Krakauer's recounting of certain aspects of the climb generated criticism, both from some of the climb's participants and from fellow mountaineers such as photographer
Galen Rowell. Much of the criticism centers on Krakauer's account of how
Anatoli Boukreev, an experienced Kazakh high-altitude climber and guide for Scott Fischer, had handled the climb. Boukreev had descended the summit before his clients did, ostensibly out of concern for their safety, in order to prepare for potential rescue efforts. Although Krakauer acknowledged that Boukreev's efforts after descending the mountain were heroic (Boukreev ventured out alone in a
blizzard and rescued three climbers trapped on the mountain. He then climbed up the slopes of Everest to look for his employer and friend,
Scott Fischer. Krakauer questioned Boukreev's judgment during the climb, in particular his decision to descend from the summit ahead of his clients, his decision not to use supplementary oxygen, his choices of gear on the mountain and his interactions with clients. The author acknowledged Boukreev's explanation for his accelerated descent (ahead of his clients), '
in preparedness of potential rescue,' but questioned how feasible a coordinated rescue would have been executed without radio-relay (since Boukreev was without a radio, when he returned to camp). Boukreev provided a rebuttal to most of these claims in his 1997 book,
The Climb. Mountain Madness guide
Neal Beidleman, who was part of the team that day, later offered a mixed assessment: he credited Boukreev for his extraordinary strength and life-saving rescue efforts in the storm, but maintained that Boukreev had been instructed to use supplemental oxygen and "failed to appreciate" the responsibilities of a commercial guide. Beidleman said Boukreev handed him his unused oxygen bottle at the Balcony, a decision he viewed as rooted partly in Boukreev's climbing philosophy and partly in a misunderstanding of his guiding role. Rowell criticized Krakauer's account, citing numerous inconsistencies in his narrative, and observed that Krakauer had been asleep in his tent while Boukreev was rescuing other climbers. Rowell argued that not only were Boukreev's actions heroic but his judgment was also prescient: “[Boukreev] foresaw problems with clients nearing camp, noted five other guides on the peak [Everest], and positioned himself to be rested and hydrated enough to respond to an emergency. His heroism was not a fluke." Mountaineer Graham Ratcliffe criticized Krakauer's account, for omitting to mention that the teams on Everest in May 1996 were receivingand sharingaccurate daily weather forecasts from weather services in England and Denmark, and knew about the impending storm. In Krakauer's 1999 paperback edition of
Into Thin Air, he addresses some of the criticisms in a detailed postscript. ==Adaptation==