84 pages • 2 hours read
Jon KrakauerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
“To my oxygen depleted mind, the clouds drifting up the grand valley of ice known as the Western Cwm looked innocuous, wispy, insubstantial.”
Krakauer dismisses the clouds as harmless, but the reader—knowing that a tragedy is imminent—may note this foreshadowing of the approaching storm, which will devastate the groups of climbers.
“As I began my descent I was extremely anxious […] a check of the gauge on my oxygen tank revealed that it was almost empty.”
Krakauer is concerned about his low levels; he understands the huge risks to one's health without supplemental oxygen. His concern foreshadows the hypoxia of other group members, such as Doug Hansen, who runs out of oxygen when trying to descend the Hillary Step.
“Thirty feet below, more than a dozen people were queued up at the base of the Step. Three climbers were already in the process of hauling themselves up the rope that I was preparing to descend.”
Climbers’ progress is slowed by queues of other climbers, delaying the pace of the group on a day where timing will dictate who lives and who dies.
By Jon Krakauer
Action & Adventure
View Collection
Community Reads
View Collection
Guilt
View Collection
Inspiring Biographies
View Collection
Jewish American Literature
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
National Book Critics Circle Award...
View Collection
New York Times Best Sellers
View Collection
Popular Book Club Picks
View Collection
Pulitzer Prize Fiction Awardees &...
View Collection
Safety & Danger
View Collection