Into Thin Air — Book Notes

Into Thin Air¶

Mountaineering demands extraordinary persistence — yet safety demands the ruthless decisiveness to turn back. Climbers walk this tightrope, always looking for the balance point to push forward.

The author writes: I assumed the climbing fee was buying the guide's professional judgment. I hadn't realized what everyone else wanted to buy was a summit service.

The loose regulatory frameworks of China and Nepal, combined with the profit motive, have made it nearly impossible to raise the safety bar on Everest. It has become a mountain where amateurs can pay to climb.

Through a first-person account, the author describes a severe mountaineering disaster on Everest in vivid, lived detail. #history