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Tragic Loss In Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer

1048 Words5 Pages

In my life, I have yet to experience a tragic loss. I have never felt the agonizing feeling one gets when they lose an essential person in their life. I have people in my life that play that crucial role of bringing happiness, but none of them have I ever lost. Before reading Into Thin Air I could only imagine the journey of losing a loved one. Now, after reading the book and being able to create a connection with the characters, through Jon Krakauer’s writing style, I was able to truly experience some feeling of loss. Into Thin Air took me through the journey of creating and having an interpersonal relationship with someone, but then completely losing that person and how factors of life can make copping with that loss, even more difficult. …show more content…

On assignment for Outside Magazine to report the growing commercialization on the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high altitude guide on the mountain. The book details the author's expedition up Mount Everest on May 10, 1996, which turned catastrophic when eight climbers were killed on one day by a rogue storm. Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people, including himself, to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns’ of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Krakauer, throughout the story shows the reader what it truly means to depend on someone else and to have others depending on you. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauers eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular …show more content…

Through imagery and extent explanation of the geography of the mountain and placement of climbers, the reader feels as if they are part of the expedition as well. The description Krakauer gives of the climber’s paths and the camps they stay at, the reader is able to picture the journey in a realistic mindset. Krakauer is constantly using imagery to give the reader a picture of the actual situations through the Khumba Icefall, Hillary Step and the camps, as Krakauer writes, “The ink-black wedge of the summit pyramid stood out in the stark relief, towering over the surrounding ridges. Thrust high into the jet stream, the mountain ripped a visible gash in the 120-knot hurricane, sending forth a plume of ice crystals that trailed the east like along silk scarf”(30). Krakauer continues to use figurative language as he continues to write, “The blowing spindrift felt like a sandblaster or something” (209). Using a simile, Krakauer is able to relate what he was feeling to something more familiar so the reader would be able to understand the feeling he is having. Through this writing style, Krakauer is able to engage the reader into the book further and further as the journey goes

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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.

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