Silver Peak

Silver Peak is a mountain in the pass that carries two meanings for Ben Givens: it is the destination of a familiar outing with his grandson Chris, and, during Ben’s secret journey, a place where he briefly imagines allowing himself to die. The proposed climb links their long companionship to Ben’s crisis, making the mountain a test of whether he will turn toward death or continue on toward home.

A Mountain Shared with Chris

At dinner with his family, Chris abruptly asks Ben to climb again; they have not gone since August. He suggests Silver Peak as an easy return to the mountains: a shakedown cruise, a tune-up, a day hike. Ben hesitates, saying his legs are beginning to wobble, but Chris insists that his grandfather is still tough. Ben answers by turning the compliment back toward Chris.

The proposal rests on a history of fifteen years and fifty summits climbed together. They have eaten lunch on mountaintops, lying back on their elbows with the peaks spread before them. Ben first took Chris into the mountains; more recently, Chris has been the one taking Ben. Silver Peak therefore represents not just a particular hike but a reversal in their shared routine, as Ben grows less certain of his strength and his grandson leads.

The Promise and Its Hidden Cost

Ben agrees to go after he gets home. The promise troubles him because it is another lie layered onto the false account he has given his family: he has said he is going away to hunt quail and will return several days later, while concealing his terminal cancer and his intention not to come back. The ordinary future implied by a day hike with Chris stands in stark contrast to the ending Ben is privately arranging.

A Death Imagined, Then Refused

As Ben drives through heavy rain toward the mountains, Silver Peak returns to his thoughts as a possible destination for a different kind of journey. The growing light reveals wet slopes, scree, and snow in the high couloirs. He considers changing course, hiking in the rain to the summit, and lying on the crest of the Cascade Range until hypothermia takes him. He imagines this not as an overt act but as a way of stopping his effort to live.

The possibility briefly seems soothing, but Ben shrugs off the mountains and continues across them toward the country beyond. He wants to return to the world of apple orchards where he was born. Silver Peak thus remains a contemplated alternative rather than the site of his death: the mountain that held out an escape also marks the point at which he keeps going.