In this shot, one can readily see the partially healed 4" horizontal fracture just below my feet. Knowing it was there required me to hold off on placing alternating gear (i clipped only the one rope) until I had inspected it and gotten above it. Up to this moment in my life, I had never gotten on something so f@cking hard. For the remainder of that season, most everything else seemed like a cake-walk, including the upper pitches of Stairway to Heaven.

In Spirit, Stymingersfink!

Your climbs ended too early!!