Climbing is a choice… until it isn’t.

Canessa would later confess, it was the most terrifying night of his entire life. Their first night in the sleeping bag was, to put it bluntly, [ __ ] terrifying. It wasn't the temperature this time. It was well below freezing, but the bag did its job. No, it was that crazy slope. No seasoned mountaineer would ever attempt to get 40 winks on a 40° slope, not without physically anchoring themselves to the mountain first. The risk of falling is much too high. Before setting off, the trio had hoped to complete the climb inside a single day. In reality, it took them three. The final section was the hardest of all, so steep that walking was impossible. Nando Parrado led the way, digging hand and foot holds out of the hard-packed snow with a metal pole he'd brought along as a walking stick. It took a monumental effort, borderline supernatural given the circumstances. But, on the morning of the 15th of December, 1972, Nando Parrado was the first to make it to the top of that colossal mountain. Having finally reached the top, the boys were understandably elated. But, their joy turns to despair in an instant. Almost as far as the eye could see, there was just more mountains. The most obvious problem they now faced was one of pure logistics. They packed enough food for a hike of about a week. At the time, that felt like a conservative estimate, but it clearly wasn't going to be enough. Pushing on meant almost certain death by starvation, but going back to camp to resupply just wasn't an option either. They couldn't forge on, and they couldn't go back. Instead, they did both. Tintin headed back to the Fairchild on his own, leaving Parrado and Canessa with his share of the food. Things would still be tight, but if they rationed carefully, they might just make it. Using a seat cushion as a makeshift sled, Tintin made it all the way back to the Fairchild in 45 minutes. Up on the peak, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa prepared themselves for the final push. From this point on, there would be no going back. It was death or salvation. There was nothing in between. As they stood on the top of that desolate mountain, staring out at the endless sea of snowy peaks, the two young men found themselves holding hands. Before them was a view of both indescribable beauty and utter despair. Canessa turned to Parrado with a smile. "You and I are friends," he said. "We've been through so much. Now, let's go die together. "