Page:Canadian Alpine Journal I, 2.djvu/167

Rh by a series of steps made by the feet of the preceding parties. At the end of this crevice we found ourselves, as it were, on the roof of the mountain. We were, however, not on the summit, which we saw to the left at the end of a narrow snow-covered crest. Up this crest we worked for some time, keeping at a respectful distance from its precipitous sides, and before long reached our goal, the cairn marking the top of the mountain. We were Active Members of the Alpine Club of Canada.

It was now almost twelve o'clock and the thoughtful guide took off his rucksack and brought out nine substantial lunches, the work of our friend Mock Turtle. The only drawback to our enjoyment was the lack of drinkables. Some of the party attempted sandwiches of snow and bread and jam, but with doubtful success. After lunch and a short rest we began the descent, not along the snow ridge, but straight over the mountain side, down the back stairs, as it were, the stairs consisting of a peculiarly long and irritating slope of shale. Besides the usual irresponsibility of this loose rock, it occasionally overlay smooth slopes of the firm variety, and several exciting slides added interest to the descent. Finally to our relief we arrived at an oasis of firm rock. Stopping here for a rest we were soon joined by the second party, and then prepared for the most exciting and most enjoyable part of the whole trip.

Below us was a long, smooth slope of snow extending, as our guide said, for nearly 3,000 feet. This we were to travel by the simple process of glissading. Glissading is, roughly speaking, tobogganing without a toboggan. The glissader simply sits down, put his feet firmly together in front of him, draws a long breath, and starts, guiding his way with alpenstock held firmly under the arm. As one who knows, I should like to say, that the only safe fromform [sic] of glissading is "independent firing." On this occasion we were beguiled into