Ritchie wanted to look down, to see if there was any sign of Wyder below them, but she was afraid trying to do so would give her vertigo. Her hands were already shaking so badly it was hard to keep a hold on the guide rope. But the ice ledge she was standing on was only wide enough for the very tips of her toes. The micro-spikes on the bottom of her climbing boots were wedged in deep enough to hold her weight, being of the same nano-materials as her gloves, but if she started to tumble backward...
"We probably shouldn"t rely on that," Fitz said to her. She realized he meant the guide rope and grabbed at an outcropping of the ice itself. Her gloves might be designed to cling to the ice, but it still felt far from secure.
"It"s not the same rope she was holding," Ritchie said.
"I don"t th
