beneath him, and down the smooth, deadly 

 steep he plunged. 



Early in guiding I had considered the danger- 

 ous places and planned just where to stand while 

 the climbers passed them and just what to do in 

 case of accident. When an accident actually 

 occurred, it was a simple matter to go through a 

 ticklish grand-stand performance that had been 

 practiced dozens of times, and which for years 

 I had been ready to put into effect. The instant 

 he slipped, I made a quick leap for a point of 

 rock that barely pierced the steep ice-tongue. 

 This ice was steeper than half pitch. He shot 

 down, clawing desperately and helplessly, with 

 momentum sufficient to knock over half a dozen 

 men. There was just time to grab him by the 

 coat as he shot by the rock. Bracing with all 

 my might to hold him for a fraction of a second 

 so as to divert him and point him at an angle 

 off the ice, I jumped upward as the violent jerk 

 came. We went off as it were on a tangent, and 

 landed in a heap upon the stones, several yards 

 below the spot from which I had leaped to the 

 rescue. His life was saved. 



i6 



