Albanian Escape: The True Story of U.S. Army Nurses Behind Enemy Lines

7. Blizzard on the Mountain

7 Blizzard on the Mountain 22 November 1943, Monday-1015: Mount Tomorrit It was midmorning as the Americans began their hike to Terlioria. Between them and the village lay Mount Tomorrit. At 8,136 feet in altitude, it was one of the highest peaks in Albania, and with the cold drizzle that had just begun the climb promised to be anything but easy or comfortable. The beginning of the trail ascended gently up the side ofthe barren mountain. In the light rain and persistent overcast the landscape looked brown and gray, and the wet earth soaked quickly throughJens's worn shoes. She hoped that the growing numbness from the cold would soon ease her foot pain, as it had previously . As they climbed, the temperature dropped; the rain turned to sleet, then snow, adding to an already miserable situation. The precipitation made the ground slippery and progress slow. Jens peered out from her hood at the terrain ahead. She saw an open, barren plateau that stretched out to snow-covered mountains. The trail turned sharply to the right as fine snow swirled about their heads and a bitter cold wind sucked the breath from their lungs. Without warning, a large black cloud slipped over a ridge and hung menacingly above them. Soon the group was enveloped in violent cold wind and blinding snow. Jens realized that she could no longer see the person in front of her, and their tracks in the snow were covered 88 Albanian Escape so quickly that they were impossible to follow. The snow spun in circles and beat at her face with such force that taking a deep breath was not possible. She tried to call to one of the men directly ahead of her, but the wind drove her words back into her mouth. She knew that half of the party was behind her and turned to see if they were still following. Marky and Fran almost walked over her. Jens's fingers felt frozen inside her wet leather gloves. She believed if she could remove her gloves, she could rub her hands together to warm them, but her numb fingers would not obey her command. She pushed her hands deep into her trench coat pockets but found that she needed her arms free to maintain her balance. She began to walk faster, attempting to keep the person ahead of her in sight, hoping that person could see someone who was following the guides, praying that the guides knew the trail well, since all landmarks must be covered with snow by this time. Jens stopped and looked behind her again, assessing the group's ability to keep up. A long-legged sergeant overtook her, and she grabbed his arm. It was Cruise, and she put her mouth next to his ear and yelled, wondering if he could hear her above the wind. "If you catch up with the guides, slow them down! We're losing sight of one another. We could end up scattered all over this mountain." "Yeah, that's where I'm heading, God willing," Cruise yelled into Jens's ear. His Boston accent was unmistakable even in a blizzard . Jens thrust her hands in front of her. "Pull my gloves off," she hollered. Cruise tugged and jerked her gloves off wrong side out. The sergeant bent forward. "Pull my hat down so it covers my ears." Jens tugged at his hat with her numb fingers and eventually got it to cover most of Cruise's ears. "Thanks!" he shouted above the storm. He took off in his long stride and disappeared into the curtain of snow that enveloped them. Jens looked back just in time to see the feet of one of the nurses go out from under her. Two of the men tried to pull her up, but she seemed limp. It was Tooie. Blizzard on the Mountain 89 "Get up! Get up! Don't just lie there," Jens shouted. She could barely hear her own voice. Tooie staggered to her feet and immediately fell into a heap again. Two sergeants grabbed her under the arms and half-walked, half-dragged her up and forward. Jens turned and hurried ahead, hoping to catch sight of someone up the trail from them. "Don't they ever look back to see if we're following? I'll skin them alive if I ever catch up with them," she muttered to...