Jon Krakauer was born in 1954, the third of five children, and grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. His father, Lewis, introduced him to mountaineering when Jon was eight. After graduating from Hampshire College in 1976, he divided his time between Colorado, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest, working as a carpenter and salmon fisherman, traveling, and mountain-climbing as much as possible.
Krakauer’s father was disappointed that his son did not pursue a career in medicine, but Jon's overriding passion was for writing and climbing, and his list of accomplishments on both fronts is substantial. He has written for Outside, Architectural Digest, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among...
