I had no idea how I would face the world after my telemarking disaster. So I faked a headache. I’m really good at pretending to be sick. Rick gave me two aspirins and said they’d be back around noon.
I wandered around in the cabin for a while. I picked up a book, Guinness Book of Records 1994—a little out of date. All those records would be broken by now. I put it down. There was no TV or video games or anything. I sat on the couch and drummed on the table for a bit. I think it would be awesome to be a drummer in a punk band. I can imagine myself all sweaty, banging away on a drum kit and then partying with all the hot groupies after. That would rule. But I have no rhythm.
I stopped drumming and looked around.
It was only nine in the morning, and I was bored, bored, bored. They’d be gone for a while yet. I paced around. I looked out the window. The sun glinted off the snow on the roof of the outhouses. I glanced at my backpack and skis, neatly stacked by the door. Maggie’s work, probably. I looked outside again.
Ten minutes later I was outside with all my telemarking gear on. I’m not sure why.
I took a few sliding steps out in the snow. I bailed. I took a few more steps and bailed again. My arms were killing me from falling so many times the day before. Why bother?
I clumped back to the front steps of the cabin, popped my boots out of the bindings and looked around.
What the heck. What else was I going to do? Except maybe go back inside and snoop around for Lisa’s diary.
That was tempting, but no. She’d catch me and then I’d be even more of an idiot.
Maybe I could just try skiing to that tree over there. I clicked my boots into the bindings again. I slipped and slid to the tree. I made it! Okay, now to the next tree. I kept going, tree to tree.
After a while, I realized that I had skied quite a way and hadn’t wiped out. My legs were moving without me thinking about them. My arms worked the ski poles as though I was some sort of Granola.
I turned around to see how far back the cabin was. As soon as I did that, I tipped over and got a faceful of powder.
No sweat. It was easier to get up now. My skis made that swoosh-swoosh sound. I thought if I followed the tracks, maybe I could even catch up to everyone else.
I could hear Maggie’s voice: Eventually you just catch your rhythm, and then you can sail.
I think I was sailing. No, I was sure I was sailing.
I went along like that for a while. I felt pretty good.
And then I saw something.
Why was a ski sticking out from that tree? I skied up closer to check it out. It was hard to tell what was going on under the snow and all those mangled branches.
I shoved some of the branches aside. Big blobs of powdery snow slid off the tree and onto my head.
It was a tree well. Rick and Maggie had warned us about them. How did they put it? The low-hanging branches of the tree create a sheltered area around the base of the tree where a well of loose snow can form. It was like a big air donut around the base of a tree. If a skier accidentally falls into one of those he’s pretty much dead meat.
I knelt down and cleared some of the snow away from around the ski, which was wedged in a tree branch. That ski was attached to a leg. For some reason I grabbed the leg.
“Ahhh! Oh my god!” Someone screamed. There was so much snow. I tried to clear more away. The branches scratched my face.
Kayla was stuck upside-down in the tree well. She was covered in snow. No way could she reach up to undo her bindings. She was totally trapped. I wondered how she got in there.
Okay, Mike. Think fast. Someone’s hurt.
Now I know how I react in an emergency situation: with sheer panic. I had never felt my heart pounding so fast in my chest before. I stood up and whipped my head around, desperate to spot someone. I hollered for help. I shouted and yelled.
But it was just me.
“Help!” Kayla screamed.
“Um, Kayla?” I started to lean into the well and slid a bit. Crap, I didn’t want both of us trapped. I scrambled up and out.
Kayla craned her neck to look up at me. “Mike! Oh god...I’ve been here so long—I was calling for help...” She trailed off. Maybe she had hit her head. Maybe she was losing consciousness. This wasn’t good.
I tried to remember everything Maggie and Rick told us about tree wells. I never thought I’d have to deal with something like this alone. Then I heard Rick’s voice in my head.
Keep talking to the trapped skier. Ask if she can move or if she is injured.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you! Stay with me, Kayla!” What was I, some character in a lame Mount Everest movie? “Uh, did you hurt yourself?”
“My arm! Help, my arm...,” she moaned.
Shout for help and light a flare.
I had already shouted and didn’t have a flare.
Undo the victim’s bindings so that she can climb out of the tree well if possible.
That should be easy. I clenched my teeth and pressed down on the toe clip to release the binding. My hands shook. Agh, it was jammed. This was worse than trying to open a pickle jar. I clamped Kayla’s leg under my armpit and tried to pry open the binding. I pulled her boot right off and smacked myself in the jaw while I was at it. I tried to stuff her boot back on, still attached to the ski. I had no idea what I was doing.
There was an avalanche shovel in my backpack. Was I supposed to use that?
Kayla had stopped struggling. Holy cow, Mike, just yank her out of there. I grabbed on to both legs. I huffed and puffed and hauled her out of the tree well, knocking myself over.
Kayla looked pretty rough and was shivering a lot, but she was still conscious. I put my first aid blanket on her. We could thank Maggie for our backpacks full of all that gear. But what was I supposed to do now?
“I’m freezing!” Kayla kept saying.
I tucked and re-tucked the blanket around her. I felt useless.
After five, ten or maybe twenty minutes, I heard swooshing sounds in the snow. My head snapped up. I don’t know how long we’d been out there, but it felt like my entire body had frostbite. Maggie and Lisa were skiing toward us. I’d never been so happy to see them.
“Oh my god, it’s Mike and Kayla!” Lisa cried. “We’ve been looking for Kayla for over half an hour!”
Kayla’s arm wasn’t broken, but she had a bad sprain. She was going to be okay. They still decided to call the medivac helicopter to come and take her to the hospital, just to be sure. It was all very dramatic.
While she was taking care of Kayla, Maggie kept talking about how brave I was.
“You really showed your true colors today. Amazing job, Mike. You saved our girl.” She gave me a lot of big hugs. I’ve never been much of a hugger.
Back in the cabin, Rick made everyone hot chocolate with little marshmallows.
“Oh my god, Mike. I didn’t see her go down. If you hadn’t been there, I...I...” Lisa couldn’t finish her sentence. She was crying. Big, beautiful tears slid down her cheeks. “I can’t believe I let that happen. I’m so stupid. Jen and I were too busy talking to realize that Kayla wasn’t with us anymore. Maggie already gave us a huge lecture about never letting your partner out of your sight. You saved Kayla’s life.”
Me, saving someone’s life? All I did was find Kayla. I didn’t really do much of anything.
Rick stood in front of the group.
“What happened today was very serious. We need to remember to look out for our partners at all times.” I looked over at Lisa and Jen. They looked like little kids who had just gotten in big trouble.
“Mike showed a remarkable degree of resourcefulness and quick-thinking today,” Rick continued. “He exemplifies what the Explore program is all about.”
Me? I was the Explore poster child now?
Rick raised his mug. “To Mike.”
Everyone else raised their chipped cabin mugs.
“To Mike,” the Granola voices chorused.
Rick started singing, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” and all the Granolas chimed in. I couldn’t believe it. What was this, some sort of hippie musical?
“Thanks for choosing us over juvie, Mike!” Tim broke in. What a jokester.
I found myself smiling, even with everyone staring at me.
“I’ve never seen you grin like that before, Longridge!” Lisa laughed and swatted me on the shoulder. She was still teary.
Longridge was back.