South Col: 7:30 a.m., May 11, 1996 - 26,000 Feet Summary and Analysis

At Camp Four, the reality of the situation begins to strike Krakauer, and he is stunned. As he searches the South Col again for Harris, Stuart Hutchison, the only climber on Hall's team other than Krakauer who is still reasonably able to function, assembles a team to try to find the bodies of Namba and Weathers. He sets out following Boukreev's directions with some Sherpas, and they find them, partly buried in snow. Pushing the snow away from the face of the first climber, Hutchison discovers it is Namba. He is astounded to find she is still breathing, but she is very near death. Leaving her for the moment, he moves to Weathers, who is also still alive, amazingly. Weathers is mumbling. He has lost one of his gloves...