They stopped at the tree line and glanced at each other.
"You okay to go?" Todd yelled over the gale.
Eric pushed his gloved thumb up. Todd nodded, took up the lead and they struck out into the windswept open meadow.
They were approaching the far side of the meadow when something ahead of them caught their attention. A scantily visible figure was slowly making its way towards them. Todd and Eric rushed forward. The figure ahead stumbled and fell face down into the knee high snow. As the two approached, Todd realized it was Charlene Jensen, the wife of Chad Jensen: the Christian family that lived on the mountain. He went to his knees and lifted her out of the snow. Eric quickly joined them. She was heavily dressed against the cold, but was near helpless without snowshoes. She raised her hand to protect her face and tried to yell against the blasting wind.
Todd leaned forward deflecting the wind. He could see she was completely exhausted.
"Chad!" she shouted, “and my boys, Maria, the baby, Stacey… all on the mountain. We have to get help!"
"We know!" Todd yelled back, animating his words. "Where are they?"
"The creek bed! They’re following the creek bed, heading east towards Midway."
Todd rolled back on his knees, reached and pulled Eric’s face close to his own. "You have to go back!" he shouted. "We have to get Mrs. Jensen out of the weather. Get Louis… tell him we need snowmobiles…cats...whatever. Tell them we need help!"
He stumbled to his feet and pushed slowly up the mountain, into the screaming gale.
~~~
Maria and the group had continued plodding eastward through the fir tree canyon. The wolves had effectively blocked their way back to the Jensen cabin. As long as the group continued traveling eastward the wolves would inexplicably disappear. Whenever they turned back the wolves would reappear, standing ominously in their path. Maria reasoned they somehow knew the way to the cabin was the way to safety. They were obviously trying to force the travelers deeper into the mountains, where they would be vulnerable.
The snow was beginning to pile up, making it close to impossible to traverse. Landmarks were getting harder to spot and recognize; several times they had to stop and let Chad find his bearings. Moving had become exhausting. At one point, at Maria’s insistence, the group had to stop to feed little Joshua.
Now the group had come upon an unfamiliar fork in the creek bed. Chad lifted his arms signaling the group to stop. He stood staring for a time. His lips were moving but he couldn’t be heard over the wind. He abruptly turned to the group.
"I don’t…I don’t recognize this. Maybe we’ve come too far… I don’t know. I just don’t know! Maybe… Oh, how am I supposed to know?"
Maria recognized the panic in his voice. She glanced down at little Sage who was staring up at his father, his face pulled up into a grimace, his lower lip quivering.
She moved closer to Chad and tugged on his coat, pulling him out of his tirade. "We should stop here!" she yelled glancing down at little Sage. "We should be rested up before our ride gets here."
Chad looked down at his son. "Yeah!" he yelled back. "They should be here pretty soon. Let’s stop and rest."
The exhausted group heavily dropped where they stood and sat looking at each other.
"Dad!" Tim Jensen shouted. "Maybe we should pray!"
Chad nodded and pulled Joshua’s sled into the middle. The group reached out and took each other’s hands.
"Everyone pray!" he yelled over the wind. "Everyone say your own prayer!" All but Maria bowed their heads in prayer.
Maria glanced around the group. They’re giving up, she thought. We’re going to die out here.
She turned away and found herself looking at yellow eyes glaring back at her through the blinding snow. She screamed and stumbled to her feet. The wolves were back; ten, fifteen at least, standing in a line looking at the huddled figures praying in the snow.
Chad jumped to his feet, reached for the sled and swung it in their direction. Tim joined in, swinging the diaper bag at them.
Maria stared in horror at the yellow-eyed monster who was staring back at her. Their eyes locked. Maria felt a strange calm. Goose bumps rippled over her arms.
The wolves spun and ran into the storm, snapping and jostling with each other, disappearing into the white haze.
Stacey pulled the diaper bag away from Tim and ran after them. "What are you doing, you sons a bitches!" she screamed into the wind.
Without warning the wolves were back. Chad reached and jerked Stacey back into the group. The wolves raced towards them, whirled and disappeared back into the storm.
"They’re trying to wear us down!" Chad yelled, "trying to separate us."
"Why don’t they just leave us alone?" Stacey screamed.
Chad took hold of her shoulders and shook her. "Settle down!"
Suddenly the wolves were back again. They raced towards them, whirled and returned back into the storm.
"Listen to me!" Maria screamed. "Listen to me!"
The group turned and faced Maria, surprised by her sudden fury.
"I know why they’re here!" she shouted. "Don’t ask me how, but I know. They don't want us to go back to your cabin! They’re showing us the way out. They’re clearing a path in the snow!"
Chapter_Six
At eight thousand, one hundred feet above sea level, Cherry peak was the highest landmark clearly seen from Parktown. Its sharp, rugged cliff-walls rarely retained newly formed snow drifts before they slid off and fell into the canyons below. Although it was still midwinter, what was once Wasatch-Cache national forest had recently experienced a relatively warm spell. The rugged crags were dry and unusually receptive to the new wall of freezing sleet that was now blasting its cliff faces.
At the base of a high, nearly vertical spire, a small mountain stream had formed a frozen creek. It was here that the heavy snowdrift began piling. An hour into the storm, the snowpack had reached its maximum bulk, and had begun to lean ominously forward towards a nearby two hundred foot drop into a canyon. Within a short time, the powdery snowpack overcame a fallen fir tree that had been cradling it and the entire mass sloughed off, falling to the canyon below. The snow powder drifted and whirled as it fell, quickly becoming one with the icy winds, but the fallen fir tree hit the high canyon wall with explosive impact.
Approximately eight feet below, a layer of hardened, icy snow lay beneath the newly formed blanket of powder. The impact of the fir tree preceded the inevitable slip.
The entire mountainside started, stopped, then gave way and began its thunderous descent into the canyons below.
~~~
Todd had managed to clear the aspen grove and was now moving steadily towards a cliff wall. Beyond the cliff wall he could faintly make out Hanna’s snow bound cabin.
The pain in his head had finally started to abate, but his squeamish stomach and cramping legs were a constant reminder of how exhausted he was becoming. Maria and the others were traveling in deep snow without the benefit of snowshoes. He could only imagine what they must be going through.
Chad Jensen is a mountain man, he said to himself. He’s a Wyoming mountain man… He’ll find shelter. They’ll be fine.
He finally reached the cliff face and leaned against it for a time, enjoying the temporary shield from the whistling wind. A rumbling vibrating hum caught his attention. He could feel it resonating off the cliff face. Within seconds he could hear it over the blasting storm. The cliff face began shaking. Snow chunks were suddenly crashing down on him from above. He stumbled away from the sloughing cliff as fast as his bulky snowshoes would allow, and tumbled face first over a snow-covered aspen sapling.
~~~
Chad Jensen had little choice but to push forward into the path the wolves were creating in the snow ahead. At least they could move, he reasoned. Maybe he would spot a place where the group could build a shelter; a cliff base where their flanks would be protected, or even a deep snowdrift packed enough to burrow into.
Each time the group stopped, the wolves would return to ominously stare at them. They appeared to wait for a reaction from the group before bounding off into the snow ahead. They would go and return, go and return… each time pounding out a path ahead.
Chad had never experienced wolves but he knew they were cunning creatures, able to lay traps and harass potential prey into exhaustion. It was clear they were there to harass. Thank God they hadn’t yet tried an all-out attack. With no weapons, the small group would provide little resistance against a wolf pack of 15 or more individuals, especially in this blizzard.
The group was beginning to show signs of stress and fatigue. Little Sage was nearing his limits. Maria had started to rant about the wolves pointing out the way. Whatever had to be done had to happen soon.
The earth began rumbling beneath their feet. The group pulled to a stop and stood glancing out into the storm. A roaring sound began to overtake the whistling winds.
A new wind hit them from the west, blasting them forward onto their knees. They were suddenly shrouded in a blinding, roiling mass of powdery snow.
Chad reached out, trying to feel his youngest son, but it was no use. He tried to yell over the ear-shattering racket but could scarcely hear his own voice. The deafening roar reached a crescendo before rolling away down the mountain. Slowly, the white shroud of powder began to dissipate. Chad could faintly make out the small figure of his son lying fetal in front of him. The boy was all but covered in fresh white powder. He pulled his son to him and quickly pushed the snow away from the bewildered boy’s face. As the white-out finally began to clear, he looked around him.
Maria had thrown her body over little Joshua and was now pulling away from him. New snow fell away from her like sand as she knelt to examine her baby, now crying in his sled-bound car seat. Stacey and Tim Jensen were standing up pounding their clothing, trying to dislodge the blanket of new snow.
Chad looked out into the fir tree canyon that lay before them. The new powder had blanketed the wolf’s path but had not obscured it. The way forward had been left intact and passable.
"What in the hell!" Stacey hollered over the wind. "What was that?"
Chad reeled backwards and threw his hands to his head. "An avalanche," he yelled. "That was an avalanche!" He pointed his finger into the west. It was over Ogden peak. The cabin! Charlene’s in the cabin… We have to go back!"
He began trudging his way back from where they had come. Stacey hurried up behind him and yanked on his arm. "Chad!" she called out. "We can’t go back there. Everyone is exhausted!"
Chad stopped, stood staring out into the storm before turning back to face her. "Charlene’s in the cabin!"
"Your sons are right over there!" Stacey shouted, pointing at the group.
Chad dropped his eyes and dismally began making his way back. Stacey followed. Maria moved forward to meet them.
"Do you think it hit Parktown?" she yelled. "Could it have reached Parktown?"
Stacey took hold of Maria’s coat. "We don’t know! We need to get these kids off the mountain. That’s all we need to think about right now. We can’t do anything about the cabin or Parktown, but we can get these kids off the mountain!"
Suddenly Chad was rushing forwards all but toppling Stacey. Maria whirled and screamed. Tim and little Sage Jensen yelped in unison at the sight of their father rushing headlong towards them. Behind them, a good five feet away from the group, Joshua sat alone bundled in his makeshift sled car seat.
Two large timber wolves were hovering over him. Joshua’s tiny hand was reaching out to them.
~~~
Todd sat up, unleashing a tumbling blanket of white snow that had been covering him completely. He circumspectly looked around, wondering how he could have wound up in a tunnel. He remembered he was running… he tripped … snow… raining, then crashing around him. The thundering sounds had ceased and now it all seemed entirely quiet. Even the storm had somehow gone away. He was buried, he told himself. That was an avalanche and he was buried… but then, why could he still see?
He became aware of pain in his head, gingerly lifted his hand to his forehead and pulled back a bloody mitten.
He recoiled at the sight of it, pulled his glove off and felt his face. Everything seemed to be in place; just a bang on the forehead.
Snow began falling on top of him. He rolled to one side, trying to protect his face. Dogs were barking from overhead, reminding him of another time and place long ago. A strange thought flitted through his mind. He wondered if Tacoma ever found his sister.
"Todd!" a voice called out.
Todd rolled to his back and looked up. Eric Wheeler’s face was staring down at him through a hole in the snow that had collapsed over his head.
"Eric!" Todd yelled over the steadily barking dogs. "I’m here!"
"Yeah buddy!" Eric yelled back. "We’re coming to get you."
Someone’s shadow appeared near Eric. The dogs were towed away from the hole. Todd could no longer hear the raging storm. He suddenly realized he had been unconscious. He had no idea how long he had been wherever he was. "Is Maria with you?" he shouted.
The lack of response answered his question and fueled his mounting despair. "Where are Maria and Josh?" he demanded.
"Just sit tight!" Eric said, "It’s too hard to talk—"
"Where are Maria and Josh?" Todd yelled through clenched teeth. "What the hell are you doing here? Find Maria and Josh!"
Eric fell silent, then made a spinning motion with his hand. "Roll over! We’re going to dig down to you and—"
"Eric, I’m fine here… go find—"
"Todd, shut the hell up!" Eric hollered. "You think your family are the only ones up there on that mountain? Stacey’s there too, remember? Now shut up and roll over so we can get down there and pull you out!"
Todd stared up at Eric. His heart fell when he saw Eric’s eyes drop. He can’t look at me he thought; oh my God he can’t look at me. He's given up on them.
A rope dropped down to him. Snow began raining. He covered his face and rolled away just as Eric’s feet touched down next to him. Todd elbowed back and looked up at Eric’s solemn face. He realized the tunnel of snow he was in was only about six feet deep. He could see parts of a bare cliff wall to his right. It was obvious the cliff face had deflected the oncoming avalanche and had entombed him in a hollow snowdrift.
Eric knelt next to Todd. "Hey, buddy, you okay?"
Todd took hold of Eric’s coat sleeve. "How long have I been here?" he said, his face pulled into a grimace. "Where are Maria and Josh? Are they alright? Did the avalanche—"
"We don’t know," Eric said interrupting. "The avalanche came down over Ogden peak, through here, went down through the aspen meadow and wound up on the outskirts of Parktown. Took out two cabins— it blocked us off. Stacey, Maria and the others were on the other side of the creek bed above the Jensen cabin. We can’t get to them but the Mums are trying to reach them from Midway."
Todd dropped his head and sat staring at the cliff wall. His breaths were quick and shallow. "How…" he said stammering, "How long have I been here? How long since the avalanche?"
"About an hour, I guess; long enough to get the dogs up here to sniff you out. I thought you were toast for sure."
Eric stopped talking and pushed the hair away from Todd’s bloody forehead. "You’re gonna need a few stitches."
Todd nodded. "Yeah. Is the clinic okay?"
"The clinic’s okay, but Gladys left for Salt Lake early this morning before the storm. We’re digging out the Chester and Wyman cabins right now. There are gonna be some bodies, people hurt. You’re the doctor."
"I can’t do anything until I know my family is safe," Todd said.
Eric dropped his head, checked Todd’s arms for broken bones and pulled him out of the snow that partially buried him. "You can’t do anything till we make sure you’re all right."
He tied the rope around Todd’s waist and called up to the people on top. With Er
ic pushing and the others pulling, Todd was quickly pulled out of the hole. Moments later Eric was dragged out. They stood together on a newly formed river of frozen snow, boulders, trees and debris.
Todd looked around him, trying to find reference points. The freakish storm was now a light sprinkle of tiny snowflakes. The whistling gale was a gentle easterly wind. Richard Johnson and his boys were standing off to the side. Buck Neves was there; people Todd knew well; people from Parktown.
Todd glanced into the north. "Hanna?" he said, looking at Eric.
Eric shook his head. "Hanna’s in Salt Lake for a checkup. She’s fine. Cabin’s gone, but she’s fine. The entire Lutz family was wiped out though. The Jensen cabin has to be gone. Thank God Charlene got out. Sarah Boon’s little boy Zach is hurt real bad. He has a broken leg. If you’re feeling up to it, we need you at the clinic, right now."
~~~
The storm had cleared and the wolves appeared to have inexplicably lost interest in the group. Chad Jensen was grateful for the path the wolves had inadvertently made in the snow as they rushed to and fro, but he was worried about Maria’s continuing insistence that the wolves had been leading them to safety. To him, it was a clear sign of fatigue. Earlier, one of the wolves came so close to little Joshua they had actually touched; a scene he would not soon forget. Maria’s screams no doubt drove the beasts off, thank God.
At first, after the avalanche, he was frenzied with worry for his wife. She was in their cabin. The path the wolves made had led them to a high point where the north side of Ogden peak was clearly visible. The cabin was gone - no question - buried in tons of snow and debris. He longed to go back, dig with sticks…his hands if necessary. He imagined his wife, somehow buried alive, waiting for a rescue that would never come.
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