in this story? If so, who are they, and why do you think they are heroes?
5. What conclusions does Krakauer draw at the end of this article? Do you think these conclusions can apply to other “risk takers” as well? Explain.
Connecting with the Text
6. What passages in this narrative impressed you, puzzled you, shocked you, or caused other strong reactions? Read those passages aloud in a group. Discuss how the events described affected your previous opinion of mountain climbing. (Check your Quickwrite notes.)
Extending the Text
7. Should inexperienced climbers be allowed to pay large sums of money to climb Mt. Everest, or should they be barred? Explain your opinion.
Challenging the Text
8. Krakauer begins his article at the point when he reaches the top of Everest; then he reveals the nature of the tragedy that occurred. Does this beginning in the middle of the story spoil the element of surprise or suspense ? Why or why not?
9. This selection is filled with technical mountaineering details as well as specifics about time, place, and elevation. Did the difficulty of these details outweigh their usefulness for you, or did they enhance the piece? Explain.