From the very moment this charming character was introduced, I liked him the best. What I love the most about Hansen is thet fact that, unlike many of the other group members, he is a postal worker. Throughout the early parts of the book, Doug is a shown as a nice guy. He stays out of trouble, gets along with the rest of the group and he has previous experience from climbing Mt. Everest the year before. It was entertaining to watch Krakauer's friendship with Doug blossom as the climbed to the summit of Everest together. However, when Hansen began to have throat problems due to a combination of the terribly icy weather and his recent throat surgery, I started to worry about what would happen to poor Doug.
"'The climb is over for me.' -'You're a tough bastard. I think you've still got a good shot at the top once you recover.'…It was rough seeing him so discouraged. He'd become a good friend, unstintingly sharing the wisdom he'd gained during his failed attempt on the peak in 1995…Around my neck, I wore a Xi-stone…that Doug had given me early on in the expedition. I wanted him to reach the summit almost as bad as I wanted to reach it myself"(130).
Not only did this difficult set back have a big effect of Doug, it also brought Krakauer and the rest of the group down. It was hard for them to watch Hansen get so close to the top once again. Fornutatley, the cure to Doug's injury is rest, at least enough of a cure to get him to the summit. Doug then heads back to Base Camp where he is getting rest away from the group, but is still determined to reach the summit and achieve his lingering goal.
As we've seen in the book Dough Hansen is a very persistent man, with everything he went through he still kept pushing to the top. Even with his throat he persevered through the pain. Doug said on page 154 "I've put too much of myself into this mountain to quit now, without giving it everything I've got." With this much strive to there's almost not stopping Doug from reaching the top, not his throat nor the cold weather are gonna be able to stop him. You cant help but root for Doug in this book as he struggles to reach the top but eventually he does. All thanks to his stubborn stupidity Doug Hansen summits Mount Everest after 4:00 pm, 2 hours after their turn around time. Dough shows us if you have the want and the fight, there's no stopping you from reaching your goals.
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