Chapter 8

In this chapter, we learn about those men in history who shared Chris’ propensity and love for adventure. Krakauer shares these in response to the criticism he receives from readers of his article in Outside magazine. These readers criticized him for empathizing with Chris as well as portraying him as brave. Readers such as Nick Jans, a writer and schoolteacher, perceived Chris as arrogant and selfish.

Krakauer attempts to respond to this criticism by delving deeper into Chris’ psyche, his motivations, and by finding people who have had tendencies similar to those of Chris. He introduces us to Gene Rossellini, who belonged to an affluent family and attempted to live like a Neolithic caveman on the shores of Prince William Sound. He succeeds to do so for over ten years by hunting, gathering, and camping. However, he stabs himself without provocation and is remembered as a local legend.

Krakauer then introduces us to John Waterman, who is a teenaged prodigal mountain climber. He scales Mt. McKinley at the age of sixteen, but later loses sanity due to his parents’ divorce and other unfortunate incidents that plague his family and friends. Waterman decided to support an anti-hunger campaign by scaling one of the most treacherous parts of Mt. McKinley alone during wintertime with very limited resources. He is presumed to have died after falling through one of the ice crevasses.

Finally, Krakauer tells the story of a Texan named Carl McCunn who hires a pilot to drop him to a remote Alaskan region but forgets to make arrangements for his return. Overwhelmed by starvation and due to lack of supplies during the winter, McCunn shot himself. His body was discovered two months later by Alaska State Troopers.

Chapter 9

Krakauer goes on to share the story of a young adventurer named Everett Ruess who disappeared into the wild. In the 1930s, he traveled through southwest America and changed his name throughout the travels. His last known name was “Nemo,” meaning “nobody” in Latin, in Davis Gulch. It is widely believed that he must have fallen to death while climbing the crumbling canyon walls. Another theory is that he might have died by drowning in a river and some suggest that he might have been murdered by cattle rustlers for his belongings. There are some others who believe that he did not die but assumed a new identity and continued to lead his life.

The spirit and thirst of adventure displayed by both Chris and Ruess remind Krakauer of Irish monks, called papar, who traveled to a remote island off the coast of Iceland looking for solitude and peace.

Chapter 10

Through the media, Wayne and Jan hear about the death of a young hike in the Alaskan wilderness. Both of them contact the Alaska State Troopers separately identifying the man as ‘Alex”. The officials take Wayne seriously only after he provides them with Chris’ social security number. This information leads the officers to Chris’ half-brother Sam McCandless. Sam is left with the duty to break the tragic news to Chris’ parents, Walt and Billie.

Chapter 11

Krakauer begins to discover Chris’ childhood via interviews with his parents, Walt and Billie. Mourning Chris’ death, his parents tell Krakauer about Chris’ personality and interests. Based on the information Krakauer gathered, he tells that Chris’ family moved to D.C. when Chris was six, and soon the parents started to fight over the business co-owned by them. Chris and Carine, his sister, were each others’ support system.

When Chris was twelve, Walk took him for a hiking trip. They hiked up to Longs Peak, the highest summit in Rocky Mountain National Park, and Chris wants to continue climbing. However, Walt puts his foot down saying that it is dangerous. Walt mentions that Chris was fearless even as a child.

Toward the end of high school, Chris worked as a salesperson for a construction contractor, where he made enough money to buy his car, a yellow Datsun. The contractor was so impressed by Chris’ success that he offered him a job. However, Chris turned this opportunity down in favor of going on his first road trip.

Analysis of Chapter 8 to Chapter 11

Letters from many readers, including Jans, consider Chris’ demise as a result of his youthful arrogance. Krakauer responds to these criticisms by including stories of men who displayed a disposition similar to that of Chris. He does not merely place Chris as a part of the long list of men who have sought nature and adventure in different ways, but also analyses the decisions that these men made as well as their tragic ends. These stories counter the popular opinion that Chris was selfish and arrogant.

Krakauer looks at the lives and deaths of Rossellini, Waterman, and McCunn and carves out the specific conditions and situations that led to the demise of these three young men. Ruess and Chris were very similar: they both changed their names and led their lives. They both worked toward carving new independent identities, away from what was imposed upon them by their families and the society.

The interview with Chris’ parents is important in that it makes the reader familiar with Chris’ life as a child. Krakauer wisely chooses the anecdote where Walt during one of their hiking trips did not Chris climb a peak because he thought it was an unsafe peak. It stands as a metaphor for both Chris’ thirst for adventure and his father’s possible role in trying to curb him, leading to tension in their relationship. His anecdote of success with the local contractor reiterates Chris’ brilliance and determination while also highlighting his disdain for materialism.