Survival In Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air

In the non-fiction survival story, Into Thin Air, author Jon Krakauer recounts the traumatizing events of his adventure to the Summit of Mount Everest. Krakauer tells of his experiences in depth while attempting the climb and explains how his childhood dream to climb Everest became a grim reality. We follow Krakauer as he ascends the mountain and faces much life altering events, and as he struggles to cope with these experiences afterward. While analyzing their story, readers may wonder why Krakauer’s team and thousands of other thrill seekers would feel compelled to attempt such a painstaking journey. Throughout his experience Krakauer’s outlook on climbing Everest changes from feeling excited for an opportunity to fulfill his childhood ambition, to feeling pain and turmoil as he realizes the consequences of attempting such a feat.

As a child you are told to dream big, however, an astronaut, a lion tamer or even an Everest expeditions are very dangerous ambitions to pursue. While growing up, Krakauer idolized professional climbers and aspired to defeat Mount Everest and become a

The reality of the journey to the summit is, however, the opposite and frequently ends in tragedy. The 1997 expedition to Mount Everest ended as the most disastrous of any other, resulting in nineteen fatalities and physical and emotional trauma to those fortunate enough to survive. As Krakauer comes closer to the summit of the mountain he reflects and says: “The ratio of misery to pleasure was greater by an order of magnitude than any other mountain I'd been on; I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain. And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium, and suffering, it struck me that most of us were probably seeking, above all else, something like a state of grace”