When I was in the seventh grade, our class went on a field trip to Cherokee, North Carolina. The trip lasted four days and three nights, but the adventure would last a lifetime. The experience allowed me to learn many things about myself and to reflect on the beauty that was all around me. We departed at six-thirty in the morning, and I was so excited. I had never been away on a school trip for longer than a few hours. I tossed my purple duffel bag into the storage compartment, found my seat by the window, and prepared for what I knew would surely be an unforgettable adventure. When we finally arrived in the mountains, it was breathtaking. They were covered with trees, and the clouds floating over them were so beautiful. I looked down and saw valleys of flowers that went on forever. I was so anxious to get off the bus and roll in the grass with the clear, blue sky above my head. The bus came to a halt, and one by one we filed out into a parking lot. We grabbed our canteens and began the one-mile trail to the top of one of the mountains. I was one of the first people to reach the peak, and waiting for us was a notebook. We opened it to find the names of everyone who has ever reached the peak. I smiled to myself as I wrote in big letters “Kim Walton” and started back down the mountain. It was much easier and faster than going up, and everyone was really excited to see where we were going next. When we arrived at the Best Western, everyone grabbed his/her suitcases, quickly tucking them into the rooms as the candy shop across the street drew us in like moths to a flame. Afterwards, we went back to our rooms, put on our bathing suits, and went for a late-night swim under the stars. It was so cold, but we did not mind it because we were having so much fun. Later we went back to our rooms and went to sleep. Our next day would surely be packed with action and adventure. The next morning, we went to Alpine Tower: a seventy-five feet high vertical structure that is designed to help you work with others and test your physical strength as well as your bravery, motivation, and problem-solving strategies. Equipped with helmets, harnesses, and ropes, we took our places around the tower and prepared for the first person to go up.
Krakauer attempts to figure out exactly what went wrong and what happened to whom. He does extensive research and painstakingly traces the actions of every climber on the mountain. He theorizes about the breakdowns of the expedition, and attributes the disaster to a series of small mistakes. 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. Krakauer has a multi-faceted role in this book. First and foremost, he is a character, the narrator of the story he tells. Secondly, he is the author of this book. Third, he is a mountain climber.
In the story “Sharon Wood: No Limits,” by Sharon Wood, the author describes Woods experience on Mount Everest. In the story Wood overcomes many obstacles to achieve her goal. She had to handle the extreme cold weather along with the heavy bags they had to carry. Due to lack of oxygen they also needed to carry oxygen tanks with themselves. It requires a lot of strength and determination to climb one of the tallest mountains in the world. Sharon Wood was an inspirational, and discipline woman. Finally, only Wood and her climbing partner, Dwayne Congdon, made it to the top. Rest of the team did not have enough ability to make it to the top. After all the struggle Wood went through; she had finally reached the top of Mount Everest. This was
Have you ever wanted to prove to everyone that you are a hard worker that is willing to give up everything to go on an adventure? If this is you than Everest is the perfect place for you. A great deal of Everest’s dangers are expressed in his book which should either inspire you to try this journey or sway you away from the treacherous mountain. In the story, “ Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer a true story is told of a dangerous voyage up and down Everest. The climb up was arduous and long according to Jon, but the climbers sacrificed everything to get to the top, which most of the climbers achieved. However, emotions shifted when a storm swooped in and killed many of the climbers that were stuck on the summit, around 12-19 in total. The devices
In the book, Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, there are many interesting events that happen. In the beginning of the book, it starts off with where Jon Krakauer reaches the top of Everest, which happens later in the book. Then after that it then begins to describe many other climbers experiences on Everest and the history of Everest about what has happened on the mountain. After all of that is explained, it then gets into the story. It starts off with Jon, the main character on a plane to climb Everest. It also explains all of his experience climbing and how Everest is the hardest thing he will climb. He then gets to Kathmandu, his destination, and meets up with the team he will be climbing with. They then move closer and closer to Everest and stick together, then they reach it. They then begin to climb the mountain, and they all go at different paces, Rob Hall was their climbing leader. They all began to climb together. They went camp by camp, and rested at each camp for a long
Between 1840 and 1950, over fifty-three thousand people travelled the Oregon Trail. Native American exposure to diseases such as smallpox and diphtheria decimated the tribes, and that along with the encroachment of settlers on tribal lands, was the cause of much strife between Native Americans and the incoming Europeans. The Land Donation Law, a government land giveaway allotting three-hindred twenty acres to white males and six-hundred forty to married white couples, gave impetus to the western expansion and the American idea of "Manifest destiny." This promotion of migration and families also allowed America to strentghen its hold on Oregon, in the interests of displacing British claims.
Within only 10 years, Kor completed more first ascents than any other American did before or since. It is not surprising that Kor was the most comfortable on rocks that were loose and crumbly since he began on a simple clay mound in his backyard. Layton Kor’s years of climbing came to an end in 1968 when he decided to become a door-to-door preacher, but even then he missed climbing. Unfortunately he became very ill with kidney disease but received so much support from friends and former climbing partners that were able to raise money for his medical expenses. At the age of 70, Kor did one last climb in Arizona. He said, “Climbing is hard to give up, it’s just as hard to give up as cigarettes.”
Climbing Mt. Everest is an accomplishment that only a limited number of people can say they have accomplished. Despite statistics that illustrate most fail or die trying, numerous people are drawn to the mountain each year and truly believe they can be among that elite group. In the spring of 1996, Jon Krakauer, a journalist for the adventure magazine Outside and a passionate climber himself, was offered the opportunity to climb Mt. Everest. The original offer was to join an Adventure Consultants team led by Rob Hall, a respected and well known guide, climb to base camp and then write a story on the commercialism that had penetrated this incredibly risky but addicting sport. Without much hesitation Krakauer accepted the offer but not to just go to base camp; he wanted the top. The expedition started out as predicted but an unexpected storm the day of the summit push turned this expedition into the most devastating expedition of all time. Krakauer was changed for life; an article on the commercialism surrounding the mountain would no longer suffice. Into Th...
The diversity of the group members was a strength for their success on the mountain. The members ranged from doctors, journalists, Sherpas, to professional climbers. They came from different backgrounds and past experiences in high altitude climbing and possessed a variety of mental capacities while on the mountain. This is apparent in some members’ decision to return to Base Camp as their health deteriorated. Other members also questioned proceeding to the Summit when the weather turned for the worse. The diversity in decision making of the members was an asset to the groups’ overall experience on the mountain. Their diversity also led to com...
Mountains—they are unequivocally distinctive. Some would believe that mountains are God’s creation that surpasses the heavens, and others would say that the world evolved to form such megalithic structures. Whatever the case, no other creation can match the height of Mount Everest. The tallest man-made buildings are not in relative comparison. When beholding the site of Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, an individual could never imagine a more vast creation. Burj Khalifa stands erect at over 828 meters or 2,716.5 feet. However, Mount Everest shadows this height at an astonishing 8,850 meters above sea level. What an incredible record! Now, one can consider how extraordinarily difficult it would be to climb and surpass a mountain of such stature. A mountain is formed out of many stones on top of one another. Life is comprised of many moments in a similar fashion. In the book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, Three Cups of Tea, mountains are a part of ordinary life. Greg Mortenson’s mission to climb the second highest mountain, K2, quickly turned into a dramatic story of “One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time”. Each moment was a defining period of time in his life and of the lives around him.
It was 12:00 at night, but I was still wide awake. I was anxious for the trip that was in store for me. The next morning I drove to the airport and took a flight to Colorado. I rented a car and drove to Red Cliffs lodge in Moab, Utah. Moab is a dry, desert town in Utah located right next to Canyonlands national park where I would spend most of my time. Right as I got out of the car I could see the beautiful canyonlands scenery. The gigantic cliffs of the island in the sky loomed over the lodge. The blue waters of the Colorado river ran behind the lodge. My room was spacious and had a great view of the cliffs. The best part of the room was the window right above my bed. That night I fell asleep gazing at a full moon and a sky full of stars.
Climbing makes for a difficult expedition, you need to give up the wrappers when you was ascending. You need to give up the heavy things, you need to give up your wrappers, and you need to give yourselves. Sometimes we need to give up our lives to climb the mount Everest. According to snow storm, the energy, the oxygen and the people who desired prove themselves the spring’s 96s expedition to mountain Everest was destined to be the most tragic.
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.
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.
Standing atop the highest peak of the Great Wall in Beijing, China after nearly two hours of climbing up the uneven, ancient stairs, I couldn’t help but to think about my life and all the decisions I have made thus far. Drenched in sweat and gasping for breath through the thick, heavy, polluted air, I stood quietly in amazement. I was not only speechless because I had actually braved the nearly 7-mile climb but also because of the picturesque landscape that surrounded me. “I did it!” I thought to myself, “I actually did it!” I closed my eyes and fought back tears of joy.
Now we had to make the long trip back to Mrs. Tina’s house. It was such a long day, and we were extremely tired so we decided to skip dinner. We took showers, put on our pajamas, brushed are teeth, and went to bed. Over the next few days we went to the beach, had picnics in the park, went bike riding and skating, and took a trip to the mall. We had such a fun week, but now it was time to go home. So, we thanked Mrs. Tina and her family for being so generous and welcoming to us. We told them that they would have to come visit us so we could return their kindness they showed us. So, we gave them hugs and kisses and we headed back to Las Vegas.