The rock face of Beheading Cliff was steep and smooth, like a giant mirror. The only way to reach the summit was to pass through the Melted Snow River Valley and climb the mountain from the side.
The Melted Snow River Valley was about a hundred meters wide, its river covered by a thick layer of ice. This ice looked solid, but danger lurked beneath it.
When a flowing river freezes over, the water level can fluctuate with the volume of water, creating vacuum pockets beneath the ice.
Over time, the river water erodes these pockets, forming ice holes of various sizes. They were impossible to see from the surface, as a thin layer of ice would form over them. One wrong step into an ice hole would have dire consequences.
A layer of snow covering the frozen river surface raised the danger level several notches.
The two walked slowly across the ice. Nash went first, probing the way with a wooden stick, which had become their only safeguard.
