In today’s society it is rare to encounter one who is completely independent. People depend on human contact and the help of fellow civilians to supply for basic needs. I myself could not have made it on my own. I depend on my family to supply shelter, food, and basic life skills that have kept me alive. On the summit of Mt. Everest the clients, guides, and Sherpas from the 1996 expeditions experienced many of these same needs. In the novel Into Thin Air, author Jon Krakauer relives the duration of his climbing experience that May. He accentuates through his fellow clients the desperate need for encouragement, and assistance at all altitudes.
Krakauer is sent by Outside Magazine to do an article about the world’s tallest mountain. Through
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Fischer gives a biased view on guiding the mountain by explaining, “[We’ve] built a yellow brick road to the summit,” (Krakauer 86). Fischer explains to the clients he will get them all there and it will be an easy time if they just follow the leader. Rob Hall took a more rational approach to his client’s abilities by telling them, “With enough determination, any bloody idiot can get up this hill.The trick is to get back down alive,” (Krakauer 190). Hall explains when the climbers have a lot of energy on the way up they are focused on success, but on the way down they are exhausted and having reached the summit, lack determination to complete a goal. Hall required the clients to stay close together so if they ever required assistance the guides would be right there, where Fischer lead a more loosely run expedition allowing the clients to free climb up the mountain at their own pace. The distances between clients made him have to run around to help people at all different points. This made Fischer exhausted, “Fischer walked through our camp with a clenched jaw, moving uncharacteristically slowly toward his own tents,” (Krakauer 191). Come summit day Fischer was tired, leaving his group down a guide, and Rob Hall forced his clients to stick together, arriving at the summit at very late times. Both expeditions had their rules, or lack of rules, that in the end, created a problem when the storm