Pikes Peak

David Diaz, age 13, US

We had been driving forever. Would we ever get there? I remember when we passed through New Mexico, I felt so happy that we were going somewhere outside of Texas again.

"Colorado!" my Dad shouted from the front seat. We all became so excited.

On that August day in 1993, something was wrong. Where were the mountains? I thought Colorado had mountains. We continued to drive over the next hill and...it was beautiful! I had never seen such a wonderful place! So many mountains and so much snow! When and how could the clouds get all this snow? My Dad, Mom, sister, cousins, and I, all, stared at the mountains in complete awe. The mountains seemed perfect in every way imaginable. We came to see the mountains and there they sat, just waiting for us to come.

We got ourselves a warm cozy room and unpacked at a resort in Denver. Once we had our jackets, coats, and sweaters piled on, we dared to go outside. As soon as we got outside, the mountains reappeared and a rush of cold air hit us, nearly knocking all of us over. The air smelled wonderful!

We woke up late the next day, eager to challenge Pikes Peak, with a little assistance from our car, of course. Up and up we went. I occasionally looked out of the window to see the ground far, far below. The ground disappeared at the side of the road as we ascended the mountain.

I began to get cold, not your everyday cold, but cold as in hypothermia! My Mom said I had altitude sickness. I had never heard of it, so I got really scared. The howling wind brought snow that came in from every direction. We stopped at a gift shop a little further up the road. The thick, wet snow came down so hard that you couldn't even see ten feet in front of you! My mom rushed me into the ladies' room and told me to lay upside down. She quickly covered me with tons of blankets. As I lay on the floor I felt dizzy, cold, and faint, all at the same time. I felt so cold I thought I was dying! My lips turned blue and my skin ash gray. I began shivering and shaking uncontrollably; my throbbing headache made me feel like my head would explode. Even though I was an eight year-old boy, I didn't care that I was in the ladies' room. I just wanted to live!

We didn't continue to the top of the mountain bacause of the severe snowy weather and my horrible altitude sickness. It had become so dangerous, the police closed the road. Two mean came down from the top of Pikes Peak and said that their care had slid a "360" on the small, icy mountain road! They said they knew that they were dead and that their car would fly off the peak! For the very first time, my whole family felt glad that I got sick.

We didn't get to see the top of Pikes Peak. Not wanting to take any risks, we slowly proceeded down the winding road.

I dared not look out of the window on our trip down. We drove further and further away from Pikes Peak. I took one last look at the snow-covered peak before we left, so that I could remember the way it looked. I'll always remember that day: it was too scary to forget!