Finally, word comes from the south side that David and Phurba have been spotted making their way down toward the highest camp and relative safety. Russell relaxes for the first time in many days.

Then, that night, David drops a bombshell — he's decided to give up and go home. The traverse from north to south has exhausted him, but more than anything he's realized he's completely dependent on Phurba to succeed. "I was continually being confronted with evidence that he was superior in pretty much every way," says Tait. "We'd done the traverse equally, but from that point on, if we had gone back for a second time, he would have had to defer to me at some point." Any record Tait subsequently claimed would be meaningless to him he says, so he might as well stop now.