Page:My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus.djvu/264

Rh Burgener to alight on. Owing to his greater girth he found he could not squeeze so far down the crevasse as I had been able to do, and had, in consequence, a longer jump to make. However, he landed in the neatest way possible, and we went along the knife-edge to the extreme end of the sérac. There was still a drop of at least forty feet before we could reach the open glacier, and we turned to the crevasse between the sérac and the ice cliff to help us down. Whereas the first crevasse had been too narrow for comfort, this erred in the opposite direction, and the first ten feet had to be descended by cutting steps and hand-holds. It then became possible to reach the opposing wall with one's head, and descent could once more be made with reasonable facility. Beaching the level of the glacier, a long sideways jump landed me on the open snow, and our troubles were over. Without wasting time—for the passage of the Bergschrund had cost us two hours' work, and it was now six o'clock—we raced down to the Couvercle as fast as our legs would carry us. We reached that desired haven in ten minutes! It is needless to say that in those places where we could not glissade, we ran at our top speed. The excitement of the climb being over, a rapid increase in the decorum of our march took place, and on each of the moraines of the Mer de Glace we found it desirable to rearrange the luggage, contemplate the