Sometimes All You Get Is A Half An Inch And A Few Deep Breaths

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"As the day wore on, I could feel my nerves beginning to unravel. At one point, while leading over crusty, crumbly vertical ice . . . I suddenly became overwhelmed by the fact that the only thing that prevented my from flying off into space were two thin steel picks sunk half an inch into a medium that resembled the inside of my freezer when it needs to be defrosted. I looked down at the ground more than three thousand feet below and felt dizzy, as if I were about to faint. I had to close my eyes and take a dozen deep breaths before I could resume climbing."

(Krakauer, Jon. Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains. Krakauer: Lyons & Burford, 1990. p. 11)

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