CASCADES CAMP AT THE FOOT OF OGILVIE GLACIER Photograph by H. F. Lambart The Expedition reached this camp site at the foot of the King Glacier, elevation 10,300 feet, by working its way through the ice at the left (see pages 612 and 614). of feet below, the rocky preci pices of the south face could be seen. To their delight they discovered a point where, under a great overhanging block of ice, the chasm was bridged with snow (see pages 620 and 621). This was subsequently called MacCarthy's Gap, after the expedition's sturdy leader. Over this the party passed and, still climbing, came at last to the upper plateaus, at an elevation of 17,000 feet. Between June II and 13 we transported the remaining supplies from the caches on King Glacier up to the col and took one small load to a point 1,200 feet above. The last rope left camp on the King col at 7:15 a. m. on the clear and promising morning of June 14. We had not gone far, however, before a storm broke upon us and we were enveloped in blinding snow. Progress was slow. At one point we made only a few hundred feet in 40 minutes. At last, however, we cleared the "Avenue of Blocks"-so called because of the colossal masses of ice which flanked us and at 6:15 p. m. we made camp on the open plateau at 15,600 feet. This we named Ice Cliff Camp (see page 617). We were well content with the day's progress, since we had succeeded in bringing to this point three tents and sufficient provisions for four days. We were keen to continue the advance, but the weather made this impossible. At 8 a. m. June 16, with the thermometer at three degrees below zero, we began a general advance and made steady progress till noon, when a dense fog suddenly enveloped us. Farther advance would have been out of the question if the reconnaissance party had not, with amazing accuracy, picked out a route through MOUNT ST. ELIAS (LEFT) AND KING PEAK PEER THROUGH THE MISTS Photograph by H. F. Lambart The former is 26 miles from Ice Cliff Camp (see text, page 616). Beyond the creviced surface of the foreground appear the tops of the great ice blocks through which lies the way to the King col below. KING PEAK SURMOUNTS A SEA OF CLOUDS The summit of this western subsidiary peak of the Canadian monarch, rising 17,130 feet, is not more than five miles from the camera. The long ridge leading to the right of the mountain is the southern wall of King Glacier. The King col, descending from the summit in a jagged arête, is just below the ridge facing the reader (see illustrations, pages 610-611). PREPARING CAMPING GROUND AT KING COL (SEE TEXT, PAGE 613) The weather here was bad for a few days, and the snow covered two-thirds of the 7-foothigh tents. In the right background are some of the willow wands used to mark the trail (see text, pages 618 and 626). a chaos of ice blocks and across an immense crevasse. At 6:30 we made camp at a spot to be known as Windy Camp (see page 627). During the night the temperature dropped. to 32 degrees below zero. At 3:30 a. m. we made ready to start, but did not get away until 9. The whole party succeeded in advancing to an elevation of 18,500 feet, where we hoped that at least a glimpse could be obtained of the whole top of the Logan massif. After waiting for an hour, however, the return to Windy Camp was reluctantly made. That night (June 1718) we experienced our lowest temperature-33 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. ONE DAY'S PROVISIONS, 3,000 FEET TO GO Photograph from H. F. Lambart THE KING COL FROM THE EAST ARÊTE OF KING PEAK (SEE, ALSO, PAGES 620 AND 622) We were now encamped at an elevation of 16,700 feet, with but one day's provisions left (the bulk of our supplies being more than 2,000 feet below us), without an accurate knowledge of the position of the ultimate peak upon the summit of the massif or the conditions of the intervening northern slopes of the massif. It was decided that the party should split, and while part brought up provisions from the lower camp at the King col, the rest should proceed to a point where the exact location of the summit of Logan could be determined as well as the nature of the intervening country. Most of our plans were realized through the work of the day. The reconnaissance of the heights beyond 18,500 feet was made successfully, under the most severe weather conditions, and the members of the carrying party made their way back to King Col Camp, where they spent the night. June 19 was a day of never-to-beforgotten toil. Burdened to the limit of their strength, the carrying party labored through deep snow, and it was an immense relief when the reconnaissance party came down from Windy Camp to lend a hand. Just beyond our old Ice Cliff Camp the storm reached the height of its fury. Blinded by the driving snow, every step an agony by reason of the depth of the drifts and the labor of drawing breath at that altitude, we struggled on, and at The col, or saddle, marks the head of King Glacier. Instead of connecting with the heights above, however, it brought the members of the Expedition up abruptly at the foot of a tremendous face of ice and snow. AMONG THE ICE CATARACTS OF THE LOGAN MASSIF The climbers are entering MacCarthy's Gap and have substituted crampons for snowshoes. |