Devan Wilson

Espirit

March 6th, 20013

Into Thin Air Section One: The effect climbing has on your body

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                 When I began this book, I quickly figured out that this was going to be an intense read. Not only would it be suspenseful, but it would also be something that I have not heard anything. In this story, the main character is embarking on a crazy journey, with a goal of reaching the top of Mount Everest. He shares all of his life with the reader, and a lot of history about past experiences and climbs that have been taken. As I was reading, I noticed that there were a lot of deaths and severe injuries that went along with this dangerous sport. Altitude illness is most common, because the body can't fight off or get used to the change in air pressure that fast. In the book is says, "Prior to the clinic's existence, acute altitude illness killed approximately one or two out of every 500 trekkers who passed through Pheriche" (p. 52) This is an astonishing fact because not only were so many people getting killed, but there wasn't always a clinic or something to help the people that got it. The deadliest year ever in history was in 1996, with 19 deaths (The Daily Beast). Embarking on a journey against the tallest peak in the entire world, standing at a total 29,029 feet obviously has its risks and making the decision to do it could end your life forever. Along with death being an obvious factor, there are other problems climbers have to face, for example excruciating head aches and vomiting due to the poor conditions and lack of clean supplies. Having the right physical endurance and ability is the most important factor to keep in mind, because constantly walking up the steep and long hill will get you very tired easily if you are not in the right shape. In the novel, a story is shared about Scott Fischer, who has had arguably the worst injury in the history of Mount Everest. He was attempting the very first ascent of a hard frozen cascade which was called Bridal Veil Falls, which was in Utah. He was a novice ice climber at the time, racing against two very experienced climbers. Fischer took a very big fall, which resulted in a pick of an ice tool impaling into his calf and fully coming out the other side. Injuries like this are not common, although giving the intense circumstances, things like this could most definitely happen again. To prevent things like this from happening in the future, steps need to be made in order to have the climbers health in mind. This can be difficult because a full time hospital cannot be in such high altitudes, simply because there aren't any doctors that would be willing to deal with the little air that is up there. The best thing that can be done at this stage is making it absolutely clear to the people that are seriously thinking about climbing the massive scary beast is just to warn them about everything that can happen. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this book, and seeing what happens to Rob Hall and his team of climbers.