When I was about four years old, my dad brought me to our local Honda shop. I marveled at the powerful machines while walking the showroom floor and found the row of small children’s motorcycles. I promptly chose my favorite bike and pushed it over. Whether this was an accident or not will never be known. We ended up leaving with the small dirt bike, and my lifelong obsession had begun. Riding in the mountains of California, I unknowingly learned the skills that would shape me for the rest of my life. While climbing hills and navigating “gnarly terrain” my dad taught me that the biggest challenges were the most interesting to attack, dissect, and conquer. Each part of a monstrous hill became one piece of an intricate puzzle, making the ascent
Zig-zag, back and forth, down, down, down, Jonathon, Dad, and I went into a mysterious new world. Now that I have gone into this hot, dry canyon surrounded by monstrous hoodoos, I have seen what it is really like to leave the small town of Seymour, and emerge into the greatness of this world. I have now seen several other National Parks on one of the most renowned places on earth for mysterious creations, the Colorado Plateau. Of all the beautiful places on it, even the Grand Canyon, I have found my favorite one. Bryce Canyon National Park. I thought it was amazing, because it was the most diverse to anything I have ever seen before. We hiked down into it and I felt like I was surrounded by skyscrapers. We trekked around a little, but we didn’t
Meanwhile, Boukreev had zero writing experience before The Climb and even needed the help of DeWalt to co write with him. Unlike Krakauer, DeWalt had never climbed before and was nowhere near Everest during the 1996 disaster. Henceforth, the fact that DeWalt had zero climbing experience and subpar writing abilities, infinitely discredits the facts and debate presented by The Climb. Additionally, while Boukreev was a world renowned climber, Krakauer certainly did have some climbing experience including “a number of fairly extreme ice climbs in Canada and Colorado” (Krakauer 28). Moreover, Krakauer also climbed Mooses Tooth, “pulled off a solo ascent of the Devils Thumb”, and ascended Cerro Torre which was once “thought to be the world’s hardest mountain” before attempting Everest (Krakauer 27-28). For this reason, his knowledge in the subject of climbing is extraordinary and could be seen through his language throughout the book where he uses jargon such as crampons, rig safety tethers, and harnesses. Another reason that Krakauer is more credible is because of Boukreev’s poor and
I love riding four wheelers. I also love to adventure so I guess you could say my character trait is being adventurous. I’ve been riding my whole life, you think I’m kidding but my mom even rode four wheelers when she was pregnant with me so yeah. I got my very first four wheeler when I was three and I rode it till I was nine, but then I wanted to ride with the big boys or girls or whatever. When I was ten I got Yamaha blaster two hundred. It was my first manual transmission four wheeler. It was also a fixer upper, so I restored it to original condition and learned valuable knowledge along the way. So now I know a lot about four wheelers. When I got done fixing it it was a lot better than before. So I figured I was ready to learn how ride a
Cross country runners spend weeks to months training for that one moment, the moment they will lean across the finish line. Crossing the finish line only lasts for only a split second, but the impact is significant. People often ask why, why spend so much time training for that one moment? Well for me it’s simple. The feeling I have when I cross that finish line is like no other I’ve ever had; it is a unique combination of pride, pain, relief, and an indescribable sense of accomplishment. After reading Into Thin Air, I realized how similar climbing a mountain actually is to running a race. Climbers, just like runners, spend months training for those few glorious minutes on top.
I have been to a place that has lots of interesting snow and others. It is Lake Tahoe. It is a place that I will never get bored of that it has a lot of snow! Mostly you could do anything with snow. But most of all, beating your older brother up in a snowball fight. I really loved when each time I went down the big mountain. It was really amazing. I was also really happy of building snowmen and building snow forts that I never even knew I can build. It was amazing for all of what could be crafted with snow. The fantastic trip has come to the start!
Individuals take pride in the positive traits derived from the sport. Krakauer expands,“During my thirty-four-year tenure as a climber, I’d found that the most rewarding aspects of mountaineering derive from the sport’s emphasis on self-reliance, on making critical decisions and dealing with the consequences, on personal responsibility” (176). Despite the danger, success in mountain climbing results in a number of disciplined qualities. Regarding the aforementioned psychological effects of risky behavior, adventure can be invigorating as it is rewarding. Bass recounts, “There has to be a spirit of adventure to it, too, and an element of uncertainty and risk. Then when I persevere and prevail, when I overcome and make it, I come back down to the lowlands, back to the bankers and the regulatory officials, and by golly I’m recharged and ready to take them all on” (Bass et al 2). Climbing is an escape from the normalcy of endless routine. Mountain scaling adds an addictive element to perilous activities. Krakauer
My youth pastor pulled out of our church parking lot at three am in the morning loaded down with a bus full of twenty four teenagers including me. We were off at last head to Colorado Spring Colorado, little did I know, our bus was going to fall apart this very day.
Have you ever wanted to do something so extravagant that you weren’t thinking about the consequences? The real life narrative “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer is exactly that. This book explains how one man’s journey to Mt. Everest in spring ’96 turns into a nightmare. Two groups ascended the mountain. One group is led by a young man named Scott Fisher called Mountain Madness. And another group which Jon Krakauer was in, led by Rob Hall called Adventure Consultants. Many individuals wanted to get to the top of Mt. Everest for multiple reasons. Whether to be recognized in the paper or to fulfill a lifelong dream, many people from different backgrounds and ethnicities came together to climb this mountain. But what many of them didn’t know was all of the effects and all of the factors that would come into play during the ascent and descent. The layout of the mountain is, Base Camp, Camp One, Camp Two, Camp Three, Camp Four, or as everybody else would call it, “The Death Zone”. And they are not wrong for giving it that title. All of the clients had a problem adjusting to the altitude. Jon Krakauer’s guide, Rob Hall had a strict turn-around time at 2:00 pm, no matter how
Everest is an unbelievable mountain that has taken the lives of a number of the greatest climbers in history. It was my job to ensure that clients make it up that treacherous mountain safely. My name is Rob Hall. I was the main guide and cofounder of a climbing company called Adventure Consultants. My friend, Gary Ball, and I used to be professional climbers. Together we succeeded in climbing to the highest summit on each of the seven continents in seven months. This was our greatest achievement. After this, we decided to start our own company guiding clients up large mountains. In May 1992, we successfully led six clients to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately, Gary died of cerebral edema in October 1993 during an attempt on the world’s sixth-tallest mountain. He died in my arms and the next day I buried him in a crevasse. Despite the pain that his death had caused me, I continued guiding for our company and eventually led thirty-nine climbers to the summit of Everest.
Have you ever looked off a gigantic cliff? Now imagine traveling 30 miles per hour on a bike with curvy roads with enormous cliffs on your side with no rails. This is exactly what I did with my family when we went to Colorado. From the hotel we drove to a bike tour place to take us to the summit of Pikes Peak. After we arrived at the building we saw pictures of how massive the cliffs were, but what terrified me was the fact they had no side rails. This observation was thrilling as well as terrifying. It was an odd mix of emotions, but I loved the adrenaline rush it gave me. My dad whispered to me, “ This will be absolutely horrifying”.
My parents still tell me stories when my brother and I would fall asleep riding with them. When I was five I got a Mini Z 120 that was the best thing a five-year-old could get and let me tell you I rode the daylights out of that. I only hit two trees and one pickup and the house two times, dad was never happy about that, but then again I was only five. Then when I got older I would ride with my dad on the back and tucker would ride his own and then now and then I would drive with my dad with me. Then one day I was riding on my own. I was 13 and we got to Ventura and we had to get gas so we pull into the gas station there was a DNR sitting there. I didn’t have my
I almost fell off a cliff on the side of a mountain. I was in Pitkin, Colorado, on a camping trip during the summer of 2009. The trees were green, the air was fresh so were the lakes, rivers, and ponds were stocked with fish and wildlife was everywhere. Usually, on these camping trips, I would be accompanied by a large number of people. However, this time, it was just my parents, my three brothers, and my two sisters. I was almost 12 years old at the time and having three older brothers made me very competitive. Naturally, when my family decided to climb one of the mountain’s which were around us, I wanted to be the first one to reach its peak.
The Top of the World is Not for Everyone Once the exclusive domain of the elite mountaineers, the roof of the world now lures scores of amateurs. These climbers seek a challenge that begins as high drama but can end abruptly as tragedy (Breashears, 1997).” At 29,035 feet, Mount Everest is the “top of the world” and the ultimate challenge for Climbers. But recently with advances in technology and equipment, more people are attempting to conquer Everest, although many of them do not belong in such an unpredictable, dangerous place with such little experience.
I am in complete isolation hearing only the sound of my breathing and insects in the brush surrounding me. Suddenly, I hear footsteps approaching from behind. A second later, the top boy on the cross country team runs past me verifying my fear of being the slowest runner. While every practice the high school girls run in a pack, this would remain a dream to me. Humiliated and disheartened, my summer was spent in a solitary trudge.
One of the most enjoyable things in life are road trips, particularly to the Colorado mountains. Getting to spend time with your family and friends, while being in a beautiful place, is irreplaceable. The fifteen-hour road trip may feel never-ending, but gazing at the mountains from afar makes life’s problems seem a little smaller and causes worries to become a thing of the past. Coming in contact with nature, untouched, is a surreal experience. My family trip to the Colorado mountains last summer was inspiring.