Into Thin Air (Krakauer)

Discussion Questions 
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Into Thin Air:

1. Much like Krakauer's other book, Into the Wild, many readers lacked sympathy for the climbers and were angered by their lack of skill and the carelessness of the guides who attempted to get them to the top, letting a hefty fee get in the way of sound judgment. What is your opinion? 

2. Discuss Rob Hall's decision not to turn around by 2:00 as he had stipulated but to help Doug Hansen reach the summit. It was a difficult decision because it was Hansen's second attempt, and the men had both an emotional and a monetary stake in Doug's success. If you were in that situation (yeah, right...), would you have been tempted to push to the top, to reach a goal that you'd trained for and wished for...and paid for? 

3. Talk about the decision to leave Beck Weathers and Yasuko Namba to die, knowing both were still alive.

There was only one choice, however difficult: let nature take its inevitable course..., and save the group's resources for those who could actually be helped. It was a classic act of triage.

4. Which individual did you find yourself most sympathasizing with ... which did you most admire ... which least admire?

5. Who pays for the expensive search and rescue efforts?  Is it right to endanger other lives (helicopter pilots) to transport injured climbers down to hospitals?

6. What did you make of the survivors' attitudes, especially Beck Weather's,  when Krakauer later contacted them?

7. How would you feel about a loved one who was passionate about climbing, who felt the pull toward Everest or K2? Would you encourage him/her to pursue the dream...or be more mindful of leaving behind families should something happen?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)