noon
When night came he found a hollow free from snow beneath a clump of juniper , and lay awake , shivering under his blankets . White peaks and snow-fields were wrapped in deathly silence : there was not even the howl of a prowling wolf or the splash of falling water . Rising at dawn , almost too cold to move , he could find no dry wood to make a fire and had serious trouble in getting on his frozen boots ; and after a hurried meal he set out again . It was some time before he felt moderately warm , but with a short rest at noon , he held on until evening was near , when he camped in a deep rift among the rocks filled with small firs . Here he found dry branches , and made his supper , sitting between a sheltering stone and a welcome fire . Soon afterward , he lay down and slept until the piercing cold awakened him near dawn . The fire had burned out to a few red embers ; he had some trouble in stirring it into life , and it was bright daylight when he resumed his journey .