The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-19
UNCoNQUEREDPEAKS
TWO OF THE sELEkIRKs MAY sUC-
 CUDIB THIS SUMMER.
Canadian Alpine Club Assemblies in British Columbia Early in July
 to Take Another Chance.
New York Tribune.

I SNeW IOEk 4IlUuu0.
 Early In July, when the Canadian Alpine Club assemblies at Glacier. Brit | ish Columbia. for its annual outing | the members who respond to the call | of the mountain peak will attempt to obtain fresh thrills and furnish new | oratorical simiies by essaying the con | quest of at least two of the uncon- l quered rnonarchs of the Selkirks. The knowledge that. there are unattained heights whose whitened. tagged heights rival those of the Swiss Alps in every | respect close to the border of the Uni ted States will be fresh to many an American who has almost come to be- lieve that only the summits of the Hlmalayas. rising Into the rareAed air of Central Asia. as bleak as the moun- tains of the moon, remain to be sur mounted.
 Four very prominent peaks. among a multitude of lesser ones in this region, are still virgin summits, although they have been attacked. They, are Mount Pinnacle which was attempted three times in one season, but without suc- cess; the north tower of Mount Good sire. Mount Douglas and Mount Sam ford. discovered two years ago by tri- angutation to be the highest of the Sel- kirks and the Mont Blanc of this sec ton. All are worthy of the ambition of the most skillful climbers.
 The base of Mount Sanford has never been approached nearer than twenty five miles. This mountain will be es- sayed by Benjamin S. Comstock of New York city. veteran Alpine climber. who has visited this region for six years. He will be accompanied by a companion and two Swiss guides. The start for the summit of the 11,000 foot peak will be made on July 10. It is bnlievsd Elaat it wili take at least ten days to perform the feat, if 1t is ac- complained. To reach the base the party will drop down the Columbia riv. or twenty-five miles in . canoe to the mouth of Green river. forty miles from the mountaih's- base. Up this stream they will push as far as possible be- fore each cling some of their food sup- plies and setting out on foot for the actual climb.
 An effort will be made by members of the club also to gurmount the flat topped turret of Mount Douglas, which rises to height of 1000 feet out of the glaciers. Last summer an unsuccess- ful attempt was made by members of the club to reach the crest of this tow CT of rock, 1i,000 feet above sea level.
 The train which bears the climbers into Glacier, will disgorge 6 quantity of baggage of a character that will de- fly the most energetic effort of the bag kdkG 5LIl1SuGIs AAACA~6OtCU buOObf 1LQQ- ded with nails like a castle door and smelling like an automobile or some other malodorous device. tough, ash- handled ice axes and thoroughly tested hempen ropes in bundles will be among the pieces of baggage Blung out of the doors of the cars.
 Mountain climbing. like other sports. calls for special paraphernalia. And like the follower of other sports, the experts have their own ideas as to what is what. The thickness of the soles. the kind and number of nails and the best kind of oil to use in con- nectlon with the footgear; the weight of the ropes and the best kind of knots and the balance of ice axes are all top les which may be depended upon to furnish as much excitement around the camp fire as the discussion of an anti gambling bill in the New York Legis- lature. Indeed, there Is more reason for having things just right in this sport than In many others, for life may be dependent upon the "correctness" of the paraph ernalia.
 A pair of properly nailed boots is considered to be the most important detail of a climbers outnt- They must be waterproof to their very tops Ev- cry nail must be driven with a nicety and individuality that amounts to an art. Care must be taken to see that the leather Is firm. enough to hold the nails after they have been driven, for 1t would be iuconvenient to have them come out when the wearer was part way up a rock face which contained only two-inch footholds. Nails are very important when they lie between the conquest of a mountain and precip- itation into a glorious panorama spread out few hundred feet below.
 The rope is considered of the next importance by the expert. The pseudo mountaineer, ambitious to be able to say that he has reached the summit of some welI-known peak, and dependent upon the pushing and pulling powers of guides in the accomplishment of his ambition. is likely to think 1t superior in rank to his footgear. The popular Idea of the use of the Alpine climbing rope, with It's strand of red, is some- times amusing. One yoluble young man at Zermatt was heard enlighten-