pp:aks and passks :^7n 



tluTc w;is iio siidi opiioii. Tlic riitirc f;i('0 wliidi was 

 tunii'tl tti\\;n\ls us coiisislotl of ice and snow, soinc ol' il 

 ill siuooili s]o])os at tli(^ liiu'lu^st nii^l(> coiisislciil witli 

 sial>ilil\': ami a'jaiii. wIhtc llic nicks liciicatli were loo 

 .steep to hold a coiil iiiiious l)e(l. there were elill's ol" ice of 

 lliat ])carl\' iiliie whu'h denotes I'eecMiI fracture, and liclow 

 these, the slopc-s of oldei' and dirtier snow were scored with 

 long wliite lines i)y the frtMnicMt a\alanclics. Il was clear 

 that to a\'oid t hen- daiiu'erous lra(d\, we sli<_>uld liedri\en to 

 ascend some rather puzzling places. 



AVe each of us rose from the usual discussion which 

 takc> place on these occasions, willi the linn conviction 

 that he aloni' held the correct clue to the labyi'intli. hut l>v 

 niiiiual consent, we left the guides to decide, and, hy wa\' 

 of pi'.ict ising our muscles for the g^'mnastics hcfoi'e us, 

 plax'cd ;i iiintch of cricket on the >kitl le-ground, using a 

 \ouiig lir-treeaiid a slsittle liall, iiiitil a, gigantic leg hit 

 of Macdoiiald's wliicli he landed somewhere in the direction 

 (pf the (llaciei' des IJossons, and wliieli ]\o refus(^d to fiehl 

 himself, sto})ped ail further J'lay. 



PresentK". i>ur men approached us. luit tlieir faces did 

 not express contidence. They thought there would !••• 

 much >tep-cutting, w hieh was indeed oli\ious, and that the 

 summit could har<llv he reached under twcKc hours with 

 favourahle weather: an estimate. 1)\- the wa^■. which 

 proved inade(|uate. ( )t the dilliculties which we miglit 

 encounter 1)e\-(ind it. we had no means of iudo'ino;. 



W itli this prospect, we determiiieil to walk through the 

 greater pari of the night, so as to reserve the full comple- 

 ment of daylight hours Inr the unkiiown trials of the route. 

 It is not easy to sup at six. an«l eat again— I was going to 



