Mason Moore Mrs. Vermillion Advanced Placement Language and Composition March 29, 2017 Ascent to Death Jon Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air” is an amazing book that describes the treacherous journey from the bottom to the top of Mt. Everest. Krakauer joins a large team of climbers led by Rob Hall to the top of the summit. They endure many hardships not just from the terrain but from the sheer effects of the high altitude on the body. This ultimately caused the down fall of many skilled and unskilled climbers on May Tenth. Krakauer begins the book in the middle of the story where he has reached the top of Mt. Everest. He is cold, wet, and facing many medical issues including lack of oxygen and separated ribs from his journey to the top. Then he …show more content…
While preparing to climb to the next camp: Base Camp, they waited as their guides helped get a sherpa trapped in a crevasse. They were all happy to get out of the lodging since the condition were horrible. It was over crowded, people were defecating right outside and there was a lack of food. Many of the team members were beginning to reveal sign of illness due to their stay at the lodge. Once they left the lodge they climbed to the Base Camp which was a makeshift town for all of climbers from the different countries and businesses. They spent time acclimating to the base camp and over the next few weeks they would climb to the other three camps to acclimate along with set up for their summit of the …show more content…
As the team ascends to camp one they face there first route or area known as Icefall. It’s given this name due too a large glacier that moves everyday, it also forces the climbers to use dangerous roping techniques that cause them to ascend parts of Icefall independently and not roped to other climbers for support. Once at the top of camp one, Krakauer tries to help one of the sherpa move some equipment up quickly realizes that all physical labor is a heavy and difficult burden on the body. Krakauer later summits to camp two and finds that his body is even weaker the higher up he is. At camp three the winds are very high and temperatures are below zero at night. The next day Krakauer and Hansen, another teammate, feel terrible and face negative fourth degrees when descending back to base