Climbing High Read Online Free PDF

words to communicate. But he wanted words. He wanted to add to what he’d already learned about her.
    Ernst looked directly at Jake for the first time. “If you plan to continue with Siree, I’ll take advantage of the belay and make my descent with Sig and Gretta. I can see I’m not up to your level of competence and I’m not only holding you up, but admit I’m losing my nerve.”
    Jake had to give the guy points for manning up. They maneuvered within the chimney until he had lead with Siree behind him. He heard the ringing sound as Sig hammered in the first piton.
    He climbed with total focus, his mind in the moment. He’d always relished the thrill of risk and there wasn’t anything much riskier than hanging by two fingers with a three thousand foot drop below you. He increased their pace, taking into account Siree’s shorter reach and height. Climbers called a woman who could move on rock with strength and grace a Wallerina. Siree deserved the title.
    The sun dropped behind another peak, returning them to the heavy shadows. Soon goose bumps replaced the sweat on their bodies. The steep face offered no resting place to add a layer of clothes. They still had over a hundred metres to climb when a huge overhang blocked their approach to the final face at the top. To transverse the underside and come up over the lip, a climber would have to do the equivalent of dozens of one arm chin-ups, a test for a strong man, difficult for all but the most experienced women. Unwilling to give Siree the benefit of the doubt, he buried the awareness he wasn’t prepared to watch her do it deep in his mind. He’d investigate that aberration later, and meanwhile choose an easier route. To his left and behind them, empty space offered vistas of distant peaks. Unless they backtracked and looked for a secondary route they had only one option. Across two metres of open air, weathering had undercut the cliff, forming a rocky roof much like the one blocking their path. To reach it they would have to deadpoint onto the rounded edge of the roof, swinging across the space on the momentum of one arm and find finger holds before they slid down the metre of curved surface available. From there, a good climber could flip himself up and over the edge onto the top of the roof.
    He climbed higher so he could look over and down on the roof and calculate if it’d be wide enough to offer purchase and strong enough to take their weight. He waited till Siree came up to him. Her breathing sounded ragged and sweat beaded her hairline and upper lip. Her skin glowed with it. He wanted to lick it off every inch of her. He’d long since shed his T-shirt for the muscle shirt beneath. Below his hiking shorts rock dust clung to his damp legs. Sweat soaked his chest and back, a danger of another kind as the temperature dropped.
    “Tough one.” She assessed the obstacle standing between her and the summit. She looked to each side and behind, then down, to locate a better route. She came to the same conclusion as him.
    “Sorry, I’m not strong enough to do the underside of this overhang. It’s either deadpoint over to the adjacent roof or head down without a victory.”
    “Your call.” Jake offered her either support to go on or a chance to turn back. No judgment.
    Siree settled her foot and hand into a deep crack and rested back on her other haunch against the smooth rock. She assessed her body, felt the lactic acid building in her quads and biceps, the small trembles that indicated muscle fatigue. Yet the summit beckoned.
    “Only about one hundred and fifty or so metres left up there, wouldn’t you say?” Her chin now pointed at the last vertical above the roof. “On my own I’d continue, but I respect that if I splat down there somewhere it would affect you.” Her chin poked toward the base. “If you don’t believe I’m up to doing it, I’ll wait here for you.” She looked at him steadily, waiting for his answer.
    Jake’s eyebrows arched up in