Into Thin Air Essay

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.