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Sierra Club Bulletin. 



and decided upon a tongue of rock reaching down almost 

 to the bergschrund of the glacier. Our route lay directly 

 across the little glacier, an easy grade at first, but steeper 

 and steeper as we ascended. The bergschrund was 

 bridged at one point directly below the rock tongue, but 

 above the crevasse the ice was so steep and hard as to 

 necessitate step-cutting. We were ill-equipped for this 

 sort of work, and therefore made the great mistake of 

 changing our point of attack to a spur or cliff further to 

 the right, which descended below the bergschrund. After 

 considerable difficulty we got from the snow to this 

 rock, and started slowly up. The climbing became more 

 and more difficult. Sheer cliffs ahead forced us to the 

 left again, but only to come up against the solid rock- 

 front at last. We were obliged to retreat, and by con- 

 stant use of the rope got back to the snow again above 

 the crevasse. We tried it for awhile on the rocks near 

 the edge of the main snow face, and after ascending 

 some 300 or 400 feet were brought to a stop again. The 

 cliffs at the head of the snowfield were too precipitous 

 to attempt. So after wasting upwards of two hours of 

 dangerous climbing on the rocks, we were finally forced 

 to work straight across the steep, glassy snow slope to 

 the tongue of rocks which we had originally chosen. 

 The prospect of a slide down the snow was unpleasant, 

 to say the least, on account of the crevasse below, but we 

 made it safely over and took to the rocks again. There 

 was no serious trouble after this. Some care was neces- 

 sary in places to avoid loose rocks, but by 12 m. the last 

 trouble was over, and we climbed out on the crest. 



The summit of the peak was a large flat area sur- 

 rounded on all sides by frightful precipices. That on the 

 left fell off toward the Eastern Slope, that to the right 

 or west into the Second Recess of Mono Creek, at least 

 1,500 feet vertical. To the south the summit of Mount 

 Abbott towered 500 feet above us, and seemingly so 

 near as to be within stone's throw. Without a moment's 

 delay we hurried towards it. Our mesa narrowed more 



