Читать книгу Edge of the Map. The Mountain Life of Christine Boskoff онлайн

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The chatter dimmed. A handful of digital cameras emerged from pockets to document the findings. An officer stepped forward, clipboard in hand to record the contents for the US Consulate. He seemed mildly nervous as he shifted on the cold marble floor.

Snapping Charlie’s lock, Callahan slowly unzipped the bag, feeling oddly reluctant. Disrespecting his hero by rifling through his belongings in a police station in rural China hadn’t been on any Christmas wish list he’d drawn up. Reaching inside, he pulled out the pieces of Charlie’s life: a sleeping pad, a pair of jeans, a small silver pocketknife, a wall adaptor, watch batteries and instructions for a Timex, a single titanium ice screw, disposable razors, rubber sandals, nine rolls of 35-millimeter film, a bus ticket from Kangding to Litang, a business card for the driver in Litang, a US one-cent coin. Charlie, you eternal cheapskate, Callahan said to himself, smiling.

Charlie wore the badge of “dirtbag climber” unapologetically from day one. Putting together jobs guiding and writing, he did what he could to minimize his consumerism and maximize his time on rocks. Presentable when he needed to be and far wiser than most people understood, this penny in his duffel would no doubt be spent on a necessity of life back in the United States. If I can just get him back there, thought Callahan.