Among the Canadian AlpsBurpee, Lawrence J. (Lawrence Johnstone)
History
Among the Canadian Alps
Burpee, Lawrence J. (Lawrence Johnstone)
Canadian Rockies (B.C. and Alta.)
Exasperating as the cayuse can be on many occasions, no one who has
any sense of humour or any appreciation of animal intelligence can
fail in time to grow very fond of a horse that has been his companion
on many wild mountain trails, that has carried him safely through
raging torrents, and sometimes shared his meal beside the camp fire. A
good pony will follow unerringly a trail that is indistinguishable to
even an experienced guide; he will carry an able-bodied man, or a much
heavier pack, all day over a trail that would kill an eastern horse;
he will pick his way through a tangle of fallen timber with an
instinct that is almost uncanny; and he will do all this on the
uncertain feed of mountain camps. He is a true philosopher, a creature
of shrewd common sense, pluck, endurance, and rare humour, a good
fellow, and a rare friend.
Green made the first attempt to scale Mount Sir Donald, the splendid
peak that almost overshadows Glacier House. He selected what proved to
be an impracticable route, and was forced to return without reaching
the summit. The mountain has since been repeatedly climbed, and is now
with Mount Stephen in the Rockies the most popular peak for
mountain-climbers in the Canadian parks. Thanks to the Swiss guides
who are stationed here throughout the season, any one of reasonable
endurance and with a head for dizzy heights or depths, can now make
his way to the summit of Sir Donald, 10,808 feet above the sea, and be
rewarded with a view that will more than compensate him for the
fatigue.
Although mountain-climbing in the Canadian Rockies has been singularly
free from accidents, there have of course occasionally been narrow
escapes, and one of these is graphically described in _Among the
Selkirk Glaciers_. Green and a companion had climbed to the summit of
Mount Bonney, a great peak some miles west of Sir Donald, and were
returning, when they made the usual mistake of trying a short cut to
avoid a tedious piece of climbing. There seemed to be a way down a
very steep snow slope, and Green went ahead on the rope to test it,
while his companion anchored himself as firmly as possible in the snow
above. They were of course "roped" in the usual mountaineering
fashion.
"I turned my face to the slope," says Green, "and holding on to the
rope kicked my toes in and went over the brink. I took the precaution,
too, of burying my axe up to its head at every step. Just below the
brink there was a projecting crag. This I thought would give a firm
footing before testing the snow slope. I got one foot on to it and was
taking it as gently as possible when the rock gave way, a large piece
of snow went with it and fell on the slope twenty feet below.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account