1996年春天，来自全世界近20支登山队伍向珠穆朗玛峰进发。但是5月10日到11日发生的暴风雪给这个安静的地方带来了巨大的动荡。这也成为登山历史上最为严重的灾难之一。
其中有一位幸存者乔恩·克拉考尔 (Jon Krakauer)，他经历了整个登山的过程，后来写成的"Into thin air"《进入空气稀薄地带》成为这一事件的代名词。这本书被称为“登山者的圣经”，电影《绝命海拔》就是改编自此书。
乔恩•克拉考尔是美国畅销书作家、《户外》杂志专栏作家，登山家，以户外和登山报道著称。亲历珠穆朗玛峰山难后，他在《户外》杂志发表的分析报道(后来扩展为本书)获“美国国家杂志奖”。
除了本书，乔恩•克拉考尔还著有《荒野生存》(Into the Wind)《爱格尔峰之梦》(Eiger Dreams)和《天堂的旗帜下》(Under the Banner of Heaven)等。其中《荒野生存》出版后，长踞《纽约时报》畅销书排行榜达两年以上，为他赢得杰出探险类作家的赞誉。
阅读这本书，仿佛把我们带到了珠穆朗玛峰。看着作者笔下的人在与生命作斗争，我们不禁感叹登山运动的魅力与危险。
相信很多人都难有几次这样惊心动魄的登山体验，那就与小编一起领略作者笔下生命的力量吧。
同时附上小编拙劣的翻译，如果你对这本书或这些句子有什么想法，欢迎到评论区分享给大家哦~
Getting to the top of any given mountain was considered much less important than how one got there: prestige was earned by tackling the most unforgiving routes with minimal equipment, in the boldest style imaginable.
登山重要的是过程而非结果：用最简单的工具逾越最艰难残酷的路程，以预料之中最为大胆的方式赢得声望。
With enough determination, any bloody idiot can get up this hill.... The trick is to get back down alive.
只要有足够的决心，是个傻瓜都可以登上山顶....窍门就是保证活着回来。
In this godforsaken place, I felt disconnected from the climbers around me--emotionally, spiritually, physically--to a degree I hadn't experienced on any previous expedition. We were a team in name only, I'd sadly come to realize. Although in a few hours we would leave camp as a group, we would ascend as individuals, linked to one another by neither rope nor any deep sense of loyalty.
在这个凄凉的地方，我感觉和身边的登山者在情感上，精神上以及身体上是脱离的，这种感觉我从未有过。我突然意识到，遗憾的是我们只是名义上的一个群体。尽管几个小时后我们要一起离开营地，但是上升到个人，彼此之间既没有绳索的牵绊也没有内心忠诚的交织。
Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics and others with a shaky hold on reality.
珠穆朗玛峰对于疯狂的人，好出风头的人，绝望中的浪漫主义者以及对现实充满怀疑的人来说，有着深深的吸引力。
Safe now, the crushing strain of the preceding days lifted off my shoulders, I cried for my lost companions, I cried because I was grateful to be alive, I cried because I felt terrible for having survived while others had died.
终于安全了。终于可以放下肩膀上积压几日沉重痛苦的压力。我哭泣是因为我失去了同伴，我哭泣是因为我庆幸自己活了下来，我哭泣是因为自己活着而其他人死了，这种感觉很糟糕。
I'd always known that climbing mountains was a high-risk pursuit. I accepted that danger was an essential component of the game--without it, climbing would be little different from a hundred other trifling diversions.
我一直都清楚登山是一项高风险的追求。我认为危险是游戏中必不可少的部分，若是没有什么危险系数，登山就和其他上百种打发时间的消遣活动没什么区别了。
It's not always necessary to be strong, but to feel strong.
没有必要总是表现的很坚强，内心强大就够了。
The ratio of misery to pleasure was greater by an order of magnitude than any mountain I'd been on; I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain.
与之前我的登山经历相比，珠峰之行的痛苦比喜悦要多得多。我突然意识到，登珠峰主要是为了忍受苦痛。
Unfortunately, the sort of individual who is programmed to ignore personal distress and keep pushing for the top is frequently programmed to disregard signs of grave and imminent danger as well. This forms the nub of a dilemma that every Everest climber eventually comes up against: in order to succeed you must be exceedingly driven, but if you're too driven you're likely to die.
不幸的是，有一些人不顾个人的疼痛继而执意登上顶点的人常常被认为是不怕死不怕潜在的危险的人。这就是每个登珠峰的人最终都会遇到的核心问题：若想成功须得有强大的决心，但不要让这种决心吞噬你。