GLACIERS OF MOUNT RAINIER 



of its mass is supplied by the wind, and accumulates 

 in the lee of the high ridge to the west, over which the 

 route to Camp Muir and Gibraltar Rock is laid. The 

 westerly gales keep this ridge almost bare of snow, 

 permitting only a few drifts to lodge in sheltered de- 

 pressions. But east of the ridge there are great eddies 

 in which the snow forms long, smooth slopes that de- 

 scend several hundred feet to the main body of the 

 glacier. These slopes are particularly inviting to tour- 

 ists for the delightful "glissades" which they afford. 

 Sitting down on the hard snow at the head of such a 

 slope, one may indulge in an exhilarating glide of amaz- 

 ing swiftness, landing at last safely on the level snows 

 beneath. 



The generally smooth and united surface of the 

 Paradise Glacier, it may be added, contributes not 

 a little to its attractiveness as a field for alpine sports. 

 On it one may roam at will without apprehension of 

 lurking peril ; indeed one can journey across its entire 

 width, from Paradise Park to the Cowlitz Rocks, 

 without encountering a single dangerous fissure. This 

 general absence of crevasses is accounted for largely 

 by the evenness of the glacier's bed and by its hollow 

 shape, owing to which the snows on all sides press 

 inward and compact the mass in the center. Only 

 toward its frontal margin, where the glacier plunges 

 over an abrupt rock step, as well as in the hump of that 

 part known as Stevens Glacier, is the ice rent by long 

 crevasses and broken into narrow blades. Here it 

 may be wise for the inexperienced not to venture with- 

 out a competent guide, for the footing is apt to be 

 treacherous, and jumping over crevasses or crossing 

 them by frail snow bridges are feats never accomplished 

 without risk. 



In the early part of summer the Paradise Glacier 

 has the appearance of a vast, unbroken snow field, 

 blazing, immaculate, in the sun. But later, as the 

 fresh snows melt away from its surface, grayish patches 



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