The Missing Barbegazi

The Missing Barbegazi — page 3
1 Tessa Tessa aimed her binoculars at the white blanket of new snow searching for a barbegazi The T-bar lift pulled her uphill along the boundary of the ski area as she scanned the mountains on the far side of the gorge Her skis wobbled over a bump and the eyepiece knocked against her cheekbone She winced but kept her eyes fixed on a crevice from where small chunks of snow were rolling down the smooth white slope Had they been loosened by a barbegazi She itched to ski beyond the prepared slopes to get closer But that was impossible A blizzard had raged over Christmas and the avalanche warning was high Today not even the craziest skiers braved the dangerous off-piste Yet Tessa’s view of the crevice became a gray blur when the lift dragged her into a cloud Annoyed she lowered the binoculars and let them dangle from their strap Everything beyond the red trousers and green jackets of her ski-club teammates on the T-bars in front vanished in the mist The clamminess chilled her