Into Thin Air Introduction

1. Into Thin Air Introduction • Pick up 3 lined sheets and 1 blue sheet from the front table. • Fold your sheets over to make a booklet with the blue sheet as a cover. • Place 3 staples along the edge. • The cover should have the title “Into Thin Air Journal” and your name on it. Journal #1: Mountain climbing is dangerous and physically demanding. Why do you think climbers do it? What do you think they get out of it? In your opinion, is it worth the effort?

2. Everest

3. Everest • With an altitude of 29,029 feet, Mount Everest is the highest peak on Earth. • Mountain climbers call the region above 26,000 feet the Death Zone because the air is too thin for humans. • At that altitude, brain cells die, the blood grows thick, the heart speeds up, and your lungs and brain can swell causing HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) or HACE (high altitude cerebral edema), and ultimately leading to death.

4. Conquering The Summit • In spite of these risks, reaching the top of Everest has become a status symbol. • By the 1990s, even people with little experience and poor physical conditioning were climbing Everest.

5. Elevation and Climate • Everest is 29,029 feet tall • During January its coldest is -33℉ and can get up to 10 feet of snow on the summit. • In July the warmest temp is -2℉ on the summit • Summit never rises above freezing • Wind can reach up to 50mph

6. Training needed to climb Everest Cardiovascular exercises such as biking, swimming, and running (between 45-60 minutes, five times a week) Lifting weights to prevent muscle fatigue and hiking outdoor trails with added weight on your back for 3 hours. Having previous experience with rope skills and climbing glaciers. Preparing mentally by visualizing the climb Going rock climbing

7. Costs to climb Everest • The average company cost $48,000 on the south side (Nepal) and $37,000 on the north side (Tibet). • When on climbing on your own you have to get a permit that costs $11,000. • Oxygen and Sherpa cost for climbing Everest would cost from $3,440-$11,880. • Extra supplies needed for the climb would cost from $9,650-$34,400.

8. Climbing Gear • Footwear: Climbing boots, hiking boots, running shoes, 5 different types of socks • Clothing: long sleeve shirts, underwear (long), synthetic jacket and pants (waterproof), wind shirts • Head and Hand gear: Fleece gloves, insulated climbing gloves, fleece hat, face mask (balaclava) • Accessories: Ski goggles, head lamp with spare bulb and batteries • Climbing equipment: Ice axe, crampons, harness (and carabineer), rappel device, ascenders • Camping gear: backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, water bottles, eating utensils • Medical & Personal: first-aid kit water purification tablets, ear plugs • Travel items: expedition duffel bag, nylon stuff sacks, small travel bag

9. Then and now .

11. -The Himalayas -A long and tall mountain range, Mt. Everest is the highest point. -The Himalayas cross five countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Pakistan. - Mount Everest is bordered by Nepal and Tibet (a region in China) -Almost 2,500 kilometers from East to West -Highest snowbound, dense temperate forests.

12. Hallowed Ground -Peaks are sacred in both Buddhism and Hinduism. - The Nepalese refer to Mount Everest as Sagarmatha, goddess of the sky, and respect it as the "Mother of the World.”They leave offerings to her on alters called chortems. -The Himalayas are home to millions of people and hundreds of unique animal species. It is also a region of fascinating cultural and spiritual heritage, where millions of people from diverse cultures and regions live.

13. What are Sherpas? • Sherpa means “East People” • They are from the Eastern part of Nepal in the Khumbu-Valley, the national park surrounding Everest. • The Sherpas live at high altitudes for generations, so they have developed a genetic natural allowance for it. They are a culture of elite mountaineers, so they serve as guides at extreme altitude peaks. • They are paid to do things such as prepare the route for foreign climbers to follow, fix ropes in place, and carry the necessary climbing kit up the mountain.

14. The Sherpa Sherpa as a surname appears to be the result of the Nepalese government census takers writing the word on census forms in the space for last name. In addition to Buddha and the great Buddhist divinities, the Sherpa also believe in numerous deities and demons who inhabit every mountain, cave, and forest.

16. Jon Krakauer • Jon Krakauer is a journalist hired by Outside magazine to write about the trend of unskilled climbers buying their way onto Everest. • The story opens up with Krakauer on top of the mountain and the hardest part still to come, getting down safely. “Any idiot can get up this hill. The trick is to get back down alive.”

17. Themes Commercialism on Everest Krakauer is hired to report on the commercialism on Everest, but the business he encounters there is beyond what he imagined. The commercialism manifests itself in a number of ways: the tourist revenue collected by Nepal and Tibet, the ungodly amounts of money the guiding services charge each of the clients, the competition among Sherpas to get hired by the guiding services, the competition between guide services for media attention and the broadcast of information and images throughout climbing expeditions. Trust Among Teammates Krakauer specifies early on how important it is to be able to trust one's teammates: "In climbing, having confidence in your partners is no small concern. One climber's actions can affect the welfare of the entire team" (47). On this expedition, Krakauer climbs primarily with strangers and he is uncomfortable putting his life in the hands of people whose presence on the mountain is not necessarily a tribute to their climbing skills. Questions that Cannot be Answered Krakauer spends long chapters giving his best, most educated guesses about why climbers made certain decisions, and what happened to the people

18. Motif Solitude and Self-Reliance Despite the importance of trusting one's teammates, Krakauer comes to the realization that in fact, each climber is there for him or herself, and that it is possible for one climber to trust another too much. Arrogance: believing that nature can be tamed Avalanches and storms strike without warning, and no matter how competent a guide is, he or she cannot avoid these pitfalls. Believing that one has all aspects of summating Everest under control is detrimental to any climb; one cannot afford to lose any acuity or sense of the enormity of the risk. Drive and Overdrive Drive and dedication are essential to prevail over the conditions, difficulty of the climb and the misery that one must undergo when climbing Everest

19. NASA Exercise: Survival on the Moon

20. Scenario: You are a member of a space crew originally scheduled to rendezvous with a mother ship on the lighted surface of the moon. However, due to mechanical difficulties, your ship was forced to land at a spot some 200 miles from the rendezvous point. During reentry and landing, much of the equipment aboard was damaged and, since survival depends on reaching the mother ship, the most critical items available must be chosen for the 200-mile trip.

21. Scoring: For each item, mark the number of points that your score differs from the NASA ranking, then add up all the points. Disregard plus or minus differences. The lower the total, the better your score. 0 - 25 excellent 26 - 32 good 33 - 45 average 46 - 55 fair 56 - 70 poor – Suggests use of Earth-bound logic 71 - 112 very poor – You’re one of the casualties of the space program!

22. Plane Crash Survival Simulation

23. Scenario: You and your companions have just survived the crash of a small plane. Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. It is mid-January, and you are in Northern Canada. The daily temperature is 25 below zero, and the night time temperature is 40 below zero. There is snow on the ground, and the countryside is wooded with several creeks crisscrossing the area. The nearest town is 20 miles away, but you don’t know which direction. You are all dressed in city clothes appropriate for a business meeting.

24. Scoring: As you see the ranking for each item, record the score for each item in your top five picks. The ranking number is the score. The group with the lowest score survives (and WINS), but the group(s) with the highest score(s) succumb to the winter conditions (frostbite and hypothermia – the body’s core temperature falls and your system starts to shut down)

28. Add up your total group score. Did your group choose wisely? Will you survive or succumb to the winter conditions?