Press enter after choosing selection
Grade
7

In a small house in a big city lived Matt.  Matt is the kind of person who likes to do things outside.  He was always looking for things to do, since he is an adventurer.  So one day he called up his friend Mike, (who also has the same interests), to see what kind of adventure he would like to go on.

 

Matt said to Mike,

 

” Hello Mike, lets go on an adventure, since we always go together .”

 

“ I would like to climb a mountain, like a tall mountain.”

 

“ How tall,” Matt said,

 

“ I want to climb a tall mountain like mt. Everest.”

 

“Okay we will go in 2 weeks.”

 

Matt said.  So after their conversation Matt decided to do some research.  Matt had climbed mountains before but he thought for some reason this one was going to be hard.

 

Matt decided to go on Youtube for his research.  He found a video that showed how to climb mt. Everest, everything seemed okay until it came to the price…  $60,000! His eyes popped right out of their sockets. , but then he remembered that National Geographic magazine with a photo contest!  Matt searched until he found the magazine, he tore through the pages until he found the contest ad.  He tore out the ad and ran to the room where he had all his gear and he grabbed his best camera and all his lenses.  Matt knew it was going to take a few days to get a few good shots, so he called his mom, who lived in the country and asked

 

,” Please mother can I stay at your house for a few days,”

 

“ She said of course you can, but why do you want to stay with me.”

 

But Matt already hung up before he could answer the question, he was already on his way.  On the way to his mom's house Matt thought to himself,

 

” How I will get a stable shot, oh yeah I will use my tripod,”

 

“My tripod!”

 

I forgot my tripod!  So Matt rushed home and grabbed his tripod, and rushed back to the car, to drive back another hour.  Once he got to his mom's house his mom was very happy, she led him to his old room to set up his equipment.  Matt decided since he only had a week to take his pictures he should set out now, so he did.  But a few minutes into his journey there was a thunderstorm.  Matt thought that there would be no good things to take pictures of but then he had a epiphany.

 

“ If I see lighting and take a picture of it, it will make a fantastic entry!”

 

He thought this was a great idea until he thought how hard it would be take a picture of lightning.  He tried and tried but he was  too slow.  He thought about bringing his laptop out to try and set it so it takes a picture when lightning strikes.  At first he thought it was going to be hard but it wasn’t it was easy.  He got the shot and mailed it in and a few days later he won.

 

Matt had his prize money and his brand new gear and all he had to do was call Mike and go meet the group leader John.  Once Matt met up with Mike, they drove to the airport and met up with John.  John gave them each an itinerary and they set off.  After a  long flight, they got to Nepal to climb the north route, they went to a local hotel to get some rest.  They tried  getting some rest but they couldn’t help going out and meeting the other climbers. There was Paul, Erik, Sarah, and John, the group leader.  After exploring the city they of course got some rest .  Then they set off.  Once they got to the mountain there was a huge problem.  Where to pitch the tents. After a long time they found a spot big enough for all them, and then they made a ring with their tents. The next day Matt woke up, he woke up at 8:00 which he thought was early but it wasn’t.  Everyone else was eating already!  So Matt ate and got ready with everyone else.  After packing everyone left.

 

Matt was going at a good pace, but once they got near the top Matt was starting to struggle.  There was lots of wind and snow.  Some of the group members decided to go back to base camp but Matt did not give up.  He made it to the summit along with his buddy Mike!  But the way down was very difficult, while Mike still had lots of energy Matt did not.  After a while Matt started to fall behind until he lost sight Mike.  To make things worse the snow was worsening and the air was getting to a frigid -30.  He tried to keep going but the whipping winds and frigid air made that difficult,  But Matt did not give up!  He was very close to base camp when the trouble came.  Matt’s crampon strap loosened and he slipped in the ice!  He started to slide down very fast but he used the self arrest method he learned earlier and stopped.  Even though he stopped sliding he had no idea where he was so he thought and thought, until he remembered his radio!  So he pulled it out and made an s.o.s.  It turns out he was right next to  base camp!  He found the rescue group and got in their sled, and he got back to camp where he warmed up with his buddies.  After the trip he had lots of interviews, and whenever someone asks how he survived he says,

 

“I never gave up.”

 

Matt continued to climb and only  stopped climbing after he was very old. Then he had his last interview and a young reporter asked why he didn’t stop climbing and once again he said,

 

“ I did not want to give up.”