Into Thin Air – Beck Weathers by Jon Krakauer Inductive Think

Inductive Think 13. Before dawn on that Friday morning to ascend to summit, Beck managed to keep up with the group by employing the same strategy to combat his blindness he'd used the previous afternoon – stepping in the footsteps of the person directly in front of him.   14. But by the time he reached the Balcony and the sun came up, Beck realized his vision was worse than ever, so he told Rob Hall, the expedition leader, what was going on. 28. Rob then decreed, “Either you go down with a Sherpa right now, or you promise me you'll sit right here until I return." 5. About 4:45 P.M. on Friday, Krakauer encountered Beck Weathers standing alone in the snow, shivering violently. 1. "Come down with me," Krakauer implored. "It will be at least another two or three hours before Rob will show up.

Inductive Think 3. "Thanks anyway," Beck said. "I think I'll just wait for Mike.   26. Mike Groom was just as surprised to see Beck as Krakauer had been and got out his rope and began short roping the Texan down toward the South Col. 21. It was now 6:45 and Weathers found himself in a group of two sherpas, two guides and 6 other clients when the storm abruptly turned into a full-blown hurricane, and visibility dropped into less than 20 feet. 17. For the next two hours, the group of 11 staggered blindly in the storm hoping to blunder across the camp. 15. By around 10:00 p.m. the group walked over a little rise and a guide sensed a huge void just beyond screaming at everyone to huddle up right there and wait for a break in the storm.

Inductive Think 23. Just before midnight, the wind was still whipping up a furious ground blizzard at the surface, but far above, the sky had begun to clear revealing the mountain summits. 34. Using the mountain summits as reference points, the guide coaxed everyone to their feet, assembled all those that could walk and stumbled off into the storm to get help. Twenty minutes later they limped into camp. 16. Displaying strength and courage, a different guide went out into the storm to rescue those to feeble to move and found the missing climbers. 35. When it became obvious to the guide that he could only bring one climber into camp at a time, he indicated he’d be back as soon as possible and left. 22. Just after the rescue guide left, Beck suddenly mumbles, “Hey, I’ve got this all figured out.” Then he rolls a little distance away, crouches on a big rock, stands up facing the wind with his arms stretched out to either side.

Inductive Think 4. A second later a gust comes up and just blows Beck over backward into the night, beyond the beam of a headlamp and that was the last he was seen by the remaining group.   11. Beck lay out on the ice, exposed to the merciless wind and barely alive remaining comatose for more than twelve hours. 32. Then, late Saturday afternoon, for some unknowable reason a light went on in the reptilian core of Beck's inanimate brain and he floated back to consciousness. 18. He started walking directly into the wind, deducing correctly that camp lay in that direction. 9. At 4:35 p.m. the next day, an IMAX team member helping with the rescue was standing outside the tents when he noticed someone walking slowly toward the camp with a peculiar stiff-kneed gait.

Inductive Think 24. Krakauer and IMAX team amazed that Beck had made it back alive, helped him to his tent so that he could recover.   31. The wind that struck on Saturday evening was even more powerful than the the night before blowing both sleeping bags from his body, leaving him exposed to the subzero wind, and with his frozen hands powerless to pull the bags back over himself or zip the tent closed. 19. He'd been screaming for help for two or three hours, but the Saturday night’s storm had smothered his cries. 8. As the survivors started to leave camp the Sunday morning, Krakauer made one last visit to Beck, whom he assumed had died in the night. 2. "Everything's going to be O.K., Krakauer lied, choking back sobs as he pulled the sleeping bags over Beck, zipped the tent doors shut, and tried to re-erect the damaged shelter.

Inductive Think 25. Krakauer got on the radio to the doctor at Base Camp, begging hysterically, “What should I do about Beck? He’s still alive, but I don’t think he can survive much longer.” 29. The doctor told him to rouse the IMAX team, ask them to look after Beck and then start down the mountain. 30. The IMAX team rushed to Beck’s tent with a canteen of hot tea and injected a drug to help negate the effects of high altitude. 6. After being injected with the drug, Beck experienced an astonishing recovery allowing the IMAX team to get him dressed, put his harness on, and discover he was actually able to stand up and walk. 33. They started descending from the base camp with an IMAX member telling Beck where to place his feet, shuffling down the mountain moving amazingly well.

Inductive Think 12. Beck was placed in the hospital tent to thaw his frozen limbs in a pot of lukewarm water beginning the wait to leave the mountain by helicopter. 27. On Monday, Beck was flown to a Kathmandu hospital where he received treatment.   10. Back in the United States, Beck had is right arm amputated halfway below the elbow and all four fingers and the thumb on the left hand were removed. 20. His nose was amputated and over many surgeries reconstructed with tissue from his ear and forehead. 7. Although disabled for life and wondering if he could ever practice medicine again, Beck accepted his fate and moved on.