Although Captain Thrift's choice of ascents was unorthodox, there was no denying his skill nor the team's spectacular progress. Decisions that might have seemed rash to a more conservative climber paid off time and time again as his small team pulled itself up the sheer cliffs of Mount Rakaposhi in record time. And yet the frenzied pace of their assault was taking an unmistakable physical and mental toll on the team.

For who could keep up such a blistering pace? At twenty thousand feet, heavily reliant on oxygen tanks and with a near-vertical climb to the summit scheduled for the next morning, Julie and Chad were on the brink of physical collapse, wishing for nothing more than a quick meal and then plunge into the forgiving arms of sleep.