One Wrong Step

The group brings no more supplies than the bare minimum. Their assets include medical supplies, food, and oxygen tanks. Chodak warns that they can go neither too fast nor too slow or else they may risk missing the rest of the team. Chodak wraps his foot so that he is better able to climb, and he sends Atlas in search of a shovel. Atlas finds one and initially thinks that it belongs to his father’s group. However, he suddenly notices a swastika on the shovel and realizes that it is German in origin. Pinned underneath the shovel is Mr. Blake’s notebook.

Atlas remembers a conversation that he overheard between his father (who is a cartographer) and a man named Mr. Schäfer, who hoped to gain access to Mount Everest and Tibet. Atlas’s father sensed that something was wrong and denied the man’s request, accusing Mr. Schäfer of being a Nazi and of working for the wrong people. Atlas’s father believed that a Nazi leader named Himmler sent Mr. Schäfer and his crew in search of German people who were rumored to be living in the Tibetan mountains. Mr. Schäfer denied this and stated that he would find a way to gain access to Everest; he eventually succeeded.

Now, two years later, Atlas stands on Mount Everest just days after war was declared, marking the beginning of World War II. He opens Mr. Blake’s notebook, and when he finds a mention of Mr. Schäfer, he starts to believe that Mr. Blake is either a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer.

Atlas shows Chodak and Maddie the notebook and shovel, and Chodak is the first to imply that it may be more innocent than it seems. Maddie then recalls hearing Mr. Blake say that he had turned down an invitation to join Mr. Schäfer’s expedition. Maddie doesn’t believe that Mr. Blake refused that invitation; she suspects that Mr. Blake is a spy for the Nazis. Suddenly, Atlas gets a call from Mrs. Thomley and fills her in on the current situation, after which she urges Atlas and the others to come back down the mountain. However, when Maddie asks Atlas what Mrs. Thomley said, Atlas lies and claims that she believes in the success of a rescue mission.

Tied to one another with a rope, Atlas, Chodak, and Maddie ascend the North Ridge. Atlas admits that he doesn’t want to return home, given that nobody is there to care for him and that he may be sent to war one day. When Maddie replies that she is glad that the US is uninvolved in the war, Atlas grows angry and wonders why the US isn’t stepping in to help. Suddenly, Maddie starts sliding downward, pulling Atlas and Chodak down with her.

Fortunately, everyone manages to use their axes to stop the fall, but the incident costs them an hour of climbing time. To make matters worse, Chodak realizes that he cannot be of help to Atlas and Maddie if something goes wrong, so he insists that they all turn back. Atlas argues that he and Maddie can continue alone. Chodak reluctantly instructs them on how to proceed up the mountain, warning that they must turn back after Camp Six no matter what. Chodak plans to return to Camp Four and await their radio call. He tells Atlas to stay still in the event of a blizzard, lest they get lost on the mountain.

The narrative shifts back in time approximately two years as Atlas relates what happened in Austria when he and his group crossed a narrow ridge. While climbing Schneeberg Mountain, Atlas became overconfident and went ahead on his own multiple times. One of these times, Atlas ranged too far ahead and decided to sit down and wait for everyone. When nobody came, he realized that he was lost and decided to search for the main trail instead of staying in one spot. However, he just made matters worse, becoming even more lost. He ended up going downhill, toward a cliff that was concealed by grass. As he approached it, he realized that he had almost walked straight off the cliff, and he froze in panic. Several minutes later, Mr. Pierson found him.

Now, Atlas looks at Maddie and realizes that one mistake could cost both of them their lives.

Atlas and Maddie come to a point in the ridge that is decorated with massive boulders. They have no choice but to climb the boulders, even though Maddie’s mother had a premonition that Maddie would get hurt on boulders. As Maddie and Atlas climb, they stop for a moment to take in the view of the mountain range. Suddenly, it starts to snow, and they know that they are running out of time to reach the next camp.

Maddie and Atlas work together to pull each other up one boulder at a time, making their way through the increasingly thick snow and mist by testing each step forward with the shovel before proceeding. At one point, Maddie puts the shovel down and it hits air; they realize that they have reached a cliff. Atlas tells Maddie not to move.

Atlas stays calm as he uses the shovel and ice axe to hook himself onto the ridge and then slowly pull Maddie up. As he does so, he tells her about a time when his father fell through the ice into an icy river below. Fortunately, someone was there to save him. Now, Atlas saves Maddie, and after the dangerous incident, they finally manage to find the Camp Five tent.

Atlas is exhausted, but Maddie encourages him to eat a few biscuits before he falls asleep. He later awakens to find Maddie listening to the radio; she claims to have heard something. Suddenly, the word “Help” comes through in a whisper, followed by the word “Blake.” Maddie does not believe that Mr. Blake is the one sending the message; she wonders if the message is a warning about Mr. Blake instead. The next voice they hear on the radio is Chodak’s; he confirms that some Sherpas are on their way to help. He also reminds Atlas and Maddie to turn back if they find nothing at Camp Six, but Atlas can’t make that promise.

That night, Atlas tells Maddie about mountaineer George Mallory. He later wakes up with a horrible headache and then has a dream in which Mallory tells him that he knows where Atlas’s father is. In the dream, Atlas is whisked away by the wind before he can find out where his father is, and when he awakens, he wonders if he has had a prophetic dream.

Atlas recalls the beauty of Banff in Canada, a place that he visited with his father. Being in the mountains has always been a way for the two to escape their problems at home. However, these problems had a way of following Atlas and his father anyway. Atlas recalls being on the trail in Banff and feeling like he was being watched. He then encountered a bear. His father reminded him to lower his eyes and back away slowly.

Now, on Everest, Atlas has that same feeling of being watched.

Camp Five has a spectacular view from above the clouds, but Atlas is worried about the wind and low oxygen levels. Maddie is tired and dizzy, and Atlas is starting to feel the same way. When it occurs to them that they could be walking right over their team without realizing it, they both become frustrated and start arguing. Maddie notes that the wind might uncover the team’s tracks and be a blessing in disguise, but Atlas doesn’t share her optimism.

Unsure whether they have become lost, Atlas thinks back to Mr. Thomley’s warnings about altitude sickness, which can include symptoms like nausea, headaches, dizziness, and coughing; the condition can even be lethal. His headache is getting worse, and Maddie is getting worried about the risk of dying on the mountain. When she voices this concern, Atlas remains determined to at least try to make the full ascent in search of the expedition.

Atlas and Maddie come to a ladder stretching over a gully. Maddie looks at the ladder and tells Atlas that she can no longer be afraid. They are slowly losing oxygen, and there is no time to waste staring at the ladder. Atlas goes across and then coaches Maddie. They both successfully traverse the obstacle, but the other side reveals a steep cliff. Atlas moves his foot to give Maddie some room and ends up falling into the gully.

Atlas remembers the day when he came home with his father from Kings Peak and found out that his mother had died. His grandfather found him alone in the field and told Atlas that he would have time to grieve but that he would one day need to find a way to carry on. Atlas decided then that he would always remain in grief, and he refused to listen to his grandfather’s advice.

Now, Atlas hangs above a deep gully, staring into the face of almost certain death. Maddie yells to Atlas, wondering what to do, and Atlas freezes in panic. He thinks about his grandfather’s advice and recalls his father saying, “Where your eyes go, your feet will follow” (244). He also thinks about Mr. Thomley, who mentioned being in a similar situation and having to let his friend go in order to save his own life. He looks up at Maddie, finally forming a plan.

Atlas calls up to Maddie and admits that she was right and that he often isn’t fine when he says he is. He adds that he climbs mountains to find peace and escape his grief, but this tactic never really works. Atlas then tells Maddie to cut the rope if she has to, but Maddie refuses. Instead, she crafts a pulley from the shovel and a fishing pole and slowly pulls Atlas up the cliff. Atlas finds the ground and hugs Maddie, but his relief doesn’t last long. Suddenly, Mr. Blake appears and tells Atlas and Maddie that they will never reach the team in time to save them.

Atlas is instantly suspicious of Mr. Blake and wonders why he is safe when the others are not. Mr. Blake claims that the others are trapped underneath the snow in a cave and have a small rod for oxygen but that they will likely be buried alive. He admits that he was too afraid to go back and help them. Atlas believes that Mr. Blake is lying and accuses him of helping the Nazis to reach the summit first. Mr. Blake reacts with shock and takes offense at Atlas’s accusation. He then continues down the mountain, telling Atlas and Maddie once again that they have no chance of saving the team.