Into Thin Air — Vocabulary
Jon Krakauer
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I dreamed of ascending Everest myself one day;56 more

It had been established in 1973 after four members of a single Japanese trekking group succumbed to the altitude and died in the vicinity.15 more

Their best hope for getting off the mountain alive, they concluded, was to go over the top and down the well-established Southeast Ridge route, an extremely audacious plan, given the late hour, the unknown terrain, and their rapidly diminishing supply of bottled oxygen.15 more

Most of us were simply wrapped too tightly in the grip of summit fever to engage in thoughtful reflection about the death of someone in our midst.5 more

Andy's encounter with the falling rock was very much on my mind every time I unclipped from the line to move around somebody even a small projectile would be enough to send me to the bottom of the face if it struck while I was disengaged from the rope.5 more

Moreover, I agree that readers are often poorly served when an author writes as an act of catharsis, as I have done here.†10 more

The reputations of the Taiwanese preceded them to Everest.†8 more

The government of Nepal recognized that the throngs flocking to Everest created serious problems in terms of safety, aesthetics, and impact to the environment.5 more

"I don't want to carry the telephone," Lopsang later admitted, in part because it worked only marginally at Camp Three and it seemed even less likely to work in the colder, harsher environment of Camp Four.5 more

Everest had killed more than 130 people since the British first visited the mountain in 1921--approximately one death for every four climbers who'd reached the summit--and that many of those who died had been far stronger and possessed vastly more high-altitude experience than I.8 more

A decade later, however, a subsequent ascent of the mountain helped establish the trajectory of my life.†7 more

Inept or disreputable companies have on more than one occasion failed to deliver crucial logistical support-oxygen, for instance-as promised.†8 more

The weather deteriorated as the afternoon wore on.†9 more

Fond of costumes, Sandy appeared wearing a high-altitude climbing suit over her evening dress, complemented by mountaineering boots, crampons, ice ax, and a bandolier of carabiners.1 more

There were fifteen of us in Hall's group: three guides, a full complement of eight clients, and Sherpas Ang Dorje, Lhakpa Chhiri, Ngawang Norbu, and Kami.1 more

He was so hypothermic he could barely talk.†6 more

He has one of the worst cases of pulmonary edema I've ever seen.†5 more

Four of my teammates died not so much because Rob Hall's systems were faulty-indeed, nobody's were better-but because on Everest it is the nature of systems to break down with a vengeance.1 more

This morning, gasping lungfuls of caustic, snow-filled air, he had apparently frozen his larynx.1 more

Gregarious by nature, Hall proved to be a skillful raconteur with a caustic Kiwi wit.1 more