Ben Payne

Ben is the protagonist of The Mountain Between Us. He is a surgeon from Jacksonville Florida away at a conference in Colorado, which sets off the events of this book. He is the subject of the novel’s primary characterization, and the story is told exclusively from his perspective. He is a self-proclaimed broken man that has suffered the death of a wife and two unborn children. This is all before he is cast out into the mountainous wilderness to survive with a woman he barely knows. Ultimately, he comes to know himself as complete only after going through these trials and tribulations.

It is thanks to Ben's experience as a doctor and an athlete that allows him to survive and, by proxy, keep Ashley alive. Much of Ben's development as a character is tied to his past with his abusive father. As a runner growing up...