After the long climb, you finally reach the peak that looms over the Arena. The air is thin and moving takes more effort than you would like. The scene at the peak, however, is different than you imagined. Everywhere, sticking out of the snow are discarded items. A junkyard of items from those who have tried to summit the peak and failed. You recognize some of them as tokens of tributes past and you wonder if you will fail like they did. Another piece of history buried in the snow at an unreachable peak. As you climb you begin to notice forms lying in the snow. Clothed bodies lie where they have fallen, climbers that were unable to make it to the top. As you get closer to one, you swear that you’ve seen them before. Wasn’t he D2M in last years games?

A strange contraption stands a little way off from the Cornucopia. Giant poles lift up into the sky, decidedly unnatural in a landscape that’s mostly been left as is. Thick wires loop and connect to create a pulley system. Chair lifts move slowly up the mountain, although no one seems to operate them. After every 5 chairs, a large, bumbling, gondola follows. The lines go up the mountainside ahead of you, going up and up to just below the high peak.

There are multiple ways to travel across this steep mountainside. To the east, you might hike through the forest of flagging trees. The area to the west of the ski lift is a different monster entirely, and might pose a challenge for the wary adventurer like yourself. Moguls -- small bumps in the snow -- dot the landscape, making it difficult to traverse the slope. These mounds of snow are leftover from a time when the mountain operated as a hub for skiers and snowboarders. Simple as they are, one can’t be too careful; the unsuspecting and clumsy tribute could easily find themselves breaking something with a single move. Step wisely, tributes.

The snow seems endless and for a long time, it feels like you’ll never be warm again. You begin to despair when your nose picks up a strange scent. Misplaced and altogether far too welcoming to be trusted, the hot spring is nestled snugly in a snowy valley. Flickering paper lanterns light up the hot springs below and the steam coming off of the top of the water is incredibly tempting. On a low hanging rock shelf, a clean stack of towels waits. Numerous pools dot the area, there is plenty of space for everyone. Snow peaks over the rocks surrounding the pools, pushed back by the hot water, a reprieve.

In the lower reaches of the Arena, the unsuspecting tribute might stumble on an odd sight in their trek across the mountainside. Flowers peek out from underneath the snow, remnants of a vibrant summer that may never return to this frozen landscape. The snow has melted in patches across the area, thinning out to reveal the stubborn flowers underneath. Due to their eerie red color, from afar these flowers appear to be droplets of blood in the snow. Only with closer inspection will tributes realize their true nature. Tributes may be tempted to venture here to escape the wild heights and freezing temperatures of the peak, but be warned -- nature has a creative way of disguising its threats with the beautiful and kind.