SAWYER

Smoke drifts up into the night sky. It travels into the clouds and imitates their shape. Below the smoke is SAWYER, 25, tall and skinny with a pampered face and a sharp stubble beard. He smokes a cigarette. Sawyer sits atop a snowy drift set at the edge of Basecamp Everest.

As the crisp air buckles beneath his hair, Sawyer looks towards the Mountain. It is still, yet it seems to look back at him. The Mountain challenges him and says bring it on!

"Sawyer!" 

A Man shouts. Sawyer eyes JOHN, 46, grizzly and tempered, stands outside his tent. Sawyer flicks his cigarette onto the ground and puts it out. He hops up from the snow drift and walks towards the camp. John heads into his tent.

Inside the tent, John and HYDE, 34, an Aussie with a rambunctious demeanor, sit next to a pot of stew. They watch the heat rise from it, waiting to eat.

Sawyer pops his head in, then takes a seat next to Hyde.

"Looks lovely," Sawyer says.

"It's my Mother's recipe," Quips Hyde.

Hyde takes a spoonful and tastes it.

"I say it's ripe enough."

He smiles and then tallies up the tin cups at his side.

One scoop. For John. Another for Sawyer.

"The Tibetan men can fend for themselves."

Outside - The SHERPA GUIDES gather in the center of the camp, pillaging through bags of dried meat and bread.

Sawyer sips on his stew, a chunk of potato reaches his lip, and he inhales it.

CLICK. A finger presses down a knob to the radio. "Transmission, by Joy Division" Plays vibrantly on the speakers.

1985, Base Camp, Mt. Everest. Day 20.

The three men stand at the base of the Mountain. They look up in awe. For John, this would be his 5th climb in the Tibetan mountain range, but first for Everest. Hyde and Sawyer were newbies, only previously climbing mountains in Africa and the Americas. Nonetheless, Sawyer had trained extensively for this day. Hours a day of pure cardio, rock climbing, bouldering, anything to push him to the limit of what his body could take.

John lets out a deep sigh. His breath casts out in the frigid air.

"We're here, boys." He smiles.

"Soon to be on top of the world. A place many have tried to be, but very few could ever see." 

John turns and looks to the guides.

"Januhos, Januhos!"

The Guides set off. 

"Sawyer takes Dudi, Hyde you got Bud. I'll take Silver."

Each man ropes and clips onto their Guides.

They begin their ascent into the unknown. Sawyer, middle of the pack, imagines himself yards further. What different would he be? What difference would it make if they were just a few hundred feet ahead? He is almost disassociated from the hike and can only imagine successfully beating the odds and completing Everest. A feat few had accomplished before his time.

Minutes turn into hours. Hours turn into days.

Day 34.

A dimly lit lantern flutters around the edge of a rocky cliff. Snow flings across the icy ridge. Several tents sit dormant against a rock wall. 

Inside, Sawyer reads a journal. 

"Dear Elizabeth,

It's been painstaking. Every day feels like a day lost without you. How have I never thought before about how much I would miss you? It was selfish of me to forget. I now know how easy it was to be with you since I am no longer there to hold your hand and kiss you. They say it will take another twenty or so days to reach the top. I can't describe how beautiful such a Mountain this is. So encouraging to allow a man to climb it, yet devious enough to let a man die just as easily. How come it takes so long to climb to the top of the world? Is it possible the challenge is to meet God at the top? Or are those who never make it the ones who will meet God on the Mountain? I hope to meet God at the top. And say hello. 

Love Sawyer."

He closes his Journal.

Darkness consumes the Mountain pass. The Sherpa’s wager war against the icy incline, packing their ice picks into its hard surface and grudgingly lifting themselves higher. Behind them is John, who makes the climb look easy. His ice pick is only there for show. The man himself is what climbs this icy abyss, nerve free. Behind him is a not-so-relaxed Sawyer, who skittishly hammers his pick into the ice. His face is showered with debris. Below him is Hyde, eagerly awaiting the end of this suffering. He holds on tight to his ice picks and nails his boots into the surface. 

"I... I'm struggling down here boys..." Hyde hisses, out of breath.

"Keep it moving! We're almost there!" Roars John. 

A storm slowly creeps in. Every minute counts as the wind begins to pick up and the icy clusters of the Mountain Wall begin to unhinge and rain down on the group. Pieces fly into Sawyer's face.

"Fuck! Feels like I'm getting shot!"

"A lil ice won't hurt ya." Rings John.

The wind flutters through the group's packs. A Sherpas hat blows off, soaring far into the dark, empty sky. 

The top of the icy ridge is now in view. The first Sherpa quickly shuffles his ice pick into the remaining section and pulls himself onto the top. He breathes a sigh of relief. The next Sherpa follows, then the next, then John, who gets helped up by his Guide.

Sawyer digs his boots into the ice as the wind hits his body at high speeds. He shutters as the wind chill leeches onto his face. 

"AUGH!" Hyde loses control of his left ice pick, slipping out from the ice and hanging from a single ice pick. 

"Pull up, Pull up!" Yells his Guide. He tries to pull the connecting rope between the two, but Hyde is too heavy.

"Hyde!" Screams Sawyer.

"Hang on buddy."

Sawyer looks up at his Guide and motions for him to keep going. Sawyer waits as the Guide safely makes it to the top, then releases his rope and hangs it down to Hyde. Relinquishing every last thread to make it long enough. Hyde's Guide looks up in confusion.

"We can pull him up together." Shouts Sawyer to the Sherpa.

Hyde attempts to grab onto the rope, but swings further away, nearly letting go of his remaining ice pick.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Cries Hyde. He falls back onto the wall, slamming his chest into the hard ice.

"Grab the rope!" Echoes Sawyer. Hyde grabs the rope, fiddling with it before tying it around his waist. Sawyer has little room for error. He looks at the Sherpa,

"Okay. Climb up!"

The two climb further up, slowly pulling Hyde with them. Although they struggle, Hyde can get a hold of the ice and balances himself out.

"I got it! Slow down, slow down!" Hyde grabs onto his pick and begins to scale the wall. Sawyer climbs to the very top. Above him is John, who lets out a helping hand. Sawyer grabs it and is lifted up. The Sherpa right after him. Sawyer's rope cuts through the edge of the ice wall. Still no sign of Hyde. The group waits in anticipation. The rope moves left and right. It scrapes across the icy floor, then Hyde appears.

"Fair Bastard are ya?" Hyde rips.

Sawyer and John smile and laugh. Sawyer grabs hold of Hyde's hand and pulls him up.

"Thought we lost ya."

"It'll take more to lose this Aussie."

The group sits motionless at the top of the icy ridge. The wind blows around them. The Mountain's menacing, crooked teeth tower over their heads.

Later that evening the group rests in their tents below an umbrellaed cliff. Sawyer sits quietly inside his tent, staring at his journal, but not opening it. His eyes are void of thought, and exhaustion has taken over. Sawyer's Sherpa enters his tent and sits next to Sawyer. 

"I climb the peak 6 times. This will be my 7th." Says the Sherpa.

Sawyer looks at him impressed.

"I do not need money or gear to climb the mountains. I have been with these mountains since birth." The Sherpa smiles.

He stands back up.

"Advice to you. The climb down is what you should fear. Get rest, energy is most important for survival." The Sherpa leaves the tent.

The lights are out. Sawyer now sleeps. With every third breath, he gasps for air, waking himself up from lack of oxygen. His body aches and he shivers like a thousand needles are being rubbed across his body. He tries to go back to sleep, but can barely handle the oxygen-deprived elevation. He sits up and opens his journal, lighting a single lantern next to his bedside.

"Dear Elizabeth..."

Day 57.

"The Summit of God is near. I will make it in a few days.

Love Sawyer."

The group treks through the remaining route up to the Peak. Today the sky is blue, and the wind is calm. Nothing seems to stand in the way of a successful climb for the three men and their Sherpas.

"Isn't this beautiful?" John smiles with a calming tone in his voice. 

The trio stops and looks across the landscape. In front of them are several other Mountain Peaks, part of the Himalayan Mountain Range.

"That right there is Makalu. I summited ole sister peak five years ago." John is enthusiastic to share his history with others.

"When we get to the top, we should be able to see the rest," John mentions as he begins walking. Sawyer and Hyde follow.

Sawyer treks through the thick snow, using poles to balance out his body weight and pack.

Flashback:

Sawyer runs in shorts and a t-shirt down a park path in Central Park. He stops to catch his breath and hits play on his Walkman.

Present:

Sawyer is back in his tent, late at night. His Sherpa sits next to him.

"6 Times I climb. 3 times my man almost not make it, but I make sure he does." The Sherpa says and chuckles.

"7 Times, I promise you will see the top of the world."

"Wouldn't that be lovely?" Mutters Sawyer.

"The greatest thing you ever see, huh?"

"Maybe second greatest," Replies Sawyer.

Flashback:  To the Park. Sawyer jogs on and is joined by a young woman with blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. ELIZABETH. The two run together, toe in toe with each other. They finish running and embrace each other with a hug and kiss.

“One more year.” Smiles Elizabeth.

“Til we get married?” Asks Sawyer. Elizabeth laughs.

“Not until we climb Everest.” 

“Then we’ll get married…”

“If you’re lucky, I'll marry you at the top of the Mountain.” Elizabeth smiles as she pulls Sawyer closer. Sawyer embraces her warm touch.

Day 60.

Sawyer’s face frosts over. Back on the Mountain, the group crosses the threshold to the Peak. It becomes increasingly cloudy, and now the men rely on Oxygen tanks to continue. They now inch their way to the very top, using their climbing gear to caress the steep slope. One after another the team captures their very moment reaching the Peak. Sawyer hobbles up to the tip of Mount Everest and stands tall above the clouds. Around him, the air is still, with no sound but that of his companion's footsteps. He looks around and gets a 360-degree view of the world. On top of everything, he can only look down to see what lay below. 

"Isn't this something!" John shouts, smiling at Sawyer. Sawyer grins and shouts out to the sky.

"Yeah, baby!" Screams Hyde. He lifts his arms high in a victory pose. 

John unravels a Canadian flag from his pack and sows it onto an extra ice pick. He shoves the ice pick deep into the ground and reveals the red and white colors of his home.  Sawyer claws at the thick snow as he kneels down and removes his pack. He removes an Urn from his pack and caresses it in his arms. Sawyer stares intently at the silver, smooth Urn. He pulls it close to his face and kisses it. Then slowly, he opens the Urn and peers inside. Ashes.

“Dear Elizabeth. We made it. It’s as beautiful as we imagined. A perfect place to get married. I wish I could live here forever… Like you.”

Sawyer looks up to the sky.

“Hello God. Hello Elizabeth.”

He lifts the Urn over his head and shakes it across the sky. The ashes whisk into the air and float around the edges of the world. They slowly rest in the white powdery surface of the Mountain.

John treads over to Sawyer.

“How are you holding up?” 

Sawyer gazes off into the distance.

“We made it.” Says Sawyer. John smiles.

“We sure did.” John looks around, then asks,

“You coming back down with us?”

Sawyer is silent for a moment.

“No. I think I’m gonna stay.”

“Normally I wouldn’t let a friend do this… But I understand. Congratulations, you two.” John looks around at the world. He touches Sawyer’s shoulder then walks away. Sawyer faces the wind. It blows into his face. Any amount of tears are instantly frozen as soon as they leave his eye. Sawyer lays back and rests in the snow. From out of his coat pocket he reveals a Walkman. He puts the earbuds in and clicks play on the device.