Everest Commercialism
Into Thin Air – a bestseller by Jon Krakauer – tells of the 1996 expedition to Mount Everest. Eight people died that day due to the events. Outside Magazine sent Jon Krakauer to Everest for 1996 in order to write a piece about his experiences. Rob Hall led Krakauer’s team on one of Everest’s most deadly hikes. Scott Fischer and Antoli Bourkeev were among the teams that also attempted to reach the summit. The Mount Everest tragedy from 1996 is told in this book. The novel revealed the various ways that money was used to commercialize the world’s tallest mountain. Commercialism has been embedded in mountain climbing in many different ways.
Commercialism was evidently a major factor in the cost of climbing Mount Everest. In 1991, the fee for a permit for any team size was $2,300. By 1992, it had risen to $10,000 for a group of nine climbers. An additional $1,200 per climber was charged. The Nepalese Ministers increased the cost of climbing permits. They raised the price of climbing permits to reduce crowds while increasing cash flow. In 1993, “$50,000 was charged for five climbers. Additional climbers were charged $10,000. Maximum seven climbers could be accommodated” (25). Nepalese Authorities were not aware that China had additional tours available at lower prices. As prices rose, people were more aware of Everest. This increased their desire to learn about the mountain. There was also an extra cost for the sherpas. Sherpas, Himalayans living in the borderlands of Nepal, Tibet and Nepal, are guides who lead people up mountains and carry their belongings. Media attention and commercialism were also a part of the struggle for media. Sandy Pittman was a popular person for many teams due to her affiliation with NBC Interactive Media. All the teams wanted to get media attention. Sandy was a must for all the teams because of her close relationship with NBC. She became a part of Scott Fischer’s group. Who will summit first? Everyone was wondering who would be the first to summit. As a result of their cohesiveness, they reached the top first at 2:07 pm. Mountain Madness probably received as much media coverage as possible.
The guides were under a lot of pressure to determine who would be the first team at the top. The guides are aware of the pressure and often make bad decisions as they fear that their team will be in the newspaper. Antoli Boukeev was wrong to push his team towards the summit. Safety concerns were a factor (263). There were many other mistakes made because they were so near, but so far. The pressure placed on guides to reach the summit led to the deaths of 317 people. It was a harrowing experience that would live on in the memory of many for years to come.
Commercialism can be seen in the high price to climb the mountain, the media battle, and the pressure put on the team guides to reach the summit. The majority of climbers wanted to scale this mountain only because it was the highest point in the world. The climbers wanted to have the title “on top on the world”. Guides were apprehensive about being the first team to summit out of many. It was an honor to be one of a few people who had reached Everest’s summit. The theme of Into Thin Air is commercialism. This was one of the reasons why many people wanted climb Everest.