I’m reading Jon Krakauer’s book “Into Thin Air”, which is a first-hand account of a disastrous trip to Mount Everest. The book is very well-written, and certainly educational as it explains everything from the layout of the mountain to the religious habits of the indigent Sherpas.
But one message it conveys unmistakably– at least to me– is this: never, ever, under any circumstances go and climb Everest.
Krakauer’s descriptions of what high altitude does to the human body are sobering. Everything from persistent headaches to lungs filling with bloody fluid, from cracked skin that won’t heal to the inability to sleep for lack of oxygen, sends a clear message that people just aren’t meant to function at the same altitude that commercial airplanes fly.
Nonetheless, it’s good reading. I assured Laralee that I wouldn’t be aspiring to trek to Nepal any time soon.