He did well for several minutes, then ran into a problem. The light was failing fast and the cliff wall was relatively smooth. The next clear handhold was four feet over—a crack in the rock—and there didn’t seem to be a decent foothold below it. Four feet was beyond his reach. He would have to jump to reach it, and if he missed, he would die. He considered going down and then cutting over but the prospect was depressing. In poor light, to search for holds below one’s feet was extremely difficult.

Matt jumped and caught the crack with his left hand. He had a second where he was sure he was a goner. He flayed helplessly; it was the scariest moment of his life. But he got his right hand up quick and regained balance.

The next stretch of rock was rich in cracks and bumps. He had to caution himself not to hurry. He focused on the basics. He paid attention to his footwork and balance to reduce the need to rely on his arms. He stood erect over his feet and fought the tendency to lean forward and hug the wall. He kept his arms outstretched to avoid hanging on bent arms, which was the single most tiring position in existence. Mostly, he struggled to stay calm. It was a long way down to the shallow stream.

He was a few feet from the top when he made a beginner’s mistake. He gave in to the temptation to reach forward and pull himself onto the ledge. The correct technique was to continue to walk his feet up the rock and use what was called down pressure with his hands near the edge of the ledge. In other words, he should have ignored that he was near his goal and kept going as usual. When he lunged and grasped the ledge, he lost his balance and his footholds. He ended up hugging the side of the cliff with his feet kicking uselessly in the air. At that point he could see Amy packing the car and had to fight the urge to call for help. Like she would run over and say you poor dear, let me give you a hand. Most likely she would stroll over and kick him in the face.

A well placed bump two feet from the ledge saved him. As he pulled himself up, he was forced to lie on his back for two whole minutes to catch his breath. Had Amy ran over and tried to stab him in the chest right then, he couldn’t have stopped her. Sweat dripped from every pore in his body and was absorbed by the thirsty rock. He had been on the wall for thirty minutes total and was completely dehydrated.