Hkakabo Expedition - Free Essay with an Article Analysis

How a remote peak in Myanmar nearly broke an elite team of climbers

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Introduction

Summary of an Article

The article talks about a hazardous expedition of a mountaineering group that was pushed to the edge by physical and mental challenges. The team included Renan Ozturk who was a videographer, Emily Harrington a climber, Mark Jenkins who was an author, Cory Richards a photographer and Hilaree O’Neil who was the team leader. The team faced the harsh freezing climate on the mountain tops and to some extent some of the mountaineers could not feel their feet due to the cold and they had to stop moving. The team reached the summit after more than a week of climbing that comprised of many challenges. Mark Jenkins who is the author of the article also talks about how the team came up with an idea of climbing to the highest peak in Southeast Asia which is known as Hkakabo Razi which rises out of the steaming green jungles of northern Myanmar. The team planned the expedition before they left Kathmandu.

The article also talks about the author’s previous attempts to climb the peak of Hkakabo with is climbing partners who did not make it through the expedition and died on the way. Mark’s previous climbing team comprised of Steve Babits, Mike Moe and Keith Spencer. The journey to the foot of Hkakabo took the climbers a month. Some of the challenges the mountaineers experienced include, an arrest in Kachin state, and their food supply ran low during the hike out something that they didn’t expect will happen among other challenges. The team did not reach the peak of Hkakabo Razi.

Author’s intention

The author of this article wants his readers to know the difficulties they faced in the expedition as well as what they had to do in order to survive the troublesome journey. He also describes all the events that took place during the journey to the peak of Hkakabo Razi. The author also wants his readers to know the characteristics of mountaineers. He says in his article, “all serious mountaineers have big egos.” He further explains that mountaineers the characters of his climbing team. The author also has an objective of making the reader know more about the Hkakabo Razi which is one of the Myanmar tallest mountains. He does so by talking about the climate of the mountain how harsh it was.

Author execution

The author executes the message in the article by letting the reader into the events of the expedition and the personal life of each mountaineer to capture the reader’s attention. He also talks about his past attempts to climb the mountain with different mountaineers. The author explains in depth the hardships that they were faced with during their journey thus making the reader eager to know whether or not they made it to the peak of the mountain.

Reader’s response

The article was effective to me since it laid out the events very well and they were well explained. The article clearly showed that mountain climbing is not easy. It is a journey that involves a lot of misery and can even lead to the death of the climbers.

Conclusion

Although the team did not reach the top of the mountain peak, they were privileged to reach a high point of 18,841 feet. The author dug a small hole and placed a photo of mike and Keith who has passed away in the same expedition years ago. The article shows the togetherness of the climbers, their perseverance nature as well as their determination. According to the article the aim of the expedition was to solve the mystery of Myanmar’s tallest mountain which they did not achieve since they did not reach the top.