Leaving  Crawford  Cottage  about  seven  a.  m.  on  the  twenty-
second,  the  summit  of  Mt.  Clinton  was  reached  without  diffi-
culty. The  party  numbered  four  members :  Messrs.  Whipple,
Newhall,  Haskell,  and  the  writer.  It  was  found  possible  to  con-
tinue on  snow-shoes  to  the  summit  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  but  soon
after  leaving  here  it  was  considered  advisable  to  put  on  the  ice-
creepers,  which  were  worn  the  remainder  of  the  distance.  The
early  morning  was  beautifully  clear,  and  the  temperature  being
eight  degrees  below  zero,  the  indications  gave  promise  of  the
finest  weather.  About  the  time  Mt.  Pleasant  was  reached,  how-
ever, a  dark  cloud  appeared  to  the  south,  and  soon  the  summit
of  Mt.  Washington  was  veiled  by  light  clouds.  From  this
time  on  I  fully  realized  that  our  position  would  be  exceedingly
dangerous  should  the  weather  conditions  rapidly  grow  worse,


WIKTEB   CLIMBINa   OK   THE  PRESIDENTIAL  RANGE.      27

as  seemed  more  than  likely,  and  tried  to  impress  on  my  com-
panions that  we  should  make  all  the  haste  possible  under  the
circumstances.  The  greatest  difficulty  we  encountered  was  due
to  the  fact  that  the  icy  crust  over  the  surface  of  the  snow  would
often  give  way  beneath  our  weight,  and  so  we  had  continuaUy
to  exert  the  greatest  care  not  to  receive  a  serious  fall  from  this
cause.  This  sort  of  work,  besides  being  terribly  exhausting,
consumed  much  time.  Where  the  path  traverses  the  side  of
Mt.  Monroe  the  snow  was  banked  at  so  steep  an  angle  that  we
were  forced  to  cross  the  very  top  of  the  peak.  Then  came  the
final  arduous  climb  up  the  cone,  and  at  last  the  summit  was
reached  at  2.30.  During  our  stay,  the  summit  remained  cloud*
covered,  the  temperature  being  some  one  or  two  degrees  below
zero.  Here  we  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  two  friends  who
had  come  up  by  way  of  the  railroad,  and  two  others  who  had
made  the  climb  through  Tuckerman's.  After  an  hour  and  a
half  for  rest  and  refreshment,  we  all  descended  by  the  carriage
road  and  were  driven  out  to  Jackson.
