“The GuideBook says in the hard places with difficult footing we must link ourselves to each other,” Shad said. He opened the book and read several parts. “If one of us slips, the strength of the others can pull him back to secure footing.”

“But we could all crash to our deaths,” I said.

“We must make sure we don’t slip at the same time. We need to pay close attention to ourselves and also be alert to help each other at the first sign of trouble. I know—this is not my first climb.”

We tied ourselves together, with only Frodo walking on his own, his four feet and proximity to the ground giving him a distinct advantage. I felt uneasy, vulnerable. If the others blew it, I would pay the price.

For more than three hours we climbed on the shale, some loose, some tentatively glued to the ground by ice. We weren’t lined up vertically, but more horizontally, with Malaiki and David on my left and Shad and Victoria on my right. Once I felt more sure of myself I stepped a little faster, to show the others I could lead.

I looked back at Malaiki and David and flashed a confident smile. Just as I did, I felt nothing beneath me. My feet slid out from under me, and I was facedown on the shale, skidding down Peirasmos as if I were a fifth grader on a Slip ‘n’ Slide, except this fall wouldn’t end on soft grass.

I was certain I’d lost it, when suddenly I came to the end of the rope. I looked up and Malaiki and Shad were holding the rope firmly, their feet dug in.

“Are you all right?” Victoria shouted. A moment before she’d been five feet away. Now she was forty.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No big deal.” I got up and pretended I wasn’t hurt. I didn’t reach to my throbbing right side, cut and bruised by the shale and ice. It was all I needed—one more injury. I walked forward and upward, steadying myself on the rope as the others pulled it toward them, trying not to favor my sprained right ankle, though by now Frodo was sniffing at it as if he sensed the damage.

When I got near my comrades, I saw all their hands were bleeding, especially Shad’s and Malaiki’s. I almost said something, but I didn’t want to make a scene. Shad tried to look me over, but I brushed him off and resumed the climb. We took it slower. Finally the shale ended, and we untied the ropes. It felt good to be free and yet … without the connection, I felt more vulnerable.