Jon Krakauer, the author and mountaineer, has expressed deep and lasting remorse over his 1996 expedition to Mount Everest, which ended in one of the deadliest disasters in the mountain’s history. The tragedy, in which eight climbers lost their lives during a sudden blizzard while descending from the summit, was chronicled in Krakauer’s 1997 bestseller *Into Thin Air*. Now 72, Krakauer says he has struggled to move past the events and continues to wrestle with feelings of guilt.

Reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the disaster, Krakauer revealed that he suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), prompting him to seek group therapy alongside military veterans. “I probably still think about it every day, and I regret profoundly that I ever went to Everest,” he shared. He added that many people might find it hard to believe the toll the experience has taken on him, but he emphasized, “if they knew what it’s done to me, they would believe it very easily.”

Krakauer also questioned the role his presence as a reporter played in the fatal outcome of the climb. He suggested that the expedition’s guide, Rob Hall, who died on Everest, may have pushed himself and his clients harder to reach the summit because of the heightened attention. “This was a huge deal to him. He saw this as a chance to go big, to get all these American clients,” Krakauer said. He worries that his reporting unintentionally influenced Hall’s decision-making during the ascent.

Despite initial expectations that *Into Thin Air* might discourage others from pursuing Everest expeditions, Krakauer observed a contrary effect. Rather than deterring climbers, the book arguably increased public interest in guided climbs, contributing to greater crowding on the mountain. “It was the best advertising the guides ever had. I added to all this crowding,” Krakauer acknowledged. He described the lingering guilt over these outcomes as something that “just doesn’t go away.”

Krakauer’s reflections underscore the complex emotional and ethical dimensions surrounding high-risk adventure tourism and its sometimes tragic consequences.