Into Thin Air book club questions

1. 1.

   Hall ignored his own turnaround rule on summit day. Have you ever let a goal's proximity override a rule you knew existed for good reason? What happened?

2. 2.

   Krakauer describes climbers paying $65,000 for a guided summit attempt regardless of their fitness level. What does it mean when money can buy access to something genuinely dangerous? Who bears the moral risk?

3. 3.

   Krakauer is a trained climber who still made serious perceptual errors at altitude. When in your own life have you been unable to perceive how impaired your judgment actually was?

4. 4.

   The guides Hall and Fischer were both running businesses and both died. How does commercial pressure change the way professionals make decisions in high-stakes environments?

5. 5.

   Boukreev and Krakauer remember the same day differently and both have credible evidence. How do you decide whose account to trust when two firsthand witnesses contradict each other?

6. 6.

   Krakauer covers his own mistakes with the same detail he uses for other people's. How often do you think writers and journalists hold themselves to that standard? What difference does it make when they do?

7. 7.

   Several experienced Sherpas and seasoned climbers died on the same day that less experienced clients survived. What does that randomness suggest about how we talk about preparation and risk?

8. 8.

   The 1996 season had more teams on the mountain than ever before. What problems in your own work or life get worse when more people are competing for the same limited resource at the same time?

9. 9.

   Krakauer has said he regrets writing the book and that it retraumatized surviving family members. When does a journalist's obligation to tell a story conflict with an obligation to the people in it?

10. 10.

    Rob Hall radioed his pregnant wife from the summit as he was dying and she talked him through the night. What does that scene say about what people reach for when facing death?

11. 11.

    The mountain has become more crowded every decade since 1996. Does knowing that change how you read the book's warnings about commercialization and risk?

12. 12.

    Krakauer describes the summit as a let-down after the effort required to reach it. Have you ever achieved a goal and felt something closer to emptiness than satisfaction? What did that tell you about the goal?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.