Page:My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus.djvu/195

158 had two ropes on, and carelessly untying her, I let the end slip, thinking that the other end of it was round my own waist. Unluckily it was the rope connecting her with Slingsby, and my carelessness thus cut him off from us. In consequence, the axes, camera, and other baggage, could not be hauled up direct from the col, but had to be carried round to the "take off," to which alone my rope could be lowered.

These rocks are, at the best, none too easy, and for a very heavily-laden man are hardly practicable. However, Slingsby proved equal to the difficulty, and in some extraordinary way managed to carry the piled-up baggage, including my coat, to the ledge below the crack. When the whole mass was duly tied on to the rope, and I had to pull it up, I was a good deal impressed with the weight.

The next stage in the ascent is usually easy, and I took the knapsack and proceeded to attack it, but on reaching the little gully that leads up to the "Kanones Loch," I found it plastered with ice. The walls are so narrow, and the gully itself is so precipitous, that it is scarcely possible to use the axe with effect, and I found the knapsack must be discarded. Free from its encumbrance, the obstacle was overcome, and stepping through the hole I reached glorious sunshine. The knapsack and other luggage were then hauled up, and the rest of the party followed. The ice-glazed ledges and