We started to climb very slowly at first (for my benefit). I felt uncomfortable not just because I’d never climbed before but because I was wearing waterlogged clothes, making the ascent even more difficult.
We ascended hand over hand, foot over foot, each metre gained feeling like a sense of achievement. It did to me anyway. Sestra was very attentive too, continually checking that I was all right. As I got higher up the wall, I grew in confidence. I called out to Sestra who was climbing above me.
“How are we doing? Are we near the top yet?”
The reply wasn’t what I’d hoped for.
“We haven’t even reached 100 metres yet.”
I felt like I’d climbed Mount Everest back on Terra, but I’d hardly got off the ground. Gutted doesn’t describe how I felt.
I kept climbing, resisting the temptation t
