Page:Du Faur - The Conquest of Mount Cook.djvu/325

Rh along a narrow arête for some distance and then began the descent. The first of it was steep and icy, and we began to wonder if we were any better off than on the rocks; it was very cold and the snow fell around us in thick flakes. When we had descended somewhat we found a good snow-filled couloir down which we were able to kick steps; then we traversed across to the middle of the north face, and were able to descend the rest of the way in a series of fine glissades which brought us back to the head névé of the Beathem in no time. The weather became thicker and thicker as we hurried on, just able to discern our footmarks of the morning for two steps ahead. The descent of the glacier is steep; and enveloped in fog as we were, I felt as if I was walking on the clouds. If I took my eyes off the only distinct object, Graham's boots a step ahead of me, I felt I was floating in space and somewhat giddy. Now and again a falling stone passed with a swish from above, or the ice gave an ominous crack from the depths of the fog, all of which added considerably to the uncanny feeling. Without our morning's footsteps to follow, we would have been in a bad way, as there was a good deal of broken ice to avoid. As it was, the marks were very faint, and sometimes we missed them and had to hunt about before we could recover the trail. Once we arrived at the icy slope leading to Malte Brun arête we were right, as our steps had been cut large and were easy to discern. We followed them up with all speed and reached the hut in safety at 5.30 p.m., quite pleased to have snatched a climb from such a doubtful day. The following day it snowed steadily, and there was nothing to do but wrap oneself up in blankets and wait events. The next morning it had cleared, and we set out at 6 a.m. for Elie de Beaumont. It was horribly cold, and I was not long in coming to the decision that winter climbing was of no use to me. About half-way up Elie de Beaumont we met an icy south-west wind which was blowing from the summit with considerable force. We were