11.13

Suddenly, the ice shifts and cracks, opening its face to reveal a crevasse thousands of feet deep, and this with you on top. You're suddenly in open air, relying for life on your frozen harness and a single thin cable. What's worse, the line is attached to a sledge that you've spent fifty hours trying desperately to make lighter in each and every possible way. Now you're hoping that its weight will hold you as inexplicably you fall to the very doorstep of hell itself.
You've already lost most of your nose, several toes, the skin from your hands, the ability to see, and now you face losing your life. You're Apsley Cherry-Garrard, and you're only here because you paid to be. Are you enjoying your vacation yet?