All you ever needed to know about Jon Krakauer

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Compared to us, yes. Compared to B, not even in the same universe.

He was an amateur in terms of Everest and he doesn't belong with the guides. He just went down and collapsed, whereas a guide would have done more.

[splitbamboo]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

On a somewhat different note, clearly from Banner we see that Karakauer has had it in for Mormons. I understand that when he was a kid he knew Mormons in Oregon and was left with a bad impression of them. Notice how people don't write about Mormons (pro or con) unless they have had a history with them?

Interesting. My wife's brother grew up with him in Corvallis. K's dad was their family doctor. I didn't know there were issues with the Mormons in Corvallis. I'll have to see what my BIL thinks. All I know is that my wife and in-laws were stunned by the book. Felt betrayed.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by splitbamboo

Interesting. My wife's brother grew up with him in Corvallis. K's dad was their family doctor. I didn't know there were issues with the Mormons in Corvallis. I'll have to see what my BIL thinks. All I know is that my wife and in-laws were stunned by the book. Felt betrayed.

this is a common emotion experienced by friends/acquaintances of Krakauer.

K. is in the running for loneliest man on the planet.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

this is a common emotion experienced by friends/acquaintances of Krakauer.

K. is in the running for loneliest man on the planet.

All he needs is a single good woman.

[MikeWaters]

A contemporary report:
http://outside.away.com/peaks/fischer/rpt0514.html

[Archaea]

A contemporary report from Ed Viesturs.

http://outside.away.com/peaks/viesturs/rpt0514.html

[Archaea]

Weird summit site.

http://www.adventurestats.com/tables/esum451-600.htm

[MikeWaters]

Brutal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Boots
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sharp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Hall_%28climber%29

[Archaea]

David Sharp is a mystifying event.

Sir Edmund Hillary was highly critical of the decision not to try to rescue Sharp, saying that leaving other climbers to die is unacceptable, and the desire to get to the summit has become all-important. He also said, "I think the whole attitude towards climbing Mount Everest has become rather horrifying. The people just want to get to the top. It was wrong if there was a man suffering altitude problems and was huddled under a rock, just to lift your hat, say good morning and pass on by". He also told the New Zealand Herald that he was horrified by the callous attitude of today’s climbers. "They don’t give a damn for anybody else who may be in distress and it doesn’t impress me at all that they leave someone lying under a rock to die" and that, "I think that their priority was to get to the top and the welfare of one of the... of a member of an expedition was very secondary." [7] Sir Edmund also called Mark Inglis "crazy" [6].
Linda Sharp, David's mother, however, believes that David was responsible for his own survival, and she does not blame other climbers. She has said to The Sunday Times, "David had been noticed in a shelter. People had seen him but thought he was dead. One of Russell’s Sherpas checked on him and there was still life there. He tried to give him oxygen but it was too late. Your responsibility is to save yourself — not to try to save anybody else."[8]
Since these comments, however, more details have emerged. In July 2006, Inglis retracted his claim that he was ordered to continue his ascent after informing Brice of a climber in distress, blaming the extreme conditions at altitude for the uncertainty in his memory.[9][10] The Discovery Channel documentary Everest: Beyond the Limit showed footage indicating that Sharp was only found by Inglis's group on their descent. All Inglis party members still confirm that they did discover him on the ascent, but they do not confirm that Brice was contacted regarding Sharp during the ascent. By the time the Inglis group reached him on the descent and contacted Brice they were low on oxygen and heavily fatigued with several cases of severe frostbite, making any rescue very difficult.

[Archaea]

Lincoln Hall:

Hall's survival and rescue on the mountain, while extraordinary, is not unprecedented. It was, however, especially poignant due to the death days earlier of UK climber David Sharp who had died nearby. It was observed that no attempt was made to rescue David Sharp, although it was apparent that, while unconscious, he was still alive while other climbers passed him and continued on their own ascents. The case had raised concerns, including comments from Sir Edmund Hillary, Dan Mazur perhaps summed things up best when he said, reflecting on his team abandoning their summit attempt, "The summit is still there and we can go back. Lincoln only has one life."