Life #6: Social Climbing
From inside a Swiss crevasse, I reflect on some challenging mountaineering experiences. I dedicate this chapter to my climbing companions who, through these shared adventures, will forever remain special friends.
Dangling deep down in the dungeon of a Swiss crevasse
I had fallen through the jaws of a glacial morass
Precariously below
A huge overhang of snow
It could crush me any moment, that murderous mass
We had roped together climbing that glacial route
Overnight snow crunched under crampons and boots
Powder covering our tracks
Hiding huge yawning cracks
Then my ground fell abruptly, straight down the chute
So swallowed whole in a hole, on that alpine slope
Hanging vulnerably at the end of my rope
My whole life was at stake
Should that overhang break
Yet I never really panicked, or gave up hope
My friends secured me tightly, below their cleated feet
But my rope cut through the snow, like fresh tender meat
Every nervous move
Carved a deeper groove
Any part of that canopy, could come down in a heap
I pondered my predicament and contemplated
How swinging in a crevasse was overrated
As my life line cut deeper
That overhang got weaker
Any moment now, I could be obliterated
Staring down into that dark, endless abyss
How on earth was I going to get out if this
Trapped in that chasm
Cast in a spasm
Imminent danger was a trigger to reminisce
I flashed back to Mount Aspiring, in its winter attire
Its perfect pyramidal peak, Kiwi climbers would aspire
We’d summited at midnight
Under fast fading torchlight
In howling winds, a steep descent, our situation dire
Back suspended in Swiss time, I couldn’t concentrate
There was nothing I could do, but hang in there and wait
Thoughts would again wander
To years back yonder
Body fully harnessed but, my mind would hallucinate
To a trip when stranded high, on a mountain pass
Raging rivers, rushing torrents we couldn’t get past
Sheltered under a rock
Drenching rain wouldn’t stop
We huddled hungry, wet and shivering; how long could we last?
I recalled expeditions when terribly lost
Or on Mount Cook, when we didn’t make it aloft
The hardest decision
Is to abort a mission
We had turned around because the snow was too soft
My tape rewound to other moments of chance
Back with Smarty when caught in an avalanche
Then to Wales and Main Wall
My hardest rock climb of all
Then suddenly I snapped back out of my trance
Back on that Swiss glacier, my team hollered and cried
Soon Italians dropped a rope, from the opposite side
Hauled me from that canyon
Back to my companions
The only injuries were a throbbing head and my pride
My bed was spinning that night, and nerves were laid bare
Survived a narrow escape, so fully aware
But such risks are implicit
When tested to the limit
For we don't climb mountains, just because they are there
Days later we scaled the Weisshorn and Mount Dufourspitze
Europe’s second highest peak, west of Soviet bits
After all that consternation
Just utter exhilaration
And that’s why we go climbing, for that absolute bliss
For the camaraderie, the reliance and thrill of the climb
It’s the teamwork, the trust, unique moments in time
The banter and laughter
Shared memories forever after
And companions who will always … be best friends of mine.
Kevin Holmes • 21st December 2022
