Page:Canadian Alpine Journal I, 2.djvu/47

Rh as if just aware of our presence and indignant at our audacity, directed its rays against the gap. It did not start the snow, but it started beads of honest toil. A snow flurry in camp and the biting air on Temple had inspired me with the precaution of extra heavy clothing, and before we made the skyline, I was ready to halt and take my chances with an avalanche.

It seems a misnomer to call the gap between Lefroy and Victoria a pass. Higher than the average snow peak, a precipitious slope on either side, we stood on the knife-edge of the pass, caught our breath and lost it again as we gazed down the other slope. We looked into chaotic grandeur, snow and rock everywhere in an endless uplift. Reluctantly we commenced the descent, fortune again favoring us as the slope in places permitted cautious sliding, and before we realized it we were down the narrow funnel and on the ridge that jutted out from the main wall. Here someone suggested lunch, and the suggestion meeting with favor, we selected a place where we could take in the view and enjoy a sun-bath as well. The rocks, though a rather hard resting place, were a welcome relief from the snow, lack of water being the only drawback. Above us towered Lefroy, further to the left rose Mt. Yukness, and below, at the base of glaciers and snow-fields, we could see Lake Oeesa, its ice-covered surface making the water seem black by contrast. The lake is seldom free from ice on account of its elevation.

After a brief rest and the inner man appeased, we made our way down the ledges and then down a talus or rock-slide above Oeesa. Here we caught a glimpse of Lake O'Hara in the valley below. Following down the bed of the valley for several miles, we suddenly came out on the rim of a rock-wall and below us saw the lake, its mirror-like surface reflecting the snow peaks surrounding it.