slab

But the periodic table isn't just another trendy icon.It's a massive slab of human genius,up there with the Taj Mahal, the Mona Lisa, and the ice cream sandwich --

I felt even better as I started climbing.About 500 feet up, I reached a slabvery similar to the one that had given me so much trouble on Half Dome,

a “new statue in a drafty museum,”a shadow in a mirror, a slab of soap.Fiercely intelligent, penetrating and witty,

I could hear people laughing on the summit just above me.I wanted to be anywhere but on that slab.My mind was racing in every direction.

which I was planning on using for my descent.But between me and the summit lay a blank slab of granite.There were no cracks or edges to hold on to,