The Mountaineer on 
The return of two men who had climbed Middle Peak of Olympus 
that day to reconnoitre our route, cast a slight shadow of discourage- 
ment over our hopeful band. The climb had proved unexpectedly irk- 
some, a heart-breaking course over steep, soft snow with the hot sun 
beating unmercifully upon them from the moment of its rising. More- 
over, a fall of rock on the northern face of the Middle Peak had ren- 
dered the West Peak inaccessible, in our leader’s judgment, from our 
intended point of attack. 
However, dinner time found dismal forebodings forgotten, and a 
short round of story telling at the camp-fire afterwards sent us all 
cheerfully to bed. By dusk the fireside was deserted, save for the 
leaders and captains of the climb who lngered for half an hour to 
diseuss final arrangements and draw up the lists and order of the 
companies. 
By firelight we breakfasted and in the early dawn sixty-seven of 
us formed in line. An elk trail, striking southward from camp, led 
us down a precipitous canyon wall to a glacier stream, which we crossed 
and followed nearly to its source. Crossing again a little below the 
terminal moraine, we started up the snowfield north of the Humes 
Glacier. Greatly to our relief the snow was in excellent condition, 
firm and hard in spite of the unusual warmth of the preceding day 
and night. The morning had dawned elear, but the sky was now 
rapidly becoming overcast. About timberline we swung from the snow- 
field across a rock ridge and down upon the Humes Glacier. Winding 
among crevasses, we made our way to the wide snowfields covering the 
glacier’s upper reaches. Here again we could walk abreast, though 
still preserving company formation, and make good time up to the 
island of rock near the glacier’s head, our first resting place. 
It was still early morning, hardly eight o’clock, but as we rested 
and filled our cups at the tiny trickling streams, many lunch-bags were 
opened and toll taken of the good things therein contained. With the 
inner man refreshed, the eye took more conscious note of the panorama 
unfolding before us, widening, near-by ranges, distant peaks, tints of 
copper and pearl in the cloudy sky above. 
Soon we were on the march again, in single file, up the steep snow 
to Blizzard Pass, the divide between the Humes Glacier and the Hoh. 
Mount Rainier was now in view, gleaming through the morning mist in 
indescribable splendor of light and beauty. 
To reach the Hoh Glacier, over which the final ascent was made, 
meant a grievous loss of elevation, about seven hundred feet, and some 
of the steepest snow and ice work of the day. The snow rounded so 
abruptly from the summit of Blizzard Pass that standing there we 
could not see the slope by which we were to descend. Before Company 
D could round the summit Company A was lost to sight. But the 
footing was still good, and with captains posted below the lines to keep 
