The Night They Slept in Rainier's Ice Caves

The main body of the mountain-climbing party, consisting of Maj. E. S. Ingraham, Mr. H. K. Holmes, Miss Helen Holmes, Miss Annie Hall, Miss M. Florence Parke, Mr. F. W. Hawkins, J. M. Leisy, Mr. G. E. Wright, Mr. W. H. Wright, Mr. N. A. Carle, Mr. Peter Green, Jr., Mr. Leo Galt and Mr. H. P. Strickland, all of whom ascended Mount Rainier and remained for one night on the summit in the ice caves of the principal or northeast crater, arrived home last evening at Mr. Ira Bronson's. Mr. Bronson also went to the summit, having preceded them home. They came over from Tacoma on the Flyer, and their arrival in the city was the occasion of as much excitement as if a new circus had struck town. All of the members of the party were very much sunburnt and bronzed as a result of their Alpine achievement, but all were very happy.

Each member of the party was attired in the regulation Alpine costume, and it is a matter of small wonder that their return home attracted much attention, for not only was everyone ready to greet them upon their safe arrival, but their appearance in itself would have attracted attention anywhere. The men carried packs on their backs, and all were armed with alpenstocks, so that as they walked up the street they looked, from a distance, like a band of warriors. The women were attired in baggy knee-trousers, with stockings of a heavy, dark material, and all wore caps. At Tacoma, where the mountain-climbers stopped on their way home, they attracted a great deal of attention.

Immediately upon their arrival in that city Mr. Holmes took the party to Stewart & Holmes' drug store, where all were regaled with ice cream and soda water. A great crowd of people gathered in front of the place and wondered at the strange attire of the visitors, and some people intimated that it was a party of concessionaires come from some foreign clime to vie with the Turks at the Interstate fair.

After refreshments at the drug store, the party headed for Chilberg's to partake of dinner, for all were hungry. When they again reached the street a hundred or more curious people asked, "Where did you come from?" Mr. Hawkins, who had acted as chief trumpeter while scaling the snow-clad sides of the mountain, gave the signal and the party shouted in unison:

"We are here! We are here! Right from the top Of Mount Rainier!"

Then, thinking the crowd demanded more definite information, Mr. Hawkins again gave the signal and the welkin rang to the refrain of:

"Wah ho! wah! Wah ho! wah! Rainier! Rainier! Ha! ha! ha!"

Even while at dinner the party was not free from the curious gaze of the crowd, which continued to increase so rapidly that the street became blocked. After dinner the party was followed to the steamer by a large number of people, who watched the embarkation for Seattle with feelings akin to awe.

Shortly after the party returned Maj. Ingraham was seen at his home. He was feeling splendid and spoke quite enthusiastically of his trip, although this is the third time he has been to the top of Mount Rainier, for he ascended it once six years ago and again five years ago. Said he:

"Ours is the largest party that ever succeeded in reaching the summit of the mountain, and the fact that our three ladies also achieved this feat makes the trip one of double interest. Miss Parke, Miss Hall and Miss Holmes all stood the climb well, and the proud claim of Tacoma that Miss Fay Fuller had reached the top has now lost some of its luster. Miss Holmes is only 15 years old and is probably the youngest person to make the ascent. We spent twenty-six hours on the summit, fourteen of which it snowed, hailed and blew so hard and so cold that most of the party hid away in the ice caves of the crater, where their blankets and the escaping steam served to keep them warm. Others of us made our way farther down in the caves and stood about over steam jets and thus kept warm.

"Monday morning a week ago we left Camp of the Clouds at 8 o'clock and climbed up the mountain until we reached Camp of the Bears, and there we camped for the night, at the same place where my party camped five years ago. The place is a narrow ledge overhanging a precipice. Those who were not over five feet tall could lie at full length, but others of us had either the option of lying with our knees drawn up to our chins or shoving out our feet and allowing them to dangle in the wind over the precipice. The next afternoon fourteen of the party succeeded in reaching the rim of the northeast crater, which is the principal one in the mountain. This crater is elliptical in shape, the longer axis being about three-quarters of a mile and the shorter half a mile, while from the lowest point in the crater to the highest point on the rim is about 1,000 feet. The caves are located in the valley or crater. The depth of the snow we don't know, for it is almost always snowing or hailing there (it never rains), and the depth is continually increasing. Under the snow are the ice caves, which reach down to a depth unknown. The steam coming up melts the ice and forms the caves. In each the steam comes out with force enough to produce a hissing sound, and in spite of the cold it is hot and steamy, the steam keeping the snow and ice from forming. There is a considerable space on the summit from Crater Peak to Liberty Cap, fully a mile and a half, and from the former to Peak Success it is at least a mile.

"Immediately after our arrival at the crater we prepared to send out the second bulletin by carrier pigeon, concerning which there is a slight misunderstanding. The highest point on the mountain is a dome of rock which we named Columbia Crest. We ascended this peak and from it sent out the dummy pigeon, retaining the male bird until the actions of the dummy could be observed. The bird disappeared down the mountain and we supposed it had started home. Then we wrote the second bulletin and affixed it to the tail feathers of the carrier. As the pigeon wouldn't start out I chased him around for an hour and finally he disappeared and I thought he was gone. But he wasn't. That night about 7 o'clock, after all had gone to bed, wrapped in their blankets in the crater, I looked up, and perched on a rock about twenty feet above my head was the carrier.

"When we turned in at 7 o'clock in the evening the weather on the summit was very raw. At 1 o'clock a hailstorm and snowstorm, accompanied by a big wind, set in and continued until the following day at 12 o'clock. During this period we were imprisoned in the crater. The wind was so strong and so piercing that it was not safe for us to venture beyond the rim of the crater. The storm broke at 2 o'clock, and at 10 o'clock we began the descent. The descent is said to be attended with more danger than the ascent, and one is aided to a large degree by the ice axes to protect us from losing foothold and sliding down the mountain side to death.

"From the top of the mountain the view surpasses description. The whole Puget Sound country lay before us and we could see the Sound and the winding straits, and pick out the cities by the smoke. I could also see a steamer, which I'm quite certain must have been the Multnomah, judging by the time of day and the location, and I think she was going from Tacoma to Olympia. We could also see Mounts Baker, Hood, Adams, St. Helens and Jefferson."