"
We met for one class to go over the details of the trip. The boys filled the room with their lean, muscular bodies and dry,
sun burnt cheeks. “I found an awesome crevasse on the glacier to lower people into,” our instructor said. Broad
grins hung on our faces as we imagined our ice picks spraying our faces with snow as our rope swings against white-blue caverns.
As I looked at their dreamy expressions I realized that all my classmates had facial hair. I wondered if they had
realized that I didn’t have facial hair. Were they worried I would slow the team down? Did I stick out like the hand
of a man buried inches underneath an avalanche?"
