by Gary Jonas
But after a time, I fell asleep. I woke up when Victor entered the tent, but I kept my eyes mostly closed. He tried to be quiet, and sat on the cot across from us. Esther sat next to him.
“If he tries anything, I'll scream,” she said.
Knowing she was watching over us helped, and I drifted back into a dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
When experts tell you that you should get acclimated to the altitude before attempting to climb a massive mountain, listen to them. They know what they're talking about. Back when I lived in Denver, I enjoyed watching the Broncos play football against folks like the San Diego Chargers. The opposing team, used to playing at sea level, would come to town a few days early in order to get used to the lack of oxygen. The Broncos even had a sign hanging over the visitor's locker room telling them they were a mile high. Elevation 5280 feet, suckers! And I knew that even if the Broncos struggled against a team for three quarters, once that fourth quarter started, the other team would spend more time sucking on their oxygen masks than running with the football and my team had a great chance at victory.
Football players tend to be in excellent shape.
I was in good shape, but I hadn't been working out as much as usual the last several years. I felt good, and I ate right for the most part, and all seemed fine.
Until I tried climbing a mountain.
For starters, it was cold, and while the storm wasn't as bad as Pavel expected, but it sure slowed us down. And when you have a chilly wind blowing snow in your face for hours on end, it tends to have an effect on your attitude.
We started the climb at seven. At first, I was just glad no one had found the body, so I was happy to get everyone away from that damn camp. Behruz returned to Dushanbe, and Victor commanded Pavel to believe the man went with him, so nobody even looked for him, though the porters didn’t seem convinced.
We had to make do with far less than we bought because so much had been left behind. We also had to carry equipment. At first it wasn't bad. Sure the back pack weighed thirty pounds, but that didn't seem like much until I'd been carrying it for six hours.
Climbing a mountain, especially one with ice and snow at elevation, required a lot of special gear. The initial part of the climb wasn't too tough other than the cold and the altitude.
We had crampons on our boots, so we had good traction and mobility even on the ice. We were novices, and while Korzhenevskaya Peak wasn't considered a technically difficult climb, it sure kicked my ass.
Pavel moved at a steady clip. Kelly, being magically engineered, had no trouble keeping up. Victor, the undead bastard, moved easily enough. Brenda struggled from the start, but she didn't complain. And if she wasn't going to bitch about it, that meant I couldn't.
Later, I was too tired to complain.
The beginning of the climb was on a well-marked path up the glacier, but toward the end of the day, Pavel broke out some ropes so we could get across a section where the glacier butted up to the rocky sidewall. Then we were on rocks. We wore helmets in case of stone-fall, which was not reassuring.
“Be extra cautious,” Pavel warned.
“A helmet won't protect me if a boulder falls on my head,” I said.
“Stones,” Pavel said. “Not gigantic boulders. I thought you'd climbed before.”
“It was a joke,” I said, though it really wasn't. He said stone-fall, and I thought boulders.
When Pavel finally got us to what he called camp one, he pointed to a flat area covered in gravel where the Tajik men busily set up tents.
“We camp here on the right bank, moron,” Pavel said.
I blinked. “What did you call me?”
“He said, moraine,” Victor said, “which is the debris of soil and rock deposited by the glacier.” He grinned and added, “You moron.”
I damn near keeled over. My legs throbbed. My mind was numb. It was cold as the sun went down. Victor relaxed as it got darker, and I realized that even with the ring, he had to be hurting. I thought the snow and haze would make it easier on him as the ring didn't have to protect him from direct sunlight, but his reaction told me otherwise.
Pavel wasn't tired at all. Yuri and the Tajik men were all doing fine. Kelly was still Kelly, and the climb hadn't taken anything out of her.
She went to Brenda. “Are you okay?”
Brenda fought for breath and held up a hand. “I'll ... live.”
Kelly took Brenda's rack and carried it to the tents. A few minutes later, she returned to check on me.
“Regret not working out yet?” she asked.
“Funny.”
We gathered in the largest tent and had dinner, which consisted of soup and pasta. We drank coffee and water.
We crashed early, Brenda and I wrapped together in blankets for warmth only, since we were both too exhausted for anything more, which was a first.
Before I knew it, morning arrived, and we were right back at it. I sent Esther ahead of us, then joined the others as the Tajik men packed up the tents.
“We climb to base two today,” Pavel said. “Slope is what we call moderately steep. All ice and snow, and we must rope up and cross several crevasses. If you wish to turn back, this is time.”
“We go forward,” I said.
“As you wish.”
Did I look that worn out? Brenda stumbled up to me and I realized he was more worried about her. She looked exhausted.
“Can you make it? I can have someone take you back down to base camp.”
“I'll make it,” Brenda said. Her voice held determination, and I knew that while it was going to be a rough climb, she wouldn't back down. I put my arms around her. She was a trooper.
I steeled myself. At least the snow had stopped.
The wind was light, and while it was cold, it wasn't biting into my bones. We began the ascent and after a few hours of trudging along, I fell into a routine I knew I could maintain.
That all changed when we reached the first crevasse.
“We will rope up, and come back for you,” Pavel said.
He and Yuri went to work, while I took advantage of the break to eat a cereal bar and drink some water.
Brenda stood with her arms wrapped around herself.
“What’s wrong?” Kelly asked.
Brenda’s eyes were wide. “I’m scared of heights.”
“Pavel will have one of the porters help you across,” Kelly said. “When you cross the crevasse, don't look down.”
“I won't,” Brenda said. “I'll just hold onto the porter and let him get me across.”
Kelly nodded, then looked at me. “Where's Esther?” she asked.
“Scouting ahead.”
“They use this route all the time. She's not likely to find the entrance in this area.”
“I know. That's why I have her checking the entire mountain. If it’s open, she'll find the entrance, and we'll have Pavel get us there. If it’s not, we’ll need to get that disk thing from Victor.”
Before long, we were ready to cross the first big crevasse. The ropes were strong, and Kelly went first. She clipped herself to the rope with a carabiner then worked her way across, keeping her legs wrapped around the rope while she pulled herself along hand over hand. She made it look easy.
I went next, and while I wasn't as graceful as Kelly, I didn't have any trouble. Victor followed me. Halfway across, the sun burst through the clouds and he flinched. I knew that even with the ring, that sun burned him. He composed himself quickly, and pulled himself the rest of the way. He staggered over to a cliff face with an overhang to get into the shadows.
To his credit, he didn't complain.
One of the porters started to help Brenda, but she shook her head. I guess watching us cross by ourselves gave her courage. Brenda clipped herself to the rope and started across. She did fine at first, but then she made the mistake of looking down. The drop was a good six hundred feet to craggy boulders and snowy outcroppings. She froze up.
“Come on, Brenda,” I called. �
��You can do it.”
“No,” Brenda said. “I'll fall.”
She wrapped herself around the rope, and held on for dear life. She was almost halfway across. All she had to do was pull herself the rest of the way.
“You've got this,” I said.
“I can't,” she said, and tried to go back the way she'd come.
“Forward,” Pavel said.
“I can't!”
Yuri said something to Pavel, who nodded.
Pavel cupped his hands around his mouth. “Yuri will come to you. He will take you across.”
“No,” Brenda said.
“I'll go get her,” I said.
But Yuri was already on his way, pulling himself like he was born to live on ropes hundreds of feet in the air.
Brenda wore gloves, and a coat, and the only skin she had exposed was from her nose to her chin. She knew to be careful, and Yuri was almost there. I decided to let him handle it. He was a strong man, who helped lead groups up and down the mountains. This was in his wheelhouse.
“Be careful,” I said.
“He is professional,” Pavel said.
He thought I was talking to Yuri, but I was talking to Brenda.
“It will be all right,” Kelly said.
Yuri made it to Brenda. He crawled beneath her, and reached around to get a good grip on her coat. They were both clipped to the rope so neither could fall. He began moving toward us across the rope, using only the one hand. Brenda struggled as soon as he started to move her.
He said something to her in Russian.
Of course she didn't understand him. She kept struggling, trying to grab the rope, and he kept pushing her hands aside.
“Brenda!” I yelled. “Let him do the work. Stop struggling. He'll get you to safety.”
“We're going to fall!” she cried.
“You're going to be fine. Relax.”
“I can't!”
Yuri edged closer to us, but Brenda slipped around him, and knocked his feet free from the rope. The carabiner was plenty strong enough to him. Brenda started messing with her carabiner. “I have to get out of here,” she said.
“Brenda!” I yelled. ”Stop that!” Was Victor doing his command thing? Brenda posed a major threat to him, but when I looked over at him, he seemed to be focused more on keeping in the shadow under the overhang.
Brenda unclipped her carabiner, but Yuri kept hold of her and wrapped his legs around the rope again. He snatched the carabiner from her hand and clipped her to his belt then struggled to move Brenda to his back. All the while, he kept talking to her in as soothing a tone as Russian will allow. He wasn't panicked at all. This was all in a day's work. He got her to wrap her arms around his neck, then he adjusted his legs and grip. He pulled closer to us.
Brenda looked down again.
She screamed.
She struggled.
I moved to the edge of the crevasse, ready to help as soon as they were close enough. I considered going out on the rope, too, but Kelly put a hand on my shoulder.
“Let him do this. She's not going to fall. She's clipped to him, and he's clipped to the rope. She's safe.”
“She needs to stop struggling.”
“She's in panic mode. Fight or flight.”
Yuri ignored her struggles, and calmly pulled them across the rope. Before long, he reached the other side. Kelly and I helped him get disentangled from Brenda, who kept shaking like a nervous dog. I unclipped her from Yuri.
“Thank you,” I said.
He nodded.
“Welcome,” he said. Probably one of the six English words he knew.
I guided Brenda over to the outcropping where Victor sat. “You're all right,” I said, and embraced her. “You made it.”
Pavel and the others crossed the crevasse without difficulty.
“We must keep going. Camp two is not far, but there is another crevasse ahead.”
“I'll take Brenda across on that one,” I said.
Pavel shook his head. “No. Yuri will handle. You did good, but still novice.”
“Does it show?” I said.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Before long, we reached the next crevasse. Brenda shook her head and tried to back up, but I was behind her. I grabbed her arms and held her steady.
“It's all right,” I said.
“No. I can't do it.”
“You don't have to. Yuri is going to take you across. We'll clip you to him, and he'll handle it. You just hold still and close your eyes. He'll take care of everything.”
“It's too far down.”
“This one isn't nearly as deep,” I said. “It's also not nearly as wide.”
She kept shaking her head. “No, I just can't. Just leave me here.”
“That's not going to happen.”
“Problem?” Pavel asked.
“She's nervous.”
“Yuri is professional,” he said again and put a hand on Brenda's shoulder. He patted her in a reassuring manner. “He does this all the time.”
“Don't touch me,” Brenda said.
“Sorry,” Pavel said.
“She's just a bit freaked out,” I said. To her, I whispered, “It's all right. You're wearing a coat, gloves, hat. There's no danger to them.”
“I don't like the way they look at me.”
“I didn't notice anything untoward.”
“That Yuri guy wants me.”
“Can't blame him. You're smoking hot. Every guy who sees you wants you. But they haven't been making passes at you.”
“Just looking, but that's enough. I know what's on their minds.”
The three Tajik men went across the rope first this time.
Kelly approached us while they crossed.
“Yuri is ready,” Kelly said.
“He can't touch me. I'm not crossing that chasm. No way.”
“You want me to take you?” Kelly asked.
Pavel returned. “Yuri is waiting.”
“Let him wait,” Brenda said. “I'll stay right here. You go find Indra. You don't really need me for this.”
“I can take you,” Kelly said.
“No.”
“We must go now,” Pavel said. “It is another hour to get to base two.”
“I'm not going,” Brenda said.
“Yes you are,” I said.
She kept shaking her head.
“Victor!” I called.
He turned to look. He stood near the crevasse waiting his turn to cross. I approached him.
“Can you jump Brenda across with a shadow?” I asked.
Victor shook his head. “I don’t have the energy right now, and there aren’t any good shadows. This sunlight is draining me even with the ring.”
Pavel motioned for Victor to go next.
An unearthly sound ripped through the peaks. It sounded like a cross between Chewbacca and an enraged lion.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“There are animals up here,” Pavel said. “Goats.”
“That wasn't a goat,” I said.
“Predators too. We should get to camp and build fire. Creature is not close. Do not fear.”
“Creature?” I asked. “What aren't you telling us?”
“We lost time at last crevasse. When sun goes down, beast comes out. I have heard it many times, but I have never seen it.”
“Seen what?”
“I do not know, do not wish to know. During last climb, we found remains of goat torn in half. We are in its hunting grounds. We must get to camp.”
“Somehow, I don't think they put this animal in the brochures.”
“Kelly, you are next,” Pavel said. “Victor is across.”
“I'll take Brenda,” Kelly said.
“You are very good,” Pavel said, “but this one panics. You are small. Yuri is large. Yuri will take her.”
I knew Kelly could handle it, but convincing Pavel wasn't going to be easy, so I just went along with him. “Go ahead,” I said. “I'll
get her to go with Yuri.”
“You're sure?”
“We are losing daylight,” Pavel said.
The roar sounded again. This time it sounded closer. My blood was already cold, but the screech chilled me further.
“That's unnerving,” I said.
“It is not near,” Pavel said, but he kept looking around.
“Come on, Brenda. We need to go. It's a shorter trip this time.”
Another call from the animal, and Brenda was on her feet. “Okay,” she said. “That was close.”
“And that's why you can't stay here,” I said. “Between falling a hundred feet to the rocks or having a mountain lion shred you and eat you while you're still alive, I'd take the fall.”
“That's no mountain lion,” Brenda said, “but I agree with you.”
Another growl, much closer. Pavel and I looked up. I thought I caught a glimpse of white fur between two outcroppings above us. Something sliding downward. Pavel saw it too because he hurried me toward the crevasse.
“We must go now.”
Yuri clipped Brenda to his belt.
Snow and rocks tumbled down the face of the cliff behind us and something grunted. It came from above us.
Yuri said something in Russian.
“We go next,” Pavel said. “Yuri will follow. Go, go, go.”
I clipped myself to the rope and moved across the chasm. Pavel didn't wait for me to get across. He clipped himself and followed me immediately.
I made it to the other side, and Pavel nearly knocked me over as he unclipped himself and moved into place to help Yuri. I glanced over and saw Yuri and Brenda already clipped to the rope. Yuri moved hand over hand toward us.
A humanoid creature dropped from the cliff face and landed next to the crevasse. It was covered in white fur, and it had huge fangs and long, sharp black claws. It roared at us from across the chasm.
“Holy shit,” I said. “It's a fucking Yeti!”
“Keep coming, Yuri. Hurry,” Pavel said.
They were more than halfway across when the Yeti moved to the edge of the crevasse.
It growled then slashed through the ropes.
“Yuri!” Pavel yelled.
Yuri and Brenda dropped out of sight.
“No!” I yelled.
The creature roared at us and pounded its fists on the ground.
