Alaskan Snow

Nothing Burns Like The Cold

Pain. Pain was the first thing I was aware of, it flowed through my limbs until I was not aware of any sensation but the excruciating agony that I could only liken to whips striking the body. Next came the feeling that my lungs were filled with fire, ice cold water filled my lungs burning me from the inside out. For a moment I could do nothing, my body was frozen in shock, but the next moment I sprung into action. My legs kicked towards the surface and my arms strove to break through the surface. When I reached the hole in the ice where I had fallen through, coughing and spluttering, I scrambled to climb on top of the ice. Panic began to well in me when I could not seem to find any purchase strong enough to hold my weight.

There! The sled was already lost to the water but I could see the rope that I had just tied to it, I could use that to haul myself onto the ice! The dogs were already straining to not fall into the frigid waters themselves, with each passing second they slipped closer and closer to the edge. How could I expect them to haul me out when they couldn’t even save themselves? I began to paw frantically at the hitchings only to find the knots too tight to remove, but remembering the knife I had stashed in my boot, I grabbed onto the rope and began to cut the dogs free. It was difficult work as my hands were numb and they did not have much strength left in them. The knife kept slipping from my hands and each time it did, my heart soared into my throat with the fear that I would lose the knife to the water beneath me. Finally, I freed the dogs from the sled and with a lurch I was pulled out of the water and back onto the ice.

Exhaustion was fighting to overtake me but I knew that if I did not move now this would be the end of my existence. With trembling arms and legs I scrambled onto all fours and with head throbbing and limbs screaming to give way, I put one booted foot beneath me, and then the other. My limbs screamed with agony as I forced myself to take fist one step and then another. In the distance I could see a tree line that might provide me with some shelter from the bitter wind that was currently ripping through my soaked clothes. A sharp whine broke me from my focused state, reminding me that I was not alone. The whine came from my lead dog, Vanya, who was currently standing still, waiting for orders while the rest of the dogs were tugging this way and that trying to come over to me to see if I was okay.

“Relax Vanya, it is okay, come here girl.”

My voice was weak from exhaustion but she heard it, and she obediently led the team to me. She gave me a soft nudge with her gray muzzle, whining once more. I gave her a reassuring pat to comfort her.

“Horoshee pes, Vanya, good girl.”

Grabbing what was left of the hitching rope, I cut a short section and fashioned a sort of lead and attached it to Vanya’s harness. With the dogs now secured, I began the arduous trek towards the distant tree line, with my dogs following suit.

    When I reached the trees the sun had already begun to set. The last rays of sunlight were now only barely trickling through the thick coniferous canopy above me. My body was dizzy with exhaustion by this point, my snowshoes had gone down with the sled and the snow here was up to my waist. Deciding that this was as far as I could go in my frozen state, I unhooked the dogs from their harnesses and began to make camp.

    Despite being in a thick forest, I could find little wood that would be of use to me. It was either hidden from me by all the snow or in too large of pieces for me to tackle with only my small knife. All in all, I only gathered a few of bundles of sticks with only a couple larger pieces, the largest being the width of my arm. By the time I returned to the spot where I had decided to make camp, the dogs were no longer up and about but had instead taken to carving out caves under the snow to sleep in and keep warm. Taking the rope from the dog harness I tied it to one end of a stick and then the other so that I had fashioned a sort of bow. Using this bow, several sticks, and a section of cloth from the bottom of my shirt, I made a small fire. I longed for more warmth but knew that I could not build the fire any higher less I freeze to death later in the night, having run out of wood.

I warmed my hands for a little while and then proceeded to remove my still soaked boots, socks, and jacket.The latter was so stiff from ice that I had trouble getting it off. In my hurry to dry them, I placed my socks a little too near the fire and they now had a large section near the heel that was scorched. I made sure to keep my feet near the fire as well so that they would not become frostbitten. My father had gotten frostbite in one of his fingers a few years ago and I did not want that to happen to me. He hadn’t wanted to lose his finger, and so for a little while, he held on hope that it wouldn’t come to that. I can still remember the awful stench that had begun to emanate from it before my mother had finally made my father go see the doctor. It had devastated my father and so I had learned just how important it was to stay warm. I was very tired but I knew that I had to dry my clothes so that I would not suffer the same fate that my father's finger had.

When my clothes had finally dried it had been dark for awhile. I put my boots and socks back on and traded my still damp shirt for the dry jacket and set the shirt near the fire so that it would dry through the night. When I was just beginning to find sleep, I felt a sudden warmth beside me. Vanya had abandoned her snowy shelter to rest beside me and for that, I was glad.

I woke several times throughout the night, each time I woke I rekindled my small fire. The air had turned even more chilly than before so I decided that I would put one of the slightly bigger sticks onto the fire. Just as I was starting to drift off to sleep, a sharp cry arose on the air, the cry of a wolf. Only a few moments passed before another cry rose up to meet the previous, this one was much closer to my camp than before, close enough for me to begin to worry.