Environmental Disaster- Zowie

What do you think of when you think of Alaska? Eskimos, freezing cold weather, steep mountains, snow, skiing? These are a few words that come to mind when people think of Alaska. But I have lived here my entire life and I know that it is so much more than that. Yes, the sun light during the day is very limited, and I constantly have to wear 5 layers of jackets and gloves but I would not change this life for any other.  My two brothers, along with my sister and mother live in a tiny cabin located on the side of the prettiest mountain in Alaska.  The coldness of our house would be unbearable for the average person but it is what we love. In reality, it is actually what brings my family closer together. Finding fun and creative ways to keep warm is what our family does for entertainment.  I am also very passionate about skiing. I can basically ski right out of my front door right down the mountain and it is the most amazing feeling in the world.  It is safe to say that I love my home and my family. But my family is no longer complete...

People would not normally think that a combination of soil and melted snow could be harmful. Most would call that mixture mud. But try to imagine that mixture moving at a speed of 250 miles per hour down a steep hill. Imagining something like this is almost impossible.

My first skiing lesson was given to me by my father on one of the rare warmer days that we have here in Alaska. I couldn’t have been more excited to have my biggest role model teach me something that he loves.  I was shocked by the warmth outside and I asked my father, “Why doesn’t the snow melt if the sun is so bright and warm sometimes?” I was young and didn’t know much about how living this type of life really works.  He said to me “The snow is stronger than the sun and it fights the sun to stay there.” But now I know that, that was not the truth and he told me that just because I was young. Before knew it, everything changed.  

I was about to ride with my dad down the mountain on skis for the first time when all of a sudden I did not feel so well. My stomach began to turn and it had the worst pain I have ever felt inside. My mother and two brothers rushed me to the hospital because I told my father that I did not want to take away from his skiing time because days like this come once in a blue moon. My stomach always has these issues  so  I insisted he stayed because I knew in my mind I was going to be okay even though he has never missed a hospital visit.

We got to the bottom of the hill when we heard this loud grumbling sound coming behind us. We turn around and all I see is a jumble of snow, dirt and ice coming right behind us.  I saw trees spinning, snow rolling, and wood from people’s cabins tumbling down the mountain. I could not believe that in that mess was my house…and even more devastating, my father.

Luckily my family and I were able to drive away and avoid the mudslide/avalanche but my father and my home were not able to do that. We lost everything. We had to rebuild our house from the ground up and doing this without our father made it even harder.

All of my belongings were gone in the blink of an eye and it was the scariest and most devastating moment of my life. We lived in a tent for a year and a half in the ice cold weather until our house was rebuilt. I no longer have anything to remind me off my childhood except my skis. They were still on my feet when I was rushed to the hospital. These are the only things that I have to remind me of my father as well.  This is why skiing has become such a passion for me.

Mudslides are something that people do not take much notice to because they are not very common. They only happen in certain places so people feel that they are not important. But any life that is taken in my eyes is important because everyone can relate.