Into Thin Air |
Chapter Summaries
Chapter Summaries Chart
| Chapter |
Summary |
| Introduction |
The short introductory section explains why and how Jon Krakauer joined Rob Hall's Everest expedition in May 1996. Kraka...
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| Chapter 1 |
The book begins with Krakauer already at the summit of Mount Everest. He is exhausted and has a terrible cough. He has n...
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| Chapter 2 |
In this chapter Krakauer provides some history of Mount Everest and those who climbed it. He begins with its "discovery"...
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| Chapter 3 |
Krakauer begins a chronological account of his expedition experience. On the plane into Kathmandu, Nepal, Krakauer looks...
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| Chapter 4 |
Krakauer and the expedition team begin the trek to Base Camp, spending the first night in the hamlet of Phakding. The ni...
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| Chapter 5 |
At the beginning of the chapter, the reader learns that it took 35 Sherpas to get the injured Sherpa (mentioned in the p...
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| Chapter 6 |
Krakauer begins this chapter by praising the organizational and planning skills of Rob Hall, who has seen to it all his ...
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| Chapter 7 |
Krakauer notes some of the expeditions climbing at the same time as Hall's contained clients whose experience was "thin....
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| Chapter 8 |
After resting at Base Camp for two days, Hall's group climbed the icefall again, heading for Camp One. Crossing the icef...
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| Chapter 9 |
In their third acclimatization trek, Hall's group climbs from Base Camp to Camp Two. Next, they would climb up to Camp T...
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| Chapter 10 |
Krakauer begins the painfully slow and exhausting ascent of the "immense slant" of the Lhotse Face. Climbers must inch t...
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| Chapter 11 |
Hall's group begins its climb to the summit two vertical miles above. Krakauer finds the sun's intense heat debilitating...
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| Chapter 12 |
Early on May 9, Hall's group begins climbing toward Camp Four. Krakauer lags and turns to see about 50 climbers behind h...
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| Chapter 13 |
The region above the South Col is the Death Zone, where lack of oxygen can easily lead to hypoxia. Krakauer describes th...
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| Chapter 14 |
Krakauer spends just moments on the summit and then begins to descend. He passes Beidleman and Martin Adams, a Fischer c...
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| Chapter 15 |
Just before 2:00 p.m., Beidleman and Harris summit with clients. Fischer is still not seen ascending. Beidleman is conce...
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| Chapter 16 |
Early the next morning, Krakauer is awakened and told that no one can find Andy Harris. The storm is over and the weathe...
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| Chapter 17 |
At 3:40 p.m. on May 10, Scott Fischer, Lopsang Sherpa, and Rob Hall are on the summit. Hall waits impatiently for Doug H...
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| Chapter 18 |
This chapter is in some ways an aside that shows how cruel and indifferent the culture of those who summit Everest can b...
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| Chapter 19 |
This chapter resumes the expedition narrative. On the morning of May 11, after he returns from the summit, Krakauer spen...
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| Chapter 20 |
In this short chapter, Krakauer helps Hutchison correctly fasten his harness and reminds him to wear his goggles to prot...
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| Chapter 21 |
Back at Base Camp, Krakauer is overcome with grief and guilt: he had survived while others died. Neal Beidleman leads a ...
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| Epilogue |
Krakauer is back home in Seattle. In this chapter, he writes about what happened to surviving climbers and how the frien...
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