First Ascent: Mt. Humphreys. 



159 



so we explored along the ridge to the rim. of the next 

 cirque eastward. Before reaching this we had tO' ascend 

 a small intervening peak, from the summit of which the 

 whole Humphreys Basin was spread out before us. Such 

 a fascinating scene of desolation I never expect to see 

 again. Nothing but snow and lakes, tiny streams and 

 foaming cascades, glacial erratics and granite bosses, 

 and the whole surrounded by the jagged mountains, and 

 there, alone in solitary grandeur, rose Mt. Humphreys, 

 the king of all the peaks. From the summit of this small 

 peak we skirted along the rim of the cirque for a possible 

 pass, and the prospects were far from bright. However, 

 when almost in despair, we discovered, dropping down- 

 ward from the rim, a deep chimney. It sloped downward 

 at a steep angle for perhaps six hundred feet, and was 

 filled with a long tongue of snow, which was frozen on 

 its surface. To the left of the chimney rose a high vertical 

 wall, and alongside of the wall the snow had melted away, 

 leaving a passage through which it was just possible for 

 a man to squeeze. We tested this passageway and found 

 that we were able to travel down it. We then retraced 

 our steps hurriedly back to camp. 



The next morning we were up very early and, after 

 a hasty breakfast, we made an inventory of the provisions 

 for our knapsack trip. The provisions consisted only 

 of the most substantial and condensed food. We also 

 took two small pails, a tin plate, four cups and four 

 spoons, a fifty-foot rope, the ice-ax, and the camera. 

 Besides these, each of us took a light feather sleeping- 

 bag. We then cached all the balance of our camping 

 outfit, covering all with rubber sheets. The jacks were 

 tethered with long ropes where they could get feed 



