The Devils Climb By Jon Kraukaeur Summary

“The Devils Thumb and Everest” Climbing mountains can be extremely dangerous. Jon Krakaeur and Erik Weihenmayer both wrote stories to tell us all about it. Jon Kraukaeur wrote the story “The Devils Thumb” about climbing a mountain in Alaska all alone. Kraukaeur has climbed mountains all his life and has written many books about it. Erik Weihenmayer wrote the story “Everest” about reaching the summit of Mount Everest as a blind person. Weihenmayer has taken many risks of climbing mountains without one of the most important senses, his eyesight. In these two stories, they talk about the struggles of climbing mountains, but also the triumph of reaching their goals. In “The Devils Thumb” by Jon Krakaeur, the perspective is from the view point of a solo climber. In the story it says, “Writing these words more than a dozen years later, it’s no longer entirely clear just how I thought soloing the Devils Thumb would transform my life” (157). This quote is showing that Krakaeur was thinking the dangerous climb would drastically change something about his life, if he climbed the mountain by himself. In “Everest” by Erik Weihenmayer, the perspective is from that of a blind man and his team. Weihenmayer

I believe it is this because Jon Krakaeur flashes back to before the climb, during the climb, and after the climb. In the book, Krakaeur shows examples before the climb like on page 156, “At 1 a.m., thirty miles east of Rawlins, the strain of the day caught up to me.” He shows examples during the climb when he says “For two days I slogged steadily up the glacier without incident, congratulating myself for discovering such a clever path to the Thumb.” And he also shows examples of after the climb when he says, “ The euphoria, the overwhelming sense of relief, that had initially accompanied my return to Petersburg faded, and an unexpected melancholy took its place.” on page