The Mountaineer 27 



was furnished at our temporary camp. Can any of us 

 ever forget the tremendous view from that isolated 

 rocky ridge, the sweep of the great, crevassed White 

 Glacier, the noblest ice river in the country, curving its 

 great length from the mountain heights to the valley 

 below, with rugged Little Tahoma cutting the sky-line 

 beyond, and far oflf, on the horizon. Mount Baker and 

 Glacier Peak? I can close my eyes and see that glori- 

 ous moonlight effect of the "night before'' silvering 

 everything, as I saw it sitting up in my sleeping bag 

 and looking across the glacier; and I can see also that 

 superb sea of cloud stretching around and beyond Ruth 

 Mountain, below us, "the morning after." Spray Park, 

 too — the most beautiful of the Rainier parks — pre- 

 sented a phase of the old mountain entirely new to me. 



I wonder how many have any idea of the propor- 

 tions of Rainier. Several years ago, standing on a sum- 

 mit of the Tatoosh Range, to the south, I made some eye 

 measurements. Here was a fine range, perhaps a dozen 

 miles in length, attaining about 7,500 feet above sea 

 level. Opposite loomed Rainier, with a base line as 

 great as, or greater than, the whole length of the range, 

 and rising to a height of 14,500 feet. Imagine the cubic 

 dimensions, ye materialists! If the whole Tatoosh 

 Range were broken up and spread over Rainier it would 

 be hardly noticed. 



The commanding proportions of Rainier as com- 

 pared with other snow peaks are particularly striking 

 viewed from the summit of Olympus; which reminds 

 me also that in the Olympics Washington has a gem. 

 W^hile not on a gigantic scale, judged by Alpine yard- 

 sticks, everything is clean, compact, perfect. Here are 

 unspoiled, magnificent woods; splendid hunting and 

 fishing ; fine streams, falls, and clean-cut rock canyons ; 

 and climbing, not unduly arduous, which offers a fine 

 variety of snow and rock work, with a constantly- 

 changing succession of beautiful views. Olympus from 



