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By now the snow was thick on the bare stony ground. The clogs were slipping on the trail. Where the climb got steep, Ivan tried to walk sideways, like a skier, to keep his footing under his burden. At first he did not feel the weight of her small body, working his way uphill with strange enthusiasm, supporting her knees a little and hunching his back. Unfortunately, he soon felt the need to stop, straighten up, and draw his breath—his lungs were badly short of air. But he had definitely warmed up. The unrestrained brutality of the high-altitude wind was nothing for his burning skin. Everything inside of him was also on fire, the acid produced by his exhausted body was tearing his lungs apart.
They had to be nearing the pass, for the terrain was gradually flattening out. The trail no l
