In this passage, the narrator describes a moment of awakening as dawn approaches after a long, dark night. The scene is set with a vivid image of a pale yellow light breaking through thick clouds, symbolizing hope and clarity emerging from obscurity. The increasing activity of birds around them reflects a rising sense of life and anticipation as the natural world prepares for daylight.

"Suddenly at the end of the great couloir my vision is sharpened by a pale disjunctive shudder as a bar of buttercup-yellow thickening gradually to a ray falls slowly through the dark masses of cloud to the east." This quote captures the intense moment of dawn breaking, emphasizing the transition from darkness to light. The description of a stairway of kingcups sliding down from the sky offers a poetic visual of dawn's gentle arrival, providing orientation and a renewed sense of perspective for the observer.