84 pages 2 hours read

Jon Krakauer

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Exam Questions

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What technique is used in the first chapter to confirm that tragedy befell the climbers?

A) Foreshadowing

B) Irony

C) Metaphor

D) Symbolism

2. Which of the following is the strongest example of the pitfalls of unchecked ambition?

A) Sandy Pittman being tethered to the Sherpa guide

B) Beck Weathers’s loss of his arm to frostbite

C) The corpses that litter the slopes of the mountain

D) Jon Krakauer’s frozen larynx

3. What unexpected realization does Krakauer come to as he begins the process of climbing the mountain?

A) Sherpa guides who require oxygen to summit Everest should be avoided.

B) Regardless of wealth, anyone who reaches the summit deserves respect.

C) Under better weather conditions, Everest is not particularly hard to summit.

D) Mount Everest has a boundless beauty that is unmatched on Earth.

4. Who is Caroline Mackenzie?

A) Head cook

B) Base camp manager

C) A member of the South African expedition

D) Expedition doctor

5. What does the Buddhist scholar, Rinpoche, show to Jon?

A) Photos of his recent trip to America

B) A meditation technique to assist with altitude sickness

C) The monastery on the side of the mountain

D) A news article about the dangers of Everest

6.

Related Titles

By Jon Krakauer

Study Guide

logo

Missoula

Jon Krakauer

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

Jon Krakauer

Study Guide

logo

Under the Banner of Heaven

Jon Krakauer

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

Jon Krakauer

Study Guide

logo

Where Men Win Glory

Jon Krakauer

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

Jon Krakauer