MOUNTAIN CLIMBING IN TYROL

Dr. William Lord Smith '86 gave an interesting talk last evening on, "Dolomites of the Tyrol, Mountain Climbing, and Chamois Shooting," in the Living Room of the Union. The lecture was illustrated with a remarkable set of stereopticon views, many of them in color.

The Dolomites are not as dangerous as the Swiss snow-clad mountains. In the Tyrol they are from 10,000 to 12,000 feet high, and with one exception have a rocky surface. The climbing party is equipped with a rope and iron-nailed shoes. At 3 o'clock in the morning they start out and climb till noon. This is usually long enough to scale a mountain in the Tyrol. Before starting, the sky line is scanned closely. Clouds from the Italian horizon are a bad omen. Not until the clouds have parted from the mountain peaks, do the natives deem it safe to set out. The climbing is difficult and often dangerous. On the mountain sides are to be found curious rock-capped pinnacles of clay towering many feet into the air. The rain and snow has washed away all the clay except that directly under the rock. The men have to squirm their way up between two vertical walls of rock or climb up perpendicular sides, holding on by hands and feet.

Many interesting characters, among them picturesque guides, are to be met with in the Tyrol. The inn-keepers, the peasants, stray students climbing mountains and sending their songs out across the valleys, all these are quaint and interesting to the stranger.