Indiana pressed his back against one side of the chimney and extended his legs to the other side. His legs were stretched further than he would have liked, but they were just long enough to allow him to climb using the ‘chimneying’ method.
He inched his way up the fifty foot high shaft. He held the pickax in his right hand, but wasn’t using it much. He just wanted to have it ready in an emergency. If he started to slide back down the chimney, he hoped to use the ax to stop or slow his descent. Once he climbed above twenty-five feet he knew that a fall would be very serious, if not fatal.
To his delight, Indiana discovered that the chimney got narrower as it went up, making climbing easier. He climbed the last twenty-five feet much faster than the first twenty-five. When he reached the top of the chimney he grabbed the edge with his hands to pull himself onto the ground above. As he did so he dropped his ax.
Before he could react, a hand flew past his face. Indiana watched the hand catch the ax, and then looked up at the owner.
“Careful,” Bond said. “You might need this when we climb back down the mountain.” ContinueBack to Home Page
