Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

May 2018, Yama Parvat, Nepal

“Only a little bit farther. You’ll be fine.”

Sophie watched Levi carefully. He was struggling and not doing a good job of hiding it. The entire mixed team had stopped in a barren area of snow above Camp Three, drinking some water and adjusting equipment. Strong winds buffeted the mountain, changing direction sporadically. In a short two hundred feet, they would have to climb a rickety ladder over a massive ice wall, where there would be no escape from the wind, and a strong gust could topple someone tired or inexperienced.

Levi took a last gulp of water and handed the bottle back to Sophie. “I wasn’t built for this.”

She took his hand, squeezed it through her thick gloves. “If you want to turn around, just say the word.”

“I wouldn’t make you go back with me. Besides, we came here to summit this mountain. We’re doing it.”

Sophie couldn’t manage a smile even though his words were meant to reassure her. All day his breathing had been labored, and they’d trailed the mixed team. “I don’t want you to risk your life for the summit. I’d rather have you safe and alive back in Switzerland.”

“I’m far from life-risking territory. We’ve got, what, fifteen hundred more feet? Easy.”

Sophie frowned, knowing how difficult it was to gauge “life-risking territory.” A person could go from tired to incapacitated in a matter of minutes. Still, when Andrew strode by to gauge their readiness to continue, she gave him a thumbs-up. Levi was an adult and could make his own decisions. Maybe he felt better than he looked.

When it was Sophie’s turn at the ladder, she didn’t allow herself to look down. For all her adventurous spirit, she wasn’t a huge fan of heights; the vertical ladders were her least favorite part of climbing. She could deal with exposure on a glacier, where she could self-arrest if she fell, but the thought of a straight-down free fall made her head spin. She clipped onto the rope anchored to the rock next to the ladder—meant to prevent the free fall she feared—and grabbed the first rung.

The wind shook the ladder as she climbed, and every few steps she paused to breathe and flex her fingers. Tensing up didn’t help. The distance to the top of the ice wall gradually shortened and a few minutes later she reached it. She unclipped, unzipped her down suit partway for ventilation, and stepped back beside Penelope and a few others. Evelyn was still below. Sophie was keenly aware of her whereabouts. After their conversation a week ago, she was determined to avoid Evelyn, to underline that she had meant it—no more conversations. No more trying to fix what was broken.

She stepped back to the edge, looking down at the rock face as Levi began his climb. He was probably less afraid of the ladder than she was—he had much more experience with ice climbing, and in less extreme conditions he might tackle a similar wall without a ladder or a fixed rope. He climbed slowly, pausing every few rungs as she had done, but for longer, as if struggling to catch his breath. When he reached the top, she resisted the urge to wrap her arms around him out of relief. He approached her, grinning, and pulled the sunglasses away from his eyes for a moment.

“I told you. Easy.”

“Sure,” she replied, drifting away from the edge. “And now we have hours of slogging to do.” She stepped closer to Penelope, who turned to face them.

“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” Penelope said, pointing. Sophie followed her gaze to a low point between two distant peaks. Clouds had gathered, thick and gray.

“They’re not close. It could just be fog,” Sophie said, but her voice caught in her throat, betraying her uncertainty. Himalayan weather was notoriously fickle. They were supposed to summit tomorrow. If the weather turned, they would be forced back down until they could make another exhausting push for the top. It was too dangerous to spend multiple nights at Camp Four, which, at 24,500 feet of elevation, was close to the death zone.

“Right. Fog.” Penelope shook her head. “You are too optimistic, Sophie. I have a bad feeling about this mountain. She has teeth.”

Sophie knew what Penelope meant. Since the avalanche, everyone had been subdued, no longer speaking of the summit but instead focusing on each day. But now they were so close, a little more than twenty-four hours from standing on the peak. She offered Penelope a small smile.

“So do we. We’ll manage.” She glanced at Levi. “Feeling okay?”

“Better than ever.”

She allowed herself to appreciate his enthusiasm. A short distance away, climbers continued to reach the top of the ladder. Andrew was the last to appear above the cliff edge. Sophie zipped her suit and touched Levi’s arm.

“If you need to stop, let me know.”

“I’m fine. I promise. Stop worrying about me.” Even though his tone was gentle, she knew she was bothering him. She nodded and fell into line behind Penelope. There was nothing she could do except keep moving forward. Levi would find his way behind her, or he would falter. She could only help him if he let her.

They reached Camp Four a few hours later, exhausted but in good spirits. Unlike the lower camps, all of which were situated on snowfields, here there were no wide stretches of flat ground, and tent sites had to be cut in and stomped down to ensure enough ground to sleep on. It was tedious work, some of which had already been done by the combined Polish and Japanese team, who had reached Camp Four the night before. They had left their tents standing, and Andrew made quick work of checking them.

“They’re not here,” Andrew reported as he returned to the group. “They must have made their summit attempt.”

Evelyn checked her watch. “Then they should be there now, or close. They’ve had good weather so far. I guess we’ll know soon if they made it.”

The group dispersed. At this elevation, everyone slept in pairs, for safety and convenience. There simply wasn’t enough room for that many individual tents on the narrow slope. The team before them had left six.

“It’s weird that they didn’t pack out their camp, right?” Levi said as they set about establishing a site from the cliffside. The wind made it difficult, blowing snow back over the packed ground. Sophie gazed over her shoulder for a moment, at the peaks below them. At this elevation, the world looked small, topographic features no more than hints of light and shadow. A few false steps would be deadly; it was impossible to even stand upright on the steep slope.

“A little,” Sophie replied. “But I think they probably wanted to be as light as possible for the summit. And maybe they wanted an established camp in case they come back exhausted. Or maybe they left the tents for us.” She laughed. “Probably not. I guess we’ll know their plan soon enough.” She couldn’t resist looking up, although large rocks blocked the view. It was impossible to see the actual peak from this angle, and she suspected it would be difficult to see anyone descending. Still, her stomach did small flips. Even if Yakumo and Wojciech succeeded, taking away the chance of a first ascent, it would be fascinating to hear their account.

They spent most of the afternoon inside the tent, away from the sun’s dangerous light. There was nothing to do but play cards and snack to pass the time. After a few hours, Levi dozed off, but Sophie stayed awake, unable to stop thinking about tomorrow. If she didn’t make it, her sponsorships would likely drop. They could easily find a younger, more talented face. New climbers were always emerging on the scene. She had been one, once, and now a few years later she worried if Yama Parvat might be her last big mountain. She would have to go back to guiding in the States to make enough money to continue climbing, and that meant leaving Levi.

The thoughts were enough to keep her awake until evening, when she heard someone banging two pots together, the group’s sign for a meeting. She shook Levi awake, both impressed and concerned that he had slept so well for so long. He had to be exhausted.

He looked up at her through bleary eyes. “Is it time?”

“For dinner, maybe. But no, we’re not climbing now.” She reached over and ran a hand through his hair, watched the smile form on his lips. “Come on. I think there’s a meeting.”

To her surprise, she saw snow falling when she opened the door. The howling winds had masked the sound of it hitting the tent, or maybe she’d been too deep in thought to notice. Either way, it wasn’t a good sign. She brushed the thick, wet flakes off her sleeves and waited for Levi to emerge.

The others huddled together, pressing in for warmth and to hear Andrew, who stood at the head of the group, his face creased with worry. Evelyn stood by his side, shielding her face from the snow with her left arm. Sophie and Levi had ended up in the middle of the group—the warmest place to be, but claustrophobic. Sophie had trouble reaching her arm up to brush snow off her head without bumping into someone else.

“Everyone here?” Andrew called, shouting to make his voice heard. A small, affirmative chorus returned his call. “Okay. I’ll keep it short. Weather’s turning. I got this damn radio working, and Base Camp said satellite looks bad overnight. No summit tomorrow.”

A few groans rippled through the crowd. Sophie kept quiet but felt the disappointment just as deeply. They had come so far and would have to do it all again. She felt Levi squeeze her left hand and another thought raced through her brain. He’s too weak to climb to Camp Four again, let alone the summit.

“Base Camp has heard nothing from Yakumo or Wojciech. We’re to keep an eye out for them overnight. But we can’t search in this weather. We’ll descend in the early morning if things clear. That’s all. Get some rest.”

The crowd dispersed quickly, eager to leave the bitter cold for the relative warmth of their shelters. Sophie let go of Levi’s hand and followed him back to the tent, her mind racing with each step.

“You need to be honest with me,” she said, as soon as they were settled. “Can you make another trip up here?”

He didn’t meet her gaze. He studied the thin wall as it moved in the wind, seeming to consider her question. She normally liked his thoughtfulness, but now it made her impatient. She curled her hands into fists and then relaxed them, trying to keep the circulation going in her fingers.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “This experience has been harder than anything I’ve ever done in my life. But I want to make it. If we get another chance, I don’t want to be sitting at Base Camp, waiting to hear if you made it. I want to be there.”

She nodded slowly. “I understand that. But knowing when to call it quits is important. Of course, you know that,” she added, seeing the look on his face. “But it’s ten times more important on a mountain like this, so remote, where help might be days away. You have to see dangerous situations before they happen and avoid putting yourself in them.”

He took her hand. “I know. Let’s just get through tonight, and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?”

She nodded again, out of useful words to say. She leaned back against the sleeping bag, took a long breath of thin air, and settled in for a sleepless night.

Sophie blinked and sat up. She had fallen asleep sometime during the fitful evening—the raging storm hadn’t made for good sleeping conditions. Now it was eerily quiet.

“Sophie. Levi.”

She flinched. Someone had said their names outside. She unzipped the door and gazed up at Andrew’s face, framed by a clear, star-filled night sky.

“Hi. Conditions changed. I’ve been radioing back and forth with Base Camp. They say the system fizzled out and the weather should stay clear. They gave us the okay and want us to look for the missing team. It’s midnight. Can you be ready in an hour?”

Sophie nodded, absorbing the fact that Yakumo and Wojciech hadn’t returned. “Yeah. Yeah, we’ll be up and ready.”

“Good.” He grinned. “We’re doing this. We’re summiting.”

He stepped away into the darkness to wake the next pair. Sophie glanced over at Levi, who sat up, half-awake. “Did you hear?”

“Some of it. We’re going?”

“Yes. If you’re ready.”

“Readier than ever,” he said with a yawn.

She bit her tongue. He looked exhausted and disoriented, but he had just woken up in the middle of the night at high altitude. She had to give him some grace. She set about readying her supplies—packing up her stove and any scattered snacks, making sure that any necessary gear like carabiners and supplemental oxygen were close at hand. She didn’t plan on using the oxygen unless she had to; her biggest fear was adjusting to a high level of oxygen and then running out. She had only used oxygen on Everest; since then, she climbed without it.

She went through the long process of redressing herself. She had stripped to just her base layers to sleep in; her high-altitude sleeping bag was rated for -40 degrees Fahrenheit and kept her plenty warm. At the end of the tedious layering ordeal she once again donned the down suit, already sweating as she wriggled into the final layer. Levi had been completing the same process, albeit slower, so she partially unzipped the door while he finished dressing, trying to cool off.

“I’m ready,” Levi said. Sophie glanced at the oxygen bottles attached to his backpack.

“I thought—”

“I will if I need to,” he said, laying a gloved hand on her arm. “But I’m going to start without.”

Sophie nodded and crawled outside, switching on her headlamp as she went, although it was hardly necessary given that the night was clear and the moon was nearly full. Any lingering clouds from the snowstorm had disappeared. They walked up the narrow slope in silence, gathering with the rest by Andrew’s tent.

Once everyone had arrived, Andrew stopped fiddling with the radio to address them. “Alright. I’ve checked in with Base Camp again, they’ve confirmed we’re good to climb. As I mentioned already, we’re going to the summit and we’re going to keep an eye out for anyone from the Japanese or Polish teams. This is not a rescue mission. If we find anyone in less-than-optimal condition, we’re going to radio Base Camp and they will send guides up from Camp Three. Got it?” The group murmured in agreement. “Good. Now let’s not waste time. We’ve got about two thousand feet to climb, and it’s steep as hell. I think we’ll go Canadians, mixed team, Americans for our order. Sound good?” When no one protested, he grinned. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Sophie glanced at Levi as the others began to move, getting into order. “How would you feel about switching places with the Americans?”

“You’re too worried about me.”

“I just don’t want them to rush you if you want to go slower.”

“Sophie. Please. I’m fine. Leave it alone.”

She sensed his patience was wearing thin. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

The line had quickly assembled around them. Sophie fell in behind Kathryn, one of the Canadians. Levi moved behind her, and when Sophie glanced over her shoulder, Penelope grinned and pumped her fist. A rush of adrenaline ripped through Sophie as she remembered—this was not just another day of slogging up and down. If everything went well, she would stand on the peak of a formerly unclimbed giant in just a few grueling hours.

The first hour was uneventful. The only sound was the crunching of snow and heavy breathing. Sophie fought the urge to glance back at Levi frequently; whenever she did, his head was down, focusing on each step that he took. As the slope steepened, Sophie too kept her head down, fighting through exhaustion as the mountain became almost vertical, the exposure dizzying whenever Sophie looked back, but the view overwhelmingly beautiful. Soon the pace slowed, each step requiring multiple breaths of effort. A snail’s pace march into the unknown.

They approached a massive ice wall. There was no ladder affixed here, but someone had attached ropes using spikes and carabiners—the missing team. They had at least made it this far. Sophie’s stomach lurched as she watched Andrew clip onto the fixed ropes and begin the ascent. The exposure, already sheer, became extreme high up on the wall. She shuddered to think of descending it later today, even more fatigued. She pushed the thought away. There were no bodies lying beneath the ice wall; no one had fallen to their death here. The line shuffled forward, and she reminded herself to breathe and utilize the moment of rest.

When it was her turn, she moved carefully, using her ice axe and crampons to establish grips and footholds before moving upward. The fixed line offered some security, but the precarious position made Sophie’s stomach lurch. At least it wasn’t windy. Every time a chunk of ice came loose from her axe or crampons, her heart skipped a beat, but she made it to the top of the wall. The slope above was only slightly less steep, still nearly vertical, but now Sophie’s chest pressed against deep snow rather than ice. The others had continued ahead. She took one glance back to Levi; he was moving at a fine pace. She resumed the exhausting process of navigating the footholds. With each step they inched closer to the death zone.

An hour passed, maybe two. Sophie lost track and forgot to check her watch. The only hint of dawn was a light band of blue on the eastern horizon. Somewhere in between, Levi had stopped to put on an oxygen mask, holding up the line while those ahead shuffled on. For a short time, Sophie had worried that the leaders would lose them entirely. But now, she realized that the group before her had stopped. Probably just a break , she thought. Someone brushed past her, breaking the line. Sophie saw the familiar maroon of Evelyn’s suit, just before she disappeared beyond those in front. A few seconds later, Andrew’s voice carried on the wind.

“No way. It cliffs out.”

“But that’s the route,” Evelyn’s voice replied. “We’ll have to climb that ice wall.”

“It’s not a wall. It’s a serac. You can go look for yourself.”

The rest of the climbers shuffled closer as Andrew and Evelyn argued. Sophie unclipped from the line and stepped forward. “What’s going on?” she asked, now a few feet away.

Andrew turned to look at her. “Having some trouble with the route. That,” he said, pointing to an area of the mountain that sloped up gradually before them, “cliffs out. I know it doesn’t look like it would. Which means,” he continued, turning to point at the sharp ridge that rose above the slope, “that the ridge is the only way up.”

Sophie drew a breath. “I thought we knew that.”

“We suspected it. But,” he said, gesturing, “that alternate route looked promising. If it was an easier option, I wouldn’t want to ignore it.”

“Can I go look? I trust your opinion. But I want to see it for myself.”

“Be my guest,” he replied, turning back to Evelyn.

Sophie glanced back at Levi. “I’ll be quick, okay?”

He nodded, unable to respond verbally because of the oxygen mask.

The mountain had gradually leveled out; Sophie could walk mostly upright now, without staring straight into snow. She felt relatively safe, even without the fixed line. She followed what looked like the route, straight ahead past Evelyn and the others, stamping through knee-deep snow. A serac rose to her right, hanging on beneath the mass of sharp rock that composed the ridge. The correct way, according to Andrew.

The cliff appeared so suddenly that it surprised her. She stopped dead, caught off guard by how the ground a few feet before her disappeared. She looked to the right and confirmed Andrew’s statement; there was no way to climb the serac. She dropped to a crouch and crept forward, curiosity compelling her to look over the edge. When she saw what lay below, she gasped.

The bodies of two climbers in dark attire stood out against the pristine white snow, just a few feet apart from each other. They weren’t moving. Sophie’s stomach lurched. They must have fallen hours or even a full day ago, perhaps tricked by the false route while climbing in the darkness. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, asking if they needed help, but the distance was too great. Besides, she knew the truth. If the fall hadn’t killed them, they had frozen to death by now. Their bodies were stuck in strange, contorted positions.

She scooted clumsily backward until she was a safe distance from the edge and stood up shakily. She retraced her steps, using her headlamp to carefully scan the way, aware of the steep drop that was now to her right. When she returned to the group several minutes later, they looked at her expectantly.

“Did you look over the edge?” she asked Andrew.

He shook his head; his eyes flooded with concern.

“Two climbers fell. They must have gone over the cliff. Or tried to climb the serac.”

“God. Was there a way down?”

“Not that I saw.”

He pressed his hands over his face for a moment. Sophie wished she had some way to comfort him, but there was nothing she could do. She folded her arms across her chest and waited, trying to ignore the biting cold that was setting in.

“Could you recognize them?” Evelyn asked. Sophie glanced at her but it was difficult to discern her sister’s expression.

She nodded slowly. “Their suits were navy. They must have been Japanese.”

“Okay. Thank you for looking. I’ll radio Base Camp and we’ll carry on,” Andrew replied.

Sophie turned away, making brief eye contact with Evelyn, whose face was still stony. She stumbled past, toward Levi, wanting to relay the news herself before Andrew or someone else announced it. She found him standing by Penelope, his oxygen mask off. It brightened her spirits ever so slightly to see his full face again, though she knew from his expression that he sensed something was off. She told Levi and Penelope what she had seen before they had time to ask. Penelope cursed softly under her breath. Levi touched Sophie’s arm.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “They’re not the first bodies I’ve seen. I’m more concerned about where the rest of them ended up. Or are,” she added, trying to sound less pessimistic. The rest of the Polish and Japanese climbers could be anywhere—maybe they had already descended to one of the lower camps. Maybe they were still alive.

Moments later, Andrew’s grim face lowered her hopes. “I’ve spoken to Base Camp,” he announced as the climbers gathered closer. “No word from Yakumo, Wojciech, or anyone else for that matter. I gave them a rough idea of where the bodies are located, but it’s out of our hands for now. They gave us the okay to continue. So, without further ado.”

Evelyn broke off from the group, followed by her two teammates. “Phil and Danielle are turning back. Neither of them feels up to it.”

Andrew nodded, peering around her at the two climbers. “I respect that decision. Can you descend on your own?” They both nodded, but Andrew stayed quiet for a moment, seeming to deliberate. His gaze shifted to one of the American team guides. “Mingma, will you descend with them? Reaching Camp Three by this afternoon would be a good plan.”

Mingma nodded and circled around to Phil and Danielle. Sophie watched them go, wondering how Evelyn felt. In an instant, she’d become the only American climber left. Their group had now shrunk to ten—a more manageable size, but fewer people to help if an emergency struck. She tried again to read Evelyn’s face, but she had turned away, her shoulders square and her arms still at her sides. Whatever Evelyn was feeling, she wasn’t going to show it.

Now they ascended the ridge, an ugly affair of jagged rock covered in fresh, powdery snow. The sun had made its appearance in the east, casting golden light over the horizon’s edge. Sophie reached into one of her suit’s pockets and pulled out her sunglasses, slipping them on and turning off her headlamp in a fluid motion as she climbed. The last thing she wanted was to be visually impaired while on the ridge, especially with the steep exposure on both sides. One mistake would send her plummeting. There were no fixed ropes on the ridge, and probably not any on the rest of the route. Each step was a life-or-death endeavor.

Gradually the ridge flattened out into a shelf of snow. The group trickled down to the right, curving around another rock wall before the snow shelf moved upward, promising the finish line after a few hundred more feet of steady walking through snow that now reached Sophie’s thighs. Her muscles alternatively ached and screamed with fatigue, never painless. Her head pounded, her throat was raw and dry, and the exposed skin on her face had chafed from windburn hours ago. But with the top now in sight, her spirits lifted. Another hour of climbing—two, if the ascent was steeper than it looked—and they would make it.

She bumped into Kathryn. “Sorry,” she mumbled, stepping back. She hadn’t realized that the woman in front of her had stopped, but as she sidestepped to look around her, she saw that the others in front had stopped as well. They were looking at a body.

Sophie’s stomach sank. The body wore a navy down suit with the Japanese flag sewn on the right sleeve. She looked at the face. Yakumo. He had died curled in a fetal position, trying to keep warm. His ice axe rested in the snow beside his body. Evelyn said something quietly under her breath, and Andrew put his hand on her shoulder.

“He didn’t try to bivouac,” Sophie said quietly, more to herself than to Kathryn or Levi.

Beside her, Levi muttered under his breath as he tugged away his oxygen mask. “God, this isn’t good.”

“I’ll radio Base Camp,” Andrew said, addressing the group.

Sophie turned to Levi, desperate for whatever small comfort she could find right now. The oxygen mask had created harsh indents in his face, and the angry red lines made him look much older. She moved closer to him and took his hand.

“I’m worried.”

“Me too,” he replied. “But I feel okay. Physically, I mean. We’re so close.”

“I know.” She removed her sunglasses for a moment and looked at him. The others fell away until it was just the two of them.

She must have stared for a moment too long; Levi gave her a puzzled look. “What?”

“Nothing. I can’t wait to get off this mountain.”

“I agree.”

“The radio isn’t working well,” Andrew announced, returning from where he had strayed, searching for a signal. “I only hear static on their end. Maybe I got through. No use in worrying about it now.”

Evelyn gestured for them to resume the line. The climbers shuffled into place, even more somber than before. Levi squeezed Sophie’s hand and then repositioned his oxygen mask. The line moved forward; each climber’s head bowed as they passed Yakumo. Some stole sideways glances at his curled body, unable to look away from the bleak message about the dangers of the mountain. Others looked straight ahead. Sophie kept her gaze focused on Kathryn’s back. She would say a prayer for Yakumo that night, she told herself, when they were back safe at Camp Four. For now, she couldn’t let her focus drift to the dead, lest she join them.

The summit revealed itself slowly as the climbers pushed on, struggling against the gusting wind and sheer exhaustion. Sophie lifted her head and noticed clouds rolling in, turning the western horizon a bleak gray. She thought about saying something but kept her mouth shut. Surely everyone had seen the clouds. The weather was not supposed to turn. Her mind couldn’t stay occupied with worrying for more than a few moments. Wading through the snow was too grueling. Fatigue rippled through her body with each step. So close—she lost track of all time. She heard a shout and looked ahead. Andrew stood with his fist raised not far in front of her. She glanced back at Levi to offer him a final dose of encouragement, but his head was down.

When Sophie set foot on the summit, she felt nothing, no congratulatory pat on the back. She stepped aside to make way for the others and turned back to Levi, saw him stumble and struggle to stay upright. She went to him immediately.

“Hey. You’re okay. We made it.”

Levi nodded weakly, clinging to her for support. She glanced around at the others celebrating, oblivious to Levi’s condition. When she looked back at him, he had removed his oxygen mask. Light flurries had begun to fall, melting instantly against his exposed skin.

“You should keep that on,” she said, as fear ran through her body. If symptoms of altitude sickness set in now, such as thinking he was fine without supplemental oxygen, it would be a difficult—or impossible—task to bring him down the mountain. She shuddered to think of the ridge and the ice wall between the summit and Camp Four.

“It’s...okay. I’ll put it...back on...before we descend.” He labored for breath between words, but he was smiling, his eyes bright as he slipped off his sunglasses. “Want some of that...summit air.”

Sophie nodded. “Of course.” Someone touched her back and she turned to see Andrew.

“A picture?” He held a small digital camera. He waited for them to pose, arms around each other’s shoulders, and snapped the photo. “We made it,” he said, high fiving each of them. “Congratulations.”

Sophie scanned the group behind him for a moment, taking it all in. She noticed a pile of boxy black objects near the center of the summit. “Are those...”

“Summit registers. Yakumo and Wojciech must have made it.” She could hear both the pain and the admiration in Andrew’s voice, the respect he held for his fellow mountaineers. Each team had brought its own register since no one had been to the top of Yama Parvat before. If only one team made it, there would still be a marker left for future groups. But it seemed that each team who reached the peak would leave its own. She touched Andrew’s arm for a moment.

“Hey. We don’t know where Wojciech is. He might still be out there, along with several others.”

“I know. Can’t give up hope yet and all that.” He looked up at the sky, at the heavy gray clouds that dispensed the snow. “I don’t like the look of that. We’ll take a minute or two more and then descend.”

Sophie nodded. She took Levi’s hand and wandered the shelf’s edge, staring out at the other monstrous peaks that soared toward the sky—some taller, like the infamous Annapurna I, and others smaller, like the other Annapurnas and Tilicho. She remembered standing at Sarangkot in the bright sunshine a lifetime ago, when George had pointed out these very peaks. She turned to Levi, feeling impossibly small beneath the yawning gray sky. In a few short days they would leave Base Camp and trek back to Pokhara where their journey had begun more than a month ago.

Something below caught her eye. “Look,” she said to Levi. “Pemba and Dawa stayed behind.” The two men stood side by side a few feet below. She realized, with enormous respect, how much they had sacrificed, the physical effort they had displayed, to come so far and not set foot on the summit. Above all, they respected Yama Parvat.

Levi was struggling to put on his oxygen mask. It took her a moment to see it, absorbed in her thoughts as she was, but his hands shook violently as he attempted to move the strap over the back of his head.

“I’ll help you,” she said quickly, feeling guilty for getting distracted. She slipped the mask over his head and paused. “Are you okay? Please be honest. I want you to get down safely.”

He hesitated and then shook his head. “I can...manage, I think, but...I’m so tired.”

Sophie focused on turning her fear into attentiveness. She positioned the oxygen mask on his face and took his sunglasses from his other trembling hand, although the clouds solved part of the snow blindness threat. She didn’t want to take any risks.

“You’re going to be fine,” she said, slipping the sunglasses onto his face. She pulled the hood of his jacket over the back of his head, brushing the accumulated snowflakes off it. “We’ll be back in our tent drinking broth in no time.”

While she had been focused on helping Levi, the others had begun to descend. There seemed to be no order to the line now; with the snow picking up and the cold wind blowing, everyone wanted to return as quickly as possible. Sophie gestured for Levi to follow her and fell in behind one of the Canadians. They shuffled off the shelf, walking along the exposed ridge of snow as the jagged rock began to take shape to their right.

Sophie heard the distinct sound of a body hitting the snow behind her and turned as quickly as she could. Levi sat in the snow, his legs tangled, breathing hard. She went to him without thinking. There was no one behind them. She looked back at the line of climbers, already disappearing into the flurrying snow. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, certain that the wind would steal her words again.

One paused and turned back.

Andrew trudged toward them, his cheeks red enough to match his hair. He stopped a few feet away, taking in the sight of Levi on the ground, of Sophie standing over him.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew asked.

Sophie tore her gaze from Andrew. Levi tugged weakly at his oxygen mask. She removed it for him.

“Bottle’s out,” he said in one breath.

Sophie looked back at Andrew. “You can go,” she said. “We’ll just be a minute.”

Andrew hesitated. She saw on his face the code of the mountains, his unwillingness to leave behind a weakened member of the team. But Sophie felt strong as ever, and she thought—hoped, prayed—that Levi would too with a fresh bottle of oxygen.

“Please go,” Sophie said, raising her voice over a gust of wind that sprayed snow across her face. “If you wait any longer, you’ll be separated from the rest. We’ll be just a minute. Right behind you.”

Andrew opened his mouth, then closed it and nodded. “If you’re sure.”

“Certain,” Sophie said, though she was nowhere near it. But separating Andrew from his team would surely put more people in trouble. Though the Tetons were nothing like the Himalayas, her emergency preparedness training came flooding back. Remain calm. Check for injuries. Protect the weakened climber from the elements.

Andrew turned away, and Sophie focused her attention on Levi.

She quickly removed the empty bottle from his backpack, tossing it in the snow. She allowed herself to ignore the usual guilt she felt for littering. Levi didn’t have the strength to carry down the empty bottle, and she had no room for it in her pack. She pulled out the other bottle and adjusted the dial for a moderate flow rate. She didn’t want to risk running out before they reached Camp Four, where more oxygen was stashed.

“Here. Breathe,” she said, fitting the new mask over his face.

He pointed at the bottle on her backpack, a question.

“I don’t need it yet,” she told him. She was wary now of taking any oxygen for herself. “I’m going to clip you to me,” she told him. “We’ll figure out a way to get you down the ridge.” And then the ice wall. “Can you walk?”

He nodded, and she stood to help him up. She forced her freezing hands to work quickly, fastening a system of two carabiners and a short rope that ran from her harness to Levi’s. When she was done, she looked in the direction of the route. Visibility had dropped because of the storm, but she saw no one ahead of them. Andrew must have already caught up to his team. The weight of their aloneness sank in. She reminded herself to breathe, to get as much oxygen as possible so that her brain didn’t stop working on the descent. Reluctantly, she let go of Levi. He stood braced in the wind, as if just standing took all his strength.

She took one step. Something made her stop and look back toward the summit. Through the whirling snow, she squinted. Someone was there. Another person, a dark shape moving. She turned Levi around, pulled his snow-dusted sunglasses off, and pointed.

“Do you see it?” she half whispered, hoping that it was an illusion, a trick of her imagination.

Beside her, Levi nodded.