“Right there,” the pilot said in heavily accented English as we approached the landing spot at the highest point on the ridgeline he could manage. “You must exit quickly. I cannot maintain a hover at this altitude.”
“Roger,” I said.
We opened the doors and unbuckled, readying ourselves.
“Now,” he instructed.
We bailed out.
The jump was only a couple of feet, and I dug my boots in as I caught my balance. Within seconds the chopper headed down the opposite side of the ridgeline to thicker air.
“Everyone okay?” I asked as the guys stood.
“Here,” Alex answered.
“Yup.” Gabe nodded, then looked down at the same time I did at the perfect forty-five-degree angle that sloped both sides. One misstep and we weren’t boarding this ridge. We’d be tumbling.
“Well, looks like there’s only one way down now,” Alex joked.
“Second thoughts?” I asked, pulling down my goggles to keep the wind from attacking my eyes. We’d only climbed an additional three thousand feet in the helicopter, but I felt it in the burn of my lungs.
“Nawh. Wouldn’t matter anyway,” he joked. “Kind of committed here.”
But what a place to be committed. We took the moment to look around us, and the sight stole whatever breath the altitude didn’t. Frosted in new white snow, the Himalayas spread out before us in a display of mind-blowing perfection.
“Throne room of the gods,” Alex muttered.
I nodded in agreement, too overcome to say anything. How could I when Everest rose in my line of sight? This was the stuff of dreams—of legends.
My hand rose to the radio that hung between my left shoulder and neck, pressing the button with my thick gloves. “Rachel?”
A few moments of static followed before she answered.
“I’m here. You guys okay?”
“Yeah. I just wish you could see this.”
“Is it everything you dreamed?” Her voice sounded miles away and yet had never felt closer.
“It’s perfect.” Because you’re here, too.
Maybe it was the thin air that brought clarity to my mind, but I was filled with the kind of certainty I’d only ever felt about stunts.
I was going to win her back. Not just her friendship. Her heart. Her love.
Maybe I wasn’t worthy of any of it now, but I could be. I could earn her.
“I’m glad to hear it,” she said, and I wished she’d heard my thoughts, my resolve, but I knew she wasn’t ready for it. I’d scare her away if I said anything.
Pax’s voice came across the radio. “You guys better get a move on.”
I could have laughed. Twenty thousand feet in the air, another thousand feet to climb, and I still had Rachel on the brain. “Going now,” I said. “You guys ready?”
“Lead the way,” Alex said, motioning up the ridgeline. He passed the rope, and Gabe hooked on, then me. If one went down, we could catch him. If two…well…probably not.
I tucked my gaiter around the lower portion of my face to keep the wind at bay and started the long, cold, deep trek up the ridgeline. We sank to our knees in snow in places, to our ankles in others as we made our way, our breathing ragged.
Maybe I wasn’t as acclimatized as I thought.
Knowing what to watch for, I did a quick self-assessment. I wasn’t dizzy, no headaches, no vision issues—just fighting for air that wasn’t there.
Two hours later we made the summit.
“Holy. Shit,” I said, breathing between words as I hit my ass on the only bare piece of rock I found. We took out our waters, hydrating the best we could for the next half hour while we caught our breath and prepared, discussing the lines.
“I’m not sure about this one,” Alex said. “I saw a cherry line a little farther back.”
“Ride whatever you’re most comfortable with,” I said as I took off my crampons and stored them in my pack, ready to strap on my board. Then I looked down over the line I’d come here for. “I might need a belay over this first part.”
“I can do that,” Alex offered. “Gabe?”
He looked down and cringed. “What do you think that is? Sixty degrees?”
“Sixty-five,” I answered.
“Fuuuuuck,” he drawled. “Well, it looks epic.”
“Epic is as epic does,” I answered.
“I’ll go with you. Alex, you okay solo?”
“Yeah, I got this,” he answered, already readying ropes through his harness.
I hit the button on the radio. “Rach?”
“Here,” she answered, her voice better than a hit of oxygen. “You holding up?”
“Yeah. We’re rested and I think about ready to drop in to the line. I’m feeling the one on rider’s left.”
Her laughter came through the radio. “Of course you are. Okay, rider’s left it is. Watch that secondary chute and steer clear, there’s a cliff midway that will hang you up.”
“Roger. We’re hooking up belay now. The first forty feet or so look sketchy.”
“Agreed,” Pax said from the other set. “Only you would choose a line that you have to pretty much rappel down.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what the real men do,” I teased.
“Shut the fuck up. And be careful,” he finished on a serious note.
“Roger.”
I strapped my board on as Gabe did the same, threaded the rope through the harness, and said a prayer as I waited for Alex to be ready.