Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Analysis Essay Example

Rob Hall, regarded as a legendary and highly respected climber accomplishing several seemingly impossible feats such as summiting seven mountains in seven months. As well as being one of the first people to introduce commercial expeditions on the slopes of Mt. Everest once said: “Everest though is another beast, another beast altogether” (Magical Quote) For the few avid climbers who attempt Everest, it is a question on how they can continue the trek knowing the odds of fatality are substantially higher than most other mountains. It would take a great deal of resilience to accomplish such a feat. In the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, he writes about the legendary and decorated climber Rob Hall who will be faced with many daunting tasks and difficult decisions. Only through resilience would Rob be able to summit Mt. Everest.

It wasn’t just Rob who had the idea of creating a company that takes average people to the top of mountains, Gary a good friend and business partner of Rob grew to have the same vision. However in an unfortunate series of events Gary passed away and “Hall resolved to carry on alone with Adventure Consultants. In his systematic fashion he continued to refine the company’s infrastructure and services, striving to be extraordinarily successful at escorting ametuer climbers to the summits of big, remote mountains” (Krakauer 37) In Spite of his friend and business partner dying, Rob was able to handle his emotions and overcome the natural response to grief when someone close to you dies. Rather than letting their dream die with Gary, Rob persevered and created a successful company that fulfilled the original dream of both Rob and Gary. Rob again showed his strong ability to handle his emotions when debating with Cotter a member of his team “‘I know I sound like the bastard for telling Rob to abandon his client,’ confessed Cotter, ‘but by then it was obvious that leaving Doug was his only choice.’ Hall, however, wouldn’t consider going down without Hansen.” (Krakauer 241) This again demonstrates Rob's ability to handle his emotions. When he makes the decision to stay with his client who paid him not only to make sure he reached the top, but also to make it down safely. Knowing the outcome of a fatality for Rob became much more likely if he chose to stay with his client, he overcame his emotions and stuck with his promise he made to his client.

Although being a businessman, throughout the climb Rob shows a great deal of empathy and understanding to those around him. He was “always especially concerned about the welfare of the Sherpas who worked for him.” (Krakauer 55) This portrays a clear example of Rob being very understanding and empathetic of how hard the sherpas work and ensuring they are respected for it. Later on Rob demonstrated his empathy during a conversation with one of his clients struggling with infirmities due to the attitude, in which he encourages the client who wants to give up by saying: “‘Wait and see how you feel in a couple of days. You’re a tough bastard. I think you’ve still got a good shot at the top once you recover.’” (Krakauer 129) This shows Rob's ability to be empathetic because he is very understanding of how his client feels and uses encouragement to help him get out of his compromised state.

Rob Hall throughout the expedition has a strong ability to take initiative and control over situations such as in the planning stage of the summit push. Rob “recognizing that the basic climbing skills of some of his clients were highly suspect, Hall intended to rely on fixed lines to safeguard and expedite both our group and Fischer’s group over the most difficult ground.” (Krakauer 181) This proves that hall has the ability to take initiative and make important decisions when necessary. He uses the knowledge he gained from previous expeditions and uses it as opportunity to further improve the groups chance at summiting. Rob again shows his ability to take initiative when he and Scott Fischer plan for the summit push. “During which they agreed that each expedition would dispatch two Sherpas—including the climbing sirdars, Ang Dorje and Lopsang—from Camp Four ninety minutes ahead of the main groups. This would give the Sherpas time to install fixed lines on the most exposed sections of the upper mountain before the clients arrived.” (Krakauer 163) This again depicts Rob’s ability to take initiative by showing he is in control of the situation and can make right minded decisions others might pass up. Rather than being reactive Rob demonstrates leadership and creates a plan in order to get his clients to the summit as safely as possible.

The ability to be resilient can be shown in several different ways for Rob Hall. His ability to handle his emotions, his capability to be empathetic, and ability to take the initiative needed for the climb. These traits allowed him to overcome some of the several different hardships and challenges he faced. Like many great climbers before him Rob understands the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity which in turn allowed his clients to summit the apex of the world.