P. D. McTavish

“ When a party of mountaineers, protected from danger by a careful guide, spend a day on a mountain that tries all their skill and constantly taxes their ingenuity, every moment is replete with pleasure. So our fifteen hours spent on Pinnacle Mountain was a decided success even though we failed to reach the summit. All honor to the man who finally performs the feat. ”

“ Here one of the pleasures so often experienced by mountain climbers fell to the lot of the writer, that of hanging on to the face of the rock wall while the man above sent a steady stream of snow and lumps of ice on the top of his head and down his neck, while his fingers were getting numb and stiff and he was beginning to doubt the existence of such things as toes. Surely one is justified in asking at such times the question: Is life worth living? ”

“ The gentle forest-clad slopes lead up on all sides to the timber line, at an altitude of about 7000 feet, and from here a perpendicular band about 500 feet in height encircles the entire mountain, after which there is a succession of steep, rocky slopes and perpendicular faces until it finally terminates in a huge symmetrical dome. From the Crow's Nest branch of the Canadian Pacific railway, the mountain looks truly majestic, and often I had cast longing eyes upon it, wondering if it were possible for amateurs to successfully make the ascent. ”

“ Having temporarily satisfied the cravings of the inner man, who, by the way, demands considerable attention when one is mountain climbing, we eagerly proceeded upwards to ascertain what awaited us beyond that obtruding dome. With some difficulty we surmounted this, and found ourselves at the base of a beautifully straight, but very perpendicular, chimney, about six feet in width and two hundred feet high. This offered possibilities, so we immediately proceeded to climb to its top. ”

“ As we galloped along the Old Man river, now skirting a hill with the stream far below, now rushing along by its margin, now plunging into the darkness of a dense copse of timber, or halting to splash through a little rippling brook, it was truly grand. ”

“ We then explored both sides of the ledge to discover whether there was any way of working round the wall of rock and ascending to the summit from another side. We came to the conclusion, however, that what seemed to offer a possible means of circumvention was, on account of the fresh snow on the loose rocks, too dangerous to be worth the risk. The guides were strongly opposed to undertaking it. So we left the ridge very reluctantly about 12.30 o'clock with the intention of seeing something more of the mountain by descending on the opposite side to that along which we had come up. ”

“ It seems to me that it would be worth while trying this peak again only when it is completely dry, i.e., free of snow for 1,000 feet below the summit. Last summer was notoriously unfavorable for mountaineering, as fresh snow fell almost continuously after the beginning of August on all peaks over 8000 feet."
Defeat does not always mean lack of pleasure, for in mountain climbing (as in most other things) the very striving itself is enjoyable. "Strive, nor hold cheap the strain." ”

“ After about two miles' travelling we left the path and blazed a trail of our own, which necessarily hampered our speed, so that it was after eight o'clock before we emerged above the timber line. A long slope of loose rock led up to a perpendicular wall several hundred feet high, and as we looked at it, we decided that we had met our Waterloo: Realizing the impossibility of making an ascent here (on the west side of the mountain) , we travelled about a mile to the left, during which time we gradually worked to the top of the sloping stretch of loose rock. ”

“ Arriving there about 20:30 o'clock, we found that our cairn had been espied by means of a telescope, so that even those of our acquaintances, who smiled incredulously at our attempting the ascent, were forced, though not reluctantly, to forego the pleasure of friendly banter, which we feared when starting in the morning. To any desiring a pleasant trip and a delightful, interesting and remunerative climb, I can heartily recommend the ascent of Crow's Nest mountain. ”

“ Proceeding carefully up the snow-slope, we crossed to the right and following the ridge, which one of the guides had traversed some weeks before, had some good rock climbing. In some place the foot-holds were rendered easier by the hard snow, particularly on a narrow ledge skirting the right shoulder of the mountain near the top; but elsewhere the rocks were unpleasantly slippery through melting snow. ”

“ After about two hours of this work, during which the two climbers 'spelled' each other in cutting steps and finger-holds, about 125 feet had been gained, and they reached a small shoulder of the mountain, projecting into the Wastash Pass. ”

“ The author died before 1972, meaning that copyright on that author's works expired before the Canadian copyright term was extended non-retroactively from 50 to 70 years on 30 December 2022. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”