Reviewed on May 4, 2020

Loved it! 😍

Once you finish this book, your ambition to scale Everest might also evaporate Into Thin Air. Nature always wins.

Into Thin Air is a terrifying account of the horrors that can unfold at high altitude on Everest. Humans are simply not designed to function at 8000m+. It follows the journey of 3 guided groups who attempted to summit Everest in May 1996 and the calamity that followed when the weather unexpectedly turned sour.

The commercialisation of Everest was one of the most interesting parts of this book. What was once a highly elusive and coveted peak in the mountaineer world has been turned into something of a theme park, with guides touting that they can get "any reasonably fit" person to the summit. Now that you can effectively buy your way up to the summit, hundreds of inexperienced 'hikers' litter the peak. There is no way any the average paying client would be able to make the ascent on their own. The Sherpas fix all the ropes, even carve steps in the ice, cook and in some cases drag people up the mountain.

When disaster strikes, and queues of inexperienced climbers are high on the mountain, no one is safe. If you were thinking of adding Everest to your bucket list, this book will probably bring that dream smashing back down into reality.