2. Beidleman reaches summit just after Krakauer at 1:25 pm. Boukreev and Harris are already at the summit, and K. Schoenig reaches the top 20 minutes later (1:45) There is still no sign of Fischer or any of his clients. Because 2:00 pm is the turn around time, Fischer, Hall, and all of their respective clients should have turned around by now. Although Beidleman is a guide, he does not have a radio and cannot contact either leader. At 2:10, Sandy Hill Pittman summits with Lopsang. Rob Hall, Yasuko Namba and Mike Groom summit as well. Rob tells the group that he thought Fischer was right behind them.

3. Later on, Krakauer learns that Scott Fischer was actually ill during this summit attempt He was not only fatigued from rounding up clients from acclimatization climbs, but he also had liver problems and an intestinal parasite. At the time, no one realized how sick he actually was. It is guessed that Fischer reaches the summit around 3:40 pm and Doug Hansen summits at 4:00 pm.

5. Because Beidleman believes Fischer is okay, he decides to help Sandy Hill Pittman getting down to Camp Four. At this point the storm is starting to make it difficult to see, much less climb. Pittman is comatose, and Beidleman injects her with medicine to help her body cope with the altitude. On the way down, the group notices Beck Weathers. Beck has been waiting, completely blind, for hours for a guide to come and take him back to camp. At this point, Yasuko Namba’s oxygen runs out, but she refuses to keep moving. Mike Groom drags Namba and Weathers down the mountain, but the storm is so bad that they cannot see. While trying to go down an area with a less steep incline, the group gets lost in the storm about 1,000 feet from camp.

6. Eventually, Krakauer gets to Camp 4, goes into his tent and sleeps. He is utterly exhausted and unable to think clearly. Stuart Hutchinson tries to wake Krakauer up to make noise for the other climbers to hear, but Krakauer is too exhausted and does not come out to help. Hutchinson goes out six times to try to find the any of the missing climbers but continually returns unsuccessful. Beidleman, Shoenig, and two Sherpas go out looking for the lost group; they find them and leave Tim Madsen with the others until they can get help. The group gets Boukreev and tells him to go assist the group. Boukreev gets lost, goes back to camp for directions, then eventually finds the missing group. By this time, Pittman, Weathers, Charlotte Fox (the doctor), and Namba all look like they are too far gone, or dead. Boukreev gets Pittman and Fox back to base camp and reports that Beck Weathers and Yasuko Namba are dead.

7. Neil Beidleman Anatoli Boukreev Ang Dorjie Mike Groom David Brashears

8. At 6 am at Camp 4, Stuart Hutchinson wakes up Krakauer to tell him that Andy Harris is not in his tent, and that the guide must have not made it back from the summit. Krakauer is shocked because he was sure he had seen him on his way down. He believes he ran into Harris on the South Col. He talked with him, then Harris slid down, the mountain and walked over to camp. Instead, at this time, Krakauer thinks Harris must have slid down the mountain and walked off the side. Krakauer retraces his steps and sees footprints in the snow leading straight off the side of the mountain. Krakauer is horrified that he had been the reason everyone thought Harris was accounted for, but in reality was lost.

9. On the way back to Camp 4, Krakauer over hears a radio call between Base Camp and Rob Hall. Rob slept the night on the Summit Ridge and is radioing base campe, asking for help. Scott Fischer is still missing, and the IMAX team tries to borrow a radio from the South African team and hopes to help Hall, but the South African group leader, Ian Woodall, won’t let them use it.

11. At this point in the chapter, Krakauer stops telling the story to explain what he later learned about the night of May 10 th. After he gets home, Krakauer hopes to figure out all of the parts of the story. After the article is written, he eventually talks to a climber named Martin Adams. Adams previously refused to talk to anyone about the night. Through his conversation with Adams, he realizes that the climber he ran into that night was not actually Andy Harris but Martin Adams. The footprints he saw were probably from Boukreev during his attempt to find the missing climbers. Because of his confusion of Adams and Harris, Krakauer is left with a huge amount of guilt. Now everyone is left with the question: What happened to Andy Harris?

13. * Summit, 3:40PM, May 10, 1996, 29,028 Feet * Almost everyone on the summit after the turn-around time encounters trouble. It is not clear why so many climbers, including Hall, ignore the turn-around time— perhaps hypoxia is a factor. * Fischer reaches the summit around 3:40PM to find Lopsang waiting. Fischer is looking crazy out-of-sorts, so he heads down a few minutes later, soon after the arrival of Makalu Gau. * That leaves Hall alone on the top of the mountain, still waiting for Hansen to arrive. It's actually shocking that he hasn't told Hansen to turn around, as it's now hours past their agreed "turn-around time.” Some amazing displays of loyalty take place in this chapter.. * Finally, Hansen arrives. The two men hustle down the mountain, but it's too late: Hansen, now completely out of oxygen, collapses onto the ground. * Hall radios down for some oxygen, but Harris is still convinced that the bottles on the South Summit are empty. Harris finally realizes his mistake an hour later and begins climbing up to the two stranded climbers. * Meanwhile, Fischer is being assisted by Lopsang "a few hundred feet below" (17.19). Lopsang forces Fischer to wear an oxygen mask, as Fischer ripped his own off soon after leaving the summit. Still, Fischer is now straight-up refusing to move.

14. * That's when the storm explodes above them. Makalu Gau emerges from the snow above and huddles up as well. Lopsang stays there for several hours, but finally heads to Camp Four to get help. * Lopsang gets lost and overshoots Camp Four, forcing him to climb up the Lhotse Face to reach the camp. Krakauer suspects that he mistook Lopsang's footprints for Harris's. * Meanwhile, Hall has been in radio contact with Base Camp all afternoon. The people down there try to convince him to head down and leave Hansen behind, but Hall refuses. * The next details are a bit hazy. Apparently, Harris reached Hall and Hansen a few hours earlier, but he is now nowhere to be found. Most people believed Krakhauer that Harris was on the South Col but he later realized this was a mistake. Hall also reports that Doug Hansen "is gone." They can only guess that he fell down the Southwest face based on an ice ax found in the ridge. * Two Sherpas head up to rescue Hall the following morning, but are forced to turn back around due to weather. This is a rescue attempt so dangerous it could likely cause more disaster than relief, but they do it without hesitation, and give up only when they are absolutely positive they can climb no higher. Dorje is beside himself at having to leave Hall up there, knowing that all hopes of Hall getting down the mountain alive have just been dashed. They're able to reach Fischer and Gau, however, though Fischer has already succumbed to the elements.

15. * At 6:30PM, the folks at Base Camp are able to patch in a call to Hall from his wife. The two share a tender moment which will be the last anyone hears from Hall. * The frustration of being able to speak to Hall and knowing where he is makes his death all the more tragic. The thought of him on the summit ridge, knowing that he must descend but being unable to, being utterly alone and helpless is unbearable. After having looked after the safety of his clients, Hall ends up stranded, with no one looking after him. * Hall's body is found twelve days later by another team.

16. * Northeast Ridge, May 10, 1996, 28,550 Feet * Meanwhile, there's an equally heartbreaking disaster happening on the north side, The Tibetian side of the Mountain. * On May 10, a group of climbers from India are also attempting the summit. Although half of the team turns back as the day wanes, three men continue to the top of the mountain. * By this time, the storm is in full-force. Thinking that they've reached the top, the men head down "around two hours below the actual summit.” None of them return to their tents that night. * The next morning, a Japanese team ascends by the same route. They pass by one of the climbers along the way, struggling badly, but pass without offering aid. * They pass by the other two climbers closer to the summit. Again, the Japanese climbers offer no assistance and don't even say a word. They finally reach the summit and descend safely. * The bodies of the three Indian climbers are found on the morning of May 17

17. * Krakauer juxtaposes the callousness of this group with the desperation of Krakauer and his teammates to save the others. * Krakauer does not actually comments on the actions or inactions of the Japanese climbers, but comments on them instead in the way he creates a single, short chapter to describe exactly what they refused to do and why. "We were too tired to help. Above 8,000 meters is not a place where people can afford morality," a member of the Japanese expedition explains.

18. * South Col, 7:30AM, May 11, 1996, 26,000 Feet * It's the morning after the disaster and Krakauer is trying to make sense of what happened. Of course, spending another "night at 26,000 feet without supplemental oxygen" doesn't help either. * Meanwhile, Hutchinson has really stepped up to the plate after the disaster. In fact, he has just organized a search team to locate the bodies of Weathers and Namba. * To his shock, they're both alive—but barely. When Namba and Weathers are both found alive, the climbers' worlds are thrown again into upheaval. Having to essentially write off Weathers and Namba is more difficult than if they had discovered them both dead. The possibility that Hall, Harris and/or Fischer are still alive is haunting, and for the sake of moving on it is easier to believe that they are all gone. Unfortunately, it's clear that they would die on the trip back to Camp Four, so the search party heads back to think of a new plan. * The next morning, Beidleman slowly leads Fischer's clients down to Camp Three. A Sherpa is struck by a falling boulder (and luckily survives), which freaks everyone out. * The folks down at Camp Three heard about the disaster yesterday and have been doing their fair share to help. In particular, David Breashears (the director of the Everest IMAX film) has helped a great deal, shuttling up oxygen and spare batteries to Camp Four.

19. * That morning, they see Beck Weathers approaching Camp Four. * Despite being blind as a bat and "barely alive”, Weathers somehow weathered the storm and made it back to camp. They give him help, but no one honestly expects him to survive the night. Now, the climbers are forced to reckon with the guilt of having left Weathers for dead, and they must decide how best to handle Weathers who is in a rather gruesome condition and cannot descend the mountain. * That's about when the two Sherpas return with Gau in tow. After hearing that Fischer is still up on the mountain, Boukreev rushes to rescue his friend. * Weathers personifies the almost superhuman will that exists in some climbers. Seeing that will and spirit reminds the group of Hall and Fischer, and Boukreev cannot live with his decision to leave the unconscious Fischer on the mountain the same way he had initially left Weathers. Boukreev has to check again, and Fischer is really gone, but it's too late. After grabbing a few mementos to give to Fischer's family, he covers his friend's face and heads back to Camp Four.

21. * That night, a crazy storm tears through Camp Four. Along with their shrinking stores of oxygen, this is the last straw: Hall's remaining crewmembers must leave A.S.A.P. * The next morning, Hutchinson and Krakauer gather Groom, Taske, Fischbeck, and Kaischke, and begin their descent. Ang Dorje is already down, having been convinced to descend by Hutchison after Hutchinson found him "sobbing uncontrollably" over Hall's death. * Krakauer stops by Weathers's tent, expecting him to be dead. He's wrong, though: Weathers is still alive, but his tent collapsed overnight, nearly suffocating him. No one heard his cries over the storm. * After getting assistance for Weathers, Krakauer rushes to join the group for the descent. After all, he might end up in a similar state—or worse—if he waits any longer.

22. * The Geneva Spur, 9:45AM, May 12, 1996, 25,900 Feet * The group is weary as they descend from Camp Four. Hutchinson is so out of it that he almost heads down without securing his safety tether—a mistake that could only end with a fall. * They reach Camp Two after midnight and see Lopsang Jangbu, who is still devastated by Fischer's death, and Gau, who is being rushed into medical care. * Later that afternoon, Krakauer learns from Breashears that Weathers is alive and currently being helped down the mountain. To Krakauer's surprise, he sees Weathers approaching on foot. * A helicopter evacuation is planned for the next morning and Krakauer is given the unenviable task of finding a safe spot for it to land. Breashears, who has a lot of experience in this field, helps him big-time.

23. * Unfortunately, the helicopter is only able to take one person at a time. Given that Gau "could no longer walk or even stand" (20.24), he gets the first ride. The helicopter taking Gau seems cruel—Gau had been unconcerned and unhelpful for most of the expedition, while Beck had been left for dead more than once, and was putting up one hell of a fight. Beck continues to astound everyone and manages to push on. * Thirty minutes later, the helicopter returns and lifts Weathers to safety.

24. Everest Base Camp, May 13, 1996, 17,600 Feet * Krakauer and the remaining members pass the Khumbu Icefall on the morning of May 13, and with that, they've finally made it to safety. * A memorial service is held the following day. Over the next several days, the badly wounded are airlifted to safety while those who are relatively unscathed leave camp on foot. * Krakauer returns to civilization only to be met by a "swarm of print and television reporters.”

25. * He returns to the United States on May 19. Krakauer is absolutely guilt-ridden, constantly questioning whether he could have done more to help his friends. The sad truth is that he probably couldn't. * This chapter demonstrates how Krakauer may never leave the experience of climbing Everest behind. Many of the questions and much of the horror regarding the disaster surface after he is home and has ample time to reflect. * Krakauer tries to analyze the events and come up with reasons they happened. He discusses many hypotheses in this chapter, but the frustrating part is that he can never know which actually happened, or how much each factor ultimately contributed to what happened. * Most of his theories involve the basic sport and the basic idea of trying to climb Everest—arrogance, lack of regulation, climbers' lack of experience, and failure to adhere to rules. These are human errors, inherent in the business of climbing Everest. * Krakauer has previously mentioned concerns that dealt with inexperience and not adhering to the turn-around time, but even when expressing concern, no one realized just how deadly those mistakes could be: “On Everest, it is the nature of systems to break down with a vengeance."

26. * Krakauer's entire view on life and death is forever changed: "Mortality had remained a conveniently hypothetical concept, an idea to ponder in the abstract. Sooner or later the divestiture of such a privileged innocence was inevitable…." All of the climbers age during their expedition on Everest, bearing witness to so many aspects of the uglier and more horrifying aspects of life and death. * It is questionable whether the glory of reaching the summit survived what happened. That glory is a product of the danger. Krakauer always knew that climbing mountains was dangerous, but his experience on Everest was beyond dangerous. “Climbing was a magnificent activity, I firmly believed, not in spite of the inherent perils, but precisely because of them.” * Crossing the line between dangerous and deadly is a grotesque transgression, and one Krakauer and the surviving climbers were forced to make.

27. * Krakauer also suffers from survivor's guilt. It is unclear whether or not this is guilty at simply living while others died, or whether this is guilt borne of feeling responsible for another's death. Krakauer describes it as not knowing if he could have done something to help any of the people who died, and thus being unable to make peace with what happened. * Having a unique role on the expedition must also affect the way Krakauer processes the experience. As a journalist, he was sent to the scene of an accident before the accident had happened. What he was actually supposed to be writing about is utterly inconsequential in the face of what happened, although ironically, consumerism on Everest is one of the factors he attributes to the disaster. His questions and possible answers, intense guilt and his ruminations on life and death demonstrate how indelible this experience is. The fact that we have this book shows that Krakauer is unwilling to forget. * His questions and possible answers, intense guilt and his ruminations on life and death demonstrate how indelible this experience is. The fact that we have this book shows that Krakauer is unwilling to forget.

28. * Unfortunately, those who remained on the mountain weren't quite as self-reflective. For example, the IMAX team continues its plans for the summit despite the disaster—and luckily survives unscathed. * Others aren't so lucky. An Australian dies on the north side of the mountain just two days after Krakauer leaves Base Camp, while Bruce Herrod of the South African team dies after reaching the summit on May 24. * Herrod's death marks "the twelfth casualty" of the Everest climbing season.

29. * Seattle, November 29, 1996, 270 Feet * Everyone is readjusting to life in their own way. Lou Kasischke is trying to look on the bright side of things, having been inspired by the example of Beck Weathers. * Weathers' right arm required amputation and his face a great deal of plastic surgery; he doesn't even know if he'll be able to practice medicine again. Still, he seems remarkably optimistic given his ordeal. * Krakauer is still shaken up, though. Much of this has to do with the magazine piece he wrote about the disaster immediately after returning. Although that piece provides the foundation for the book we're now reading, there were many facts that he got wrong— namely, the status of Andy Harris. * He received plenty of angry letters about these mistakes, but none were quite as heartbreaking as the scathing words he received from Lisa Fischer, sister of Scott. * There are plenty of tragedies, too. Sadly, Lopsang Jangbu dies in an avalanche while climbing Everest later that year, and Boukreev gets into a crazy bus accident. * Even Neal Beidleman, who was instrumental in the survival of five people, is haunted by the experience. To this day, he can still vividly remember the feeling of Yasuko grabbing his arm as he left to get help

30. * This chapter reads more like a journal entry than a chapter of text. Perhaps Krakauer ends so strongly this way not just to release his own sadness and anger, but as a means of catharsis for everyone in his group. In a sense, he purges for them all—he catalogs their sadness, describes their letters, the deterioration of their lives after the disaster. Almost of all of them show up in the end, still grappling with the effects of what happened, and in a sense, Krakauer issues a gigantic apology both to and on behalf of all of them. * Krakauer is fully aware that in order to write this text he has had to draw conclusions about what happened and why, and that sometimes these conclusions do not portray certain people in a positive light. * Krakauer does lead us to certain conclusions with his text. * The South African team is perhaps the most criminal, refusing to help anyone and everyone throughout the entire expedition. * The Taiwanese team is portrayed as fairly incompetent. * Lopsang refuses to help Hansen and Hall at the summit * Boukreev descends too quickly, leaving behind many clients who need his help. * While Krakauer never explicitly accuses, he does suggest that many people made many poor decisions. * He does not exclude himself from blame, however, believing that he contributed directly to Andy Harris's death, and being terribly upset with himself for having mistaken Adams for Harris just outside of camp on the night of May 10.