Worried Mountaineers

In “Into Thin Air”, Krakauer uses foreshadowing to create lots of suspense, even though we have a basic understanding and what will happen, he is still able to create suspense through foreshadowing. Krakauer writes that they began to talk about the different groups of climbers that had came this season and how there were many who were very incompetent, listing the Taiwanese expedition, and the troubled South African expedition where their con artist guide was exposed forcing the 3 experienced South African climbers to resign. There was also a “solo” (he had hired many Sherpas to carry the load) Norwegian who was particularly inexperienced. “The solo Norwegian, the Taiwanese, and especially the South Africans were frequent topics of discussion in Hall’s mess tent. ‘With so many incompetent people on the mountain,’ Rob said with a frown one evening in late April, ‘I think it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll get through this season without something bad happening up high’” (p.104) This is major foreshadowing and even though we already know what is going to happen it still raises suspense. Krakauer methodically places these quotes that he remembers from the days leading up to the disaster in order to generate suspense and it also makes the whole thing more eerie because the climbers were aware that something bad was probably in store from the beginning. 

Krakauer writes in 1st person point of view, creating a diary-like feel, you understand the whole experience of Mount Everest not just a panic filled night of disaster. All the events leading up to the tragedy are explained, and sometimes you forget you are reading about a disaster and you just get immersed in the experience of Everest itself. First person really puts you in the author’s shoes and provides you with an authentic experience of Everest, from the amazing views, to the excruciating pains. “By the time I removed my crampons to walk the last hundred yards to the tents, the sun felt like it was boring a hole through the crown of my skull. The full force of the headache struck a few minutes later, as I was chatting with Helen and Chhongba in the mess tent. I’d never experienced anything like it: crushing pain between my temples―pain so severe that it was accompanied by shuddering waves of nausea and made it impossible for me to speak in coherent sentences. Fearing I’d suffered some sort of stroke, I staggered away in midconversation.” (p.85) The first person point of view provides a whole new insight into his experiences on Everest. We learn all the negatives to climbing such a mountain, and the pains caused by being at such a high altitude. The experiences that Krakauer has had in first person point of view adds to the story, and makes it more like a diary than a tragedy. Things like his headache give just a little something more to the overall experience when reading.Into Thin Air is a very suspenseful and thrilling book. Krakauer puts the reader on the edge of their seat and creates lots of suspense and anxiety through the events in the book. For example, even though we have basic knowledge of the events that took place there is still plenty of suspense during an event like Krakauer walking through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall. “The movement of the glacier in the Icefall has been measured at between three and four feet a day. As it skids down the steep, irregular terrain in fits and starts, the mass of ice splinters into a jumble of huge, tottering blocks called seracs, some as large as office buildings.” (p.79-80) Krakauer is able to create suspense through his description of the Khumbu Icefall and how dangerous it is. The reader begins to feel anxious for Krakauer as he travels through the perilous Khumbu Icefall. He makes the reader feel scared for him because of how good of a job he does creating suspense while he traverses and describing how dangerous the Khumbu Icefall is.