186 



THE MUSEUM 



field 100 yards in width The snow 

 Was so soft that we had no difficnhy 

 in walking over it. Then we came to 

 another rise of rock, from 300 to 400 

 feet in length and at a steep angle. 

 The rock terminated in another snow 

 bank at an angle of 30 degrees. In 

 single file we began to climb this, each 

 stepping in the footstep of the man 

 in front of him. When we reached 

 the saddle, between the Middle Teton 

 and the Grand Teton, we lay down 

 and rested for a few minutes Re- 

 freshed we started up to the saddle 

 between the west spur and the main 

 peak, a point as far as anyone had 

 ever gone before. Mr. Owen found 

 the can he left there in 1891, marking 

 the highest point man had ascended. 



"Ice was all around us. Our first 

 attempt to continue our journey was 

 up through an ice niche, but we dis- 

 covered there was no place to hold to. 

 We .were consequently forced to fol- 

 low a little gallery three feet wide up 

 to the north side. Naturally the 

 north side of any large and supposed- 

 ly inaccessible peak is thought to be 

 the hardest to climb. But the Mat- 

 terhorn, which I have climbed, is eas- 

 iest on the north side. So with the 

 Grand Teton. We decided to stick 

 to the north side, and cautiously made 

 our way along the gallery until the man 

 in front drew back with the remark 

 that it ended in a precipice that shot 

 down sheer 3,000 feet. 



"Below the gallery and jutting out 

 from the wall of rock were two large 

 slabs, probably six feet in length, 

 which had been sprung from the main 

 wall by the action of the ice and rain. 

 Behind these, after lowering ourselves 

 to them, we crawled along a distance 

 of twenty feet which brought us to a 

 little ledge under an overhanging rock. 

 The ledge was so narrow that we were 

 compelled to crawl. We encouraged 

 each other by keeping up a natural 

 conversation, but it was with an im- 

 mense feeling of relief that we crossed 

 the ledge and came to a sort of niche 

 with a small overhanging rock. 



"0\t r tli> we threw a ro(ie — an 

 action that ricjur d a C' " I bud steady 

 ner\e ami a 1 iietr\f. \\ f pulled f)ur- 

 selves up liiid i ut i \tr the 3.000 feet 

 below and continued on up the niche 

 about fift}- fett. It was so narrow 

 that we could use our feet, elbows 

 and knees. When we reached the 

 top we went L>n niioitei pallery for a 

 distance of nearl\' 2co feet toward 

 the west; then up to another ice niche; 

 in which we were forced to cut five 

 steps. It was sixty feet high and led 

 into a ledge. We followed a snow 

 ridge for 200 feet and then over the 

 sharp, jagged, eruptive rt.'cks, so no- 

 ticeable above timber line, and clam- 

 bered with a shout to the top. We 

 made it at 4 o'clock exactly. We had 

 been climbing fur nine hour.-. 



"I never saw such a view in my 

 life. From the top you look down 

 and see four canons, the Fox, Teton 

 and two others, all over 5,000 feet 

 deep, leading in all directions from 

 the peak on which you are standing. 

 To the west you look down into Teton 

 basin as far as the eye can reach To 

 the north Jackson's Hole and the Yel- 

 lowstone Park bejond it can be des- 

 cried. Snake River winds down 

 through its valley. 



"On the topmost rock we planted 

 the usual Hag of the Rocky Mountain 

 Club and in a copper box sunk in the 

 stone we inclosed a record of the 

 ascent. 



"The descent was harder than the 

 ascent, because it was more risky. 

 We had to rope off four places as a 

 precautionary measure, although real- 

 ly there was only one place where it 

 was absolutely necessary." 



The Rocky Mountain Club was or- 

 ganized in 1S96 for the purpose of ex- 

 ploring high and unknown mountains 

 and making the ascent possible. Any 

 man who has climbed 14,000 feet can 

 become a member. 



Almost as notable, if less thrilling, 

 was the ascent of Mount Evans by the 

 Coburn party, of which Mrs. Coburn 

 was one of the most enthusiastic mem- 



