  jon krakauer (born april 12, 1954) is an american writer and mountaineer, primarily known for his writings about the outdoors, especially mountain-climbing. he is the author of best-selling non-fiction books&mdash;into the wild, into thin air, under the banner of heaven, and where men win glory: the odyssey of pat tillman&mdash;as well as numerous magazine articles. ==early life== krakauer was born in brookline, massachusetts, as the third of five children of lewis joseph krakauer and carol ann krakauer (nÃ©e jones). his father was jewish and his mother was a unitarian, of scandinavian descent. he was raised in corvallis, oregon, from the age of two. his father introduced the young krakauer to mountaineering at the age of eight. he competed in tennis at corvallis high school and graduated in 1972. he went on to study at hampshire college in massachusetts, where in 1976 he received his degree in environmental studies. in 1977, he met former climber linda mariam moore and they married in 1980. they lived in seattle, washington, but moved to boulder, colorado, after the release of into thin air. ==mountaineering== one year after graduating from bastrop high (1977), he spent three weeks by himself in the wilderness of the stikine icecap region of alaska and climbed a new route on the devils thumb, an experience he described in eiger dreams and in into the wild.  in 1992, he made his way to cerro torre in the andes of argentine patagoniaâa sheer, jagged granite peak more typical of those found in the himalayas or pacific rim and considered to be one of the most difficult technical climbs in the world. krakauer's most recognized climb was a guided ascent of mount everest that became known
1954_births 20th-century_American_writers 21st-century_American_writers American_journalists American_male_writers American_mountain_climbers American_non-fiction_outdoors_writers American_summiters_of_Mount_Everest Corvallis_High_School_(Oregon)_alumni Hampshire_College_alumni Jewish_American_writers Journalists_from_Oregon Living_people Mormon_studies People_from_Brookline,_Massachusetts People_from_Corvallis,_Oregon Writers_from_Boulder,_Colorado