Denali Dreams (5 page)

“Any meds?”

“None.”

“Good, that makes things easier. What’s the name?” He perused the sheet.

“Granger. Karon Granger.”

A chair scraped across the café’s wood floor. Zack didn’t take much notice.

Karon was a cancer survivor? She seemed so vibrant and positive. So healthy.

So happy.

Cancer.
The word alone stabbed his heart. His grandfather had died of cancer. But the cancerous attitude of his mom and dad through the battle had destroyed more than the disease had, in his opinion. Mom and Dad had divorced, Dad moved away and drank himself to an early grave, and Zack’s own relationship with God suffered.

It hadn’t just suffered. Zack turned away.

That was when he’d turned to extreme mountaineering. K-2, Everest, Aconcagua, Denali—they’d all been challenging. He’d used up fifteen years of his life looking for the answer—trying to fill the hole in his heart.

“Hey, man.” Kyle patted him on the shoulder.

He nodded. Hadn’t even realized Kyle had shown up.

“You look deep in thought.” His friend sat down. “You ordered?”

Zack leaned back in his chair. “Nah, been waiting for you.”

“Good. ‘Cause what I’ve got to say needs your attention.”

He looked up. “Go for it. I got nothin’ to lose.”

“You know what I’m going to say.”

“Yeah, you’re gonna preach at me and tell me the only way I’m going to turn things around is to turn back to God.”

Kyle smiled. “Preach? Seriously?”

“Yeah. Maybe one day I’ll listen.”

That brought a laugh. “Well, you nailed it. You’ve refused to listen to anything I’ve said about God for five years. But it’s true. He’s the only way to get rid of the ache. To fill up the hole.”

“Easy to say. It’s like a nice little script all good Christians rehearse. But it’s not that easy. It was when I
had
faith that everything fell apart around me. My parents became the ugliest and meanest people I knew. I still hate having conversations with my own mom because of the negativity. Faith in God is what tanked my life. Let me climb a mountain or fly into a blizzard any day.”

“And
that
makes you feel better?” Kyle crossed his arms and hiked an eyebrow.

If he were honest? Not really. But it did fill his time and his thoughts.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” Kyle leaned his elbows on his knees. “Look, I’m far from perfect. I have a temper. I struggle with all kinds of temptations. But the Bible never told me that when I became a Christian, I’d be a saint overnight, or that my life would be easy and smooth sailing. What I did learn was that life would be filled with trials, and my
faith
would help me grow through those trials to be a better man.”

Zack stared him down.

“Your faith didn’t ruin your life, pal.” He paused to take a deep breath. “You let go when you should’ve held on tighter.”

“So it’s
my
fault my life tanked?”

“If the crampon fits …” Kyle tempered the remark with a smile.

A short laugh escaped his lips.

“Think about it. If you were climbing and let go of the rope—you’d take a nasty, if not life-ending fall, right? Would you blame the
rope
for your fall?”

Ouch. Was that what’d he done? Zack leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “You just cut to the chase, don’t you? I’m almost afraid to admit that you’re making sense.” What would happen if he quit his daredevil ways and lived the way
normal
people lived? Let God take over and fill the hole?

“Good, ‘cause I’m hungry. This isn’t rocket science, my friend. Promise me you’ll think about it.”

“Deal.” He leaned forward. His chest already felt a thousand pounds lighter. “As long as you don’t nag me.” Maybe he was on the right track. He could even call his mom just because. But then again, maybe he was rushing things.

“No guarantees, man. I’m great at nagging.” Kyle tossed a menu on the table. “But I’ll buy your lunch to make up for it.”

“You’re on.”

A
cclimatization will be one of the most important aspects of this trip. That’s why it’s so important to maintain the schedule we’ve laid out, carry high, sleep low, and rest on rest days. We’ve also got to take weather into consideration, so be prepared for some storms. Denali is unpredictable.” Their guide for the next twenty-eight days, Lionel, was a wealth of information. Even with all the climbing experience Karon had racked up the past year, she’d learned a notebook full more today.

He handed them each a sheet of paper. “Let’s go through this quick.” He spoke with a British accent that clipped at a pace her little Southern brain already couldn’t keep up with. Oh boy. “We’re almost at sea level right now, day one. We’ll fly into Base Camp on the Kahiltna Glacier at 7,200 feet. We’ll stay there day two to get used to the altitude before we begin our ascent. Day three we’ll climb to Ski Hill at 7,900 feet. Day four, the Upper Kahiltna at 9,600 feet. Day five, we’ll rest and acclimate. Day six, we’ll climb to 11,000 feet. Day seven, we’ll rest. Day eight, we’ll carry to Basin Camp and sleep low back at 11,000. Day nine, we’ll move to Basin Camp. Once we get there, we’ll be at 14,200 feet. We’ll take days ten and eleven to rest and acclimate again. Days twelve and thirteen we carry to Ridge Camp and sleep at Basin Camp. Day fourteen, we’ll move to Ridge Camp at 16,200 feet. Day fifteen, High Camp at 17,200 feet. Day sixteen, we’ll rest, and day seventeen will be our first possible day to summit.”

Karon wrote in shorthand to keep up with the guide. “And the rest of the days are in case we have to deal with weather?”

“Yes. Many of our climbers make it to High Camp but never see the summit because of weather.” He smiled. “But since you’ve taken extra time for this expedition, the chances are higher that we’ll be able to wait out a storm or multiple storms and still summit in time for your return.”

Clint flicked her in the arm. “Good, because I’d hate to take a month off work and sit in a tent the whole time freezing my toes off.”

Karon rolled her eyes. “Excuse my brother, Lionel. Please continue.”

Lionel gave Clint a scolding look any teacher would be proud of—and Clint even squirmed. Karon liked this guy already. “All your gear has been checked and double-checked. AMS has prepared everything else on our end. Any questions?”

Clint looked to her and, with wisdom beyond his years, kept his mouth shut.

She rubbed her hands together. “Nope. I’m just ready to get up there.”

Lionel shut his notebook with a snap and smiled. “Then let’s load up.”

The small plane that flew them to the glacier gave them a spectacular view, but Karon preferred Deline’s Otter since they’d flown around each of the peaks. This ride was closer to the ground and Karon loved it. Her adrenaline pumped. She couldn’t believe Lionel could sit in the noisy plane and snore.

Denali stood tall, its massive structure covered in snow and ice. No wonder the mountain was named by the native people as the
High One
, Sultana, the
Wife
, and Begguya, the
Child.

The regal family were the crown jewels of the Alaska Range. And just as a family should, they stood firm together.

Her mouth dropped as she watched an enormous avalanche on the steep slopes of Sultana. Whispering a prayer that there weren’t any climbers in the area, Karon kept her eyes glued to the beautiful devastation.

As the plane banked to land on the thirty-six-mile-long glacier, she prayed for their safety. The magnitude of what they were about to embark on sent chills up her arms. Excitement and a touch of fear caused her to giggle.

Clint leaned closer. “Nervous?”

“A little.”

“You’ll do great. Besides, you’ve got me, and I’ve never failed at anything.” He smirked.

“Pride goeth before the fall, little brother.” She pushed him back into his seat.

“Only on Tuesdays.”

Lionel opened his eyes from his nap. “Are you two chums going to be like this the whole trip?”

“Worse!” they shouted at the same time.

“Oh good.” Lionel shut his eyes again. “Entertainment.”

The pilot shook his head, lowered the plane, and flew the final approach.

One soft bounce and they were skidding along the glacier’s surface.

Even with her sunglasses on, the glare burned her eyes. Karon took off her favorite aviators and replaced them with her glacier glasses. Much better. At least she could see now. Her eyes would have to adjust to the brightness over the next month.

As they unpacked the plane, Karon couldn’t wait to meet other climbers and explore the Base Camp. Her excitement only grew as they said good-bye to the AMS pilot.

Lionel directed them to haul all their equipment and sleds to where they would camp. Each of them would be responsible for a large amount of supplies. Clint teased Karon before they left that the frame pack was bigger than her. And he was almost correct. But during the months of training, she’d grown strong and could carry the required amount of weight, just like him.

Her excitement propelled her forward, and pulling a sled, she raced Clint to the camp.

She tripped the last three feet and flew headlong into a snowbank. Even face-first, she couldn’t contain her laughter. She smacked at the arms pulling her out. Clint always had to baby her. But as she wiped the thick layer of snow out of her hair and face, she realized the strong arms that held her weren’t her brother’s.

They belonged to a very tall, incredibly cute ranger named Zack.

Z
ack was a goner.

Even before her flop into the snowbank, he’d watched Karon’s antics. Her laughter was contagious. From the moment he heard it, he wanted to feel that same joy. And after his talk with Kyle, he felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe he really could come back from the pit he’d lived in all these years.

Karon wiped snow off her face and stared at him. Then she busted out laughing again. “I’m sorry. Guess I don’t make the best first impression.”

Her brother walked up behind her. “Oh, you make an impression all right. Just ask that snowdrift over there.”

She swatted at him. “Guess I’ll never live that one down, will I?”

“Nope.” He held up a tiny camera. “And I got a great picture of it, too.” Clint brought the view screen over to Zack. “It’s a great shot, isn’t it, Ranger Taylor?”

Karon grabbed for the camera. “You’re asking for it, Clint.” For a moment she looked embarrassed, and then the laughter started again.

Zack adjusted his goggles. “I think I should plead the fifth.” The picture was hilarious. Arms and legs splayed with the snow exploding around her as she hit. But Karon probably wouldn’t appreciate hearing that.

Brother razzed sister a little more. “This would make a great post on Facebook, don’t you think?”

Karon finished brushing off snow and stood straight, not missing a beat. “Only if you want the picture of you as a baby with your bare little hiney exposed to the world.”

“Oh, you play dirty.”

“I learned from the best.”

Zack watched the interchange. He’d never had siblings, so the banter was new to him. Sarcasm and Southern accents flew across the snow, but the warmth that radiated from the two made him yearn for more.

Clint smiled. “Thank you, thank you very much.”

“For what?” She placed her hands on her hips.

“For saying I’m the best.” He took a bow.

She smacked him. “Pfft. I didn’t learn anything from you, baby brother. I was talking about my kindergartners.”

Zack laughed out loud at that one.

Lionel walked up to him and held out his hand. “Ranger Taylor. How’re you this fine day?”

“Good, Lionel. Good.” The guide’s presence reminded him to focus on the task at hand. “You all set?”

“Yes, indeed,” the guide answered. “We’ll be here tonight and tomorrow night to acclimate before we ascend.”

“All right. I have to check with the others. Let me know if you need something.” Zack hesitated. He wanted a reason to come back and check on this party.

Karon and Lionel pulled sleds and gear away. She waved to him as she left.