Ang Dorje is a strong willed, accomplished, self-made man. After reaching camp, Jon tries to help Ang shovel snow, before he becomes exausted quickly from the high altitude. Jon also observes that Ang has a strikingly strong physique. After this point we get to know a little bit into Ang's character and his past. We learn that from an early age, Ang was taught the basics of mountaineering from his father. However his father later lost his eyesight and Ang had to drop out of school to support his family. After working as a cook for trekkers, he was noticed by a couple and taken under their wing. As the husband describes," Ang Dorje was bright, interested, keen to learn, and conscientious almost to a fault." (Pg. 109). The couple also supported the family financially so Ang could go back to school. Once there, "Ang Dorje became an able student and achieved the equivalent of an eighth grade education before quitting to go back to work in the mountaineering and trekking industry." (Pg. 109). From this insight into Ang Dorjes history, we can see he is driven towards his goals, and works hard to achieve them.  

In the book Into Thin Air I've read through chapter seven (pg. 105). After reading through this amount of the book, I was most curious about the conditions of the lodgings that the travelers stay in on their way up Everest. In one of the chapters in the book, they describe a filthy, dilapidated shack they had to stay in, that even made some of the travelers sick. In another passage, Krakauer describes a very nice and clean village, with fresh water, food, and heating. After some research, it was confirmed that the lodging on Everest ranges from respectable to derelict, very much like in the book.
 ("Mount Everest." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.) 

("Mount Everest Map." : Explore Evanston on TripAdvisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.) 

  

Blog post 1....

Throughout the whole book they have been keeping the reader updated with the heights of the mountain and telling stories of peoples adventures throughout Nepal. When the book first starts off actually they state how they are on the summit of Mount Everest on may 10, 1996 and that they are 29,028 feet above sea level. (page 5 cover)
        When they would get into details it made me wonder about breathing. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to breathe at such a high altitude. Even though they have special things to help them with breathing it would still be difficult especially since they have an old woman shooting to be the oldest person to climb. A person would have to have strong lungs to be able to do this climb over and over so I give props to the people who run camps and give tours as an everyday job. According to list25 there are over 200 dead bodies on mount Everest which is really freaky to think about.

Comment 3

Comment 3- Ryan

In response to Lucas,

I definitely agree with most of your claim that the tone of the final part of the book is a frantic, sorrowful, and confused one. Jon Krakauer really captured the essence of an unfolding mountain disaster using this tone. It feels like you are right along side the climbers, watching as they fight to survive. In all fairness, the climbers have every right to be frantic and worried about their own survival. They are in the middle of a blizzard on top of the tallest point in the world, and their brains are starved from lack of oxygen. Who wouldn't start freaking out? However, it's after the IMAX team gives the climbers oxygen that panic really starts to sink in. They realize how lucky they were to make it back to the tents, and they realize that others weren't so fortunate. As the climbers start to look for their lost comrades, each of them is plagued with intense guilt and sorrow. While they were huddling in their tents, their friends were simultaneously suffocating from lack of oxygen, and freezing from the 100 mph winds and sub-zero temperatures. "Below, the steep gray ice of the Lhotse Face dropped 4,000 vertical feet to the floor of the Western Cwm. Standing there, afraid to move any closer to the edge, I noticed a single set of faint crampon tracks leading past me toward the abyss. Those tracks, I feared, were Andy Harris's"(Page 229).  However, where I would have to disagree a little with your claim is that it seemed to me that horror was a huge part of the tone in the final section of the book. The climbers have just experienced the worst climbing season on Everest, in terms of deaths, in 50 years. The horror of what happened to them is just starting to surface. The climbers that are alive are grateful, but they also feel incredibly guilty that they had contributed to the deaths of others. The horror that they felt during the disaster is nothing compared to what they now feel, realizing that people they had come to be good friends with were dead. Lopsang especially had trouble with dealing with Scott Fischer's death. "I am very bad luck, very bad luck. Scott is dead; it is my fault. I am very bad luck. It is my fault. I am very bad luck"(Page 272). There is not a single climber from that expedition that walked away from Everest unchanged. Every single one of them, even if it was involuntarily, contributed to the deaths of others, and this will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Comment 3- Lexie

In response to Mac,

I definitely agree with your claim that the most prevent themes in the third half of the book include reflection and somber feelings. Practically the entire third half of the book was focused on the deaths of 12 innocent climbers who lost their lives on Everest. As the book continued on, it became more and more somber as things began to get worse. It wasn't until the very end that Jon began reflecting on what he experienced, as well as his emotions. Krakauer also seems to feel guilt when he says, "of the six climbers on Hall's expedition who reached the summit, only Mike Groom and I made it back down: four team mates with whom I'd laughed and vomited and held conversations with had lost their lives. My actions, or failure to act, played a direct role in the death of Andy Harris... The stain this has left on my psyche is not the sort of thing that washes off after a few months of grief and guilt ridden self reproach"(283). The sadness and somber feelings that occurred on Everest never failed to leave Jon, forever scarring his life. The book ended on a sad and somber note that never faded away. 

Into Thin Air, Tragedy and Helplessness Strike

Nearing the end of Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer continued to develop an increasingly vexatious telling of the events that were unfolding on Mt. Everest. I found myself swaying and cringing with every detail of the book. Throughout the last third of the book, as Jon and the rest of the climbers began to ascend Everest even further, more dangerous situations begin to arise and inspire more skepticism within the climbers, but at the same time, encourage them further to push on and accomplish what they have been striving for. "... I only wish I could have gotten more clients to the top"(195).  Remarked Rob Hall on his way up to the summit. It seemed that although the obvious goal was to reach the summit of Everest, there were many hidden challenges that each individual went through and discovered throughout their trying journey. Yes, there were tragedies and the horrible feeling of helplessness as Krakauer watched the capable people he set out with to endure this peregrination with dwindle in numbers and hope. But, those who did arise on the other side of the expedition came out stronger more knowing people, making up for those who were lost. "Everest seems to have poisoned many lives. Relationships have foundered" (299). Many would say that the tone of this book is a very grim and tragic one, but on the flip side to all this loss, regret, and pain that has been had and made from this mountain, something else can rise from that. The ones who have survived that great feat of scaling Mt Everest and living to tell about it can benefit not only themselves, but others as well; "It took a few months in my case for the positive aspects to begin to develop. But they have. Everest was the worst experience in mu life. But that was then. Now is now. I'm focusing on the positive. I learned some important things about life, others, and myself. I feel I now have a clearer perspective on life. I see things today as I never saw them before"(295). There will always be controversy over this expedition and the outcome of it, but one thing is for sure, the world will never look at Everest the same way again.

All in all this book was an interesting read, the author, Jon Krakauer, is actually the author of my favorite book, Into The Wild, so that connection may have swayed my initial apprehension to put the book down and not read it in the beginning. The book started out slightly slowly and confusingly, but as it progressed and the characters developed, along with the author and it became hard to put down. Especially towards the end of the book, when Jon and his team started encountering many obstacles and Krakauer had to do investigative work to figure out what had actually happened during their time on the mountain, that made the book really engaging for me.

How Somber-Third post

             The tone of the final third of "Into Thin Air" took on a much more somber and reflective feeling. especially the final chapters when the author is reflecting on the enormity of what he had just experienced.  And it seems entirely justified as well, anyone that had to go through the same thing that Krakauer or any of the other climbers that survived went through would most have to deal with substantial amounts of grief and sorrow, and is possibly forms of PTSD. "With so many marginally qualified climbers flocking to Everest, a lot of people thought a tragedy of this magnitude was overdue. but nobody imagined that an expedition lead by Rob Hall would be the center of it. Hall ran the tightest, safest operation of the mountain, bar none. A compulsive, methodical man, he had elaborate systems in place that were supposed to prevent such a catastrophe. So what happened? How can it be explained. not only to the loved ones left behind, but to a censorious public? Hubris probably had something to do with it. Hall had become so adept at running climbers up and down Everest that he got a little cocky, perhaps." (p. 284) This quote shows how Krakauer began to really reflect on what had happened to him on the mountain, especially when he had to write about it for his magazine article.

              Over all I enjoyed reading "Into Thin Air", It was slow to start but once all of the set up was out of the way then Krakauer does an excellent job of portraying what it was like to be on the mountain, wondering if you will make it down alive.