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THE ASCENT OF TETNTLD 273
Presently the clefts and cavevna grew more frequent and troublesome,
the bridges over them more frail and ill-adjusted. We
seemed often to lose our way among the deep undulations. At
moments all progress appeared to be barred.
In such cases the boldest course is sometimes the best— at any
rate before dawn, while the frost holds. We struck at the slope
where it Avas steepest, and the crevasses were filled by pieces
fallen from the impending clitt's. By the help of small, half-choked
crevasses, Francois dashed through and up the sides of a huge
tumble-down snow quarry, and we found ourselves at last on the
platform
which sti'etches under the western base of Tetnuld. The
final peak, pi-eviously hidden for a time, w^as again full in view ;
the stars still formed a coronet round the his-hest crest. Slowlv
they faded, and a glimmer of coming dawn played behind the
southern shoulder of the peak and rested on something vast and
white, far and high in the w^est— Elbruz. As the sky grew paler,
arrows of daylight flashed round the edge of the world across
the upper vault ; other arrows seemed to rise to meet them from
the depths of the distant sea. It was very long before any light
touched the Earth, but at last the great dome of Elbruz was of a
sudden illuminated, and the twin towers of Ushba caught the flames,
first red, then golden. In a few minutes the lesser crests of the
'
'
Frosty Caucasus were kissed by the sun, the shadows fled away
for shelter under the loftiest
ridges. The upper woi'ld of the
mountains was awake. The inhabited world — the grey hills and
dales of Mingrelia and the sea-spaces beyond — still waited in
sombre twilight.
The next stage in the ascent was to gain the snow-terrace,
which slopes across the clifis of Tetnuld up to the base of the
long southern ridge that falls in the direction of Adish. A steep
bank seamed by crevasses brought us to the terrace, the snow on
which proved to be very soft and powdery. The distance to be
traversed was great, and progress became slow, exceedingly laborious,
and, owing to the cold in the shadow of the mountain, somewhat
Devouassoud suggested that we might force a path up to
painful.
the western ridge, which was immediately above us. I declined.
VOL. I. s