Tag: Mt. Everest

‘Into Thin Air,’ By Jon Krakauer

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn mountains, writing

“The 1996 Mount Everest disaster occurred on 10–11 May 1996 when eight climbers caught in a blizzard died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit. Over the entire season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest season on Mount Everest at the time and the third deadliest after the 22 fatalities resulting from avalanches caused by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 16 fatalities of the 2014 Mount Everest avalanche. The 1996 disaster received widespread publicity and raised questions about the commercialization of Everest.” Wikipedia

In 2023, 17 climbers died on Mt. Everest, eleven died in 2019, and eight died in 1996. Jon Krakauer wrote the book about the 1996 season, his first time on the mountain as a successful climber and a reporter.

“Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster is a 1997 bestselling nonfiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It details Krakauer’s experience in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a storm. Krakauer’s expedition was led by guide Rob Hall. Other groups were trying to summit on the same day, including one led by Scott Fischer, whose guiding agency, Mountain Madness, was perceived as a competitor to Hall’s agency, Adventure Consultants.” – Wikipedia

“Despite being nearly 800 feet shorter than Mount Everest, K2 is a more deadly mountain. Mountaineer Jake Meyer told Insider several critical factors contribute to making K2 so dangerous. On K2, mountaineers face constant 45-degree-angle climbs, no matter the route they take, he said.” Wikipedia.

Krakauer had criticisms the book, but I believe in it was as accurate as he could make it though climbers who did not come off too good slammed the book.

–Malcolm

Pushing the Envelope

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn challenge
Wikipedia Photo

The oldest person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest was 80. The oldest person to reach the summit of K2, a more difficult climb than Everest, was 65. The oldest woman to reach the summit of K2, Vanessa O’Brien in 2017, was 52. Since I wish I’d climbed these mountains, these accomplishments convince me that we will accomplish the so-called impossible by refusing to believe it’s impossible.

There’s always a risk. A lot of people have died on Everest and K2. A lot of people have lost their life’s savings trying to accomplish other tasks. As a writer, I’m inspired when I read about writers a lot older than me who are still sitting at their computers writing new novels and news stories.

Most of the time, I don’t think of what we want to do as pushing the envelope. I think we’re still doing what we always wanted to do. Maybe a bestselling novel will come out of it and maybe it won’t. Yet, as Yoda said, there is no “try.” We simply do, one step after another to the summit of the mountain and one word after another to the conclusion of another book.

Later, if we succeed, people can say “s/he pushed the envelope.”

But while we’re doing it, we’re simply doing it: writing another novel. pushing our limits on another hike, building another house like Jimmy Carter, or one way or another, still singing and still living rather than sitting in an easy chair watching TV.

When I read AARP Magazine, I salute the people who are keeping active and following their dreams. Young people tend to discount the elderly, and I’m here to say that “A lot of elderly people are doing more than young people.”

Why stop doing what you love?

—Malcolm

Thank you to those of you who picked up a free copy of one of my novels during this year’s Black Friday giveaway.