The log-cabin we were in had lost the roof entirely on one side, and on the other it was hardly better then a sieve.

There was little or no sleep that night.

As soon as it was light the next morning, we started to make the ascent to the summit.

The wind continued to blow with violence and the weather was still cloudy, but there was neither rain nor snow.
The clouds, however, concealed from our view the country below us, except at times a momentary glimpse could be got through a clear space between them.

The wind carried the loose snow around the mountain-sides in such volumes as to make it almost impossible to stand up against it.
We labored on and on, until it became evident that the top could not be reached before night, if at all in such a storm, and we concluded to return.