Into Thin Air
Thanks to Ashwin for suggesting this book! The book is fast paced and provides a thorough and chilling account of the ill fated climb of Mount Everest on 9th May 1996. A total of eight people from various expeditions lost their lives that day, and many more remained mentally crippled for life. The book explains how tough it is to climb the highest peak in the world, the physical and mental challenges posed by the great mountain to amateurs and expert climbers. The hallucinations that people experience while climbing the peak is chilling to read.
A few excerpts from the book worth mentioning :
"Harris who'd left the summit shortly after I did, soon pulled up behind me. Wanting to conserve whatever oxygen remained in my tank, I asked him to reach inside my backpack and turn off the valve on my regulator. Instead of turning my oxygen off, Harris in his hypoxically impaired state, had mistakenly cranked the valve open to full flow, draining the tank"
"Rob croaked, "Harold was with me last night, but he doesn't seem to be with me
now. He was very weak. "Then obviously befuddled he asked, "Was Harold with me?
Can you tell me that?"
This was said by Rob Hall, the chief of one of the expeditions when on top of the summit. Rob and Harold were stuck on the summit due to inclement weather, which had left Rob Hall without much oxygen, tired and very confused. Rob Hall and Andy Harris (Harold) were among those who died on Everest that day.
"As Schoening cradled the Sherpa in his arms, a second rock came down and smashed into the Sherpa. At that point says Beidleman, "Klev and I just stared at each other in disbelief. It was like, 'What's going on here? What have we done to make this mountain so angry?'"
This book has left me wanting to read more non-fiction, especially of expeditions. A must read this book.