While waiting in the airport, Peak thinks about the events that have led him here. His parents had been a world-famous climbing team, breaking records and bringing in a lot of money through sponsors. When his mother, Terri, got pregnant, she had to take time off from climbing but started again after Peak was born.

While climbing a practice wall behind their cabin in Wyoming, she fell and broke her back. She healed over the course of a year but would never climb again. Josh left to continue teaching, and Peak only saw him a couple of times a year. Rolf arrived at their cabin one night after his rental car died during a snowstorm. He became a regular visitor. When he and Teri announced that they were getting married, they also told Peak they were moving to New York. In the absence of mountains, Peak started climbing skyscrapers.

Josh arrives at the airport just in time. He wasn’t able to get seats together for them, so they don’t speak again for the 13-hour flight. When they land, Josh asks Peak not to call him “Dad” until he feels that he has earned the title. However, he also says he has a surprise for him as soon as Peak completes a physical exam.