A Song of Ice and Fire, #3
A Storm of Swords
by George R. R. Martin
Contents
CHAPTER 30: JON
Overview
Jarl leads a daring ascent of the Wall, but a massive ice shear kills him and his team. Grigg the Goat and Errok reach the top and haul up rope ladders, enabling Styr’s force to begin crossing with losses. By night, Jon and Ygritte gain the summit, and Ygritte mourns failing to find the Horn of Winter.
Summary
At dawn beneath the looming Wall, Styr the Magnar scouts the approaches while Jarl organizes three young climbing teams. Jon Snow, torn between duty and Ygritte, observes their specialized gear and the Thenns’ unease before the ancient ice.
Jarl gains an early lead by ascending a leaning sentinel tree and cutting onto the Wall. Grigg the Goat and Errok follow on tougher faces. Progress is slow and perilous on weeping ice; stakes, ropes, and spiked boots bite into treacherous blue. The Night’s Watch never appears, frustrating Styr and leaving the climbers exposed to the Wall’s hazards.
Near midday a carved pinnacle collapses under Jarl, costing time but not lives. Later, a vast sheet of ice shears away, avalanching men and shards down the ridge. Jarl’s entire team vanishes; their bodies are found shattered, Jarl impaled. Styr orders a pyre, and the survivors press on.
By late day, Grigg and Errok’s teams top the Wall. They knot ropes and haul up massive hemp ladders for the host below. The ascent remains deadly; two Thenns fall to their deaths as the crossing begins.
Near midnight, Jon and a trembling Ygritte reach the summit. Jon offers comfort, but Ygritte rejects fear as her tears fall for another reason: they opened many graves yet never found Joramun’s Horn to bring the Wall down. Her lament underscores the wildlings’ stakes and the Wall’s enduring power.
Who Appears
- Jon SnowInfiltrator with the wildlings; observes the climb, wrestles duty versus love, and reaches the Wall’s summit.
- YgritteClimbs with Jon; curses the Wall, nearly falls, and weeps over failing to find the Horn of Winter.
- Styr, the Magnar of ThennCommands the operation, scouts for crows, orders a pyre, and drives the Thenns up the ladders.
- JarlLeads the first climbing team; an ice shear destroys his party; found dead and burned.
- Grigg the GoatLeads a team that survives and reaches the top, helping raise the rope ladders.
- ErrokLeads the third team; reaches the top and assists in hauling and staking the ladders.
- Thenn warriorsHold back in awe, then climb via ladders; two fall to their deaths.
- GhostJon’s direwolf; absent at departure, prompting Jon’s brief, worried reflection.