Chapter 396 Survival
"Expand from here and compact the surrounding area as much as possible so it won't collapse easily."
Inside the pit, Yao Jun dug the snow according to Bifang's instructions. Jarrett behind him threw the snow out, and soon a small snow pile accumulated in the enclosed space.
After digging for about ten minutes, Yao Jun's hands loosened and he collapsed into the hole. He stuck out his tongue and panted. He swallowed and said, "I can't do it anymore. It's too narrow. My waist is almost broken. Let's change people, let's change people."
Hearing this, Jarrett came out of the cave and pulled Yao Jun out. Bifang took the headlamp and headed into the cave.
"How long have you been digging? It feels like nothing has changed. Even a dog can dig faster than you."
Yao Jun bit off his gloves and shook his hands: "I really can't do it anymore. This position is too tiring. I am exhausted from holding my back and digging snow."
"Let me do it." Rob put on gloves and went into the cave. Tenzin followed behind him and dug the snow. The snow pile in the cave continued to grow.
Yao Jun took out an energy bar from his arms and said vaguely while refusing, "Why don't you dig the hole bigger?"
"If the digging is too big, it will collapse easily." Bifang also sat down next to him, took out a tube of energy gel and slurped it into his mouth. The cold energy gel slid into his stomach, and soon he could feel the heat spreading through his limbs, and his stiff muscles felt much better.
Compared with energy bars, energy gels are easier to digest and can quickly provide calories to the body.
"I noticed that the igloos you built before were much bigger than this one. How come they didn't collapse?"
"First of all, I have never built an igloo. The one in Mohe was a snow nest. Do you know what a snow nest is? Snow nest, snow house, and igloo are three different things. The time to build them increases in sequence, and the quality also increases from bad to good. Sometimes a good igloo may take a whole day to build, while a simple snow nest may only take a few hours. However, even the simplest snow nest is built with compacted snow throughout the process, so the structure is of course more stable."
Everyone was not buried by snow, and it was all dry snow. It was very difficult to compact the snow around them, and if the internal space was a little larger, it would easily collapse.
"Look at our place, it's round, and the round structure is strong, just like an egg, so it can be so big without collapsing, and the Eagle Head Ice Slope is supported like a beam on a house."
Bifang raised its head, and under the illumination of the headlights, the audience could clearly see that the internal space was circular, and the eagle head and body of the Eagle Head Ice Slope carried a large amount of snow.
"Well, we are just lucky. I don't know what happened to the others. I think they are in serious condition."
Yes, Eagle Head Ice Slope is not uncommon, but how many people can hide underneath it before an avalanche occurs?
Moreover, the Khumbu Glacier is full of cracks of all sizes, and even escaping requires careful observation. Even if you are not buried by an avalanche, you may fall into an ice cave, which is also a life-threatening situation...
Rob, who was digging a hole, heard the conversation behind him and his movements slowed down. Yes, what about the others?
His good friend Fisher set out with the team, perhaps only less than a hundred meters behind them, but their fates were indeed very different.
Making the sign of the cross on his chest, Rob swept the snow from under him.
May God bless you.
In the dark ice cave, a figure curled up and trembled.
Fisher rested his head on the ice wall and took deep breaths. The hot air from his mouth sprayed onto the smooth ice surface and quickly condensed into frost.
It was cold, colder than ever before. His body was getting colder inch by inch. Every breath meant the loss of heat. Hypothermia descended on him. The sound of his watch ticking could be heard quietly through the crack. Every minute and every second was a slip of life.
"Ahem. Ahem."
His throat seemed to be blocked by something, and Fisher coughed with all his might, spitting out a lump of warm, rust-smelling substance. He lowered his head, and under the light of the headlight, he saw that his black gloves were covered with sticky scarlet blood.
Ten minutes ago, an avalanche hit and everyone could not hear Fisher's command at all. They hurriedly untied the ropes and fled in all directions.
Unlike Bifang's team, people's instincts will take over in chaos, and even their brains will be closed off from outside news. Therefore, Bifang didn't say much, he reached out and grabbed the rope and used the toughest means to think for them.
Although Fisher had rich experience in mountaineering, he had obviously not experienced too many life-and-death crises. It was already very difficult for him to remain calm. He could not lead everyone to avoid the crisis as decisively and confidently as Bifang. If there was any mistake, he would no longer be able to control the team members. The instincts of everyone in the team were fully exerted, and they fled in all directions like a group of frightened rabbits.
With no other options left, Fisher could only run for his life. But before he had run far, the ground beneath his feet gave way and he fell into darkness. Fisher's face then hit the ground hard.
As he fell, Fisher instinctively stretched out his right hand, trying to pierce the ice with the axe to slow his fall, but the weight of his rapidly falling body pulled his arm out of his shoulder socket, leaving behind a pile of broken bones and torn soft tissue.
The fall stopped with the sound of bones crunching.
"I'm going to die," Fisher thought.
"Maybe he's dead." Fisher thought again.
He could feel his lungs heaving, trying to draw the air into him, and every gasp for air brought a sharp pain.
He looked down and found his legs hanging in midair. He landed on an ice shelf suspended above the darkness, with a pale blue-white halo above his head. He couldn't move.
But for now, he's still alive.
The existence of the left hand has completely disappeared. Not only that, many ribs may also be broken. God knows how deep the crack is.
Now his biggest wish is to have a cup of hot coffee.
Looking around, Fisher realized that he was not on a platform extending from the crack, but a block of ice that had fallen through the crack and was stuck between the walls.
How long will it remain wedge-shaped in the ever-moving, ever-changing glacier?
Fisher's body swayed slightly, testing his limits. A sharp pain spread throughout his body, making him dizzy and every breath painful. He touched his face and found that the wounds on his eye sockets and forehead were frozen, and the bleeding had stopped temporarily.
It took Fisher nearly ten minutes to pull himself upright and wriggle to a safe perch on the ice.
The simple movement made him gasp for breath, and the cold air gushed out from the depths of the glacier. He could already feel his body trembling, his fingers freezing and soon becoming numb.
He reached into his arms with his right hand and pulled out his cell phone.
No signal.
The snow was too thick or the cracks were too deep, so there was no signal on the phone.
It was impossible to wait for rescue. In his current condition, it wouldn't be long before he would freeze to death or fall to death.
Above Fisher the snow was soft; the air in the cracks condensed on the wall, leaving a surface with the consistency of cream.
The crack was about two and a half meters wide, but Fisher looked to the right and saw that the crack on the left seemed to be narrowing. If he was lucky, it might be narrow enough for him to climb up "chimney-style", or let his body get stuck in the crack and climb up with only one hand.
Fisher used his still-moving right hand to bring an axe to eye level, shuffled his feet to the right, kicked his crampons into the ice, and used the same hand to reach across his body to bring the other axe as far to the left . He screamed in pain but held it as he held the first axe, shifted his weight, and grabbed the second axe with his right hand.
But when Fisher lowered his head, the headlights cast a deep blue light, and in the light, a familiar figure stunned him.
"Withers, Withers, is that you?"
"Withers!"
