William Pike's visit by Emaraina

“Line up!” called Miss Bateman as we filed outside, we were heading to the hall to listen to a motivational speech by mountaineer William Pike. Eleven years ago, he and his friend James were climbing Mt Ruapehu when it erupted while they were sleeping in the Dome shelter. William was trapped in the flow of rocks and mud, crushing his leg. James, seeing that William was in huge danger, ran down the mountain in his underwear and a rain jacket to get help. William was taken to hospital and his crushed lower leg was amputated. After the tragedy of losing half a leg, William taught at a school for a while, before deciding to summit Mt Ruapehu again. Now he runs the William Pike Challenge Award programme, to help young people become explorers. As we went back to class, we all agreed that we would definitely remember the story of William Pike.