What is Krakauer most worried about at the beginning of into thin air

Krakauer, worried about the oxygen supply, does not stay at the top long enough to string up banners or flags or pose for pictures. He turns to descend, passing some members of Fischer’s expedition along the way. Krakauer notices some thin clouds, but does not recognize them as thunderheads.

What happens in chapter 1 of into thin air?

A dichotomy between company and solitude is created in this first chapter. Krakauer ascends to the summit alone, as opposed to the groups he encounters on the way down, clustered together into a “traffic jam” (7). Krakauer is successful on his own, and many of the climbers who ascend together are not.

What was Krakauer's hope at the end of Chapter 3?

That is one of the main differences in climbing with a guide service—instead of trusting one’s climbing partner, everyone trusts the guide. With no choice but to trust Hall, Krakauer hopes that trust isn’t misplaced.

What was Rob Hall upset about when he ran into Krakauer?

Krakauer vaguely remembers seeing Lopsang and Sandy Pittman. He also sees Rob Hall, who seems disappointed that five of his eight clients haven’t made it to the summit.

What was Krakauer's realization while on the airplane?

By Jon Krakauer To his amusement—and minor panic—he realizes that the plane is currently cruising at the same height as Everest’s peak. He arrives in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, where he’s scooped up by a New Zealander named Andy Harris. Harris works for fellow Kiwi Rob Hall’s mountain guide company.

What question does Krakauer hope this book will answer?

What questions does Krakauer hope this book will answer? Two alternate names for Mt. Everest and their meanings. Who was George Mallory?

What happens in into thin air?

Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest, when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended in the worst single-season death toll in the peak’s history.

What clue did Krakauer see that led him to draw a possible conclusion about what may have happened to Andy Harris?

Krakauer sees faint footprints leading in that direction and realizes in horror that Andy has fallen over the edge.

Who does Krakauer mistake for Andy Harris?

The man who Krakauer thought was Andy Harris was in fact Martin Adams—in their oxygen-deprivation stupor, they both hadn’t realized that they were talking to one another.

What are Lhakpa's reasons to leave Beck Weathers and Yasuko Namba?

What are Lhakpa’s reasons to leave Beck Weathers and Yasuko Namba? Lhakpa says they would both die before they could be carried down. An attempted rescue would most likely jeopardize those in the rescue party.

Article first time published on

Who does Krakauer help when they reach camp one?

Krakauer makes it to Camp One ahead of most of the climbers, and tries to help Sherpa Ang Dorje set up camp. He finds physical labor at the high altitude nearly impossible. Hall calls Dorje his “main man,” and the two have climbed before. Dorje has summated Everest three times.

What does Krakauer notice about the Sherpas culture?

Krakauer explains that not all Nepalese are Sherpas—in fact, only 20,000 Sherpas inhabit Nepal. They are a Buddhist mountain society who migrated from Tibet hundreds of years ago. … The culture has also been affected by the fact that about one-third of the people who have died on Everest were Sherpas.

How does Krakauer get interested in climbing?

When Outside Magazine hired Krakauer to do the story, he was not to actually attempt the summit. However, he decided that remaining at Base Camp for a period of two mont hs would be agonizing, and he began training to climb to the top. To his surprise, the magazine subsidized the climb.

Who does Krakauer ask to turn down his oxygen tank because he wants to conserve his oxygen as he waits for other climbers?

Krakauer asks Andy Harris to turn down his oxygen so as to preserve it until he can get another one, but Harris mistakenly opens the valve even farther and after ten minutes, Krakauer is out of oxygen.

Who was George Mallory into thin air?

George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s. Born in Cheshire, Mallory was introduced to rock climbing and mountaineering as a student at Winchester College.

What is the icefall in into thin air?

The Icefall is a glacier that comes to rest over a drop-off. The glacier on the Icefall moves a few feet a day, causing nails of ice to form. Eighteen climbers had died in the Icefall.

What conclusion does Krakauer draw at the end of the story?

Based on his own experiences in Alaska when he was a stubborn, headstrong young man, author Jon Krakauer arrives at the conclusion that McCandless’s death wasn’t suicide or even the result of an unconscious death wish, but rather an accident.

How old was Jon Krakauer when he climbed Everest?

How old was Jon Krakauer when he climbed Everest? Jon took part in a guided ascent of Mount Everest in 1996 at the age of 42.

What other works has Krakauer written what do you know of them have you read any of them?

Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of best-selling non-fiction books—Into the Wild; Into Thin Air; Under the Banner of Heaven; and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman—as well as numerous magazine articles.

Who is Andy Harris into thin air?

Andrew Michael Harris NZBS (29 September 1964 – 10 May 1996) was a New Zealand mountain guide who died in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Harris was one of the guides for the Adventure Consultants’ 1996 Everest expedition, led by Rob Hall.

Who is Harris in into thin air?

Andy Harris is a guide on Rob Hall’s hiking team along with Jon Krakauer. He is described by Krakauer as a man whose actions were heroic even if they would end up costing his life (239).

What happened to Krakauer's tent at base camp?

Krakauer remains in his tent for several days because of foul weather. After three days, he gets so restless that he smokes his only marijuana cigarette, which makes him hungry. He lights his stove to make oatmeal and accidentally sets his tent on fire.

What habit has been ingrained in Krakauer from his years of climbing?

What habit had been ingrained in Krakauer from his years of climbing? Compusively memorzing the terrain and talking out loud. Who did Krakauer think he saw when waiting before the final descent down the glassy ice slope to the tents?

What does Krakauer think of Sandy Pittman?

Pittman was making her third attempt at the Everest summit. At the time, she was married to the president of MTV. Krakauer believes she is publicity-seeker, motivated to be the first woman to conquer the Seven Summits, the seven highest peaks in the world.

What is happening with Beck Weathers and Yasuko Namba from Jon's team?

Yasuko Namba and Beck Weathers are left for dead when their group gets lost on the way down the mountain. Namba is a Japanese woman whose attempt to climb Everest gained much notoriety in Japan. Unlike Weathers she cannot summon the strength to return to camp, and dies.

How do they have to get Sandy Pittman down?

Sandy Pittman is rapidly deteriorating, becoming nearly comatose on the descent. They give her an injection of dexamethasone, a drug designed to reduce the effects of high altitude, and a new canister of oxygen. About twenty minutes later, able again to control her movements, Pittman begins to descend.

What happened to Ngawang?

Ngapo Ngawang Jigme died short of his 100th birthday. Very few in India have heard of Ngapo, the Tibetan who collaborated with the Chinese to make Tibet a Chinese colony in October 1950. … In 1951, the Dalai Lama sent Ngapoi and four other delegates to Beijing for negotiations.

Why did shoveling snow tires of Jon Krakauer?

Why was climbing over the “Mousetrap” so scary? Why did shoveling 2 shovelfuls of snow tire out Jon Krakauer? When they left for the hike to Camp Two, the weather was brutally cold.

How was Ngawang Topche responsible for his death?

Nepalese climbing sherpa Ngawang Topche Sherpa was a member of Scott Fischer’s 1996 Everest expedition. Suffering from High Altitutude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), he ultimately lost his life in spite of desperate attempts to save him.

Who sent Jon Krakauer to Nepal?

In March of 1996, outside magazine sent Jon Krakauer, an experienced mountain climber and author, to write about and participate in a guided ascent of Mt. Everest. One of eight clients on an expedition led by world-renowned guide, Rob Hall.

What happens in chapter 5 of into thin air?

Krakauer meets Scott Fischer at Base Camp. Fischer has climbed Everest before, once without oxygen, and guided an expedition up another towering mountain. Fischer and Hall are rivals but friends, having experience climbing with one another. … The effects of high altitude are significant even at Base Camp.