The group begins its second acclimatization climb - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The group begins its second acclimatization climb from Base Camp to Camp One. Hall wants them to spend two nights at Camp One, then spend three nights at Camp Two before heading back down to Base Camp. Krakauer feels that he is getting used to the high altitude.Krakauer makes it to Camp One ahead of most of the climbers, and tries to help Sherpa Ang Dorje set up camp, but he finds physical labor at the high altitude nearly impossible.

Chapter 8- Camp One 19,500

ft

In the morning they leave for Camp Two, situated almost four miles above them.

Just before Camp Two,

Krakauer

sees a dead body.

It is probably the body of a Sherpa that died a number of years before.

The

next two days

at Camp Two are

extremely difficult due to the

altitude.

Krakauer

cannot do much except "lay in my tent with my head in my hands, trying to exert myself as little as possible" (138).

He climbs above Camp Two to help accelerate the acclimatization, and stumbles upon another dead body.

One

of Fischer's

Sherpas

,

Ngawang

Topche

, had been feeling weak and strange for a couple days.

Sherpas

are not supposed to suffer altitude

sickness

,

so acknowledging

altitude-related problems often ends a Sherpa's career.

Instead of

going back to Base Camp as Fischer suggests,

Ngawang

continues up to Camp Two.

At Camp Two,

Ngawang

is having trouble walking, is delirious and

is

coughing up blood.

These are symptoms of

HAPE

, or High Altitude Pulmonary

Edema.

The

only cure is to descend as quickly as possible.

None of

Fischer's guides are with

Ngawang

because

Fischer

allows guides and clients to go up and down at their will

during the acclimatization process.

They have to carry

him down to Base Camp, and he improves temporarily, then begins to deteriorate.

U

nwilling

to admit that he actually has HAPE,

Ngawang

defies

the camp doctor's orders and removes his oxygen mask. He continues to get worse.

They are able to get

Ngawang

to

Pheriche

, and then flown to Katmandu, but he eventually

dies in

the hospital.

Websites are broadcasted from Everest by a number of teams, including a group filming an IMAX movie. An Internet correspondent with Fischer's team, Sandy Pittman, dispatches information for NBC Interactive Media. Pittman had attempted to climb the mountain three times in the past, and this time is accompanied by much publicity and fanfare. Sandy wanted to be the first woman to climb all Seven Summits, Everest being her last, but another woman finished all seven first.

Chapter 9: Problems with the Climbers

This

is the chapter in which most of the people in the group start significantly feeling the effects of the journey. Most encounter frostbite or worse, and for the first time the team hits weather that prevents them from going as far as they'd planned. Not yet up as high as Camp Three, they are already pushed back by the unpredictability of Everest. "Even without unleashing the worst it could dish out, the mountain had sent us scurrying for

safety."

It's

4:00AM and

Krakauer

is currently preparing to make the trek to

Camp Three

, which sits at a brisk 24,000 feet.

In order to reach Camp Three, he'll need to ascend the

Lhotse Face

, a "vast, titled sea of ice"

Krakauer

considers turning back out of fear of

frostbite

, but before he can, Rob Hall buzzes over the intercom and tells everybody to

turn back around for Camp Two

.

Turns out that

Krakauer

isn't the only one who's struggling.

John

Taske

, a doctor from Australia, is actually beginning to suffer from minor frostbite.

Doug Hansen

is even worse. His

toes

—damaged from his previous Everest attempt—are particularly susceptible to

frostbite.

And that's not even getting into his

throat illness

, for which he had surgery mere weeks before coming to Everest.

Given all of this, the mood at Camp Two is gloomy. Plus, it doesn't help that Hall is currently

arguing

with

the

leaders of the

Taiwanese

and

South African

teams.

The relationship between Fischer's primary Sherpa, Lopsang, and Ngawang is revealed in this chapter. Lopsang actually makes an entire extra climb when he descends to be with his uncle, and then climbs up again to rejoin the group. He covers territory that the other climbers have toiled and sweat over with remarkable speed. After climbing professionally for three years, he had already reached the summit of Everest three times without using supplemental oxygen.

Krakauer

barely comments on his absence, except to say that the extra trip has made Lopsang tired. This demonstrates the strength and skill of the Sherpas. However, Lopsang is in rough shape—his uncle has just died, and he has physically overexerted himself. With each passing day it seems as if some of the climbers who anchor the expeditions become less and less strong.

Chapter 9: The

Sherpas

Krakauer is fascinated that the Sherpas believe that Ngawang is stricken with an illness other than HAPE. The concept of retaliation by a God on Everest is an entirely new concept altogether. The idea that to make it up the mountain safely, one must appease Sagarmatha is simple, and Krakauer seems to embrace it.

The

Sherpas strict adherence to the Buddhist traditions and rituals is an attempt to control the eventual outcome of the climb.

Chapter 9: The Sherpas

The primary issue between the teams is a lack of trust and cooperation, which is vital in these conditions.For the safety of all climbers, fixed rope lines must be installed on the Lhotse Face. Securing the rope is not simply something that helps the clients, but it is a necessity for every climber. Two days earlier, Ang Dorje (along with other guides from Hall's and Fischer's teams) was supposed to install fixed rope lines up the Lhotse Face with Sherpas from the Taiwanese and South African teams, who had already agreed to help secure these ropes. They didn't show up, though.The Sherpas in particular are there to help, and their failure to provide even the most basic assistance lends credence to Hall's prediction that disaster is inevitable. The leader of the Taiwanese team apologizes profusely. Woodall, the leader of the South African team, however, chooses instead to cuss Hall out and accuse Ang Dorje of lying. Their lack of cooperation also adds an unnecessary tension to the climb.

Chapter 9: The Other Expeditions

Chapter 10: Motivations for Climbing

On the 29th, Hall's team (minus Hansen who stays behind due to his frozen larnyx) makes a second attempt at reaching Camp Three. Though the going is agonizingly painful, Krakauer successfully makes it.Unlike Camps One and Two, Camp Three is precariously perched on the side of the mountain. In other words, "the vista was primarily sky rather than earth."

Chapter 10: Motivations for Climbing

Along the way, Krakauer finds himself impressed by his inexperienced colleagues, namely Beck Weathers. Although the two men's political differences drove a wedge between them at first, Krakauer finds himself respecting Weathers fearless pursuit of his goals.Krakauer also realizes that his assumptions about many of his fellow climbers’ motivations have been incorrect. He realizes the fellow climbers are climbing to reach personal goals rather than for thrill seeking. Despite his pride, Krakauer is a little freaked out—he worries that he has High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE)While Hall’s acclimatization plan seems to be working, Krakauer notes that his body is not in good shape. He has lost 20 pounds, and he has a very bad hacking cough.

Chapter 10: Motivations for Climbing

Hall's team descends back to Base Camp over the next several days. This is a momentous occasion, as it marks the final acclimatization trip—they'll be heading for the summit on May 10.Fischer's team will be attempting the summit the same day, and the other teams, including the Taiwanese and South Africans, have agreed and are supposed to make their own attempts on the days before and after.

Krakauer’s Role as a Reporter

During this

last acclimatization

trip,

Krakauer

notes that he feels uncomfortable in his role as a

journalist

at this point in the climb.

No one who signed up to go with Rob Hall originally knew a reporter would be coming along.

Krakauer

He feels bad that he is taking away the climber’s

privacy.

After the expedition, climber Beck Weathers noted that having a reporter with them added a lot of

stress

.

“

I

t’s bad enough to go up there and make a fool of yourself if it’s just you and the climbing group. That somebody may have you written across the pages of some magazine as a buffoon and a clown has got to play upon your psyche as to how you perform, how hard you’ll push,”

Weathers said.

Chapter 11: The Ascent

May 6th 4:30AM- Krakauer’s team leaves base camp for summit attemptWhile at Camp Two, they see Goran Kropp—29, Swedish, solo climber, left Stockholm in October by bike—on his way back down.He climbed all the way to the South Summit, a mere couple of hundred feet from the top, before deciding he was so exhausted that it would be unsafe for him to press on and that he would be in no condition to descend if he kept going. Hall remarks on what great judgment Kropp displayed in doing that which is so unspeakably hard—turning around when the top is in sight.

Doug Hansen and Krakauer talk about getting to the summit. Doug is determined to make it this time, even though his throat is still bothering him.In the afternoon, Scott Fischer arrives, tired and angry because he has had to make special trips to help his clients and has just come back from base camp for the second time.

Chapter 11: The Ascent

May 7

th

is a “rest day” at Camp Two.

Fischer had originally gone to Camp Two ahead of his group and instructed Boukreev to bring up the rear and help their team.Boukreev slept late and left Base Camp 5 hours after his group.Because Fischer paid him $25,000 to guide the group, he was understandably angry that Boukreev was not fulfilling his end of the deal.

Chapter 11: The Ascent

Tensions between Fischer and Boukreev spike, largely because Boukreev feels that "'if client cannot climb Everest without big help from guide…this client should not be on Everest'“ (156).By this time, Fischer's health has begun to reflect the fact that his guide hasn't been as helpful as he expected.

Chapter 11: The Ascent

On May 8, Hall’s and Fischer's teams both leave Camp Two and begin to climb up the Lhotse Face. Just beneath Camp Three, a boulder falls from the cliffs above and slams into Andy Harris's chest. He falls, dangling from his rope. They eventually reach the Camp and Harris claims to be okay, acknowledging that had the rock hit him on the head he wouldn't be.

Chapter 11: The Ascent

A few of the members have trouble reaching Camp Three, and need assistance. Two team members,

Lou and Frank

, struggle into camp hours later.

Krakauer

is stunned—Frank is one of the climbers he expected to make it to the summit.

They begin using supplemental oxygen. Some climbers feel that using canned oxygen is cheating. The most legendary climber of all, Reinhold Messner, was the first to summit the mountain without oxygen. Many people, especially Sherpas, were skeptical that these men—Westerners—had actually achieved the feat without supplemental oxygen, but investigation yielded support for the claim. Two years later, Reinhold made a solo ascent up the Tibetan side of the mountain, again without oxygen. Climbing without oxygen is a distinction, but most guides feel that climbing without gas is irresponsible and renders them almost useless as a guide.

Chapter 11: The Ascent

Krakauer

feels claustrophobic wearing the mask.

He has the sensation that he really cannot breathe despite the extra oxygen.

The next morning, a member of the Taiwanese team, Chen Nu-Yan, slips on the ice and falls down the Lhotse Face. He falls into a crevasse after only seventy feet, and survives. The Taiwanese leader leaves Chen in the tent to recover, and then tells Hall of his intention to summit on May 10, despite his promise to avoid the peak on that day.Later, Chen suddenly takes a turn for the worse. He is in pain and disoriented, and as he is descending the mountain he suddenly loses consciousness. A few minutes later he stops breathing. The IMAX team hurries to help, but when they arrive, Chen is dead. Gau, the Taiwanese leader, upon hearing of Chen's death, says: "O.K." and announces that no plans for his team have changed.Chen’s death is the first that they have experienced during this climb.

Chapter 11: The Ascent