For much of the beginning of the novel, Chris is a mystery. Although we know a lot of what he did, we don't know a lot about him as a person. Krakauer briefly mentions his views on the government and drops some letters that he wrote, but for me I needed something more to understand this guy. That's why I felt Krakauer's chapters about Walt and himself were crucial in understanding Chris better. The chapter about Walt especially, supported my ideas of why Chris would ever completely delete contact from his family. His relationship with his father definitely ignited some sort of rebellion for Chris, and his longing for independence increased. These are ideas I wouldn't have come across as easily without Walt's chapter.
As for Krakauer's chapter about himself surprised me. I had no idea he had been through those things. I figured he was a simple guy, who just happened to like Chris' story. With Krakauer's chapter I was able to get inside the mind of someone attacking challenges as dangerous as his. With Chris, we aren't able to get inside his mind as thoroughly. So this chapter definitely makes up for that, which I think Krakauer was trying to do, because there are so many similarities between the two, including their father-son relationships that weren't too picture perfect.
Although sometimes I feel this novel is kind of written like a giant article, it's chapters like these that really get me into the book.
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I have to agree with your surprise about Krakauer. I figured he was somewhat of an outdoors-man but I had no idea he would be an avid mountain climber with a small death wish. These chapters, especially the one about Krakauer were definitely more entertaining than most of the other chapters. Chris' story kinda got a little repetitive so the chapters about himself were definitely welcome.
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