The Mountain

Climbing a mountain is a high-risk pursuit that is likely to be very difficult, but is also likely to be very rewarding. The stories, The Devil’s Thumb by Jon Krakauer and Touch the Top of the World by Erik Weihenmayer, both detail the authors’ exploits to climb the treacherous mountains, The Devil’s Thumb and Mount Everest, respectively. There are many similarities between the experiences of each climber as they went through their ascents. These similarities also are reflected in the writing of…

The sun is just starting to rise. A few inches of snow have blanketed the ground, and while much of the world is covered in white, life outside feels more colorful. It's early enough that few, if any, other people are out, and everything is still and quiet. That's when Tom Gross most enjoys finding his stride — cross country skiing in his favorite, secret spot in York County. Gross, a York Suburban graduate, has been cross country skiing for about 50 years. But he started out on downhill skis…

landscape is dominated by the prominence of mountains (Owens and Slaymaker, 2004) and there has been evidence to demonstrate within all major mountain ranges in the world, there is rapid and accelerating ‘uplift’ (Molnar,1990). Therefore, it is important to understand the reason why they are uplifting and what factors can cause them to decline. Whether it is due to tectonics, climate, a result of both or other factors combined. Thomson (1964) states mountains are over 600meters and this…

Mount Everest is known as Earth’s tallest mountain located in Mahalangur mountain range in Nepal. It formed by the Indian tectonic plate pushing up against the Asian plate. Everest is 29,035 feet high. The geography of Mount Everest is at the latitude of 27.9881 degrees N. The latitude has an affect on the air circulation, solar intensity, and rainfall. By Mount Everest being located close to 28 degrees N, it has northeast tradewinds; therefore, the surface currents flow clockwise. At times,…

Should people have the right to rescue services when they put themselves at risk? Mount Everest is a 29,035 foot mountain that many people have tried and successfully climbed. But for some people, climbing a mountain this high with low oxygen levels and freezing cold temperatures can get dangerous. There are over 230 people who died on this mountain. Many of those people could have been saved. People should have the right to rescue services when they put themselves at risk because the rescuers…

Everest guides fight not only to get to the top, but to get popularity for more customers to climb with them. The only way to get people to pay to get up to the top of the world’s highest mountain was to have a good reputation. Rob Hall the guide for Adventure Consultants, Scott Fisher the leader of Mountain Madness, and Ian Woodall are examples of leaders who made commercialism their highest priority. Rob Hall is a very respected guide on Everest and on this climb he struggles to live up to…

intitially begun with the intention of informing, it had been to inform readers of the average climb of the mountain; however, upon the striking of disaster, the impetus lead Jon Krakauer the opportunity and obligation to write a…

Pale yellow-green grass hills rolled for miles in front of me. A massive ten thousand foot red rocked mountain met these hills, then instantly towered above them. As I took a sip of water, I eyed the summit and felt a little cooler on the hot summer morning. Already heating up I needed to remind myself to conserve water. My journey had just started. Cruising through the empty hills a massive crater came into view. As I the edge of the crater a lake formed by snow melt rested at the bottom;…

In the book 'Into Thin Air', by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer tells his tale of climbing the tallest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest. He was given this opportunity by Outside Magazine which he worked for. At first he was just supposed to write an article about the commercialism on the massive mountain. He later decides he actually wants to climb it. Little did Krakauer know he was about to take on the most disastrous trip up Everest ever. There was a large amount of money that needed to be paid to…

It happened when I was taking a photo of the purple sky and two stretching lakes across the Bonney Pass in the Teton Mountains. I suddenly knew that this wonderful place had transformed me into a better person and a more confident woman. It took some courage to get to that place. Many months before, I had some fear and reluctance when submitting a lengthy application for a counsellor job at the Teton Valley Ranch Camp in Dubois, Wyoming. My stomach had that sinking feeling that I would be…