Before you can escape the avalanche's path, you're swallowed up in the snow. The world becomes a whirl of white as you're tumbled and thrown, the roar of the avalanche deafening. The sheer force is overwhelming, pushing and pulling you in every direction. It's disorienting, and for a moment, you can't tell which way is up. Snow fills your mouth and nose, making it hard to breathe. Panic sets in as you struggle to find something solid to grab onto.
Finally, the force pushes you out onto the lake, its hard surface freezing cold beneath you. The shock of the impact knocks the wind out of you, and for a moment, you lie there, gasping for breath, the cold seeping through your clothes and biting at your skin.
When the snow finally disperses, you wobble to your feet, looking around for your companions. Talik is up first. "Can you see Alster?" you ask her and then repeat, "Alster is he with you?"
Talik looks around and sees him rising to his knees and brushing his tumbled body down. Haden also gets up unsteadily, covered head to toe in snow, but aside from a few scrapes, everyone seems fine. A wave of relief washes over you, momentarily distracting you from the biting cold.
You step forward, but a sharp crack makes you hesitate. The lake's surface seems stable enough, but the sound echoes ominously in the frigid air. Did you imagine it? Your heart pounds as you strain to listen for any more signs of danger. Shielding your eyes from the sun, you look toward the shore. It feels like it's kilometres away, a daunting expanse of ice and snow stretching between you and safety.
The silence is eerie, broken only by the occasional groan of the ice beneath your feet. Each step forward feels like a gamble, the memory of that crackling sound up on the mountain haunting your every move. You exchange worried glances with your companions, their faces mirroring your own fear and determination. Together, you begin the slow, cautious trek towards the distant shore, hoping the ice holds beneath your weight.
The avalanche made you evacuate down to the lake from 457m elevation (it was quite a ride) and it added 12 m of snow to the precipice of the mountain you were standing on. It buried the map you had to the Three Pillars which you dropped as you ran. At what height (elevation) would you expect to find the map?
Next: E1Q1 The Three Pillars