Mount Everest is one of the most notorious landmarks due to its record breaking height. This height is what attracts many climbers, qualified or incapable, to tackle the challenges the mountain brings. Jon Krakauer was one of many people to take the challenge, and reported his journey in his book, Into Thin Air. Along his adventure among his guided group, Krakauer witnesses the deaths of others and brings the question of who is responsible for these tragedies. It may be easy to point fingers at possible culprit, but ultimately the death of an individual comes to their choices, most notably seen in the death of Andy Harris as well as Rob Hall and Doug Hansen.
To really uncover an individual's fault in their death, we can start with the deaths of Rob Hall and Doug Hansen. The first choice they made to lead to their death can be foreshadowed in Hall’s instruction to his group. “... Hall had contemplated two possible turn around times-either 1:00 P.M. or 2:00 P.M.” (200) This turn around time was crucial as if you didn’t follow it, you would be left on the mountain with no one to help. This instruction is then ignored when at “... 4:00, Hansen at last appeared …”(248) on the summit with Hall waiting for him. This is 2 hours after Hall’s original turn around time of 2:00 P.M. There was reasoning behind this decision though, as Hall restrained Hansen from reaching the summit previously even though it was just in sight, “Exactly one year earlier, Hall had denied Hansen …show more content…
This rule clearly got the best of Doug Hansen, Rob Hall, and Andy Harris. Into Thin Air was a story Jon Krakauer wrote about his trip to Everest. He described his experiences there, as well as the many deaths that came. Krakauer’s story shows how insignificant other climbers become to each other the higher they went. Of the many who died that year, they didn’t take note that almost noone would help them, leaving everything they did to their
To really uncover an individual's fault in their death, we can start with the deaths of Rob Hall and Doug Hansen. The first choice they made to lead to their death can be foreshadowed in Hall’s instruction to his group. “... Hall had contemplated two possible turn around times-either 1:00 P.M. or 2:00 P.M.” (200) This turn around time was crucial as if you didn’t follow it, you would be left on the mountain with no one to help. This instruction is then ignored when at “... 4:00, Hansen at last appeared …”(248) on the summit with Hall waiting for him. This is 2 hours after Hall’s original turn around time of 2:00 P.M. There was reasoning behind this decision though, as Hall restrained Hansen from reaching the summit previously even though it was just in sight, “Exactly one year earlier, Hall had denied Hansen …show more content…
This rule clearly got the best of Doug Hansen, Rob Hall, and Andy Harris. Into Thin Air was a story Jon Krakauer wrote about his trip to Everest. He described his experiences there, as well as the many deaths that came. Krakauer’s story shows how insignificant other climbers become to each other the higher they went. Of the many who died that year, they didn’t take note that almost noone would help them, leaving everything they did to their