Whiteout II: 5 (The Spine)

I'm a little behind on my chapter posting, but I just hit 30,000 words today!

5. The Spine

     “This place is not often visited by my people. It’s considered far too dangerous since the shifting of the glaciers. We need to be constantly vigilant for falling ice. When at all possible, stay close to the mountain, only then you might be safe.” We stood at the base of the spine, a long, rocky ridge, bursting forth into the heavens. It was essentially a series of steps made of very brittle ice wall. It made placing the crampons difficult, and every crack in the wall made us all jump.

     By the time we were halfway up the sun had already begun to decay in the mountain sky. The bright white faded to a burnished orange, letting us know that we were running short on time. Daylight was a valuable resource in the mountains, nighttime only made things more difficult. “What exactly are we looking for Lopsang?”

     “Anything really. Small piles of rocks, flags strewn about them, shouldn’t be too hard to spot.”

     Little bits of refuse among a jagged rock pile of a mountain. Right, easy to spot. As we got higher the climbing became more stable, but we could still only go one at a time. Without another man on the ropes it was just too dangerous. If one of us fell it would mean the end of the expedition. Not because we were sentimental, but it would have been far too dangerous for only two of us.

     As I clambered over the top of one of the steps I found myself face to face with a yeti. It was made from stone, and from the looks of it had been there a long time. In its open jaws was a place where candles were put. So many had been lit that red wax spilled out the edges of its mouth like dried blood. The eyes possessed a lifelike quality, coupled with more wax dribbling out their corners. At the base of the statue was a small stone basin that had been stained black. Large bells had been hung on either side of it that chimed deeply whenever a wind gust passed through.

     I stepped closer to examine it. Along the contours of the yeti’s body were characters I was unfamiliar with. The twisted and curved in a flow that I did not think modern languages were capable of possessing. “What exactly am I looking at here?” I reached out to examine the stone, and Lopsang quickly slapped my hand away.

     “We have nothing to offer it. Do not touch it or you will doom our whole expedition.”

     “What’s the worst that could happen? Will the gods send a yeti after us?” Lopsang looked deadly serious.

     “This is no joking matter Dr. Ventner. This is a statue made by the earliest of my people to protect against the evil spirits that dwell within this mountain. After what you have seen today, I think you will be believing me. This is a sacred place. We must move quickly past it before the gods think we do not give out of avarice and send us tumbling down in a pile of snow and ice.”

     “Sure. Whatever you say.” It might have sounded sarcastic, but I was willing to take just about anything Lopsang said on faith. A few days earlier I would have told someone who believed in the yeti to take a hike. Now I was willing to plunge into the freezing heights of the mountain just for the chance to try and kill it. I didn’t need a plan; just the idea of finding the creature excited me. Never mind that it had almost killed me the night before.

     James spilled over the edge a moment later, clearly exhausted. Neither of us were even remotely trained for mountain expeditions. Most of the trips I had been on before did not involve such altitude. For the most part I had believed that the realm of living things stopped at a certain altitude, and gave way to barren wastes. Apparently I was mistaken.

     It was nearly nightfall before we found a marker. There was no cave this time, just a small, oblong stone sticking out of the ice with a few flags surrounding it. We sat near the middle  of the steps, looking down at the thousands of feet below us. At about an equal height miles to the West we saw Manchester and his crew setting up camp for the night. Their lights could be seen from miles away, glowing in the fog that accompanied the nighttime cold of the mountain.

     The sky remained clear as we set up our tent, securing it to the rock face behind us, and facing the one viewing flap toward Manchester’s camp. On the advice of Lopsang we anchored another chord to the sacred stone in the ice, just as a double precaution to ward off whatever might have come.

     Just before the sun set there was a dazzling view of the mountain silhouetted by the single brightest light in the world. Bright white and yellow surrounded the contours, giving way to pure black on the other side. The sun always set quick in the mountains, and the view was gone before we could finish talking about it. What replaced it was inky blackness, punctuated by the brightness of billions of stars.

     Up in the cold air it is easier to see the true nature of space. There is no light pollution to dilute the true colors of the sky. It really is more than just black and white up there in the darkness. We could see bands of blue, tiny winks of red, purple and green. They shone down on us, providing security in a place that would give us none. I have always found comfort in looking up at the stars and wondering what is beyond. With my mind opened about some of the secrets of the world I can only imagine what secrets lay past the reach of the atmosphere.

     Lopsang boiled some water and made us a light soup. It was important to hydrate, as well as eat. The soup warmed our bellies and filled the canvas with a delicious sent of vegetables and Himalayan spices. It cleared my head for a day that had otherwise been quite muddled. I never got used to the altitude up there, playing tricks on the mind, making it dumber than it’s used to. It’s one of the most dangerous places in the world, and yet one of the hardest to make decisions in as well.

     As we sat and gulped down the soup we began to tell stories. It was like the first night back in the lodge all over again. I told Lopsang about the many creatures that I had fought, and a little bit about the legend of Manchester. We laughed at some of our near death experiences, and then we got into the serious matters.

     “Lopsang, why was your brother up at base camp that night? You both knew about the yeti. It seems like everyone knew to some extent. Why bother tempting fate like that?”

     “That is a sad story…”

     “It looks like we’ve got a bit of time.”