Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-11-06
ON FROZEN HEIGHTS.
Beaufies and Terrors Of "A Christina,
Day on Mount Washington.

Day on Mount Washington.
After dangerous ascent THROUGH
snow-drifts from 6 b ~ feet deep and
over many places where a false sten
would have sent me to the bottom Of
a precipce, / reached the summit Of
Mount Washington ia an exhausted
condition at p. m. December 6. In
making the ascent one has TO pass
through a cloud area more or less
dense, and the moisture quickly sat
urates your clothing, and then the
low temperature at higher elevation
freezes your clothes. Such was
my experience, and before I
could remove my apparel, 1
had to be ''thawed out"
The officers of the signal service
were very much astonished when I
made my appearance at their station,
and gave me most cordial greeting.
/ was told that large percentage Of
those who have attempted the ascent
during the winter season have paid
dearly for their temerity. After rest
of three or four hours | walked out to
obtain view of the mountain by
moonlight. The night was nearly
calm and the full moon made every
thing appear as bright as day. There
were neither cloud nor fog, but
slight mist hung over the valleys.
Each particular peak OF the Presidents
range stood out ia bold relief, and the
moonlight on the mantles Of snow
and ice made a luminous halo some
what akin to tire corona, while the
frostwork on the buildings near me
flashed and sparkled in the light
Long | gazed IN silent admiration of
the scene. So still and beautiful, yet
so drear. it recalled to my mind
an Arctic night of many
years ago, when in that
far-of region | stood alone
and looked on a similar scene Of
snow and lee, and the same thought
entered my mind as then-it is q
weird, beautiful scene, but so desolate
that the bright star of hope enters
with a light SO subdued as if it were
the ray from some distant planet pen
trating a cavern of ceaseless silence,
solitude and woe.
TIE intense cold awoke me from my
rcverie and l slowly retraced my steps
to the warm fire. Early the next
morning Christmas day. | was called
to see the sun rise. The same condi-
ton prevailed on the summit as the
night before-the same quiet atmoS-
phere, free from fog, but the light mist
of the night had settled into a heavy
belt of fog below us. If the night
was gloriously beautiful, the panorama
Of the morning was surprisingly
grand as the sun rose in the east. The
rays falling on the fog belt illuminat-
ed it with all the colors Of the rain
bow. 1t appeared mass of
shimmering light and color. Each
peak was encircled by luminous bands
while the small prisms of ice in frost
work on the different builGi. gs spar
killed. and danced, showing ali the col
ors of the solar spectrum, and chang
ing from one TO the other with the
greatest rapidity-all color and seem
ingly motion. It seemed indeed fairy
land. A scene of such grandeur, daz-
cling beauty and gorgeousness never
again expect to see. As the sun rose
higher and higher the fog heayed up
under its warm rays, forming itself,
| like the pillows of the
ocean, in immense waves Of
color But the sceae soon
changed. From calm the wind
rose suddenly to a velocity OF seventy
miles an hour, and the fog rising
formed a cloud completely obscuring
the sun. 1t seemed that nature during
my brief stay intended to show me
not only her beauties, but also her
grandeur in a storm. Snow and sleet
began to fall, and the wind increased
in violence, the building, although
heavily braced on the outside by heavy
rafters, rocked and swayed TO and fro
like staunch ship in gale at sea,
and / felt it would surely be moved
from It's foundation. Venturing forth
in such 3 storm would have been
seeking destru ,tion, 50 sol
aced myself by watching its effects
from a window. The wind was then
blowing over 100 miles an hour, and
owing to the binding sleet and snow
l could not see further than ten or
/ fifteen yards. Immense pieces Of
frost work four feet thick and eight
to ten feet long were torn from
the buildings and blown out of sight.
! Never before had l experienced any
thug so sublime as we'll as fearful,
and while the scene of the morning
excited my admiration, the storm Of
the afternoon created profound Won
/ der and reverence.
1t ceased as suddenly as it bega9,
and much to my establishment, on
going out of doors to see the effects
of the storm, found the summit as
bare of snow and ice as it would have
been on summers day. The next
morning / prepared to descend the
mountain, and By dint of considerabl
labor, rnanylfalls and numerous slides
l successfully reached the base The
scenes | witnessed fully recompensed
me for all the hardships aud dangers
of the trip.