20 You decide not to risk the treacherous climb to the surface. Surely

help is on the way. You huddle on the icy ledge, stamping your feet

and clapping your hands, trying to keep warm. You feel your body

temperature dropping. You've got to stay awake until a search party

arrives. The hours pass slowly. The sun dips below the horizon, but

there is still light in the sky. Straining, you think you hear

something. . . .Pocka pocka pocka pocka pocka . . . overhead. A

chopper is Hovering over the crevasse! For a moment you're blinded by

a searchlight. The chopper drops to just a few yards above you. The

crew lowers a harness. Eagerly you grab it and buckle it around

you. "HOLD ON. WE'RE PULLING YOU UP." Beautiful words over the

bullhorn. You're suddenly yanked into the air. Moments later a pair of

hands pulls you through the hatch. The pilot pours you a cup of hot

chocolate from his Thermos. "Thanks for staying alive till we got

here," he says with a grin. You soon feel life seeping back into your

body. "Thanks for pulling me out!" "This is the one place in the world

everyone should stay away from," the pilot says. "Nothing could get me

back here," you say. The End

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