From Underneath

“Are we there yet?” asks a disgruntled voice from the back seat.

         “What? Are you five? No, we’re not there yet,” says Shelly with a sigh, while driving the wintery path. “I told you when we left the main road, the chalet where we will be staying is seven miles from the main lodge.”

         “Why so far out?” asks a high-pitched voice from the back seat. “You implied in all of your family stories about staying at this resort, the chalets were close together.”

         “Yes, well, I was going to tell you guys about that after we got settled in,” Shelly started reluctantly.

         “What!” “What are you talking about?” “Turn around right now, I don’t want to go any further!” the rest of the passengers in the car clambered loudly.

          “Hold up! It’s not that bad, hear me out will ya!” Shelly states firmly.

         “Why? Why can’t we just turn around and go back to the main lodge?” George asks aguishly. He isn’t an outdoorsy type and came only because Peppin, a girl he’s sweet on asked him to come. She implied that something good will happen if he did, so he agreed. Now, he is second guessing his decision.

         “Because it’s too late and it is getting dark,” Shelly explained quicky. “The lodge will be closed by the time we get back and there is no night clerk. I told you, this resort is exclusive, only those with standing reservations can get in!”

         “So, what are you telling us,” Chole, another girl, in the back seat asks. “We have no choice but to continue into the unknown?”

         “Please, don’t be so melodramatic,” Shelly says with a sigh. “We are going to a private chalet with electricity, a hot tub, fully stocked refrig, and all the amenities you would expect from a place like this!”

         “Okay, so what are you not telling us?” asks Kevin, sitting in the front passenger seat, as he turns to look directly at her face and yet be able to see the faces of his friends in the back.

         “Mom forgot to tell me that Dad booked some people from his job into our family chalet, so the lodge offered this smaller one as a last-minute change,” Shelly said while keeping an eye on the snowy road ahead and the faces of her friends in the rearview mirror. “This chalet is only a little smaller than my family one and it is a bit further out, but other than that it is perfect.”

         “Perfect, she says…perfect, except that it is out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by deep snow and probably lots of wild animals just waiting to eat us up,” sighs George.

         “Oh, please,” Shelly says. “Most of the wild animals are asleep for the winter and the rest will leave us alone as long as we leave them alone.”

         “Now, who is being naive,” asks George while glancing out the window at the passing snow covered trees imagining all types of wild creatures just waiting for a chance to eat tender human flesh. With a shiver he turns back to the heated discussion going on around him.

         “Oh, come on guys,” Shelly insists. “We will have a wonderful time and all the privacy we’ve been craving for a long time!”

         “At least if the lodge doesn’t hear from us after a week, they will send someone to look for us, because heaven forbid the reputation of the resort can’t be tarnished by the loss of five young people on their own in the middle of nowhere!” Peppin says with a long sigh.

         Moans and dark laughter follow her comment, but the mood has definitely turned. Whereas before they were singing and joking around about the upcoming week at the resort and the fun, they will have explored the mountain, skiing, snowball fights and more, now they are wondering if it they should go back to the lodge first thing in the morning!

         Two hours later they arrive at the chalet. They find the snow around it has been cleared for several feet. Piling out of the car they carry their bags inside while leaving their skis propped up against the outside wall, they separate inside to explore. As promised the chalet is fully stocked and is pleasantly warm, so someone must have come earlier to turn on the heat, probably the same ones who cleared the snow. The friends quickly change into ski clothes grab their skis and rush out to try out the fresh powder.

         Four hours later they return, checks rosy and bodies tired but not ready to sleep yet. They shower and change. They agreed beforehand that each day one friend will cook, and the others will clean up. Mostly they will be grabbing whatever is quick so they can spend more time in the outdoors. Several times the first couple of days, a loud boom is heard in the distance, it seemed close, it was hard to tell due to the echoes. Peppin and George ask, “Shelly, what are the booming sounds?”

She explains that sometimes the resort sends out patrols to blow banks of snow from the mountains to prevent avalanches. When the others show concern, she assures them that the booms are nowhere near them, showing them on a map of the resort. They had seen the map before when planning their outings, but this time they took better note of the red flags and where they were in relation to the chalet. Thankfully, none were close by.

         Early one morning, Shelly heard a boom too close for comfort. Getting dressed, she hikes through the packed snow to get a better look at the mountain behind them and the valley below. Glancing anguishly around, she hears another loud boom and feels a deep rumble through her boots! A loud roar screams in her ears drowning out her own as she sees a wall of snow speeding toward the chalet! She freezes for only a moment, turning she runs as fast as she can! She barely makes it, rushes in, and slams the door as the massive wave strikes the building! It creaks, moans and shutters as the wave of snow pour down upon it! The screams of her friends as they rush into the living room with looks of pure horror on their faces as they huddle together and pray that the building stands! The rumbling seemed to go on for days before the rumbling ceased and the building stopped shuttering. An eerily silence falls.

         Pulling free of the group with difficulty, Shelly walks to the door and opens it to a packed wall of snow! She rushes to the windows on the back and sides of the chalet which thankfully had not shattered to find the same thing. When she tried the door to the hot tub area, it refused to budge, she surmised that it was destroyed. Returning to the living room to a circle of tight faces, they read hers and know they are in trouble, one small piece of luck is that they decided to bring their skis inside last night and once they dig themselves out will have a mode of transportation.

         Sitting quietly for a few moments, Shelly says, “Okay, we are in big trouble.”

         “You think?” Charlie asks sarcastically.

         “Look Charlie, we are all in this together and will need to work together to get out alive,” Shelly says sharply.

         “She’s right,” Chole says just as Charlie starts to speak again. “We must work together, or we will not survive.”

         “Okay, fearless leader, what do you suggest?” Charlie asks.

         “I’m not fearless, but I will lead the best that I can, now there two things we must do as quickly as possible…one, take stock of our supplies especially the portable stuff and second, start digging out at least to the surface to provide fresh air or we will go to sleep and never wake up!” Shelly says firmly.

         “Let me guess, all us guys will be digging while you girls stay inside where it is warm and dry!” Charlie says angrily.

         “No!” Shelly says. “What part of ‘work together’ do you not understand? We will take turns, in teams of three because the main priority is fresh air! While three of us are digging, the other three will be pulling out every dry piece of clothes we have and checking out supplies. We’ll trade out – four hours on four hours off until we are all too tired to move a muscle. We’ll rest for a day and start again!

“We can’t even risk a fire, until we make sure the chimney is clear of snow. But once done we can make a fire for cooking and warmth, not to mention smoke that maybe someone will see.” Shelly says partially screaming in George’s face. Stunned he sits down and so does she.

After a few tense minutes, Chole asks softly, “Who’s on the first team?” They look at each other, then Charlie says, “I will.” The others grin.

 “That makes one and I’m two,” says Chole. “Who’s third?” “Me,” says George. “Good, now that that is settled, lets get started so we can get out of here,” Chole says.

The next eight hours was the hardest that they have probably worked in their entire lives! Beyond exhausted and more tired than hungry, they forced themselves to eat something to replace the energy burnt while digging. The first problem was where to put the snow they moved? Chole suggested that they fill the bathtub and sinks, for bathing and possible drinking. This is a great idea, soon all the basins are brimming with packed snow.

Strangely enough, Peppin noticed that it wasn’t as cold in the chalet as she thought it would be and mentioned it during her next rest period.

Kevin says, “I read somewhere that the packed snow keeps body heat inside a structure. Only a small bit melts on the inside surface and refreezes insulating the structure.”

“That’s why we must create a vent or some kind of hole to the surface,” Shelly says while sipping the juice from her can of fruit cocktail, “we breath out carbon monoxide (?) and we create heat so soon we’ll fall asleep and never wake up.”

“Why haven’t we done that already?” Peppin asks, laying sprawled on the couch too tired to even move a finger.

“I’m not sure, but I think it’s because we continue to break up the snow,” Shelly says after a moment. “Somehow, it changes the nature of the snow, it kind of absorbs what we breath out so there is less for us to breath back in.”

“Sounds good to me,” says Kevin. “I’m going to get a little shut eye, wake me when it’s my turn to dig?”

“Don’t worry,” Peppin says with a chuckle. “Someone digging now will be glad to do so.”

So, on and off through the next few days, the group continue to dig until they finally break through the surface and clear the chimney as well! Kevin is the one to actually break the final layer of snow and ice. He gives a ‘whoop’ of joy which echoes for miles around. Pausing briefly to listen for a response which doesn’t come, he slowly climbs out, followed quickly by everyone else. Shading their eyes from the glare of the sun off the snow they take a good look around. The momentary joy of breaking through the surface fades as they realize the avalanche spread wider than they first thought! The SUV, in fact the road and the trees that stood alongside of it are completely gone! There was no way to tell which direction was which, there was nothing but their chimney sticking out of the snow for miles!

Subdued, they return to the chalet and sit around staring at each other. Finally, George says softly, “What’s the next step, Boss?”

Shelly takes a deep breath and says, “We can safely build a fire now and cook something to eat. We’ll all heat snow and bathe, then we will take shifts resting after we stake a blanket up on top of the snow. That way if rescuers flying over or a ski patrol is nearby, they will see and check it out. With luck we may be out of here inside a week. Otherwise, we will have to trek out of here on our own.”

“How long do you think we’ve been under here?” Chole asks.

“I’ve lost count of my days, but I think maybe two or three weeks,” Shelly says. “The avalanche hit six days after we arrived and we’ve been digging for nearly a week, so about two weeks.”

“Why haven’t we heard the sound of planes or helicopters?” Pippen asks.

“The packed snow muffles sound, plus we did get buried deep,” Shelly explains. “And we’ve been too busy digging out to pause and listen. At least I have. Between digging and sleeping, all I’ve heard is lots of moans and snores.” She says with a smile. A few chuckles follow.

“Okay,” Kevin says. “We’ve had our pity party, now let’s get ready to get out of here!” Everyone shouts in agreement.

Filled with new hope, they quickly make a fire, start a meal that will cook while they clean up the mess in the living room, preparing to get clean and dressed. Later gathered around the room with bowls of hot stew in their stiff and sore hands, slowly enjoying every mouthful as much as the recent hot baths, they focused on eating. With the scrape of spoons heralding the end of their repast, with a few shamelessly licking the bowls for the very last drop, Charlie asks, “How far do you think we have to travel to reach somebody?”

“Well, you may remember I said when we first arrived that the chalet is seven miles from the main lodge” Shelly began but was interrupted by Peppin with cries of doubt.

“Quiet, everyone” says Charlie standing up. “The main thing is to focus on trekking out of here. We’ll need a new supply check, and we are all experienced skiers so the trek will be hard but not impossible!”

“I’m afraid to say,” George says softly. “I’m not experienced, in fact I have only been skiing for about a month!” Groans follow this statement. The trek just got harder, with a greenhorn along, the speed they would have been able to make has been cut in half!

“That’s okay, George,” Shelly says gently. “We’ll help you along.”

“Is he going to break the trail for us or only follow?” Peppin grumbles aloud.

“Yes, he will once he get in some practice,” Chole says quickly with a slight smile toward George. He returns it with a slight blush, maybe he’s been spending time with the wrong girl.

“Okay, now that that is settled,” Kevin says. “How far should we plan to travel each day? What about making camp? Do you have an idea of a direction to take?” He asks Shelly.

“As for which direction, tomorrow, I will climb up to get an idea of where we are in relation to the lodge according to the map. Then, we can plan the shortest route down the mountain. Maybe we can find somebody with a phone to get a call out,” Shelly suggests. “Yes, we will need to make something of a shelter for camping. How far each day, depends on the terrain and how many rest stops we make.”

“Okay,” Kevin says. “I think, Peppin and Charlie will search for camping gear. Chole and George, check and pack our food minus dinner and breakfast, we’ll get a good night’s sleep, and start out bright and early tomorrow!” Shouts of agreement followed.

After finding a child’s sled in a back closet, loading all of the supplies and the camping gear on it, they will take turns pulling. When ready, Shelly closes and locks the door and they start moving downhill. Nine days later their camp is spotted by a plane, it radios the camp’s coordinates to the nearest fire and rescue station. Gratefully, they arrive within hours. The group is taken to a hospital to be checked out, reconnected with family who feared the worse. All in all, their group survived the ordeal, as friends and have plans for more adventures in the future.

                                                         The End.