Letter to Jon Krakauer

Technically this is 30 minutes late, but whatever. This is my Letter About Literature:

Dear Mr. Krakauer,
I have just finished your book, Into Thin Air, and I have to say that it was very intriguing. When I first got this book, I was in a hurry to complete a requirement for my science class, but as I read it I got sucked into the story. I learned a lot from it, and I would like to tell you about what I learned and I may have some questions for you.
I live in Utah at a high altitude relative to most other states in the U.S. I believe it's at about 5,000 ft. I noticed in Into Thin Air that you were measuring how high you were on Mt. Everest in numerals well above 20,000 ft. It is hard for me to imagine the conditions that are at such great heights. It helps put into perspective for me how little I've been around and experienced. I've the chance to hike in higher altitudes, but never before where I've had to stop and rest between such short amounts of time because of the thinness of the air. It's inspiring. In the beginning of the story I wanted to climb Everest myself.
As I read though, I came upon the dangers that were experienced. It's not as easy as it seems. You have to constantly be wary of ice, weather conditions, and your teammates. I related this to my life. As you grow and develop, you have to watch out for the dangers and search for the right path you want to take. Your friends make the difference. If you have good friends who are going to point you in the right direction you are more likely to succeed. Synonymous to your Everest experience, if your friends (or team members) do not know what they are doing or have the wrong idea then there is a much higher chance of failure. Picking your friends wisely is extremely important. If you had had the option of choosing your team who would have been on it? What do you look for in others?
I also noticed that you took a lot of skepticism and criticism from others from reading the afterword. You defended yourself when others thought you were wrong or wanted to make you look bad. In my mind, I applied this to the world. Racism and prejudice are found everywhere I go. What you did helps reinforce what I've learned already: you have to stand up for what you believe to be true. If you rebuke the truth, those who do know it won't trust you.
My last thought is about goals. In your book, you wrote about how when you were younger you really wanted to climb to the peak of Everest, but when you developed a family climbing became a distant thought. When the opportunity came along, though, you jumped at it. Climbing Everest was something amazing and you wanted it. I feel like this when I think about things I could do in our world, even other worlds. In elementary school, I learned that it was people in my age group that would be able to go to Mars. We would be the one's who would fit the requirements when the time came. When I heard this I thought: That's going to be me, and I'm going to make it happen. To be the first one to step foot on Mars would be like being the first on the moon, discovering electricity, quantum theory. It's what you dream of. If you want something badly enough and work as hard as honestly possible you stand a fair chance of obtaining it.
I'd like to thank you for writing Into Thin Air and for the thoughts I derived from it. I'm unsure about if and/or when you will get this letter, but I hope your able to see what others are able to learn from your experience.
From,
Isaac Froisland