530 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



safety — perhaps one of the most harrow- 

 ing of all these tales of horror. 



CONCLUSION 



We have scheduled rather than nar- 

 rated the most notable of the new ascents 

 of the last half century. Many have 

 been the conquered peaks, and in several 

 regions few of the first order have been 

 left unclimbed. In others there still re- 

 mains an embarrassment of riches, as 

 particularly in the great Asiatic field. 

 Even as we write these lines the Duke 

 of the Abruzzi, with his earlier com- 

 panions, Sella, De Filippi, and the guide, 

 Brocherel, who was with Dr Langstaff on 

 Trisul, are en route for Kashmere with 

 Mount Godwin-Austen, K 2 (28,250), as 

 their goal — the second highest measured 

 peak on our globe. Not underestimating 

 the difficulty of surpassing present rec- 

 ords, they are making this their en- 

 deavor, and their many well-wishers on 

 both sides of the Atlantic are confident 

 that all that careful preparatory study, 

 perfect equipment, and resolute wills can 

 accomplish will surely be performed. 



On our own continent many prizes still 

 remain to be won. In the Canadian 

 Rockies, Mount Robson (13,700 feet), 

 presumably the highest of the range, 

 beckons from afar in its northern seclu- 

 sion ; nearer at hand the bold north tower 

 of Mount Goodsir will doubtless prove 

 as fine a climb as its vanquished com- 

 panion, while for those who will brave 

 the untraveled tangle of a dense primeval 

 forest the loftiest peaks of the Selkirks 

 are waiting. And how comes it that 

 those superb southern outposts of the 

 Alaskan range, Fairweather (15,500), 

 Crillon (15,900), and La Perouse 

 (11,300), have never so much as been 

 attempted, though the tide of summer 

 travel brings hundreds annually within 

 sight of their proud fastnesses? It is 

 doubtful whether Mount Logan, with its 

 added thousands of feet in altitude, 

 would offer a more sporting climb than 

 these glorious peaks. It is clear that 

 American alpinists have no need to seek 

 upon other continents a field for ex- 

 hilarating climbing or fruitful explora- 

 tion. 



A WONDERLAND OF GLACIERS AND SNOW 



By Milnor Roberts, University of Washington, Seattle 



THE Editor of the National Geo- 

 graphic Society recently asked 

 the members to name those 

 articles in the last volume of the Soci- 

 ety's Magazine which seemed most inter- 

 esting. Opinions on such a question 

 naturally would differ widely, but it 

 must be admitted that in the remarkable 

 array of subjects treated some of the 

 most striking articles consisted of illus- 

 trated descriptions of snow-clad moun- 

 tains and polar regions. The remote- 

 ness of these scenes may add to their 

 charm, but it also lessens our chances of 

 ever seeing them. The Mount Rainier 

 National Park, a wonderland of glaciers 



and snow in our own country, is so easily 

 reached in summer that it is becoming 

 fairly well known to travelers. A recent 

 visit to the park made by the writer and 

 a party of friends has shown that the 

 slopes of Mount Rainier may be reached 

 even in winter without discomfort. 



The Mount Rainier National Park, of 

 324 square miles area, includes the sym- 

 metrical, glacier-clad slopes of the moun- 

 tain and a broad belt of magnificent for- 

 est land around its base.* In 1883 Pro- 



* Glaciers of Mount Rainier, by Israel Cook 

 Russell ; with a paper on The Rocks of Mount 

 Rainier, by George Otis Smith. 18th Annual 

 Report, U. S. Geological Survey, part II, pages 

 349-423, illustrated. 



