In eisigen Höhen

1996 nahm der amerikanische Journalist Jon Krakauer an einer Mount-Everest-Expedition teil. Das Unternehmen endete in einer Katastrophe, fünf von Krakauers Kameraden kamen auf tragische Weise in einem peitschenden Schneesturm ums Leben, er selbst konnte sich mit letzter Kraft in Sicherheit bringen. Minutiös und eindrucksvoll schildert er in diesem Bericht den Verlauf der Expedition. Er äußert sich außerdem kritisch über die Auswüchse des modernen Alpinismus mit seinen oft tödlichen Folgen, vermittelt aber zugleich einen Eindruck von der magischen Anziehungskraft und der Faszination des Bergsteigens. When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10,1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step by step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has his readers shaking on the edge of their seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is is about Everest that has compelled so many poeple--including himself--to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense? Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.From the Paperback edition. Im Frühjahr 1996 nahm Jon Krakauer an einer Mount Everest-Expedition teil, um über die dramatischen Auswüchse des kommerziellen Bergsteigens zu berichten. Diese Expedition endete selbst in der schlimmsten Katastrophe, die sich je auf dem Dach der Welt ereignete: Zwölf Menschen kamen dabei ums Leben .. Straddling the top of the world, one foot in China and the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind, and stared absently down at the vastness of Tibet.