Edward peered out of the thick helicopter window viewing an endless expanse of glistening white snow. The muffled whir of helicopter blades continued to flood his head as they steadily climbed upwards. He was startled when the pilot came over the intercom and said, “You two ready to go? We’re almost at the top.” Edward pressed the button on the side of his wireless intercom and said, “Ready as I'll ever be.” Moments later, he looked over at Lars, who was fumbling with his headset. Edward then reached out and placed the headset over his ears with ease. Lars gave an embarrassed smile then said, “Ready,” into the intercom as well.
Lars was a professional alpine skier from Sweden who was very talented at skiing and knew where all the best mountains were; he was helping Edward get to know the Swedish alps better. Edward was there so that he could get better at alpine skiing. He was already good, but he wanted to be able to glide down the steepest mountains like he had seen Lars do on previous runs. His thoughts were then abruptly interrupted by the sudden lurch of the helicopter landing on the snow. Edward got up, took off his headphones, and opened the sliding door of the helicopter. As he stepped off the helicopter and into the snow, he was blinded by the sun reflecting off of the snow. When Edward regained his vision, he looked across the horizon and took a deep breath, breathing in the frigid air. Edward was about to start walking to the back of the helicopter to get his skis when the pilot said,“Watch out for avalanches. It's just the right conditions for them. So be careful.”
With that news in mind, Edward walked to the back of the helicopter and saw that Lars already had his skis and poles on and was ready to go. As Edward retrieved and put on his skis he said,“You hear the news?” Lars replied in a heavy Swedish accent, “About the avalanches, yeah. Avalanches can be really scary, but if you're careful you probably will be fine.” “Okay.” Edward replied. Edward finished putting on his skis and said, “I'm all ready to go. You lead the way to the top.” Lars and Edward made the short trek to the top of the mountain where they would start, and signaled to the helicopter that they could take off. Edward watched the helicopter leave and then said “I'm going to drop over here.” “Okay.” Lars replied. Edward moved to the starting place he had chosen and looked over at Lars, who gave him an encouraging thumbs up. Edward took one last look at the horizon and then pushed himself forward down the steep slope. He immediately felt a rush of adrenaline as he coasted down the mountainside, wind whipping at his face. The snow felt odd. It was more compact than he had usually experienced, but nevertheless, the conditions were fine. His movements flowed, he glided back and forth using smooth transitions when turning from left to right, and he had perfect control. A bit later, as Edward was coasting and gliding along, he came up to an unusually large, almost plateau of snow along the mountain. He slowed down a little to see what was going on, and as soon as he came to the midway point of the strange ledge, the snow underneath him gave way and fell. It was an avalanche. Edward’s stomach felt like it was in his throat. At that moment, Edward’s mind went blank and he only thought of two things: Get as much speed as possible to outrun it, and don’t die.
He immediately tucked in, a shower of snow fell behind him as he raced to outrun the massive amount of snow building behind him. The snow was rumbling closer, louder behind him, he needed to get away. That's when he saw a rocky ledge in front of him that he would usually avoid, but since the situation was dire, he had to take his chances. He barreled towards the ledge and shot off of it at an alarming speed. He soared through the air for what seemed like a lifetime, but then he realized how massive the drop was and braced for impact. When he landed, pain washed through him. He felt like he had just been whacked in the feet with a baseball bat. Despite the pain, he landed the jump and regained control a few moments later. Edward was actually surprised at how well he landed the jump. He looked back; the rumbling was not very loud any more, and he didn't see much snow behind him. The slope he was on started to level out and he started to slow down. When Edward finally stopped, he realized he had barely breathed at all and took a long, relieved breath.
A few minutes later, Edward heard the steady whir of helicopter blades and saw the helicopter slowly descending above him. When the helicopter landed, Edward started to glide over to it, but he paused a few feet away so that the helicopter's blades could slow down. Once the blades stopped, the helicopter door opened and Lars jumped out and said, “Hey man, are you okay?” “Yeah.” Edward replied. “Well, that's good. That whole thing was insane. I can't believe you pulled it off. I thought for sure that you were a goner, but you pulled off that jump and it saved you.” “I guess I was pretty lucky, but how did you see the avalanche when you were at the top of the mountain?” “Well, I was watching you ski, seeing how well you were doing and such, when a little snow gave way under me. The helicopter team came to pick me up, you know, for safety reasons, and while we were up there, the avalanche thing happened and I saw the whole thing. And I'll bet that you've surely done enough skiing for today.” Lars said. “I can definitely agree with that,” replied Edward.
Lars was a professional alpine skier from Sweden who was very talented at skiing and knew where all the best mountains were; he was helping Edward get to know the Swedish alps better. Edward was there so that he could get better at alpine skiing. He was already good, but he wanted to be able to glide down the steepest mountains like he had seen Lars do on previous runs. His thoughts were then abruptly interrupted by the sudden lurch of the helicopter landing on the snow. Edward got up, took off his headphones, and opened the sliding door of the helicopter. As he stepped off the helicopter and into the snow, he was blinded by the sun reflecting off of the snow. When Edward regained his vision, he looked across the horizon and took a deep breath, breathing in the frigid air. Edward was about to start walking to the back of the helicopter to get his skis when the pilot said,“Watch out for avalanches. It's just the right conditions for them. So be careful.”
With that news in mind, Edward walked to the back of the helicopter and saw that Lars already had his skis and poles on and was ready to go. As Edward retrieved and put on his skis he said,“You hear the news?” Lars replied in a heavy Swedish accent, “About the avalanches, yeah. Avalanches can be really scary, but if you're careful you probably will be fine.” “Okay.” Edward replied. Edward finished putting on his skis and said, “I'm all ready to go. You lead the way to the top.” Lars and Edward made the short trek to the top of the mountain where they would start, and signaled to the helicopter that they could take off. Edward watched the helicopter leave and then said “I'm going to drop over here.” “Okay.” Lars replied. Edward moved to the starting place he had chosen and looked over at Lars, who gave him an encouraging thumbs up. Edward took one last look at the horizon and then pushed himself forward down the steep slope. He immediately felt a rush of adrenaline as he coasted down the mountainside, wind whipping at his face. The snow felt odd. It was more compact than he had usually experienced, but nevertheless, the conditions were fine. His movements flowed, he glided back and forth using smooth transitions when turning from left to right, and he had perfect control. A bit later, as Edward was coasting and gliding along, he came up to an unusually large, almost plateau of snow along the mountain. He slowed down a little to see what was going on, and as soon as he came to the midway point of the strange ledge, the snow underneath him gave way and fell. It was an avalanche. Edward’s stomach felt like it was in his throat. At that moment, Edward’s mind went blank and he only thought of two things: Get as much speed as possible to outrun it, and don’t die.
He immediately tucked in, a shower of snow fell behind him as he raced to outrun the massive amount of snow building behind him. The snow was rumbling closer, louder behind him, he needed to get away. That's when he saw a rocky ledge in front of him that he would usually avoid, but since the situation was dire, he had to take his chances. He barreled towards the ledge and shot off of it at an alarming speed. He soared through the air for what seemed like a lifetime, but then he realized how massive the drop was and braced for impact. When he landed, pain washed through him. He felt like he had just been whacked in the feet with a baseball bat. Despite the pain, he landed the jump and regained control a few moments later. Edward was actually surprised at how well he landed the jump. He looked back; the rumbling was not very loud any more, and he didn't see much snow behind him. The slope he was on started to level out and he started to slow down. When Edward finally stopped, he realized he had barely breathed at all and took a long, relieved breath.
A few minutes later, Edward heard the steady whir of helicopter blades and saw the helicopter slowly descending above him. When the helicopter landed, Edward started to glide over to it, but he paused a few feet away so that the helicopter's blades could slow down. Once the blades stopped, the helicopter door opened and Lars jumped out and said, “Hey man, are you okay?” “Yeah.” Edward replied. “Well, that's good. That whole thing was insane. I can't believe you pulled it off. I thought for sure that you were a goner, but you pulled off that jump and it saved you.” “I guess I was pretty lucky, but how did you see the avalanche when you were at the top of the mountain?” “Well, I was watching you ski, seeing how well you were doing and such, when a little snow gave way under me. The helicopter team came to pick me up, you know, for safety reasons, and while we were up there, the avalanche thing happened and I saw the whole thing. And I'll bet that you've surely done enough skiing for today.” Lars said. “I can definitely agree with that,” replied Edward.
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