Chapter 9: Problems with the Climbers
This is the chapter in which most of the people in the group start
significantly feeling the effects of the journey. Most encounter frostbite or
worse, and for the first time the team hits weather that prevents them
from going as far as they'd planned. Not yet up as high as Camp Three,
they are already pushed back by the unpredictability of Everest. "Even
without unleashing the worst it could dish out, the mountain had sent us
scurrying for safety."
• It's 4:00AM and Krakauer is currently preparing to make the trek to Camp
Three, which sits at a brisk 24,000 feet.
• In order to reach Camp Three, he'll need to ascend the Lhotse Face, a "vast,
titled sea of ice" Krakauer considers turning back out of fear of frostbite, but
before he can, Rob Hall buzzes over the intercom and tells everybody to turn
back around for Camp Two.
• Turns out that Krakauer isn't the only one who's struggling. John Taske, a
doctor from Australia, is actually beginning to suffer from minor frostbite.
• Doug Hansen is even worse. His toes—damaged from his previous Everest
attempt—are particularly susceptible to frostbite. And that's not even getting
into his throat illness, for which he had surgery mere weeks before coming to
Everest.
• Given all of this, the mood at Camp Two is gloomy. Plus, it doesn't help that
Hall is currently arguing with the leaders of the Taiwanese and South African
teams.
Chapter 9: The Sherpas
The relationship between Fischer's primary Sherpa, Lopsang, and
Ngawang is revealed in this chapter. Lopsang actually makes an entire extra
climb when he descends to be with his uncle, and then climbs up again to
rejoin the group. He covers territory that the other climbers have toiled and
sweat over with remarkable speed. After climbing professionally for three
years, he had already reached the summit of Everest three times without
using supplemental oxygen.
Krakauer barely comments on his absence,
except to say that the extra trip has made
Lopsang tired. This demonstrates the
strength and skill of the Sherpas. However,
Lopsang is in rough shape—his uncle has
just died, and he has physically overexerted
himself. With each passing day it seems as
if some of the climbers who anchor the
expeditions become less and less strong.
Chapter 9: The Sherpas
Krakauer is fascinated that the Sherpas believe that Ngawang is
stricken with an illness other than HAPE. The concept of
retaliation by a God on Everest is an entirely new concept
altogether. The idea that to make it up the mountain safely, one
must appease Sagarmatha is simple, and Krakauer seems to
embrace it.
The Sherpas strict
adherence to the
Buddhist traditions and
rituals is an attempt to
control the eventual
outcome of the climb.
Chapter 9: The Other Expeditions
• The primary issue between the teams is a lack of trust and
cooperation, which is vital in these conditions.
• For the safety of all climbers, fixed rope lines must be
installed on the Lhotse Face. Securing the rope is not simply
something that helps the clients, but it is a necessity for
every climber.
• Two days earlier, Ang Dorje (along with other guides from
Hall's and Fischer's teams) was supposed to install fixed rope
lines up the Lhotse Face with Sherpas from the Taiwanese
and South African teams, who had already agreed to help
secure these ropes. They didn't show up, though.
• The Sherpas in particular are there to help, and their failure
to provide even the most basic assistance lends credence to
Hall's prediction that disaster is inevitable. The leader of the
Taiwanese team apologizes profusely. Woodall, the leader of
the South African team, however, chooses instead to cuss
Hall out and accuse Ang Dorje of lying.
• Their lack of cooperation also adds an unnecessary tension
to the climb.
Chapter 10: Motivations for Climbing
• On the 29th, Hall's team
(minus Hansen who stays
behind due to his frozen
larnyx) makes a second
attempt at reaching Camp
Three. Though the going is
agonizingly painful,
Krakauer successfully
makes it.
• Unlike Camps One and Two,
Camp Three is precariously
perched on the side of the
mountain. In other words,
"the vista was primarily sky
rather than earth."
Chapter 10: Motivations for Climbing
•
•
Along the way, Krakauer finds himself impressed
by his inexperienced colleagues, namely Beck
Weathers.
– Krakauer refers to Beck as the prime
example of the commercialization of
Everest. He has no business being on the
mountain, yet he is able to climb because
he is wealthy.
– Krakauer does , however, find himself
respecting Weathers fearless pursuit of his
goals.
– Krakauer realizes that his fellow climbers
are climbing to reach personal goals rather
than for thrill seeking.
Despite his pride, Krakauer is a little freaked
out—he worries that he has High Altitude
Cerebral Edema (HACE). He notes that his body
is not in good shape. He has lost 20 pounds,
and he has a very bad hacking cough.
Chapter 10: Motivations for Climbing
• Hall's team descends back to
Base Camp over the next
several days. This is a
momentous occasion, as it
marks the final acclimatization
trip—they'll be heading for
the summit on May 10
because Rob has always had
great success on this day
previously.
• Fischer's team will be
attempting the summit the
same day, and the other
teams, including the
Taiwanese and South Africans,
have agreed and are
supposed to make their own
attempts on the days before
and after.
Krakauer’s Role as a Reporter
During this last acclimatization trip, Krakauer notes that he
feels uncomfortable in his role as a journalist at this point in
the climb.
No one who signed up to go with Rob Hall originally knew a
reporter would be coming along. Krakauer He feels bad that he
is taking away the climber’s privacy.
After the expedition, climber Beck Weathers noted that having
a reporter with them added a lot of stress.
“It’s bad enough to go up there and make a fool of yourself if
it’s just you and the climbing group. That somebody may have
you written across the pages of some magazine as a buffoon
and a clown has got to play upon your psyche as to how you
perform, how hard you’ll push,” Weathers said.
Chapter 11: The Ascent
• May 6th 4:30AM- Krakauer’s team
leaves base camp for summit
attempt
• While at Camp Two, they see Goran
Kropp—29, Swedish, solo climber,
left Stockholm in October by bike—
on his way back down.
• He climbed all the way to the South
Summit, a mere couple of hundred
feet from the top, before deciding
he was so exhausted that it would
be unsafe for him to press on and
that he would be in no condition to
descend if he kept going.
• Hall remarks on what great
judgment Kropp displayed in doing
that which is so unspeakably hard—
turning around when the top is in
sight.
Chapter 11: The Ascent
• May 7th is a “rest day”
at Camp Two.
• Doug Hansen and Krakauer
talk about getting to the
summit. Doug is
determined to make it this
time, even though his
throat is still bothering him.
• In the afternoon, Scott
Fischer arrives, tired and
angry because he has had
to make special trips to help
his clients and has just
come back from base camp
for the second time.
Chapter 11: The Ascent
• Fischer had originally gone to Camp Two ahead of
his group and instructed Boukreev to bring up
the rear and help their team.
• Boukreev slept late and left Base Camp 5 hours
after his group.
• Because Fischer paid him $25,000 to guide the
group, he was understandably angry that
Boukreev was not fulfilling his end of the deal.
Chapter 11: The Ascent
• Tensions between Fischer and Boukreev spike,
largely because Boukreev feels that "'if client
cannot climb Everest without big help from
guide…this client should not be on Everest'“
(156).
• By this time, Fischer's health has begun to
reflect the fact that his guide hasn't been as
helpful as he expected.
Chapter 11: The Ascent
• On May 8, Hall’s and Fischer's teams both leave Camp
Two and begin to climb up the Lhotse Face.
• Just beneath Camp Three, a boulder falls from the cliffs
above and slams into Andy Harris's chest. He falls,
dangling from his rope. They eventually reach the Camp
and Harris claims to be okay, acknowledging that had the
rock hit him on the head he wouldn't be.
•
A few of the members have
trouble reaching Camp Three, and
need assistance. Two team
members, Lou and Frank, struggle
into camp hours later. Krakauer is
stunned—Frank is one of the
climbers he expected to make it to
the summit.
Chapter 11: The Ascent
• They begin using supplemental oxygen.
• Some climbers feel that using canned oxygen is cheating.
o The most legendary climber of all, Reinhold Messner, was the first to
summit the mountain without oxygen. Many people, especially
Sherpas, were skeptical that these men—Westerners—had actually
achieved the feat without supplemental oxygen, but investigation
yielded support for the claim.
o Two years later, Reinhold made a solo ascent up the Tibetan side of
the mountain, again without oxygen.
o Climbing without oxygen is a distinction, but most guides feel that
climbing without gas is irresponsible and renders them almost
useless as a guide.
• Krakauer feels
claustrophobic wearing
the mask. He has the
sensation that he really
cannot breathe despite
the extra oxygen.
Chapter 11: The Ascent
• The next morning, a member of the Taiwanese team, Chen NuYan, slips on the ice and falls down the Lhotse Face.
• He falls into a crevasse after only seventy feet, and survives.
• The Taiwanese leader leaves Chen in the tent to recover, and
then tells Hall of his intention to summit on May 10, despite his
promise to avoid the peak on that day.
• Later, Chen suddenly takes a turn for the worse. He is in pain and
disoriented, and as he is descending the mountain he suddenly
loses consciousness.
• A few minutes later he stops breathing.
• The IMAX team hurries to help, but when they arrive, Chen is
dead.
• Gau, the Taiwanese leader, upon hearing of Chen's death, says:
"O.K." and announces that no plans for his team have changed.
• Chen’s death is the first that they have experienced during this
climb.