Into Thin Air Blog 4

Jon Krakauer probably had the toughest time describing the events of the team's descent of Mt. Everest, after going almost two hours without sufficient oxygen. Krakauer had been the first to come down Everest, but had lost oxygen on the way to Camp 4. He himself stated that climbers at high altitudes were dazed, and sometimes delirious without sufficient oxygen. Krakauer mistook a climber for another, and completely missed another. For two years after the Mt. Everest climb, Krakauer and the other surviving climbers pieced together what actually happened in the descent. Therefore, Krakauer definitely had to make up some of the times and events that he and others saw. There was a huge debate about the credibility of Into Thin Air after it was published.

Personally, I think making up a few details in a memoir won't harm the actually memoir's credibility if they are small details. Things like what you had for lunch aren't vital to the story, but they still can be used to make the writing more detailed. However, for some of the things Krakauer did, exaggerating or making something wouldn't be exactly smart. To no error of Krakauer's, the conversation between Scott Fisher and Anatolli that has been much debated, the details (or lack thereof) caused a battle between Jon and Anatolli. When the details of a memoir are so vital, like who could have saved a person's life, that will determine people's views on the author, it may be better just to admit that you don't know. It's rather like playing a game of cards: bluffing is smart when there are a lot of people and less cards, but stupid when everyone playing has a multitude of cards and can easily call your bluff. However, for being heartbroken, almost killed, and delirious, Krakauer delivers a pretty unbiased group of facts.