One Wrong Step

Maddie begins as a stranger to Atlas, and although she tries to connect with him from their very first meeting, he initially keeps his distance, remaining aloof despite her overt shows of friendliness. However, she proves her bravery and loyalty throughout the expedition, earning Atlas’s trust and regard. Despite being an inexperienced climber who is afraid of heights, Maddie shows her innate courage when she volunteers to help find the missing expedition members, and she even chooses to risk further ascent when Chodak Sherpa is unable to guide her and Atlas any further.

As the two continue to dare the hazards of the mountain, Maddie’s emotional vulnerability and openness help Atlas find the courage to face his own unexpressed emotions and admit to his faults and mistakes. As he opens up to her, she supports him physically and emotionally. In addition to offering sage advice along the way, she actively saves Atlas’s life when he nearly falls into a gully. Maddie’s own personal growth culminates in the pair’s final rescue, when she helps to save the trapped climbers from certain death. Over the course of the narrative, her profound impact on Atlas helps him find a new sense of equilibrium. As he reflects, “Maddie helped me find the one thing I’d always looked for in the mountains: peace. I found that when I began looking forward—and upward” (317).

In many ways, Chodak serves as an avatar for the presence of the calm, quietly skilled Sherpas who have historically facilitated (and continue to facilitate) visiting mountaineers’ brazen attempts to summit Mount Everest. Although the fame and glory for successful attempts often go to the mountaineers, very little recognition is given to the Tibetan natives whose expertise makes the entire endeavor possible. Thus, Chodak stands as the calm and wise guide who gives Maddie and Atlas crucial knowledge about the mountain and Tibetan culture. Just as the world’s attention is historically given to the foreign mountaineers who dare to climb Everest’s slopes, the narrative itself grants more attention to the efforts of Atlas and Maddie, relegating Chodak to a secondary, supportive role. This dynamic is intensified when his injuries compel him to abandon the ascent and assist the pair from a distance, via radio. However, the novel’s conclusion makes it clear that no members of the expedition would have survived without his clear-headed presence in the story. Not only does he coach Atlas and Maddie on how best to survive the mountain, but he also arranges for the timely rescue at the hands of other Sherpas who arrive in the nick of time and save their lives. Chodak’s belief that “hope will get you to cross a bridge, but first, [you] must do the hard work to build the bridge” encompasses his philosophy of quiet perseverance (147). Although he is referring to the importance of building emotional connections, the passage also emphasizes his role as the one who “build[s] the bridge[s]” that others then take outsized credit for crossing.

Atlas’s father is an experienced mountaineer and mapmaker who takes his son along on many daring mountain expeditions. While he aims to provide Atlas with purpose in the aftermath of his wife’s death, Atlas cannot bring himself to forgive his father for taking Atlas on a mountaineering expedition in order to hide the reality that Atlas’s mother was on the verge of death. In the years following her death, Atlas’s father must live with his error in judgment: his decision to deprive Atlas of the opportunity to spend time with his mother during her final days.

Additionally, the willingness that Atlas’s father shows to risk his life, even when he knows that his death would render his son an orphan, suggests that his dedication to achieving daring feats has eclipsed his sense of responsibility toward his only remaining family. In his letter to Atlas, he openly admits to knowing that he might die during the ascent, and he tells Atlas not to come looking for him. However, Atlas’s decision to save his father despite his unresolved resentment and confusion shows that the father and son are still bound by a strong emotional foundation. During the ordeal that follows, Atlas comes to see his father’s actions in a new light, looking more favorably upon the family’s complex history.

Mr. Thomley is portrayed as a steady, rational, and compassionate leader of the expedition to summit Mount Everest. His wife has a sister-in-law in Germany who provides the team with important radio broadcasts as they ascend, offering weather updates and emotional support. Mr. Thomley is deeply experienced and has a realistic outlook on the risks involved in mountaineering. In one story, he recalls having to let go of a friend in order to save himself, a decision that continues to haunt him and demonstrates his understanding of the moral dilemmas involved in survival. Throughout the climb, he remains level-headed and respectful of his team members, acting as a foil to the reckless Mr. Blake.

Mr. Blake is portrayed as pompous and self-assured, and his actions often undermine Atlas’s confidence, particularly when he openly questions the boy’s presence on the expedition. Mr. Blake’s reckless actions include neglecting safety protocols, and the narrative also suggests that he may be a Nazy sympathizer who has potentially sabotaged his team members. Atlas’s suspicion of Mr. Blake’s true motives, especially regarding the fate of the team and his possible collaboration with the Nazis, adds a layer of intrigue and tension to the narrative, but these details are eventually revealed to be a red herring. However, Mr. Blake does give in to his own cowardice and selfishness when he stays safely at the camp for days instead of coming down for help or attempting to rescue his team members.