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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ical of the ordinary landslides, but in- 

 stead is covered in many places by regu- 

 lar, steep-sided, conical piles of material. 

 Some of these stand isolated ; others are 

 thickly grouped. Since their slopes stand 

 at the "angle of repose," it is probable 

 that they were formed by the shaking 

 down of more irregular masses (see page 



159). 



THE ASCENT OF KATMAI 



After the successful ascents of 1916; 

 we considered the climbing of Katmai it- 

 self a secondary matter. The main object 

 in making the climb on the 19 17 expedi- 

 tion was to survey the crater, ascertain its 

 dimensions, and to secure better pictures 

 of the abyss. Remembering our previous 

 difficulties with soft, slippery mud, we de- 

 cided to leave the ascent until late in the 

 season, after the winter's snow had 

 melted and the mud had had time to dry 

 up somewhat. 



Days for climbing the high mountains 

 were very few in 1917, and we had to 

 wait in idleness for a full week before 

 there came any chance to tpy. Even then 

 we were cheated, for the clouds began to 

 gather as we ascended and completely 

 shut down just as we reached the crest. 

 We had one fleeting glimpse of the crater, 

 but before we could so much as set up a 

 camera it was gone, and we had to wait 

 three days more before there was an- 

 other chance to make the climb. 



Our decision to defer the ascent till 

 late in the season was well founded, for 

 in places where the year before we had 

 floundered up the slopes in slippery mud 

 ankle deep we found the ground hard and 

 firm, so that the climb, which before had 

 taxed our strength and endurance to the 

 very utmost, was now made easily in 

 four hours, even under 30-pound packs. 

 Those who had not gone through the 

 previous experience had difficulty in be- 

 lieving that the climb could have been so 

 much harder until we came upon our old 

 trail, broken so deeply into the mud that 

 it persisted sharp and clear for a long 

 way, so that every one could see for him- 

 self how he was traveling easily over firm 

 ground, where before we had plowed 

 along ankle deep in mud. 



This was only one of the many fre- 

 quent examples we had of the difference 



between doing a thing for the first time 

 and following along after the path is 

 broken. 1 have no doubt that some day 

 our accounts of the difficulties we en- 

 countered with the limited facilities at 

 our command will appear incredible to 

 those who may tour the district provided 

 with all the facilities and comforts of 

 modern travel. It seems to me entirely 

 practicable, for example, for any one to 

 ride up to the very rim of the crater 

 astride a horse. All that is needed is the 

 organization necessary to furnish the 

 horse and the fodder. 



AN ABYSS OF INCONCEIVABLE SIZE 



In spite of the disappointment on the 

 first attempt, every one of the party was 

 enthusiastic over the crater, and all 

 agreed that the single glimpse we had be- 

 fore the clouds shut in was ample reward 

 for the climb. Some members of the 

 party indeed thought the sight more 

 beautiful and wonderful than the Valley 

 of Ten Thousand Smokes itself. The 

 party were unanimous in the opinion that 

 the photographs convey no idea whatever 

 of the vast abyss. Without the colors 

 and with nothing to indicate the scale, to 

 give more than a hint of the real char- 

 acter of the phenomenon is impossible. 

 Like the Grand Canyon and other sub- 

 lime marvels of nature, the crater must 

 be seen to be appreciated. 



But even when one stands on the rim 

 and looks down, he can gain no concep- 

 tion of the real magnitude of the crater. 

 It is so far beyond any one's powers of 

 perception that the wonder comes back to 

 him and grows with each visit. 



I found myself surprised at the crater's 

 grandeur, in spite of my experience of the 

 previous year, for it was far more sub- 

 lime than I had remembered it. One rea- 

 son why the magnitude of this volcano is 

 so hard to grasp is that the proportions 

 are so perfect that no one dimension ap- 

 pears exaggerated at the expense of the 

 rest. If the crater were not so deep, the 

 area would be more evident ; if the walls 

 were not so precipitous, one could better 

 measure with his eye the distance to the 

 bottom. But as it is, one can only realize 

 that the immensity of the awesome abyss 

 is far beyond the grasp of his mind. 



