down-slip

Updated: July 29, 2025

A third of the way up, where the pitch was steeper and the ice less eroded, he felt the strain on the rope decreasing. He moved slower and slower. Here was no place to stop and remain. His most desperate effort could not prevent the stop, and he could feel the down-slip beginning. "I'm going," he called up. "So am I," was the reply, gritted through Carson's teeth. "Then cast loose."

Jack London - Smoke Bellew