Jon Krakauer
1954-
Other Works
Eiger Dreams
Into the Wild
Dreaming of Everest When Jon Krakauer was nine years old, Willi Unsoeld and another man reached the top of Everest by a difficult route that no one had ever used. Krakauer knew Unsoeld personally. The climber was a friend of Krakauer's father and had accompanied the Krakauers when Jon reached the top of his first mountain, a 9,000-foot peak. Inspired by Unsoeld, Krakauer dreamed of climbing Mount Everest himself.
Living to Climb By the time Krakauer was in his 20s, he "lived to climb." He would work as a carpenter or a commercial fisherman just long enough to finance his next expedition. Climbing fascinated Krakauer because, "Unlike most of life, what you do really matters. ... Your actions have real consequences." However, he gave up the idea of Everest because he'd heard that the route wasn't challenging enough.
Nature Writer In the 1970s, Krakauer wrote a couple of articles about his exploits. Then a friend suggested that he try writing full-time, so in 1983 he quit carpentry and launched a new career. Many of his articles have to do with the outdoors, although he also writes on other subjects. When Outside magazine asked Krakauer to do an article on Everest, his childhood dream flamed up again. He agreed to take the assignment, but only if he could try to summit the world's highest peak himself instead of just reporting on others' attempts. Krakauer still goes mountain climbing but says, "I won't go back to Everest; I'm afraid of that."
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