Page 26 - Oasis in the Sky

Fear of Flying

Our second day of rock climbing,
the cool morning air and two mile hike
to Buzzard’s peak got our blood flowing.
We hoped the peak was named for
the buzzards roosting there,
and not something more ominous.

Strong and confident, I began to climb.
The cool granite bit into my fingertips
as I easily fought gravity and pulled
myself up the vertical plane of the cliff.
Too quickly I climbed, not setting
much protection along the route—
falling simply did not seem possible.

Thirty-five feet in the air,
just five feet from the top,
I ran into trouble.
I had to traverse a couple of steps
to my right—toeholds and footholds
mere ripples in the wall—
with no place to set any protection.

I called down, alerting my partner
to the fact that I was in a difficult spot.
I looked down at the protection I had placed,
anxious now that I had not set enough.
I began the crossovers but didn’t
have the finger strength to support my
weight on what little hold was available.
I came off the wall.

Falling is inherent in rock climbing—
it’s the rope, your protection,
and your partner that save your life.
But my protection blew out of the granite,
the sound echoed across the valley like rifle shots,
and my partner could do nothing but morbidly watch as
I fell thirty-five feet, landing flat on my back onto solid rock.

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Oasis in the Sky
Oasis in the Sky