Chapter \'I. 



proceeded witli tln-ir t'aoes tunit'd to tln^ \v;dl, ]ilaciii<;' tlnMi- 

 feet witli eautiuii in the wide steps wliicli Petigax cut in tlie 

 snow, wliicli was t'ortiuiatelv liard and hore tlieni widl. 



The col is a narrow strip of ice between two w itle crevasses 

 {liciyscjirtiud) : these crevasses pass fi-oni (inc peak to another 

 without a single bridge. It was inxpo.ssible to turn to the right 

 or to the left ; tliey could only go straight forward to the ice 

 waH. wliich thev could bai'ely make out through the mist. 



Where the slojje connnenced to become steep they put down 

 the-ir rucksacks and otlier Tuinece.ssary impedimenta, and Petigax 

 set to work again. They soon stood nearly vertically one above 

 the other, climbing slowlv bv tlie steep steps whicli Petigax cut 

 in the ice wall, showering down a hail of snow and ice upon the 

 otliers. Below them the wall was almost immediately swallowed 

 up in tlie mist, so that they seemed suspended over a bottondess 

 aljvss. 



In tliis way thev reached the V)ottoni of tlie cornice wliere 

 the pendant icicles, joining the njtrigiit ice needles, formed 

 a colonnade as thick as tlie trees in a forest, u])on wliich 

 rested tlie heavy snow-dome wlio.se solidity «'as open to doubt. 

 Tlie effect seen throtigh the mist was strange and weird. In 

 their insecure position, liolding fast to the steep slope, thev had 

 to climb around the ice columns to reach tlie point where the 

 cornice jutted out from tlie ice wall in order to find a pa.s.sage. 

 This passage they found in a cleft of tlie cornice which formed 

 a narrow vertical g-ully some six feet hiuh. ( )llier, standinp- 

 firmly upon a wide step, served as a ladder for Petigax, who 

 climbed on his shoulders and then ujion his head, with his heavy 

 nailed boots, and stuck his ice-axe tirnilv in the snow above the 

 cornice. In this way he hoisted himself on to the top. It was 

 easy enough for the others to join him. The ridge was now 



18i' 



