Banner In The Sky

As he often does, Rudi dreams that night of climbing the Citadel. However, this dream is different: Instead of picturing himself alone, he sees Winter, his uncle, and a shadowy figure in the back. He pictures himself tying his father’s red shirt to his climbing pole and putting it into the ground like a flag. When Rudi awakens, he takes the red shirt out of his wooden chest. It’s tattered, but his father’s name is just visible inside it.

At work, Rudi receives a note from Winter telling him to go to the mountaineering shop to retrieve a gift from his “friend and fellow climber” (53). Teo insists that Rudi goes right away. Rudi is shocked by the gift: an ice ax, a knapsack, and boots. His mother says the gift is excessive since Rudi “will be using them only once” (55), on the climb tomorrow. Franz again assures Ilse that Rudi will be safe on the Wunderhorn. Franz and Rudi meet Winter at the hotel, and the three of them make their way toward the mountains. Rudi is pleased when a boy who usually calls him “angel-face” merely watches in admiration. They climb to a hut at the base of the Wunderhorn, where they eat dinner and prepare for the morning’s climb.