“Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer – Revisiting the Mt. Everest Disaster

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (Book cover)
Though mountain climbing may be one of the most dangerous sports/hobbies in this entire world, we don’t hear much talking about climbers. However, what happened on May 1996 on the Mt. Everest sent shockwaves rippling across the entire world as five people lost their lives to a storm.

Many questions popped up surrounding the events which transpired on that infamous day, with the main one being: whose fault really was it? Well, this is something Jon Krakauer attempts to elucidate in his first-hand account of the events in Into Thin Air.

Krakauer was himself part of that team, and the entire book is dedicated to the events which led them to their doom. Perhaps in an attempt to quiet down some personal demons of his own, Krakauer wants to show us nothing but the truth and depict events and people as they really were, without bias.

When the incident occurred many theories popped up as to who was responsible, who was good and who was really selfish and evil.

However, Krakauer avoids such extremes in his book and provides a balanced and realistic picture of everything. He doesn’t jump the shark and blame Sandy Pittman who brought an espresso maker, nor does he try to hang the blame on the Everest guide Anatoli Boukreev... he simply outlines his mistakes.

So what exactly is the reader meant to learn from the book? Well, it seemed to me as if this was Krakauer’s attempt to express his sorrow to the world over what occurred.

He spends much time discusses what he perceives to be as personal failures, explaining how they directly led to the death of a climber and how they may have very well played part in the deaths of others.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (Book cover)
It almost feels as if this is a guilt-driven outpour of honesty meant to put a controversial matter to rest once and for all, as much as that is possible at least.

All in all, if you are interested in coming as close to the truth as possible in regards to the events of May 1996 on Mt. Everest, then I definitely recommend you check this out, though underneath you will find more than a simple account; it is also a look into the reality of the spectrum of human nature.

Map of camps located along Everest ascent

Map of camps located along Everest ascent


Jon Krakauer (Author)

Jon Krakauer


Personal site

Jon Krakauer is a writer and a professional mountaineer who is known for his numerous non-fiction books about the outdoors and other, perhaps more controversial subjects. They include Into the Wild, Under the Banner of Heaven and Where Men Win Glory.

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