by Vivek Subramaniam (13 years old)
“Sam, get up now or we’re gonna be late for our flight to Canada.”
“One more minute.”
“Bro, get up.”
“Jacob, chill! We have four more hours, lemme sleep.”
“But, we need to pack all our skiing gear, plus we have to buy the tents!”
“Can’t we get the tents in Canada, and why would we need tents anyways?”
“In case we get stuck somewhere when we are skiing. Come, we have to go.”
Headphones were stuck on some people’s heads with their eyes glued to the phone while others chatted amongst their friends and family, excited to embark on a family vacation. Young children played tag and occasionally bumped into busy travelers by accident. Of course, there was that one bratty baby crying as loud as it possibly can.
“Passengers on flight AC 833, proceed to gate 32 to get ready for boarding in 10 minutes,” a woman announced.
“Is that us?” Jacob questioned. “Yeah,” Sam responded.
“Where is that? We have to be there by now. There are so many people, how am I supposed to see anything?”
“It’s fine, we can ask someone here.”
“You ask, not me.”
“Alright.”
“That person over there said gate 32 is behind us. We already passed it. Let’s head back.”
Having boarded the flight, they searched for their seats. Sam and Jacob arrived at their seats next to the wings of the plane and had instant noodles mid-flight. As they slurped on their instant noodles, taking occasional gulps of the salty, MSG-laden, hot soup, they squinted through their foggy eyeglasses as their eyes fixated on the tiny screen in front of them.
After arriving in British Columbia, their rented car was just a few minutes away. The sun sliced through the clouds and when met with the cold temperatures, felt like it couldn’t get cozier. By the time they were in the car, the sun was already setting, and yet it was just the beginning of the journey. A long one.
By midnight, they couldn’t focus properly, at first, flickering eyes, but not too long after their eyes were drooping and so Jacob and Sam decided to take some rest as they would have to continue the drive for tomorrow.
The moment the sun rose the next day, they continued driving further into the mountainous zone. They rode on for the next couple of hours before arriving at their location. The pristine, untouched, thick, and freshly fallen snow was soft and pure, and the beautiful view of the environment around them was simply just perfect.
In awe, Jacob exclaimed, “Damn. There’s nowhere better than this.”
They exited the car, took their massive bags, and placed them on their shoulders. With that, they began their hike to the top.
At first, the soft thin snow made it enjoyable to hike. However, the higher they went, the more their boots sunk into the snow, each step requiring more effort than the last. The higher the elevation, the thinner the air, and the thicker the snow. Every ten steps left them exhausted, forcing them to take a break to catch their breath back.
“WOOOOOO! We are finally at the top!” Sam cried. “YEAHHHH!” Jacob yelled. They hugged each other and laughed. “You wanna ski down first or should I?” asked Jacob. “Anything is fine,” Sam responded.
Jacob remarked, “Aight, you go first then. Good luck bro,” he said, “and remember to inform me when you reach the bottom,” he added.
Sam geared up. “I’m gonna go on the count of three.” He took a deep breath and then exhaled. “Three. Two. One.” He left.
As he was gliding down the soft and powdery snow, adrenaline rushed through his veins. He continued to pick up speed. He started to move in a zig-zag pattern, losing speed with each turn. Eventually, Jacob received a call from his walkie-talkie.
“You’re good to go. It’s really fun. Just remember to traverse when you feel you’re going too fast. Good luck. Over,” said Sam.
“Okay cool. I’m gonna gear up and then leave. Just wait at the bottom. Over,” Jacob responded.
Jacob put on his gear making sure to not leave anything behind. When he felt he was ready, he started the descent. Worried about failing somehow, he began to breathe faster and harder. As a reflex to stress, the fight or flight response kicked in causing Jacob’s body to tense up. His senses sharpened as he picked up speed. Remembering what Sam had said about moving from side to side. Jacob did so in an attempt to slow down. Managing to slow down and reach the bottom of the mountain, they met each other.
“Damn! That was scary as hell,” Jacob sighed.
“It was so fun.”
“Let’s go home.”
“Already? Just one more run-through. Now that you know what it’s like, you won’t be as scared.”
“Actually, you know what? Sure. Hopefully this time, I can breeze through it.”
“Yeahhhh,” Sam laughed.
They started the hike up the mountain again. They managed to come across the route they had used previously and thought that it would be easier to follow. Around halfway up, hunger started to set into their stomachs. They dropped their bags. They fished out the canned beans and the can of mixed vegetables in each of their bags. Pulling the cans out as well as a knife, they pierced the blade through the tin lid and started slicing around the edges of the can making a circle. Jacob walked back to his bag to take his water bottle.
The air suddenly became icy and cold, plummeting to nearly sub-zero. Dark clouds rolled, casting a massive shadow on the land. At first, snowflakes fell gracefully and danced in the sky, and soon, the fragile snowflakes turned into a harsh gust of snow.
Heavy winds started pushing. They could hear snaps of the nearby trees. The visibility dropped to a few meters. “JACOB!” Sam yelled. He could barely hear himself in the blizzard. Adrenaline flushed through his body. Sam began to run down the mountain. Soon he was drained of energy.
“SNAP!” Before he knew it, two hundred and twelve kilograms of force had pushed his shoulder and knocked Sam to the ground.
He groaned and was trapped under the pine tree.
Within minutes if he didn’t move, the blizzard would bury his body.
Sam had to escape fast.
He tried to push the tree but it wouldn’t budge. He had to dig himself out.
His hands started to feel numb as he pushed on. A layer of snow had already covered his body. Sam brushed it off and continued to dig his way out.
Eventually, despite the excruciating pain in his right shoulder, he managed to escape. He knew he needed shelter. Jacob had the tents. Crap. Some sort of shelter was vital. He found a very thick tree knowing it was strong enough to survive the blizzard. The leaves and branches prevented some snow from hitting the ground. He started digging around the tree. Sam had collected some organic material that would be used later. He continued to dig until the hole was around eighty centimeters deep and jumped in. The branches and leaves were used to cover the top in order to stop snow from entering. However, he made sure there were a few tiny holes so there was ventilation.
After some time, the blizzard had stopped and he had realized that. When he removed the roof, he noticed how much snow had been prevented from entering the shelter. He left and started to look for any sign of Jacob or his whereabouts. He retraced his steps back to what he thought was where they had lunch. He didn’t have a clue where Jacob went when the blizzard had started. He walked aimlessly hoping there would be some sign of him. A black long and thin object was sticking out of the snow.
A ski?
Sam knew he was getting closer. “JACOB!” he shouted.
No response.
He kept walking in that direction for some time. From the corner of his eye, he saw another black object. This time it was small, rectangular, and had a small tube connected to it. His walkie-talkie.
Jacob had to be in the vicinity, Sam thought. If he had dropped his walkie-talkie during the blizzard, it would’ve been completely buried.
“JACOB!” Sam yelled.
This time he could hear a faint voice. He couldn’t make out what was said, but he knew that was Jacob.
He ran towards the faint voice.
“JACOB DO YOU HEAR ME!”
Sam could see a vague object entering his vision. Jacob! They ran towards each other. They hugged each other tightly. “Are you alright?” Jacob asked. “I…I… think I must have dislocated my shoulder, but other than that I’m fine,” Sam responded. “What about you?” Sam asked, concerned.
“I was worried I would get hypothermia, but yeah I’m fine,” stated Jacob.
All footprints there before the blizzard were now gone. With knocked down trees and much higher snow, the entire landscape had changed. They were lost. They grabbed the PLB (Personal Locater Beacon) in Sam’s bag, flipped the antenna, and pressed the ‘On’ button. The PLB was activated. They just had to wait.
As the sun started to set, they heard chopping noises. A dark figure appeared through the horizon. The sound continued to get louder and the object continued to get larger. The helicopter and rescue team had arrived. They were saved.
On the way back, they stared at the bleached landscape, grateful to have survived the rawness of nature. They reflected back on the journey they had. Through the life-threatening experience, their bond had gotten stronger. They were appreciative of the rescue team and were just glad to have returned home.
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