I actually just watched this last week and that's not what he says. He says that the crevasse was an awful, awful place and that he was filled with despair for a time, even having a little crack-up for a while. He'd long considered himself an atheist but now he considered praying. He rejected the idea though, confirming to himself that he really didn't believe in God. He says something like he'd always wondered if his atheism was genuine and whether he'd start praying in a bad situation like that and that fall answered the question for him. There's no malevolent presence described other than impassive ice and rock.
That isn't how I remember the dialogue, though I'll defer to what you say as you say you've seen it recently. Is it available on DVD?