124 | June• 2018
birthed,wetthrough,eyesshuttight
and gasping.
“You’reOK,”Andrewsays,grasp-
inghisshouldersandsettlinghim
on a narrow ledge near where Zac is
waiting. “Zac, stay with Jason while
Igogetsomemeals,theblanketand
theirst-aidkitfromthesupplybags
upahead.AndIhavetoillMattand
Arthur in on what’s happened.”
It takes him about 15 minutes. On
his return, he tells Zac the water is
still rising, so now is the time to leave.
“Matt and Arthur are waiting for
you just beyond Bastard’s Crawl,”
hesays.“IhavetogetJasonwarmed
upbeforewetrytogetout.Ifallgoes
well, we’ll be right behind you. But if
wedon’tcatchuptoyouin30min-
utes,notifySearchandRescue.”UNSPOKEN ISAndrew’s fear that
Jason is turning hy pothermic. He is
conscious,butsocoldhehasstopped
shivering. He wraps his friend in the
blanketandiresuptheJetboil,de-
cidingtowarmJasonbypouring
heatedwaterdownhisclothes.Once,
twice,threetimes,thenfour,slow
andsure.Doingitthiswayisprefer-
able to preparing a hot drink, which
Andrew fears would not work as fast.
Come on, Jason!
And:Catch up in 30 minutes? What
was I thinking?
Outloud,hesays:“Jase,you’rego-
ingtobeine.”
Jason’s colour starts returning to
normal.dislodge his boot, wedged into a gap
between two rocks. It won’t budge.
Am I going to drown?
“It’s all right, dude,” Andrew says,
reaching into the rushing water and
ishing around for the stuck boot. He
grasps something solid. “hat’s your
foot?”
“Yeah.”
“We’regoingtodothistogether.
Youneedgoodhands.Don’tletthis
watertakeyou.”
Ittakesabout20minutestofree
Jason and get him moving. With An-
drew’s coaching, Jason emerges from
Bastard’s Crawl like a baby being
Jason(farright)atDoubleTrouble
on a diferent expeditionPHOTO: ANDREW MUNOZ