EDIT: This blog has MOVED. You’re on the old, dead blog. Everything (including this post) has been migrated onboard my website. Here’s the direct link:
http://scotthargisphoto.com/blog/
Update your bookmarks! See you there!
We now continue with our original programming….
About a year and a half ago, I found myself standing atop a cliff in Death Valley National Park, preparing to walk backwards over the edge. No, I wasn’t suicidal. I was on a canyoneering trip with my friend Charlie and three other guys, who were all experienced rock climbers. I was the least experienced rapeller in the group, having not been on a rope since I was about 12 years old.
Charlie and two of the others had already made the descent, which was about 110 feet. I was clipped in, and the belay was ready. All I had to do was lean back into my harness, and back over the edge. Craig, who had helped me get roped up, was watching me closely. “Just lean back, and relax,” he said.
Relax. Right. It’s only 110 feet. What could go wrong? More after the, Uh, Jump, sort of
