Then thought became clearer. We unloaded our sledge, putting in
safety our sleeping-bags with the tent and cooker. Choking sounds from
Osman made it clear that the pressure on him must soon be relieved. I
seized the lashing off Meares' sleeping-bag, passed the tent poles across
the crevasse, and with Meares managed to get a few inches on the leading
line; this freed Osman, whose harness was immediately cut.
"Then securing the Alpine rope to the main trace we tried to haul up
together. One dog came up and was unlashed, but by this time the rope had
cut so far back at the edge that it was useless to attempt to get more of
it. But we could now unbend the sledge, and do that for which we should
have aimed from the first, namely, run the sledge across the gap and work
from it. We managed to do this, our fingers constantly numbed. Wilson
held on to the anchored trace whilst the rest of us laboured at the
leader end. The leading rope was very small and I was fearful of its
breaking, so Meares was lowered down a foot or two to secure the Alpine
rope to the leading end of the trace; this done, the work of rescue
proceeded in better order. Two by two we hauled the animals up to the
sledge and one by one cut them out of their harness. Strangely the last
dogs were the most difficult, as they were close under the lip of the
gap, bound in by the snow-covered rope.
Pages:
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278