Jon Krakauer was born in 1954 and grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. When Jon was 8 years old, his father introduced him to mountaineering. Krakauer went to Hampshire College, and graduated in 1976. After graduating, he spent his time in Colorado, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. During this time, Krakaeur made a living by carpentry and as a commercial salmon fisherman. He spent most of his free time in the mountains. In 1977, Jon Krakaeur traveled alone to the Stikine Icecap in southeast Alaska and climbed a peak called Devils Thumb. In 1992, he climbed the West Face of Cerro Torre in the Patagonian Andes. This mountain was once considered the most difficult mountains on earth. In May 1996, Krakauer reached the top of Mount Everest. He then wrote a book based on his journey climbing Mount Everest, called Into Thin Air. This book became the #1 New York Times best seller and has been translated into 24 languages. It was also honored as the “Book of the Year” by Time Magazine and one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review. This book also was a finalist for a 1997 National Book Critics Circle Award, and was a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in General Non-Fiction. In 1997, an article that Krakauer wrote for Smithsonian volcanism received an Award for Excellence in Science Journalism from the American Geophysical Union. Another book that he wrote, Into the Wild, spent more than two years on the New York Times best seller list. After this, a collection of his mountaineering essays and a book of his mountaineering photos were published. In 1998, Jon Krakaeur established the Everest ’96 Memorial Fund at the Boulder Community Foundation as a tribute to his acquaintances that were lost on the mountain. He also serves on the boards of the American Himalayan Foundation and the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation. In 1999, Krakaeur received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. "A Story of Violent Faith." Jon Krakaeur. Random House. Web. http://www.randomhouse.com/features/krakauer/index.html.
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