A special few believe that conquering the world's highest mountain produces more rewards than risks. Behavioral neuroscience and sociology account for the behaviors that influence professional climbers. Risk takers are essentially motivated by social pressures and self-satisfaction. Psychological phenomenons such as self-efficacy, risk and reward, and cultural values push individuals on the path to extreme risks like climbing Everest. Everest acts as a platform for climbers who desire stronger sense of self. One of the elements behind the desire to climb Mount Everest is the determination to summit as a redemption. Stacy Allison, the first American woman to summit Mount Everest, explained how climbing allowed her to recover from an abusive …show more content…
Many climbers are infatuated with reputability. In a number of cases, self-esteem is easily influenced by external opinions. Western society and its expansive economy have left an unparalleled impact on the nation’s collective psyche; many feel that wealth and peer-determined success are the keys to happiness. Baker and Simon point out, “risk taking in a remote and spectacular environment can provide the material for constructing personal reputation and status” (185). Impressionable minds aspire towards social acceptance in order to find some sense of release; mountain climbing is an ideal activity for those looking to impress. Without a defined sense of self-actualization, individuals cannot add true meaning to their lives. Additionally, a credible claim to being first can inspire emotional security. Individuals seek claims on merits distinguished by narrow categories of self-identity (Simon 190). The first woman and cancer survivor were inspired by self-discovery on their Everest expeditions. Many climbers feel that: “Getting to the top of any given mountain was considered much less important than how one got there: prestige was carned by tackling the most unforgiving routes with minimal equipment, in the boldest style imaginable” (Krakauer 23). Psychologically, the gesture can add positive reinforcement to one’s individuality. An individual’s cultural …show more content…
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
In the memoir Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin, the author Mark Pfetzer is faced with an extremely amazing yet scary challenge of climbing Mount Everest. Each event is the story has something to do with the nature that is around them at that moment but Pfetzer shows the readers that nature can be a way of life.
It was Saturday morning at Alexan’s vacation home in Tehachapi, CA. We ate our breakfast, and decided to go for a hike in the dangerous mountains of Tehachapi. It was approximately fifty degrees Fahrenheit and the clouds had covered the mountains, causing the area to be very foggy and difficult to see. Knowing that it was not a good idea Alexan still managed to convince me to go hiking, and he said to me, “Don’t worry it will be fine”. This reminded me of Oliveira saying to Ronald, “I think you feel very sure of yourself, firmly planted in yourself and in your surroundings” (Oliveira 161). Both Ronald and my friend Alexan felt very sure that they were right, and did not have any worries. I do not think Alexan even took a single thought about the dangers we could face hiking in the steep mountains with the harsh conditions we were facing. Ronald did not care to change his mind and agree with Oliveira, because he felt very confident with what he believed.
This became the deadliest expedition to ever climb, with 15 people losing their lives. Krakauer explains his intrinsic motivations to accept this challenge and many of the mistakes that helped lead to the disasters of that day. He includes himself, and explicitly blames himself for at least one person's death. The experience affects him profoundly, and in addition to telling the story, the book focuses on how Krakauer is forever changed as a result of what happened. All of the clients have difficulty adjusting to the altitude, tiring easily, losing weight and moving slowly.
Classic literature juxtaposes two ways of life that illustrate the poles of true happiness: a life of adventure, exemplified by Odysseus (The Odyssey), and the life at home, which poets and farmers represent. In The Iliad, Achilleus chooses to live a short, glorious life, even though he could have chosen to live a long life in anonymity. Arguments have been put forth that the life of adventure is a living hell, as Achilleus testifies from Hades after his death - in hindsight, he would have settled for the life of a slave and given up his glory, if only he could have lived longer. Alternately, the life of the (metaphorical) farmer has been despised as simple and ordinary, when true immortality is only attained with great accomplishments, such as sacking Troy or surviving heroic adventures which are then recorded. In a modern day autobiography of the 1996 ascent of Mt. Everest (Sagarmatha to the Nepalis, or “goddess of the sky”), Jon Krakauer reveals the human motivation behind adventure and tells the story of the men and women who lived and died on the expeditions to the summit during that spring (Into Thin Air). With epic literature and a recent epic, I will illuminate the values of a reflective life as well as the life of adventure, and delve into the necessary components of the ‘good life.’
Throughout the novel, the protagonist encounters many difficulties when trying to reach his goal of climbing Mount Everest. He encounters problems, from illnesses to deaths but most affectively the catastrophic weather. When Krakauer’s 5 friends die, including Rob Hall, Krakauer takes responsibility of the other climbers and helps them get through the tough weather safely. When they arrived to the base camps, many of the climbers gave up but Krakauer kept trying, he was motivated by Halls death to reach the top of Mount Everest. Krakauer finds ways to get around
Imagine feeling guilty for making it out alive on a journey. In the nonfiction novel, Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, he documents his journey to the summits of Mount Everest and ultimately accuses himself for holding acquisitiveness responsibility for the disaster on the mountain. After realizing only one-fourth of the people that climbed to the summits on May 10, 1996, made it down back to base camp alive, Krakauer theorizes about why that was so. He attributes most of the reason for the disaster to the erratic weather along with hubris, he wanted for the thought of leading a group to the mountain. Despite those reasons, there is no ultimate reason for the deaths documented in the book, but bottom line the climbers that died didn’t thoroughly comprehend the danger they were going to encounter as a consequence that contributes to the disaster.
Everest. “The falling ice hit twenty-five men, killing sixteen of them, all Nepalis. Three of the bodies were buried beneath the debris and were never recovered,” (Source 2). This tragedy had occurred all when mountaineering. This is not something rare either, according to Source 1 “Keep Everest Open”, “...Everest exacted a ratio of one death for every four successful summit attempts”. This sport is extremely dangerous if something goes wrong, which means that the chance of death is high. So why would anyone want to risk their life just to climb a
The use of oxygen also provides a false sense of security for inexperienced climbers. The use of oxygen prevents them from truly knowing what Everest is like. Inexperienced climbers think that they can acclimate faster and climb faster because they have oxygen that they would otherwise not have. They become more confident in their abilities and often misjudge because of it. The book “Into Thin Air”, was about a 1996 expedition led by Rob Hall, with author Jon Krakauer as a client. Jon depicted how miscalculations and miscommunication about how much oxygen there was on the mountain caused the death of fifteen people. To counter this argument, experienced climbers know that they need oxygen because i...
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.
There are always more than one side to weigh options on. Why do people keep climbing Mount Everest? The moment it was indentified as the highest mountain in the world it was a staple attraction to climb. The first known beings to reach the mountain's summit, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, received lots of buzz after doing so. In the article "The World's
I am frequently faced with the challenge to work hard on the mountain, especially on the difficult terrain to which I subject myself. I learn how to tackle the hard work ahead of me with a predetermined game plan, and I have come to value the joy of overcoming the obstacles. Knowing that your hard work has resulted in surmounting a tough challenge is very rewarding. My main goal as a skier is learning the skills to conquer any terrain on the mountain. In this process I come face to face with terrain that requires me to dig deep and face my fears. Surely this discipline on the mountain has rubbed off, because I find myself not afraid to attempt a challenge that others may find daunting. I trust my skills, and I know that “the only thing to fear is fear itself”. It is imperative that skiers learn to overcome fears that impede them from skiing down the terrain. I can confidently say that with the hard work I have put in I have conquered my fears on and off the
Given the recent Everest tragedy over the weekend with the biggest loss of lives to date, this case study rings particularly poignant. It’s hard to think of a higher-staked situation than making a summit bid for Mount Everest. The responsibility in such a trek weighs heavy on the leader, but does not need to fall on his shoulders alone. Had Fischer been more willing to share credit, fostering a team-oriented environment, he might still be around today to bask in the glory of his ambitious undertaking.
...to wherever they were and make sure they were treated. He also ignores his own disease and ill condition to insure the clients have a shot at the summit. This may be viewed as foolishness but this type of self-sacrifice is something rare and admirable. In conclusion, both men have a usual connection to climbing.
It was cold and rainy when Baran and I decided that we were going to climb the mighty Mount Everest. Baran was worried for his wife and unborn child. His wife had been pregnant for about seven months now, but this didn’t stop Baran from accomplishing his goal. After about a week of preparation, we were ready to begin our journey. The path to Mount Everest is very dangerous and confusing compared to other mountains.
Those people took a risk choosing to open the mountain even though it wasn't something they had to be rescued from. People like to climb mountains even if it is dangerous. Those people could be professional climbers or inexperienced ones. People who climb those mountains know they are putting themselves