|
Oscar Eckenstein Diary Entry Thursday, 24 January 1901
From our [Eckenstein and Aleister Crowley] camp we bore in a N.E. direction to the foot of the icefall which comes down on the west side of the pass between Cabeza and Panza, and then went up this icefall to the pass (5000 m. or 16,404 feet). The rocks of Cabeza are everywhere steep and rotten, so we traversed to an opening in the S.E. face, by which we reached the east ridge, which we followed more or less to the lower snow top, from which a gentle snow slope led to the true summit (5146 m., or 16,882 feet). We descended by the same route. Times: Pass to summit, 50 m.; summit to pass, 1/2 h.
In our expedition of January 24th, we found some of the worst walking we had ever encountered. It was a nearly level snowfield, with a smooth, unbroken surface. When we ascended it in the early morning the walking was excellent. But on our way back, when the surface had become softened, it revealed its most objectionable character. It had been formed out of ice avalanche debris, covered by a thin layer of snow which filled up the interstices. And walking over, or I may almost say through, it was a most joint-wrenching business.
|