The Lost Slopes
A decade ago, massive layers of ice sheets began to move, as two of Neopia's largest continents began to shift. Terror Mountain's and Mystery Island's plates began to push towards each other, gaining a terrific speed of nearly an inch forward an hour. Although Mystery Island experienced many earthquakes due to this massive movement, Terror Mountain escaped with just a mile-wide crack on its surface. However this went unnoticed as most Neopians were more concerned with the disastrous condition the many earthquakes had left Mystery Island in.
"We know a lot more now, though. Although the only visible scar of this shifting was the tiny crack in the Ice Caves, the land underneath has been severely damaged. This has caused a breakdown in the stability of ice on the glaciers of Terror Mountain," Professor Oaken Wocky confirmed.
Within the next few months, evacuations began. Although most Terror Mountaineers agreed to leave, not all were willing to say goodbye to their homeland. Mika and Carassa, an aged couple living on the summit of the hill, cleverly began selling the cartloads of stuff they had been collecting away (thus the Igloo Garage Sale). Neopian Professors' efforts came to no avail, though, as later another highly respected Neopian, the Faerie Queen, confirmed that the shifting ice posed no threat to society.
However, just a few weeks ago, Terror Mountain's mile-wide crack mysteriously widened by a few inches. This slight change caused major alarm for all the concerned professors. They told the stubborn residents that it was a real emergency this time, following a horde of unusual blizzards in the summer near the summit. The Neopian Safety Authority was contacted, and action was taken against those who were reluctant to move out. Our reporter Jan Bruce interviewed some of the residents who had been told to escape from the mountain without prior warning:
"It was--sort of terrible! My knees were actually wobbling upon arriving at Neopia Central" --Tim Blumaroo
"Oh my! I... well, I badly missed that cold cave which I called home!" --A Bruce who had declined to be named declared rather expressively.
Jan Bruce went on to interview the professors, hoping to get them to revert their initial evacuation plans, but they persisted and said that something terrible was about to occur.
Alpine Challenge, the only Entertainment Centre on the mountain's summit, was forced to close down as the ice was reportedly unstable. Jennifer Usul, the manager of this Ski Centre, was visibly distressed and declined to be interviewed by Jan. It was an awful sight... Jennifer was made to sign documents that were aimed directly at closing her Ski Centre down.
This is how Alpine Challenge was permanently banned. Many locals wept publicly when the news broke out... they had loved the centre so much... enjoyed visiting it during holidays... loved the fresh scent of snow falling upon the ski tracks... and best of all adored its thrill-filled slopes.
And as for the professors, they too have somewhat regretted their action as Terror Mountain seems a perfectly safe location today. However, it is better to be safe than sorry. To all you morning Neopians out there, don't lose hope, Alpine Challenge will be back someday.
A decade ago, massive layers of ice sheets began to move, as two of Neopia's largest continents began to shift. Terror Mountain's and Mystery Island's plates began to push towards each other, gaining a terrific speed of nearly an inch forward an hour. Although Mystery Island experienced many earthquakes due to this massive movement, Terror Mountain escaped with just a mile-wide crack on its surface. However this went unnoticed as most Neopians were more concerned with the disastrous condition the many earthquakes had left Mystery Island in.
"We know a lot more now, though. Although the only visible scar of this shifting was the tiny crack in the Ice Caves, the land underneath has been severely damaged. This has caused a breakdown in the stability of ice on the glaciers of Terror Mountain," Professor Oaken Wocky confirmed.
Within the next few months, evacuations began. Although most Terror Mountaineers agreed to leave, not all were willing to say goodbye to their homeland. Mika and Carassa, an aged couple living on the summit of the hill, cleverly began selling the cartloads of stuff they had been collecting away (thus the Igloo Garage Sale). Neopian Professors' efforts came to no avail, though, as later another highly respected Neopian, the Faerie Queen, confirmed that the shifting ice posed no threat to society.
However, just a few weeks ago, Terror Mountain's mile-wide crack mysteriously widened by a few inches. This slight change caused major alarm for all the concerned professors. They told the stubborn residents that it was a real emergency this time, following a horde of unusual blizzards in the summer near the summit. The Neopian Safety Authority was contacted, and action was taken against those who were reluctant to move out. Our reporter Jan Bruce interviewed some of the residents who had been told to escape from the mountain without prior warning:
"It was--sort of terrible! My knees were actually wobbling upon arriving at Neopia Central" --Tim Blumaroo
"Oh my! I... well, I badly missed that cold cave which I called home!" --A Bruce who had declined to be named declared rather expressively.
Jan Bruce went on to interview the professors, hoping to get them to revert their initial evacuation plans, but they persisted and said that something terrible was about to occur.
Alpine Challenge, the only Entertainment Centre on the mountain's summit, was forced to close down as the ice was reportedly unstable. Jennifer Usul, the manager of this Ski Centre, was visibly distressed and declined to be interviewed by Jan. It was an awful sight... Jennifer was made to sign documents that were aimed directly at closing her Ski Centre down.
This is how Alpine Challenge was permanently banned. Many locals wept publicly when the news broke out... they had loved the centre so much... enjoyed visiting it during holidays... loved the fresh scent of snow falling upon the ski tracks... and best of all adored its thrill-filled slopes.
And as for the professors, they too have somewhat regretted their action as Terror Mountain seems a perfectly safe location today. However, it is better to be safe than sorry. To all you morning Neopians out there, don't lose hope, Alpine Challenge will be back someday.