ust before we reached the smooth snow slope above the range of the
earthquake disturbance lay one of the really dangerous passages of the
climb.

[Sidenote: A Perilous Passage]

It is easier to describe the difficulty and danger of this particular
portion of the ascent than to give a clear impression to a reader of
other places almost as hazardous. Directly below the earthquake cleavage
was an enormous mass of ice, detached from the cleavage wall. From
below, it had seemed connected with that wall, and much time and toil
had been expended in cutting steps up it and along its crest, only to
find a great gulf fixed; so it was necessary to pass along its base. Now
from its base there fell away at an exceedingly sharp angle, scarcely
exceeding the angle of repose, a slope of soft, loose snow, and the very
top of that slope where it actually joined the wall of ice offered the
only possible passage. The wall was in the main perpendicular, and
turned at a right angle midway. Just where it turned, a great mass
bulged out and overhung. This traverse was so long that with both ropes
joined it was still necessary for three of the four members of the party
to be on the snow slope at once, two men out of sight of the others. Any
one familiar with Alpine work will realize immediately the great danger
of such a traverse. There was, however, no avoiding it, or, at whatever
cost, we should have done so. Twice already the passage had been made by
Karstens and Walter, but not with heavy packs, and one man was always on
ice while the other was on snow. This time all four must pass, bearing
all that men could bear. Cautiously the first man ventured out, setting
foot exactly where foot had been set before, the three others solidly
anchored on the ice, paying out the rope and keeping it taut. When all
the first section of rope was gone, the second man started, and when, in
turn, his rope was paid out, the third man started, leaving the last man
on the ice holding to the rope. This, of course, was the most dangerous
part of this passage. If one of the three had slipped it would have been
almost impossible for the others to hold him, and if he had pulled the
others down, it would have been quite impossible for the solitary man on
the ice to have withstood the strain. When the first man reached solid
ice again there was another equally dangerous minute or two, for then
all three behind him were on the snow slope. The beetling cliff, where
the t