AMID THE SNOW PEAKS OF THE EQUATOR 



263 



remains of recent avalanches were scat- 

 tered all about us — and thence an hour's 

 walk up an easy snow-slope took us to 

 the top of the ridge and the rock. 



THE) ASCENT OF KING EDWARD PEAK 



On the following day, soon after sun- 

 rise, we set out for Kiyanja (King Ed- 

 ward Peak). Instead of following the 

 Mubuku valley up the wide terrace to 

 the glacier, we turned off towards the 

 west, up a small tributary stream, and 

 soon found ourselves in difficulties. 

 Slopes which from a little distance looked 

 smooth and easy enough were found on 

 closer acquaintance to be cut up with 

 gullies and water-courses and clothed in 

 the most disheartening vegetation that 

 ever resisted the footsteps of a climber. 



We could not complain much about 

 sinking at every step almost to the knees 

 in moss and black slime ; but through the 

 moss grew, as high as one's head, a tangle 

 of "everlasting" bushes, as stiff and wiry 

 as broom, through which we had to force 

 our way as best we could. The tall, up- 

 right spikes of the lobelias seemed to 

 offer a sure support, but they generally 

 crumbled away at a touch and sent one 

 sliding down the slope again, while the 

 stems of the senecios were too slippery 

 with moss and moisture to be of any 

 use in hauling oneself up the hillside. It 

 would have been hard work enough any- 

 where to make much headway over 

 ground of that sort, but at an altitude of 

 about 14,000 feet, where we had not been 

 long enough to have become acclimatized 

 and where the slightest exertion was a 

 labor, it only needed a word from one 

 to the other of us and we had beaten a 

 retreat. Luckily the word was not spoken, 

 and, after we had lightened our burdens 

 by leaving behind us cameras and all but 

 the most necessary food, we struggled 

 on with less difficulty. 



At a height of about 14,500 feet all 

 our difficulties were practically at an end ; 

 we had passed beyond the limit of the 

 lobelias and the bushy "everlasting," 

 though another species (Helichrysum 

 stuhlmanni) was found up to 15,000 

 feet, and the senecios were getting fewer, 

 until at 14,800 feet they ceased altogether. 



Rocks, partly moraine and partly blocks 

 that had fallen from a high cliff on our 

 left, began to replace the moss and mud 

 — a most welcome change. Very fortu- 

 nately we had had a clear view of the 

 mountain earlier in the day, and had 

 mapped out the course that we proposed 

 to take, noting certain prominent land- 

 marks. Had we not done so, there would 

 have been nothing for us to do but to 

 stay where we were or retrace our steps, 

 as the clouds were low down on the 

 mountains when we came to the foot of 

 the rocks. However, we groped our way 

 blindly forward, and luckily recognized 

 a big wall of granite rock, which had 

 shown up conspicuously pink from be- 

 low. 



Here, in order to make certain, if pos- 

 sible, of finding our way back through 

 the fog, we filled our pockets with "ever- 

 lasting" flowers, which we scattered, like 

 Hansel and Gretel, every few yards as 

 we went along. Often as I had ma- 

 ligned the "everlastings" before, I blessed 

 them that day; they undoubtedly saved 

 us from a night out on the mountain- 

 side, if not from worse things. After 

 climbing up a few hundred feet of steep 

 but easy rocks, we came on to a small 

 glacier, bare and dry in its lower part, 

 but covered with an increasing depth of 

 snow as we went higher. A black mass 

 before us loomed huge through the fog, 

 and seven hours after leaving camp we 

 stood on the peak, which seemed from be- 

 low to be the summit of Kiyanja (King 

 Edward Peak). We built a small cairn, 

 and, to keep ourselves warm, hurled huge 

 boulders down the steep eastern face of 

 the mountain into the Mubuku valley. 

 It is an attractive amusement, but not one 

 to be recommended in regions more 

 populous than Ruwenzori. 



We waited as long as it was safe to do, 

 if we were to get back to camp that night, 

 and were just preparing to descend when 

 a warm slant of sunshine pierced the fog, 

 the clouds boiled up from below, and we 

 looked right down the Mubuku Valley 

 and saw the river winding away over the 

 yellow plain of Ruisamba and the blue 

 hills beyond. It was one of the rare 

 glimpses that one gets from the Alps of 



