Yearning for the Snow

Another day of mild breeze and steady sunshine. For his entire life, 14 year-old Esteban had been trapped in his home village on the southern coast of South America. The rain never fell, the temperature never dropped, and snow was but a fantasy told to children. Esteban loved his town but the monotony of it all left him yearning for more. Day after day he found himself spending more time alone on his roof, staring towards the distant mountains to the north; the snowcaps visible in the distance were the base for his daydreams. An athletic youth, Esteban envisioned grand adventures - climbing the hills with a pack on his shoulders. Summiting the crest of the enormous piece of nature; discovering the snow of fairy tales at the top. He imagined himself setting eyes on the white surrounds and launching into the fluff. Snow angels, snowballs, snowmen. Snow. Snow. Snow. He'd had enough of clear skies and mild climates. With a wild flurry of blinks, Esteban emerged from his latest trance and knew at once that he would make good on his fantasy; he quickly ran inside to gather a pack for his travels. He would leave for the mountaintop tomorrow.

After some careful preparations, a headstrong talk with his mother, and a good night’s rest, Esteban felt ready and confident to set forth on his adventure. He awoke as the sun was cresting the horizon and peered outside to see yet another clear and mild day. His resolve deepened. One final adjustment to his supplies ensured he was ready and prepared; Esteban said goodbye to his mother and left his home through the front door. The mountain was in sight and the snow was in mind. 

Esteban’s village connected directly to the base of the mountain - the town relied on the trees at the base of the monstrosity for wood to warm and fuel the homes. Anyone other than authorized personnel were urged to stay away from the site and remain safely in the village. Wildlife, treefall, and heavy machinery were constant threats to anyone, especially children. Because of this, Esteban found his path rather empty, save for a few workers too engrossed in their jobs to pay much attention to the teenager. Esteban was thankful. 

Standing at the base of the giant, Esteban craned his neck upwards in an attempt to fully understand the task he’d set before himself. The snow caps that were visible from his home were no longer in sight. Clouds surrounded the uppermost reaches of the mountain, making the monument of nature appear to be busting through the sky. The vegetation that surrounded his feet became more and more scarce as his eyes scanned upwards. The path he was on snaked upward at harsh angles until it disappeared in the fog of the same clouds that hid the mountain’s peak. Although not visible at the moment, Esteban knew there was a tower at the very top of the hill with a flashing red light - a beacon to passing aircraft that ensured their safety. A meditative set of breaths and a final daydream of his white fantasy set him down the path. 

Esteban traveled for two hours, following the maintenance path that slalomed around bushes, rocks, streams, and erosion. The road was wide enough to accommodate work vehicles, but was heavily damaged by years of travels. The lack of rain in his town left the path dusty, dry, and bleak. The vegetation was given life by the streams that flowed from the melting snow higher up. After this first leg of his journey, Esteban took a break under a thick tree directly off the path to hydrate and rebuild his energy. 

Three more hours of hiking brought the first noticeable change to the surrounding environment. The air temperature dropped considerably and the welcome breeze was more intense. Esteban paused his journey to take in the sight of his town far below. He’d made his way halfway up the mountain at this point and his familiar village was a scattered mess of homes, small lakes, and winding roads. Excitedly, he envisioned this same view as he continued to climb; turning back around, he hastened his pace. 

Nightfall came 4 hours after Esteban’s last break and he was exhausted. After seeing the progress he’d made at the halfway point, a fire was lit inside of him that pushed him to a run. He couldn’t wait to reach the top, to find the snow, to return to his family and paint the pictures in their mind of the beautiful nature he’d witnessed at the summit. No one that he knew personally had been witness to anything other than the calm weather of his home. After the halfway mark, the trek became noticeably more steep and even with the quickened pace, Esteban hadn’t arrived at the peak as he’d hoped. As the sun disappeared below the horizon, the chill in the air was unlike anything he’d experienced up to this point. The visible patterns of exhalations leaving his mouth were something he’d only seen in movies. He was shivering, bundled in every layer that he’d packed, and still he had farther to go. A flash of worry danced through his mind as he pondered the further drop in temperature that was surely to come. The concern was fleeting and Esteban was undeterred. He would continue. Dinner was made, the sleeping bag was laid out, and a small fire was made for warmth. Esteban slept soundly and dreamt of the final leg of his journey. 

The sun was still below the horizon as he awoke, but Esteban packed his bag and lit another fire in the morning gloom. The weather was colder than it had been in the evening and his earlier worry flashed through his mind again. He already had on every layer he’d brought, and his sleeping bag wasn’t meant for the snow. His plan had been to reach the crest, take it all in, and descend before needing to spend a night in the snow. Nothing above the clouds were visible, and he was but a stone's throw below them now; there was no telling how steep the road would become or how many twists and turns were ahead. The thought of a maintenance vehicle having the power to do this journey left him in amazement. Off-roading or hill-climbing vehicles were the only ones he imagined could make this trip. As Esteban took the final bite of his canned breakfast, the sun peered over the horizon and his side of the behemoth was cast in morning light. Esteban began the final ascent. 

It took no time at all for the youth to push through the rim of clouds and what he saw when his eyes adjusted left him speechless. Snow. Ice. White falling from the sky. Things of fantasy for the young kids of his village. He was still a distance from the peak, but already the brown path was fading into white. The tower was now within sight, only slightly obscured by the hill. He estimated he would be making snow angels within 2 hours. Eagerly, he quickened his pace up the path. For the first time since beginning at the bottom, the road made its way around to the backside of the mountain. The peak wasn’t wide enough to allow it to snake back and forth, and instead it circled the top portion of the crest. As the boy rounded to the back side of the mountain, an instant chill ran through his body. Without the sun to cast its warming light, the temperature was drastically colder. Snow was quickly falling and the wind had gained speed. Esteban squinted down the path ahead and could see it stretched for a few hundred feet before rounding back to the front near the peak. This level of freeze was unlike anything he’d expected. He knew to expect cold, but this was a far cry from the sunny mid-70s of his hometown. He scanned directly up the slope to see if there was any other way to continue upwards. The angle of ascent would be much too intense for an inexperienced climber such as himself. It was obvious at this point that the maintenance road had been deliberately cut into the mountain to allow work vehicles to pass. Esteban hunkered down below a tree in a quick attempt to warm himself and escape the wind before entering the shadows. 

With all the fortitude he could muster, the teen got up from his crouch and began hastily making his way upwards along the cut-out service road. The wind chilled his face to the point of numbness; his hands were becoming stiff. The thick mittens he’d worn were inadequate. Snow on the ground became thicker as he continued. At one point, he was unsure if he was still on the road at all; perhaps he was walking on the shoulder. Thoughts of losing his balance and falling into a hidden ditch worried his mind. Halfway along the backside of the mountain, the weather worsened. Heavy snowfall was exacerbated by strong winds. The snowflakes he had been so excited for were now rushing sideways and obscuring his vision. Numbness accompanied many parts of his body and his hiking boots sunk into 2 feet of snow with every step. If he could just make it to the point in which the path came back into the sun, perhaps he’d be ok. This was brutal, not at all what he’d envisioned. He started to question his ambition, his lack of complete preparation. He wasn’t used to his, and he'd set off alone. He couldn't stop to ponder his mistakes, he knew he must keep moving. 

30 more agonizing minutes. A slower pace than he thought possible. Numbness. Pain. Numbness mixed with pain. Esteban’s eyes were dry and radiated pain. His boots were soaked through, half frozen. His pants, socks, jacket - everything heavy with snow that had clung to him. Crawling more than walking, the youth finally made it to the corner of the mountain that passed from shadow to sunlight. Directly before him was a clearing, the tower standing in the middle. He’d made it. Exhaustion came over him and he slumped face-first into the snowpack. The flashing red light at the top of the tower was the final thing he saw before his eyes closed and he drifted into unconsciousness. 

“Hey! HEY! There’s a boy out here! Help!” The maintenance worker yelled into his radio to the other servicemen inside the tower’s station. He had been outside smoking a cigarette when he saw the figure come crawling on all fours from around the shadowy bend. The man thought his eyes deceived him; surely no wildlife would be this far up the maintenance road. The man put out his cigarette and ran towards the figure. Bending over Esteban, panic burst in the heart of the worker - he was just a kid! After yelling over the radio for help, the man ran back to the off road snow vehicle parked nearby and started it up. 

Esteban didn’t remember anything after seeing the tower. He opened his eyes in a hospital bed, staring out of the window into a clear, sunny sky. The weather report on the tv in his room forecasted the same monotony that he’d been accustomed to. He was back in his village. His hands and feet ached, his chest felt heavy, and slight dizziness made it hard to focus.

“Honey, honey, honey. I didn’t think you were serious. Why did you go all the way to the peak? You could have died!” His mother had tears running down her face and her hand was clasped tightly in his. 

“I saw it mom. I saw the snow.” A thin smile spread across Esteban’s face as he drifted back into sleep.