Among the Canadian AlpsBurpee, Lawrence J. (Lawrence Johnstone)
History
Among the Canadian Alps
Burpee, Lawrence J. (Lawrence Johnstone)
Canadian Rockies (B.C. and Alta.)
The party left the Chalet at Lake Louise on the morning of July 20th,
and travelling up the Valley of the Ten Peaks, crossed over by a high
pass into Prospectors Valley where they camped. The following morning
at 3.50 they left camp and tramped up the valley to the foot of
Hungabee. A steep slope brought them to the foot of a vertical cliff,
the only practical means of ascent being by way of a narrow chimney
filled with ice. Christian Kaufmann went ahead, leaving his companions
at the foot of the cliff until he should reach the top.
"It was only," says Professor Parker, "by watching the rope that Hans
and I could judge the progress Christian was making above us. For
minutes at a time, it seemed, the rope would be motionless, then inch
by inch it would slowly disappear up the chimney, and the crash of
falling rocks and ice would warn us that we must cling even more
closely and find what protection we could beneath the rocky wall." At
last Christian gave the signal to follow, and the others soon stood
beside him at the top of the chimney. Above them a smooth, steep slope
led to the final peak, over which they made their way without
difficulty. The summit was now only a few hundred feet above, but the
arête or ridge leading to it was broken by vertical cliffs and quite
unscalable. The only alternative was to traverse a tremendously steep
snow-slope at the base of the cliffs and so reach the final cone.
"We did not," says Professor Parker, "discuss the possible dangers of
such a course, but cautiously made our way beneath the cliffs, turned
a most sensational corner almost in mid-air above Paradise Valley,
and then scaled a nearly perpendicular cliff by means of a convenient
crack. We were now on the arête but a very short distance from the
summit. Only one more difficulty confronted us: a narrow 'gabel,' or
break in the arête, only a few feet in width it is true, but with a
nearly sheer descent of thousands of feet on either side. This gabel
must be crossed to reach the summit. The arête was far too narrow to
allow a jump being made with safety; so, slowly and carefully, while
firmly grasping the rock on one side, Christian thrust his feet
forward until they touched the other and his body bridged the chasm;
then a strong forward swing, and he stood safely beyond the gap. For
me, aided by the rope, the matter was far less difficult, and soon we
made our way over the intervening arête, gained the corniced summit,
and Hungabee, the grim old 'Chieftain,' at last was conquered."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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