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

41 страница из 82

Ama Dablam in the post-monsoon. A total of 50 men and women summited Ama Dablam this season, including Americans Keith Boskoff and Mrs. Chris Boskoff.

—Himalayan Historian Elizabeth Hawley, American Alpine Club Journal

THOSE WHO CLIMB FREQUENTLY BECOME aware of a spectrum concealed in the upper echelon of the sport. Therein lies a vast array of attitudes about the element of danger. In perilous conditions, often the most compelling for elite climbers, the margin of safety is thin. It can be an illusion. The point where the reality of safety ends and the illusion begins differs for each individual. Reducing the risks in elite climbing is an effort involving speed, efficiency, and safe practices. When all three of these systems fail at the same time, extreme danger surfaces. Putting yourself in the same situation over and over again and walking away can feel like a gift of survival, when really the odds are no different than they are at a Las Vegas blackjack table. Or as one Seattle mountain guide explained: “It’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet for some of these climbers. Those first four plates taste delicious, but it’s that last piece of bacon that might send them over the top.”