Page:The Selkirk mountains (1912).djvu/106

92 House. (1) Take the trail to the Illecillewaet Glacier and turn up the branch trail near the terminal moraine leading along the torrent from Vaux Glacier to the foot of the left lateral moraine; follow this moraine and glacier to the foot of the south-west wall which ascend to the south-east arête that leads to the summit.

Time required: 7 hours.

(2) Instead of taking the branch trail, continue to the foot of the Illecillewaet Glacier; ascend the right lateral moraine and rock along the north edge of the icefall to Perley Rock; now follow the névé north-easterly to the south-west wall, whence the ascent is as in route (1).

Time required: The Leprince Ringuet party occupied 12 hours. (3) Take the Illecillewaet Glacier trail to the watercourse below the Overlook, follow to the rear oi the Overlook, cross the snow-field to the col, and ascend by the north-west arete.

Time required: The Tewes party occupied 11 hours and 40 minutes.

Climb: Mt. Sir Donald is the most popular ascent from Glacier House and furnishes a splendid rock climb, varied in each route by ice and snow over the initial stages. While the north-west arête is the most difficult route, that by the Vaux Glacier was, until lately, the most interesting owing to a shallow couloir subject to volleys of falling stones, that had to be crossed willy-nilly. It can now be avoided by taking a rather difficult but not dangerous chimney discovered in 1909. The Leprince Ringuet route offers a distinctly diflBcult and dangerous piece of work where the south-west and southeast arêtes meet in the east corner of the cirque of the Vaux Glacier. This route has only once been attempted successfully, and unless very skilful in mountain work, two guides are necessary. On the northwest arête also two guides are required. On the stock route by the Vaux Glacier and south-west face, one guide to each novice is necessary. The mountain is subject to climatic conditions, and electric storms occur frequently. In short, it is a rendezvous for all the storms of its vicinity. Climbers may experience thrilling sensations when the rocks begin to buzz and the ice-axes to hum with electricity. The bergschrund at the base of the south-west wall is a variable quantity, during some seasons being a simple proposition and at others a very difficult and well nigh unsurmountable one. Notwithstanding, several ascents are made every year, often by novices; and, since the conquest in 1890, Sir Donald has been climbed fifty or sixty times, an appreciable number of climbers being ladies. (1911).

View: From its height and isolated position, the peak of Sir Donald commands extensive and superb views in every direction, indeed to ascend Sir Donald is only to "taste blood," so many glaciers and snowy ranges of the Selkirks are spread out before the climber. On the other hand, looking from Glacier House the mountain itself is a superb sight. It is stupendous in its influence, dominating the visitor. Wherever you wander through the thick woods or in the open places about the hotel, you are aware of the mountain's presence. On clear and sunny days, its sharp, grey pyramid pierces the soft azure sky, the azure showing deeper against the grey: high up on the face of its shoulder is packed the glacier whose thick wall shows icy-clear and vertical, while its lower left shoulder is clad with rich