The final assent, although often not extremely long in distance is always the highest part of the mountain. The higher the elevation the summit rises to, the longer it takes to walk even a short distance. This is because, the higher the altitude is, the thinner the air becomes and the amount of oxygen diminishes.

As the elevation increases, the amount of oxygen decreases. Unless the wayƒarer is in top conditioning, trained in a low oxygen environment, this lack of oxygen will slow his gate to a near crawl.

On many an ascent on the summit trail, I endeavor to time the High Path with the night of the full moon, or a day or two on either side. What including the moon into the climbing arrangements does, is to it provide light on the dark side of the suntouch while climbing on the mountain.

Doing this allows the climber with light if it is necessary to start early or finish late for any reason. Or, if the view is exceptionally clear and the climber can not pull himself away from a nonpareil pulchritude, he knows that he can prolong his stay. One note of caution is that a cloudy sky will nearly eliminate the extra light provided by a full moon.