Three articles, three different viewpoints of the 96 Everest Disaster. The first is an excerpt from Krakauer’s article published in OUTSIDE magazine. It deals with a section of the descent.

Next, Pittman glosses through her “triumph” on the mountain.

Finally, read the article in Vanity Fair followinbg the highlighted section, and which provides a more complete picture of the events than has been acknowledged.

Krakauer

Pittman – read the full article here.

Vanity Fair

But reaching the summit is only half the journey—and most accidents happen on the way down. Pittman was already very tired; observers from another team say she had to be short-roped by a Sherpa on the way up, and she was the last client in her group to reach the summit, with Fischer following as rear guide. She didn’t have time to do more than snap a few pictures. No one remembers if she had a chance to bury a cross necklace which she had custom-made by jeweler Barry Kieselstein-Cord for that purpose.

It was fortunate that she got down fast, for the next four people (not including Sherpas), no more than 15 minutes behind her, ran into trouble. Makalu Gau, a Taiwanese climber, was discovered half frozen the following day and was delivered from death’s door in one of the highest helicopter rescues ever. Fischer and Rob Hall, the New Zealand expedition leader, who stopped to help his client Doug Hansen, would not be so lucky…

Read the rest here.