The snow had packed in around our bodies, molding into our shapes, enclosing us in utter darkness without any oxygen.
I made sure that Pippin was okay, and then I began to dig upward. Hopefully, it wasn't too far to the top, where there was fresh air.
It was dark and I was scraping away at the snow when I broke through!!
I poked my head out and took gasping breaths.
I pulled myself out of the tunnel I had made and reached down about 4 feet to pull out Pippin. When he was out, I looked around.
Everyone else was helping each other out of the snow. Luckily, none of us had been swept off of the cliff and into the gorge.
Gandalf looked angry as he stood dangerously close to the edge of the cliff and spoke words harshly into the air, moving his staff. Obviously some wizard stuff. He was fighting with Saruman who was controling the weather.
It must have not worked because another bolt of lightning struck nearby, making us all flinch. Saruman was warning us to turn back or be killed by an actual avalanche.
Boromir shouted over the increasing wind.
"We must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to Minas Tirith!"
Aragorn objected.
"The Gap of Rohan leads us too close to Isengard!!"
Gimli made his suggestion again.
"If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it! Let us go through the Mines of Moria." He and Gandalf looked ridiculous with snow and ice sticking to their beards, but they had serious expressions.
Gandalf made a barely discernible sick expression. His eyes glazed over, as if remembering something, probably the reason he didn't want to go to Moria.
Then he looked up and said, "Let the Ring-Bearer decide."
Great. Our lives were now in the hands of a freezing hobbit. Everyone looked at Frodo.
Frodo looked around unsteadily, choosing between Minas Tirith or Moria.
Boromir pressed.
"We cannot stay here! This will be the death of the hobbits!"
Gandalf kept his eyes on Frodo, obviously praying he wouldn't choose the mines.
He spoke, trembling.
"Frodo?"
Frodo made up his mind and said confidently, "We will go through the Mines."
Gandalf's face fell. "So be it."
We turned around and went back down the mountain to go underneath it.