Part 4: The Way Home Summary and Analysis

Matthiessen and Schaller part company. Neither man knows what to say as the experience has been indescribable and is something that will be remembered for the rest of their lives. Matthiessen, Tukten and Dawa stop in a small village, where they are to spend the night. For the first time since September, the men have meat in the form of goat stew. As Matthiessen and the sherpas travel toward Raka, the weather becomes bitterly cold. Matthiessen wants to keep going, as there is plenty of daylight left, but one of the new guides insists that the people in the region are hostile and the journey must wait until the next day.

Along the way Dawa becomes sick and Matthiessen learns that the man has been suffering from dysentery as well as internal bleeding. Matthiessen is...