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Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Go!
Renxel takes off at a run toward the wall of ice and leaps. He manages to clear almost four meters to the first handhold and the crowd cheers.
“Renxel is off to a flying start there. Which is no more than we’ve come to expect from this fine up-and-coming athlete.”
I’m no expert, but he looks like he’s moving faster than the others. I wonder if he’s taking a lot of risks to achieve his speed.
“Renxel is pushing himself hard. It’s very early in the climb to be expending that kind of energy. I hope he doesn’t pay for it later. This wall can be punishing to the unprepared,” the commentator tells us.
I find myself willing him to have more energy. To prove the commentator wrong.
“Go on, Renxel,” I say under my breath. I’m too caught up in the experience to realize I’m cheering on the person who annoyed me so much last night.
“Look at that, he’s taking the challenging direct route, but has he saved himself enough energy to hold out on that punishing climb?” the commentator asks. He wants to know as much as we do.
The camera pans in as he approaches the section where three other climbers have failed. There is a look of complete determination on his face.
Without pausing, he releases his grip with one hand and swings back and forth.
I find myself holding my breath.Go on, Renxel, you can do it!
On his next swing, he releases his grip on the ice. There is a moment where he appears weightless and then the camera shows his hand making positive contact with the grip.
The crowd goes wild.
I find myself screaming with them. The commentator is completely drowned out by the cheers and whoops.
The big screen shows the action in slow motion, and I marvel at the grace with which he performed the move. None of the other climbers who attempted that route had the courage to let go with both hands.
“Fortune favors the bold!” yells the commentator. “But has he left himself enough in reserve for the most challenging part of the climb yet? The ladder! This one crevasse is the only option for him now. It is a barely finger-width crease that will take him to the top and almost certain victory. If he can make it.”
I watch in awe as Renxel slides his fingers into the gap in the ice. He digs the long spurs that protrude from his legs into theice on either side of the gap and slowly but surely inches his way up the thin crevice.
At one point, the camera shows him stopping and looking down. Every line of his face is etched in concentration as he takes a deep breath and looks back up.
“Renxel is clearly running low on energy. The route he has chosen is grueling, and he’s pushed himself hard to get this far.”
I want to kick the commentator. He hasn’t failed yet.I won’t give up on you, Renxel. I know you can make it.
I watch as he grits his teeth and carefully places his hand higher up in the crevice. He kicks his spur into the ice and hauls himself up.
But his spur slips and he falls.
I gasp, terrified for him.
He manages to keep one hand wedged into the crevice, and it is all that stands between success and elimination.
Carefully, he raises his other hand and inserts it into the narrow gap. Then very gently he raises his foot and digs his spur in more firmly.
