Way of the Wolf by Bear Grylls

Author:Bear Grylls
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: RHCP

CHAPTER 25

‘Tikaani!’ Beck shouted. There had been a brief yell of surprise from his friend, but it had been cut short by an ominous thump. The rope and the buried rucksack held his weight, though the rope was taut and cut into the snow at the crevasse’s edge. Tikaani was out of sight, dangling below on the end of the rope.

‘Tikaani!’ Beck called again. ‘You OK?’

There was a pause.

‘Yes.’ Tikaani’s voice came up out of the crevasse. He sounded winded. He would have thumped against the side as he fell. Beck pictured his friend dangling there. Neither boy was wearing any special kind of harness. The rope had been tied around their waists, so the loop would slowly squeeze Tikaani, cutting off his breath.

Beck wished he could go and peer down, but he didn’t trust the edge of the crevasse and he wasn’t tied to anything.

‘Can you climb?’

‘Uh . . .’ The rope quivered. Beck heard the sound of Tikaani’s boots scrabbling against the ice. Then the rope jerked as if a weight had yanked on it and he heard Tikaani swear.

‘No. My boots just slip off the ice.’

To climb a wall of ice you needed proper equipment. Crampons. Axes. Sharp metal that would stick in. Beck looked around him for anything that would help. Anything. All they had was more rope . . .

Yes, he thought, the rope, of course. One end was tied to Tikaani. Only the middle bit was tied around the buried rucksack. The other end was still loose, coiled on the snow next to the pack.

‘Tikaani? I’m sending some more rope down. Look out.’

Beck threw the free end of rope towards the crevasse. It uncoiled as it flew through the air and the end vanished into the crack in the ice. A moment later:

‘Uh – got it. Now what?’

‘Take hold of it with both hands. Pull it tight.’

The rope stiffened as Tikaani’s weight pulled down on it.

‘Now, brace your legs against the side of the ice and . . .’

‘Yeah. Thanks. I think I’ve got it.’

Both ends of rope were completely taut now – the one that was tied to Tikaani and the one he was pulling on. They lay side by side on the ice, vanishing over the edge.

The length that was tied to Tikaani suddenly went loose. That meant Tikaani was climbing – his weight was no longer pulling on it. Beck allowed himself a grimly pleased smile and sat down in the snow, with his heels digging in. He took hold of the loose length and looped it around his body, then pulled gently until it was tight once more. Now Beck himself was a bollard, something to take the weight if Tikaani fell again. His friend would drop back into the crevasse, but not as far.

He heard scratchings and scrapings as Tikaani slowly clambered up. Then the rope jerked in Beck’s hands as the other boy’s full weight tugged on it again. Tikaani’s weight yanked hard at him and he slid forward in the snow a few centimetres, braced against the force.

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