“Sam?”
Sam started when Rae called her name. Was it the first time Rae had beckoned her or the twelfth?
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“When do you want to make the summit push?”
Sam reached across the table and spun the laptop in her direction. The forecast for the next ten days was displayed on the screen. The next five days were supposed to be clear. After that, however, the projections looked dicier. Another storm front was on the way. This one bigger than the last. According to the website, it was expected to blanket the mountain under at least three feet of snow and spawn wind gusts in excess of fifty miles an hour. Not Sam’s idea of fun. Annapurna I was a formidable enough opponent on its own. It didn’t need any help from the elements. If the storm was as bad as it appeared to be on the radar, help was definitely on the way.
“We packed up Camps One through Four on our way here, but we left Five and Six intact.” She rubbed her chin as she thought out loud. “Today is Wednesday. If we ascend on Friday and bunk down at Camp Six for the night, we could try for the summit on Saturday. We won’t have much time for photo ops, but we’ll document our time at the top as best we can to make the attempt official. Then we’ll descend to Camp Five that afternoon and do a rapid descent on Sunday. We have enough hands to pack up both remaining camps along the way. By the time the weather rolls in on Monday or Tuesday, we’ll be safe and sound in Kathmandu.”
“Your schedule’s certainly ambitious,” Rae said. “Do you think it’s feasible?”
“After the initial blow, the storm’s supposed to set in for a nice, long stay. If we don’t go for the summit soon, we could be on hold for weeks, which would put the entire expedition in jeopardy. This team deserves to end on a high. They’ve had some tough times, but they’ve pulled together. They’ve bent a time or two, but they haven’t broken. We’re going to be cutting it close, but I think we can make it.”
She took another look at the forecast and wondered if she was being too optimistic. Radar be damned, the weather on Annapurna I was notoriously unpredictable. The forecasters had been on target so far, but how much longer would their luck hold out?
Just five more days. That’s all I need.
*
In the dormitory-style bedroom, Olivia reclined on the cot she had earmarked as her own when they’d first arrived five weeks ago. She lay on her back, one arm covering her eyes. She was supposed to be resting, but her whirring brain wouldn’t let her weary body shut down. The summit push was only a few days away. Her goal was within sight.
Her cell phone began to ring. Her hand, trained to respond to her chirping beeper no matter what the hour, reached for it reflexively. She brought the phone to her ear without bothering to check the display.
“Hello?”
“How’s my second favorite physician in the whole wide world?”
“Chance.” He sounded strong and vibrant. Nothing like the weakened man who hadn’t been able to leave the mountain under his own power. She uncovered her face and gingerly sat up, one hand pressed against her tender ribs. “It is so good to hear your voice. How are you feeling?”
“A lot better than I was a few weeks ago, that’s for sure. The team docs want me to sit out the first couple of games to make sure I’m back to full strength, but I feel like I’m already there. Gigi begs to differ.”
“Gigi’s right. I know you’re anxious to get back on the court, but don’t push yourself too hard. If you overdo it, you might have a relapse that could cost you the season rather than a handful of games.”
“You and Gigi must practice your lines. That’s the same thing she said.”
“Great minds think alike. Unfortunately, they don’t always follow their own advice.”
“I hear you. Enough about me. I called to talk about you. How are you doing?”
She rubbed her side. “I’ve seen better days, but I’m hanging in there.”
“You’re almost home. In a few days, you’ll be at the top.”
“Weather permitting.”
“How does it feel to be so close to your goal?”
“Anticlimactic.”
“Why?”
“You and Gigi have been a part of this mission from the first day. I wish you were here to share the last one with me.”
“So do I.” The disappointment in his voice echoed her own. “I hope everything works out for you, Liv, but if it doesn’t you’ll always have me and Gigi in your corner. Hurry home, okay? We need to fire up the grill one more time before I put it in storage for the winter.”
Olivia’s mouth watered at the thought of a good old-fashioned backyard barbecue. “You pick up the steaks and I’ll bring the beer.”
“You got it.”
Marie-Eve poked her head in the room to let her know it was her turn to see Dr. Curtis. He was performing physicals on each member of the team and Olivia was last in line.
“I’ve got to go, Chance. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Sure thing. Be careful, okay?”
“Aren’t I always? On second thought, don’t answer that.”
She ended the call and made her way to Dr. Nigel Curtis’s makeshift office. She hopped on the examining table and tried not to flinch as he palpated her ribs.
She had grown accustomed to the dull ache in her side. She had managed to convince herself the pain was the byproduct of her body healing instead of breaking down, but she couldn’t put a similar spin on the pronounced decrease in her energy level. The two good nights of sleep she’d gotten on the mountain and in base camp had helped replenish some of her physical reserves, but her emotional ones were still running on empty. Another two weeks of down time and she might be back to normal. Too bad she had only two more days.
“On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?” Nigel asked.
“Five on a good day. Eight on a bad one.”
“And today?”
“Today’s a six.”
Nigel slipped his hands into the pockets of his rumpled gray cardigan. With his disheveled hair and wiry eyebrows, he looked like a cross between a kindly grandfather and a mad scientist. Mr. Rogers meets Albert Einstein. His soft-spoken demeanor put Olivia at ease. She hoped she had the same effect on her own patients. “You can get dressed now.”
Olivia reached for her clothes. “Cracked or broken? What’s the verdict?”
“Without an X-ray, I can’t say for sure. One can logically assume, however, that if your rib was broken, the bone would be much more unstable than it is at present and you would be experiencing substantially more discomfort than you’re reporting. I would say you have either a hairline fracture or a deep bruise. Unfortunately, there’s no quick remedy for either. I could wrap your ribs to give them extra support while they mend, but the bindings would restrict your breathing. I would recommend that course of action if you were at sea level, not at altitude. When you resume the ascent, your oxygen levels will be low enough on their own without restricting your intake even more.”
“What’s your advice?” She thought she knew what he was going to say, but she asked the question nevertheless.
She looked at the medical equipment scattered around the room. Thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, heating pads, and rolls of gauze littered the landscape. Various medicines from aspirin to morphine were housed in a lightweight but sturdy safe. Nigel locked the safe and pocketed the key.
“Keep managing the pain and don’t do anything foolish.”
Olivia’s short bark of laughter sent a jolt of pain through her ribs. She held on to the edge of the examining table to keep from keeling over. “Foolish as in climbing a mountain?”
Nigel arched one untamed eyebrow. “Or falling off one.” His lined face creased into a concerned frown. “Please remember what I said.”
“I’ll be careful. I promise.”
She ran into Sam outside Nigel’s makeshift examining room.
Sam looked at her warily as she rubbed her side. �
�Are you injured?”
Olivia forced herself to drop her hand. She didn’t want to appear weak in front of someone so strong. Then again, Sam had shown signs of weakness during the climb, too. She had been understandably emotional the day Jimmy had found Sanath—and the night she had told Olivia about Bailey. She had seemed like a machine when she was climbing, but she had proved all too human when she wasn’t.
Now, though, her demeanor seemed dispassionate. Almost clinical. She had been distant since their return to BC. Since her fall on the ice ridge.
“My ribs hurt like hell,” Olivia said, “but they haven’t gotten any worse since we were swept up in the avalanche two weeks ago. What I’m experiencing now is nothing more than the normal wear and tear of an adventure like this. Were you looking for me?”
“No, but there is something I want to talk to you about. Take a walk with me.”
Sam led her out of the tent and away from camp. They neared the outdoor shower. Olivia knew from memory the portable unit was cozy yet roomy. Its interior was four feet wide and just over seven feet tall, its polyurethane-coated walls providing privacy for its inhabitant. Two small skylights were placed in the domed roof for illumination. The overhead reservoir was filled with enough water for a brief but thoroughly satisfying shower. Yesterday, Olivia had refilled the five-gallon tank not once but twice. Today, if she had her way, she might break that record.
Rae poked her head out of the portable unit’s D-shaped door and took a tentative step outside, a large towel loosely wrapped around her body.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Marie-Eve reached for the towel. “Get back in here.”
Rae squealed when her covering began to slip. She scurried inside and zipped the door shut. Even from thirty feet away, Olivia heard their laughter gradually evolve into moans.
“Sounds like someone’s having fun,” Sam said under her breath.
“What did you want to talk about?” Olivia asked after they were out of range.
“You.”
Olivia had figured as much. “What about me?”
“How are you doing?”
“Like I said, I have a few aches and pains, but I’m fine.”
“I don’t mean physically. You had a frightening experience on the ice ridge and an emotional reaction to it after the fact. I need to know if you’re okay to continue.”
Olivia remembered the breakdown she had suffered the day before their return to BC. She remembered the pain and confusion she had felt. And she remembered Sam stepping in to alleviate both.
She had felt carefree in Sam’s arms. As if the troubles she had faced during the expedition didn’t matter. As if nothing else mattered except being held by Sam.
She would love to re-create the moments she had spent in Sam’s arms, but the warmth she had felt during that brief period had long since turned cold.
It was as if they were still complete strangers instead of two people who had been working hand-in-hand every day for over a month. Two people who had experienced life and death and almost everything in between.
For weeks, they had grown inexorably closer. Now Sam seemed miles away. Olivia longed to close the gap, but not if it cost her a chance to reach the summit. She and Sam could resume telling each other their life stories later. Until then, she had a mountain to climb.
“We’ll be retracing our steps on our way to the summit,” Sam said. “Are you feeling any trepidation about climbing the ridge again?”
“No. As a matter of fact, I’m looking forward to the challenge.” She needed to regain the sense of control she had lost when the broken rope had sent her skidding down the ice. She needed to reach the top. “You don’t need to worry about me, Sam. The only thing you need to worry about is the weather. I hear there’s another storm rolling in. Do you think it might disrupt our plans?”
Sam visibly relaxed at the change in subject. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. A sizeable storm is a few days out. We can still make the summit on this climb, but our window of opportunity is a small one. We’ll have to hustle or the window will slam shut before we know it. We’ll be stuck waiting out the storm if the conditions get too rough, or if the mountain is deemed unsafe, we’ll be forced to abandon the attempt entirely.”
Olivia’s heart sank. Before they descended to base, they had come within twenty-five hundred feet of the summit. Was that as close as they would get?
“Can you get us to the top?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Sam’s eyes glowed with steely determination. Olivia couldn’t help but be inspired.
“I believe you.”
“You won’t regret it.”
“No,” Olivia said. “I don’t think I will.”
Chapter Twelve
On Thursday, Sam gathered the slides and photographs she needed for her presentation then clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Congratulations,” she said after the conference room gradually fell quiet. “You’re only a few hours away from reaching the summit.” She paused as everyone applauded, stomped, and cheered. The climbers’ excitement was so infectious she felt her own adrenaline surge. “We’ll begin our ascent tomorrow at four a.m. If we keep a steady pace, we should make it to Camp Six by early afternoon. We’ll have something to eat, then rest up for Saturday. Saturday is summit day.”
The resulting roar was so loud her ears rang. The remaining members of Olivia’s team exchanged high fives. Marie-Eve, as exuberant as always, led the celebration. Peter held up the tiny camera he used to record his vlogs. He slowly panned the room, capturing the moving images of everyone in it. If Sam had known he’d planned on filming the meeting, she would have combed her hair with something other than her fingers.
“Get plenty of sleep tomorrow night. On Saturday, we’re going to be moving fast in order to stay ahead of this.”
She flipped on the overhead projector. A colorful slide of the enormous weather cell slowly making its way over the Himalayas appeared on the wall. Olivia gasped at the size of the storm. Sam sneaked a glance at her. The storm was obviously preoccupying her thoughts at the moment, but Sam wondered what else was on her mind. Was she more concerned by the prospect of encountering the approaching squall or making another attempt to climb the ice ridge?
Out here, fear could be your best friend or your worst enemy. It kept you alert, preventing silly mistakes, but it could also retard performance. Sam hoped Olivia wouldn’t freeze up when she returned to the site where she had nearly lost her life.
“Tonight, I want you to go through your backpacks and remove everything except the most essential items. Take nothing except what you’ll need to get you to the summit. On these final legs, the snow will be deep and the terrain taxing. You’ll want to be carrying as little weight as possible. Leave the extraneous items behind. Rae and Roland will keep them safe while you’re gone. You can reclaim them when we return from the summit.”
Marie-Eve raised her hand. “What items do you suggest we take?”
“Rae and I will provide the food and equipment—helmets, goggles, sleeping bags, lanterns, ropes, oxygen, carabiners, first aid kits. Aside from lightweight warm clothing, you’ll need to bring only toiletries.”
“Good deal.”
“Before I forget, the flight to Kathmandu is scheduled to leave at four p.m. on Sunday. The chopper is large enough to seat our entire party, so there’s no need to argue over preferred departure times. As for deciding who gets a window seat, I’m afraid you’re on your own. Rock-paper-scissors always works for me. Does anyone else have any questions?”
Peter raised his hand. “Assuming it will take us four to five hours to descend from the summit, that means we’ll need to begin the return trip no later than eleven a.m. That doesn’t leave us much time to spend at the summit. How long do you think we’ll remain at the apex?”
“That depends on three factors—the time we arrive, the weather conditions when we get there, and the distance between our fastest and s
lowest climbers.” She tried to move on before he could ask her to be more specific. “Anyone else?”
“What’s your best guess?”
Peter’s follow-up question made her feel like a politician at a press conference. She wanted to stick to the prepared script while he sought to steer her down the path he wanted her to take. She wanted to talk about the journey, not the destination. The time spent at the summit was the briefest part of the ascent. Climbers wanted to set up camp and stay all day, savoring their accomplishment for as long as they could. Guides felt the pressure to keep them moving. To make room for the next group waiting to take their places. To get them down the mountain and safely back to BC as soon as possible. She didn’t want to dampen the team’s spirits by telling them all the long hours they had spent training and planning wouldn’t have an extended payoff, but Peter was forcing her to do just that.
“We’ll have an hour at the summit, two at the most.”
Peter and Marie-Eve grumbled in protest. Exactly what Sam feared would happen if Peter pursued this line of questioning. She raised her hands to silence the murmurs.
“I’ll give you three choices,” she said when she was sure she had regained everyone’s attention. “Each of you can spend an hour at the summit and have the rest of your lives to talk about the experience, you can miss out on making it to the top altogether, or you can freeze to death in a blizzard and spend the rest of eternity up there.”
The protests quickly came to an end.
“It’s my job to make hard decisions. Though they’re not always popular ones, they’re usually the right ones.”
“I think I speak for all of us,” Olivia said evenly, “when I say an hour at the summit is plenty of time.”
Olivia’s soothing voice calmed the growing tension. When Olivia’s eyes met hers, Sam nodded her thanks for the save. Olivia’s chin lifted ever so slightly in acknowledgment.
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