Into Thin AirBy Jon Krakauer

Risk TakersWhat do you think is the most dangerous sport:

White-water raftingSkydivingSomething else???

On a piece of paper, choose a sport that is extremely risky and list the dangers involved. Write at least THREE (3) ways the sport is dangerous.

As we read “Into Thin Air,” compare those risks with the risks involved in climbing Mount Everest.

Gasping for BreathWith an altitude of 29,028 feet, Mount

Everest is the highest peak on earth.Mountain climbers call the region above

26,000 feet the Death Zone because the air is too thin for humans.At that altitude, brain cells die, the blood

grows thick, the heart speeds up, and the brain can swell – leading to death.

Gasping for BreathIn spite of these risks, reaching the top of

Everest has become a status symbol.By the 1990s, even people with little

experience and poor physical conditioning were climbing Everest.

Jon KrakauerJon Krakauer was one of those climbers.

A journalist, he was hired by Outside magazine to write about the trend of unskilled climbers buying their way onto Everest.

The story opens up with Krakauer on top of the mountain and the hardest part still to come.

He had been warned that “any idiot can get up this hill. The trick is to get back down alive.”

Words to KnowVocabulary

CognizantAware.

CompulsivelyTo do something because of an irresistible

impulse.

CriticalDetermining an outcome; crucial; very

important.

EscalateTo increase in intensity.

HindsightA full knowledge of events after they have

occurred.

InitiativeThe will or power to start something.

MeanderTo follow a winding path.

ObscuringHiding from view.

ObstinacyStubbornness

SupplementalExtra; additional.

Word ChoiceInto Thin Air

Word ChoiceWriters use language to express their thoughts and

feelings. To do this well, they must choose exactly the right words.

In one passage, Jon Krakauer describes a delay that occurred as he was climbing down Everest with a low oxygen supply:“I encountered a clot of climbers chuffing up the

single strand of rope.”The word clot can also mean a lump that stops

blood flow. By choosing this word, Krakauer shows that there’s a major obstacle in the way of him getting down, and that he is feeling that he is in danger.

Determining a Writer’s MotiveInto Thin Air

A Writer’s MotivesMany different motives, or reasons, make

people want to write. Possible motives for writers of eyewitness accounts include:To record the facts for historyTo analyze mistakes in order to prevent future

problemsTo explain their own behaviorTo explain the behavior of others

A Writer’s MotivesWhen choosing which events and people to

include in their accounts, writers must pick what ideas will best serve the purpose of the story. For example, Krakauer writes about a blinded climber’s response when he offers help:“’Thanks anyway,’ Beck said. ‘I think I’ll just

wait for Mike. He’s got a rope.’”Krakauer includes that part to explain why he

left Beck alone on the mountain – which was something that left Beck’s life in danger.