Ski season is in full swing and I wanted to share an experience I had on the slopes at Hunter’s Hill this weekend. It’s honestly hard for me to write this. I’m still shaking from the adrenaline. I’m not the best skier, but I do enjoy the sport. I was on Hunter’s Hill, making the most of the fresh snow, when a bad turn flipped me through the air, barely missing a tree.
I was dazed for a few seconds. Pain radiated up my leg from my knee. I didn’t have to look at it to know my knee wasn’t facing the way it was supposed to. I wasn’t alone on the hill, but I hadn’t been surrounded either. If anyone saw me wipe out, they didn’t stop for me. I crossed my skis and called for help.
Anyone who’s been to Hunter’s hill knows how spotty the reception is. I barely got the words out when I lost signal. All I could do was hope it was enough. My arms were miraculously fine, so I pulled myself to the nearest tree to sit against while I waited. I hadn’t been sitting there long when I saw him. The Hunter’s Hill Yeti.
It was a story I didn’t believe. I thought it was too weird, even for our town. It makes sense for the Himalayas, where there’s snow at the highest peaks year round, but here? Hunter’s Hill only gets snow, four or five months of the year. But there he was, taller than any man, white as the snow, with a face straight out of a monster movie.
At first, he just watched me. Staring through the trees from a hundred yards away or so. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. After what felt like the world’s longest staring contest, he started to inch closer. My heart beat faster at every step. I wanted to call for help again, but was too afraid to look away long enough to use my phone.
A hundred yards away, ninety, fifty, twenty, ten. An ATV path separated us. I could hear him breathing. A low growl escaping past pointed teeth. I wanted to scream, tried to scream, but it wouldn’t leave my throat. He took another step toward me when the roar of a snowmobile pierced through the air.
The yeti roared, angry at the interruption, before he ran off the way he came. When rescue made it to me, he was out of sight. I had never seen any creature move so fast. I could see his footprints in the snow as they loaded me onto the sled to pull me off the hill.
I’ll have surgery on my knee next week. It will be a while before I can ski again. If you’re out on Hunter’s Hill this season, look out for the yeti, he is not friendly.
Alicia Coast 