Into Thin Air

[Quillback]

May 10 and 11 will be the 30 year anniversary of the Mt. Everest ascent and attempted ascent that cost the lives of 8 people.  The book Into Thin Air is a good read of that day and of the whole process of making that climb.  

[Devan S.]

I really enjoy reading and watching mountaineering. Is it ridiculously unsafe? yes. Dumb? Maybe but its intruiging and I get why people do it. I've always wanted to trek to Everest base camp(no desire to go beyond) but feel like my opportunity and desire as diminishing. 

There are tons of really really good videos(hi def, great sound, no music) of Everest summits on youtube. 

[Nick Adams]

7 hours ago, Quillback said:

Into Thin Air

Here's an article Krakauer just wrote about how Everest has changed since then. It's insane.

Article

[ness]

I read that many years ago. Good book!

[dpitt]

9 hours ago, Quillback said:

May 10 and 11 will be the 30 year anniversary of the Mt. Everest ascent and attempted ascent that cost the lives of 8 people.  The book Into Thin Air is a good read of that day and of the whole process of making that climb.  

Great Book,  John Krakauer was on a morning program this AM and said, he thought all his Everest Guide buddies where going to hate him when he published the book, thinking business would drop because of the danger. He said,  "I was wrong",  they thanked him, business boomed.  There is also an updated version of the book out.   

He also wrote "Into the Wild" good book too. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Al Agnew]

I'm reading "A Walk in the Park", by Kevin Fedarko, right now.  It's about hiking the length of the Grand Canyon, which he and friend did in segments.  To hike the whole length of the canyon is probably on a par with Everest.  Everest climbs have been done by hundreds of people at this point; less than 30 people have ever hiked the length of the canyon.  They started out with extremely poor preparation, and if they hadn't been hiking with 4 other people who were experts, they would have probably died in the first segment; as it was they had to be helped by the others and eventually rescued by one of the others arranging by satellite phone for a paramedic to hike down from the rim and meet them.  That's as far along as I've gotten.  It appears that they learned their lesson and will be well prepared for the next segment.

When Mary and I did our river trip through the length of the canyon, we saw two hikers traversing a ledge a few hundred feet above the river.  We did it in October when the heat was manageable; I can't imagine hiking in the canyon in the warm months.

[Quillback]

I just read A Walk in the Park a few months ago.  It's a good read, very interesting.  

[Nick Adams]

15 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

Everest climbs have been done by hundreds

The number is more than 13k since Into Thin Air came out, and only about 700 before. It was a book-length marketing pamphlet.

[WestCentralFisher]

I think a lot of people really underestimate the effects of extreme altitude and how insane of an undertaking these extremely high peaks are. I am not particularly predisposed to altitude sickness, but even 14ers and high 13ers in Colorado take a toll. 

For reference, two of the more serious mountaineering types I know attempted Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the Western Hemisphere, but still far lower and less technical than any of the significant Himalayan peaks. They had done most of the more challenging 14ers and saw this as the next step.

It was not what they expected. By the time they made the challenging trek to base camp just above 14,000 feet, they were already on the ropes, and their attempt ended when they turned around before reaching the next camp at 16,000 feet. It turned into a borderline survival situation by the end, and they were both sick for weeks upon returning. They both relayed that there is an inflection point somewhere between 14 and 15,000 feet where even the most basic tasks become vastly more challenging. 

Now, they'd both admit they didn't acclimate anywhere near long enough, and unlike trips on the high Himalayan peaks it is not standard to supplement oxygen there. But the magnitude of taking on anything in the 20,000+ range is pretty much unimaginable in that context.

[Quillback]

You can't live or even stay very long at the top of Everest.  You can live in the canyon.  People have for thousands of years.  One of the things that was interesting in the canyon book is in certain bard to reach spots there are potsherds and points all over the ground.