during their time at sils maria, maria and valentine spend much of their days hiking in the alps. on one such final outing, they hike to the maloja pass – to observe a fascinating early morning cloud phenomenon that appears low in the pass (the "maloja snake" of the play's title, but also the "clouds of sils maria" in the film's title). valentine suggests that helena may not commit suicide but simply walk away to start a new life. maria protests that helena walks into the mountains never to return and must therefore be dead. after suggesting that their approaches to the play are too different for her (valentine) to be a useful assistant, a disconsolate valentine disappears without explanation, never to reappear.