Rudi Matt

Rudi is a sixteen-year-old boy whose father, Josef, died on the slopes of the Citadel when he was just an infant. Rudi's life is shadowed by the infamous mountain that looms over his hometown. Rudi is smart, polite and friendly. He is also fighting his "nice" image to grow into the man he is meant to be. Rudi feels intense loyalty and kinship with his dead father and feels it is his duty to conquer the peak that defeated his father. Rudi has more adult friends than friends his own age because climbing is the heart of his hometown. Most of his peers are training to be guides. For Rudi to be the son of a great climber and not be training is a social stigma. For Rudi to be a dishwasher is even worse.

Rudi starts out making small, rebellious moves to try and climb when...