10 Famous Travel Authors to Inspire Your Next Vacation

In 1996, three groups of climbers set out to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route. There were expert climbers and clients who had paid top dollars to get to the summit. Twenty-three people were caught in a blizzard and eight of them died. It was one of the deadliest days in Everest’s history.

There are many books and movies that imagine what happened that day in May. Overcrowding and commercialization of the world tallest mountain, the inexperience of the climbers, and natural conditions all played a part in the catastrophe. Into Thin Air, written by journalist Jon Krakauer, who was part of the expedition, questions the actions of one of the guides, Anatoli Boukreev, while recounting the journey in his book. Boukreev, in return, wrote The Climb to give his own account.

The Climb is a narration of what it entails to go on such a dangerous climb, from permits to setting camps to acclimatization. The book has interviews from those who survived as well as investigative records of Sherpas and medics by co-author G. Weston DeWalt. And, it also presents the heroic actions of Anatoli that saved three lives: the guide left the safety of his tent to rescue three clients who were stranded in the mountain, disoriented and out of oxygen. Sadly, Anatoli died during an ascent of Annapurna in Nepal in 1997.

Many people have lost their lives climbing Everest in recent years, some owing to overcrowding. If you’re thinking about ascending to glory on this indomitable mountain, know that hundreds of attempts to reach the summit each year and a hazardous queue in the Death Zone (above 8,000 meters / 5 miles) can be fatal to the body.