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the extreme difficulty of some of the climbs, many of which, over 

 o-laciers and rocks covered with frozen snow, have to be made in the 

 darkness in order to reach the appointed ground by daybreak. 

 Should the weather become stormy, wind, snow, or mist spoiling the 



THE START FOR THE HUTS 



sport, they have orders to return quietly to their homes without in 

 any way disturbing the game. For a successful beat it was essential 

 that the beaters, climbing from the opposite side, should reach the 

 summit simultaneously, so as to compel the ibex to descend by the 

 gully near which the King was posted, and where he had sometimes 

 to wait as long as eight hours behind the stones heaped up in order 



