I step up to a leaning crack leading up the side of the magnificent Matron in the Flatirons of Colorado. I see a tree sitting on a ledge about sixty feet above where. That is where I’m heading, at least for now. I find a solid foot and stand up. Using my hands just to balance, I dance my way up the rock. In no time I am fifteen feet off the ground. Still unprotected I reach for a cam and place it in the crack. Click! The gate of the carabiner snaps shut as I clip in the rope. I exhale a momentary sigh of a relief knowing that I have something to keep me from hitting the canyon floor below. My partner Aleya carefully feeds me the rope as I rise upward placing protection along the way.