It had been a long and arduous ascent, but a beautiful day. The sun beat down hot and bare. As he took large gulps from his water bottle, he could finally see the mountain summit. He felt a discomfort. He called it discomfort (what exactly is that anyway?) because he did not want to admit, that it was fear. Actually, it was meaningless whether one fell from 15 meters, 150 meters, or 1500 meters, he told himself to calm down. The goal was near, so there was reason for joy—there awaited the view, the recovery, the satisfaction. 

He sat surrounded by rusty cans left behind by the soldiers who had been stationed here at the mountain during the First World War. So, 110 years ago or more. The cans were completely rusted through and even perforated, yet still recognizable as cans. He stood up and moved on, deeper into the bunker complex that had to be crossed on the way to the summit. 

By now, he was very high, far beyond the tree line. One could hear almost nothing except the whistling of the wind—albeit very loud. The thought that soldiers had once been stationed here gave him some peace—after all, there had once been a considerable number of people here, even for a long time, so being here was not entirely misplaced. At the same time, many people had died here, but it was not the mountain that had killed them. At least not primarily. There had been gunfire, artillery, perhaps even stabbings, but also cold, hunger, disease—the mountain was not entirely uninvolved. 

Progress became increasingly difficult, and he had to turn back several times to find the right path. It was increasingly overgrown and blocked by stones. At the same time, numerous other paths in all directions appeared as remnants of the bunker system. Sometimes, he had to climb over walls; more often, he stopped and looked ahead from elevated points to figure out the best way forward. 

After a while, he reached the last steep rock face leading to the summit. The shadow it cast made it noticeably cooler. In the wind shadow, there was now absolute silence. He was surrounded only by rocks, stones, and scree—no greenery at all. The total absence of life made the place feel all the more threatening of a sudden. 

He circled the rock face until he found the flattest side to climb up. The path had long since disappeared, but being so close to the goal, it was obvious which way to continue. He advanced very slowly. His path was covered with increasingly smaller stones, so every step could potentially cause the ground beneath him to slip down the steep slope. 

His steps grew smaller and smaller; soon he had to crawl on all fours when it became particularly difficult. He was not far from the next spot where the difficult passage would be overcome. It was so close he had not noticed, that the terrain had shifted from very complicated to life-threatening. 

With the last few steps he took, he was unsure whether he had moved forward or slipped backward. The sliding stones triggered small rock avalanches. It was only a matter of time before he would slip down and become part of one. Given his weight, he would gain speed in no time. 

He paused briefly and took a deep breath. Having grown ever slower, he now knew of no movement that would truly be safe. This was no longer enjoyable. He had to get down again, but how? He saw a few spots to grab onto for support, but they were out of reach. Slowly, very slowly, he turned facing the slope. He took his time to look for a way down. He identified a point he needed to reach to get out of the worst danger, where no threat would loom anymore. 

The descent took what felt like an eternity. The deathly silence that had surrounded him for quite some time was suddenly broken by the screech of a bird. It was a falcon. It could have been a magical moment, but he was far too focused on placing one foot in front of the other. Below, a few large rocks collided once again. Good thing my skull is not caught between them, he thought. 

Eventually, he had solid ground under his feet again, could sit down, and looked once more up the rock face. His hands trembled as he took large gulps from his water bottle. He did not know if it was from exhaustion or fear.