So the man who gives up surrenders because he perceives what is happening to him in a negative manner. He sees death in trying to reach the summit but the man who presses on endures the same conditions but strives on because what they perceive happening to them is in the affirmative. As they breath in short gasps all they imagine is the joy of breathing unpolluted air at the summit. It is the same mountain, two different people and two different endings simply because of the mindset.