The real mountaineer's story behind the fatal Everest climbs of into Thin Air. In May 1996 a number of expeditions attempted to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route. Crowded conditions slowed their progress and late in the day 23 men and women, including the expedition leadersl, were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Disorientated and out of oxygen, climbers struggled to find their way to safety. Alone and climbing blind, Anatoli Boukreev rescued a number of climbers from certain death. This honest and gripping account includes the transcript of the Mountain Madness debriefing, recorded five days after the tragedy, as well as G. Weston de Walt's response to Jon Krakauer.