Writing Contests
Where your students’ writing gets rewarded.
Congratulations to the winners of our You Write It Contest in the October 31, 2011, issue. We couldn’t have written them better ourselves!
(Click here to read the You Write It interview that inspired these articles.)
Check out the winning entries below.
Heroic Rescue on the Mountainside
Asia A.
Taft, TN
Recently, a boy by the name of Hunter Nelson, age 17, from Washougal, Washington, saved his friend’s life. Hunter and his friend Danny Riat went on a hike. Their plan was to camp at a beautiful spot near Archer Mountain in Washington State. As they hiked through the woods, the trail became steeper and steeper. Danny fell from 70 feet above Hunter. The “unreal” fall knocked Danny out and left his feet bare. The 45-minute climb was nothing compared to the two-minute adrenaline rush after Danny’s fall. Hunter checked Danny’s ears and nose for blood and found that Danny wasn’t paralyzed. Hunter called 9-1-1 and blew his whistle, giving a signal for rescuers. As the darkness came, he drew his torch and waved it in the sky.
“How did they get you out of there?” asked the Scope interviewer. “After five hours, the Coast Guard helicopter came. We got Danny on a backboard and carried him to a basket that they lifted up first. Then they pulled up the rescuer and me,” replied Hunter. Hunter also told Scope that the experience changed him and that he has “thought about a career in search and rescue.” In conclusion, Mr. Hunter Nelson has saved one life and changed many. This nonfiction story should give you the inspiration to help others in need of saving.
Brynne N.
Bloomington, IN
Hunter Nelson, age 17, from Washougal, Washington, and his friend Danny Riat went on the trip of a lifetime. On the way to the destination where Hunter and Danny had originally planned to camp out, they ran into some problems. The trail they were taking to the campsite was very steep, nearly vertical. That is when things went wrong. Hunter was farther down the hill while Danny was 70 feet above him. Suddenly, Hunter heard the sound of rocks falling. Danny had fallen and flew right over Hunter’s head. “He didn’t make any noise as he fell, so it felt unreal, like I was in a dream,” Hunter tells the Scope interviewer. Danny landed with a hard hit, with so much impact that his shoes flew off. He lay there knocked out, possibly dead. Hunter then “felt this rush of adrenaline” and knew he had to get down there and help him. It took him about one minute, maybe two, to get down to his friend and assist him. Hunter had to check his ears and nose for blood, and check his extremities to make sure he wasn’t paralyzed. Then Hunter called 9-1-1. Hunter and Danny had to wait for rescue. In the meantime, Hunter wrapped Danny in their camping gear to keep him warm. Apparently, there were 50 people searching for the teens but they couldn’t find them. Hunter blew his whistle, hoping that it would show where they were. When that didn’t work and it got dark, he made a signal fire and waved a torch in the air. After five hours, a Coast Guard helicopter found them. They got Danny on a backboard and carried him up first, and then Hunter was pulled up. Hunter’s actions saved his friend’s life.
McKenzie S.
Belleville, IL
Hunter Nelson and Danny Riat went on a hike. Their plan was to camp at a beautiful spot near Archer Mountain in Washington State. As they hiked through the woods, the trail became steeper and steeper.
When Hunter and Danny were about 45 minutes up the mountain, Danny fell from 70 feet above. Danny fell so hard his shoes came off. Hunter needed to get down as fast as he could to help Danny. Hunter got out his phone and called 9-1-1 for help. Hunter was thinking that Danny was dead.
It took five hours for the rescue crew to find Danny and Hunter. Hunter wrapped Danny in his camping gear until the rescue crew came. When a Coast Guard helicopter arrived, they pulled up Danny on a backboard, then pulled up Hunter.
Hunter is thinking about having a career rescuing people when he gets older. Hunter felt good about saving a life.
Olivia G.
Rapid City, SD
At the time Hunter Nelson, 17, thought he was going on a peaceful camping trip to get connected to nature and explore beautiful bluffs and waterfalls. But the huge, nearly vertical cliffs that he and his friend Danny Riat were climbing that day had very different plans.
They live in Washougal, Washington, and are best buds. That day, they were climbing up a steep hill to the site where they were camping. Hunter said that Danny was about 70 feet above him, seeming to be doing fine. And that is when Hunter saw Danny flying over his head, making no sound at all as he fell to the bottom. Hunter watched him fall, not even being able to process what was really happening. He watched Danny land so roughly his shoes came off. He saw Danny lying there unconscious. Hunter thought Danny was surely dead.
He felt a rushing jolt of adrenaline. He knew he had to get down there! Normally this would be an incredibly frightening feeling, but Hunter Nelson claims he felt no fear. It had taken 45 minutes to climb the cliff, but Hunter shot down in barely two minutes to his friend. As soon as he reached him he immediately checked for blood coming from his ears and nose. Then Hunter checked Danny’s extremities to make sure he wasn’t paralyzed. He called 9-1-1 and wrapped Danny in their camping gear to keep him warm. Eventually there were 50 people looking for them. He whistled and lit a torch to show them where they were. Finally after five grueling hours of waiting, a Coast Guard helicopter found them. They put Danny on a backboard and into the helicopter. Hunter had saved his friend’s life.
This experience made Hunter Nelson want to help more people. He’s even thinking about going into a search and rescue career. He knew what to do, and it saved Danny’s life.
Shane B.
Peabody, MA
A young man named Hunter Nelson saved a life. Hunter and his friend, Danny Riat, were planning to have the camping trip of their lives, until Danny fell to the ground while they were mountain climbing. Hunter says, “Danny was 70 feet above me. I heard rocks falling, looked up, and saw him fly over me.” He went down the mountain to save his friend. Hunter mentioned that it took 45 minutes to get up and only one or two minutes to get down. When Hunter finished climbing down the mountain, he checked Danny’s ears and nose for blood, to make sure he wasn’t paralyzed. He immediately called 9-1-1. Hunter says, “After five hours, a Coast Guard helicopter came. We got Danny on a backboard and carried him to a basket that they lifted up.”
Scope asked Hunter if this experience changed him and Hunter said, “Yes. It makes me think about what’s important. It makes me want to help people.” Hunter is a very loyal friend, and hopefully you have a friend as trusting and selfless as Hunter.
