Props:
A stepladder.
Marty
Mountaineer: (Enters carrying the stepladder. Walks
up to Larry Low. Puts the ladder
down, then climbs up the ladder.
He stays up on the ladder until the end of the skit.)
Larry
Low:
(He watches Marty Mountaineer climb the ladder.) what are you doing?
Marty
Mountaineer: I'm climbing. I
want to get to the very top of a mountain.
Larry
Low:
And the ladder is for ...
Marty
Mountaineer: To get to the top!
Larry
Low:
Oh. And where is your
mountain?
Marty
Mountaineer: I haven't picked a
mountain yet.
Larry
Low:
How big do you think mountains are?
Marty
Mountaineer: Oh, about (stretches
his arms high above his head) this big.
Larry
Low:
Marty Mountaineer, mountains are the highest places on earth.
Marty
Mountaineer: The highest?
Larry
Low:
Yes.
Marty
Mountaineer: How high are mountains?
Larry
Low:
Well, to be called a mountain, they must be at least 1,000 feet (305
meters) higher then the land around them.
Marty
Mountaineer: So if I was 1,000
feet (305 meters) above you down there, I'd be on a mountain?
Larry
Low:
Yes.
Marty
Mountaineer: Cool.
What else can you tell me?
Larry
Low:
The world's highest mountain is Mount Everest, in the Himalaya mountain
range.
Marty
Mountaineer: How tall is it?
Larry
Low:
It is about 29,028 feet (8,848 meters) high.
The tallest mountain in the Andes is in Argentina.
It is 22,836 feet (6969 meters) tall.
Marty
Mountaineer: WOW!
That would take a long time to hike to the top!
What else can you tell me about mountains?
Larry
Low:
A group of mountains side-by-side is called a mountain range.
Marty
Mountaineer: So if I was a
mountain and you were a mountain, together we'd be a range?
Larry
Low:
That's what weld be called.
Marty
Mountaineer: What are some of
the mountain ranges?
Larry
Low:
The Andes, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Dividing Range, and the
Himalayas are just a few of the bigger ones.
Marty
Mountaineer: By
"bigger" you mean what?
Larry
Low:
Well, the Himalaya Mountain range is 2,400 miles (3,800 km) in wide. The Andes Mountain range is 4,500 miles (7,200 km) wide.
Marty
Mountaineer: Wow!
I never knew mountains were so big! (Looking
down ftom his ladder.) I guess my ladder won't get me to the top.
Larry
Low:
No, it won't get you there. No
matter how many times you climbed the steps, you would still be only (fill
in the height of the ladder) high.
Marty
Mountaineer: It seemed like a
good idea.
Larry
Low:
This reminds me of what some people try to do.
Marty
Mountaineer: What is that?
Larry
Low:
They try to "climb,, their way to Heaven.
They think that if they do enough good things they can get all the way to
Heaven.
Marty
Mountaineer: But no matter how
many good thing you do-you would only reach the top of the ladder-not Heaven!
Larry
Low:
Right. Doing good things
does not get you into Heaven.
Marty
Mountaineer: The only way to
reach Heaven is by trusting Jesus Christ.
Larry
Low:
That's right.
Marty
Mountaineer: I'll go put my
ladder with the lamp, books, and maps. Maybe
the next time I see you, I'll be ready to hike the heights!
Larry
Low:
See you at the Peaks' Performance! Kids,
don't forget to tell your parents about the Peak's Performance (the Closing
Program). I'd like to meet your
friends and parents! See you all
then.