Jon Krakauer’s account of the 1996 expedition to Mt. Everest not only covered the description of the difficult terrain with the extreme climate, but also the health and emotional hurdles that accompanied the group as they attempted the ascent. From the beginning of the book, Krakauer makes it very clear that he feels honored to be a part of Rob Hall’s expedition group even though he is just there to write about it. But over time, he becomes more aware of the lack of preparation of many of the climbers. For example, Krakauer looked around at his fellow climbers, also known as the clients, and was surprised at the sheer number of them as well as the fact that they were not the seasoned climbers that he was used to (Krakauer, p. 39). This lack of faith in the experience level on his fellow teammates on the expedition, led to a large reliance on his guide, Rob Hall (Krakauer, p. 40).

 

According to Krakauer, Hall had a fantastic reputation for climbing as well as treating Sherpas with the respect that they deserved. However, some of Hall’s clients did not treat the Sherpas nearly as well, for instance the attorney from East Texas spoke to a Sherpani in a demeaning pidgin manner (Krakauer, p. 45). Krakauer noted that Hall was always “especially concerned” about the Sherpas that he hired for his treks. He wanted his clients to understand the value of the Sherpas contribution to the journey as well as the value of the sacrifice of life that Sherpas have made in the past (Krakauer, p. 55). For example, when a Sherpa named Tenzing was injured, Hall made sure that the Sherpa was rescued before he allowed his clients to head up to Base Camp. Krakauer mentioned the relief that settled over the other clients regarding Tenzing’s rescue but also being able to leave the area where they had been waiting due to the sicknesses they had contracted there (Krakauer, p. 61).

 

Once the team started to make progress climbing the mountain, and attempting to reach Camp Three, the conditions of Everest started to make the ascent impossible. But the team continued and Krakauer went on to counter the argument many make about mountaineers which claims that they are adrenaline junkies. Instead he makes the statement that mountaineering is about enduring pain rather than collecting adrenaline. He referenced this particular climb as a “Calvinistic undertaking”, where there was a great amount of misery and very little pleasure, and that the end goal was to achieve a certain level of grace (Krakauer, p. 140).

 

Additionally the physical deterioration that most of the climbers experienced was incredible. Krakauer described his experience with the simple phrase, “All was not well with my body”. He continued to lose an incredible amount of weight, including the extra fat making the extreme temperatures even more detrimental. However, he said that the worst problem was the effect coughing had had on his body, and that it actually torn thoracic cartilage which caused extreme discomfort (Krakauer, p. 145). While at Camp Three, other clients under the direction of a different guide, had come down with High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). The climber effected was an extremely experienced climber who had contracted the condition out of the blue. But because the seriousness of the condition, he was taken off the mountain down to Base Camp (Krakauer, p. 144).

 

The amount of lives lost during the season that Krakauer attempted to summit Mt. Everest with his team was horrific. The lack of experience, the weather, and the combination of other factors led to an overall disaster that would have lasting impacts on the individuals and their families for years to come. Even Krakauer questioned the wisdom of going to Everest in the first place, and admits that his presence on the expedition made him a participant in the death of many good people, and it will “remain on my conscience for a very long time” (Krakauer, p. XVII).