of 



altitude of nine thousand, was immersed in 

 cloud, though at times it was one hundred feet 

 or so below it. Fully satisfied of the widespread 

 and general nature of the storm, and convinced 

 of the comparatively level line of the bottom 

 surface of the cloud, I determined to measure 

 its vertical depth and observe its slow move- 

 ments by climbing above its silver lining. This 

 was the third day of the storm. On snowshoes 

 up the mountainside I went through this almost 

 opaque sheep's- wool cloud. It was not bitterly 

 cold, but cloud and snow combined were blind- 

 ing, and only a ravine and instinct enabled me 

 to make my way. 



At an altitude of about twelve thousand feet 

 the depth of the snow became suddenly less, 

 soon falling to only an inch or so. Within a few 

 rods of where it began to grow shallow I burst 

 through the upper surface of the cloud. Around 

 me and above there was not a flake of snow. 

 Over the entire storm-area of a quarter of a 

 million square miles, all heights above twelve 

 thousand had escaped both cloud and snow. 

 The cloud, which thus lay between the altitudes 



82 



