A New Pace
There are three rules of the mountains: things are always farther than they appear; things are always steeper than they appear; and things are always harder than they appear. It was time to go from the forest to the mountains, and the only way to do that was up. After getting into rope teams, we set out to climb the pass. Traveling in a rope team is therapeutic. You're still connected to your teammates and yet you are totally absorbed in your own thoughts. Just the crunch of the snow beneath your boots.
The hands of my watch spun onward. The next time I checked, the little hand had circled three times. During those three hours we kicked up toward the clouds, and the view when we crested was unbelievable. Mountains in front of us formed a majestic wall of numerous assent possibilities. The clouds hid the valley floor from us. The WHY all came rushing back to me. I had spent so many hours laboring away to get to THIS point. It all culminated in THIS moment. It was so much better than I had ever dreamed. It was... simply amazing.
The climber in me started thinking that traveling on snow was more safe than rock climbing. 'Safety' is an interesting notion because nothing is absolutely safe in the mountains. Like life, there are no guarantees. At first I was concerned that moving on snow would be less protected than climbing on rock. That's simply not the case. When tied into a rope team, each team member creates protection for the others in the event of a fall. Unlike climbing protection (helmet, rope, etc) each 'piece' of protection - each person - is moving in tandem and always looking for ways to keep the team safe.
Blinding Clarity
As we worked to master the art of trudging, my mind wandered to what we had done up to that point. It was then that a startling realization set in. When we traveled in rope teams there were times where one MUST NOT FALL. I began to understand exactly how dangerous a hobby I had chosen. Anything in the mountains has the potential to be very dangerous. There were many times on this trip where my only thought was 'this is a no fall zone'. Just that simple. Fate stepped in to underline the point.
I received a text from my climbing partner back home saying that she was pretty shaken. Having only seen her rattled once, I was very concerned and 'protect mode' kicked in. After numerous texts and a phone call, enough of the pieces were in place for me to understand. While taking a few friends climbing the previous weekend, the unthinkable happened. A rope slid through the system, dropping the climber the remaining 60 or so feet to the ground. His pelvis was broken, but no spinal injury to my partner's knowledge. The climber landed 10 feet from where my friend was standing, and she was understandably traumatized.
No one person was at fault; however both sides should have claimed responsibility for the accident. The leader for not knowing how much rope was needed for the route, and the belayer for not being aware of how much rope he had left.
After coming back from the trip where we had one evacuation and a couple of very close calls, I now have new clarity on just how dangerous the mountains can be. You have to be on your A game the entire time, from parking lot to parking lot. And a more scary thought than that is you could do everything right and it could still all go wrong. When you take someone out with whom to share your passion, you are also their protection, the resident expert. Be prepared as best you can.
Be safe out there.
Z
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