Althouse: "In the book, [Jon] Krakauer describes [Sandy] Hill as a 'millionaire socialite-cum-climber' and claims sherpas carried her espresso maker..."

10 మే, 2026

"In the book, [Jon] Krakauer describes [Sandy] Hill as a 'millionaire socialite-cum-climber' and claims sherpas carried her espresso maker..."

"... with beans from her favourite New York restaurant, and newspaper clippings about herself to be handed out at the Everest base camp. 'A great many people were offended by her ostentatious displays of wealth and by the shameless way she chased the limelight,' Krakauer wrote in the book, which sold in its millions. [Hill] later said that the 'espresso maker' was actually an eight-inch manual stovetop percolator.... The book also depicted an anonymous couple in the group, referred to as X and Y, who had an affair on the expedition. 'That was me. I am Madam X,' Hill has confirmed, while her partner was a snowboarder. The liaison angered the sherpas as they believed it brought bad karma and caused the storm...."

I'm reading "'Villain' of Into Thin Air breaks silence on Everest tragedy/The New York socialite Sandy Hill speaks for the first time about what happened on the mountain 30 years ago and the depression that followed her ordeal" (London Times).

46 కామెంట్‌లు:

Achilles చెప్పారు...: I am not a fan of the damage people like Sandy Hill are doing to our country.; 10-05-26 9:08 AM
Big Mike చెప్పారు...: I read that book — more than once — and came away thinking that better people than she were left to die on that mountain while an incompetent dingbat like her was helped to survive.; 10-05-26 9:14 AM
john mosby చెప్పారు...: Bring more stuff, hire more sherpas, put more dollars into the Nepali economy. And the "Everest base camp" trek is done by all sorts of regular tourists, accompanied by armies of sherpas. Finally, espresso, since it's concentrated and made quickly, conserves water and fuel.

She still may be a horrendous evil woman, but bringing an espresso pot and some NYT reprints to the base camp doesn't really provide evidence for such. CC, JSM; 10-05-26 9:15 AM
Larry J చెప్పారు...: The boiling point of water drops about 3 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1000 feet increase in altitude above sea level. Bringing a coffee maker, percolator or expresso machine) to very high elevations seems rather foolish unless you like lukewarm coffee.; 10-05-26 9:31 AM
Eva Marie చెప్పారు...: This was going to be my comment and it’s also the first comment at the LT:
“Hill divides her time between a flat in Hampstead, northwest London, a vineyard in California and a farm in Ibiza.” Quite. Reply: “Her life was clearly ruined and she was unable to earn a reasonable income. 
2nd comment at the LT:
Had an affair up Everest but it was the stories that ended her marriage? 
Reply: Is that the five mile high club? ; 10-05-26 9:32 AM
William చెప్పారు...: According to the article, she now divides her time between a flat in London, a vineyard in California, and a farm in Ibiza. These are good places to lick wounds. She clearly didn't have the worst luck of any on that expedition......Perhaps she was treated unfairly in the book, but in other ways life has been pretty generous in bestowing favors upon her. I'd put her in a class with movie stars and royalty. These are people who cannot publicly complain about how unfair life is and expect much in the way of sympathy from the public.; 10-05-26 9:34 AM
Aggie చెప్పారు...: Now you might not believe this, but the biggest freakin' mountain in the world, the one with all the dead adventurers stuck to it, is actually all about her.; 10-05-26 9:36 AM
Earnest Prole చెప్పారు...: For a contemporaneous account of her exploits, google the 1996 article “The Real Story of Sandy Hill Pittman, Everest’s Socialite Climber”; 10-05-26 9:37 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit చెప్పారు...: Is Krakauer the new Kitty Kelley? (Kitty Kelley the author, not the actress); 10-05-26 9:41 AM
Ice Nine చెప్పారు...: Lost jobs, lost marriage, lost son, lost mental health! So many terribly damaging things resulting from the things that Krakauer supposedly falsely wrote about her. Does anyone recall reading about her pursuing the seemingly obvious defamation suit against Krakauer? Yeah, me neither.

Money/mouth, babe.; 10-05-26 9:42 AM
john mosby చెప్పారు...: Larry J, that is a good point about the altitude. But I wonder: since the classic 2-chambered espresso pot relies on steam, does it really matter what temperature that steam happens at? I did a very cursory Google search and could not find a definitive answer, although the general opinion, offered without explanation, seems to be that it would work.; 10-05-26 9:56 AM
Gusty Winds చెప్పారు...: Are we allowed to post cum-climber jokes?; 10-05-26 10:02 AM
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ చెప్పారు...: As a climber, I can't recommend Into Thin Air highly enough — it's a must-read.

Collective dedication to a goal can itself be dangerous if it covers up important individual differences. Cohesion and co-operation may look like virtues, but they could be symptoms of groupthink.

Teams have to guard actively against groupthink. Diversity of view, background and outlook is a start but not enough. The best leadership teams will also rotate a devil's advocate role and hold pre-mortems to reduce the risk of having to hold much more painful post-mortems.

Never underestimate the value of deep knowledge about your team members — both those who influence team efficiency and results, and those who may be negatively affected by an over-emphasis on collective cohesion.; 10-05-26 10:03 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: Krakeuer then librled missoula montana some years ago repeated lies in his tillman book; 10-05-26 10:07 AM
Tom T. చెప్పారు...: Maybe a socialite cum climber needs to find a splooge stooge.; 10-05-26 10:09 AM
Achilles చెప్పారు...: john mosby said...

Larry J, that is a good point about the altitude. But I wonder: since the classic 2-chambered espresso pot relies on steam, does it really matter what temperature that steam happens at? I did a very cursory Google search and could not find a definitive answer, although the general opinion, offered without explanation, seems to be that it would work.

At altitude it is just an extra step to pressurize your cooking container to raise the boiling point for cooking.

But you will never be able to actually drink anything over a certain temperature at altitude.

Personally I have stopped using microwaves and eat and drink everything at room temperature or refrigerator temperature anyway. Saves time and effort.

After you get used to it everything tastes just as good. Coffee just tastes bad in general and it is the object lesson in teaching your body to release dopamine no matter what you eat.; 10-05-26 10:09 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: Libeled how many other times; 10-05-26 10:13 AM
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ చెప్పారు...: Here's another outstanding book by Jon Krakauer: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith — a powerful and disturbing look at religious extremism.; 10-05-26 10:13 AM
FredSays చెప్పారు...: I’m surprised that there isn’t a Disney-like express lane to the top of Mt. Everest to be purchased by the truly fortunate.; 10-05-26 10:20 AM
Larry J చెప్పారు...: I lived in Colorado Springs at an elevation of more than 6,000 feet for 27 years. We had to make adjustments to how we cooked to accommodate the altitude. I had a coworker who lived in Divide, CO at an elevation around 9,000 feet. He told me he had to use a pressure cooker to cook pasta. At 9,000 feet, water boils at about 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Chemical reactions occur at roughly twice as fast for every 10 degrees Celsius increase in temperature.

I have no experience with espresso makers. As a pilot, I learned you have to be careful when carrying hot liquids in a thermos bottle to higher altitudes. If the liquid is hotter than the boiling point at altitude, the liquid will flash boil. That can be very unpleasant with the risk of burns and steam filling the cockpit. If an espresso maker uses steam, it might be dangerous at high altitude.; 10-05-26 10:41 AM
J Scott చెప్పారు...: Like most things in our modern era, it's all about credentials. Harvard, Yale, Climbed Mt. Everest, etc, so of course they get gamified and then they lose their value.; 10-05-26 10:41 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: Maybe not as malicious as joe mcguinness in fatal vision but why werent these details more scrutinized; 10-05-26 10:42 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: ఈ కామెంట్‌ను రచయిత తీసివేశారు.; 10-05-26 10:42 AM
J Scott చెప్పారు...: If there is a theme today, it seems to be authenticity. How we prove it, how we show it, how we value it.; 10-05-26 10:43 AM
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ చెప్పారు...: "Libeled how many other times". "Krakeuer then librled missoula montana some years ago repeated lies in his tillman book"

narciso riding his pony.

This is the usual rhetorical hyperbole we have come to judge and expect from Narciso.

No successful (or even filed) libel lawsuit appears to have come from the Tillman family, the military, or individuals named in the book. Instead, the backlash centers on how Krakauer framed the narrative.; 10-05-26 10:45 AM
Earnest Prole చెప్పారు...: Say what you want about anybody but this chick has bigger balls than all the men carping at her.; 10-05-26 10:47 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: Sullivan gave a host of scribes license to libel, there are so many examples i used missoula as an example of provable facts; 10-05-26 10:52 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: They are not called drive by media for nothing; 10-05-26 10:55 AM
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ చెప్పారు...: Narciso rides his pony....; 10-05-26 10:57 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: Did that gang of sherpas arise from those apocryphal events; 10-05-26 11:09 AM
narciso చెప్పారు...: ఈ కామెంట్‌ను రచయిత తీసివేశారు.; 10-05-26 11:09 AM
Big Mike చెప్పారు...: From a mountain climbing perspective I’d recommend reading Krakauer’s Into the Wild. It’s the story Chris McCandless going alone and under-prepared into the Alaska wilderness, where he finds an abandoned bus for shelter and his death when he doesn’t know how to hunt or which berries are edible.

As he retraces McCandless‘s route Krakauer gets the idea to climb a mountain behind an Alaskan town. He gets in trouble on the mountain and has to stay up there overnight. As he looks down at the lights of the town Krakauer contemplates the safety rules he’d broken. He’s alone, no climbing parter to help him. No one in the town below knows he’s up on the mountain, so no one knows where he’s gone or when he expected to return. Consequently no rescue teams will come looking for him. I suspect PLB’s were still years in the future.

Edifying.; 10-05-26 11:26 AM
Big Mike చెప్పారు...: J Scott said...

Like most things in our modern era, it's all about credentials. Harvard, Yale, Climbed Mt. Everest …

Point of information. Sandy Hill did not “climb” Mt. Everest. As Krakauer makes clear — and even she acknowledged — she was pulled up the mountain by a Sherpa.; 10-05-26 11:33 AM
Zavier Onasses చెప్పారు...: IAW FAFO; 10-05-26 11:38 AM
Big Mike చెప్పారు...: @Indefinitely Extended Excursion(TM), I believe you are confusing Krakauer’s book Missoula with Where Men Win Glory. I’ve read the latter, and I know for a certain fact that the statistics Krakauer quoted were not just wrong but wildly bogus. “Friendly fire” incidents have happened over many wars (e.g., Stonewall Jackson’s death in the Civil War) and are tragic whenever they occur — it’s not called the fog of war for nothing. But even before Pat Tillman was killed the US military was working on what would become Blue Force Tracker, which has (or so I’ve been told) eliminated friendly fire incidents.; 10-05-26 11:57 AM
Sally327 చెప్పారు...: I've read the book and other articles about that disaster many times and one of the things I always remember most is Beck Weathers, the doctor from Dallas who was abandoned and left for dead (understandably so from what's been written) and then pretty much rose from the dead and got himself, with no help from anyone else, back to where the others were located so he could eventually be evacuated.; 10-05-26 11:59 AM
Original Mike చెప్పారు...: "one of the things I always remember most is Beck Weathers"

Yeah, he's something.; 10-05-26 12:42 PM
Ice Nine చెప్పారు...: >Achilles said...
Personally I have stopped using microwaves and eat and drink everything at room temperature or refrigerator temperature anyway. Saves time and effort.<

Folks, I give you there the ultimate First World problem.; 10-05-26 1:03 PM
Not Illinois Resident చెప్పారు...: Read the book years ago. Sandy Hill: "I was depressed because they exposed me as an extremely self-absorbed needy rich bitch." Says me: if shoe fits, wear it. think Krakauer was kind to her, reality of situation was probably far worse but toned down in book to avoid defamation lawsuit. Notice, no lawsuit.; 10-05-26 1:43 PM
Enigma చెప్పారు...: Everest entered a new era the moment a helicopter landed on the top in 2005. As of 2026, they are using heavy lift drones to haul up stuff instead of carrying it.

Helicopter landing happens around the 3:45 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXNXSvnCtKA

Heavy lift drones in 2026:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdo0fX8B5uE; 10-05-26 2:41 PM
Big Mike చెప్పారు...: Sally327 said...

I've read the book and other articles about that disaster many times and one of the things I always remember most is Beck Weathers …

There are people whose soul seems nailed to their spine. Beck Weathers is one of them, it seems.; 10-05-26 3:44 PM
FullMoon చెప్పారు...: "....carry her espresso maker, which she says was an aluminium moka pot carried by campers all over the world.

For Hill, one of Krakauer’s most damaging claims was that she spent hours of her final ascent being carried up the mountain on a piece of rope by a sherpa named Lopsang. Krakauer described it as “hazardous and extremely uncomfortable for both parties”.
But the incident never happened and the whole account was “completely untrue,” Hill has now claimed. Lopsang was said to have vomited in the snow from the stress of carrying her."; 10-05-26 3:47 PM
Lazarus చెప్పారు...: So many millionaires have made the ascent that saying that you climbed Everest is now more of an embarrassment and cause for shame than anything to be proud of. Same thing with the Seven Summits.

Sandy's father was a port-a-potty mogul, and her first husband went on to become a sport event promoter and the husband of Nancy Kerrigan.; 10-05-26 4:23 PM
Michael Fitzgerald చెప్పారు...: Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ said...
"Narciso rides his pony...."

The fucking nerve to post that comment. Hey shithead, you still spamming comments with your Epstein Files jackoff?
Fucking asswipe....; 10-05-26 4:32 PM
narciso చెప్పారు...: Thanks michael; 10-05-26 4:44 PM
Big Mike చెప్పారు...: But the incident never happened and the whole account was “completely untrue,” Hill has now claimed.

In Krakauer’s book she is asked why she didn’t simply unclip from Lopsang. Her response is that she thought he would take it as an insult.; 10-05-26 5:08 PM

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Althouse

10 మే, 2026

"In the book, [Jon] Krakauer describes [Sandy] Hill as a 'millionaire socialite-cum-climber' and claims sherpas carried her espresso maker..."

46 కామెంట్‌లు:

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10 మే, 2026

"In the book, [Jon] Krakauer describes [Sandy] Hill as a 'millionaire socialite-cum-climber' and claims sherpas carried her espresso maker..."

46 కామెంట్‌లు:

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