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THE ROUTE WHICH LED TO CANADA'S HIGHEST SUMMIT

This photograph, taken from the top of Mount St. Elias, 26 miles distant, shows the south face of the Logan massif and the trail and camps made by the Mount Logan Expedition in its climb.

tain. This decided, we selected the necessary supplies and packed them in sacks, each of which contained eight men's rations for two days.

A unique feature of our equipment was the inclusion of 1,000 willow wands, with which we proposed to mark the trail. These wands, about 3 feet in length, were stuck into the snow at intervals of about 100 feet, on the right side of the trail. They proved veritable beacons upon the snowclad slopes of the mountain (see pages 618 and 624).

KING GLACIER HELD THE KEY TO SUCCESS

It was from the Cascades Camp (7,800 feet) that we got the answer to a critical question, which had been in the leaders' minds ever since they decided on a line of approach: Does the King Glacier, which takes its rise above the icefall of the Cascades, give access to the upper heights of Logan?

The Boundary photographs taken in 1913 showed the Cascades guarded by towering portals of rock and ice; they also

showed the sweeping curve of the King Glacier, and those from St. Elias revealed the very summit of the glacier itself below the frowning cliffs of King Peak, but of the intervening reaches, and whether they ended abruptly in vast cliffs or led by gradual ascent up to the high levels of Mount Logan, no one could say.

If a reconnaissance from Cascades Camp had revealed that the King Glacier led into some cul-de-sac of ice cliffs, the whole expedition would have been turned back and forced to traverse the base of the mountain, seeking another line of ascent. Had that proved necessary, it is not likely that Logan would have been conquered in 1925.

When the leaders of the party resolved on the route to be taken, they risked everything on the possibility of getting on to the mountain by way of King Glacier. Was it to prove an impassable barrier or an open door?

Imagine with what keenness a reconnaissance party left the Cascades Camp, skirted the icefall, and came to a point

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WHERE THE CLIMB BEGAN: CASCADES CAMP ON OGILVIE GLACIER

From this base camp-elevation, 7,800 feet-the Expedition commenced the actual ascent of the Logan massif through the icefall at the back, which tumbles from King Glacier (see, also, page 616) past Logan's westernmost spur.

from which a clear view of the King Glacier was to be had. Imagine with what elation they saw that the way was clearthat by the narrow trench of the glacier the heights could be reached!

With a few photographs, taken at a great distance, as our only guide, we had guessed the existence of this narrow defile, and we had guessed right.

The spirits of the whole party soared at the news. With increased vigor we gave ourselves to the heavy labor of transporting our supplies up to a site on the King Glacier which we called Observation Point (see illustration, page 624).

A SLASHING BLIZZARD FORCES A RETREAT

By June 4 we were consolidated at this new height, full of confidence, but weary

and suffering from blistering sunburn, caused by the intense reflected glare from the snow. Our faces were peeling and our lips were cracked and bleeding.

Under ideal weather conditions we began the ascent of the King Glacier on June 5. For four and a half miles we had comparatively good going with our loaded sledge; then a great fall of ice blocked further progress.

Abandoning the sledge, we took our packs and made our way up the icefall. We had reached the top and were almost at the saddle, or col, which marks the head of the King Glacier, when there was a sudden change in the weather and we confronted a slashing blizzard, which forced us to abandon our packs and return to Observation Camp.

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HOISTING A HAND SLED WITH A 700-FOOT ALPINE LINE TO THE SUMMIT OF QUARTZ RIDGE

The next day, with a fresh load of supplies, we succeeded in making the King Glacier col. But here we received a disconcerting shock. Instead of connecting with the heights above, the saddle brought us up abruptly at the foot of a tremendous face of ice and snow.

It was decided to make a reconnaissance, ascending the east arête of King Peak to ascertain whether there was a possible route over the barrier which loomed before us.

The report of the members of this party on rejoining the others that night at Observation Camp was cheering; they were satisfied that the ice slope was not unscalable and that a feasible route could be worked out.

Camp at 13,875 feet was finally consolidated in the open sweep of the col (see page 618). In the distance rose King Peak, the loveliest of them all, down whose terrifically steep face the avalanches ever tumble (see page 622).

The eastern end of the King col terminates in a precipitous drop of more than a mile of sheer cliffs to the surface of the Seward Glacier, a most overpowering sight.

The surface of the ice was clear of snow and the members of the reconnaissance party had made rapid time, using crampons and picking their way through a chaos of ice. After climbing more than 1,000 feet, they were barred apparently by a great crack through which, thousands

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The cascades descend from the King Glacier ice fields, 1,500 feet above. In the foreground are the névés of the Ogilvie Glacier.

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AN AVALANCHE NEAR THE FOOT OF THE ICE CASCADES: OGILVIE GLACIER (SEE, ALSO, PAGE 614)

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