A NEAK VIEW OF THE HIGH SIEKRA 71 



able, and the head of a glacier that flows north 

 east came in sight, which I determined to follow as 

 far as possible, hoping thus to make my way to 

 the foot of the peak on the east side, and thence 

 across the intervening canons and ridges to camp. 



The inclination of the glacier is quite moderate 

 at the head, and, as the sun had softened the neve, 

 I made safe and rapid progress, running and sliding, 

 and keeping up a sharp outlook for crevasses. 

 About half a mile from the head, there is an ice- 

 cascade, where the glacier pours over a sharp de 

 clivity and is shattered into massive blocks sepa 

 rated by deep, blue fissures. To thread my way 

 through the slippery mazes of this crevassed por 

 tion seemed impossible, and I endeavored to avoid 

 it by climbing off to the shoulder of the mountain. 

 But the slopes rapidly steepened and at length fell 

 away in sheer precipices, compelling a return to the 

 ice. Fortunately, the day had been warm enough 

 to loosen the ice-crystals so as to admit of hollows 

 being dug in the rotten portions of the blocks, thus 

 enabling me to pick my way with far less difficulty 

 than I had anticipated. Continuing down over the 

 snout, and along the left lateral moraine, was only 

 a confident saunter, showing that the ascent of the 

 mountain by way of this glacier is easy, provided 

 one is armed with an ax to cut steps here and there. 



The lower end of the glacier was beautifully 

 waved and barred by the outcropping edges of the 

 bedded ice-layers which represent the annual snow 

 falls, and to some extent the irregularities of struc 

 ture caused by the weathering of the walls of cre 

 vasses, and by separate snowfalls which have been 



