Page:My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus.djvu/284

Rh, lifted me bodily upwards till I could get a grip on the top of the block, and after a few spasmodic struggles, I was able to reach firm footing. This sort of thing then continued for some time.

One delightful little traverse is, however, worth recording. A great gendarme barring direct assault, we turned over on to the Charpoua face. Above our heads a mass of overhanging rock prevented the adoption of any decorous or upright attitude, and we were forced to wriggle, wormlike, along an outward-shelving ledge. At the end of this it was possible to regain a normal posture, but this advantage was more than compensated by the necessity of abandoning all handhold and making a long stride across an ugly gap on to a narrow, ice-glazed, sloping rock. It was not difficult to do, but I find in such places that the mind is apt to dwell unpleasantly on the probable consequences of any trifling error or lack of balance. Safely over, I found myself at the bottom of a precipitous tower, plastered and piled up with snow and ice. Direct ascent was out of the question, but by craning one's neck round the tower a ledge, partly rock and partly ice, could be seen running round the head of a great gully that falls away towards the Charpoua glacier. To reach this shelf it was necessary to traverse the snow-plastered face of the tower. Happily, Hastings found a hitch for the rope, and relying