Page:Mannering - With axe and rope in the New Zealand Alps.djvu/139

Rh the mountain-side offers cool refreshment to the weary swagger.

Friday morning, December 5, found us early astir, and making up swags of blanket-bags, tent, tinned meats, biscuits, chocolate, raisins, prunes, rice, oatmeal, Liebig's Extract, and all such necessaries as might ensure sustenance and a certain degree of comfort at a high bivouac. Seeing that our boots were well nailed, our ice-axes and snow-goggles in good order, we struck out across the Ball and Hochstetter Glaciers and reached the foot of our climb—the southern termination of the ridge of Mount Haast. Here we deposited a small supply of provisions as a standby, in case we should be driven back by bad weather or by some unforeseen cause.

The day was very warm, and as we toiled slowly up under the weight of our heavy swags (we were carrying enough provisions to last us for some days) the perspiration streamed from every pore, and the sun's rays seemed to penetrate with singular fierceness.

Soon we came to the lower termination of the new and unmelted winter snow in the couloirs or ditches between the rock ridges, and as the day advanced the hissing avalanches came down these slopes with increasing frequency, and falling stones and rocks now and again passed close by us. The snow being in such a loose and slushy condition it was imperative that we should avoid it as much as possible, but climb as we would we could not help occasionally crossing a snow-filled couloir, and this had to be accomplished with much celerity and caution.

Annan was particularly anxious concerning the