More snow flowed down from above, blanketing the elevated land. John, a seasoned hiker who had received numerous awards over his career, was ascending the mountain by himself. He was tall but also slender, with dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He dressed in the best hiking equipment including a white snow jacket, an orange hat, and black pants like a penguin. He had informed his wife Sarah and two sons Eli and  Ed earlier this morning that he would return before sunset and that he was only hiking this towering mountain for the thrill. In actuality, he was simply protecting his ego because he had bet his friends that he could climb this mountain and get home by sunset. Given the demanding terrain and great height, John was climbing one of the most difficult mountains you could climb. He assumed he could face any difficulty, so he hadn't even carried half of the things that were necessary, like an emergency beacon, because they would only slow him down. One and two, he would chant in his thoughts as he marched in the waist-deep snow that devoured his legs like a savage monster. The sun had disappeared behind the dark, gloomy clouds and it was already chilly making his experience even more challenging. His teeth were chattering as though they were making a beat, and his fingers and toes felt as though they were being pricked by freezing-cold needles. But he knew these problems were nothing he couldn’t overcome.

John looked at his surroundings, Boy isn’t that beautiful, he thought to himself. He was high up on one of the largest mountains in the world and from there, you could see endless fields of peaceful green and yellow. But to him, it proved just how remarkable of a hiker he was that he had made it this far.

“WOOOOOSH” A big blast of air nearly pushed John over, bringing him back to reality. Even at his skill level, you could never be too careful.

John continued to scale until he reached the part of the mountain that was completely vertical, which was known as the Lone Man’s Peak. John whipped out his climbing gear, strapped on his belt, attached the pulley, and shoved his trusty ice pick, which he was so fond of that he almost named it, into the ice wall in front of him. He took the other pick thrusted it even higher and hoisted himself up onto it using his pulley. He repeated this process and was barely breaking a sweat. “Heh,” he scoffed arrogantly. “This is easy!”

After what felt like a few minutes, John began to smell a very pungent yet unfamiliar odor. Suddenly, John looked up to where he thought it was coming from and saw a shaggy beast looking down at him. John practically turned pale but just like that it disappeared. “What the heck” he cried, losing all focus. He fell but luckily his rope caught him. “Phew,” he said aloud and reached up to regain his progress. This was met with a symphony of pops and rips coming from the belt and he saw the threading on his rope beginning to rip. John froze not knowing what to do as he slipped lower and lower until his belt was no longer holding him up. John grabbed onto anything he could but there was nothing but air while he plummeted to the icy floor. Everything moved slowly to him as he saw ice moving past him at what felt like the speed of light. No, this can’t be happening, John thought to himself. Then, Boom! He hit the snowy floor with a thud. 

John got up from his indent in the white powder surprisingly fast, I thought I was for sure dead, John thought to himself. A wave of invincibility came over John and he felt like a superhero. “Woohoo, I'm alive!” he screamed victorious as he had nearly escaped death. But as if God was trying to test him today, he began to hear a low rumble as the snow started to shift and fracture beneath him. Before he could even react a cold white wave enveloped him, dragging him into oblivion.

John groaned “Argh,” struggling to fight his way to the surface. It felt as if the whole mountain he was climbing had just sat on him. Finally, he fought his way to the surface of the avalanche. He opened his eyes to the blinding white and once his eyes finally adjusted he truly saw how in danger he was. There was a cluster of trees ahead and John was hurling towards it at breakneck speed.

Oh god, I can’t die, he thought. I’ve gotta see my family. Suddenly, John’s will to live kicked in and he was going to get to safety no matter what it took. John noticed a cave opening safe from the avalanche coming up quickly. He took out his safety rope and attached it to the hatchet he had in his belt. He tied the two together to make a grappling hook. Finally, just at the right moment, he threw the grappling hook to the ledge when he was speeding past it and held on for dear life and by some magic, it held. Then, with a surge of adrenaline, he hoisted himself up upon the cave's ledge, and even with his forearms burning and his back aching, he made it.

John lay in the ice cave not saying a word but just thinking of how he had almost died. Twice! The only sound that filled the cave was his huffs and puffs along with the still rushing snow. For some reason, John started to cry. He was so overwhelmed by everything that had happened on this hike. He was supposed to be one of the best hikers in the world and was testing his luck on this trip, and now he was going to die alone, away from his family. He pulled out the picture he always kept of them in his pocket for good luck. He remembered it exactly, it was off when they had gone to Iceland for his anniversary. The ear-to-ear grins of that day were still embedded in his mind. Then he remembered, the thing he saw on the Mountain that got him into this mess. A cold chill ran down John’s spine as he tried to put a finger on whatever it was. But John couldn’t think right now with the endless cloudiness and drowsiness in his head that urged him to sleep. His breath slowed as he shut his eyes which felt like a million tons at the moment but before he couldn't stop himself from drifting off, it was already too late.

Chomp chomp squish. John awoke from his slumber to horrible eating sounds and was met with the sight of something he could only describe as a Yeti chowing down on a sheep. Its fur was white like the snow but was tangled and knotted. It was around 12 feet tall with feet that were disproportionately large like clown shoes. Its’ purplish-blue face was accompanied by big beady eyes having unusual yellow pupils that looked like the sun and sparkling fangs that appeared to John like they were trying to jump out of his mouth with how big they were. The final touch was his blood-smeared face that appeared like a red mustache. John immediately shut his eyes trying not to reveal he was awake or alive. Thank god it hadn’t spotted him which was probably thanks to the enormous amount of snow John was covered in or he might not be here right now.

John’s instinct was to escape from where he came from, but the Yeti would spot him as he was right next to the entrance. So John got up, steadied his breathing, and crept as quietly as he could deeper into the cave. Snap! John clumsily stepped on a branch as the sound echoed throughout the cave. The Yeti frightened by the sound turned angrily and bared his teeth when he met eyes with John. John, not wanting to stay any longer, ran deeper into the cavern as fast as his legs would carry him.

John ran blindly through the darknesses, the cold cavern air rushing across his rosy cheeks. Left. John sprinted down the next hall. Right. He could feel his body tiring, but he knew he couldn't slow down. Straight. What if I fall and the Yeti catches me? Right. What if it eats me? Straight. What if I never see my wife and kids again? Left. Just then the Yeti's meaty claws swiped at him, nicking his shoulder. John kept running but this time took a deep breath. No, I will see them again I’m going to survive no matter what, John thought to himself. Oh no, a dead end.

John stopped and turned to face the Yeti. It was slobbering at the mouth and looked angrier than ever. John gritted his teeth trying to muster some strength but his whole body quaked. Then he imagined his daughters and wife being so sad when he never came home. John knew he had to survive, for them, so he reached into his bag and grabbed the flare gun that he had brought. He held it out toward Yeti who was puzzled by John’s actions. John cocked back the flare, aimed right at the Yeti’s head, and squeezed the trigger. Bang! The beast shrieked as it brought its hands to its eyes out of pain. Escape….was the only thought in John’s head. He peered around his surroundings and just then saw a tiny hole he might be able to squeeze through. John knew he had no time as the Yeti roared even angrier than before. He crouched down and practically launched himself through the hole like he was diving into a swimming pool. He was only halfway to the other side when the Yeti grabbed his foot. Raaaaar! It bellowed. John kicked and squirmed, not willing to give up. But the Yeti was strong. With just one hand it was pulling his whole body back. Then John had an idea. He wiggled out the hatchet from his waistband and swung at the Yeti’s finger. It did little to no damage as its skin was rock solid but it was just enough for the monster to let go for a split second and John to escape. The Yeti wailed in defeat as John crawled away to safety out of its reach.

John stood up. He had done it, he had done the impossible. He brushed himself off casually, like barely escaping what he thought was a fictional monster in real life was a common thing. But now, John ran into another problem, where was he? He was obviously in a cavern but how could he get out? John studied his surroundings but it just looked like the original cave he had stumbled into. It was dark and had greyish-colored limestone walls that were cracked and decorated with stalagmites. Snow and ice were scattered across the floor along with all sorts of debris like sticks, logs, and even the occasional plant that somehow managed to survive up here. John couldn’t bother to solve this mystery right now and sat down. The only thing that John did know was that he had to rest which was impossible with the obnoxious noise of rushing water filling the room. Wait that's it, the flowing water will probably lead to the exit, he thought to himself. John propped himself up once again and prepared for a rough journey.

And in fact, it was. John had been traveling for hours already and had passed by so much. He encountered a hoard of bats, a few tunnels, and even some crystals. John was beyond exhaustion and felt numb. He was just about to give up when he encountered just the tiniest bit of light around the corner. John's whole body seemed to light up as he sprinted around the corner and there it was, the exit, freedom.

It was very light outside, so John just assumed it was morning. John hiked around a bit of the mountain for not even 5 minutes when he heard, thump thump thump thump. He looked around and about a mile away he saw a search helicopter amid a snow tornado it had created. John jumped up and down moving his arms like a maniac trying to get spotted by it, wishing he had brought his beacon. John imagined himself in the warmth of his home with his family. He imagined everything he loved at that moment coming back to him. Then suddenly the helicopter started to move away and all those dreams began to fade.

He had to get the attention of the helicopter but how, he had already used his one flare on the Yeti. Tears began to fall, melting the snow below as he dropped to his knees. He finally had run out of hope. Because of his stupid decisions, he would die on this forsaken mountain never to be seen again. John had a flashback of telling his wife he would be okay and would be sure to be safe. That seemed pretty silly right now. But then suddenly, thump thump thump, the noise was back again. He looked up from his hands that were wiping the tears off of his face at the moment and right in front of him was the helicopter and all its glory.

The helicopter lowered to the ground a safe distance away and once he was sure it had landed, John sprinted over like his life depended on it. There, he looked up and saw his wife and sons all together running to meet him. John crouched down and gave all three of them a huge hug to reunite. After much talking and catching up, John realized really how much his family cared about him. As soon as John didn’t return from hiking last night when he was supposed to, his wife didn’t waste any time filing a police report. They told him how nervous they were that something had happened to him and were just thankful he was okay. John didn’t bother to tell them about the adventure he had gone on because he didn’t want to make them worry anymore. Despite this, in the back of his mind, he would never forget this adventure where he almost lost his life three times and learned he would never take for granted what he had, again.