Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-09-17
ASCENT OF MOUNT RAINIER.
rCoucluded.1

Late the following morning, the l6th, the
tourists reached the line of perpetual snow
Tand established their last camp. This was on
a cliff overhanging one branch of the Nisqually
where it issues from its glacier, flowing 80 or
40 yards through q rocky channel, and finally
falling over . shelving mass Of rock in q beau
tiful cascade, which was called Sluiskin
Falls, in honor Of the Indian guide. Here the
remainder Of the forenoon was occupied in ex-
| amining and putting in order the appliances to
the afternoon a trial trip was made to ascer-
tain the lest line Of ascent. Stepping on
the snow from camp ut one P. n. they ascend
ed in line north and south, and for four hours
travelled steadily upward. During that time,
with perhaps the exception of the last hour,
the ascent was not difficult nor very laborious,
having to cross no crevasses too wide to be
leaped with an ice-pole, and finding the snow
fields long and gradual in their elevation and
interrupted by out one or two steep snow
banks. At 5P.M. they reached o ridge of
ournt rock rising 60 or 20 feet above the snow
and extending up the mountain about 500
yards, and terminating at the foot of high
precipice of rock, the base of the latter proba-
/ bly, 1000 feet below the crown of the noun
tain. vast mass of snow inantled the sum-
init of the precipice, extending from it round
the mountain, cOncealing from the climb
ers the true summit, and leaving them in dot bt
| rs to the distance to be overcome after scaling
this mantling snow.
They now returned to camp, after deciding
that the final ascent should be by the approach
| traversed that afternoon.
At six A. NJ. on the 18th they started up the
mountain again, armed with ice.poes. an ice
axe, spikes in their boots, one hundred feet of
| rope, a tin canteen, and taking lunch for that
day, two flags, and n brass plate with their
| n tho md yoI II
They travelled so rapidly th,t they performed
| in three hours what it took them four to ac-
complish the previous day. Reaching the same
| ridge of rock and climbing to its summit they
passed slowly and cautiously along its sharp
comb Of loose stones to the foot of the preci-
pice. 1t was at this point, according to the
| account Of an Indian who was with the expe-
ditiOn, that Lieutenant kantz abandoned his
attempt to reach the summit of Rainier. Had
he continued, aud succeeded in the ascent, he
would have found six hours of toll and fatigue
before him at this point. Our mountaIneers
now had to advance with the utmost caution
and watchfu!ness, for single misstep would
have hurled them hundreds Of feet down the
mountain and to certain destruction. Cling
ing to the rough projections Of the wall of the
prccipice. they crept slowly along it for an
hour. While SO doing they had to keep
sharp lookout to escape falling pieces Of rock
loosened by the blasts above from the top Of
the precpicc. At length they were confronted
by great mass of snow and ice extending
from the prccipce at right angles and rising
nearly perpendicularly for over 200 feet, then
less precipitously for $50 ieet. This precipice
| of ice and snow was scaled by cutting steps in
it, a tedious aud dangerous operation, for ever
and anon masses of ice and pieces of rock roll
ed down from above. The step-cuttcr made
several narrow escapes, by dodging, from these
| stones one of them struck his ice-pole and
hurled it from his grasp. IL was regained, on
the return of the party, several hundred feet
| below. After ascending in this way between
800 and 400 feet, they gained a view Of the
southwestern and middle peaks, yet long dis
tance OF and high above them. They now ad-
vanced as rapidly as possible over the steep
| snow field sloping up 10 the southwestern
peak. Once wide deep crevasse with per-
pendicular wall on the upper side Is feet high
WAS encountered. General Stevens succeeded
in skilfully lasoine n pinacle Of ice rising
from the wall of snow and both gentlemen
| passed up the rope " hand over hand As
they approached the summit OF the peak their
fatigue became excessive, and a short halt WIS
made every fifty steps; bn, no symptoms of
| blee ding appeared, and there was no need felt
| Of goggles. The snow fields were now thickly
| studded with small pinacles Of hard-frozen snow
and parallel sheets or ridges Of ice, making
their progress slow and adding greatly to their
fatigue.
The south or southwestern peak is long
| sharp backbone or ridge Of pure snow and
ice, bowing towards the south near where it
starts from the centre of the mountain, then
extending a long distance sonthwestwardly.
Passing along the ridge with bent forms to
avoid being blown off by the fierce wind sweep
| ing over the mountain from the west, and
| shaking like aspen leaves with the cold, the
successful climbers, at half past s P. ~, reach
| ed the highest point, and with three hearty
cheers unfarled their flags. The glorious
stars and stripes" for the first time floating
over the SHOWS Of Rainier, fairly cracked in
the ttroug blast. Iu the grand extensive view
from the mountain which they had hoped to
obtain, thes were disappointed, the whole
lower country being envcioped in dense p III
OF smoke One snowy point Of the Cascade
Range on the north. and Mount Adams. or St.
| Helens, on the south, loomed above the sea OF
smoke. At least 1000 feet Of the summit OF
Rainier towered above the smoke, and the
| strangely deep blue sky aboveseemed to hang
| over il like an immense concave dome, its base
apparently resting on the great dark horizon
tai belt OF smoke encircling the mountain.
The point of the ridge vas named Peak
Success. Retracing their steps along the
ridge, they descended il towards the rorth,
and after climbing down it's slope and
toiling up the ascending slope Of the middle
peak for nearly an hour reached its SUN INIT
also. This peak is the highest OF the three ana
constitutes the true sumnit OF the mountain
II stands back Of or TO the eastward OF the 9TH
er two, forming with them sort OF triangle,
its apex pointing to the east or northeast and
its base facing the vcst or southwest. IL is
doubtless owing to these relative positions OF
the peaks that Rainier, when viewed from
some points on the lower Sound, presents the
appearance Of a single towering peas 0. soi'a-
~ cons Writers who have seen Rainier only
from these points Of rev have consequently
given erroneous descriptions OF IL as whole
though generally correct enough as represent.
a,ions of . single aspect. The su'hof o'
Summer waade.ings' saw the mountain In
its true aspect. aud her description is more
correct than the descriptions OF her down
sound predecessors; the comparison, though
which IL instituted therein, Thy which tbs
faircst, psress and staieliesi OF mountain
queens" is made TO resemble q uipie-roofea
house With ts esbie-end facing the behoidcr)
"a s.,,<fr sscuch Vttwed from the N.sIun liz