Jen's Legacy.

Royce recovered, knowing what lay ahead of them, dragging his mind back to where it had to be.

He took a few deep breaths as he looked around, then turned his back on the river and on those painful memories. He needed to push that pain and the grief into the background now, as he pointed to the rocks and screes above them, letting her climb steadily ahead of him where it was initially, easy.

He needed to see how sure she was on her feet, and what strength she had on a difficult climb up, and over those rocks.

“We’ll take it steadily and slowly, staying on the larger boulders at the edge of the screes away from the finer sand. It’s a difficult scramble in the sand where one can expend a lot of energy for very little gain, and we need to make sure we don’t destroy your sneakers doing it. I also don’t want either of us falling and breaking anything; not this far out and so far away from anywhere.”

He’d already taken enough risks for one lifetime, getting down to her and pulling her out of the river.

He let her slowly lead the way as he pointed a course out to her over the larger rocks and boulders that had rolled or slid to the lowest parts of the scree and to the edges, taking a far different course than the one he had slid down.

They advanced steadily, pausing and resting often, slowly getting up to where he needed to rock-climb, holding the rope loosely in his hand, then asking her to stop, as he took over the lead where it became more difficult, sensing where she was, relative to him, by the way the rope behaved in his hand, letting it out as he needed to, then waiting for her, and taking it in again as she climbed closer to him, before he moved up another twenty feet.

He paused often, observing her, passing the water bottle to her when she needed to drink.

“We have enough water for all of today, so take what you need.” He didn’t want her refusing to drink for fear of depleting their limited supply. They were never very far from the river, but it would take the best part of half a day to get down and up again.

He helped her up some of the smaller climbs of only a few feet, staying behind her, and not afraid to put his hand onto her and push her, as he told her where there was a hand-hold, or held his knee tight up against her between her legs as he helped her climb. It took them almost thirty minutes to get up to the first major sandstone cliff, about forty-feet high, rising above them.

She noticed that no matter how slow she must be, relative to him, or how often she needed to rest, he was always soft-spoken, kind, and encouraging, with words of praise, helping her where he could, taking her hand to lead her up the final few tens of feet up to the first rock face, while holding on to the rope, and pointed out the least difficult way for her in the shoes she was wearing.

She had good balance and was reasonably fit, though she was soon out of breath and feeling the unfamiliar exercise, with her leg muscles aching, even from the little actual rock-face climbing she did.

This was where he would need to climb ahead of her, but first he would give her a few more climbing essentials, various ‘jams’, with finger; fist; or hand jams; though if he did it right, she wouldn’t need them.

He scrutinized the sandstone face knowing that in another hour or so, the sun would be full on them again, making life difficult.

It could take them as much as three hours to climb out, where he’d come down in just one tenth that time, not recalling clearly how he’d done it, but this time, it had to be done safely, and right.

“You are doing very well.”

He explained how he would climb first, secure his rope at the top, leave his pack up there, and then come back down for her. He cautioned her to watch for falling rock fragments from above as he climbed, and to stay to one side of his climb while the rope followed him up, after he’d untied her from it, asking her to hold it loosely, out from the rock face, to stop it getting snagged anywhere, though it was unlikely to do that.

He didn’t have much climbing gear, and the wrong boots for climbing, but he had the essentials; rope and carabiners and even a couple of expanding bolts, to place in crevices to hold a rope, but they wouldn’t be needed.

She watched him climb, seeing how relatively easy he made it look, as he swarmed up easily. He was only a few minutes getting up that first stretch, moving out of her sight, and then a couple of minutes later, she watched him rappel down again on the same rope after he’d anchored it at the top, taking only a few seconds to come down, without his pack this time, bouncing out from the rock face as he dropped another few feet each time. The rope burns on his back and arm, and his hands, were now easy to understand.

“Now let’s get you up there.” He smiled at her.

He looked at her for a few moments, deciding, as he explained how they would do that. Some of what he would do, getting her ready and when he climbed with her, might be embarrassing for her, but he had little choice, and nor did she if she was to be held securely.

“I’m going to tie you on, again, re-position the rope around your middle, and fashion a harness around both of your legs.

“I’ll get you to lean back against the cliff here and bend your legs to go into a sitting position while I retie you into the rope and use the loose end to make a Bosun’s chair, with loops under both of your legs to keep you secure.

He fastened the rope around her waist, with turns under each of her legs as she watched what he did, focused on the top of his head as he worked directly in front of her, touching her carelessly, personally, but doing nothing she would complain about now.

She watched as he did what he’d described, saying nothing about him moving her legs apart to do that, or of him touching her so personally as he placed the rope under her, positioning it, pulling her shorts down part-way on her body, to make a cushion beneath her legs before taking up the slack, and getting her to face into the rock wall as he spoke to her.

“This will be personal, but there is not much choice about how I can do it. I’ll support you from behind and lift you up the rope as you put your feet against the rock face to walk up it as I direct. I will have my arm between your legs from behind, under you, and will lift you with that arm, as you hold onto the rock face, or the rope, as I take up the slack. I will pass the rope, as I take it up, through the rope at your waist, and we will go up the rock face together, about six inches or a foot each time.”

She was scared, but was not going to object.

He repeated his caution. “It will be personal, but there will be no avoiding that.”