Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer - Book Review

"Guy handed me a beer , Caroline gave me a hug , and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the ice with my face in my hands and tears streaking my cheeks,weeping like I hadn't wept since i was a small boy . Safe now, the crushing strain of the preceding days lifted from my shoulders, I cried for the lost companions , I cried because I was grateful to be alive , I cried because I felt terrible for having survived while others had died."

  This is the second book by Jon that I read , the first one was , "Into the wild".( click to read review). This book is an ultimate lesson to life. A story , rather a sad story where everyone lives for himself , where u turn and leave people to die , u turn away just 300 feet from the peak , where your wrong decision affects the entire group, where you just give up and die, where u hallucinate and talk to strange people, where all of a sudden you turn blind , where u never remember that you spoke to your dearest friend. A thrilling book and covers minute mountaineering details. 

Rightly shortlisted for "The boardman tasker prize for mountain literature."

About Everest : In 1852 Radhanath Sikhdar , working out of the Survey's Calcutta bureau , had discovered the highest mountain in the world.. Later in 1965 when the computations were confirmed , it was bestowed the name Mt. Everest , in honor of Sir. George Everest , a surveyor general. Since 1852 , it took the lives of 24 men , efforts of 15 expeditions and the passage of 101 years before the summit of Everest would be finally be attained on June2 , 1953.

"Reaching the top of Everest is supposed to trigger a surge of intense elation; against long odds, after all , I had just attained a goal I'd coveted since childhood. But the summit was really only the half way point. Any impulse that i might have felt toward self-congratulation was extinguished by the overwhelming apprehension about the long, dangerous descent that lay ahead."

The author was sponsored by the Outside magzine to cover the issues involved with climbing Everest but one never knew that this expedition would soon be known as, " The everest disaster." The author covers everybody in the expedition and gives a detailed description of everyone. The day of the summit assault was as an auspicious one and the leader of the group Rob Hall had successfully led many expeditions. But one never knows what can happen to you in Everest. among the people who made it to Everest , not everyone was luck enough to return back. Many were caught in struggle with life and death , while some men just walked out of their death many succumbed to the fatigue, cold , lack of Oxygen at such high heights.The description makes me shiver. 

Trip Milestones:

Phakoing - March 31, 1996 - 9,186 feet

Lobuje -    April 8 , 1996 - 16,200 feet 

Camp One- April 13, 1996 - 19,500 feet

Camp two- April 28, 1996 - 21,300 feet

Lhoste Face- April 29, 1996 - 23,400 feet

Camp three- May 9 ,1996 -24,000 feet

Southeast Ridge- May,10,1996 - 27,600 feet

Summit - 1:12 p.m., May 10 1996 - 29,028 feet.

"The one greatest advantage which inexperience confers on the would be mountaineer is that he is not bogged down by tradition or precedence. To him, all things appear simple, and he chooses straightforward solutions to the problems he faces. Often, of course , it defeats the success that he is seeking , and sometimes it has tragic results , but the man himself doesn't know this when he sets out on his adventure."