True to form for hero-shots, Ryan isn't really suspended hundreds of feet above Lake Erie. The rap actually ends 20 feet below him, on a huge ledge.

Mount Erie's South walls make a fine solar oven. The lakes around here almost never freeze, but one February Saturday, about 20 years ago, we watched 12 ice skaters and 4 ice boats on Lake Erie. (I have no idea who brought the ice boats, or from where.) We were climbing on the lower S wall, in long-sleeve shirts, no jackets.

This shot's from Derek Franzen, March 31, 2007.