The Washington times., 1901-07-07
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beauty it hid behind a stately pyramid
that looks down on hot Tipuani, ana
the deep, damp valleys, whose streams
roll over Ungathered gold, and whose
banks bear countless rubber trees OF
the finest quality in the world. But
the moon was not 70 help US; IN ieW
minutes IL had passed behind thlck
clouds and all its light was blotted
Thus about a. m. in absolute
night we approached the base OF
Ancohuma's s final peak We had ar
rived too soon, for in the enVeioplng
night even the main features OF the
great face Of snow that rose ABOVE US
with an appalling and unantlclpaIeu
stcepnesS could not be distinguished
IL was too cold for halt OF hesitation.
All we could do was to make Tor the
foot of what, if our memory OF the
previous inspection were correct:
should be Il long, unbroken str1p OF
snow leading far up. In what DIM
culties it might involve US above we
had no notion at all. During the last
hour the condition of the snow had
altered for the worse. Near camp II
had been hard as rock hlBher up
came a softer substance. Here at tle
foot of the peak il was IKE HouF'
each granule of ice so hard frozen
that il 'disdained its brother. We re-
called the upper levels OF illlrnaill
with regret The storms of the last
fortnight had left traces not quickly
to be obliterated Quantities OF new
snow had fallen. and, as mlschancsu.
the form of Ancohuma had caused II
to drift round ana accumulate Win
special thickness exactly on the slope
we were about to climb. Perhaps that
slope owes its existence to the tact
that il is habitually renewed and IN
creased by an eddied snowdrlft.
The moment we started up the
sIone we realized that the work we
had done was child's play to what was
to come No amount OF treaolhg
would make the snow bind. II poured
over the feet and about the legs IKE
sand How il maintained ITS position
at all on the steep incline was mys-
terY small provocatlon would eN-
iGently start the whole mass SlidlnS
in a mighty avalanche To avoid TINS
danger it was essential to mount IN a
directly upward line. Any incline TO
right or left would have drawn a fur-
row across the slope and thus almost
Inevitably have started an aValahche.
Straight W, therefore, We went, no
easing ZigZagS possible. We sank IN
at first to the knee, presently to the
waist People often talk vaguely OF
walking through snow waistdeep Of
course il is impossible to advance Al
all If YOU sink in up to the waist,
for thus buried. the leg could not be
withdrawn and advanced for step.
The deepest snow You can Walk
through on level place or gentle
slope is half-thigh deep. Beyond that
you must roll, as We discovered IN
Spitzbercen. When l say We sank IN
as far as the waist. / am referring to
conditions on a steep slope. where the
broken edge Of the snow in front OF.
each man came level with his waist.
or even his chest Behind him. of
course. the step was open. To take
another step the snow in front had to
be beaten down. and then trodden,
and trodden and trodden again before
il was firm enough TO bear. When
the next man came to il 1t was all
smothered in white powder, and had
10 be beaten and trodden afresh.'
Altogether, this account of regions
wholly unfamiliar to the general reader
is likely to prove fascinating. New
York: Harper and Bros. s. O0)