MOUNT RAINIER 



by bosses of rock over which the glacier flows. These 

 domes are broken by radiating crevasses which inter- 

 sect in their central portions, leaving pillars and castle- 

 like masses of snow with vertical sides. At one locality, 

 in attempting to pass between two of these shattered 

 domes, we found our way blocked by an impassable 

 crevasse. Considerable time was lost in searching for 

 a practicable upward route, but at length, by making 

 a detour to the right, we found a way which, although 

 steep, allowed us to pass the much crevassed area and 

 gain the sharp ridge of rock which divides the neve 

 snow flowing from the central dome of the moun- 

 tain, and marks the separation between Winthrop and 

 Emmons glaciers. This prow-like promontory, ris- 

 ing some 500 feet above the glaciers on either hand, 

 we named The Wedge. This is the upward pointing, 

 acute angle of a great V-shaped portion of the lower 

 slope of the mountain, left in bold relief by the erosion 

 of the valleys on either side. As will be described 

 later, there are several of these remnants about the 

 sides of the mountain at the same general horizon, 

 which record a somewhat definite stage in the destruc- 

 tion of the mountain by ice erosion. 



On reaching The Wedge we found it an utterly deso- 

 late rocky cape in a sea of snow. We were at an al- 

 titude of about 10,000 feet, and far above timber. 

 Water was obtained by spreading snow on smooth 

 rocks or on rubber sheets, and allowing it to melt by 

 the heat of the afternoon sun. Coffee was prepared 

 over the alcohol lamp, sheltered from the wind by a 

 bed sheet supported by alpenstocks. After a frugal 

 lunch, we made shelf-like ledges in a steep slope of 

 earth and stones and laid down our blankets for the 

 night. From sheltered nooks amid the rocks, exposed 

 to the full warmth of the declining sun, we had the icy 

 slopes of the main central dome of the mountain in full 

 view and chose what seemed the most favorable route 

 for the morrow's climb. 



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