Into Thin Air Research Paper

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Acclimatizing and Climbing Everest The process of climbing Mount Everest is not an easy one. The trek takes nine weeks to complete, which is without having any complications. Acclimatizing is very important for the survival of the trip, without acclimatizing the human body couldn’t withstand that lack of oxygen that the summit of the mountain. It is vital that climbers on Everest take the critical steps of acclimatizing to have a successful trip. The process of acclimatization is long and drawn out. The reason for this is so the climbers will be able to adapt to the thinning of the air. Krakauer states in Into Thin Air, speaking about the process of acclimating that, “A strong walker, pre-acclimatized to the altitude, could cover the distance from the Lukla airstrip to Everest Base Camp in two or three long days. Because most of us had just…show more content…
The trip from Base Camp to Camp Two was made in one long day trip. From Camp Two the climbers continued up the mountain to Camp Three. Krakauer states his first impression of camp three, “It was late mornings by the time I finally humped into Camp Three: a trio of small yell tents, halfway up the vertiginous sprawl of the Lhotse Face, jammed side by side onto a platform that had been hewn from the icy slope by our Sherpas” (Pg. 143). This camp was the home for the hikers for only one night before descending back down the mountain to Camp Two. After spending a night at Camp Two they finally returned to Base Camp, there they noticed how thick the and refreshing the air is. Krakauer writes about the air in Into Thin Air, “After three weeks on the mountain, I found that the air at Base Camp seemed thick and rich and voluptuously saturated with oxygen compared to the brutally thin atmosphere of the camps above” (Pg. 145). Returning to base camp each time allowed the climbers to rest and to be able to fill their lungs once

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