Luckily it was only three feet across and I somehow managed to get the adze of my ice ax into the ice on the other side as I went down.

I was roped to three other guys too so I would not have fallen too far. But it was quite an experience hanging there for a moment by my ax and looking down at the ice walls more than a hundred feet deep. My headlamp lit it up but I couldn’t see the bottom.

I got my crampons into the opposite wall and pulled myself up and out. As soon as I was standing on the opposite side I looked at the hole where the snowbridge had given way and my whole body started shaking uncontrollably.

I’ve fallen asleep driving (twice) and those are interesting stories too but they pale in comparison to that experience for some reason.