Disaster on K2

My breath made frozen clouds. My lungs were screaming in protest. My brain was getting lighter because of the lack of air. Getting closer and closer with every step I took. I needed to hurry to get to the summit and back to camp four before dark. I was not the only person climbing K2. There were several others attempting to climb K2, including two sherpas and a fellow Irishman. One person had already fallen to his death, and I was hoping that nobody else would.
Climbing higher and higher was like torture. Every step I was agony. It was like dozens upon dozens of white hot knives piercing my legs. Every gulp of cold, icy air was beyond pain. When I looked up, a new emotion filled me: panic. The sun was setting and it would be dark soon. I would have to go faster or have to climb the mountain in the dark, which would almost guarantee death. I would have to go faster.
I climbed a bit further and, on the way, I met a Sherpa with someone else. I asked them how far was left to go.                                                                                                                      

“Not far”, they replied, “You are almost there.” After a few more minutes climbing I saw it, the top of this mountain. Using every ounce of strength I could muster, I climbed a little faster. Head spinning, muscles aching, feeling the urge to faint, but I must go on. Suddenly, I was there, at the top of K2. I had reached the summit. I had conquered the mountain.
And now for the tricky part. Climbing back down K2, which is much easier said than done. I started to climb back down. Suddenly, I slipped. The sound of rushing death filled my ears, and everything was gone.

Le Cillin Ó Lochnáin

My breath made frozen clouds. I was up to my knees in snow. I am 8,848 metres above sea level. In other words, I am on the top of Mount Everest. My two friends, Emily and Robert, have joined me on this adventure. It’s such a thrill to be here at last. I would have liked to go up without the sherpas, but the other two insisted.
We smiled as the sherpas took a few pictures of us. We had planted two big Ireland and Mayo in the snow. But the ferocious winds soon blew them away. After twenty minutes, admiring the beautiful scenery of the snow-topped mountains and vast blue seas; we decided to make our way down. My hands felt numb under my two layers of gloves. The first section down was steep and slippy.We made our way down at a slow and steady pace. You could hear the crunch of our crampons in the frozen snow. It was hard to breathe because of the low oxygen levels at this altitude. I felt nervous despite the fact that we are roped together. Suddenly I felt the rope tighten around my waist. Emily screamed. She had slipped.Ouickly I drove my ice axe into the snow and clung on for dear life. Gradually Emily picked herself up and we started down again even more cautiously. It seemed like years before we reached base camp. Then it was a three week walk till the nearest town, but I was relieved to be off the mountain. The yaks carried our heaviest equipment but we still had to walk.
I was delighted to see my family and to have achieved something so difficult and dangerous. There is no home like your own home              

Ciara A

                                     
Conchubhair Mac Suibhne

Red on White

My breath rose in frozen clouds.  I was up to my knees in the snow. So this was how it felt. To escape. Cold, wet and hopeless. We had fled Syria, fled the war, in hope of finding a better life. Now, in the harsh blizzards and cruel winds we could only hope for a life.
We trudged through the snow; every way I looked I saw a blanket of white, spread under our feet. I hadn’t seen so much snow in all my life, but up here in the mountains, it was all I could see.
Suddenly, we heard bangs. Loud, life-threatening, thunderous bangs. Mama grabbed my hand, held baby Naomi tightly to her chest and screamed at us to run. I clenched my brothers’ hand as we ran. But we couldn’t run for long in snow half a metre deep. Baby Naomi was wailing. Mama, too, was crying, letting out strangled, agonized howls.
We finally reached relative safety behind a pile of snow-covered rocks. Naomi had stopped wailing. She could not wail anymore.
Mama held her icy hand and cried silent tears. She removed her shawl and wrapped it around Naomi. She swept some of the snow from underneath the rocks and lay Naomi there.
Mama hugged us hard and kissed the top of our heads.
She took our hands and pulled us up. She said to us; “We will die with dignity. We will die with pride in who we are. We will die free.”
We marched out, heads held high, noses in the air. The men with the guns were taken by surprise as they were not expecting anyone to come from this way.
Over the whistling wind, Mama shouted “We.... die free.” Then the afternoon air was filled with deafening bangs.

The last thing I saw was a splash of deep, crimson, violent red on the never-ending sea of white.
Deirdre Seoighe

My breath made frozen clouds. I was up to knees in snow. Tomorrow the people from Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream were coming to our estate to pick the biggest and the best snowman. Whoever built the best snowman won ten years free supplies of Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream. I just had to win. It had snowed for days so the ground was swallowed in snow. I put on my jacket, gloves and wellingtons – then went out to get started on my snowman. George from across the street was also building a snowman. He was just about finished. ‘’You’ll never win’’ he shouted. ‘’Yes I will” I shouted back.
Three hours later I was looking at a massive snowman about two metres high. Beside it stood a tiny little snowman built by my brother, Rory.
That night when I went to bed, I looked out the window at my snowman. But something was wrong. George’s snowman was bigger than mine. When I’d finished my snowman it was about a foot bigger than George’s. “He must have added more snow I thought. I crept out of the house and put Rory’s snowman on top of mine. “That confirms my victory,” I said to myself.
Ding dong! The next morning when I woke up, someone was at the door. I ran downstairs, opened the door and there was the people from Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. But something was wrong. My snowman was gone. Instead stood Rory’s tiny snowman.I looked over at George’s snowman it was melted too. “Yes” Rory shouted. “Wow the man said to Rory your snowman must have been massive”. Yes it was I sighed.

Seaghan Ó Ceallaigh

I woke up at the crack of dawn. I was shivering. I peered out the window and saw snow. It was falling from the sky. I was thrilled. Snow was my favourite weather and it barely ever snowed here in Mayo in the west of Ireland.

I galloped down downstairs delighted. I gobbled up my cornflakes and drank all my orange juice. Then I threw on my coat, hat and scarf, and ran outside. My fingers were numb with the cold. I was up to my knees in the snow. I gathered up loads of snow, so I could make a snowman. I was so cold that my breath made frozen clouds.

Suddenly I saw my friend Katie run towards me full of energy and enthusiasm, We admired my snowman and then couldn’t resist having a snowball fight. Neither of us felt the piercing cold breeze as we flattened each other with snowballs. We had a fantastic time playing with the snow.

But, best of all were the delicious hot chocolates with marshmallows in whipped cream that greeted us when we reached my house.

Aoilbhe

My breath made frozen clouds, I was up to my knees in snow. I couldn’t believe it, Snow at last! We had been waiting for snow for ages.
My friends and I first made a snowman. We put a scarf, a hat and a pair of gloves on our snowman.
We found six sleds in the shed of my friend’s house. The hill was covered with snow. It was also covered with kids from all over village. We took it on turns to slide down the hill on the sleds.
We walked to my house to get some hot chocolate and biscuits. We sat by the fire and warmed our fingers and toes.
After our drinks we went for a walk by the lake Carra. The water had turned to ice. There was a group of kids playing on the ice. An old woman came out of her house. She told them to get of the ice before they break their necks.
We had a snowball fight after our walk by the lake. All the village kids joined in. We had girls on one side and boys on the other side. The girls beat the boys and they went home soaking and sulking.
When we got back to my house, we got into our sleeping bags by the fire, drank some hot chocolate and went to sleep.

   By Erin