Hypothermia rarely begins with collapse.

It often begins with a reasonable decision:

to stop briefly,

to sit down out of the wind,

to rest “for just a minute.”

But in cold, wet, high-altitude environments, movement is heat production. Once exhausted climbers stop generating heat, core temperature can fall surprisingly fast. Judgment deteriorates. Apathy replaces urgency. The mountain becomes quieter.

In the Andes, many climbers do not realize the emergency has already started.

“What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.”

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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