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

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Why might some people be drawn to risky or potentially dangerous activities in nature? What kinds of activities might fall into this description?

Teaching Suggestion: If students are having difficulty thinking of potentially dangerous activities in nature, it might be helpful to discuss extreme sports, such as skydiving, scuba diving, mountain biking, or snowboarding.

• “The Most Dangerous Trips in the World” - This article from Conde Nast Traveler describes 10 of the most thrilling places to visit around the world.
• “Why Do We Love Extreme Sports?” - This article from Outside explores what motivates so-called “adrenaline junkies” to engage in activities that pose elevated risks.

2. In Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer chronicles his bid to reach the top of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. This adventure demanded ambition and sacrifice. What drives Human Ambition? What is the tradeoff between ambition and sacrifice? Can a person be too ambitious?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might benefit from engaging in a more structured debate about whether a person can be too ambitious.