The SCP Experience - The Monster in the Snow | SCP-1529

Episode Date: September 20, 2024

SCP Foundation EUCLID class object, SCP-1529 This story was derived from https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1529 and is released under Creative Commons Sharealike 3.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Author: Andrew E. * * * DISCLAIMER: This episode contains explicit content. Parental guidance is advised for children under the age of 18. Listen at your own discretion. #thescpexperience #scp #scpfoundation #scpencounters #securecontainprotect #scpstories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the day I took my first breath on this earth, I wasn't alone. I was born as part of a set. I had followed my brother Owen by only a few minutes, and from then on, we existed together. Our mom, careful to acknowledge us as individuals, made sure to encourage any unique interests one or the other of us had. And though, at our cores, we remained similar enough that few could tell the difference. Owen ended up becoming more serious and studious, while I was a bit more carefree and a little bit of a risk-taker.

Naturally, this led to us making different friends and excelling in different school subjects. We'd sometimes find ourselves apart, living mostly separate lives, but we'd always eventually drift back together, like two planets orbiting the same star. Even when we're apart, I always know what we're apart. he's thinking. He's told me I have a knack for checking in when he's feeling down. He's unwittingly done the same for me. No matter how far apart our lives take us, I can always feel him, a little buzz at the back of my mind, letting me know I'm never alone. One interest we both share is climbing, specifically mountain climbing. It's the only thing we directly compete with one

another on. What's the highest elevation you've ever been to? What's the most challenging route you've taken? What's the worst weather you've? And on and on. Sometimes I think we developed different interests just so we wouldn't compete with each other. When it comes to climbing, though, I'd say that my resume is a little more impressive. Not that Owen would ever admit it. But it's obvious that it bothers him. So I'm not that surprised when he calls me up one day and says, I'm doing Everest. Huh, what? I say. We'd been catching up. Owen had been telling me about a nice girl at his office he had a crush on, which I was all for, because his most recent partner had been a shitty, controlling asshole. My Owen's sense had been in overdrive the whole time he'd

been dating her. My eyes. Everyone on earth has heard of Everest. Isn't that a little much for you? He scoffs. I've been training for this for years. He's serious. I can't recall the last time we kept a secret from one another. Okay, but if he's doing this just to beat me, then it's a stupid thing to risk your life over. But you know how it is with siblings? If you tell your brother not to do something, that'll just make him want to do it more. I'll have to be subtle. I know you're experienced, but I'm worried. Can't you do something a little less intense? There's a rustling on the other line, and I can practically see.

see him shaking his head and think of anything else to say to dissuade him. In the old days, I might have said, I'm telling mom, but that's obviously not going to work now. Bowen sighs and says, I'm sure that's what all of the literally hundreds of people who've died on Everest said to their loved ones too, but I refrained from saying that. Instead, I tell him, well, I'll come running if anything goes wrong. We both speak in playful tones, but we're dead serious under it. With my forced approval secured, Owen starts sharing more and more of his plan with me. I get details of his assent and descent, pricing packages because apparently completing the world's deadliest challenge is a business now. And he even asks my advice about

equipment he's thinking of buying. In the weeks leading up to his flight to Nepal, a pit it grows in my stomach. Though he projects total confidence on the phone to me, I can tell when my brother is anxious. That makes me anxious, which Owen can sense, which in turn makes him even more anxious, and this goes on in a negative spiral. I know it'll be impossible to convince him not to go at this point, given the amount of money he's put down, but I make a last-ditch effort to invite myself along. If I'm there with Owen, I know someone will always be looking out for him. He shoots that down instantly. No way, Lincoln. He says in a tone that will brook no disagreement. I'm forced to let it go. The anxiety peaks during his flight,

but tapers off a little after he's landed. That makes sense. For me, the second I see the mountain is when the nerves start to fade away, and excitement starts to take over. Honestly, I try to put Owen out of my mind as much as possible. People may think that, scaling Mount Everest takes a few days tops, but it's actually a weeks-long process. Climbers have to get acclimatized to the conditions, preparing their bodies to work harder than they ever have before, with less oxygen than they're used to. Owen's hoping for a six-week ascent, though he's given himself two and a half months just in case. I physically can't worry about him that whole time. I'll go insane. So, I distract myself.

I go on dates with people I'm not interested in. I watch TV shows I've been meaning to catch up on, and I say yes to any person wanting to hang out. It's mostly successful. I know Owen will attempt to summit Everest any day now, but it doesn't dominate my every waking thought. That changes abruptly one afternoon. I'm in a coffee shop with a friend,

and she's telling me a story about a time she accidentally walked into the wrong house while drunk, and I'm nodding and laughing, asking why in the world she thought using the stranger's bathroom was a good idea. That is when an odd sensation starts to build in my chest. A little tickle, ignorable at first, but it grows. A strange, icy hot feeling I can hardly describe. My heart feels like it's being set on fire. My smile falters, but my friend doesn't notice until I'm clutching my chest. What's wrong? she asks. I say, but it's the only thing I can think of that's remotely similar to what I'm feeling. The strange sensation is spreading across my body, seeping outward from my chest,

stretching itself up to my head and down to my toes. I'm shivering, but at the same time I can feel beads of sweat forming on my brow. You don't look good, the friend says. She disappears for a moment and comes back with a cup of water. I gulp it down, only now notice. that the entire coffee shop is staring at us. She guides me to a chair and sits me down. This cascade of heat is like nothing I've ever felt. But now that I'm sitting down and the initial panic is passing, I notice something. It's not me feeling it. There's no sweat on my

brow. The feeling of warmth, though I can sense it, it isn't coming from my body. He's the one feeling this way. Somewhere out there in the Himalayas, my brother is somehow burning up. I know it. Okay? Huh? I blink, trying to focus on the here and now. My friend had said something. Her face is etched with worry. I asked if you were okay. Physically everything's fine, but still, something is very wrong. I'm not feeling great. I think I'm going to have to take a rain check for today. Yeah, of course, she says. I'll walk with you to make sure you get home all right. It's a kind offer, but that's the last thing I want right now.

No, that's okay. I can make it home on my own. The feeling I had is passing. That's a white lie. If anything, it's intensifying. I stand up, and though my legs feel a little jellyish, I'm able to stay steady. My friend looks somewhat unconvinced, but I waver off with a forced smile and a hug, and walk out of the coffee shop. I call Owen the second I'm outside. No answer. Is that weird?

It's past midnight there, but I know most attempts to summit Everest start at night so that the most challenging parts of the climb are done during daylight hours, so he might have been awake. I'm walking slowly at first, then briskly, then I'm running, sprinting back to my apartment.

The second I'm back home, I immediately log onto my computer to book a plane ticket to Nepal. Fuck! The best I can do is leave three days from now. I'm desperate to get there faster. But I clench my teeth and book it. I'd promised Owen I'd come running if he needed me. And I hadn't been joking.

The last minute practically round the world ticket isn't cheap. But my brother needs me. Welcome to aboard via Rai. Embarked and profited. Embarked and relax. Ciroat. Bukiné. Oh, that also.

And profite. Via Rae, the voice that we love. Luckily, I know Owen's plan inside and out. So not only do I know where to look for him, I also know exactly what I need to pack. I'm forced to schedule time off work for a family emergency, and even with two full days before my flight, I'm exhausted from all the planning, packing, and logistics I've had to do.

The morning of my flight, I got an email. It's from a government agency in Tibet. Even though Owen flew into Nepal initially, he had planned to scale the mountain from the Tibetan side. I open it. We are very sorry to inform you, it reads. It appears during his attempt to summit Mount Everest. Owen Anderson has gone missing.

Search and rescue efforts by helicopter are underway. As he listed you as his emergency contact, We will. I stop reading after that. He's alive. He has to be. But it's fading. That warmth I feel coming from Owen, it's getting weaker. I rushed to the airport, and even though my nerves are shot to hell, I fall asleep the second the plane's in the air. I only wake up for my connecting flight in Dubai, and then I fall right back asleep.

Not sleeping for the past two nights is catching up to me. But just because I'm asleep doesn't mean I'm not stressed. I keep having dreams about Owen. Owen standing in a plain white snowfield, smiling and waving to me, and I'm running towards him. And even though I know the temperature is freezing, I get warmer with every step I take,

though I never close the distance between us. There's a point in the dream where I nearly stumble and lose my footing. And when I look up after riding myself, Owen standing right in front of me. His face blackened, crusted with snow and dried out like I've seen. seen in pictures of people who've died in the freezing ice. The nightmares scare me as much or more than the weird sensations I'm getting through our connection.

I've never had dreams about something bad happening to Owen, ever. At the airport in Lhasa, I'm stopped by border security. I have a passport, but there wasn't time for me to get all the necessary paperwork for a Chinese travel visa. Instead, I give the checkpoint guard a $500 thank you, which convinces him to let him. me through. Okay, I'm not going to be arrested and thrown in a Chinese prison at least. Though I've brought what I can from the States, I still need to pick up supplies here in Tibet. That includes a flare gun. When I find Owen, it'll be good to have a way to alert the rescuers, and I will find him. I have to. The pace of things is maddeningly slow. It takes a day

and another bribe to find someone willing to take me to the North Faces base camp as soon as possible. rather than the slower pace designed to acclimate climbers to the altitude. I don't have that kind of time. The second I reach base camp, I check in with the search and rescue team. They're excited to see me at first, but only because they think I'm Owen. When I explain, I'm his twin brother Lincoln. Their faces fall, revealing more than I think they mean to. Search and rescue efforts are continuing, but it's been days.

The outlook isn't good. I have something the rescue team doesn't. A connection, a link to Owen. I'll find him. My time is limited, and even though I'm a little breathless just running around base camp, I'm able to find a local called a Sherpa, who is an expert climber. I make a deal with them for some oxygen tanks. You usually have to special order them from a facility in Russia.

But since they can't be flown, that'll take far too long. Normally, my bride as a climber would say, Do it without oxygen, or don't do it at all. I've done another 8,000 meter a sense without it, but this isn't about pride. I know I'm being reckless. This is a half-cocked plan at best. If I was trying to actually summit Everest,

this would be bordering on suicide. But I'm not trying to summit it. I'm looking for my brother. That's all I need to do. I wait anxiously for the late-night summit time. The weather is dicey. There's a 40% chance of a storm. Winds are mid-strength,

and the temperature is a little lower than I'd like, too. I get a few hours of shut-eye and wake up to my alarm. It is time to go. As I set out from base camp on the same path my brother took, someone calls out to me. Hey man! I turned to look at the guy. He's probably in his early 30s,

and he's got the lean, toned look of a lifelong client. I bet this isn't his first Everest attempt. Name's Nick. Lincoln. Are you really heading out? Yeah, I'm going. Pretty much everyone's decided to wait until tomorrow. The weather's supposed to clear up then.

Great for them. I say, turning away. I don't have time for this. He grabs my arm. Experienced climbers die every year on this mountain. Summitting Everest isn't worth your life. I shove him off of me. I'm not trying to sell him.

summit Everest, leave me alone. I stalk off, not wanting to give that weirdo another chance to delay me. The mountain is cold and dark and lonely. It's beautiful. I've always wanted to climb Everest, though I wish it could be under better circumstances. The sun is starting to rise when I realize I'm completely out of breath. And even though I'm desperate to push forward and find Owen, I force myself to take a break. Each step is taking me closer to him.

Glancing at my watch, I see that I've been ascending for nearly seven hours. I suck down some oxygen, trying to get my breath back. It helps a little, but I haven't given my body the time it needs to properly adjust to the altitude. I'll probably be breathless the whole climb. I'm about to start moving again when I notice some movement ahead of me on the trail, past a narrow ridge. It's some guy. It's not Owen. but I can't see his face, since he's wearing goggles and his Parker's hood is pulled forward.

The weird thing about him, though, is that he's dressed in all white. It's an unusual, borderline unheard-of color choice for a mountain climber. You generally want something that stands out against the snow. He's waving at me frantically, trying to get my attention. Did he leave base camp before me? No, that can't be it. I'm almost positive I was the first and only person to leave like. night. He's probably on his way back down the mountain after summiting Everest. He's not wearing

a backpack or anything, though. Maybe he lost his gear in an accident or something. Maybe he and Owen were together when it happened, and he knows where he is. I tentatively wave back. The second I do, my body locks in place and a warm sensation starts spreading over my skin, just like the one I felt back in the coffee shop. I can't take my eyes off the other climber as he starts coming towards me. He crosses the ridge, climbing using only his hands and feet with no equipment, a physically impossible display of dexterity. As he gets closer, I start to feel sleepy, like when the sun is hitting you exactly right on a warm day and you take a nap just because you can. He's standing in front of me now, but I blink and he's gone. So is the ridge and all my equipment.

Instead, I'm standing in a field with deep snow drifts. Little flakes are still coming down, but they're gentle and soft. There's a wind, and it's warm. Something tugs me toward the direction the breeze came from. It doesn't take long until I see a little round wooden structure in the snow. It's surrounded by steam. Someone's sitting inside it, but I can't quite tell who with my eyes. What my heart knows.

Lincoln! Owen says as I approach. I thought you might come. I kind of sensed you. You know how it is? I do. He's sitting with swoon trunks in a hot tub. A hot tub on Mount Everest.

Okay, sure. I'm just happy to see him. Lazzang sur-gillet, puissance-molyne, I'm sure that it's their dojo. Pre-to-joo? Vive the pleasure with Leo Jo. The casino in-line

that proposes the more recent machine-assine and the games of casino in direct. Profite of 50 tours gratuys on Big Bas Bonanza without exigences of misg and with payments instantane. Hey, I've gained.

Woohoo! Sonture the pleasure, play, Ojo! 18 years, 1,000, 10% per sewers on Ontario. 50% tour

gratuys on the machine to sue Big Bas Bonanza. Depos minimum of $10. Let's play I'm just being responsible. The conditions apply. What took you so long? He says, a wide grin on his face. Owen, I don't think this place is...

I mean, I was just looking at that guy in the white parker. And then suddenly I'm here. This place isn't real. Not really. It's a hallucination or something. It's strange. Because even though I say that, I still know deep in my soul that the Owen I'm talking to is the real Owen.

Owen flinches. His smile faltering. Yeah, that guy was creepy, wasn't he? Come on out of there, I say. Let's go home. Owen shakes his head. I can't. What do you mean you can't?

I came to the fucking Himalayas to find you. I have a horrible, muddy feeling. I push it down. Just, please, I can't go home without you. But you said it yourself. Owen argues. This place isn't real. I'm not really here.

My body isn't anyway. Then where's your... I can't bring myself to say body. I won't admit it to myself. Where are you then? He shrugs. Blinken, I'm... Shut up, don't say it.

Blinken! His voice is stern. Like it was when we were kids, and he knew I was planning some mischief. He knows he has to say it. I have to hear it. Lincoln, I'm already dead. I start sobbing.

knowing the words are true. I felt it. This strange uneasiness, my relentless resolve to find him. Why hadn't I just waited for the rescue team? They were way more experienced than me. What hope did I have if they didn't find him? But most damning of all, I felt almost nothing from him since that initial burst of heat a few days ago. If my brother was in trouble, slowly dying on a mountain, I would feel it. I know I would. But instead, all I felt, as a subtle warmth. He's gone. I failed.

I'll stay with you, I say. I'll stay here. Owen smiles, sadly. Please, don't make me the reason my brother dies. I don't want that. You can still go back. For me, please? God damn it!

I let off one wailing hell. I know if I stay here another second, I'll lose my resolve. So I turn my back to my brother. My older brother, who's been with me, since the moment I was born and run back into the snow, away from the warmth of the hot tub. The wind picks up, blowing fiercely into my face to discourage me, to send me back. But I fight and claw and tear my way through it. The man in the white parka is holding me by both shoulders.

I'm numb. I'm so cold I'm shaking. My body is responding slowly, and I'm not sure if it's because of this thing's effect, or if it's the early stages of hypothermia. How long have I been standing here? You would reject my gift! An angry double voice hisses at me. If you're suffering and you would rebuke me?

It's talking, but I can't see any breath from its exhalation. I stare into the goggles of the creature, unable to see anything underneath them, and slowly reach into the satchel attached to my waist. In there is a satellite phone and, more importantly, the flare gun. Fuck you! This is for killing my brother! I whip out the gun and point it directly at the parka's opening. The flare lights up, and though I get a little singed by the tail of the shot, the creature is worse off. The flare lodges itself under the goggles.

The thing underneath the parka lets out an unholy, piercing screech, and shoves me away, sending me flying at least 15 feet. It screams and screams and screams, and I try to get up, to run away, but I can't. I think it did something to me. I'm numb. Nothing's moving right. My feet wriggle, but otherwise they don't respond to my commands to get up. The world is getting dark. I can't stay awake. Did I break my promise to Owen?

I'm sorry. It's tugging at my arm. Hey man, you're going to be okay. My eyes opening a crack. Sorry, no. It's Nick. Remember, the guy you shoved to the ground at base camp? Oh. The weirdo. Not Owen. It'll never be Owen again.

Why? Why am I here? I asked around about you and found out about your brother. So, I knew what route you'd take and why you had to do at ASAP. But still, I thought it was risky, so I followed after you. And you're lucky I did. I found you collapsed and already half buried in snow. Another hour and I would have missed you. I tried to get up, but Nick pushed me back down gently. You've got a bad case of altitude sickness. I'm surprised you're even conscious and coherent right now. Just rest.

Altitude sickness? Is that what the whole thing was? A vivid and disturbing hallucination? No. It had been real. I had felt it. Not that anyone would ever believe me. I closed my eyes and drifted off back to sleep.

SCP 1529 is a mysterious humanoid entity that resides in the death zone near the summit of Mount Everest, where human survival without supplemental oxygen is nearly impossible. The entity appears as a mountaineer, covered head to toe in white gear, with its face obscured by a hood and large black goggles. First officially documented by the foundation in the 1970s, evidence suggests SCP 1529 has been present since at least 1924 during George Mallory's ill-fated expedition. SCP 1529 alternates between long periods of inactivity and active phases where it climbs the mountain effortlessly, unaffected by the harsh environment. When climbers venture above 8,000 meters during its active phase, SCP 1529 seeks them out, particularly those who are isolated. Upon making eye contact, the climber enters a hypnotic state, feeling an intense and unnatural warmth that compels them to stop.

stop moving and relax. This false sense of comfort quickly leads to hypothermia, much faster than typical for the altitude, followed by death. After death, the victim's body decays at an accelerated rate, resembling remains that have been exposed on the mountain for decades. SEP 1529 is believed to be responsible for a significant number of climber deaths on Everest. It has been observed to target individual climbers, but as all also been involved in more complex incidents involving multiple victims.

The entity's purpose, motivations, and the cause of its activity cycles remain unknown. In one notable incident, SCP 1529 descended below 8,000 meters and entered a climbers camp, resulting in multiple casualties. Additionally, it has shown the ability to affect individuals observing it from a distance, as demonstrated when it induced hypothermia in a foundation agent, monitoring it through a telescope.