A WOMAN'S: CEIMiso Liv 
“ary 
Lak, HIGH ALPS 649 
OUR ROUTE DOWN FROM THE TOP OF THE RIMPFISCHHORN 
It can be traced on the snow to the guide, who is holding the rope for the descent of a 
caravan ahead. On the rocks over his head is the base cabin of Monte Rosa, reached 11% 
hours later, for the 13!4-hour ascent the next day. 
another point we had to climb around a 
bulging rock that projected over a preci- 
pice of at least 2,000 feet. 
BAD WEATHER INTERFERES 
The Rothorn was my initial first-class 
peak. I was to start for the Matterhorn 
the very day after, a week after reach- 
ing the mountains, but I was too late. 
Hard rain below—which means deep, 
fresh snow above—suspended all climb- 
ing for three days, and for the next 
three weeks there were never enough 
/, 
Photo by Dora Keen. 
consecutive days of sun to melt the snow 
on this high peak. 
With so much snow on it, none of the 
guides would attempt the Matterhorn, 
for, aside from the danger of slipping 
on such steep slopes, the labor of cutting 
the many steps over the snow to such a 
height is enormous, and the time re- 
quired to cut them would so prolong the 
ascent that the caravane might not get 
down by daylight, and might be frozen 
to death on the mountain. 
As I was preparing for the long strain 
