The Last Step by Rick Ridgeway

Author:Rick Ridgeway
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781594859366
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
Published: 2013-04-25T04:00:00+00:00

The view from Camp IV was quite different. There was no denying conditions on the ridge were hostile. But perhaps one reason for their trouble getting across was that they really had not wanted to; without a driving reason to keep you going, it is easier to be stopped by gale-force winds. In any case, Jim had more or less ordered them down, against their own judgment; that had raised their ire. In a later conversation Chris observed:

When the “order” to come down came through we were all mad. We had given the radio to Skip because, of the four of us, he had the most tact with words. We understood the reasoning behind it—to minimize food consumption—but the question in our minds was whether it was safe to go down. I was opposed to it. There was a lot of fresh snow, it was windy and cold, not the kind of day to go down. It wasn’t clear if the food saved was worth the risk. Later in the trip, during other storms, people did stay in Camp Four and consume food. It was like people were playing with my life for a few sacks of food. The night of the twelfth I didn’t sleep well at all. I lay in my bag with various scenarios going through my mind. We got up early the next morning and started down. Craig and Skip broke first. It was a total whiteout with a strong wind. A lot of fresh, drifted snow. There was a real balance problem going along the knife-edge out of Camp Four. The whole way across, slabs kept breaking off as we pulled the rope out. Just past the rappel, an avalanche came down and buried me. I was third on the rope. At the moment it covered me I was standing midway between two anchors. I sunk my ax and held tight. I was clipped into the fixed rope. I felt the weight come down; I hugged the slope as close as I could; I felt the weight increase and I pulled out and came down on the rope. My mind flashed, “Jesus, this is it.” Then it let up, but I couldn’t stop shaking for half an hour.

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