[river flowing]
[sighs]
[alarm clock beeping]
[sighs]
Okay. Okay.
I hear you.
[groans]
[sighs]
[clicks tongue]
[person clears throat]
[hums]
[weatherperson] ...quite severe storminess...
...the beginning part of the day.
Clouds in the North Country, partly cloudy...
High pressure coming down from Canada.
[indistinct] ...further south over the next few days.
Futurecast shows clouds are hugging the tops of the mountains
for a while today, for sure.
Stronger winds coming through the afternoon.
Low pressure from the North also bringing rain.
Possibly some snow among the higher peaks.
If you're doing anything outdoors today, make sure you bundle up for that.
Temperatures could drop below freezing,
with a bit of a breeze, which will make it feel even colder.
Overnight tonight, very cold.
One of the coldest nights we've seen for a while.
And that possibility...
May need this one.
Can't forget you guys.
[sniffs]
[car engine revs]
[groans]
Ow!
Yoo-hoo?
[dog barks]
Oh!
Look who wants to come and see you. Look at my little baby.
Little piece of... Ooh.
I love this dog.
I know.
That face, I can never get over it.
-Look at you. -[dog barks]
You know, I don't like you going up there alone.
Cell phone service is so unreliable.
Mmm.
Well, you can be my chaperone. Oh!
Can you be my chaperone?
Thirty years of scrambling up those trails daily.
I'm done.
Nope. But not Pam Bales.
Nope.
Hey, Pam, you seen the weather forecast?
Don't go up there.
[inhales sharply] You know what day it is.
Yeah.
Anyway, it's cheaper than therapy.
And the mountains always listen and never talk back.
No holdin' back on the cocoa.
Cheap bastard. [laughs] Oh!
How many ex-husbands do you have again?
Too many.
Boom.
Thank you.
Uh, jacket?
Watch the weather. I will.
Hey.
Be safe.
Okay, Mom.
[dog barking]
[server chuckles]
["Katie Belle Blue" playing on radio]
♪ There is no deeper blue In the ocean that lies ♪
♪ As deep as the blue Of your laughing eyes ♪
♪ No sweeter sound Than your gentle sigh ♪
♪ No heart was ever so pure ♪
What's the words?
♪ Dream pretty dreams Touch beautiful things ♪
♪ Let all the skies Surround you ♪
♪ Swim with the swans And believe that upon ♪
♪ Some glorious dawn Love will find you ♪
Love will find you. [laughing] Love will find you, Pam.
♪ Come some day I'm bound away ♪
♪ Wind and wings On the water ♪
♪ Whatever may You must stay ♪
♪ And remain My beautiful daughter ♪
♪ There is no deeper blue In the ocean that lies ♪
♪ As deep as the blue Of your laughing eyes ♪
♪ No sweeter sound Than your gentle sigh ♪
♪ No heart Was ever so pure ♪
Sorry. [music ends]
-You okay? -Yeah.
I was just, uh...
Camping?
Two nights. Cold as hell.
Going up?
Yeah. If it gets dicey, I'll just, uh, bail down Westside to Crawford.
[hiker 1] Have a good one.
[Pam] Hey, see anyone else up there?
[hiker 1] No. It's just us.
[Pam] You know whose car that is? No idea.
[hiker 2 whistling]
♪ Angel ♪
♪ Where's your party outfit? ♪
♪ Your engine's running wild ♪
♪ It's crazy When you smile ♪
[singing continues, indistinct]
♪ Angel ♪
[hiker 2 continues singing]
-[car door shuts] -[engine starts]
"We need wilderness whether or not we set foot in it.
We need refuge even though we may never go there.
We need the possibility of escape.
And surely, we need hope."
[breathing heavily]
[grunts]
[shouts]
Ooh.
[grunts]
[sighs]
[groans]
Whoo!
[sighs]
[breathing heavily]
[thunder rumbling]
[breathing heavily]
[thunder rumbling]
[wind howling]
[exhales]
[sighs]
I'll take a break here.
[sighs]
Okay.
[sighs]
[blowing]
Damn it.
[thunder rumbling]
[thunder continues rumbling]
[wind howling]
[exhales]
[bird calls]
[whistle blows]
Shit.
What the...
You've got to be kidding.
Sneakers?
Holy shit.
Sneakers...
Goddamn it.
Hello!
Hello?
[whistle blows]
[whistle blowing]
Hello!
[whistle blows weakly]
Hello!
[whistle blows]
Hello there!
[shouts]
[groaning]
[grunting]
[breathing heavily]
[grunting]
[grunting continues]
[groans]
[shouts]
Come on, Pam.
Here we go.
[grunts]
[shouts]
[muffled groaning]
[gasping]
[whistle blows]
[whistle blowing]
[grunting]
[screams]
[groans]
Oh, God.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
[grunts]
[breathing shakily]
[no audible dialogue]
I hear you.
Yes.
[groans]
[grunting]
[grunts]
Come on, Pam.
[grunting]
[shouts]
Come on, Pam. Come on.
[grunting]
[shouts]
Hello!
[breathing heavily]
Hello?
Oh, no.
[sighing]
I'm sorry, bud.
Hey, listen.
My name's Pam, and I'm going to get you out of here.
Can you hear my voice?
I'm gonna get you down the mountain. What's your name?
John. I'm gonna call you John.
Can you hear my voice?
I'm with search and rescue, okay?
Now, stay with me, John. I'm gonna need to undress you, okay?
I'll get your body temperature up.
Jesus, you're dressed for the beach.
[John breathing shakily]
[both grunt]
Going to put this hat on.
I need you to stay with me. We're going to get you down the mountain.
I'm gonna get you in a bag. Okay?
[groans]
[both groan]
Look at me.
We need to move, okay?
If we don't get moving, we're dead.
You understand me?
I can't.
If we don't...
I'm not leaving you.
You hearing me?
I'm not leaving you.
Damn it, John.
This way, John.
Listen to me. Are you on something?
Are you drinking? Drugs? Oxy?
Are you tripping? Are you on mushrooms?
Come on, John.
This way, John.
Let's get down the mountain.
John, put this hat on.
John!
Oh, now he can walk.
Listen to me.
Once again, hat on. And follow me.
John.
Listen, we're going that way.
We need to get down, okay?
Attaboy.
[Pam breathing heavily]
[panting]
John.
I told you, I can't!
No!
John!
John.
Are you okay?
Yeah? I'm gonna get you out, okay?
On the count of three.
One...
two...
three.
[screams]
Don't touch it! Get off!
[grunting]
No! No! Don't eat that.
No, John, that'll just dehydrate you more.
No, trust me.
[Pam] Okay.
Do you have anyone waiting for you, John?
Cat.
What's your cat's name?
Cat.
Oh, that's not very original, John.
I'm more of a dog person.
[chuckles] Thank God, me too. I hate cats.
All right, time to go. Get up.
Get up, John. 3:30.
We need to get below tree line before dark.
[grunts]
[grunting]
Night's gonna drop about 20 degrees when the sun goes down.
You hear me?
So, we do not want to be up here when that happens.
[grunts, breathes heavily]
[breathing heavily]
[grunts]
[both grunting]
[Pam] Oh, God!
[both grunting, groaning]
Okay there? Fine.
[both groaning]
Oh, shit.
I'm-- Pam, I'm done.
I can't... I can't...
I know. I know.
Stand up.
Come on.
Fuck off! Fuck off! And leave me alone.
Nope, I can't.
Let's go. Go away.
Go away, please.
Let's go, bud.
[Pam] Well, look on the bright side.
I mean, the frostbite...
you can't feel it.
[both chuckle]
[John snorts, laughs]
I know. This sucks.
This sucks, all right.
Put your arms around me.
[groans]
Oh, my fucking ankle.
I know.
Put your arms around my neck.
[groans]
[John pants, shouts]
I'm going to look at you.
There you go. You okay?
[groans, breathes heavily]
That's it.
[grunting]
Okay, this'll help.
Here you go. Take some of these.
First, I'm going to get you warm.
Here you go.
This will help for the pain. Small piece of chocolate.
It's good for energy.
[John grunts]
Shit, there we go.
[groans]
I know.
[groaning]
I can't. I can't.
Don't worry, you can trust me. I'm a nurse.
Here you go.
It's my last pair, so, no funny business from here on out.
You hear me?
There you go.
[both groaning]
There you go.
Whoo!
Do you belong to this... Pemige--
Pemigewasset Search and Rescue.
Yeah, that's me. Pam Bales.
You guys have a helicopter?
What, heli-- [laughs] No, sir.
Just me.
No cell phone service until we get to the parking lot either.
No backup either?
Nope, just you and me.
Shit.
We're not-- We're not going to make it.
We're-- We're going to die.
[whimpers]
[sobbing]
I wanna-- I wanna go home.
[sobbing continues]
Save the tears. Not now.
We're gonna get you down that mountain before dark.
Goddamn it. Oh, Pam. [urinating]
Oh. [groaning]
[wind howls]
Come on, bud. You can't sleep now.
[John breathing heavily] Can you hear the river?
You're getting closer now.
[John grunts] Okay.
Let's get down here.
You can do it, John. Watch me.
Just go on your belly. [grunting]
Grab on.
Watch out. [John grunts]
Okay.
[both grunting]
[Pam] Easy.
[grunting]
Yeah, okay.
Go, John.
Don't you fucking fall in, John.
Oh, God.
[gasps, breathing heavily]
[sighs]
[water splashes]
[whispering] John?
John?
John.
Oh, goddamn it.
[shivers] Goddamn it.
[grunting]
Oh, God. There you are.
I got you, John. I got you.
You okay?
Bud, hey. I'm right here, John.
Okay.
[Pam grunting]
I got you.
[grunts]
You okay, John? You okay?
Can you hear my voice? Yes? You with me? All right.
Okay. I need you to open your eyes.
Look into my light. I need to see your eyeballs.
Yes. Oh, yeah. Okay.
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.
[chokes]
[chuckles, sighs]
Let's get you out of the water fully.
Okay, okay, okay, yeah. Okay, bud. [choking]
Okay. I'm sorry, bud.
Easy does it.
Oh, God.
You okay? I gotcha.
Okay, I'm going to need you to...
Where are we? ...move a few more feet out of this water.
Or you're going to freeze your goddamn balls off.
[John grunting]
Goddamn it! You are such an asshole!
I want...
I told you it was slippery, did I not? Did I not?
[groans]
Get over here. Don't do that.
Okay. Stop doing that.
Okay, I'm sorry. Or I'll hit you back.
Okay. [chuckling] All right, all right.
You can hit me back. You can hit me back if you have to.
[both chuckling]
You scared the bejesus out of me.
I'm sorry.
[Pam sighs]
I was pretty scared too.
You're such a fuckin' asshole.
One, two, three. [grunts]
Okay. Okay, you're good?
Yeah. You good?
Yeah, I'm good. Okay.
I mean-- Try not to be a jackass, okay?
I'll try my best. Anymore.
You've got more lives in you than your stupid cat.
Okay, we're going to need to head this way.
You see that down there, John? That's home.
[wind howling]
Let's go home, John. Come on.
You're good. You're good, that's it. Thank you.
Look at that. Home. Let's go.
Now, you know any songs?
No. I can't sing. Oh, come on, you must know one.
Trust me, you don't want to hear me sing.
Okay, John.
Come on, anything.
Elvis. Dylan. What do you got?
Come on, John.
♪ Angel With your guiding light ♪
♪ Eyes far apart and wide ♪
♪ It's crazy when... ♪
Oh, yeah, that's beautiful, John. I like it.
♪ It's disarming ♪
I can't take your weight, John.
♪ It's beguiling ♪
♪ I feel naked in your awe ♪
♪ Angel ♪ ♪ Angel ♪
["Angel" playing]
♪ Angel ♪
♪ With your golden light ♪
♪ Eyes far apart and wide ♪
♪ It's crazy When you smile ♪
♪ It's disarming ♪
♪ There's a wall It's beguiling ♪
♪ I feel naked in your awe ♪
♪ Angel ♪
♪ A phenomena In my internal world ♪
♪ She's God ♪
♪ It makes me fall apart ♪
♪ It's disarming ♪
♪ I feel won It's alarming ♪
♪ What is sacred What is more ♪
♪ In your light In your darkness ♪
♪ I surrender in your awe ♪
[no audible dialogue]
[song ends]
Be careful.
There's a-- Watch out! Oh, shit.
You okay?
Okay. Okay. I can't remember the next verse.
It's okay. Don't worry about the song.
You got it. Okay. Okay, bud.
I know. Let's keep you moving. It's getting cold.
Okay, here you go. Lean on me.
[John] What is... Hey?
[music playing, faint]
Hey! Hey! [John] Hey. Hey.
[John] Hey. Hey! Oh, God.
Stop!
[John] Wait! Please!
Hey!
Hey! Wait!
No! Hey!
Hey! Wait!
Wait, please!
Please! Fuck!
Fuck!
[groaning]
Come on, Pam.
John.
Come on.
We found the road, bud.
Get up.
This is the last time.
[water splashing]
[grunts]
You okay? You okay, bud?
We're here. We're good.
We made it. You see?
Okay. Okay, let's go.
Let's get-- get you to the car.
Okay. Okay.
Okay.
Okay, here.
Just wait right here, okay?
You okay, bud?
Look at me. You hear my voice?
Okay, good. Just give me a sec.
Okay, I'll get you warm.
I'll turn the car on.
Oh, shit, it's the other one.
Okay.
Okay, here. Here.
[breathing heavily]
You okay? Hey, John.
John. Get in.
John?
[grunts] Oh, shit.
John?
Hey!
John, what are you doing?
Bud! [car engine revs]
John!
Wait, what's going on, bud?
John!
Hey! Hey! John!
What the...
Oh, my God.
What the...
[sighs]
[clattering] [groaning, urinating]
[sighing]
[groans]
[panting]
[exhales]
[can opens]
[burps]
[chuckling]
[sighs]
[sighing]
[groans]
[sobbing]
[hissing]
[sighs]
[mumbles, coughs]
[hissing continues]
[coughs]
[coughing, gasping]
Marla?
[panting]
[hissing continues]
[grunting]
[crying]
[crying] I'm sorry.
My baby. My baby.
[sobbing] Oh, God.
[sighs]
What?
[sighs]
[scoffs]
[answering machine] Message one.
9:59 a.m.
[beep]
[Dave] Hey, Pam, it's Dave.
Uh, you have probably heard the news.
But, uh, call me if you need anything, okay?
[sighs] Bye.
[newscaster] News.
An update from the amazing story from Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
Pam Bales has been identified as the lone woman
who tracked and saved a young man close to death from exposure
on the Westside Trail in a heavy snowstorm.
The man, who has asked to remain anonymous,
informed the police of the woman's daring attempt to rescue him
and praised her bravery in bringing him down off the mountain all on her own.
From details the man gave from the badge on her jacket,
we were able to identify the 53-year-old experienced member
of the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue team.
His report states that she found him close to the summit after he had collapsed
from the extreme cold.
He'd given up, but against the odds of bringing down a man twice her size,
Pam Bales refused to give up
and managed to save his life and bring him home.
[tires screech]
[bird squawks]
[Rich on answering machine] Hey, Pam, it's Rich.
Yeah, got your message.
Uh, sorry, no. He left no phone number, no address.
Not even his name.
Just some story about looking for a woman. That's it.
Sorry. Bye.
[vehicle approaches]
[doorbell rings]
Hi. Pam Bales.
Uh... [stammers] ...you just missed her.
Oh.
Damn.
[sighs, clicks tongue] Well...
I could swear the woman I've seen on the news was looking a lot like you.
If you see her, Pam...
Maybe you can ask her to contact me.
If you see her.
[scoffs]
Hey, uh...
I think there are a lot of people that want to just say thanks.
[Pam] For you.
Thanks.
[chuckles]
Right, so... have you heard from him? John?
Not a word.
Hmm. [pen scratching]
And what do you think he was doing?
Doing? What... [chuckles]
Up there? In November. Dressed like that.
Why does it matter?
Because I'm gonna try to find him.
Why?
You were up there for hours.
You saved this man's life.
Maybe he wants to tell you something.
If he wanted to do that, he would have done it.
Maybe.
But there's only one way to find out.
[chattering]
[sighs]
I, um...
The jacket and the pants.
Threw the socks out. Didn't think you'd mind.
[chuckles]
I don't.
Dave will be happy to have his jacket back.
I don't even know what to call you.
John is fine. John is good.
Okay.
How's your ankle?
Getting better.
Ten toes? Ten fingers?
[chuckles]
I can't see her face anymore.
That's what's so surprising.
I never expected to...
forget a face so easily.
Uh, I know every detail, but I--
I can't see it.
Like, I know she had little lines when she smiled.
A birthmark on her cheek that you could only see when it was cold.
And where did she go?
What does it mean...
to-- to die?
That was a year ago.
When you found me, I'd gone back up there to look for her.
I almost stopped looking for her.
Then I realized I didn't need to look.
I could just wait and she would come.
So I sat down and I closed my eyes...
and I waited for her to speak to me.
But you spoke to me instead.
Thank you.
See-- Mmm.
There was a gas leak in my building a long time ago.
I slept in the living room on the couch with the window cracked,
I woke up and...
I-- I couldn't stand.
And I see it every day in my head.
I remember...
I remember the paint on the walls...
the, uh, feeling of the carpet on my hands and knees.
And I was crawling to my little girls' room,
saying, "I'm coming. I'll save you."
But I didn't. I couldn't.
They were five and six.
And I wanted to die just like you.
Does it get easier? [breathing shakily]
Even in the storm, even in the pain and the wind...
there is so much beauty.
The whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.
[chuckles]
["Angel" playing]
[music continues]
[music ends]