River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-03-10

iLg expedition. The party forced its
way to the height of $500 feet, and
it was then decided to turn back
Palmer, who is an intrepid climber,
was 10th to give up the ascent, and
he started out alone one morning to
go as far as he could, and he reached
the height of $500 feet unassisted.
Climbing an ice-clad mountain alone
is dangerous business and Palmer
knew 1t would be senseless for him to
venture further because of the treach-
erous footing, but he is of the opin-
ion that If he had had another mar
with him he could have reached the
top that day. In making ascents Of
ice-clad reaches climbers travel in
pairs. One will secure a firm foot
hold in the ice while the other at the
end Of a 40-foot rope will venture
farther up.
The most interesting phase Of the
landscape is the multitude Of glaciers
that stretch out in unending beauty,
and the large number and various for
nations of the glaciers gave ample
opportunity to the party for study.
The glaciers reach down below the
snow line, sometimes $500 feet below.
They are Of pasty texture and move
about Is inches in day in the mid
die and even more slowly along the
sides.
There are all kinds of weather mag
Unable in the Selkirks and it runs to
extremes, too. During the winter there
Is fall of 25 to 40 feet of snow, and
it Is well along in the summer before
the snow disappears from the sides Of
the peaks. It never leaves the tops
of them. The weather in summer Is
very changeable. Palmer says that
he has seen days when there would
be a half dozen severe downpours of
rain, with an entire clear expanse of
blue sky appearing between each pre-
cipitation.
The entire country is series of
abrupt rises and falls, with deep "
shaped valleys and A-shaped peaks,
and many of the cliffs are impossible.
AS one blazes his way slowly through
the unprecedented land all that he
hears are the voices of nature, the
water roaring through a canyon below
him, the musical trickling of noun
tain stream as it glistens on it's way
down some peakside like a little
stream Of oil, the cracking of the
glaciers or the sudden crash of fall
ing serack, or great body of ice. By
all of these the traveller is Impressed
either with the simple beauty or the
imposing grandeur of nature, and it is
hard to turn ones back upon 1t and
face the abode of civilization again.
In the party there were five pack
ers, cooks and woodchoppers. The
woodsmen went ahead to clear the
trail and the packers carried packs
each weighing from so to rs pounds,
containing supplies. An aluminium
cooking outfit was carried and the
party slept under tent seven by nine
feet, made Of silk and weighing only
ten pounds.
The menu was made up from the
supply of bacon, beans, tea, flour,
dried fruits and pea meal The last Is
what Is used in the German army and
when made into soup is very nutri-
tious. A large supply of sugar was
carried, also, for this Is extremely
nutritious. Sugar is used plentifully
in about everything, particularly in
the tea. The beans are rebaked and
eaten in large quantities. In the morn
ing there was a meal consisting of
heavy round of beans, fapjacks and
tea. At night there was pea soup and
fapjacks and dried fruit. There was
not much variation to this bill of
fare, but in that country and atmos-
phere anything tastes good.
The party camped on the side OF
Mount Sanford for six days, while the
accommodating was in progress, the
highest camp being at 5000 feet. Only
five days were consumed in returning
to the base camp, whereas IL days
were taken in coming.
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