76 pages • 2 hours read
Roland SmithPeak
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 22-30Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 22 Summary: “Family History”
Josh arrives the next day. Zopa is back when Peak wakes. He says that when the other Sherpas saw that Zopa had been arrested, down at a lower camp, they protested, holding a silent vigil and refusing to leave. Shek had no choice but to release him. They also managed to sneak Sun-jo to a different camp during the commotion. Zopa also says that Peak’s mother called, and Josh is annoyed that Peak told her, in his letters, that he was on Everest.
Peak confronts Josh about the letters to which he never responded. This leads to an argument, but they get nowhere with each other. At the next camp, Peak calls his mother on a satellite phone. She tells him that she stopped climbing because of him, not because of her injuries. Because she wanted to be there for him, always. She knows that he will probably attempt the summit, no matter what she says: Therefore, he needs to forget about them all and focus on the climb. He talks to the twins for a few minutes, and they all hang up.
Josh returns and tells Peak that Sun-jo is not his backup plan in case Peak can’t summit. He says that Sun-jo’s father saved his life while climbing K2, and that is how the man died. He sacrificed his life for Josh’s, and now Josh feels that he owes Zopa and Sun-jo this chance.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Unrest”
The climbers in the expedition have learned that Peak is Josh’s son. Josh has told them about the plan by the time Peak wakes up. A Texan tells Josh that if Peak goes, they will all leave, and Josh will have to refund their money. Josh calls their bluff. They spend the next 10 days making practice climbs and monitoring Peak’s health. It is getting better, but he will have to be stronger for a summit attempt. Peak believes that Josh is bluffing, however. He thinks he will choose the climbers over his son if they really refuse to make the climb on Peak’s account.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Blink”
In the morning, Josh reads the lists of the teams that will make the attempt. Peak’s name is not on it. He tells Peak that he is sorry, but he has to think about his clients. The Texan agrees, and they prepare for the climb. Peak leaves camp with Zopa, and they descend to another camp.
After riding in a truck headed to Kathmandu, they get out, and Zopa hands him a letter from his father. It says that leaving Peak off the list was a ruse: Josh intends for Peak to climb with Zopa via another route. They staged it all to get the Texan to make the climb and also to get General Shek to stop looking for Sun-jo. Sun-jo then appears at the top of a hill and waves. The three of them will make the attempt together.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Shortcut”
The new route that Zopa chooses is shorter but more difficult. While climbing an ice wall, Sun-jo’s axe breaks, and it seems certain that he will fall. Peak manages to reach him and secure his rope, but he puts himself in great danger to do so. Zopa thanks him, and they continue.
That night, they listen to the radio channel where all of the different climbers are talking. General Shek has sent a party of climbers up to continue the search for Sun-jo. They are miles away from Peak, however. He calculates that they should reach the summit within a week.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Camp 3 and ½”
Zopa is sick. He now has the virus that Peak was fighting. He tells them that Yogi and Yash, the other two Sherpas who are with them, will have to continue with them from Camp Four, and he will stay behind. They can’t descend on this side because the Chinese soldiers will be waiting. But if they reach the summit and descend on the other side, they will be safe in Nepal.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Camps Five and Six”
They reach Camp Five with great difficulty. On the way, they see several frozen corpses from previous expeditions. Despite their use of bottled oxygen, every step and breath is painful.
They make it to Camp Six, which is in what is known as the Death Zone. They have 18 hours to make it to the summit and back. At 1:35 PM, Yogi tells them that it is time to make the summit attempt.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Top of the World”
Within 20 feet of the summit, Sun-jo says he cannot go on. Peak says he has to, and then he has a realization. He doesn’t care about being the first to reach the summit. He urges Sun-jo to go first and use the acclaim he will receive to send himself and his sisters back to school. Peak only asks him to leave a small prayer flag with a blue mountain on it at the top.
Peak takes out his camera and films Sun-jo reaching the summit. Sun-jo continues down the south side into Nepal. Without reaching the summit because he is running out of time and oxygen, Peak begins heading back down the north side, the way he came.
Chapter 29 Summary: “Down The Mountainside”
Peak reaches Camp Four and reunites with Josh. He tells him about Zopa’s plan to get Sun-jo down into Nepal, and Josh is pleased. He also tells him that he didn’t make it to the summit. Josh says they will try again in a year, but Peak is done with the mountain. He is going to go home for the twins’ birthday party. He hasn’t missed one of their birthdays yet.
They say goodbye, and Peak continues descending the mountain in a truck. Near Kathmandu, they pass the same spot where the boulder had been. Zopa is there in a Buddhist monk’s robe. He thanks Peak for saving his grandson, and Peak thanks him for allowing Sun-jo to make the climb and help his father.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Denouement”
Peak walks into the middle of the twins’ birthday party. Holly is there, as well. She shows him the story about Sun-jo that is about to go to press and says she intends to write a book about it. The skyscraper story has largely disappeared and is unlikely to become a problem again.
Vincent is there and says that Peak’s assignment is incomplete; it still lacks a denouement. Peak says that he is living the denouement at the moment and will turn in the notebook in the next day or two. He tells the twins he loves them, and there is nowhere he would rather be.
Chapters 22-30 Analysis
The final chapters show the triumph of Sun-jo, Zopa, and Peak. By eluding General Shek, they have secured Sun-jo’s freedom, which Peak realizes is more important than his own fame. When Peak allows Sun-jo to summit instead of him, he guarantees a better future for Sun-jo, bringing closure to the theme of Friendship and Competition. This altruism is unheard of on a mountain that attracts glory hounds and adrenaline junkies, who are largely concerned with growing their own mythologies and brands. Peak shows himself to be a better friend to Sun-jo than Josh has ever been to him.
Peak’s emotional maturity has increased exponentially during his weeks on the mountain, and this highlights the completion of his coming-of-age arc. In a small way, Peak’s maturity has even led Josh to do some self-reflection. There is a suggestion that he is pleased with Peak’s decision to return home to New York to be there for the twins’ birthday party: His son is honoring his family responsibilities in a way Josh never did or could.
At no point does Peak regret his decision to let Sun-jo go first, proving that he has resolved the conflict of Passion Versus Obsession. When he returns home and sees what really matters to him, he is even surer he made the right decision. By doing so, he has put Sun-jo in a position where he and his own sisters can enjoy a similar experience and freedom.
The title of the final chapter, “Denouement,” is a further metafictional touch that underscores Peak’s character arc. In literature, “denouement” refers to the ultimate resolution of the story’s plot points and themes, making it a fitting title for a concluding chapter. However, the literal meaning of the French term is “untying.” This subtly alludes to Peak’s passion for mountain climbing, where ropes and knots are essential. With both his physical journey and his character growth complete, Peak is now ready for this resolution.
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