Mira’s crampons crunched into the icy slope as she took another labored step upward. Her breath came in ragged gasps, visible in the frigid air. She paused to adjust her oxygen mask and glanced back at her climbing partner Kai, who was lagging about 20 meters behind.
“You okay?” she called out, her voice muffled.
Kai gave a weak thumbs-up, but Mira could see he was struggling. His movements were sluggish, and he seemed to be favoring his left leg. Still, they pressed on. The summit of Annapurna III loomed another 500 meters above them - so close, yet so far.
This was their shot at mountaineering history. Annapurna III’s southeast ridge had never been successfully climbed. Over a dozen expeditions had tried and failed since the 1980s. The ridge was considered one of the last great challenges in Himalayan climbing.
Mira and Kai had been preparing for this attempt for over two years. Endless training, meticulous planning, and substantial financial investment had led to this moment. They were within striking distance of achieving their dream.
But as Mira watched Kai’s halting progress, doubt began to gnaw at her. The weather window was closing fast. A storm was forecast to hit the mountain in less than 48 hours. They needed to summit and get back down to Camp 4 before it struck, or they’d be in serious trouble.
She tried to push away the creeping concern and focus on the climb ahead. One step at a time. That’s how you conquer mountains. Don’t think about the entirety of what’s left - just the next move, the next hold, the next pitch.
Mira moved steadily upward, finding a rhythm despite her exhaustion. The thin air at nearly 7,000 meters made every movement a monumental effort. Her mind drifted as she climbed, thinking back to how this journey began…
Two and a half years earlier:
Mira zipped up her jacket against the chill as she exited the climbing gym in Seattle. It was a typically gray, drizzly Pacific Northwest afternoon. She pulled out her phone to check the time and saw a text from Kai:
“Dude, call me ASAP. Big news!”
Intrigued, Mira dialed Kai’s number as she walked to her car.
“What’s up?” she asked when he answered.
“I just got off the phone with Jackson from Altitude Expeditions,” Kai said, his voice brimming with excitement. “They want us for an Annapurna III attempt next year!”
Mira stopped in her tracks. “Wait, what? Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. They’re putting together a four-person team to try the southeast ridge. It’s you, me, and two of their professional guides.”
“Holy shit,” Mira breathed. Her mind was reeling. Annapurna III was the stuff of climbing legend - a brutally difficult, highly technical route that had turned back some of the world’s best alpinists.
“I know, right?” Kai laughed. “This is our chance, Mira. The big leagues.”
Mira leaned against her car, her heart racing. “It’s also incredibly dangerous. You know the stats on Annapurna. It’s a killer mountain.”
“Yeah, but we’d be with two of Altitude’s top guides. These guys are the real deal. And you know we’ve got the skills. We’ve been training for something like this for years.”
He was right. Mira and Kai had been climbing partners for nearly a decade, steadily working their way up to more challenging peaks. They’d summited Denali, Aconcagua, and several 7,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas. Annapurna III would be a massive step up, but they weren’t novices.
“What about work?” Mira asked. “This would require taking a lot of time off.”
“I already talked to my boss,” Kai said. “He’s on board. Said I can take an extended leave of absence. What about you? Think the hospital would let you go for a few months?”
Mira bit her lip. She loved her job as an ER doctor, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime. “I’ll figure something out,” she said. “Let’s do it.”
“Yes!” Kai whooped. “I’ll tell Jackson we’re in. This is gonna be epic, Mira. I can feel it.”
As Mira hung up the phone, a mix of excitement and apprehension swirled in her stomach. They were really doing this. The unclimbed peak awaited.
The next two years were a whirlwind of intense preparation. Mira and Kai trained relentlessly, pushing their bodies to new limits. They spent every available weekend in the Cascades, honing their technical skills on challenging routes.
They pored over trip reports and photos from previous Annapurna III attempts, studying the route in meticulous detail. Every piece of gear was carefully selected and tested. No detail was too small to consider.
Mira took a three-month leave of absence from the hospital. It was a big ask, but her colleagues understood the magnitude of what she was attempting. Many of them contributed to a fundraiser to help cover her expedition costs.
As the departure date approached, Mira found herself lying awake at night, her mind racing. Was she really ready for this? The southeast ridge of Annapurna III was no joke. It had defeated world-class climbers. Who was she to think she could succeed where they had failed?
The night before leaving for Nepal, Mira sat on her balcony, staring out at the Seattle skyline. Her phone buzzed with a text from Kai:
“You nervous?”
“Terrified,” she replied honestly.
“Me too,” Kai texted back. “But we’ve got this. Trust yourself, trust me, trust our skills. We’re gonna make history.”
Mira smiled, feeling a surge of affection for her climbing partner and friend. Whatever happened on that mountain, she was glad to be facing it with Kai by her side.
The first few weeks in Nepal passed in a blur of final preparations and acclimatization climbs. Mira and Kai got to know the other members of their team - Lisa and Marco, the two professional guides from Altitude Expeditions.
Lisa was a wiry, no-nonsense woman in her early 40s with over two decades of high-altitude experience. Marco was younger, in his early 30s, with a easy-going demeanor that belied his impressive climbing resume.
“Make no mistake,” Lisa told them during a team meeting at base camp. “This is going to be the hardest thing any of us have ever attempted. The southeast ridge is extremely technical, with sections of near-vertical ice and rock. The exposure is intense. One mistake could be fatal.”
She fixed Mira and Kai with a stern look. “You two are strong climbers, but you’ve never been on anything like this before. You need to be honest about your limitations. If at any point you feel out of your depth, you speak up immediately. Understood?”
Mira and Kai nodded solemnly. The gravity of what they were about to attempt was sinking in.
“That said,” Marco chimed in with a grin, “we wouldn’t have invited you on this expedition if we didn’t think you could handle it. You’ve got the skills. Now it’s time to put them to the test.”
The team spent several days at base camp, reviewing their strategy and doing practice climbs on the lower slopes. Then it was time to begin their push up the mountain in earnest.
The first section went smoothly. They made good time establishing Camps 1 and 2, despite the increasing altitude. Mira felt strong and confident as they tackled the initial technical pitches.
But as they moved higher on the mountain, the difficulty ramped up dramatically. The climbing became more and more vertical, with long stretches of near-featureless ice. Every pitch required intense focus and precise technique.
The exposure was dizzying. Mira tried not to think about the thousands of feet of empty air below her as she carefully placed her ice tools. One slip could send her plummeting into the void.
They were making slower progress than anticipated. The weather, which had been stable for days, was starting to look unsettled. Lisa and Marco exchanged worried glances as they checked the forecast on their satellite phone.
“We’ve got a storm system moving in,” Lisa announced grimly. “Looks like it’ll hit in about three days. We need to either summit and get back down to Camp 4, or abort and descend, before it arrives.”
Mira’s heart sank. They were behind schedule, and now their window was shrinking. But they’d come so far. They couldn’t give up now, could they?
The team pushed on, establishing Camp 3 at around 6,700 meters. The altitude was taking its toll. Mira felt a constant headache throbbing behind her eyes, and her appetite was non-existent. She forced down freeze-dried meals and energy gels, knowing she needed the calories.
That night, as they huddled in their tents, Mira heard Kai coughing violently in the tent next door. She unzipped her sleeping bag and crawled over to check on him.
“You okay?” she asked, poking her head into his tent.
Kai’s face was pale and drawn in the beam of her headlamp. “Just this damn cough,” he said hoarsely. “Can’t seem to shake it.”
Mira frowned. A persistent cough at this altitude could be a sign of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), a potentially life-threatening condition. “How’s your breathing? Any tightness in your chest?”
Kai shook his head. “Nah, nothing like that. Just annoying as hell. I’ll be fine.”
Mira wasn’t entirely convinced, but she nodded and retreated to her own tent. Sleep was fitful and restless for all of them that night.
The next morning dawned clear and cold. They set out for their push to Camp 4, the last camp before the summit attempt. The climbing was brutally difficult. Mira’s arms burned as she swung her ice tools into the near-vertical face.
She glanced back and saw Kai struggling. He was moving slowly, his technique sloppy. This wasn’t like him at all.
“Kai, you good?” she called out.
He waved her off. “I’m fine. Just tired. Keep going.”
Mira exchanged a worried look with Lisa, who was leading the pitch. The guide’s expression was grim.
They pressed on, but Kai fell further and further behind. His cough echoed off the mountain face, a harsh, hacking sound that made Mira wince.
Finally, about 100 meters below where they planned to establish Camp 4, Lisa called a halt. “We need to regroup,” she said. “Kai’s not looking good.”
They found a relatively flat spot on a narrow ledge and huddled together. Kai collapsed onto his pack, wheezing. His face was ashen, with a bluish tinge to his lips.
Marco pulled out the team’s medical kit and began examining Kai. His frown deepened as he listened to Kai’s lungs with a stethoscope.
“This isn’t good,” he said quietly to Lisa. “Definite crackles in both lungs. I think he’s developing HAPE.”
Mira’s stomach clenched. She’d seen HAPE cases in the ER before. It could progress rapidly and turn fatal if not treated quickly. The only real treatment was descent.
Lisa nodded grimly. “We need to get him down. Now.”
“No!” Kai protested weakly. “We’re so close. I can make it.”
Mira knelt beside her friend. “Kai, this is serious. You could die if we don’t get you to lower altitude.”
“But the summit,” Kai said, his eyes pleading. “We’ve worked so hard for this.”
“It’s not worth your life,” Mira said firmly.
Lisa stepped in. “Here’s the situation. Marco and I need to get Kai down immediately. He needs to descend at least 1,000 meters as quickly as possible. Mira, you have a choice to make. You can either come down with us, or continue up to Camp 4 on your own and wait for us there. We’ll try to come back up after we get Kai down, but I can’t guarantee we’ll make it in time before the storm hits.”
Mira’s mind reeled. Continue alone? The thought was terrifying. But to turn back now, when they were so close to their goal…
“I…” she hesitated, torn.
“Don’t even think about it,” Kai wheezed. “Go for the summit. One of us needs to make it.”
Mira looked at her friend’s pale, sickly face. How could she leave him?
“He’ll be in good hands with us,” Marco assured her. “This is what we’re trained for. If you feel strong enough to continue safely on your own, you should go for it.”
Mira stood, indecision paralyzing her. The summit loomed tantalizingly close above. Below, the long, dangerous descent awaited. She had to choose, and choose now.
Every fiber of Mira’s being screamed at her to keep climbing. They were so close - maybe 500 meters from the summit. After two years of preparation, countless hours of training, and weeks of grueling effort on the mountain, it seemed unthinkable to turn back now.
But as she looked at Kai’s ashen face and listened to his labored breathing, she knew what she had to do.
“I’m coming down with you,” she said firmly.
Relief washed over Kai’s face, quickly followed by guilt. “Mira, no. You can’t give up your shot at the summit because of me.”
She shook her head. “It’s not giving up. There’s no summit worth losing my best friend over.”
Lisa nodded approvingly. “Good call. Let’s move fast. Kai, do you think you can rappel on your own, or do we need to rig a rescue line?”
Kai struggled to his feet. “I can do it. Just… maybe go slow.”
They quickly packed up the minimal gear they’d need for the descent, leaving the rest cached for a potential return. Then they began the long, arduous process of working their way back down the treacherous face.
Mira’s heart ached as she watched the summit recede above them. So close, yet so far. But every time she glanced at Kai’s deteriorating condition, she knew she’d made the right choice.
The descent was agonizingly slow. Kai’s coordination was shot, and he needed help at every anchor point. Mira could hear the fluid rattling in his lungs with each cough. By the time they reached Camp 3, he could barely stand.
“We need to get him on oxygen,” Marco said, rummaging through their supplies.
They got Kai settled in a tent and hooked up to an oxygen bottle. The effect was almost immediate - some color returned to his cheeks, and his breathing eased slightly.
“How are you feeling?” Mira asked, squeezing his hand.
“Like I got hit by a truck,” Kai said weakly. “I’m so sorry, Mira. I ruined everything.”
She shook her head vehemently. “You didn’t ruin anything. These things happen in the mountains. We knew the risks.”
“But all our work, all that preparation…”
“It’s not wasted,” Mira insisted. “We’ll come back and try again when you’re healthy.”
Kai managed a small smile. “You’re a good friend, Mira. Better than I deserve.”
Lisa stuck her head into the tent. “We need to keep moving down. That storm is coming in fast.”
They broke camp quickly and continued their descent. Kai was unsteady on his feet, so they rigged up a rescue line to help control his descent on the steeper sections.
The weather deteriorated rapidly as they worked their way down the mountain. Wind whipped snow into their faces, and visibility dropped to almost nothing. Mira’s fingers grew numb inside her gloves as she handled the ropes.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally stumbled into the relative safety of Camp 2. Kai immediately collapsed into a tent, his breathing ragged.
“His oxygen saturation is still too low,” Marco said, checking the small monitor clipped to Kai’s finger. “We need to get him lower.”
Mira’s legs felt like jelly, and exhaustion pulled at her eyelids. But there was no time to rest. They had to keep moving.
The final descent to base camp was a blur of fatigue and cold. Mira moved on autopilot, her world narrowing to the few feet of visibility in front of her and the rope connecting her to Kai.
When they finally reached the cluster of tents at base camp, Mira wanted to weep with relief. A medical team was waiting and whisked Kai away to the large medical tent.
Mira started to follow, but Lisa caught her arm. “Let them work. You need to rest and warm up.”
She allowed herself to be led to her tent, where she collapsed onto her sleeping bag. Every muscle in her body ached. Her mind kept replaying the moment they turned back, the summit tantalizingly close above them.
Mira must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew, Marco was gently shaking her awake.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Thought you’d want to know - Kai’s doing much better. The doctors say he’ll make a full recovery.”
Mira sat up, wincing at her stiff muscles. “Can I see him?”
Marco nodded. “He’s asking for you.”
She made her way to the medical tent on wobbly legs. Kai was propped up on a cot, oxygen tubes in his nose. But his color was better, and he managed a weak smile when he saw her.
“Hey, mountain goddess,” he said hoarsely.
Mira laughed, feeling tears prick at her eyes. “You’re looking better.”
“Yeah, apparently trying to climb an 8,000-meter peak with a raging case of pneumonia isn’t the best idea,” Kai said ruefully. “The doctor read me the riot act for not speaking up sooner about how bad I was feeling.”
“He’s not the only one,” Mira said, fixing him with a stern look. “You could have died up there, you idiot.”
Kai had the grace to look sheepish. “I know. I’m sorry. I just… I wanted it so badly, you know? I didn’t want to be the weak link.”
Mira sat on the edge of his cot and took his hand. “Kai, listen to me. There are no weak links in climbing. We’re a team. Your safety - all of our safety - is more important than any summit.”
He nodded, squeezing her hand. “I know. You’re right.” He paused, then asked hesitantly, “Do you regret turning back?”
Mira considered the question. The disappointment of not reaching the summit still stung. But as she looked at her friend, alive and on the road to recovery, she knew her answer with absolute certainty.
“Not for a second,” she said. “Some things are more important than standing on top of a mountain.”
Kai’s eyes welled up. “I don’t deserve you as a partner.”
“Oh, shut up,” Mira said, gently punching his arm. “You’d have done the same for me.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Kai spoke again. “So… think you might want to give it another try next year?”
Mira grinned. “You bet your ass. That mountain isn’t going anywhere.”
As she left the medical tent a little while later, Mira paused to look up at the looming bulk of Annapurna III. The summit was shrouded in clouds, battered by the storm that had chased them down the mountain.
They hadn’t reached the top this time. But they’d faced one of the world’s most challenging climbs and come back alive. They’d made hard decisions under extreme pressure. And most importantly, they’d remembered what really mattered - not some arbitrary goal, but the bonds of friendship and the value of human life.
Mira smiled to herself. They’d be back. And next time, they’d reach that summit together.