Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
106
Because air thins with increased elevation, we had to rejet the carburetor
every thousand feet to maintain the proper air-to-gas mixture. The jet was a thin
metal tube about three quarters of an inch long that screwed into the throat of
the carburetor. I loosened and tightened it with a special little wrench about two
inches long, and when I took it out or set it in place, I needed a bare finger and
thumb to hold it, gloves being too bulky to it into the throat of the carburetor.
The whole procedure took about eight minutes, and generally I had to put my
bare hand back into a mitten once or twice to regain feeling.
Although the day had started out calmly, after several hours a headwind
sprang up, flowing directly down on us out of the north. To make matters worse,
a ceiling of cloud began to form as the wind quickened, settling in at about
eleven thousand feet. I stopped about one hundred feet below the cloud to do
the last rejet. Although we could still see rock outcrops that bounded the ramp
Figures S.8, S.9. Panorama to the north from the summit of Mount Markham.
