December 1, 2007

Dear Jon Krakauer,

I never thought about how perilous the route to the summit of Mt. Everest would be, but now whenever I see this huge mountain on a map I am reminded of all the tragedies that happened on its slopes. I used to think it would be fascinating to climb to its summit, yet after reading your personal experience of climbing Mt. Everest in your book, Into Thin Air, I realize the true physical limitations a person has at high altitudes. Your writing taught me that it is a important to be prepared with supplies and physical conditioning, but it is also vital to use common sense. To avoid the grip of death, I’ll always remember to watch for the warnings of the mountain and its weather.

I liked the way you described your own feelings and the difficulty of the climb. I think I would have set off with determination, strength, and endurance like you, but I don’t like getting headaches and being around a messy campsite. When you began the climb to Camp One, for example, your guide Rob Hall told everyone to turn around at 10:00 AM sharp, even if some of your group hadn’t reached it. I know that he knew what to do to be safe, but I would have probably walked fast like Stewart Hutchison and “dashed out of camp at the front of the group.” However, what happened instead of getting to Camp One faster, he got really exhausted and fell to the back. So, he had to turn around with everyone else and return to Base Camp. I would have been extremely upset. I like to keep going up the path, not back down.

I have never hiked as high as 17,600 feet but when I was nine years old, I lived in Colorado and our family hiked up a mountain that was 12,000 feet above sea level. I remember what it felt like to have a major headache after I hiked to the summit. I drank a bunch of water and rested on a bolder. You also had a headache when you were hiking, and I like the way you described it. Your headache was caused by a reaction to the fierce ultraviolet radiation that had “burned your retinas’ and “baked your brain.” I probably would have said, “Heck with it! I’m not going to get sick again,” and returned home. But you and all those other hikers kept going.

The brutally cold temperatures at Camp One, turning your “hands into stiff, aching, claws,” was a definite sign that it is crazy to continue climbing Mt. Everest. I was shocked when you described the desiccated remains of human bodies at 21,000 feet that had been on the mountain for ten or fifteen years. This showed me how catastrophic the events on Mt. Everest can be. I kept reading, but it didn’t seem very gratifying to go up to the summit. You even wrote that you “couldn’t summon the energy to care” once you reached the top of the world, you just felt cold and tired.

I began reading your book thinking it would be about a thrilling and successful climb of  Mt. Everest, but as I read on, I realized this story ended sadly with twelve climbers losing their lives. Your companions had such persistence (and stubbornness), but I have now decided that it is almost impossible to reach the summit of the tallest mountain on earth.   I’m glad you survived!

Sincerely,

Mikko Sayre

7th Grade
Randy Smith Middle School, Fairbanks, Alaska
Teacher:  Jessica Westfall