surveying conditions and checking his gear…………the weather makes it clear……a good climber knows when to stop……….the pace can never crossover to a race for that is where disaster looms………reluctantly hanging his platform he resigns himself to tomorrow……………forsaking ego to tread on………..he recalls the precarious situations that testosterone and impatience have placed him before……………..a good climber knows when to stop………………….years on different mountains have afforded him the experience of realizing the summit is but a small part of the climb……a bookend………the other being the first step up……….it is those steps in between where the real meat is gleaned, when it is hard to breathe and visibility is limited, it is then the most arduous to press on……………the summit, the view becomes a fleeting afterthought compared to the struggle between……………but a good climber knows when to stop………….the weather and conditions of gear and body determine the continued push or the retreat…………………..a climber wins by coming down not by reaching the summit………………….a good climber knows when to stop……….there will always be other mountains and the climber doesn’t determine the conquest only the victory of survival……………………….there is little glory for those who accomplish their goal only to die from the repercussions thereof…………………a good climber knows when to stop……..