Joy Bryant

Joy Bryant Instagram – We arrive at a wall of ice and snow rising from the slope. “This is perfect,” @carolinewaregeorge says, before taking me off line. Perfect for what,
I ask. “Ice climbing.” .
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What? I’m not doing that!
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As Paul and Nick rig the ropes, Caroline introduces @adavecalledyeti and I to the basics of ice climbing. “It’s all in the wrist,” she says of the axe. “Kick the wall like a soccer ball,” that’s where the crampons come in. .
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But I wasn’t really getting it. My axes didn’t cut deep enough, my crampons were slipping, and I couldn’t get off the ground. I was over it already.
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Caroline attaches herself to the belay line that will secure her climb and descent on the ice, with Paul as safety on the other end. .
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She expertly cuts and kicks her way up to the top of the ice formation, and descends with the elegance of a spider on silk. “You’re next,” Paul tells me. What? .
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“I’m not doing that!” I point to the wall. “I can’t do that! That’s crazy!” .
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“Sure you can,” he laughs. .
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Caroline ties the rope to my harness with a figure eight knot, before handing me two axes. “You got this, Joy.” I didn’t believe her one bit, but I went for it anyway. There was no other option; “can’t” is not in these people’s vocabulary.
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To my surprise, I got off the ground… and kept going.
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With Caroline coaching from below (“Push your hips into the ice before you swing!”) I danced my way up the wall. 
Push, swing, kick, kick! Push, swing, kick, kick!
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As I made my way, all that mattered was the ice in front of me, and the path ahead. And I felt the great pleasure of doing what I’m supposed to be doing, the way I’m supposed to do it.
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Flow on ice. And I never looked down. .
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#EBPartner | Posted on 24/Oct/2018 05:58:54