Standing at twenty-nine thousand feet, Everest towers over most of the surrounding mountaintops. Climbing Everest is a task that should only be trusted by people with motivation, dedication and dependability. In the novel Into Thin Air, John Krakauer climbs Everest in the deadliest of conditions. That trip to Everest killed one and twenty-three other attempted to make it down the mountain alive. Rob Hall led his group on an expedition the he had completed many times before. The confidence was mainly what led the group to disaster, because Hall had such a great success rate to the summit, I believe that he slacked off this time.
Motivation came in many different ways in this novel. Some of the climbers were motivated just by seeing the mountain, some because they have tried scaling the mountain before and had to turn back due to lack of oxygen. Many of the climbers have attempted the mountain before but have not successfully reached the summit due to weather conditions. However they all were motivated to reach the top. The question is; when can motivation overcome physical powers to result in death or stupid decisions? In chapter 12 one of the climbers Doug told the others that he was going to keep climbing until he ran out of oxygen. In order to have this type of thinking he need some motivation so he can reach the summit.
Climbing up that mountain alone in those conditions is dedication. When Sandy Pittman was dragged down the mountain that wad hard for Jon because he had to pull her down the steep incline while her crampons were slicing through his jacket. He was dedicated to get her alive and didn’t want to leave her for dead and luckily she could climb down herself after a while. Not just Jon but all the climbers showed these traits when they stayed in the freezing conditions, risking body parts to the harsh cold, just so the can say, I conquered Everest.
Crossing a crevasse is the most dangerous part of the whole climb says Rob Hall. In chapter six when the group had to cross over the crevasses in order to get to the base camp they were required to be tied to a robe at all times. The rope was used to make sure one person didn’t fall into a crevasse. This made the climbers a lot more dependant with their climbing abilities. Being dependable as a climber helps the team as a whole. When the team is in a life or death situation, the team requires the mental and physical help of the others. None of the climbers would have been able to descend the mountain alone in horrid conditions. They depended on each other just like the whole team depended on Hall to get them down to safety alive and all in one piece.
Yes, there might have been a terrible disaster that killed one and injured many but whose fault was it you might ask. It was no ones fault, but some want to blame it on Hall because he was the one who led the group into the disaster. The qualities of everyone made them fit to climb had nothing to do with the disaster that occurred. Everyone on the expedition just got stuck in a place where they didn’t want to be. Therefore the events on Everest happened for a reason and that reason has taught all other climbers a lesson to not climb in those conditions.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Into This Air essay (rough)
Analyze how specific mental and emotional qualities make a person fit to successfully climb Everest, but also possibly lead to disaster:
When a person is going to try and achieve something that is hard for them and requires great amounts of effort physically and emotionally it becomes very hard on the body. If you say to yourself "I can Do it, and I will do it" this gives you extreme support. When you become confident in what you and set your mind to something you have a better chance to complete that task. But there is a down side to this and it is called over confidence. This happens when a person thinks they can do something that they really can't. On Everest you need to know your limits and when to stop.
The phrase if you put your mind to it you will succeed it true in many cases. When the guys on the mountain were stuck in situations where they were really pushed to their limits they really had to put their minds to work to succeed……
Physical Strength: This is the most important quality that someone needs to be fit to climb Everest. When do these become vital in situations like the ones in the book?
How these contrast to lead to disaster? What were the steps that lead up to the disaster? What happened and how did it happen? What could have happened differently to make things go better?
Conclusion: bring all these ideas together and re-visit the question
When a person is going to try and achieve something that is hard for them and requires great amounts of effort physically and emotionally it becomes very hard on the body. If you say to yourself "I can Do it, and I will do it" this gives you extreme support. When you become confident in what you and set your mind to something you have a better chance to complete that task. But there is a down side to this and it is called over confidence. This happens when a person thinks they can do something that they really can't. On Everest you need to know your limits and when to stop.
The phrase if you put your mind to it you will succeed it true in many cases. When the guys on the mountain were stuck in situations where they were really pushed to their limits they really had to put their minds to work to succeed……
Physical Strength: This is the most important quality that someone needs to be fit to climb Everest. When do these become vital in situations like the ones in the book?
How these contrast to lead to disaster? What were the steps that lead up to the disaster? What happened and how did it happen? What could have happened differently to make things go better?
Conclusion: bring all these ideas together and re-visit the question
Friday, December 4, 2009
Blog # 27
1. How do specific mental and emotional qualities (such as confidence, self-control, and more) make a person fit to climb Everest but also possibly lead to disaster?
When a person is going to try and achieve something that is hard for them and requires great amounts of effort physically and emotionally it becomes very hard on the body. If you say to yourself "I can Do it, and I will do it" this gives you extreme support. When you become confident in what you and set your mind to something you have a better chance to complete that task. But there is a down side to this and it is called over confidence. This happens when a person thinks they can do something that they really can't. On Everest you need to know your limits and when to stop.
2. What is the significance that more guides than clients died on Everest in the events of the story?
I think that this is significant because it shows that the guides took their lives to try and help their clients which is what they were supposed to do. The guides could have been over confident in their climbing which caused them to come across this problem.
When a person is going to try and achieve something that is hard for them and requires great amounts of effort physically and emotionally it becomes very hard on the body. If you say to yourself "I can Do it, and I will do it" this gives you extreme support. When you become confident in what you and set your mind to something you have a better chance to complete that task. But there is a down side to this and it is called over confidence. This happens when a person thinks they can do something that they really can't. On Everest you need to know your limits and when to stop.
2. What is the significance that more guides than clients died on Everest in the events of the story?
I think that this is significant because it shows that the guides took their lives to try and help their clients which is what they were supposed to do. The guides could have been over confident in their climbing which caused them to come across this problem.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Blog # 26
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/contests.html
Up to 5 pictures.
November 2nd is the deadline.
must be in jpg or gif format and cannot exceed 4mb in size
My work will be accepted based on these requirements.
Up to 5 pictures.
November 2nd is the deadline.
must be in jpg or gif format and cannot exceed 4mb in size
My work will be accepted based on these requirements.
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