No concrete explanation of The Edge exists; however, the abstract knowledge appears when one surpasses its threshold. When we approach this fine line via our adrenal quests, the sense of risk is near, and, naturally, fear arises. At that moment, we know that we cannot manage on the easy-go, half-do mentality. As the outspoken mountaineer and training advocate Mark Twight put it, this is when we must “ascend above mediocrity.”

In the most challenging of circumstances, when tapping into all our inner forces, motivation, training, and zeal, we often reach a point of wondering if we’ve come all that way only to discover that what we really sought was that which we’d so aggressively left behind.

There are many names for this state of mind, one being the "death march.” In such states, we must recover our mind’s focus, chasing away doubts, replacing them with inner tenacity, trust in our training and experience, and focus on our absolute inner drive.

What takes our minds away for those short moments varies, but has much to do with the contrast of our home-life routines. As opposed to most mistakes made in the routine of life, our mistakes on the mountain are acutely serious…and that fact rests heavy on our minds when approaching The Edge.