The sun was just beginning to come up on the Sequoia Mountain Range off the border of Alaska. Ben and his partner Eli are enjoying an adventurous journey. Both men are professional snowboarders who plan to glide down the toughest and scariest mountain ranges in the world. The ski lift moved very rarely due to the very few amount of people who attended the dangerous peak. There was not a single person or worker on any of the slopes on the mountain due to the low temperature. Ben and Eli were determined to bomb the top of the range, however, they practiced hour after hour in order to prepare for the tough climb.

At the end of the day, sun beginning to fall, the men decided to get on the ski lift and head to the top of the mountain range. As the lift carried the men up the monstrous mountain, it began to wobble side to side. The temperature was dropping and the men were anxious to get to the top. Just then, the ski lift stopped running. The two men tried to keep calm. Ben was brainstorming ideas in the time he was waiting on the lift. He was thinking about ways to get down if help was not to come. Hours went by and help still did not arrive. Panic began to spring. The temperature was plummeting and Ben and Eli’s bodies could not stand the freezing climate any longer. The ski lift was swaying with the wind when Ben had a simple idea. He figured that if he were to jump off of the lift, he would sink into the snow and survive the fall. He discussed this with Eli. Eli was desperate. He was trembling in his winter parka. He had to escape the brutal climate or his body would shut down. Death was a possibility at this point. Eli did not even check his surroundings when he made his decision. He sprung off the chair of the lift and took a leap. This decision was his last. Eli hit the ground and both of his legs split open. Almost instantly, Eli was gone. “Eli, answer!” Ben repeated over and over. Not a sound was to be heard. Bens panic escalated very quickly. 

Ben was in shock. He did not know what to do. He screamed for help with the little voice he had left. The climate had taken his body over. Frostbite had spread to his feet causing them to turn black. This left him unable to walk. He had to get off of this ski lift or he was going to die. Ben did not want his life to end. He quickly thought. Simultaneously, he had an idea.

Taking his winter parka off, Ben took action. He wrapped his coat over his gloves and grabbed the steel line of the lift. “Keep going Ben” he repeated to himself.  He was freezing and scared, however, he held on. With blood pouring down his hands and his hands throbbing, he finally reached a safe spot where he could climb a ladder to the bottom of the mountain. Once his feet hit the snow, he laid down on the cold ground and sat for a minute. He was so happy he was safe. As he was walking down the mountain, blood dripping from his hands, he saw a movement in a pile of snow. As he approached the pile, he began to get scared once again. The pile was shaking so Ben undug the snow and what he found was priceless. At the bottom of the pile, with two snapped femurs, laid Eli. Alive as can be. Ben was never happier to see him. He threw his partner over his shoulder and began running down the mountain. Stumbling to the bottom of the slope, the two men made it. They reached the bottom of the mountain and were safe from the freezing climate. The two men entered the guest’s cabin at the resort and called for help. This monstrous day was over.