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Into hot air: A critical perspective on Everest

Organizational Studies, Department of Management, Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA, USA, mbelmes{at}wpi.edu

Bob Frame

Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research in New Zealand, frameb{at}landcareresearch.co.nz

The May 1996 `disaster' on Mount Everest in which eight mountaineers died and its subsequent media exposure is re-examined from the perspective of discourse, myth, and spectacle. We draw from Foucault to talk about the disciplinary aspects of the discourse of `disaster and tragedy', and how Jon Krakauer's Into thin air, as the leading text in this episode, has perpetuated explanations of disaster that are rooted primarily in notions of failed leadership and decision-making, dysfunctional group dynamics, flawed personality, and the absence of appropriate planning and control. We also discuss how, in part through this discourse, the May 1996 episode has evolved into myth and spectacle that have spawned even more fantastic spectacles while being devoid of contextual influences and the voices of other silent members (Sherpas and participants on the climb). By considering other contextual variables and listening to other voices, we try to unpack the dominant narrative and show how it has both entertained and served various parties (the public, media companies, publishers and authors, governments) while tending to normalize disaster and leadership in a psychological, gendered way. We also consider how the dominant narrative has migrated into the management classroom in the form of `leadership lessons', a predictable outcome, we suggest, given the fascination that the field holds for other masculine adventures and misadventures such as the explorations of Shackleton.

Key Words: disaster • discourse • Everest myth • leadership • spectacle

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