xp_logs | Nathan and Ororo, Yosemite

Day two on El Capitan. An opportunity to be (very quietly) heroes, and the summit.

The second day of climbing was both harder and easier than the first. Harder because of the fact they had spent the night on a narrow ledge, roped into place so that a good night's sleep was almost impossible (especially with Nathan's nightmares). Easier because after one day of doing it, it was much easier to settle into a routine and just climb.

Nathan's energy level was noticeably lower than it had been the day before, but he was still climbing steadily, and still insisting on leading each pitch. This was tricky climbing, at this level. He'd just pulled off a very difficult pendulum swing, on the last pitch, and broken one of his own cardinal rules by using a little TK to help Ororo when she followed.

"Look up, Ororo," he called down to her, his voice more hoarse than it had been yesterday. "It's the Great Roof. One of the most famous parts of the route..."

Breathing deeply, she latched onto her hand-holds and then looked up, eyes widening at the massive outcropping above them. The reason for its nickname was obvious - it looked like a curved granite rooftop, carved by the elements over thousands of years' time. "How will we get past it?" she shouted back, not worried, just... curious.

"Very carefully!" He relented, as soon as the words were out of his mouth. #Under and up the other side,# he sent telepathically; it was easier, with the wind at this height. #There's a flake on the other side, easier climbing. Then it's a straight shot up the side of the Nose to the summit.# A straight shot that would probably involve at least eight more hours of climbing. Nathan looked up at the Roof again, trying to judge the best traverse route.

Then he heard shouting, beneath them. Another pair, separated by about an hour's steady climbing from where Nathan and Ororo now were, were clearly in trouble. One of the climbers was dangling, as if their protection had come loose from the wall.

Ororo reacted almost instantly, the winds that had been battering the mountain face stilling at a thought. The climber ceased rocking so precariously but was still out of reach of the nearest foothold, and it was difficult to watch as their partner frantically tried to anchor the line quickly enough to be able to be able to forestall any disaster.

Nathan reached out with his mind, ignoring the way it provoked the dull stirrings of a headache almost immediately, to make contact with the mind of the climber on belay, seeing through his eyes. #One of the cams came loose - another's coming,# he sent to Ororo, his eyes narrowing as he tried to focus on that single cam. Stay, he told it, pushing it deeper into the crack in the granite. #Ororo, can you see a ledge down there close to him? Even a small one?#

She leaned out further than was strictly safe, eyes narrowing as she searched the craggy wall near the dangling climber. #Yes, there is a small ledge. Six feet down, to his left. He cannot reach it as he is now.#

Nathan gritted his teeth. #I don't think his partner can reach him easily, either - you up for a quiet intervention? If we're lucky they'll write it off as a random miracle and tell stories about it for the next ten years.# As he spoke, he was flashing images of what he was thinking to her, as if they were out in the field in the middle of a combat situation; the timing required was similar. The cam would stay, but only if Nathan stayed where he was and held onto it,which wouldn't resolve the situation.

A carefully directed wind gust would send the dangling climber on a pendulum towards the ledge. If Nathan yanked the cam out at the right moment, the young man would drop right to the ledge. A little guiding telekinesis would make sure he landed safely.

#Ready.# At Nathan's nudge, Ororo carefully called up the winds once more, channeling them gently until they set the climber swinging. He seemed frightened by this - I cannot blame him - but she kept it up, trying to keep her thoughts quiet so as not to interrupt Nathan's concentration.

Ororo's command of the winds, even hanging off a rock face a couple of thousand feet above the wrong, was precise. She created just the sort of arc he needed, and at the right moment, Nathan let go of the cam and guided the climber in a controlled fall to the ledge. The young man's yelp of panic was abruptly cut off by the impact of his feet with the ledge, and he grasped at the rock in front of him frantically.

Though it was impossible to tell, it seemed there was a collective sigh of relief among the four climbers as the man clung to the rock tightly. His partner hurriedly made his way closer, ready to offer what assistance he could in securing the lines once more. Ororo relaxed, though she didn't turn her gaze away from the scene below quite yet. #It worked.#

#It flonqing well did.# Nathan rested his forehead against the rock in front of him, breathing out on a shaky sigh. #I need a few minutes,# he said. It really hadn't been that much psionic exertion, he told himself. Just the stress, of knowing that someone's life literally laid in your hands. #Just stay on belay?#

#I am here.#

---

"We made it." It was a testament to Nathan's pacing that she still had breath left over to declare that, but she did, and grateful did not begin to describe how she felt about that fact. "We did it. And now I never want to see another mountain in my life."

"Aw, you don't mean that," Nathan said in amusement. They'd made it to the top, collapsed, taken a few minutes to admire the view, and now he was redistributing what was left of their supplies for the descent. Which was, thankfully, down a steep but very manageable trail leading down the flank of the mountain. "You want to come to the Himalayas with me someday. You know you do."

"I am never getting near anything bigger than a molehill with you," Ororo laughed, tucking a coiled-up rope into her pack. "In fact, I think I will warn others to watch their elevation in your presence, lest you be seized with the idea of dragging them up a sheer stone wall."

Nathan put on a mock-innocent look. "Would I do that to poor unsuspecting friends or teammates? ... oh, wait." The innocent look dissolved into a grin and he tossed her one of the few still-full bottles of water. "So we'll be down again by dark. I suggest grabbing the next shuttle back to the lodge and making use of some of the amenities tonight. I think we've earned it."

She nodded, uncapping the water and taking a deep drink of it before shouldering her pack. "Indeed we have. And Nathan... you know I am only kidding?" she asked, soberly a little. "This has been a wonderful vacation. And it helped, much more than I expected it to."

Still crouched down by his pack, Nathan tilted his head, looking up at her, the grin softening to a smile. "Distance, space, and sweat," he said, reminding her of his words that first day. "Distance, space, sweat... beautiful scenery, blue skies, good company..."

"All very good cures for a troubled mind. And they seemed to have worked very well on mine."

Nathan lifted the pack to his shoulders. "Come on," he said good-humoredly. "There are certain traditions to be observed, after a big wall climb." He coughed, rubbing at his jaw. "They may possibly involve beer."

Laughing, Ororo shouldered her own pack and started for the head of the trail. "It would not be a good tradition if it did not."