Blog Assignment #27: Nature Writing

Into Thin Air

1. Mental strength is incredibly important when climbing because one has to be able to take extreme pain and push oneself beyond his limits. It could even be said that it isn't as important as physical strength. Sure, the climber must be in top physical form to be able to perform such a feat, but the mental strength he must possess can keep him alive much longer. However, if one is emotionally unstable (i.e. he is easily angered) then disaster can strike. Or, if one is over-confident in his abilities, he may expect too much of the others, get careless and a host of other things. This can put himself and others in jeopardy.

3. It seems as though Krakauer should be allowed to criticize Anotoli. ANotoli was very selfish and didn't seem to think of anything but climbing Everest without supplemental oxygen. Krakauer was on schedule, and may have even been a bit ahead of schedule. He made it down to Camp 3 by the time everything went down. In my opinion, Krakauer was very well-qualified and deserves to criticize the actions of the inexperienced climbers and even the group leaders. He survived, they didn't. Anotoli, however, believes he has rights because he went back for the people who were trapped, but Krakauer doesn't believe he did everything in his power. I agree.