The place was small and basic, but looked as if it had once been comfortable, and the rooms at the back were still serviceable.

‘Everyone got out six months ago,’ Renzo said. ‘When they knew the place was unsafe they started removing furniture, but then there was a sudden lurch closer to the edge and they ran for it. Since then some more of the land has fallen away and taken the front of the hut with it. But we’ll be safe here for a few days.’

‘But how will we get out? We can’t go forward or back.’

‘When something like this happens the rescue service sends out helicopters. It may take a while but they’ll find us, because I’m going to use the radio to let them know we’re here. I’d better contact them now and tell them to look out for the others.’

But when he took the radio from his pack it lay useless in his hands, refusing to respond as he urgently pressed buttons.

‘It’s dead, isn’t it?’ she asked gently. ‘But we each have a cellphone.’

‘Let’s try them, although I’m not sure if the signal can get through here.’

He was right. Neither phone was any use.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Renzo said firmly. ‘The ones who went down ahead of us will tell them our rough direction. People get rescued all the time.’

‘Yes, but-’

‘Mandy, I’ve been in bad situations before. I’ve even given up hope and then found I was mistaken. We have a lot going for us. This hut is protecting us. If they don’t find us we can survive here until the weather improves.’

‘But how do we get out of the door?’

‘We claw our way through the snow if we have to. Trust me, I know what to do.’

But, as if to defy his bravado, a vibration seemed to go through the hut. For a moment everything shuddered, almost as though the frail structure had lurched closer to the edge. Instinctively, she reached out to him and felt his arms close tightly about her.