The times., 1898-09-04
For the First Time the Sum.
nit Is Reached by Man.
A VERY DANGEROUS FEAT
Part of the Journey Made by Crawl
ing at the Edge of Prccipice
Three Thousand Feet High-The
Wonderful View From the Peak
Rcpays the Party for Their Pains.

of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church
in this city, was the first woman to set
foot on the top of Mount Evans, Col. In
the other, the ascent of the Grand Teton,
on the border line between Idaho and Wy
onling, often attempted unsuccessfuIly and
by many thought 10 be impossible, was
accomplished by party made up of the
Rev. Frank S. Spalding. formerly of Den
YER and now of Erie, Pa, a son of Bishop
John f. Spalding of the diocese of Colo
rado; w. o. Owen, of Cheyenne; Wyo;
Frank S. Peterson, of Jackson, Wyo., and
John Shive, of Elk, Wyo. The ascent was
exceedingly difficult and dangerous. 1t
was by crawling upon their abdomens in
one place over a ledge of insecure rock
overlooking a precipice with a sheer drop
of 5000 feet, that the summit of the Grand
Teton was reached. The park in places
was so narrow that progress was made
only by seeking out with the fingers cre-
vices in which TO secure a hold to drag
the body along. The ascent rivals the
most difficult .feats of Alpine climbing
Crevices. snowbanks. glaciers and ice
great fields of it-precipices and crumb-
ling falling granite were also encoun-
tered.
The Grand Teton is the subject of hum
dreds of legends among the Indians, and
Is still mysterious temple of the Great
Spirit to them. II has always been re-
gardede as folly to attempt TO reach the
summit, and when the Rocky Mountain
Clubs representatives announced that
they were going to the top the Idaho
Falls Register warned them against the
undertaking. and advised them to give
up wild scheme that was sure to result
4 1f1s1- rtCixr ral and
conquered. The Rev. Mr. Spalding has re-
turned to this city and gives a graphic
account of the adventure.
The party left Denver on Aug. g." he
said. we reached Market Lake, Idaho,
on august S. We secured team and rode
to JacksOn's Hole. a two and one-haif
days journey. At the hole we took pack
horses and made Y miles on the Teton
range, just inside the Wyoming line. Our
camp was pitched at timber line on Au-
gust 10, The camp was right beneath
Grand Teton. and it was a sight that I
shall never forget, when, early on the
morning of August Il. we saw it wreathed
with clouds and somber as If rebuking
US for daring TO scale 1t.
we started ar o'clock We went I'D
something like 900 feet, and being con-
fronted by wall of rock went down
again. Finally we made the valley again
and determined to follow it up We
reached our first glacier and found il TO
be three-fourths of a mile across. solid
| ice covered with rocks and chec,ered
with deep crevasses. The glacier led to
q snowfield 100 yards in width. The snow
was so soft that we had no difficulty in
walking over 1t. Then we came TO an
| other rise of rock, from 300 10 100 feet in
| length and at a steep angle The rock
| terminated in another snowbank at an
angle of 30 degrees. In single file we
| began to climb this, each stepping in the
| footsteps OF the man in front of him
| When we reached the saddle between
| the Middle Teton and the Grand Teton
! we lay down and rested for a few min
utes. Refreshed. we started up to the
| saddle between the west spur and the
main peak, a point as far as any one had
ever gone before Mr. Owen found the
! can he left there, in 1891. marking the
| highest point man had ascended.
''Iee was all round us. Our first at
| tempt TO continue our journey was up
| through an ice niche, but we discovered
| there was no place to hold 10. We were
| consequently forced to follow little
gallery three feet wide up to the north
| side. Naturally the north side of any
large and supposedly inaccessible peak is
| thought TO be the hardest to climb. But
| the Matterhorn, which l have climbed is
| easiest on the north side. SO with the
! Grand Teton. We decided to stick 10
the north side, and cautiously made our
| way along the gallery until the man in
front drew hack with the remark that
| it ended in a precipice that shot down
sheer 5000 feet.
Below the gallery and jutting out
| from the wall of rock were two large
| slabs, probably six feet in length which
| had been sprung from the main wall by
| the action of the ice and rain. Behind
| these, after lowering ourselves to them
we crawled along distance of 20 feet
| which brought us to a little ledge under
an overhangiug rock. The ledge was so
| narrow that we were compelled to crawl
! on our abdomens We encouraged each
| other by keeping UP a natural conversa-
, ton, but it was with Immense feel
ing of relief that we crossed the ledge
| and came to a sort of niche with a small
| overhanging rock.
| "Over this we threw a rope-an action
| that required a cool and steady nerve
and nice eye. We pulled ourselves up
| and out over the 5000 feet OF space be-
| low and continued on up the niche about
| fifty feet. It was so narrow that we
could use our feet, elbows and knees
| When We reached the top we went on
another gallery for a distance of nearly
other ice niche, in which we We're forced
to cut five steps. 1t was sixty feet high
and led onto ridge. We followed d
snow ridge for 200 feet. and then over the
sharp, Jagged, eruptive rocks, so notica-
BILE above timber line. and claGgbered
with a shout to the top We made it at
4 O'Clock exactly We had been climbing
for eleven hours.
"I never saw such a view in my life.
From the top you look down and see
four deep canyons, the Fox, Teton and
two others, all 5000 feet deep, leading in
all directions from the peak on which
you are standing. To the west you look
| down into Teton basin as far as the eye
can reach. To the north Jackson's Hole
and the Yellowstone Park beyond it can
be described. Snake River winds down
through its valley.
"On the topmost rock we planted the
metal flag of the Rocky Mountain Club
and in a copper box sunk in the stone
we inclosed the record of the ascent.
'@The descent was harder than tbs
ascent, because it was more risky. WI
had to rope off four places as a precau-
tionary measure, although really there
was but one place where lit was aibso-
| lu1tely necessary"
The Rocky Mountain Club was organ
ized in 1896 for the purpose Of exploring
| high and unknown noun aims and max
ing the ascent possible. Any man who
has climbed 1900 feet can become {;
member.
Almost as notable, If less thrilling. was
the ascent of Mount Evans by the Co
burn party, of which Mrs. Coburn wa:
one Of the most enthusiastic members
Mount Evans is one of Celorado's mos
. noted mountains, little above 1900 fee