Page:Canadian Alpine Journal I, 2.djvu/35

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Sir Donald, one of the most conspicuous of the Selkirks by its height and position, rises at the side of the little valley in which stands the Glacier House. On its left it is buttressed by four noble peaks, and on its right the big Illecillewaet Glacier comes tumbling down four thousand feet, a mighty cataract of ice, a mile wide. Its sharp pyramid, rising to the height of 10,808 feet, is so steep that little snow can rest on its surface, but in its lap it holds a living glacier. In actual height it is overtopped by some mountains that are oftener climbed, but in elevation above any convenient starting point it considerably surpasses them. Add to this fact its excessive steepness, the difficulty of crossing its bergschund, and the danger from falling rock, and you have the ex- planation of the infrequency of its ascent. Only two ascents were made, I think, in 1905, and after the first in 1906 the guides were very loath to try it again that season. So when I reached Glacier House near the end of July, 1907, after a week in Paradise Valley with the Alpine Club of Canada, I had little hope of realizing my ambition to climb it. But when I hailed the elder Feuz on the subject he at once consented to try it with me. At the same time Miss Jean Parker, of Winnipeg, one of the practiced climbers of the Canadian Alpine Club, engaged the younger Feuz to go with her. So we fixed an early day for the climb, July 26th. The day before was an ideal one for the task, and we wished we had chosen it. But when at 3.30 o'clock the next morning we four met for an early breakfast, the clouds