Page:My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus (1908).djvu/265

Rh it marked the limit of some early exploring party, and dated from the time when the Verte was still an unclimbed peak.

Almost immediately after this the work became more serious. I tried a turning movement on the left, and was soon brought to the opinion that if another way was available it would be desirable to use it. Whilst extricating myself from these difficulties, Collie led round to the right, and after a short struggle stormed the obstruction. A few yards further we were pulled up by a precipitous step, which could not be turned, and which defied all unaided efforts. Hastings, however, 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 hand-hold 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