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There and Back Again: A Group Challenge in the Wild
| Article
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13601 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1988 |
4,509 Words |
| Author
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Deborah Boldt
Deborah Boldt is a film and video producer, director and
writer who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. |
(Fade in) Exterior--Smoky Mountains. Medium shot of group on top of rock cliff. Daylight.
Eight women, ages twenty-seven to seventy-two, huddle together on the windswept slope of a giant rock outcropping. Dressed in rugged outdoor clothing and brightly colored helmets, they look decidedly ill at ease.
(Cut to) Women's POV (point of view)--Surrounding vista.
The mountains stretch away on all sides, soft green waves undulating to the horizon. A precipice drops off just in front of the group. Poised at the edge grasping a coil of bright red rope, instructor Maggie Fox shouts down to coinstructor Susan Sherill, who is out of sight below.
Maggie F.: OK, Susan. Red is anchored!
Maggie lowers the rope out into space. The free end sails out of sight to the bottom of what seems to be an unfathomable abyss.
Susan: Got it!
Maggie F.: OK! Red goes!
(Cut to) Exterior wide-angle view of cliff from side.
Seen from a distance, a tiny figure perches halfway up a massive cliff of gray rock. The climber, 72-year-old Mary-Frances ("Muff") James, is searching for a secure foothold. She steps up on a tiny ledge; it holds her.
(Close-up of Maggie) Perfectly at ease, Maggie kneels at the edge of the cliff, leaning over it to speak to Muf.
Maggie F.: There you go, Muf. Fantastic!
Above Maggie is Muf's belayer, Toni Puccini, who methodically gathers the slack in the safety line as Muf progresses. Muf continues to climb, carefully testing each hold as she goes.
Muf: Slack!
The rope, held taut by Toni, loosens. Muf plants her toe in one foothold, then tries another. She slides her knee up onto a sloping
...
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