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

36 страница из 82

Keiser took Keith and Chris to climb a classic pillar of ice in the Vail area called Rigid Designator, which rose 115 vertical feet. With a cauliflowered base rising into an upper column of beautiful ice, if Chris topped out on her first visit here, she knew it would be quite an accomplishment in her young climbing career. On day two of their attempt to scale Rigid Designator, Keith had Chris roped, and he stood below her on solid ground, belaying her from thirty feet. The day prior, he’d fought all the way up, while she’d managed to scale only about half of it before stopping in exhaustion and rappelling down. She’d vowed to get to the top before they left Colorado. Confident in her skill, Keith placed a bet with Thor, the loser paying for dinner in Bolivia.

Passing her previous stopping point, Chris paused, adding long ice screws into the frozen wall as she rose. She swung her ice axe, making contact with pale blue and splintering frozen shards that bounced off her helmet. Higher she climbed, taking a moment to rest, turn back, and look at the view. The altitude, often a factor for new climbers, failed to bother her. Her breathing remained smooth, her heart rate low, and her head clear. On a wall of ice at nearly nine thousand feet, Chris felt challenged but strong.