Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Before reading past the first few chapters of Into Thin Air, the reader already knows the story ends in disaster.

• How does Krakauer use foreshadowing to hint at the coming tragedy? (topic sentence)
• Discuss 2-3 examples of foreshadowing in the early chapters that suggest to the reader that a tragedy will befall this group of climbers. Support your response with text evidence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what effect this device (foreshadowing) has on the reader.

2. The commercialization of summiting Mount Everest has brought Western tourism into Khumbu Valley.

• Has Western tourism had a positive or negative impact on the lives of the sherpas in the Khumbu Valley? (topic sentence)
• Discuss 1-2 ways in which Western tourism has had a positive impact on those living in the Khumbu Valley, and 1-2 ways in which it has had a negative impact. Support your response with text evidence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate whether the impact of Western tourism on the Khumbu Valley has been more positive or negative.

3. When interviewed after a successful summit, Shigekawa, a Japanese climber who failed to help ailing members of an Indian expedition, explains that “we were too tired to help. Above 8,000 meters is not a place where people can

afford morality.”

• Do you agree with Shigekawa’s statement? Why or why not? (topic sentence)
• Discuss 1-2 reasons why you take the position you do regarding Shigekawa’s statement. Support your response with text evidence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize your views on situations in which people should be held accountable for their morality and under what circumstances morality might be suspended.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. New York socialite Sandy Pittman is often seen as a symbol of The Commercialization of Everest. Krakauer shows how, to some degree, summitting Everest is only achievable by the wealthy or those sponsored by the wealthy. However, Pittman seems to be in a league of her own when it comes to climbing Everest in luxury, comfort, and style. Does this make her a villain, or just well-prepared? How do Krakauer and the others on the expedition view Pittman? How is she the epitome of The Commercialization of Everest? As you compose your essay, incorporate at least three quoted phrases from the text that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with page numbers.

2. Krakauer writes that “on Everest it is the nature of systems to break down with a vengeance” (287). Despite all the meticulous planning and dedication to safety, poor decisions by the Sherpa guides, foreign guides, and clients lead to this tragedy. Which factors were within the climbers’ control? Which were not? Which factors point to The Immense Power of Nature and the Frailty of Man? As you compose your essay, discuss at least one factor that was within the climbers’ control that contributed to the disaster, and at least one factor that was outside the climbers' control that contributed to the disaster. Incorporate at least two quoted phrases from the text that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with page numbers.

3. Krakauer writes of George Leigh Mallory, “It was he who so notoriously quipped ‘Because it is there’ when an irritating newspaperman demanded to know why he wanted to climb Everest.” What drives Krakauer to seek the summit of Mount Everest? What sacrifices—physical, emotional, psychological—did he endure to achieve this lifelong goal? After weighing all that was lost on Mount Everest, were the sacrifices worth it? How does Krakauer’s ambition speak to the larger theme of Human Ambition as a whole? As you compose your essay, discuss at least three sacrifices Krakauer made either during or after summiting Mount Everest. Incorporate at least three quoted phrases from the text that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with page numbers.