Counterbalance

The window frame needed closer inspection, but the sheer painted glass offered zero traction. Hanging beside it was a looped white blind cord, swaying slightly in the draft. It was just out of arm's reach. I took a sturdy metal binder clip from the sill and clamped it around the bottom loop, adding just enough weight to stop the sway. With both gloved hands, I pulled down on the cord. The mechanism inside the upper valance clicked sharply, and the bottom wooden slat rose an inch. An adjustable hoist system. It held my weight when tested. Another vertical route secured.