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.
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| 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”.
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| 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.
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.
