“You don’t get to pick your name, or your parents.”

From the outset, it is clear that Peak knows he has to make the best out of his situation. He has a mature perspective for a 14-year-old boy, though his need to act out places him in physical and legal danger. This passage also establishes that Peak has mixed feelings about his symbolic name and the climbing legacy he inherited from his parents, especially Josh.

“Now I was mad, which was exactly what I needed to finish the climb.”

In the novel, climbing is presented as a pursuit akin to combat, highlighting the theme of Passion Versus Obsession. Peak’s tags reveal his belief that to claim a mountain’s summit is to conquer the mountain. He will transform this attitude by the novel’s end.

“The mystery. That’s the point. And there isn’t enough of it, in my opinion.”

At the beginning of the novel, Peak is perceptive but lacks insight into his deep motivations. He knows that he will never understand exactly why he tags or climbs, but he knows himself well enough to know that he can’t fight against it. He sees the act of tagging as participating in something bigger than himself, something that may benefit others.