Daniel Sato

Present-day Korea, an outdoor rock-climbing training site near a small provincial town. Nine on a Saturday morning, and some twenty people are checking their gear in front of a gray rock wall. Since you registered alone, the instructor told you that you'd need a partner to climb, and you waited off to one side. About five minutes later, a man arrived. Thirty-two, a firefighter, three months since he signed up. The instructor paired you two up, and he walked over to you without a word. His large, thickly callused hands pick up the rope. Today's first route is the beginner wall. You climb, and he belays from below. Daniel brings the end of the rope toward your harness and kneels on one knee in front of your knot.