The temperature is 18° below zero, but there are no gale force winds. Later, Bishop would write that the mountain showed them kindness that night.

At 4:00am the sun begins to rise. At 5:00am the four men start down the mountain again. Bishop and Jersted both have serious problems with their eyes because of damage done by the severe wind the day before.

Bishop can see out of his right eye only, and Jersted can barely see out of either eye. On top of this Bishop is having trouble keeping his balance. Jersted has to help him make his way down without falling. Unseold and Hornbein lead the way down. Meanwhile, Jersted and Bishop basically feel their way down the mountain.

As the climbers get closer to Camp VI, two more of their teammates appear. Dave Dingman and Girmi Dorje have been out looking for them and are carrying fresh oxygen to help them get down the mountain. After a small amount of oxygen the exhausted climbers feel alive and alert again.

Dingman and Dorje had planned on making their own attempt for the summit that day. But they have given up their chance in order to look out for their friends. At Camp VI the climbers drink coffee, lemonade, tea, hot chocolate, and soup as quickly as the team can make it for them.

By 10:00am they are on their way down again. They are hoping to make it four miles down the mountain to Camp II at 6,500 feet by that night. The climbers are exhausted; they are also thrilled, too, about their success. They are very happy to be going down the mountain instead of up the mountain. As the four climbers reach lower altitude, the parts of their bodies that have been frostbitten begin to defrost. Toes and fingers they couldn’t even feel before are now intensely painful. Each step is torture. They move more and more slowly. Twelve hours later they finally hobble into Camp II.