Navigating Our Fractured WorldSample

In high-altitude mountaineering, accidents beyond our control are inevitable. While we can train for what is within our control—such as physical fitness, technical skills, weather forecasting, and route research—we must also be prepared to respond to the unpredictable. Weather can shift suddenly, climbers may become sick or injured, avalanches may strike, and hidden crevasses can appear without warning.

When the unthinkable happens—such as an uncontrollable fall—the entire rope team must act swiftly to prevent being dragged into a deadly abyss. This technique, called self-arrest, involves dropping onto our ice axes while forcefully kicking the front points of our crampons into the snow to stop our accelerating momentum.

If the worst occurs and we end up in the depths of a frozen crevasse, survival becomes the immediate focus. A fall can plunge hundreds of feet down onto jagged ice, but if we survive, we must quickly assess the situation: Are we injured? Is self-rescue an option? Can the rope team above perform a crevasse rescue using pulleys and anchors? Is there another climbing team nearby that can assist? The primary goal is to escape the division we’ve fallen into before the damage becomes irreversible. While the experience will undoubtedly leave trauma, escaping to freedom means there is still much life left to live.

Falling into a crevasse is much like being pulled into a divisive conversation or relationship. Proverbs 17:14 reminds us, “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam,” or in this case, breaching a glacial crevasse. People with strong, divisive opinions often try to pull us into their arguments or beliefs. My advice? Don’t take the bait! Drop the matter before it escalates into a dispute and take the higher road without judgment.

As always, we return to the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36-39: to love the Lord our God with all our heart and to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Keep moving forward, one step at a time, and choose to love others—even when you find yourself pulled into their divisive crevasse.

Discussion Questions:

Remember a time when you were pulled into the crevasse of a divisive person?

Pray for love and forgiveness of that person. Pray for the awareness and courage to NOT take the bait in the future, but to also have grace for that person.