When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty otherclimbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and...

"Veteran climber Mark Synnott never planned on climbing Mount Everest, but a hundred-year mystery lured him into an expedition--and an awesome history of passionate adventure, chilling tragedy, and human aspiration unfolded"--

In 1953, the ascent of Everest remained the last of Earth's great challenges. Standing at over 29,000ft, the world's highest mountain posed a fearsome challenge and had already claimed thirteen lives in previous expeditions. When Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay finally achieved the impossible and became the first men to stand atop Everest, it was an event that stunned the world and defined an era.

"Four kids are prepared to go into thin air in order to become the youngest person ever to climb Everest. But they are not prepared for the challenges that await them as they get closer to the summit. Supplies are low. Conditions are extreme. One of the kids is trying to sabotage the others. And then the storm hits ..."--P. [4] of cover.