The best part of reading a book is the personal memories it brings back. I had already gone through my 'Mountain Phase' when tragedy struck Mt. Everest on May 10, 1996. And while the high altitude adventure bug has never left me , Mistress severely governed my angle of ascent to 5.5 or less after I lost the tip of one finger and got two concussions in one season. I still however have my illusions.
Sidenote: My favorite climb to lead and sadly my last climb after Mistress came along was the Midway Route outside of Index, Washington, but my usual route/climbing area was at little Mt. Si and exit 38 in North Bend.
The book. Into Thin Air. Right. I re-read my first edition over a weekend of being stuck in bed. John Krakauer took a lot of flack when his Outside Magazine article was published and later when the book came out just a year after the storm. I went to one of his Everest symposiums and slides shows at REI before it really took off as a best seller and he was still obviously coming to grip with his thoughts. Not only does it tell a terrible story of hubris, mistakes and guilt, it brings to sharp clarity the dreams men have of conquering their boyhood dreams.
Written in the first person, Krakauer tries to sort through fact, perception, oxygen deprivation and ultimately the business that brought so many paying clients to the highest levels of the world and a terrific storm at 26,000 feet that killed many, and changed everyone.
If you are someone who craves adventure and wants to read a classic story of survival, recovering and coping this is it.
Sidenote: My favorite climb to lead and sadly my last climb after Mistress came along was the Midway Route outside of Index, Washington, but my usual route/climbing area was at little Mt. Si and exit 38 in North Bend.
The book. Into Thin Air. Right. I re-read my first edition over a weekend of being stuck in bed. John Krakauer took a lot of flack when his Outside Magazine article was published and later when the book came out just a year after the storm. I went to one of his Everest symposiums and slides shows at REI before it really took off as a best seller and he was still obviously coming to grip with his thoughts. Not only does it tell a terrible story of hubris, mistakes and guilt, it brings to sharp clarity the dreams men have of conquering their boyhood dreams.
Written in the first person, Krakauer tries to sort through fact, perception, oxygen deprivation and ultimately the business that brought so many paying clients to the highest levels of the world and a terrific storm at 26,000 feet that killed many, and changed everyone.
If you are someone who craves adventure and wants to read a classic story of survival, recovering and coping this is it.
8 comments:
I just finished reading Into Thin Air for the first time and found it to be memorable, an amazing story and an absolute page turner.
But of course you already knew all that stuff.
I really enjoyed the book but let us not forget that it isn't only men who have those dreams. Plenty of women make that climb and not all of them make it back.
Great book! I have a fascination and love for the Antartic and will visit one day.
After reading that, I decided a long time ago to stick to warm-weather single or double pitch climbs - back in my climbing days. Anyone who embarks on an altitude climb takes the word "commit" to a higher level! Plus, I really hate snow...
Read it and loved it. The IMAX movie "Everest" was being filmed when the happened. That is such a good movie to. Really worth a watch if you like the topic.
Another one along the same lines is "Touching the Void." Two guys ice climbing in South America. Tragedy and survival ensues. The book haunted me for awhile. They even made a movie about it a couple of years ago, but the book is sooooooo much more. I highly recommend it.
sorry about the typos.
Read it in a day while visiting friends in Colorado. I rarely finish a book in weeks, much less a day, not to mention sitting in a recliner and reading while on vacation. Great book. Great lessons to be learned from it.
I loved that book as well. Another favorite of mine from Krakauer is "Into The Wild"
I only have two zones, the first is "Stop" the second is "SOLW"
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