The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-07-29
REACHES
THE TOP
Of Mt. Rainier After a
PeriiouS Climb.
An ENTHUSIAST FROM THE SeUTH
Dsproves the Story That Mountain
Top Had Become in
accessible.

Tacoma-For the first time in four
years Mount Rainier has been as
cended to the top, disproving the
widely circulated and oft repeated re
ports that avalanches and the erOsive
tendencies of water and snow had
swept away the paths around Gibral-
tar rock, and that the glacier at the
head of Gibraltar had groken off leav
ing a sheer precipice which was insur
mountable.
DR.. W. r. Belts, of New Orleans,
La, and H. M. Sarvant, secretary of
the Northwestern Woodenware com
pany OF Tacoma, are the two men who
made the ascent The circumstances
surrounding DR.. Bettss feat in max
ing the ascent are sensational. For
two years or more past he has been
reading in Seattle and Tacoma papers
which have reached him at New Or
leans that the mountain could NOT be
climbed, and while he had never seen
the mountain and knew little or moth
inng Of the west, he determined to
make the trip all the way to Wash
ingtOn for the sole purpose of climbing
to the top.
He had a letter of Introduction to
Mr.. Sarvant, and after a brief CORE
spOndence with him succeeded in in
teresting the latter in the endeavor
and several weeks ago DR.. Belts ar
ranged his business affairs in the
south and started for the coast. Ar
irving here, he met Mr.. Sarvant and
they made ready for the trip, leaving
Tacoma Wednesday, July Is. They
got to Elbe on the upper Nisqually
that night and the next afternoon
walked into the Longmire Springs
hotel.
Prepare for the Trip.
After a hasty meal they walked on
up the trail to Paradise valley, arriv
ing there and making camp on the
only spot clear of snow to be found.
which was a little knoll at the foot of
the declivity known as Camp of the
Clouds This was Thursday night.
July II.
Friday morning they went over to
the TatoOsh range, which forms the
southern rim Of Paradise valley, pass
ing Reflection lake on the way and
taking views of Mount Rainier and the
lake. Then turning their attention to
the beetling crags soaring above their
heads they climbed Pinnacle peak. and
found on the top tin box containing
the names of number of persons who
have preViOuly made the ascent A
magnificent view of Mount Rainier
was enjoyed, and several snap shots
| photographs of it were taken. In MAX
the descent, the men took a pcrilCus
! slide down a steep snow field for over
| half mile, but suffered no accident
| Saturday the men TOOK their packs
| and carried a supply of food up to
| Camp Muir in readiness for the at
| tempt to cross the ascent The snow
was deep crossing the steep snow
field up to Muir and the scalers would
often sink 10 their hips in it.
At $40 p. NJ last Sunday the two
men started from their camp in Para
disc valley to make the ascent They
arrived at Camp Muir and found their
food supply as they had left it, and
went into camp until daybreak, it be-
| ing then about II p. m. The weather
was bitter cold and a desolate wind
| was signing over the bleak rocks, and
the men found it impossible to sleep
any. Dawn began showing in the
east about 3:15 M, and simultane
ously the men heard the roaring of a
mighty avalanche, which seemed to
have its head near the summit of Peak
Success. For several minutes it
roared like battery Of artillery as it
plOwed its way down the sode of the
mountain on the far side Of and paral
lei to the Nisqually glacier. The
climbers arose, and, discarding all the
clothing they could spare and taking
nothing but their alpine stocks and
cameras, started up the Cleaver to the
foot Of Gibraltar. At the Beehive
which is a singular rock projecting
from the backbone of the Cleaver
about midway between Muir and the
foot of Gibraltar, they found that fall
ing rocks had completely carried away
the narrow ledge along which climbers
are compelled to find their way. and
hey had much difficulty in working
themselves around the rock to the
cliffs above.
PeriIous Ascent.
They reached the foot of Gibraltar
at $40 a. m. last Monday. AS they
passed around the rock on the ledge tt
he glaciers above they found that the
erOsive tendencies of the waters con
oined with falling rocks had carried
away every vestige of the ledge for &
distance of about 800 or 400 feet. anC
hey experienced great difficulty ant
underwent much peril in clinging tc
he rocks and working their way along
It's surface. This was the only part OF
the ascent in which they used a rope
he men tying to the sharp rocks anC
working along it. At the point where
he rock is left for the glacier, the