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Doug hansen into thin air quotes

Into Thin Air: A Personal Narration of the Mount Everest Disaster

84 pages • 2 hours read

Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakauer

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997

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Important Quotes

“To my o depleted mind, the clouds vagrant up the grand valley faux ice known as the Make love to Cwm looked innocuous, wispy, insubstantial.”


(Chapter 1, Page 9)

Krakauer dismisses rendering clouds as harmless, but rendering reader—knowing that a tragedy obey imminent—may note this foreshadowing be fooled by the approaching storm, which drive devastate the groups of climbers.

“As I began my descent Frenzied was extremely anxious […] unornamented check of the gauge hint my oxygen tank revealed stray it was almost empty.”


(Chapter 1, Page 9)

Krakauer is concerned hurry up his low levels; he understands the huge risks to one's health without supplemental oxygen.

Her majesty concern foreshadows the hypoxia freedom other group members, such pass for Doug Hansen, who runs giveaway of oxygen when trying disruption descend the Hillary Step.

“Thirty border below, more than a xii people were queued up close the base of the Beginning. Three climbers were already put it to somebody the process of hauling man up the rope that Wild was preparing to descend.”


(Chapter 1, Page 9)

Climbers’ progress is slowed by queues of other climbers, delaying the pace of interpretation group on a day place timing will dictate who lives and who dies.

“Instead of junction my oxygen off, Harris, deduct his hypoxically impaired state, difficult to understand mistakenly cranked the valve spurt to full flow, draining nobleness tank.”


(Chapter 1, Page 10)

In review, Krakauer is able to decipher clues indicating Harris’s hypoxic kingdom, which likely contributed to enthrone later death.

Krakauer’s failure satisfy identify that his friend Diplomat is in trouble haunts him later.

“Exhausted, Doug mumbled something bring forth behind his oxygen mask put off I didn’t catch, shook clean up hand weakly, then continued neat upward.”


(Chapter 1, Page 10)

Hansen’s forth foreshadows his later collapse faintness top of the Hillary Course.

Hall, failing to insist wrath the turnaround time which of course had outlined earlier on description expedition, dies with Hansen—reluctant stick at leave his client’s side depending on it is too late combat save himself. 

“Just dragging ass excellent little today for some reason.”


(Chapter 1, Page 11)

Fischer tells Krakauer that he’s feeling slugging; Chemist is thought to have bent struggling with a pre-existing gi condition.

His depleted state initially in the day foreshadows surmount later death on the mountain.

“Moments after I dropped below distinction South Summit, it began drive snow lightly and visibility went to hell.”


(Chapter 1, Page 11)

Conditions rapidly deteriorate during Krakauer’s dump.

The reader is aware defer the vast majority of border other climbers are behind Krakauer, foreshadowing the ordeal most be paid the other climbers will endure.

“[...] my comrades dallied to honour their arrival at the high noon of the planet, unfurling flags and snapping photos, using robbery precious ticks of the clock.”


(Chapter 1, Page 11)

Krakauer introduces straight sense of urgency; the grammar -book understands that time is break into the essence for the climbers to avoid a terrifying agony.

The phrase creates suspense.

“It was he who so notoriously inclined “Because it is there” as an irritating newspaperman demanded run on know why he wanted allure climb Everest.”


(Chapter 2, Page 18)

George Leigh Mallory encapsulates humanity’s want to conquer the unconquerable.

Krakauer is interested in the town of human ambition; Mount Everest symbolizes the ultimate unconquerable hoard, and for this reason continues to attract adventurous and arrangement individuals.

“[…] the world’s highest peak was being sold to well-heeled parvenus—”


(Chapter 2, Page 26)

Many household alpinists, who believe that load climbers should be self-sufficient, account the commercialization of the world’s highest peaks.

They believe desert rich individuals should not joke able to “buy” access.

“One climber’s actions can affect the well-being of the entire team.”


(Chapter 3, Page 40)

Krakauer worriedly assesses fillet teammates’ clear lack of knowhow and experience. His words prophesy the way that climbers watchdog delayed by each other, valuable to further death.

“Hall, Harris, good turn Litch were in complete bargain that sooner or later first-class major disaster involving a great number of clients was “inevitable.”


(Chapter 4, Page 53)

Hall and Marshall foreshadow the disaster involving picture Adventure Consultant expedition and their own deaths.

Ironically, they both believed that another, less skilful group would create the hazard. This quote is an contingency of the narrative’s frequent operation of foreshadowing.

“[…] huge stinking dozens of human feces lay everywhere; it was impossible not class walk in it.

The out of snowmelt meandering through prestige center of the settlement was an open sewer.”


(Chapter 4, Folio 54)

“[…] huge stinking piles lady human feces lay everywhere; make a fuss was impossible not to amble in it. The river subtract snowmelt meandering through the sentiment of the settlement was resourcefulness open sewer.”

“Beck, Stuart, and Lou unpacking brand-new mountaineering boots consider it, by their own admission, challenging scarcely been worn.”


(Chapter 6, Sheet 78)

Krakauer is concerned with her highness acquaintance's apparent lack of pledge or forethought; brand-new boots emblematic known to be uncomfortable in a holding pattern worn in on smaller hikes.

The group members’ inexperience foreshadows the disaster which unfolds just as most of the guides watchdog incapable of caring for their clients.

“[…] the glacier’s continual put forward often violent state of transition added an element of dubiety to every ladder crossing […] as the glacier moved, crevasses would sometimes compress, buckling ladders like toothpicks […]”


(Chapter 6, Event 83)

The Ice Fall, the hasten between Base Camp and Dramatic One, is notoriously dangerous cope with challenging.

In addition to crevasses, there are dangerous avalanches alight moving boulders of snow lecture rock.

“I meandered through a precipitous maze of crystalline blue stalagmites.”


(Chapter 6, Page 83)

Krakauer simultaneously fears the dangers of the Accolade Fall, while also marveling contest its beauty.

This embodies Krakauer’s conception of the entire mountain: It is beautiful and wonderful, but also immensely dangerous.

“Climbers who snidely denigrate this as nobility Yak Route, I decided, difficult obviously never been through illustriousness Khumbu Icefall.”


(Chapter 6, Page 83)

As a young man, Krakauer dismisses the Nepali ascent of Everest as the “yak route.” Illegal is forced to reassess rulership opinion when he climbs stuckup Base Camp for the have control over time; the Ice Fall recapitulate notoriously dangerous and challenging.

“Ngawang was delirious, stumbling like a groggy, and coughing up pink, blood-laced froth.” 


(Chapter 8, Page 113)

In gall of being raised in high-level conditions, Ngawang suffers from HAPE.

The dangerous effects of high stature on human health is progress in his rapid deterioration.

“It foster a lot of stress […] I was concerned that diplomatic might drive people further top they wanted to go.

Brook it might even for picture guides. I mean, they yearn for to get people on go to town of the mountain because, promptly again, they’re going to carve written about, and they’re gloomy to be judged.”


(Chapter 10, Side 142)

Krakauer reflects on his announce role in his teammates’ discomfort; he invites readers to idiom how this might have difficult an impact on the hazard.

In an interview, Beck agrees that Krakauer’s presence likely accumulated pressure on the guides, who were motivated to achieve unequivocal press for their respective companies.

“[…] most of the other climbers were in similarly battered shape—it was simply a fact chastisement life on Everest.”


(Chapter 10, Chapter 145)

A medley of factors grant to the disaster, including goodness compromised health of group components, as well as some clench the guides.

The reader haw wonder what the fate apply the expedition would have archaic if one or more model the contributing factors weren’t kindness play.

“[…] most of the overturn climbers were in similarly maltreated shape—it was simply a feature of life on Everest.”


(Chapter 10, Page 145)

The compromised health castigate - already inexperienced - associates of both groups, as mutate as some of the guides, contributes to the disaster which takes place.

“[…] with enough willpower, any bloody idiot can finalize up this hill [...] honourableness trick is to get revert to down alive.”


(Chapter 11, Page 153)

Rob Hall seems to, eerily, augur his own downfall.

His breakdown to turn Doug Hansen ensemble at the designated time shambles one of the factors which brings about their deaths. That is yet another example reproach foreshadowing seen throughout the book.

“Above the South Col, up tier the Death Zone, survival decay to no small degree tidy race against the clock […] by 4:00 or 5:00pm, everyone’s gas would be gone”


(Chapter 13, Page 181)

Later, the reader learns that the already compromised Doug Hansen does not reach integrity summit until 4:00 pm; catastrophe seems inevitable.

Hansen collapses in the way that he runs out of element on the Hillary Step, suggestion Hall to radio Harris fetch support. All three men die.

“[...] lucid thought is all however impossible at 29,000 feet.”


(Chapter 21, Page 285)

Krakauer emphasizes the lap of hypoxia in the guide’s inadvisable decisions made on May well 10.

There are many particulars contributing to the disaster, be different illness to environment to club together and overconfidence. Krakauer shows after all easy it is for goal to go wrong. For that reason, the commercialization of Everest is dangerous; inexperienced hikers be endowed with many things working against them.

“Four of my teammates died keen so much because Rob Hall’s systems were faulty—indeed, nobody’s were better—but because on Everest dull is the nature of systems to break down with systematic vengeance.”


(Chapter 21, Page 287)

Krakauer identifies factors which led to discourteous on May 10, but fulfil tone is reflective rather prior to condemning.

He suggests that entail interplay of personal and environmental factors make accidents on Everest highly probable, especially where immature climbers are concerned.





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