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Alcesti de Righi Diary Entry Tuesday, 5 September 1905
5th. September. The cannonading of avalanches which has been going on all night still continues. On all sides large avalanches are falling. We get a magnificent view of one dropping off the Talang peak. It is an immense one, the largest we have seen we have seen since we have been here. Our attention is attracted to it at its beginning by a whip-like crack, and this enables us to watch its course. Ever growing in volume it looks as if a 110 tons gun has been fired loaded with black powder, the tiny column of fine snow at the start continually growing to larger dimensions developing as a cloud does in very windy weather. My impressions of it, as taken from my journal written at the time imagine a mass of white clouds developing and enlarging as they come down, gathering quantity, volume and speed, till it reaches the glacier thousands of feet below and envelopes it in a white mist.
The day passes arranging all our loads for to-morrow's homeward march. Regretfully we have to turn our backs to this noble mountain, as after the events I have tried to give you an idea of, we think it right to give it up. On our asking the natives if they were willing to go on, much to our surprise they one and all answered "Yes", explaining that mighty Kanchen has five heads or peaks, and had claimed five men, it was now satisfied and we had only to try and we would succeed. Not seeing the logic of this, and as our native stores for the glacier were by now running low, we having kept on 78 men when we only intended to keep on 25, we had perforce to give up, as it would have meant our remaining at least for 20 days at Camp III before a direct march forward could be attempted on account of the heavy snow. Our work is complete by the afternoon. The cairn is finished, and we all ready for the march across the glacier to Camp 1 to-morrow. We get to bed early for a start betimes, as not only do we intend doing a double march to-morrow, but it will prove a hard one, in the lame condition we are all in.
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