Four days later, the team returned from their third and final acclimatization hike. Sarah met them as they came in and pulled Greg aside. As they walked back to camp, she deferred from getting right into the issue of going forward with the climb and asked him how things went. But all Greg could talk about were the spectacular views he’d seen up on the Lhotse face. Finally, unable to endure another word about the mountain, Sarah said, “I saw a report about an avalanche on Annapurna that killed several men.”
Greg stopped and eyed her dubiously. “Yes, I heard about it.”
Sarah reached out and took his arm. Searching his drawn face, she took a deep breath and said, “Greg, I’m worried. What if—”
“Mom, please!”
“I’m sorry,” Sarah begged. “But I’m freaking scared here. I know what I said befor
