Review: Into Thin Air

Jon Krakauer dreamed of climbing mountains ever since he was a child so he jumped at the chance to write an article about a guided climb of Mount Everest for Outside Magazine in 1996.  He was part of a group of eight climbers led by a well known guide.  Five members of their group reached the top of the mountain but only one survived to tell about it because of a violent storm that hit.  Eight people died on the mountain that day, making it the deadliest day up to that point.

Krakauer was devastated after the events but managed to get his article written in a timely manner; he later discovered errors he’d made because of the required deadline.  He couldn’t shake the expedition so he decided to write a book about it.  Many people suggested he put some distance between the events and the book but he couldn’t wait.  In true Krakauer fashion, he went to work researching the events which proved very difficult to do.  The brain is severely affected by the low levels of oxygen at such a high altitude so climbers’ memories weren’t always accurate.

I seem to be on a Jon Krakauer kick this year so I picked up Into Thin Air, his account of that deadly expedition and, let me tell you, it is a fascinating story.  I knew climbing a mountain isn’t easy but I had no idea just how difficult and complicated it is.  Krakauer goes into great detail about the ascent and descent and I was glued to it from the very beginning.  He’s quick to let readers know that, because of different memories, it’s impossible to know exactly what happened at times and he shares the most likely explanations.

Even after reading Into Thin Air, I don’t understand the desire to climb a mountain like that but I do have a new appreciation for what’s involved in an expedition.  I thought this book was terrific and recommend it to those who enjoy memoirs, nonfiction, and/or the outdoors.

The audio version is read by Philip Franklin and I thought he did a great job keeping me engaged in the story.

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