Author Biography

Jon Krakauer was born in 1954 in Corvallis, Oregon where he grew up mountaineering. He graduated from Hampshire College in 1976 and lived in Alaska and Colorado. One of his first occupations was a salmon fisher and carpenter. In his free time Krakauer spent his free time in the mountains. He climbed several such as the Devils Thumb peak and West Face of Cerro Torre. Krakauer successfully climbed the peak of Mt. Everest, but on the descent a storm claimed the lives of four of his fellow mountaineers. He decided to write about his adventure, and received an award for it in the Outside magazine. Krakauer also wrote "Into Thin Air" which was about Everest and it became the #1 New York Times bestseller. Many of Krakauer's writings have been published in Outside, TIME, Washington Post, and other magazines. Most of his books have been awarded prizes and he created a fund to support the families of the people who died on Mt. Everest.