4-7-10
I was out climbing at a sector called Anatolia. It was overcast and the wind had a chill, because it was coming from the north. The crag is up high and has a vantage of the entire valley. I did one route and was tying into the rope to try another. I hear The Call to Prayer. It is part of the Muslim life/culture/religion. It is played on loud speakers all over the country 5 times a day. It sounds like a man singing. It is quite beautiful really. It forced me to pause and consider my place. It reminded me to remember the gifts that have been bestowed upon my life. It reminded me that I believe in something greater and deeper than myself. The sun breaks through the clouds and I feel its warmth on my face. I put some chalk on my hands and breathe, and start my route. This was a wonderful start to a day that ended tragically.
Mid way through the day as I was working with Boone and Renan, Daniel was belaying Emily on a magnificent route called Turkish Airways. All that I heard was, “Oh my God!” I looked to my left to see Emily’s body hurling sideways through the air. It didn’t register, because I thought that she was surely clipped into the first bolt. A spilt second later, I realized that it wasn’t so. She had stood up hard into a little cave and hit her head on a tufa. It jarred her body, and her foot slipped off. She basically fell 30 feet bouncing down the slab into Daniel’s arms. He stopped her and prevented them both from going off of another 50 foot ledge. It was nauseating, and as I rushed over, I prepared myself for something gnarly. Much to my relief, there were only bumps, bruises and badly twisted ankle. We packed up and slowly made our way back to ice, compression, and elevation at our house. It could have been so much worse… A small lesson for us to learn…take care, move slow, be sure and safe. We’re trying.
