Conditional Morality

In a short chapter inserted almost as an aside, Krakauer tells of three Indian climbers on the mountain at the same time as he, who succumb to exhaustion and oxygen deprivation while climbing Everest from the Tibetan side. The climbers are found the day after they fail to return to camp by some Japanese climbers, disoriented and debilitated, but still alive. The Japanese climbers do not stop to help them, but simply walk past on their own ascent. Asked afterward about their failure to help the climbers, on replies, "We were too tired to help. Above 8,000 meters is not a place where people can afford morality." (p. 241)

Krakauer presents this episode, which is not directly related to the situation faced by himself and his fellow climbers, in a straightforward manner, without judgment. He does not include any information from the other side of the story, however, such...