Winter in the High Sierra. 



241 



As we ascended, the scene about us became magnifi- 

 cent. The bare north face of University Peak and the 

 wonderful cathedral-Hke cUffs to the west were set off 

 by the talus cones buried in snow, while in the foreground 

 lay a low timbered ridge, pure white, with the dark green 

 foliage beautifully outlined against it, and at our feet lay 

 an open level area, marking a frozen lake buried with 

 snow. The jagged shadows cast by the cliffs and rocks 

 on the white snow made a very interesting detail on all 

 the north slopes. 



An elevation of 11,000 feet was reached after five hours 

 of climbing, and we stopped here for lunch. The ther- 

 mometer registered 42° in the shade, but the tempera- 

 ture was comfortable when sheltered from the wind. We 

 felt great discomfort from the lack of water, and when 

 a boulder was found with a shallow depression filled with 

 melted snow there was great rejoicing. 



The next thousand feet of elevation was a difficult one 

 on account of the steep slope and the soft condition of 

 the snow under the noon-day sun. The mountain side 

 above the Pothole Lake was covered deep with snow, 

 which in some places had a hard crust which made the 

 foothold dangerous, and in others was so soft that we 

 sank almost waist deep at every step. But the Pass was 

 in sight and every step made our success more sure. 



At last the summit was reached and the magnificent 

 panorama to the west came into view. It is a grand 

 sight in summer, but as it lay before us in the white 

 covering of winter the scene was wonderful. The floor 

 of the basin above Bullfrog Lake was covered with 

 unbroken snow which extended up to the crest of the 

 talus slope at the base of the Kearsarge Pinnacles, out 

 onto the slopes of Mt. Bago, and well up the mountain- 

 side to the north. The groves of tamarack trees stood 

 out against the white so as to give very interesting detail, 

 and bare oval areas here and there marked the buried 

 lakes. The steep cliffs of the Kearsarge Pinnacles stood 

 out black above the snow, casting long shadows down the 



