Feminism on Mt. Everest 1996

May 10th, 1996 marks the day that eight climbers went up Mt. Everest and never made it back down. The fight their lives endured for hours on end until they succumbed to the dangerous storm. The final  portion of the novel discusses the casualties and the aftermath that wa
s caused by a tragic storm. The lives of the survivors and the families of the deceased were drastically impacted by the events that unfolded.

Throughout the entire story, females are represented as fragile, incapable climbers who always need assistance. With the small number of female climbers in 1996, it contributes to the misrepresentation.

Yasuko Namba, Climber on Everest

Out of all the two groups that ascended the mountain May 10th 1996, only three of the climbers were females. The first female is Yasuko Namba, a Japanese female climber who wanted to achieve all seven summits of the world. Everest was the last mountain before she achieved her goal; which was achieved. On the way back down she was caught in the storm and was unable to walk without support from her team (Krakauer, pg 215). The team ended up leaving her with a few others who could not walk to get further help. They came back in twelve hours and found her “…still breathing. Both her gloves were gone, and her bare hands appeared to be frozen solid” (Krakauer, pg 259-260). The decision was made to leave her behind because she would jeopardize other people. Namba was the only person of those few others left behind to not make it. The attitude towards the female climbers was that they were fragile, this played a role in the decision to leave Namba behind. The men who came believed that her incapacitating state would risk the lives of the group. For these reasons, the men decided to leave her behind to die in the snow.

The second female was Charlotte Fox; she was climbing the mountain with her boyfriend, Tim Madsen. Fox was left behind with Namba and the few others when they became unable to walk. They came back for her, then Boukreev “started helping Fox back toward the tents” (Krakauer, pg 223). Fox is another example of a female needing saving by a man. The men view the females as a weaker link of the group who need help to climb the mountain. This is evident through their actions towards the females and the repeated “heroic complex”.

Sandy Pittman before the climb

The final female was Sandy Pittman; a journalist who was reporting while climbing the mountain. Pittman received the worst treatment and bias out of all the females. While climbing to the top, Lopsang tied her to his back unwillingly and carried her up the mountain (Krakauer, pg 209). Lopsang commented afterwards and told an interviewer that he thought she would be the weakest link of the group (Krakauer, pg 209). On the ascend down the mountain “Beidleman’s primary concern at the time was Pittman…she looked especially shaky” (Krakauer, pg 212). Pittman was also left with Namba and Fox in the group before she was saved by another man (Krakauer, pg 223). Pittman was constantly getting assistance from the other men in her group, which was not always asked for. The treatment towards Pittman was persuaded by bias and fragile beliefs of women climbers.

Groups who climbed Everest May 10th, 1996

Society in this time was just as biased as the men on the mountain. When word of Yasuko’s death went to the media, there was an outrage. The Japanese wanted information on her death, as well as the heroes and the villains of the story (Krakauer, pg 281). High publicity was put on the story of a female climber dying after reaching the seventh summit. The public wanted someone to blame for Namba’s death. For Sandy Pittman, the public insulted her and ambushed her on the street (Krakauer, pg 300). The public let out their wrath on Pittman by going as far as taunting her son at school (Krakauer, pg 300). They wanted to blame Pittman because she was not able to help as much as the other climbers.

Women were highly restricted when climbing Everest in 1996. Their role was limited to smaller jobs and continual assistance when climbing. It was an adjustment in this time due to females starting to climb Mt. Everest. Females were forced to endure biased views of their male climbers because of their lack of knowledge for female climbers.

The novel was an incredible journey to follow and to analyze through various theories. The feminism theory offered an insight of female perception when it came to an extreme sport. Gender plays a large role in interactions as well as treatment of other people. The theories goal is to break down these gender barriers, which are hopefully evident through the feminism theory lens.

Works Cited

Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air. New York, Villard Books, 1997. Print.

Archetypal Theory:

May 10th, 1996 Everest Climb

Jon Krakauer's novel discusses the intense climb of Mt. Everest that occurred May 10th, 1996. A quick summary of what has taken place so far in the novel is that Rob Hall's group has departed for the summit. After weeks of training the body to adapt to the high altitude of the mountain, Hall decided that the group would climb to the peak of Mt. Everest on May 10th. On the way up, there were complications and it took longer than planned. The storm has caught majority of climbers in the highest and most difficult parts of the mountain. 

Into Thin Air follows the storyline of the archetypal quest. A typical quest follows the five stages which are the call, the journey, arrival and frustration, the final ordeals, and the goal. Into thin air goes through similar stages with the call taking place earlier in the novel. Krakauer and his group answer the call to climb Everest

and prepare for the weeks of work. Following the call comes the journey which is like it sounds. The climbers start the journey up the mountain towards the base camp then camp two, three, four and finally the summit. The journey contained many challenges like HAPE (an illness from high altitude), conflicts, glaciers falling, and irrational decisions. The arrival and frustration occurred when leaving camp four and heading to the peak of the mountain. The Sherpas (group guides/workers) disobeyed the rules and never set up the safety ropes. This caused the group to be held up and caused them to get caught in the storm. The final ordeal is just about to take place but will not be included until the final part of the novel. This will be the group having to fight through the storm and survive. The goal will be the one stage that is different from the average quest; two men decided to give up on their climb for Everest before the storm hit and made it down safely. When Krakauer describes their decisions, he says, "they were among the few who made the right choice that day" (Krakauer, pg 186). This give the reader the idea that "the goal" will be more to survive than to reach the top of th
e mountain. 

Taiwanese group on Everest

In terms of archetypal symbols, there are three of them that are used in the novel. The first one is the outcast, which is a person or group that is different from the rest. The Taiwanese group consisted of thirteen members who followed their own rules. When it came to choose summiting days, the Taiwanese promised to avoid May 10th since three groups would cause crowding (Krakauer, pg 147). The group went against their promise and summited that day, then lied by saying they never made any promise (Krakauer, pg 147). 

The second symbol was the scapegoat; this symbol represents someone who is blamed for mistakes.  The Sherpas are often blamed for mistakes made on the mountain. When it came time to put the rope on the mountain, the job was split between every group, but the Sherpas were blamed for the Taiwanese and South African mistakes (Krakauer, pg 130). The leaders for the two groups blamed their Sherpas for not taking the initiative to do the job (Krakauer, pg 130). Another example was when a Sherpa helped carry a reporter to the summit of the mountain. He was exerting double the energy as he should have been but was blamed since, “He lost sight of what he was supposed to be doing up there, what the priorities were” (Krakauer, pg 177).



The final symbol was the hero who helps to save and guide everyone to safety. Rob Hall was the leader for Krakauer’s group and took on the role as the hero throughout the novel. The leader makes the decisions which will likely keep the group alive, so before the climb to the summit he sat the team down making sure they followed all his orders with no complaints (Krakauer, pg 174). By making these calls, he was trying to prevent anyone from getting hurt.

Rob Hall Interview Link

For the final section of the novel, I believe Rob Hall and Jon Krakauer will be the heroes of the story. While Krakauer made it safely out of the storm, his team is stuck inside of it. I believe he goes back up the mountain to try and save everyone in danger. Rob Hall is already stuck on the mountain, so being the leader he will likely put their lives above his own. From the description of the storm, saving people will be difficult and many people will likely die.


With the last part of the novel to come, survival is the top priority for those climbing the mountain. The archetypal hero will be a crucial part for the climax as well as the “goal”. With many emotional moments to come, we will see what happens to the mountain climbers.

Works Cited

Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air. New York, Villard Books, 1997. Print.

Into Thin Air First Thoughts

Cover of the novel being discussed

The novel I have chosen to read is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Into Thin Air is a first-person storytelling of the massive storm that took place on Mt Everest in 1996. Jon Krakauer was part of the Adventure Consultants mountain expedition, which was led by a famous mountain climber, Rob Hall. Throughout the first section of the novel, Krakauer introduces all the expeditions that climb the mountain during 1996 while starting the climb towards the first base camp. This novel has many characters in the story, with four pages needed to show all the names.

In the Adventure Consultants climbing group, there are twenty-six members, including the leaders, Sherpas, nurses, base camp leaders, and clients climbing the mountain (Krakauer, XIX). Within these twenty-six, twelve of these are introduced with much detail and history of their mountain climbing careers. There are three other expeditions climbing at the same time with fifteen members introduced with much detail (Krakauer, XX). This number is much higher than the average novel; one example being Hamlet. Hamlet has twenty-one names introduced, but only twelve of them are introduced with depth (Shakespeare).

Having so many names introduced adds depth to the novel and allows the reader to know each character. The problem with this is that it can be hard to keep track of each individual and all the details. I found it to have a mixture between adding depth and making it hard to keep track of the characters.

In the second part of the novel, I think there will be many deaths.

The event that goes on is introduced by Krakauer as “an event that comes at a terrible cost” (XV). I think the Krakauer makes it to the top of the summit, but has difficulty making it back to the ground alive. After the event, Krakauer admits that he felt like something would go wrong but went to Everest anyway, and because of this witnessed something that will torment him for the rest of his life (XVI).

A storm that took place on Mt. Everest

I understand the desire to do something against your best judgement. The protagonist or the “hero” of every story goes into a battle even though every part of them is terrified. While many times it saves lives, usually it comes at a cost for the hero. In Spiderman, Peter Parker rushes into the clocktower to fight the villain and Gwen joins him (Webb). Parker tells her to leave but she convinces him to let her stay against his wishes (Webb). Gwen ends up falling and dying because she stayed, but Parker beats the villain (Webb). He is considered the hero, but there is a large cost for him (Webb).

Krakauer gives detailed descriptions of the surroundings of the mountains. He describes the view with so many details that you can visualize the mountain like a photo in your mind. An example from the novel is,

“The ink-black wedge of the summit pyramid stood out in stark relief, towering over the surrounding ridges. Thrust high into the jet stream, the mountain ripped a visual gash in the 120-knot hurricane, sending forth a plume of ice crystals that trailed to the east like a long silk scarf” (32).

The quote uses descriptive language as well as literary devices to give the reader a detailed image. The simile at the end of the quote compares the trail of ice to a silk scarf. This could be used to give the reader a better understanding of the sight since many have not seen a trail of ice in mountains. It could also be used to give the mindset of the author and how they relate ice to examples seen in their life.

The way Krakauer formed the text, it has a mixture of formal language while showing personality. He would describe the tools used in the climb with detail, then go on to give his opinion about these tools. Crampons were sharp spikes added to the top of boots described by Krakauer as,

Crampon Video Link

“A crampon is a grid of two-inch steel spikes that is clamped to the sole of each boot for purchase on ice. I was surprised and concerned to see Beck, Stuart, and Lou unpacking brand-new mountaineering boots that, by their own admission, had been scarcely worn. I wondered if they knew the chance they were taking by coming to Everest with untried footwear” (78).

Krakauer learned from experience that using unworn footwear can cause foot injuries when they have not been broken into. This is the reason he feels passionate about his teammates bringing footwear that is unworn.

Throughout the first section of the novel, I have learned more about myself as a reader. I try to connect personally to the main character when I read so I feel like I am hiking through Everest. I tend to re-read sections when I feel it is a major part of the novel so that I feel the words being spoken. Like Krakauer, I have wanted something so badly that it is impossible to get rid of the desire. In my situation, that desire usually fuels me to achieve these goals, which is like Krakauer’s experience. In the parts of the novel where it was boring, I would do my best to understand it and try to relate it back to the parts I connected with the most.

Into Thin Air is an adventure novel with any intense moments, heart-racing scenes, and the best part is that since I am only one-third of the way through the novel, I have many more moments to experience.

Works Cited

Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air. New York, Villard Books, 1997. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. London, Macmillan, 1963. Print.

Webb, Marc, director. The Amazing Spiderman 2. Marvel Entertainment, 2014. Film.

Grade Twelve English; Necessity or Choice?

Specific word being highlighted on a page

We all have been in an English class in our lives. The alphabet is first introduced and one day we learn about Shakespeare and how "Thus with a kiss I die" through the love of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare, 2018). English becomes natural over the years, but what happens if we took the course out of our university prerequisites?

Many of us have not experienced university first hand, myself included. The level of commitment and the intensity of the workload is only imaginable. Movies portray university students as workaholics who are constantly reading books and writing essays. From what I have seen, this seems to be true. When I was younger my mother went back to university, and my first memory is her writing long essays. She would be typing for hours straight and reading from her huge textbook. This was years after she endured grade 12 university level English, and she struggled for the first year. She had not read a textbook in years, forgot how to make citations, which resulted in her failing her first essay. This information  is an essential part of grade twelve university English, and is enforced vigorously throughout the course. 

While this is just one reason why I believe English is essential for University, there is evidence to back this up.

Literature read in a university English course

On the website for the University of Toronto, the first thing noted under the English department is that "English is the language of instruction and examination at U of T, and success in our degree programs requires a high level of English language proficiency" (U of T, 2017). While grade 12 English does not depict the ability to have high proficiency, it certainly makes it easier to be proficient. 

With all this in mind, English can be a hard course but, "All important things are hard" (Morrison, 2018). 

Works Cited

Morrison, Toni. “Toni Morrison Quotes.” Picture Quotes, 2018, 

     http://www.picturequotes.com/toni-morrison-quotes/2.

Shakespeare, William, and Daniel Fischlin. The Tragedy of Romeo                          and Juliet. OUP Canada, 2013.

U of T. “English Language Requirements.” Future Students.                             University of Toronto, 2017,                                                                               https://future.utoronto.ca/apply/english-language-                                                 requirements/.