Everest.

May 10, the 30th anniversary of Jon Krakaure’s summit to Mt. Everest, where tragically, six people died in an unexpected snow storm. Besides being sad, this book reminds me of how far the human body can go before it breaks down. Yrstersay I was on a bike at the gym, and any moment I felt tired, I just thought, well people have survived more. Way more. The trek to Mt. Everest was wayyyyy harder than I ever imagined. I thought by now, it’s a pretty easy-ish guided route. But I’ve heard people may pass dead bodies along the way, because they are frozen on the mountain. The summit is 29,000ft. Planes fly at 30,000. Imagine climbing something as high as a plane, looking down, not able to see people, but little dots in the snow. The wind, I imagine could just knock someone right off.

The book is very well written. Krakauer takes us through his POV from start to finish. It’s crazy the hullucinations he experienced. The plot takes a turn when he starts to learn from interviewing the survivor after, that his memories don’t match up with others. He had a whole conversation with someone, only to find out later that it was a completely different person.

The craziest part of this story is that in a recent interviw, Krakauer said he wishes he’d never gone on that trip. 30 years later, and he regrets ever going.

Summit fever is crazy.

The idea of making it to the top completely overshadows the ability to keep oneself alive.

The heavy moral choices of, do I help this person who can’t make it down, or do I save myself and leave them? Some did, some didn’t. Those who didn’t lived, and those who stayed to help others died. This type of heroism is rarely experienced in our lives.

These survival stories intrieg me because I have no idea what I would do in that situation. I like to believe that I’d risk my life to help others, but truly, I don’t think anyone knows how they would react unless they were there.

So, I think it’s possible to reserve judgement. What could possibly compare, that would make someone who’s never done this believe they could?