“Dude, what the fuck have I gotten myself into?” I was 100 feet up at the crux of a route named Shockley’s Ceiling, and I was stuck. Nick, an experienced climber w El Cap under his belt, was just above, telling me where to put my hands. His suggestions weren’t working for me, though.
I saw a hold a few feet above my head and reached as high as I could, inching one digit at a time until each of my middle two fingers were over the edge. As I moved for a better hold my foot slipped, jolting my body downward, but somehow my fingers held. I scrambled to find footing and just managed to hold on.