Into thin Air book

i've read it... not sure i'd say i liked it, it was well written but its a traumatic subject. not enjoyable reading.. worth a read if you want to get to the bottom of difficult mountaineering situations the movie Everest is based on the same incident but its not from Krakauers point of view, Krakauer refutes at least one scene in the movie when he was asked in his tent to help and didnt respond, he says no one ever told him anyone needed help..

Yes, I have read it and it is well written. I would also recommend reading Anatoli Boukreev's book "The Climb" as an alternative viewpoint if you are interested in the subject. There was some controversy at the time between Krakauer's account and that of others on the mountain. If harrowing alpine adventures are your thing then I would also recommend reading Joe Simpson's book "Touching the Void".

The thing to remember about all these books is that you're delving into the world of climbing egos. High stakes and some exceptionally talented alpinists but with all the professional and interpersonal conflicts and selfish perspectives that go with it. Some of these personalities are truly self centred and driven so the pinch of Himalayan rock salt rule applies. Some climbers scornfully rate Rob Hall as a mountain conveyer belt operator and yet he could've left his client and yet he didn't. Probably because he couldn't have lived with himself if he had. That's guts! Krakauer..well he's still alive isn't he! Big mountains intimidate you with an utter sense of their complete cold indifference to you and what you think you're accomplishing. To be injured and abandoned (almost) as well, is hard to grasp but Joe Simpsons account is palpable. I read it start to finish on holiday once. Couldn't put it down.

the documentary about it is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7ip6-S6saE the weather forecasting wasnt anywhere near as good as it is now... none of the people operating on the mountains had seen storms like that before, they didnt understand how frequent they could be, the previous years the weather had been milder than normal.... another doco on the incident a few years ago on K2 where several people died https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs307D4KFKU theres a whole doco series on climbing everest, includes NZer Mark Inglis double amputee climbing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OaMvEhrCQE&list=PLbTc7Tc8L4_vIB14s_8_KrojMtn1G8hxt

climbing doco on duke tv tonight, the Eiger https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/the-vertical-mile

I read both books (and many others including one by Simon 'slasher' Yates). He is a very humorous writer and Joe Simpson is a good writer, having qualifications in English literature. What I remember about the Jon Krakauer book is the Japanese woman climber who was still alive but very frozen. Ironically Rob Hall died where he abandoned a team mate on another expedition years before. Luckily there was another team up there this person took shelter with as their tent, sleeping bag etc. was not there on their return. Rob Hall started out with the Christchurch Tramping Club as a schoolboy. Jon Krakauer also wrote a great book about the lad from a wealthy family who went into the wilderness in Alaska but died from eating a poisonous native pea, not realising there was a bridge downstream (Into the Wild). These books are very instructive as well as entertaining.