As you reach the light at the end of the tunnel, you feel the warmth of the cave slowly drop, and by the time you've exited the mouth of the cave, the temperature has frozen below zero. You find yourself gazing out at an endless mountain range covered in snow and ice. It is here where, should you climb the mountains and reach a flattened cliffside, you will find what look to be abandoned campsites, with several crosses planted firmly into the ground and scattered across the surface of the mountains. Some may be inhabited by victims of the Climbers, who have been stripped naked and nailed to their cross for so long that their frozen flesh has begun to merge with the crude wooden planks which imprison them. You can, if you are small enough and absolutely must, cut open these former survivors and climb into their insides for both warmth and a place to hide. It might sound cruel, but compared to the biting cold of this hellish tundra, the warmth of your bodyheat is a pleasant change of temperature. You would be doing both yourself and the former traveler a favor.
The climbers are large, white-haired beasts with giant claws on both their legs and arms to make traversing their mountain homes far easier than it normally would be otherwise. They seek out travelers who are presumed to be undeserving of passing through the mountains in the eyes of the Lord. They are, however, known to be incredibly selective when it comes to those who they view as worthy of passing. However, it is believed that this selective nature is a product of boredom rather than out of a desire to enact the Lord's will. If possible, you must avoid them at all costs. If you are caught, the chance of escape is slim, and it is a waste of effort to fight back unless you manage to find some sort of weapon or sharp object during your journey. There IS a way to pacify them, though it is incredibly dangerous. If you can somehow manage to steal one of the Managers' Nemes without getting whipped, a group of Climbers will fight each-other to take it from you, granting you a somewhat safer passage through the layer. This isn't recommended, as Managers are incredibly fast and the chances of outrunning them are slim to none.
Your goal in this layer is to brave the elements, avoid the climbers, and push your way up to the top of the frozen mountains. There, you will be more likely to find numerous exit points which take the form of blizzards so incredibly dense that passing through them will make it impossible to see further than a foot in front of you. Once you reach the center of the storm, you will begin to feel light-headed, which will cause you to temporarily fall unconscious. At that point, you will be transported to the next layer.