Page:Canadian Alpine Journal I, 1.djvu/127

82 At last Christian gave the signal that I was to follow, first cautioning me most earnestly not to knock any rocks down on his brother Hans, for a slight mishap to any member of the party in a position like ours might mean a catastrophe for all. A short space of breathless effort, a strong pull on the rope from Christian, and I stood by his side at the top of the chimney. Then, slowly and carefully, Hans made his way up and joined us.

Above us we could see a smooth, steep slope leading to the final summit arête. This slope consisted of snow, covering treacherous rock, but, thus early in the morning and while in shadow, it was in fine condition, and we made our way easily to the great shoulder of the mountain just under the final peak and almost overhanging Paradise valley. On this shoulder, a second breakfast was eaten, and we anxiously studied the route that we must follow. The summit was only a few hundred feet above us, but the arete, broken by vertical cliffs at this point, was impossible to scale. We had only one alternative left, to make an exciting traverse over a tremendously steep snow-slope at the base of these cliffs, and so reach the final cone.

We did not discuss the possible dangers of such a course, but cautiously made our way beneath the cliffs, turned a most sensational corner almost in mid-air above Paradise valley, and then scaled a nearly perpendicular cliff by means of a convenient crack. We were now on the arete but a very short distance from the summit. Only one more difficulty confronted us: a narrow "gabel," or break in the arête, only a few feet in width, it is true, but with a nearly sheer descent of thousands of feet on either side. This gabel must be crossed to reach the summit. The arete was far too narrow to allow a jump being made with safety; so, slowly and carefully, while firmly grasping the rock on one side. Christian thrust his feet forward until they