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diff --git a/38044-0.txt b/38044-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b4236b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/38044-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12763 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward +Whymper + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Ascent of the Matterhorn + +Author: Edward Whymper + +Release Date: November 17, 2011 [Ebook #38044] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF‐8 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ASCENT OF THE MATTERHORN*** + + + + + + [Illustration: Cover] + +[Illustration: “THEY SAW MASSES OF ROCKS, BOULDERS, AND STONES, DART ROUND + THE CORNER.”] + + + + + + THE ASCENT + + OF + + THE MATTERHORN + + BY + + EDWARD WHYMPER + + [Illustration: Vignette] + +WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Toil and pleasure, in their natures opposite, are yet linked + together in a kind of necessary connection.—LIVY. + + +LONDON +JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET +1880 + +_All rights are reserved_ + + + + + + PREFACE. + + +In the year 1860, shortly before leaving England for a long continental +tour, the late Mr. William Longman requested me to make for him some +sketches of the great Alpine peaks. At this time I had only a literary +acquaintance with mountaineering, and had even not seen—much less set foot +upon—a mountain. Amongst the peaks which were upon my list was Mont +Pelvoux, in Dauphiné. The sketches that were required of it were to +celebrate the triumph of some Englishmen who intended to make its ascent. +They came—they saw—but they did not conquer. By a mere chance I fell in +with a very agreeable Frenchman who accompanied this party, and was +pressed by him to return to the assault. In 1861 we did so, with my friend +Macdonald—and we conquered. This was the origin of my scrambles amongst +the Alps. + +The ascent of Mont Pelvoux (including the disagreeables) was a very +delightful scramble. The mountain air did _not_ act as an emetic; the sky +did _not_ look black, instead of blue; nor did I feel tempted to throw +myself over precipices. I hastened to enlarge my experience, and went to +the Matterhorn. I was urged towards Mont Pelvoux by those mysterious +impulses which cause men to peer into the unknown. Not only was this +mountain reputed to be the highest in France, and on that account was +worthy of attention, but it was the dominating point of a most picturesque +district of the greatest interest, which, to this day, remains almost +unexplored! The Matterhorn attracted me simply by its grandeur. It was +considered to be the most thoroughly inaccessible of all mountains, even +by those who ought to have known better. Stimulated to make fresh +exertions by one repulse after another, I returned, year after year, as I +had opportunity, more and more determined to find a way up it, or to +_prove_ it to be really inaccessible. + +The chief part of this volume is occupied by the history of these attacks +on the Matterhorn, and the other excursions that are described have all +some connection, more or less remote, with that mountain or with Mont +Pelvoux. All are new excursions (that is, excursions made for the first +time), unless the contrary is pointed out. Some have been passed over very +briefly, and entire ascents or descents have been disposed of in a single +line. Generally speaking, the salient points alone have been dwelt upon, +and the rest has been left to the imagination. This treatment has spared +the reader from much useless repetition. + +In endeavouring to make the book of some use to those who may wish to go +mountain-scrambling, whether in the Alps or elsewhere, prominence has been +given to our mistakes and failures; and to some it may seem that our +practice must have been bad if the principles which are laid down are +sound, or that the principles must be unsound if the practice was good. +The principles which are brought under the notice of the reader are, +however, deduced from long experience, which experience had not been +gained at the time that the blunders were perpetrated; and, if it had been +acquired at an earlier date, there would have been fewer failures to +record. + +My scrambles amongst the Alps were a sort of apprenticeship in the art of +mountaineering, and they were, for the most part, carried out in the +company of men who were masters of their craft. In any art the learner, +who wishes to do good work, does well to associate himself with master +workmen, and I attribute much of the success which is recorded in this +volume to my having been frequently under the guidance of the best +mountaineers of the time. The hints and observations which are dispersed +throughout the volume are not the result of personal experience only, they +have been frequently derived from professional mountaineers, who have +studied the art from their youth upwards. + +Without being unduly discursive in the narrative, it has not been possible +to include in the text all the observations which are desirable for the +general reader, and a certain amount of elementary knowledge has been +pre-supposed, which perhaps some do not possess; and the opportunity is +now taken of making a few remarks which may serve to elucidate those which +follow. + +When a man who is not a born mountaineer gets upon the side of a mountain, +he speedily finds out that walking is an art; and very soon wishes that he +could be a quadruped or a centipede, or anything except a biped; but, as +there is a difficulty in satisfying these very natural desires, he +ultimately procures an alpenstock and turns himself into a tripod. This +simple implement is invaluable to the mountaineer, and when he is parted +from it involuntarily (and who has not been?) he is inclined to say, just +as one may remark of other friends, “You were only a stick—a poor +stick—but you were a true friend, and I should like to be in your company +again.” + + [Illustration: Point of Alpenstock] + +Respecting the size of the alpenstock, let it be remarked that it may be +nearly useless if it be too long or too short. It should always be shorter +than the person who carries it, but it may be any length you like between +three-fifths of your height and your extreme altitude. It should be made +of ash, of the very best quality; and should support your weight upon its +centre when it is suspended at its two ends. Unless shod with an iron +point it can scarcely be termed an alpenstock, and the nature of the point +is of some importance. The kind I prefer is shown in the annexed +illustration. It has a long tang running into the wood, is supported by a +rivetted collar, and its termination is extremely sharp. With a point of +this description steps can be made in ice almost as readily as with an +axe. + +A volume might be written upon the use of the alpenstock. Its principal +use is as a third leg, to extend one’s base line; and when the beginner +gets this well into his head he finds the implement of extraordinary +value. In these latter times the pure and simple alpenstock has gone out +of fashion, and mountaineers now almost universally carry a stick with a +point at one end and an axe-head at the other. A moveable axe-head is +still a desideratum. There is a pick-axe made at Birmingham with a +moveable head which is better than any other kind that I have seen, but +the head is too clumsy to be held in the hand, and various improvements +will have to be effected in it before it will be fit for use in +mountaineering. Still, its principle appears to me to be capable of +adaptation, and on that account I have introduced it here. + + [Illustration: Birmingham pick-axe with moveable head] + + [Illustration: Russian furnace] + +After the alpenstock, or axe-alpenstock, it is of most importance for the +mountaineer to supply himself with plenty of good rope. Enough has been +said on this subject in different parts of the narrative, as well as in +regard to tents. Few other articles are _necessary_, though many others +are _desirable_, to carry about, and amongst the most important may be +reckoned some simple means of boiling water and cooking. At considerable +altitudes above the tree-line, it is frequently impossible to carry up +wood enough for a camp-fire, and nothing but spirits of wine can be +employed. The well-known and convenient so-called “Russian furnace” is the +most compact form of spirit lamp that I know, and wonders can be effected +with one that is only three inches in diameter. In conjunction with a set +of tins like those figured here (which are constructed to be used either +with a wood fire or over a spirit lamp), all the cooking can be done that +the Alpine tourist requires. For prolonged expeditions of a serious nature +a more elaborate equipage is necessary; but upon such small ones as are +made in the Alps it would be unnecessarily encumbering yourself to take a +whole _batterie de cuisine_.(1) + + [Illustration: Cooking tins] + +Before passing on to speak of clothing, a word upon snow-blindness will +not be out of place. Very fine language is sometimes used to express the +fact that persons suffer from their eyes becoming inflamed; and there is +one well-known traveller, at least, who, when referring to snow-blindness, +speaks habitually of the distressing effects which are produced by “the +reverberation of the snow.” Snow-blindness is a malady which touches all +mountain-travellers sooner or later, for it is found impossible in +practice always to protect the eyes with the goggles which are shown +overleaf. In critical situations almost every one removes them. The +beginner should, however, note that at great altitudes it is not safe to +leave the eyes unprotected even on rocks, when the sun is shining +brightly; and upon snow or ice it is indispensable to shade them in some +manner, unless you wish to be placed _hors de combat_ on the next day. +Should you unfortunately find yourself in this predicament through the +intensity of the light, there is no help but in sulphate of zinc and +patience. Of the former material a half-ounce will be sufficient for a +prolonged campaign, as a lotion compounded with two or three grains to an +ounce of water will give relief; but of patience you can hardly lay in too +large a stock, as a single bad day sometimes throws a man on his back for +weeks.(2) + + [Illustration: Snow spectacles] + +The whole face suffers under the alternation of heat, cold, and glare, and +few mountain-travellers remain long without having their visages blistered +and cracked in all directions. Now, in respect to this matter, prevention +is better than cure; and, though these inconveniences cannot be entirely +escaped, they may, by taking trouble, be deferred for a long time. As a +travelling cap for mountain expeditions, there is scarcely anything better +than the kind of helmet used by Arctic travellers, and with the eyes well +shaded by its projecting peak and covered with the ordinary goggles one +ought not, and will not, suffer much from snow-blindness. I have found, +however, that it does not sufficiently shade the face, and that it shuts +out sound too much when the side-flaps are down; and I consequently adopt +a woollen headpiece, which almost entirely covers or shades the face and +extends well downwards on to the shoulders. One hears sufficiently +distinctly through the interstices of the knitted wool, and they also +permit some ventilation—which the Arctic cap does not. It is a useful +rather than an ornamental article of attire, and strangely affects one’s +appearance. + + [Illustration: Arctic cap] + +For the most severe weather even this is not sufficient, and a mask must +be added to protect the remainder of the face. You then present the +appearance of the lower woodcut, and are completely disguised. Your most +intimate friends—even your own mother—will disown you, and you are a fit +subject for endless ridicule. + + [Illustration: The complete disguise] + +The alternations of heat and cold are rapid and severe in all high +mountain ranges, and it is folly to go about too lightly clad. Woollen +gloves ought always to be in the mountaineer’s pocket, for in a single +hour, or less, he may experience a fall in temperature of sixty to eighty +degrees. But in respect to the nature of the clothing there is little to +be said beyond that it should be composed of flannels and woollens. + +Upon the important subject of boots much might be written. My friends are +generally surprised to find that I use elastic-side boots whilst +mountaineering, and condemn them under the false impression that they will +not give support to the ankles, and will be pulled off when one is +traversing deep snow. I have invariably used elastic-side boots on my +mountain expeditions in the Alps and elsewhere, and have found that they +give sufficient support to the ankles and never draw off. My Alpine boots +have always been made by Norman—a maker who knows what the requirements +are, and one who will give a good boot if allowed good time. + +It is fully as important to have proper nails in the boots as it is to +have good boots. The quantity is frequently overdone, and when there are +too many they are absolutely dangerous. Ice-nails, which may be considered +a variety of crampon, are an abomination. The nails should be neither too +large nor too numerous, and they should be disposed everywhere +irregularly—not symmetrically. They disappear one by one, from time to +time; and the prudent mountaineer continually examines his boots to see +that sufficient numbers are left.(3) A handkerchief tied round the foot, +or even a few turns of cord, will afford a tolerable substitute when nails +cannot be procured. + +If the beginner supplies himself with the articles which have been named, +he will be in possession of all the gear which is _necessary_ for ordinary +mountain excursions, and if he uses his plant properly he will avoid many +of the disagreeables which are looked upon by some as almost unavoidable +accompaniments of the sport of mountaineering. I have not throughout the +volume ignored the dangers which are real and unavoidable, and say +distinctly that too great watchfulness cannot be exercised at great +altitudes. But I say now, as I have frequently said before, that the great +majority of accidents which occur to mountaineers, especially to +mountaineering amateurs in the Alps, are not the result of unavoidable +dangers; and that they are for the most part the product of ignorance and +neglect. I consider that falling rocks are the greatest danger which a +mountaineer is likely to encounter, and in concluding these prefatory +remarks I especially warn the novice against the things which tumble about +the ears of unwary travellers. + + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + 1860 + + CHAPTER I. + + INTRODUCTORY. + +BEACHY HEAD—DEVIL OF NOTRE DAME—VISP THAL—SCRAMBLING ALONE—THE +WEISSHORN—ST. BERNARD—RASCALLY GUIDE—A VILLAGE CONCERT—STORM ON THE COL DE +LAUTARET + + Pages 1-12 + + 1861 + + CHAPTER II. + + THE ASCENT OF MONT PELVOUX. + +THE VALLEYS OF DAUPHINÉ—THE PEAKS OF DAUPHINÉ—MISTAKES IN THEIR +IDENTIFICATION—EARLY ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND MONT PELVOUX—INTRODUCTION TO +MONSIEUR REYNAUD—GRENOBLE—MEETING WITH MACDONALD—NATIONAL SENTIMENTS—WE +ENGAGE A GUIDE—START FOR PELVOUX—PASS THE CAVERN OF THE VAUDOIS—MASSACRE +OF THE VAUDOIS—FIRST NIGHT OUT—WE ARE REPULSED—ARRIVAL OF MACDONALD—THIRD +NIGHT OUT—TORRENTS ON FIRE—FALLING ROCKS—ASCENT OF THE PELVOUX—THE +PYRAMID—VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT—WE DISCOVER THE POINTE DES ECRINS—SURPRISED +BY NIGHT—ON FLEAS—EN ROUTE FOR MONTE VISO—DESERTERS—CAMP ON AN +ANT-HILL—ST. VERAN—PRIMITIVE MANNERS—NATURAL PILLARS—ARRIVE AT BRIANÇON + + 13-41 + + CHAPTER III. + + MY FIRST SCRAMBLE ON THE MATTERHORN. + +THE WEISSHORN AND THE MATTERHORN—INTRODUCTION TO JEAN-ANTOINE +CARREL—SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NATIVES IN REGARD TO THE MATTERHORN—RIDGES OF +THE MATTERHORN—EARLIEST ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND THE MOUNTAIN—ATTEMPT BY THE +MESSRS. PARKER—ATTEMPT BY MESSRS. HAWKINS AND TYNDALL—ARRIVE AT +BREIL—UNWILLINGNESS OF THE GUIDES TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE +MATTERHORN—THE CARRELS ENDEAVOUR TO CUT US OUT—THE “GREAT STAIRCASE”—THE +COL DU LION—WE DECIDE TO CAMP THERE—GREAT EXCITEMENT FROM FALLING +STONES—LIGHT AND SHADE—THE “CHIMNEY”—DEFEATED—A COOL PROCEEDING + + 42-57 + + 1862 + + CHAPTER IV. + + RENEWED ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN. + +MR. KENNEDY’S WINTER ATTEMPT—BENNEN REFUSES TO START AGAIN—THE THÉODULE +PASS—MEYNET, THE HUNCHBACK OF BREIL—ON TENTS FOR MOUNTAINEERING—MACDONALD +AND I START FOR THE MATTERHORN—NARROW ESCAPE OF KRONIG—VIOLENT WIND TURNS +US BACK—ENGAGE CARREL AND PESSION AND START AGAIN—THE “GREAT +TOWER”—PESSION BECOMES ILL AND WE ARE OBLIGED TO RETURN—BAD +WEATHER—SCRAMBLE ALONE ON THE MATTERHORN—PIONEERS OF VEGETATION—VIEW FROM +THE TENT—A SOLITARY BIVOUAC—MONTE VISO SEEN BY MOONLIGHT AT NINETY-EIGHT +MILES’ DISTANCE—ON AIDS TO CLIMBERS—CLIMBING CLAW—FIND A NEW PLACE FOR THE +TENT—I ATTAIN A GREATER ALTITUDE ALONE THAN HAD BEEN REACHED BEFORE, AND +NEARLY COME TO GRIEF—MY FOURTH ATTEMPT TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN—DEFEATED +AGAIN BY WEATHER—THE CARRELS GO MARMOT-HUNTING, AND WE START FOR A FIFTH +ATTEMPT—DEFEATED BY NATURAL DIFFICULTIES—TYNDALL ARRIVES AND CARRIES OFF +THE CARRELS—A CANNONADE ON THE MATTERHORN—TYNDALL IS +REPULSED—CONFLAGRATION IN DAUPHINÉ + + 58-87 + + 1863 + + CHAPTER V. + + THE VAL TOURNANCHE—THE BREUILJOCH—ZERMATT—FIRST ASCENT OF THE GRAND + TOURNALIN. + +THE DOUANE—“BUT WHAT IS THIS?”—DIFFICULTIES WITH MY LADDER—EXPLANATION OF +TYNDALL’S REPULSE—ROMAN (?) AQUEDUCT IN THE VAL TOURNANCHE—ASCEND THE +CIMES BLANCHES—WE DECEIVE A GOAT—WE INVENT A NEW PASS TO ZERMATT +(BREUILJOCH)—AQUEOUS AND GLACIER EROSION—GLACIER VERSUS ROCKS—SEILER’S +DISINTERESTEDNESS—THE MATTERHORN CLIFFS—EXTRAORDINARY ACCIDENT TO A +CHAMOIS—COL DE VALPELLINE—THE MASTER OF PRERAYEN—ATTEMPT TO ASCEND DENT +D’ERIN (D’HÉRENS)—THE VA CORNÈRE PASS—FIRST ASCENT OF THE GRAND +TOURNALIN—SPLENDID VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT—ON PANORAMIC VIEWS—GOUFFRE DES +BUSSERAILLES—AN ENTERPRISING INNKEEPER + + 88-113 + + CHAPTER VI. + + OUR SIXTH ATTEMPT TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN. + +EXTREMES MEET—THUNDER AND LIGHTNING—ECHOES OF THUNDER—GREAT ROCKFALLS +DURING THE NIGHT—DEFEATED BY THE WEATHER—MYSTERIOUS MISTS + + 114-123 + + 1864 + + CHAPTER VII. + + FROM ST. MICHEL TO LA BÉRARDE BY THE COL DES AIGS. D’ARVE, COL DE + MARTIGNARE, AND THE BRÈCHE DE LA MEIJE. + +RETURN AGAIN TO DAUPHINÉ—MICHEL CROZ—COL DE VALLOIRES—THE AIGUILLES +D’ARVE—WE MAKE A PASS BETWEEN THEM—COL DE MARTIGNARE—ASCENT OF THE AIG. DE +LA SAUSSE—THE MEIJE—FIRST PASSAGE OF THE BRÈCHE DE LA MEIJE—MELCHIOR +ANDEREGG—LA GRAVE—THE BRÈCHE IS WON—THE VALLON DES ETANÇONS + + 124-144 + + CHAPTER VIII. + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE POINTE DES ECRINS. + +LA BÉRARDE—PIC THE PORTER—BIVOUAC ON THE GLACIER DE LA BONNE +PIERRE—DISSOLVING VIEWS—DRYNESS OF THE AIR—TOPOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL DAUPHINÉ +ALPS—FIRST ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND THE ECRINS—A MIGHTY AVALANCHE—OUR ASCENT OF +THE FINAL PEAK—ON SPLINTERS FROM SUMMITS—LE JEU NE VAUT PAS LA +CHANDELLE—SHATTERED RIDGE—ALMER’S LEAP—SURPRISED BY NIGHT—A WARNING + + 145-165 + + CHAPTER IX. + + FROM VAL LOUISE TO LA BÉRARDE BY THE COL DE PILATTE. + +CHALETS OF ENTRAIGUES—ARRIVAL OF REYNAUD—ON SNOW COULOIRS—SUMMIT OF THE +COL—EXCITING DESCENT—REYNAUD COMES OVER THE SCHRUND—THE LAST OF DAUPHINÉ + + 166-175 + + CHAPTER X. + +THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE COL DE TRIOLET, AND FIRST ASCENTS OF MONT DOLENT, + AIGUILLE DE TRÉLATÊTE, AND AIGUILLE D’ARGENTIÈRE. + +MAPS OF MONT BLANC—MR. ADAMS-REILLY—OUR COMPACT—THE PEAKS OF THE MONT +BLANC RANGE—ACROSS THE COL DE TRIOLET—A MINIATURE ASCENT—REILLY ADVOCATES +PATIENCE—BIVOUAC ON MONT SUC—THE FIRST ASCENT OF AIG. DE TRÉLATÊTE—THE +MORAINE OF THE MIAGE—ON MORAINES IN GENERAL—ERRONEOUS VIEWS RESPECTING +THEM—OUR FIRST ATTEMPT TO ASCEND AIG. D’ARGENTIÈRE—A CONCEALED +CAVERN—SUCCESS AT LAST—MR. REILLY’S MAP + + 176-192 + + CHAPTER XI. + + THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE MOMING PASS—ZINAL TO ZERMATT. + +SWISS MENDICANTS—NIGHT ON THE ARPITETTA ALP—A PERILOUS +PATH—ICE-AVALANCHE—SUMMIT OF THE MOMING PASS—CROZ DISTINGUISHES +HIMSELF—THE CLUB-ROOM OF ZERMATT + + 193-203 + + 1865 + + CHAPTER XII. + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE GRAND CORNIER. + +ON CHOICE OF ROUTES—REGRETS—ZINAL—ASCENT OF THE GRAND CORNIER—EFFECTS OF +SUN AND FROST—GREAT RIDGES SUFFER MOST—POINTS OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN +ATMOSPHERIC AND GLACIER EROSION—ABRICOLLA + + 204-214 + + CHAPTER XIII. + + THE ASCENT OF THE DENT BLANCHE. + +LESLIE STEPHEN—KENNEDY’S ASCENT—ON BERGSCHRUNDS—UNWELCOME ATTENTIONS—A +RACE FOR LIFE—BENIGHTED—A SURPRISE + + 215-222 + + CHAPTER XIV. + + LOST ON THE COL D’HÉRENS—SEVENTH ATTEMPT TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN—THE + FIRST ASCENT OF THE GRANDES JORASSES. + +A LATE START AND THE RESULT—BEWILDERED—RETURN TO ABRICOLLA—CROSS COL +D’HÉRENS TO ZERMATT—ASCEND THE THÉODULHORN—NEW IDEAS REGARDING THE +MATTERHORN—DECEPTIVENESS OF THE EAST FACE—STRATIFICATION—DIP OF THE +BEDS—TRY ANOTHER ROUTE—“SAUVE QUI PEUT”—BEATEN AGAIN—ASCENT OF THE GRANDES +JORASSES—NARROW ESCAPE FROM AN AVALANCHE + + 223-238 + + CHAPTER XV. + + THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE COL DOLENT. + +CONFUSION OF IDEAS—A MIDNIGHT START—SUMMIT OF THE PASS—EXTRAORDINARY +ICE-WALL—MANNER OF ITS DESCENT—ON ICE-AXES AND THEIR USE—ON ICE-SLOPES AND +THEIR SAFETY—CRAMPONS—ARRIVAL AT CHAMOUNIX + + 239-246 + + CHAPTER XVI. + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE AIGUILLE VERTE. + +CROZ LEAVES US—CHRISTIAN ALMER—SUNSET ON THE MER DE GLACE—ASCENT OF THE +AIGUILLE—ADVICE TO MOUNTAIN WALKERS—VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT—STORMS COME ON—A +WORTHY PORTER—THE NOBLE ATTITUDE OF CHAMOUNIX + + 247-254 + + CHAPTER XVII. + + THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE COL DE TALÈFRE. + +THE COL DU GÉANT—THE GLACIER DE TALÈFRE—EASY WAY FROM CHAMOUNIX TO +COURMAYEUR—GLISSADING—PASSES OVER THE MAIN CHAIN OF MONT BLANC + + 255-258 + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE RUINETTE—THE MATTERHORN. + +FACILITY WITH WHICH THE RUINETTE CAN BE ASCENDED—NOBLE PANORAMA—ON +CONCEALED CREVASSES—GUIDES’ OBJECTION TO USE OF THE ROPE—ON THE USE AND +ABUSE OF THE ROPE—ALMER DECLINES THE MATTERHORN—ENGAGE THE CARRELS—THEIR +DEFECTION—THE ITALIANS STEAL A MARCH—ARRIVAL OF LORD FRANCIS +DOUGLAS—MEETING WITH CROZ, HUDSON, AND HADOW + + 259-272 + + CHAPTER XIX. + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE MATTERHORN. + +CHARLES HUDSON—CAMP ON THE EAST FACE—CROZ REPORTS FAVOURABLY—ASCENT OF THE +EASTERN FACE—CROSS TO THE NORTHERN SIDE—ARRIVAL AT SUMMIT—DISCOMFITURE OF +THE ITALIANS—ASTONISHMENT AT BREIL—MARVELLOUS PANORAMA + + 273-283 + + CHAPTER XX. + + THE DESCENT OF THE MATTERHORN. + +ORDER OF THE DESCENT—A FRIGHTFUL AVALANCHE—HADOW SLIPS—DEATH OF CROZ, +HADOW, HUDSON, AND LORD F. DOUGLAS—TERROR OF THE TAUGWALDERS—THE BROKEN +ROPE—AN APPARITION—AN INFAMOUS PROPOSITION—SURPRISED BY NIGHT—SEARCH FOR +AND RECOVERY OF THE BODIES—OFFICIAL EXAMINATION—THE END + + 284-298 + + APPENDIX. + + PAGE +*A.* THE DEATH OF BENNEN 301 +*B.* STRUCK BY LIGHTNING UPON THE MATTERHORN 303 +*C.* NOTE ON THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN FRANCE 304 +*D.* SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE MATTERHORN 304 +*E.* TABLE OF ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN 315 +*F.* TABLE OF ASCENTS OF THE MATTERHORN 316 +*G.* GEOLOGY OF THE MATTERHORN, BY SIG. F. GIORDANO 323 +*H.* PROFESSOR TYNDALL AND THE MATTERHORN 325 + + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + The Drawings were made on the Wood by +H. J. BOOT, GUSTAVE DORÉ, C. JOHNSON, J. MAHONEY, J. W. NORTH, P. SKELTON, +W. G. SMITH, C. J. STANILAND, and J. WOLF; and were Engraved by J. W. and + EDWARD WHYMPER. + + FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. + + 1. “THEY SAW MASSES OF ROCKS, BOULDERS AND _Frontispiece._ + STONES, BIG AND LITTLE, DART ROUND THE + CORNER” + 2. OUTLINES OF THE MATTERHORN FROM THE _To face page_ 44 + NORTH-EAST AND FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE + THÉODULE PASS (TO SHOW RIDGES, AND POINTS + ATTAINED ON THE DIFFERENT ATTEMPTS TO + ASCEND THE MOUNTAIN) + 3. THE MATTERHORN, FROM NEAR THE SUMMIT OF „ 46 + THE THÉODULE PASS + 4. “THE CHIMNEY” „ 76 + 5. “IN ATTEMPTING TO PASS THE CORNER I „ 78 + SLIPPED AND FELL” + 6. A CANNONADE ON THE MATTERHORN (1862) „ 84 + 7. “THEY SCATTERED IN A PANIC WHEN SALUTED BY „ 107 + THE CRIES OF MY EXCITED COMRADE” + 8. THE CRAGS OF THE MATTERHORN, DURING THE „ 120 + STORM, MIDNIGHT, AUGUST 10, 1863 + 9. THE CLUB-ROOM OF ZERMATT IN 1864 „ 202 +10. THE MATTERHORN FROM THE RIFFELBERG „ 227 +11. SECTIONS OF THE MATTERHORN „ 230 +12. FOG-BOW, SEEN FROM THE MATTERHORN ON JULY „ 288 + 14, 1865 +13. THE HUT ON THE EASTERN FACE (ZERMATT SIDE) „ 309 + OF THE MATTERHORN +14. GEOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE MATTERHORN „ 324 + + IN THE TEXT. + + PAGE + 1. POINT OF ALPENSTOCK vii + 2. BIRMINGHAM PICK-AXE WITH MOVEABLE HEAD viii + 3. RUSSIAN FURNACE viii + 4. COOKING TINS ix + 5. SNOW SPECTACLES x + 6. ARCTIC CAP xi + 7. THE COMPLETE DISGUISE xi + 8. BEACHY HEAD 1 + 9. THE DEVIL OF NOTRE DAME 2 +10. THE CHURCH IN DIFFICULTIES 5 +11. AT THE ST. BERNARD 6 +12. THE VILLAGE OF BIONA 7 +13. CROSSING MONT CENIS 9 +14. “GARIBALDI!” 10 +15. A BIT OF THE VILLAGE OF ZERMATT 12 +16. BRIANÇON 13 +17. MONT PELVOUX FROM ABOVE LA BESSÉE 19 +18. THE GRAND PELVOUX DE VAL LOUISE 21 +19. BUTTRESSES OF MONT PELVOUX 26 +20. PORTRAIT OF THE LATE R. J. S. MACDONALD 29 +21. OUTLINE TO SHOW ROUTE UP MONT PELVOUX 31 +22. THE BLANKET BAG 38 +23. NATURAL PILLAR NEAR MOLINES 40 +24. PORTRAIT OF THE LATE J. J. BENNEN 48 +25. PORTRAIT OF JEAN-ANTOINE CARREL 51 +26. THE COL DU LION: LOOKING TOWARDS THE TÊTE DU LION 53 +27. DIAGRAM TO SHOW MANNER OF FASTENING TENT-POLES 62 +28. THE AUTHOR’S MOUNTAIN TENT 62 +29. CLIMBING CLAW 72 +30. ROPE AND RING 73 +31. AT BREIL (GIOMEIN) 79 +32. THE MATTERHORN FROM BREIL 85 +33. “BUT WHAT IS THIS?” 88 +34. AN ARCH OF THE AQUEDUCT IN THE VAL TOURNANCHE 92 +35. WATER-WORN ROCKS IN THE GORGE BELOW THE GORNER GLACIER 96 +36. STRIATIONS PRODUCED BY GLACIER-ACTION 97 +37. CHAMOIS IN DIFFICULTIES 102 +38. “CARREL LOWERED ME DOWN” 108 +39. PORTRAIT OF THE LATE CANON CARREL OF AOSTA 109 +40. PORTRAIT OF MONSIEUR FAVRE 121 +41. CROSSING THE CHANNEL 123 +42. PORTRAIT OF THE LATE MICHEL-AUGUSTE CROZ 125 +43. PLAN TO SHOW ROUTE 128 +44. THE AIGUILLES D’ARVE, FROM ABOVE THE CHALETS OF RIEU BLANC 130 +45. PORTRAIT OF MELCHIOR ANDEREGG 138 +46. MAP OF THE BRÈCHE DE LA MEIJE, ETC. 140 +47. DIAGRAM TO SHOW ANGLE OF SUMMIT OF MEIJE, ETC. 142 +48. THE VALLON DES ETANÇONS 143 +49. MAP OF THE CENTRAL DAUPHINÉ ALPS 146 +50. THE POINTE DES ECRINS FROM THE COL DU GALIBIER 155 +51. OUTLINE TO SHOW ROUTE UP POINTE DES ECRINS 156 +52. FRAGMENT FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE POINTE DES ECRINS 159 +53. A NIGHT WITH CROZ 164 +54. A SNOW COULOIR 169 +55. PORTRAITS OF MR. REILLY ON A WET DAY 184 +56. OUR CAMP ON MONT SUC 185 +57. ICE-AVALANCHE ON THE MOMING PASS 198 +58. SUMMIT OF THE MOMING PASS 200 +59. FACSIMILE OF A LETTER FROM CROZ 208 +60. PART OF THE SOUTHERN RIDGE OF THE GRAND CORNIER 210 +61. PART OF THE NORTHERN RIDGE OF THE GRAND CORNIER 211 +62. PORTRAIT OF LESLIE STEPHEN 215 +63. THE BERGSCHRUND ON THE DENT BLANCHE 217 +64. PORTRAIT OF T. S. KENNEDY 222 +65. DIAGRAMS TO SHOW DIP OF STRATA ON THE MATTERHORN 229 +66. MY TENT-BEARER—THE HUNCHBACK 234 +67. THE GRANDES JORASSES AND THE DOIRE TORRENT 237 +68. THE SUMMIT OF THE COL DOLENT 241 +69. MY ICE-AXE 243 +70. KENNEDY ICE-AXE 244 +71. LESLIE STEPHEN ICE-AXE 244 +72. CRAMPON 245 +73. PORTRAIT OF CHRISTIAN ALMER 248 +74. ON THE MER DE GLACE 249 +75. WESTERN SIDE OF THE COL DE TALÈFRE 255 +76. GLISSADING 257 +77. THE WRONG WAY TO USE A ROPE ON GLACIER 263 +78. THE RIGHT WAY TO USE A ROPE ON GLACIER 264 +79. “CROZ! CROZ!! COME HERE!” 279 +80. THE SUMMIT OF THE MATTERHORN IN 1865 281 +81. THE ACTUAL SUMMIT OF THE MATTERHORN 284 +82. ROPE BROKEN ON THE MATTERHORN 287 +83. DIAGRAM OF FOG-BOW 289 +84. PORTRAIT OF MONSIEUR ALEX. SEILER 290 +85. THE MANILLA ROPE BROKEN ON THE MATTERHORN 292 +86. THE “SECOND” ROPE BROKEN ON THE MATTERHORN 293 +87. THE ENGLISH CHURCH AT ZERMATT 294 +88. THE END 298 +89. THE CHAPEL AT THE SCHWARZSEE 310 +90. THE SUMMIT OF THE MATTERHORN IN 1874 (NORTHERN END) 311 +91. “THE THINGS WHICH TUMBLE ABOUT THE EARS OF UNWARY 325 + TRAVELLERS” + + MAPS. + + _To be placed at the end of the Volume._ + + 1. THE MATTERHORN AND ITS GLACIERS (_in colours_). + + 2. THE VALLEY OF ZERMATT; AND THE CENTRAL PENNINE ALPS. + + +The body of the work has been printed by Messrs. WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS; + and the separate Plates have been printed by the AUTHOR. + + + + + + + THE ASCENT OF THE MATTERHORN + + [Illustration: BEACHY HEAD.] + + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + +On the 23d of July 1860, I started for my first tour in the Alps. As we +steamed out into the Channel, Beachy Head came into view, and recalled a +scramble of many years ago. With the impudence of ignorance, my brother(4) +and I, schoolboys both, had tried to scale that great chalk cliff. Not the +head itself—where sea-birds circle, and where the flints are ranged so +orderly in parallel lines—but at a place more to the east, where the +pinnacle called the Devil’s Chimney had fallen down. Since that time we +have been often in dangers of different kinds, but never have we more +nearly broken our necks than upon that occasion. + +In Paris I made two ascents. The first to the seventh floor of a house in +the Quartier Latin—to an artist friend, who was engaged, at the moment of +my entry, in combat with a little Jew. He hurled him with great good-will, +and with considerable force, into some of his crockery, and then +recommended me to go up the towers of Notre Dame. Half-an-hour later I +stood on the parapet of the great west front, by the side of the leering +fiend which for centuries has looked down upon the great city, and then +took rail to Switzerland; saw the sunlight lingering on the giants of the +Oberland; heard the echoes from the cow-horns in the Lauterbrunnen valley +and the avalanches rattling off the Jungfrau; and crossed the Gemmi into +the Valais. + + [Illustration: THE DEVIL OF NOTRE DAME.] + +I was bound for the valley of Saas, and my work took me high up the Alps +on either side; far beyond the limit of trees and the tracks of tourists. +The view from the slopes of the Weissmies, on the eastern side of the +valley, 5000 or 6000 feet above the village of Saas, is perhaps the finest +of its kind in the Alps. The full height of the three-peaked Mischabel +(the highest mountain in Switzerland) is seen at one glance; 11,000 feet +of dense forests, green alps, rocky pinnacles, and glittering glaciers. +The peaks seemed to me then to be hopelessly inaccessible from this +direction. + +I next descended the valley to the village of Stalden, and went up the +Visp Thal to Zermatt, and stopped there several days. Numerous traces of +the formidable earthquake-shocks of five years before still remained; +particularly at St. Nicholas, where the inhabitants had been terrified +beyond measure at the destruction of their churches and houses. At this +place, as well as at Visp, a large part of the population was obliged to +live under canvas for several months. It is remarkable that there was +hardly a life lost on this occasion, although there were about fifty +shocks, some of which were very severe. + +At Zermatt I wandered in many directions, but the weather was bad, and my +work was much retarded. One day, after spending a long time in attempts to +sketch near the Hörnli, and in futile endeavours to seize the forms of the +peaks as they for a few seconds peered out from above the dense banks of +woolly clouds, I determined not to return to Zermatt by the usual path, +and to cross the Gorner glacier to the Riffel hotel. After a rapid +scramble over the polished rocks and snowbeds which skirt the base of the +Théodule glacier, and wading through some of the streams which flow from +it, at that time much swollen by the late rains, the first difficulty was +arrived at, in the shape of a precipice about three hundred feet high. It +seemed that it would be easy enough to cross the glacier if the cliff +could be descended; but higher up, and lower down, the ice appeared, to my +inexperienced eyes, to be impassable for a single person. The general +contour of the cliff was nearly perpendicular, but it was a good deal +broken up, and there was little difficulty in descending by zigzagging +from one mass to another. At length there was a long slab, nearly smooth, +fixed at an angle of about forty degrees between two wall-sided pieces of +rock. Nothing, except the glacier, could be seen below. It was an awkward +place, but I passed it at length by lying across the slab, putting the +shoulders stiffly against one side, and the feet against the other, and +gradually wriggling down, by first moving the legs and then the back. When +the bottom of the slab was gained a friendly crack was seen, into which +the point of the baton could be stuck, and I dropped down to the next +piece. It took a long time coming down that little bit of cliff, and for a +few seconds it was satisfactory to see the ice close at hand. In another +moment a second difficulty presented itself. The glacier swept round an +angle of the cliff, and as the ice was not of the nature of treacle or +thin putty, it kept away from the little bay, on the edge of which I +stood. We were not widely separated, but the edge of the ice was higher +than the opposite edge of rock; and worse, the rock was covered with loose +earth and stones which had fallen from above. All along the side of the +cliff, as far as could be seen in both directions, the ice did not touch +it, but there was this marginal crevasse, seven feet wide, and of unknown +depth. + +All this was seen at a glance, and almost at once I concluded that I could +not jump the crevasse, and began to try along the cliff lower down; but +without success, for the ice rose higher and higher, until at last further +progress was stopped by the cliffs becoming perfectly smooth. With an axe +it would have been possible to cut up the side of the ice; without one I +saw there was no alternative but to return and face the jump. + +Night was approaching, and the solemn stillness of the High Alps was +broken only by the sound of rushing water or of falling rocks. If the jump +should be successful,—well; if not, I fell into that horrible chasm, to be +frozen in, or drowned in that gurgling, rushing water. Everything depended +on that jump. Again I asked myself, “Can it be done?” It _must_ be. So, +finding my stick was useless, I threw it and the sketch-book to the ice, +and first retreating as far as possible, ran forward with all my might, +took the leap, barely reached the other side, and fell awkwardly on my +knees. + +The glacier was crossed without further trouble, but the Riffel,(5) which +was then a very small building, was crammed with tourists, and could not +take me in. As the way down was unknown to me, some of the people +obligingly suggested getting a man at the chalets, otherwise the path +would be certainly lost in the forest. On arriving at the chalets no man +could be found, and the lights of Zermatt, shining through the trees, +seemed to say, “Never mind a guide, but come along down, I’ll show you the +way;” so off I went through the forest, going straight towards them. The +path was lost in a moment, and was never recovered. I was tripped up by +pine-roots, tumbled over rhododendron bushes, fell over rocks. The night +was pitch dark, and after a time the lights of Zermatt became obscure, or +went out altogether. By a series of slides, or falls, or evolutions more +or less disagreeable, the descent through the forest was at length +accomplished; but torrents of formidable character had still to be passed +before one could arrive at Zermatt. I felt my way about for hours, almost +hopelessly; by an exhaustive process at last discovering a bridge, and +about midnight, covered with dirt and scratches, re-entered the inn which +I had quitted in the morning. + + [Illustration: The church in difficulties] + +Others besides tourists get into difficulties. A day or two afterwards, +when on the way to my old station, near the Hörnli, I met a stout curé who +had essayed to cross the Théodule pass. His strength or his wind had +failed, and he was being carried down, a helpless bundle and a ridiculous +spectacle, on the back of a lanky guide; while the peasants stood by, with +folded hands, their reverence for the church almost overcome by their +sense of the ludicrous. + +I descended the valley, diverging from the path at Randa to mount the +slopes of the Dom,(6) in order to see the Weisshorn face to face. The +latter mountain is the noblest in Switzerland, and from this direction it +looks especially magnificent. On its north there is a large snowy plateau +that feeds the glacier of which a portion is seen from Randa, and which on +more than one occasion has destroyed that village. From the direction of +the Dom (that is, immediately opposite) this Bies glacier seems to descend +nearly vertically. It does not do so, although it is very steep. Its size +is much less than formerly, and the lower portion, now divided into three +tails, clings in a strange, weird-like manner to the cliffs, to which it +seems scarcely possible that it can remain attached. + + [Illustration: At the St. Bernard] + +Arriving once more in the Rhone valley, I proceeded to Viesch, and from +thence ascended the Eggischorn; on which unpleasant eminence I lost my way +in a fog, and my temper shortly afterwards. Then, after crossing the +Grimsel in a severe thunderstorm, passed on to Brienz, Interlachen, and +Bern; and thence to Fribourg and Morat, Neuchâtel, Martigny, and the St. +Bernard. The massive walls of the convent were a welcome sight as I waded +through the snow-beds near the summit of the pass, and pleasant also was +the courteous salutation of the brother who bade me enter. He wondered at +the weight of my knapsack, and I at the hardness of his bread. The saying +that the monks make the toast in the winter that they give to tourists in +the following season is not founded on truth; the winter is their most +busy time of the year. But it _is_ true they have exercised so much +hospitality, that at times they have not possessed the means to furnish +the fuel for heating their chapel in the winter.(7) + +Instead of descending to Aosta, I turned aside into the Val Pelline, in +order to obtain views of the Dent d’Erin. The night had come on before +Biona was gained, and I had to knock long and loud upon the door of the +curé’s house before it was opened. An old woman, with querulous voice, and +with a large goître, answered the summons, and demanded rather sharply +what was wanted; but became pacific—almost good-natured—when a five-franc +piece was held in her face, and she heard that lodging and supper were +requested in exchange. + + [Illustration: THE VILLAGE OF BIONA.] + +My directions asserted that a passage existed from Prerayen, at the head +of this valley, to Breil,(8) in the Val Tournanche, and the old woman, now +convinced of my respectability, busied herself to find a guide. Presently +she introduced a native, picturesquely attired in high-peaked hat, braided +jacket, scarlet waistcoat, and indigo pantaloons, who agreed to take me to +the village of Val Tournanche. We set off early on the next morning, and +got to the summit of the pass without difficulty. It gave me my first +experience of considerable slopes of hard steep snow, and, like all +beginners, I endeavoured to prop myself up with my stick, and kept it +_outside_, instead of holding it between myself and the slope, and leaning +upon it, as should have been done. The man enlightened me; but he had, +properly, a very small opinion of his employer, and it is probably on that +account that, a few minutes after we had passed the summit, he said he +would not go any further and would return to Biona. All argument was +useless; he stood still, and to everything that was said answered nothing +but that he would go back. Being rather nervous about descending some long +snow-slopes, which still intervened between us and the head of the valley, +I offered more pay, and he went on a little way. Presently there were some +cliffs down which we had to scramble. He called to me to stop, then +shouted that he would go back, and beckoned to me to come up. On the +contrary, I waited for him to come down; but instead of doing so, in a +second or two he turned round, clambered deliberately up the cliff, and +vanished. I supposed it was only a ruse to extort offers of more money, +and waited for half-an-hour, but he did not appear again. This was rather +embarrassing, for he carried off my knapsack. The choice of action lay +between chasing him and going on to Breil, risking the loss of my +knapsack. I chose the latter course, and got to Breil the same evening. +The landlord of the inn, suspicious of a person entirely innocent of +luggage, was doubtful if he could admit me, and eventually thrust me into +a kind of loft, which was already occupied by guides and by hay. In later +years we became good friends, and he did not hesitate to give credit and +even to advance considerable sums. + +My sketches from Breil were made under difficulties, for my materials had +been carried off. Nothing better than fine sugar-paper could be obtained, +and the pencils seemed to contain more silica than plumbago. However, they +_were_ made, and the pass(9) was again crossed, this time alone. By the +following evening the old woman of Biona again produced the faithless +guide. The knapsack was recovered after the lapse of several hours, and +then I poured forth all the terms of abuse and reproach of which I was +master. The man smiled when called a liar, and shrugged his shoulders when +referred to as a thief, but drew his knife when spoken of as a pig. + + [Illustration: CROSSING MONT CENIS.] + +The following night was spent at Courmayeur, and the day after I crossed +the Col Ferret to Orsières, and on the next the Tête Noire to Chamounix. +The Emperor Napoleon arrived on the same day, and access to the Mer de +Glace was refused to tourists; but, by scrambling along the Plan des +Aiguilles, I managed to outwit the guards, and to arrive at the Montanvert +as the Imperial party was leaving: the same afternoon failing to get to +the Jardin, but very nearly succeeding in breaking a leg by dislodging +great rocks on the moraine of the glacier. + + [Illustration: “GARIBALDI!”] + +From Chamounix I went to Geneva, and thence by the Mont Cenis to Turin and +to the Vaudois valleys. A long and weary day had ended when Paesana was +reached. The inn was full, and I was tired, and about to go to bed, when +some village stragglers entered and began to sing. They sang to Garibaldi! +The tenor, a ragged fellow, whose clothes were not worth a shilling, took +the lead with wonderful expression and feeling. The others kept their +places, and sang in admirable time. For hours I sat enchanted; and, long +after I retired, the sound of their melody could be heard, relieved at +times by the treble of the girl who belonged to the inn. + +The next morning I passed the little lakes, which are the sources of the +Po, on my way into France. The weather was stormy, and misinterpreting the +patois of some natives—who in reality pointed out the right way—I missed +the track, and found myself under the cliffs of Monte Viso. A gap that was +occasionally seen, in the ridge connecting it with the mountains to the +east, tempted me up; and, after a battle with a snow-slope of excessive +steepness, I reached the summit. The scene was extraordinary, and, in my +experience, unique. To the north there was not a particle of mist, and the +violent wind coming from that direction blew one back staggering. But on +the side of Italy, the valleys were completely filled with dense masses of +cloud to a certain level; and there—where they felt the influence of the +wind—they were cut off as level as the top of a table, the ridges +appearing above them. + +I raced down to Abries, and went on through the gorge of the Guil to Mont +Dauphin. The next day found me at La Bessée, at the junction of the Val +Louise with the valley of the Durance, in full view of Mont Pelvoux; and +by chance I walked into a cabaret where a Frenchman was breakfasting, who, +a few days before, had made an unsuccessful attempt to ascend that +mountain with three Englishmen and the guide Michel Croz of Chamounix;(10) +a right good fellow, by name Jean Reynaud. + +The same night I slept at Briançon, intending to take the courier on the +following day to Grenoble; but all places had been secured several days +beforehand, so I set out at two P.M. on the next day for a seventy-mile +walk. The weather was again bad; and on the summit of the Col de Lautaret +I was forced to seek shelter in the wretched little hospice. It was filled +with workmen who were employed on the road, and with noxious vapours which +proceeded from them. The inclemency of the weather was preferable to the +inhospitality of the interior. Outside, it was disagreeable, but grand; +inside, it was disagreeable and mean.(11) The walk was continued under a +deluge of rain, and I felt the way down—so intense was the darkness—to the +village of La Grave, where the people of the inn detained me forcibly. It +was perhaps fortunate that they did so; for, during that night, blocks of +rock fell at several places from the cliffs on to the road with such force +that they made large pits in the macadam. I resumed the walk at half-past +five the next morning, and proceeded, under steady rain, through Bourg +d’Oysans to Grenoble, arriving at the latter place soon after seven P.M., +having accomplished the entire distance from Briançon in about eighteen +hours of actual walking. + + + +This was the end of the Alpine portion of my tour of 1860, on which I was +introduced to the great peaks, and acquired the passion for +mountain-scrambling, the development of which is described in the +following chapters. + + [Illustration: A BIT OF THE VILLAGE OF ZERMATT.] + + [Illustration: BRIANÇON.] + + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + + THE ASCENT OF MONT PELVOUX. + + + “Thus fortune on our first endeavour smiles.” + VIRGIL. + + +The district of which Mont Pelvoux and the neighbouring summits are the +culminating points,(12) is, both historically and topographically, one of +the most interesting in the Alps. As the nursery and the home of the +Vaudois, it has claims to permanent attention. The names of Waldo and of +Neff will be remembered when men more famous in their time will be +forgotten; and the memory of the heroic courage and the simple piety of +their disciples will endure as long as history lasts. + +This district contains the highest summits in France, and some of its +finest scenery. It has not perhaps the beauties of Switzerland, but has +charms of its own; its cliffs, its torrents, and its gorges are +unsurpassed; its deep and savage valleys present pictures of grandeur, and +even sublimity, and it is second to none in the boldness of its mountain +forms. + +The district includes a mass of valleys which vie with each other in +singularity of character and dissimilarity of climate. Some the rays of +the sun can never reach, they are so deep and narrow.(13) In others the +very antipodes may be found; the temperature more like that of the plains +of Italy than of Alpine France. This great range of climate has a marked +effect on the flora of these valleys. Sterility reigns in some; stones +take the place of trees; débris and mud replace plants and flowers: in +others, in the space of a few miles, one passes vines, apple, pear, and +cherry trees, the birch, alder, walnut, ash, larch, and pine, alternating +with fields of rye, barley, oats, beans, and potatoes. + +The valleys are for the most part short and erratic. They are not, +apparently, arranged on any definite plan. They are not disposed, as is +frequently the case elsewhere, either at right angles to, or parallel +with, the highest summits; but they wander hither and thither, take one +direction for a few miles, then double back, and then perhaps resume their +original course. Thus, long perspectives are rarely to be seen, and it is +difficult to form a general idea of the disposition of the peaks. + +The highest summits are arranged almost in a horse-shoe form. The highest +of all, which occupies a central position, is the Pointe des Ecrins; the +second in height, the Meije,(14) is on the north; and the Mont Pelvoux, +which gives its name to the entire block, stands almost detached by itself +on the outside. + +The district is still very imperfectly known; there are probably many +valleys, and there are certainly many summits which have never been +trodden by the feet of tourists or travellers; but in 1861 it was even +less known. Until quite recently there was, practically, no map of it;(15) +General Bourcet’s, which was the best that was published, was completely +wrong in its delineation of the mountains, and was frequently incorrect in +regard to paths or roads. + +The mountainous regions of Dauphiné, moreover, are not supplied, like +Switzerland, Tyrol, or even the Italian valleys, with accommodation for +travellers. The inns, when they exist, are often filthy beyond +description; rest is seldom obtained in their beds, or decent food found +in their kitchens, and there are no local guides worth having. The tourist +is thrown very much on his own resources, and it is not therefore +surprising that these districts are less visited and less known than the +rest of the Alps. + +Most of the statements current in 1861 respecting these mountains had been +derived from two authors(16)—M. Elie de Beaumont and the late Principal J. +D. Forbes. Their works, however, contained numerous errors in regard to +the identification of the peaks, and, amongst others, they referred the +supremacy to the Mont Pelvoux, the highest point of which they termed the +Pointe des Arcines, or des Ecrins. Principal Forbes erroneously identified +the high peak seen from the valley of St. Christophe, with that seen from +the valley of the Durance, and spoke of both as the Mont Pelvoux, and M. +de Beaumont committed similar mistakes. In point of fact, at the time when +M. de Beaumont and Forbes wrote their respective memoirs, the proper +relation of the Mont Pelvoux to the neighbouring summits had been +determined by the engineers employed on the survey for the map of France, +but their observations were not then accessible to the public, although +they had evidently been seen by M. de Beaumont. This party of surveyors, +led by Captain Durand, made the ascent of Mont Pelvoux from the side of +the Val d’Ailefroide—that is, from the direction of Val Louise—in 1828. +According to the natives of the Val Louise, they got to the top of the +second peak in height, and remained upon it, lodged in a tent for several +days, at a height of 12,904 feet. They took numerous porters to carry wood +for fires, and erected a large cairn on the summit, which has caused the +name of Pic de la Pyramide to be given to their summit. + +In 1848, M. Puiseux made the ascent from the same direction, but his Val +Louisan guide stopped short of the summit, and allowed this courageous +astronomer to proceed by himself.(17) + +In the middle of August 1860, Messrs. Bonney, Hawkshaw, and Mathews, with +Michel Croz of Chamounix, tried to ascend the Pelvoux, likewise from the +same direction. These gentlemen spent several days and nights upon the +mountain; and, encountering bad weather, only attained a height of 10,430 +feet. + +M. Jean Reynaud, of whom mention has been made in the preceding chapter, +accompanied the party of Mr. Mathews, and he was of opinion that the +attempt had been made too late in the season. He said that the weather was +usually good enough for high mountain ascents _only_ during the last few +days of July, and the first ones of August,(18) and suggested that we +should attempt to ascend the mountain in the following year at that time. +The proposition was a tempting one, and Reynaud’s cordial and modest +manner made it irresistible, although there seemed small chance that we +should succeed where a party such as that of Mr. Mathews had been beaten. + +At the beginning of July 1861, I despatched to Reynaud from Havre, +blankets (which were taxed as “prohibited fabrics”), rope, and other +things desirable for the excursion, and set out on the tour of France; +but, four weeks later, at Nîmes, found myself completely collapsed by the +heat, then 94° Faht. in the shade, and took a night train at once to +Grenoble. + +Grenoble is a town upon which a volume might be written. Its situation is +probably the finest of any in France, and the views from its high forts +are superb. I lost my way in the streets of this picturesque and noisome +town, and having but a half-hour left in which to get a dinner and take a +place in the diligence, was not well pleased to hear that an Englishman +wished to see me. It turned out to be my friend Macdonald, who confided to +me that he was going to try to ascend a mountain called Pelvoux in the +course of ten days. On hearing of my intentions, he agreed to join us at +La Bessée on the 3rd of August. In a few moments more I was perched in the +banquette _en route_ for Bourg d’Oysans, in a miserable vehicle which took +nearly eight hours to accomplish less than 30 miles. + +At five on a lovely morning I shouldered my knapsack and started for +Briançon. Gauzy mists clung to the mountains, but melted away when touched +by the sun, and disappeared by jerks (in the manner of views when focussed +in a magic lantern), revealing the wonderfully bent and folded strata in +the limestone cliffs behind the town. Then I entered the Combe de Malval, +and heard the Romanche eating its way through that wonderful gorge, and +passed on to Le Dauphin, where the first glacier came into view, tailing +over the mountain-side on the right. From this place until the summit of +the Col de Lautaret was passed, every gap in the mountains showed a +glittering glacier or a soaring peak; the finest view was at La Grave, +where the Meije rises by a series of tremendous precipices 8000 feet above +the road.(19) The finest distant view of the pass is seen after crossing +the Col, near Monêtier. A mountain, commonly supposed to be Monte Viso, +appears at the end of the vista, shooting into the sky;(20) in the middle +distance, but still ten miles off, is Briançon with its interminable +forts, and in the foreground, leading down to the Guisane, and rising high +up the neighbouring slopes, are fertile fields, studded with villages and +church spires. The next day I walked over from Briançon to La Bessée, to +my worthy friend Jean Reynaud, the surveyor of roads of his district. + +All the peaks of Mont Pelvoux are well seen from La Bessée—the highest +point, as well as that upon which the engineers erected their cairn. +Neither Reynaud nor any one else knew this. The natives knew only that the +engineers had ascended one peak, and had seen from that one a still higher +point, which they called the Pointe des Arcines or des Ecrins. They could +not say whether this latter could be seen from La Bessée, nor could they +tell the peak upon which the cairn had been erected. We were under the +impression that the highest point was concealed by the peaks which we saw, +and would be gained by passing over them. They knew nothing of the ascent +of Monsieur Puiseux, and they confidently asserted that the highest point +of Mont Pelvoux had not been attained by any one. It was this point we +wished to reach. + + [Illustration: MONT PELVOUX FROM ABOVE LA BESSÉE.] + +Nothing prevented our starting at once but the absence of Macdonald and +the want of a bâton. Reynaud suggested a visit to the postmaster, who +possessed a bâton of local celebrity. Down we went to the bureau; but it +was closed: we halloed through the slits, but no answer. At last the +postmaster was discovered endeavouring (with very fair success) to make +himself intoxicated. He was just able to ejaculate, “France! ’tis the +first nation in the world!” which is a phrase used by a Frenchman at times +when a Briton would begin to shout, “We won’t go home till +morning”—national glory being uppermost in the thoughts of one, and home +in those of the other. The bâton was produced; it was a branch of a young +oak, about five feet long, gnarled and twisted in several directions. +“Sir,” said the postmaster, as he presented it, “France! ’tis the +first—the first nation in the world, by its”—he stuck. “Bâtons?” I +suggested. “Yes, yes, sir; by its bâtons, by its—its,” and here he could +not get on at all. As I looked at this young limb, I thought of my own; +but Reynaud, who knew everything about everybody in the village, said +there was not a better one, so off we went with it, leaving the official +staggering in the road and muttering, “France! ’tis the first nation in +the world!” + +The 3rd of August came, and Macdonald did not appear, so we started for +the Val Louise; our party consisting of Reynaud, myself, and a porter, +Jean Casimir Giraud, nicknamed “little nails,” the shoemaker of the place. +An hour and a half’s smart walking took us to La Ville de Val Louise, our +hearts gladdened by the glorious peaks of Pelvoux shining out without a +cloud around them. I renewed acquaintance with the mayor of “La Ville.” +His aspect was original, and his manners were gracious, but the odour +which proceeded from him was dreadful. + +Reynaud kindly undertook to look after the commissariat, and I found to my +annoyance, when we were about to leave, that I had given tacit consent to +a small wine-cask being carried with us, which was a great nuisance from +the commencement. It was excessively awkward to handle; one man tried to +carry it, and then another, and at last it was slung from one of our +bâtons, and was carried by two of us, which gave our party the appearance +of a mechanical diagram to illustrate the uses of levers. + +At “La Ville” the Val Louise splits into two branches—the Val d’Entraigues +on the left and the Vallon d’Alefred (or Ailefroide) on the right; our +route was up the latter, and we moved steadily forwards to the village of +La Pisse, where Pierre Sémiond lived, who was reputed to know more about +the Pelvoux than any other man. He looked an honest fellow, but +unfortunately he was ill and could not come. He recommended his brother, +an aged creature, whose furrowed and wrinkled face hardly seemed to +announce the man we wanted; but having no choice, we engaged him and again +set forth. Walnut and a great variety of other trees gave shadow to our +path and fresh vigour to our limbs; while below, in a sublime gorge, +thundered the torrent, whose waters took their rise from the snows we +hoped to tread on the morrow. + + [Illustration: THE GRAND PELVOUX DE VAL LOUISE.] + +The Pelvoux could not be seen at La Ville, owing to a high intervening +ridge; we were now moving along the foot of this to get to the châlets of +Alefred, or, as they are sometimes called, Aléfroide, where the mountain +actually commences. From these châlets the subordinate, but more +proximate, peaks appear considerably higher than the loftier ones behind, +and sometimes completely conceal them. But the whole height of the peak, +which in these valleys goes under the name of the “Grand Pelvoux,” is seen +at one glance from its summit to its base, six or seven thousand feet of +nearly perpendicular cliffs. + +The châlets of Alefred are a cluster of miserable wooden huts at the foot +of the Grand Pelvoux, and are close to the junction of the streams which +descend from the glacier de Sapenière (or du Selé) on the left, and the +glaciers Blanc and Noir on the right. We rested a minute to purchase some +butter and milk, and Sémiond picked up a disreputable-looking lad to +assist in carrying, pushing, and otherwise moving the wine-cask. + +Our route now turned sharply to the left, and all were glad that the day +was drawing to a close, so that we had the shadows from the mountains. A +more frightful and desolate valley it is scarcely possible to imagine; it +contains miles of boulders, débris, stones, sand, and mud; few trees, and +they placed so high as to be almost out of sight; not a soul inhabits it; +no birds are in the air, no fish in its waters; the mountain is too steep +for the chamois, its slopes too inhospitable for the marmot, the whole too +repulsive for the eagle. Not a living thing did we see in this sterile and +savage valley during four days, except some few poor goats which had been +driven there against their will. + +It was a scene in keeping with the diabolical deed perpetrated here about +four hundred years ago—the murder of the Vaudois of Val Louise, in the +cavern which was now in sight, though high above us. Their story is very +sad. Peaceful and industrious, for more than three centuries they had +inhabited these retired valleys in tranquil obscurity. The Archbishops of +Embrun endeavoured, though with little success, to get them within the +pale of their church. Their efforts were aided by others, who commenced by +imprisonments and torture,(21) and at last adopted the method of burning +them by hundreds at the stake.(22) + +In the year 1488, Albert Cattanée, Archdeacon of Cremona and legate of +Pope Innocent VIII., would have anticipated the barbarities which at a +later date roused the indignation of Milton and the fears of Cromwell;(23) +but, driven everywhere back by the Waldenses of Piedmont, he left their +valleys and crossed the Mont Genèvre to attack the weaker and more thinly +populated valleys of the Vaudois in Dauphiné. At the head of an army which +is said to have been composed of vagabonds, robbers, and assassins (who +had been tempted to his banner by promises of absolution beforehand, of +being set free from the obligation of vows which they might have made, and +by the confirmation of property to them which they might have wrongfully +acquired), as well as regular troops, Cattanée poured down the valley of +the Durance. The inhabitants of the Val Louise fled before a host that was +ten times their number, and took up their abode in this cavern, where they +had collected provisions sufficient for two years. But intolerance is ever +painstaking; their retreat was discovered. Cattanée had a captain who +combined the resources of a Herod to the cruelty of a Pelissier, and, +lowering his men by ropes, fired piles of brushwood at the entrance to the +cavern, suffocated the majority, and slew the remainder. The Vaudois were +relentlessly exterminated, without distinction of age or sex. More than +three thousand persons, it is said, perished in this frightful massacre; +the growth of three hundred and fifty years was destroyed at one blow, and +the valley was completely depopulated. Louis XII. caused it to be +re-peopled, and, after another three centuries and a half, behold the +result—a race of monkeys.(24) + +We rested a little at a small spring, and then hastened onwards till we +nearly arrived at the foot of the Sapenière glacier, when Sémiond said we +must turn to the right, up the slopes. This we did, and clambered for +half-an-hour through scattered firs and fallen boulders. Then evening +began to close in rapidly, and it was time to look for a resting-place. +There was no difficulty in getting one, for all around there was a chaotic +assemblage of rocks. We selected the under side of a boulder which was +more than fifty feet long by twenty high, cleared out the rubbish, and +then collected wood for a fire. + +I have a pleasant recollection of that camp-fire. The wine-cask had got +through all its troubles; it was tapped, and the Frenchmen seemed to +derive some consolation from its execrable contents. Reynaud chanted +scraps of French songs, and each contributed his share of joke, story, or +verse. The weather was perfect, and our prospects for the morrow were +good. My companions’ joy culminated when a packet of red fir was thrown +into the flames. It hissed and bubbled for a moment or two, and then broke +out into a grand flare. The effect of the momentary light was magnificent; +the mountains all around were illuminated for a second, and then relapsed +into their solemn gloom. One by one our party dropped off to sleep, and at +last I got into my blanket-bag. It was hardly necessary, for although we +were at a height of at least 7000 feet, the minimum temperature was above +40° Fahrenheit. + +We roused at three, and made a start at half-past four. Giraud had been +engaged as far as this rock only, but as he wished to go on, we allowed +him to accompany us. We mounted the slopes and quickly got above the +trees, then had a couple of hours’ clambering over bits of precipitous +rock and banks of débris, and, at a quarter to seven, got to a narrow +glacier—Clos de l’Homme—which streamed out of the plateau on the summit, +and nearly reached the glacier de Sapenière. We worked as much as possible +to the right, in hopes that we should not have to cross it, but were +continually driven back, and at last we found that over we must go. Old +Sémiond had a strong objection to the ice, and made explorations on his +own account to endeavour to avoid it; but Reynaud and I preferred to cross +it, and Giraud stuck to us. It was narrow—in fact, one could throw a stone +across—and it was easily mounted on the side; but in the centre swelled +into a steep dome, up which we were obliged to cut. Giraud stepped forward +and said he should like to try his hand, and having got hold of the axe, +would not give it up; and here, as well as afterwards when it was +necessary to cross the gullies filled with hard snow, which abound on the +higher part of the mountain, he did all the work, and did it admirably. + +Old Sémiond of course came after us when we got across. We then zigzagged +up some snow-slopes, and shortly afterwards commenced to ascend the +interminable array of buttresses which are the great peculiarity of the +Pelvoux.(25) They were very steep in many places, yet on the whole +afforded good hold, and no climbing should be called difficult which does +that. Gullies abounded among them, sometimes of great length and depth. +_They_ were frequently rotten, and would have been difficult for a single +man to pass. The uppermost men were continually abused for dislodging +rocks and for harpooning those below with their bâtons. However, without +these incidents the climbing would have been dull—they helped to break the +monotony. + +We went up chimneys and gullies by the hour together, and always seemed to +be coming to something, although we never got to it. The outline sketch +will help to explain the situation. We stood at the foot of a great +buttress—perhaps about 200 feet high—and looked up. It did not go to a +point as in the diagram, because we could not see the top; although we +felt convinced that behind the fringe of pinnacles we did see there was a +top, and that _it_ was the edge of the plateau we so much desired to +attain. Up we mounted, and reached the pinnacles; but, lo! another set was +seen,—and another,—and yet more—till at last we reached the top, and found +it was only a buttress, and that we must descend 40 or 50 feet before we +could commence to mount again. When this operation had been performed a +few dozen times, it began to be wearisome, especially as we were in the +dark as to our whereabouts. Sémiond, however, encouraged us, and said he +knew we were on the right route,—so away we went once more. + + [Illustration: BUTTRESSES OF MONT PELVOUX.] + +It was now nearly mid-day, and we seemed no nearer the summit of the +Pelvoux than when we started. At last we all joined together and held a +council. “Sémiond, old friend, do you know where we are now?” “Oh yes, +perfectly, to a yard and a half.” “Well, then, how much are we below this +plateau?” He affirmed we were not half-an-hour from the edge of the snow. +“Very good; let us proceed.” Half-an-hour passed, and then another, but we +were still in the same state,—pinnacles, buttresses, and gullies were in +profusion, but the plateau was not in sight. So we called him again—for he +had been staring about latterly, as if in doubt—and repeated the question. +“How far below are we now?” Well, he thought it might be half-an-hour +more. “But you said that just now; are you sure we are going right?” Yes, +he believed we were. Believed! that would not do. “Are you sure we are +going right for the Pic des Arcines?” “Pic des Arcines!” he ejaculated in +astonishment, as if he had heard the words for the first time. “Pic des +Arcines; no! but for the pyramid, the celebrated pyramid he had helped the +great Capitaine Durand,” &c. + +Here was a fix;—we had been talking about it to him for a whole day, and +now he confessed he knew nothing about it. I turned to Reynaud, who seemed +thunderstruck. “What did he suggest?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Well,” +we said, after explaining our minds pretty freely to Sémiond, “the sooner +we turn back the better, for we have no wish to see your pyramid.” + +We halted for an hour, and then commenced the descent. It took us nearly +seven hours to come down to our rock; but I paid no heed to the distance, +and do not remember anything about it. When we got down we made a +discovery which affected us as much as the footprint in the sand did +Robinson Crusoe: a blue silk veil lay by our fireside. There was but one +explanation,—Macdonald had arrived; but where was he? We soon packed our +baggage, and tramped in the dusk, through the stony desert, to Alefred, +where we arrived about half-past nine. “Where is the Englishman?” was the +first question. He was gone to sleep at La Ville. + +We passed that night in a hay-loft, and in the morning, after settling +with Sémiond, posted down to catch Macdonald. We had already determined on +the plan of operation, which was to get him to join us, return, and be +independent of all guides, simply taking the best man we could get as a +porter. I set my heart on Giraud,—a good fellow, with no pretence, +although in every respect up to the work. We were disappointed; he was +obliged to go to Briançon. + +The walk soon became exciting. The natives inquired the result of our +expedition, and common civility obliged us to stop. But I was afraid of +losing my man, for it was said he would wait only till ten o’clock, and +that time was near at hand. At last I dashed over the bridge,—time from +Alefred an hour and a quarter. A cantonnier stopped me, saying that the +Englishman had just started for La Bessée. I rushed after him, turned +angle after angle of the road, but could not see him; at last, as I came +round a corner, he was also just turning another, going very fast. I +shouted, and luckily he heard me. We returned, reprovisioned ourselves at +La Ville, and the same evening saw us passing our first rock, _en route_ +for another. I have said we determined to take no guide; but, on passing +La Pisse, old Sémiond turned out and offered his services. He went well, +in spite of his years and disregard of truth. “Why not take him?” said my +friend. So we offered him a fifth of his previous pay, and in a few +seconds he closed with the offer. This time he came in an inferior +position,—we were to lead, he to follow. Our second follower was a youth +of twenty-seven years, who was not all that could be desired. He drank +Reynaud’s wine, smoked our cigars, and quietly secreted the provisions +when we were nearly starving. Discovery of his proceedings did not at all +disconcert him, and he finished up by getting several items added to our +bill at La Ville, which, not a little to his disgust, we disallowed. + +This night we fixed our camp high above the tree-line, and indulged +ourselves in the healthy employment of carrying our fuel up to it. The +present rock was not so comfortable as the first, and, before we could +settle down, we were obliged to turn out a large mass which was in the +way. It was very obstinate, but moved at length; slowly and gently at +first, then faster and faster, at last taking great jumps in the air, +striking a stream of fire at every touch, which shone out brightly as it +entered the gloomy valley below, and long after it was out of sight, we +heard it bounding downwards, and then settle with a subdued crash on the +glacier beneath. As we turned back from this curious sight, Reynaud asked +if we had ever seen a torrent on fire, and told us that in the spring the +Durance, swollen by the melting of the snow, sometimes brings down so many +rocks that, where it passes through a narrow gorge at La Bessée, no water +whatever is seen, but only boulders rolling over and over, grinding each +other into powder, and striking so many sparks that the stream looks as if +it were on fire. + +We had another merry evening with nothing to mar it; the weather was +perfect, and we lay backward in luxurious repose, looking at the sky +spangled with its ten thousand brilliant lights. + + ... “The ranges stood + Transfigured in the silver flood, + Their snows were flashing cold and keen, + Dead white, save where some sharp ravine + Took shadow, or the sombre green + Of hemlocks turned to pitchy black, + Against the whiteness at their back.”(26) + + [Illustration: Portrait of the late R. J. S. Macdonald] + +Macdonald related his experiences over the café noir. He had travelled day +and night for several days in order to join us, but had failed to find our +first bivouac, and had camped a few hundred yards from us under another +rock, higher up the mountain. The next morning he discerned us going along +a ridge at a great height above him, and as it was useless to endeavour to +overtake us, he lay down and watched with a heavy heart until we had +turned the corner of a buttress, and vanished out of sight. + +Nothing but the heavy breathing of our already sound asleep comrades broke +the solemn stillness of the night. It was a silence to be felt. Nothing? +Hark! what is that dull booming sound above us? Is that nothing? There it +is again, plainer—on it comes, nearer, clearer; ’tis a crag escaped from +the heights above! What a fearful crash! We jump to our feet. Down it +comes with awful fury; what power can withstand its violence? Dancing, +leaping, flying; dashing against others; roaring as it descends. Ah, it +has passed! No; there it is again, and we hold our breath, as, with +resistless force and explosions like artillery, it darts past, with an +avalanche of shattered fragments trailing in its rear! ’Tis gone, and we +breathe more freely as we hear the finale on the glacier below.(27) + +We retired at last, but I was too excited to sleep. At a quarter-past four +every man once more shouldered his pack and started. This time we agreed +to keep more to the right, to see if it were not possible to get to the +plateau without losing any time by crossing the glacier. To describe our +route would be to repeat what has been said before. We mounted steadily +for an hour and a half, sometimes walking, though more frequently +climbing, and then found, after all, that it was necessary to cross the +glacier. The part on which we struck came down a very steep slope, and was +much crevassed. The word crevassed hardly expresses its appearance—it was +a mass of formidable séracs. We found, however, more difficulty in getting +on than across it; and, thanks to the rope, it was passed in safety. Then +the interminable buttresses began again. Hour after hour we proceeded +upwards, frequently at fault, and obliged to descend. The ridge behind us +had sunk long ago, and we looked over it, and all others, till our eyes +rested on the majestic Viso. Hour after hour passed, and monotony was the +order of the day. When twelve o’clock came we lunched, and contemplated +the scene with satisfaction; all the summits in sight, with the single +exception of the Viso, had given in, and we looked over an immense +expanse—a perfect sea of peaks and snow-fields. Still the pinnacles rose +above us, and opinions were freely uttered that we should see no summit of +Pelvoux that day. Old Sémiond had become a perfect bore to all; whenever +one rested for a moment to look about, he would say, with a complacent +chuckle, “Don’t be afraid, follow me.” We came at last to a very bad +piece, rotten and steep, and no hold. Here Reynaud and Macdonald confessed +to being tired, and talked of going to sleep. A way was discovered out of +the difficulty; then some one called out, “Look at the Viso!” and we saw +that we almost looked over it. We worked away with redoubled energy, and +at length caught sight of the head of the glacier as it streamed out of +the plateau. This gave us fresh hopes; we were not deceived; and with a +simultaneous shout we greeted the appearance of our long-wished-for snows. +A large crevasse separated us from them; but a bridge was found; we tied +ourselves in line, and moved safely over it. Directly we got across, there +rose before us a fine snow-capped peak. Old Sémiond cried, “The pyramid! I +see the pyramid!” “Where, Sémiond, where?” “There; on the top of that +peak.” + + [Illustration: Outline to show route up Mont Pelvoux] + +There, sure enough, was the cairn he had helped to erect more than thirty +years before. Where was the Pic des Arcines which we were to see? It was +nowhere visible—there was only a great expanse of snow, bordered by three +lower peaks. Somewhat sadly we moved towards the pyramid, sighing that +there was no other to conquer; but hardly had we gone two hundred paces, +before there rose a superb white cone on the left, which had been hidden +before by a slope of snow. We shouted, “The Pic des Arcines!” and inquired +of Sémiond if he knew whether that peak had been ascended. As for him, he +knew nothing, except that the peak before us was called the pyramid, from +the cairn he had, etc. etc., and that it had not been ascended since. “All +right then—face about,” and we immediately turned at right angles for the +cone, the porter making faint struggles for his beloved pyramid. Our +progress was stopped, in the sixth of a mile, by the edge of the ridge +connecting the two peaks, and we perceived that it curled over in a lovely +volute. We involuntarily retreated. Sémiond, who was last in the line, +took the opportunity to untie himself, and refused to come on; said we +were running dangerous risks, and talked vaguely of crevasses. We tied him +up again, and proceeded. The snow was very soft; we were always knee-deep, +and sometimes floundered in up to the waist; but a simultaneous jerk +before and behind always released one. By this time we had arrived at the +foot of the final peak. The left-hand ridge seemed easier than that upon +which we stood, so we curved round to get to it. Some rocks peeped out 150 +feet below the summit, and up these we crawled, leaving our porter behind, +as he said he was afraid. I could not resist the temptation, as we went +off, to turn round and beckon him onwards, saying, “Don’t be afraid—follow +me,” but he did not answer to the appeal, and never went to the top. The +rocks led to a short ridge of ice—our plateau on one side, and a nearly +vertical precipice on the other. Macdonald cut up it, and at a quarter to +two we stood shaking hands on the loftiest summit of the conquered +Pelvoux. + +The day still continued everything that could be desired, and, far and +near, countless peaks burst into sight, without a cloud to hide them. The +mighty Mont Blanc, full seventy miles away, first caught our eyes, and +then, still farther off, the Monte Rosa group; while, rolling away to the +east, one unknown range after another succeeded in unveiled splendour; +fainter and fainter in tone, but still perfectly defined, till at last the +eye was unable to distinguish sky from mountain, and they died away in the +far-off horizon. Monte Viso rose up grandly, but it was less than forty +miles away, and we looked over it to a hazy mass we knew must be the +plains of Piedmont. Southwards a blue mist seemed to indicate the +existence of the distant Mediterranean; to the west we looked over to the +mountains of Auvergne. Such was the panorama; a view extending in nearly +every direction for more than one hundred miles. It was with some +difficulty we wrenched our eyes from the more distant objects to +contemplate the nearer ones. Mont Dauphin was very conspicuous, but La +Bessée was not readily perceived. Besides these places not a habitation +could be seen; all was rock, snow, or ice; and, large as we knew were the +snow-fields of Dauphiné, we were surprised to find that they very far +surpassed our most ardent imagination. Nearly in a line between us and the +Viso, immediately to the south of Chateau Queyras, was a splendid group of +mountains of great height. More to the south an unknown peak seemed still +higher; while close to us we were astonished to discover that there was a +mountain which appeared even higher than that on which we stood. At least +this was my opinion; Macdonald thought that it was not so high, and +Reynaud that it was much about the same elevation as our own peak. + +This mountain was distant a couple of miles or so, and was separated from +us by a tremendous abyss, the bottom of which we could not see. On the +other side rose this mighty wall-sided peak, too steep for snow, black as +night, with sharp ridges and pointed summit. We were in complete ignorance +of its whereabouts, for none of us had been on the other side. We imagined +that La Bérarde was in the abyss at our feet, although it was in reality +beyond the other mountain.(28) + +We left the summit at last, and descended to the rocks and to our porter, +where I boiled some water, obtained by melting snow. After we had fed, and +smoked our cigars (lighted without difficulty from a common match), we +found it was ten minutes past three, and high time to be off. We dashed, +waded, and tumbled for twenty-five minutes through the snow, and then +began the long descent of the rocks. It was nearly four o’clock, and, as +it would be dark at eight, it was evident that there was no time to be +lost, and we pushed on to the utmost. Nothing remarkable occurred going +down. We kept rather closer to the glacier, and crossed at the same point +as in the morning. Getting _off_ it was like getting _on_ it—rather +awkward. Old Sémiond had got over—so had Reynaud; Macdonald came next, +but, as he made a long stretch to get on to a higher mass, he slipped, and +would have been in the bowels of a crevasse in a moment had he not been +tied. + +It was nearly dark by the time we had crossed, yet I still hoped that we +should be able to pass the night at our rock. Macdonald was not so +sanguine, and he was right; for at last we found ourselves quite at fault, +and wandered helplessly up and down for an hour, while Reynaud and the +porter indulged in a little mutual abuse. The dreary fact, that, as we +could not get down, we must stay where we were, was now quite apparent. + +We were at least 10,500 feet high, and if it commenced to rain or snow, as +the gathering clouds and rising wind seemed to threaten, we might be in a +sore plight. We were hungry, having eaten little since 3 A.M., and a +torrent we heard close at hand, but could not discover, aggravated our +thirst. Sémiond endeavoured to get some water from it. Although he +succeeded in doing so, he was wholly unable to return, and we had to +solace him by shouting at intervals through the night. + +A more detestable locality for a night out of doors it is difficult to +imagine. There was not shelter of any kind; it was perfectly exposed to +the chilly wind which began to rise, and it was too steep to promenade. +Loose rubbly stones covered the ground, and had to be removed before we +could sit with any comfort. This was an advantage, although we hardly +thought so at the time, as it gave us some employment, and, after an +hour’s active exercise of that interesting kind, I obtained a small strip +about nine feet long, on which it was possible to walk. Reynaud was +furious at first, and soundly abused the porter, whose opinion as to the +route down had been followed rather than that of our friend, and at last +settled down to a deep dramatic despair, and wrung his hands with frantic +gesture, as he exclaimed, “Oh, malheur, malheur! Oh misérables!” + +Thunder commenced to growl, and lightning to play among the peaks above, +and the wind, which had brought the temperature down to nearly +freezing-point, began to chill us to the bones. We examined our resources. +They were six and a half cigars, two boxes of vesuvians, one-third of a +pint of brandy-and-water, and half-a-pint of spirits of wine: rather scant +fare for three fellows who had to get through seven hours before daylight. +The spirit-lamp was lighted, and the remaining spirits of wine, the brandy +and some snow, were heated by it. It was a strong liquor, and we wished +for more of it. When it was consumed, Macdonald endeavoured to dry his +socks by the lamp, and then the three lay down under my plaid to pretend +to sleep. Reynaud’s woes were aggravated by toothache; Macdonald somehow +managed to close his eyes. + +The longest night must end, and ours did at last. We got down to our rock +in an hour and a quarter, and found the lad not a little surprised at our +absence. He said he had made a gigantic fire to light us down, and shouted +with all his might; we neither saw the fire nor heard his shouts. He said +we looked a ghastly crew, and no wonder; it was our fourth night out. + +We feasted at our cave, and performed some very necessary ablutions. The +persons of the natives are infested by certain agile creatures—rapid of +motion, numerous, and voracious. It is dangerous to approach too near, and +one has to study the wind, so as to get on their weather-side. In spite of +all such precautions my unfortunate companion and myself were being +rapidly devoured alive. We only expected a temporary lull of our tortures, +for the interiors of the inns are like the exteriors of the natives, +swarming with this species of animated creation. + +It is said that once, when these tormentors were filled with an unanimous +desire, an unsuspecting traveller was dragged bodily from his bed! This +needs confirmation. One word more, and I have done with this vile subject. +We returned from our ablutions, and found the Frenchmen engaged in +conversation. “Ah!” said old Sémiond, “as to fleas, I don’t pretend to be +different to anyone else,—_I have them_.” This time he certainly spoke the +truth. + +We got down to La Ville in good time, and luxuriated there for several +days; played many games of bowls with the natives, and were invariably +beaten by them. At last it was necessary to part, and I walked to Abries, +by way of Mont Dauphin and the gorge of the Guil towards Monte Viso, while +Macdonald went to Briançon. + + + +I have not attempted to conceal that the ascent of Mont Pelvoux is of a +rather monotonous character; the view from its summit can, however, be +confidently recommended. A glance at a map will show that, with the single +exception of the Viso, whose position is unrivalled, it is better situated +than any other mountain of considerable height for viewing the whole of +the Western Alps. + +Our discovery that the peak which is to be called the Pointe des Ecrins +was a separate and distinct mountain from Mont Pelvoux—and not its highest +point—gave us satisfaction, although it was also rather of the nature of a +disappointment. + +On our return to La Bessée we wrongly identified it with the peak which is +seen from thence to the left of the Pelvoux. The two mountains bear a +considerable resemblance to each other, so the mistake is not, perhaps, +unpardonable. Although the latter mountain is one that is considerably +higher than the Wetterhorn or Monte Viso, it has no name; we called it the +Pic Sans Nom. + +It has been observed by others that it is improbable the French surveyors +should have remained for several days upon the Pic de la Pyramide without +visiting the other and loftier summit. If they did, it is strange that +they did not leave some memorial of their visit. The natives who +accompanied them asserted that they did not pass from one to the other; we +therefore claimed to have made the ascent of the loftiest point for the +first time. The claim, however, cannot be sustained, on account of the +ascent of M. Puiseux. It is a matter of little moment; the excursion had +for us all the interest of a first ascent; and I look back upon this, my +first serious mountain scramble, with more satisfaction, and with as much +pleasure as upon any that is recorded in this volume. + + + +A few days later, I left Abries to seek a quiet bundle of hay at Le +Chalp—a village some miles nearer to the Viso. On approaching the place, +the odour of sanctity became distinctly perceptible; and on turning a +corner the cause was manifested—there was the priest of the place, +surrounded by some of his flock. I advanced humbly, hat in hand, but +almost before a word could be said, he broke out with, “Who are you?” +“What are you?” “What do you want?” I endeavoured to explain. “You are a +deserter; I know you are a deserter; go away, you can’t stay here; go to +Le Monta, down there; I won’t have you here,” and he literally drove me +away. The explanation of his strange behaviour was, that Piedmontese +soldiers who were tired of the service had not unfrequently crossed the +Col de la Traversette into the valley, and trouble had arisen from +harbouring them. However, I did not know this at the time, and was not a +little indignant that I, who was marching to the attack, should be taken +for a deserter. + +So I walked away, and shortly afterwards, as it was getting dark, encamped +in a lovely hole—a cavity or kind of basin in the earth, with a stream on +one side, a rock to windward, and some broken fir branches close at hand. +Nothing could be more perfect: rock, hole, wood, and water. After making a +roaring fire, I nestled in my blanket bag (an ordinary blanket sewn up +double round the legs, with a piece of elastic riband round the open end), +and slept, but not for long. I was troubled with dreams of the +Inquisition; the tortures were being applied—priests were forcing fleas +down my nostrils and into my eyes—and with red-hot pincers were taking out +bits of flesh, and then cutting off my ears and tickling the soles of my +feet. This was too much; I yelled a great yell and awoke, to find myself +covered with innumerable crawling bodies. They were ants; I had camped by +an ant-hill, and, after making its inhabitants mad with the fire, had +coolly lain down in their midst. + + [Illustration: THE BLANKET BAG.] + +The night was fine, and as I settled down in more comfortable quarters, a +brilliant meteor sailed across full 60° of the cloudless sky, leaving a +trail of light behind which lasted for several seconds. It was the herald +of a splendid spectacle. Stars fell by hundreds; and not dimmed by +intervening vapours, they sparkled with greater brightness than Sirius in +our damp climate. + +The next morning, after walking up the valley to examine the Viso, I +returned to Abries, and engaged a man from a neighbouring hamlet, an +inveterate smoker, and thirsty in proportion, whose pipe never left his +mouth except to allow him to drink. We returned up the valley together, +and slept in a hut of a shepherd, whose yearly wage was almost as small as +that of the herdsman spoken of in Hyperion by Longfellow; and the next +morning, in his company, proceeded to the summit of the pass which I had +crossed in 1860. We were baffled in our attempt to get closer to the +mountain. A deep notch(29) with precipitous cliffs cut us off from it. The +snow-slope, too, which existed in the preceding year on the Piedmontese +side of the pass, was now wanting, and we were unable to descend the rocks +which lay beneath. A fortnight afterwards the mountain was ascended for +the first time by Messrs. Mathews and Jacomb, with the two Croz’s of +Chamounix. Their attempt was made from the _southern_ side, and the +ascent, which was formerly considered a thing totally impossible, has +become one of the most common and favourite excursions of the district. + +The night of the 14th of August found me at St. Veran, a village made +famous by Neff, but in no other respect remarkable, saving that it is one +of the highest in Europe. The poor inn gave the impression of great +poverty. There was no meat, no bread, no butter or cheese; almost the only +things that could be obtained were eggs. The manners of the natives were +primitive. The woman of the inn, without the least sense of impropriety, +stayed in the room until I was fairly in bed, and her bill for supper, +bed, and breakfast, amounted to one and sevenpence. + + [Illustration: NATURAL PILLAR NEAR MOLINES.] + +In this neighbourhood, and indeed all round about the Viso, the chamois +still remain in considerable numbers. They said at St. Veran that six had +been seen from the village on the day I was there, and the innkeeper +declared that he had seen fifty together in the previous week! I myself +saw in this and in the previous season several small companies round about +the Viso. It is perhaps as favourable a district as any in the Alps for a +sportsman who wishes to hunt the chamois, as the ground over which they +wander is by no means of excessive difficulty. + +The next day I descended the valley to Ville Vieille, and passed near the +village of Molines, but on the opposite side of the valley, a remarkable +natural pillar, in form not unlike a champagne bottle, about sixty feet +high, which had been produced by the action of the weather, and, in all +probability, chiefly by rain. These natural pillars are among the most +remarkable examples of the potent effects produced by the long-continued +action of quiet-working forces. They are found in several other places in +the Alps, as well as elsewhere. + +The village of Ville Vieille boasts of an inn with the sign of the +Elephant; which, in the opinion of local amateurs, is a proof that +Hannibal passed through the gorge of the Guil. I remember the place, +because its bread, being only a month old, was unusually soft, and, for +the first time during ten days, it was possible to eat some, without first +of all chopping it into small pieces and soaking it in hot water, which +produced a slimy paste on the outside, but left a hard untouched kernel. + +The same day I crossed the Col Isoard to Briançon. It was the 15th of +August, and all the world was _en fête_; sounds of revelry proceeded from +the houses of Servières as I passed over the bridge upon which the pyrrhic +dance is annually performed,(30) and natives in all degrees of inebriation +staggered about the paths. It was late before the lights of the great +fortress came into sight; but unchallenged I passed through the gates, and +once more sought shelter under the roof of the Hotel de l’Ours. + + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + + MY FIRST SCRAMBLE ON THE MATTERHORN. + + + “What power must have been required to shatter and to sweep away + the missing parts of this pyramid; for we do not see it + surrounded by heaps of fragments; one only sees other + peaks—themselves rooted to the ground—whose sides, equally rent, + indicate an immense mass of débris, of which we do not see any + trace in the neighbourhood. Doubtless this is that débris which, + in the form of pebbles, boulders, and sand, covers our valleys + and our plains.” + DE SAUSSURE. + + +Two summits amongst those in the Alps which yet remained virgin had +especially excited my admiration. One of these had been attacked +numberless times by the best mountaineers without success; the other, +surrounded by traditional inaccessibility, was almost untouched. These +mountains were the Weisshorn and the Matterhorn. + +After visiting the great tunnel of the Alps in 1861, I wandered for ten +days in the neighbouring valleys, intending, presently, to attempt the +ascent of these two peaks. Rumours were floating about that the former had +been conquered, and that the latter was shortly to be attacked, and they +were confirmed on arrival at Chatillon, at the entrance of the Val +Tournanche. My interest in the Weisshorn consequently abated, but it was +raised to the highest pitch on hearing that Professor Tyndall was at +Breil, and intending to try to crown his first victory by another and +still greater one. + +Up to this time my experience with guides had not been fortunate, and I +was inclined, improperly, to rate them at a low value. They represented to +me pointers out of paths, and large consumers of meat and drink, but +little more; and, with the recollection of Mont Pelvoux, I should have +greatly preferred the company of a couple of my countrymen to any number +of guides. In answer to inquiries at Chatillon, a series of men came +forward, whose faces expressed malice, pride, envy, hatred, and roguery of +every description, but who seemed to be destitute of all good qualities. +The arrival of two gentlemen with a guide, who they represented was the +embodiment of every virtue, and exactly the man for the Matterhorn, +rendered it unnecessary to engage any of the others. My new guide in +_physique_ was a combination of Chang and Anak; and although in acquiring +him I did not obtain exactly what was wanted, his late employers did +exactly what _they_ wanted, for I obtained the responsibility, without +knowledge, of paying his back fare, which must have been a relief at once +to their minds and to their purses. + +When walking up towards Breil,(31) we inquired for another man of all the +knowing ones, and they, with one voice, proclaimed that Jean-Antoine +Carrel, of the village of Val Tournanche, was the cock of his valley. We +sought, of course, for Carrel; and found him a well-made, resolute-looking +fellow, with a certain defiant air which was rather taking. Yes, he would +go. Twenty francs a day, whatever was the result, was his price. I +assented. But I must take his comrade. “Why so?” Oh, it was absolutely +impossible to get along without another man. As he said this, an evil +countenance came forth out of the darkness and proclaimed itself the +comrade. I demurred, the negotiations broke off, and we went up to Breil. +This place will be frequently mentioned in subsequent chapters, and was in +full view of the extraordinary peak, the ascent of which we were about to +attempt. + + + +It is unnecessary to enter into a minute description of the Matterhorn, +after all that has been written about that famous mountain. Those by whom +this book is likely to be read will know that that peak is nearly 15,000 +feet high, and that it rises abruptly, by a series of cliffs which may +properly be termed precipices, a clear 5000 feet above the glaciers which +surround its base. They will know too that it was the last great Alpine +peak which remained unscaled,—less on account of the difficulty of doing +so, than from the terror inspired by its invincible appearance. There +seemed to be a _cordon_ drawn around it, up to which one might go, but no +farther. Within that invisible line gins and effreets were supposed to +exist—the Wandering Jew and the spirits of the damned. The superstitious +natives in the surrounding valleys (many of whom still firmly believe it +to be not only the highest mountain in the Alps, but in the world) spoke +of a ruined city on its summit wherein the spirits dwelt; and if you +laughed, they gravely shook their heads; told you to look yourself to see +the castles and the walls, and warned one against a rash approach, lest +the infuriate demons from their impregnable heights might hurl down +vengeance for one’s derision. Such were the traditions of the natives. +Stronger minds felt the influence of the wonderful form, and men who +ordinarily spoke or wrote like rational beings, when they came under its +power seemed to quit their senses, and ranted, and rhapsodised, losing for +a time all common forms of speech. Even the sober De Saussure was moved to +enthusiasm when he saw the mountain, and—inspired by the spectacle—he +anticipated the speculations of modern geologists, in the striking +sentences which are placed at the head of this chapter. + +The Matterhorn looks equally imposing from whatever side it is seen; it +never seems commonplace; and in this respect, and in regard to the +impression it makes upon spectators, it stands almost alone amongst +mountains. It has no rivals in the Alps, and but few in the world. + +The seven or eight thousand feet which compose the actual peak have +several well-marked ridges and numerous others.(32) The most continuous is +that which leads towards the north-east; the summit is at its higher, and +the little peak, called the Hörnli, is at its lower end. Another one that +is well-pronounced descends from the summit to the ridge called the Furgen +Grat. The slope of the mountain that is between these two ridges will be +referred to as the eastern face. A third, somewhat less continuous than +the others, descends in a south-westerly direction, and the portion of the +mountain that is seen from Breil is confined to that which is comprised +between this and the second ridge. This section is not composed, like that +between the first and second ridge, of one grand face; but it is broken up +into a series of huge precipices, spotted with snow-slopes, and streaked +with snow-gullies. The other half of the mountain, facing the Z’Mutt +glacier, is not capable of equally simple definition. There are +precipices, apparent, but not actual; there are precipices absolutely +perpendicular; there are precipices overhanging: there are glaciers, and +there are hanging glaciers; there are glaciers which tumble great _séracs_ +over greater cliffs, whose débris, subsequently consolidated, becomes +glacier again; there are ridges split by the frost, and washed by the rain +and melted snow into towers and spires: while, everywhere, there are +ceaseless sounds of action, telling that the causes are still in operation +which have been at work since the world began; reducing the mighty mass to +atoms, and effecting its degradation. + + [Illustration: THE MATTERHORN FROM THE NORTH-EAST.] + + [Illustration: THE MATTERHORN FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE THEODULE PASS. + (10,899 FEET)] + +Most tourists obtain their first view of the mountain either from the +valley of Zermatt or from that of Tournanche. From the former direction +the base of the mountain is seen at its narrowest, and its ridges and +faces seem to be of prodigious steepness. The tourist toils up the valley, +looking frequently for the great sight which is to reward his pains, +without seeing it (for the mountain is first perceived in that direction +about a mile to the north of Zermatt), when, all at once, as he turns a +rocky corner of the path, it comes into view; not, however, where it is +expected; the face has to be raised up to look at it; it seems overhead. +Although this is the impression, the fact is that the summit of the +Matterhorn from this point makes an angle with the eye of less than 16º, +while the Dom, from the same place, makes a larger angle, but is passed by +unobserved. So little can dependence be placed on unaided vision. The view +of the mountain from Breil, in the Val Tournanche, is not less striking +than that on the other side; but, usually, it makes less impression, +because the spectator grows accustomed to the sight while coming up or +down the valley. From this direction the mountain is seen to be broken up +into a series of pyramidal wedge-shaped masses; on the other side it is +remarkable for the large, unbroken extent of cliffs that it presents, and +for the simplicity of its outline. It was natural to suppose that a way +would more readily be found to the summit on a side thus broken up than in +any other direction. The eastern face, fronting Zermatt, seemed one +smooth, inaccessible cliff, from summit to base. The ghastly precipices +which face the Z’Mutt glacier forbade any attempt in _that_ direction. +There remained only the side of Val Tournanche; and it will be found that +nearly all the earliest attempts to ascend the mountain were made upon the +southern side. + +The first efforts to ascend the Matterhorn of which I have heard, were +made by the guides, or rather by the chasseurs, of Val Tournanche.(33) +These attempts were made in the years 1858-9, from the direction of Breil, +and the highest point that was attained was perhaps as far as the place +which is now called the “Chimney” (cheminée), a height of about 12,650 +feet. Those who were concerned in these expeditions were Jean-Antoine +Carrel, Jean Jacques Carrel, Victor Carrel, the Abbé Gorret, and Gabrielle +Maquignaz. I have been unable to obtain any further details respecting +them. + +The next attempt was a remarkable one; and of it, too, there is no +published account. It was made by the Messrs. Alfred, Charles, and +Sandbach Parker, of Liverpool, in July 1860. These gentlemen, _without +guides_, endeavoured to storm the citadel by attacking its eastern +face(34)—that to which reference was just now made as a smooth, +impracticable cliff. Mr. Sandbach Parker informs me that he and his +brothers went along the ridge between the Hörnli and the peak until they +came to the point where the ascending angle is considerably increased. +This place is marked on Dufour’s map of Switzerland 3298 mètres (10,820 +feet). They were then obliged to bear a little to the left to get on to +the face of the mountain, and, afterwards, they turned to the right, and +ascended about 700 feet farther, keeping as nearly as was practicable to +the crest of the ridge, but, occasionally, bearing a little to the +left—that is, more on to the face of the mountain. The brothers started +from Zermatt, and did not sleep out. Clouds, a high wind, and want of +time, were the causes which prevented these daring gentlemen from going +farther. Thus, their highest point was under 12,000 feet. + +[Illustration: THE MATTERHORN FROM NEAR THE SUMMIT OF THE THEODULE PASS.] + +The third attempt upon the mountain was made towards the end of August +1860, by Mr. Vaughan Hawkins,(35) from the side of the Val Tournanche. A +vivid account of his expedition has been published by him in _Vacation +Tourists_;(36) and it has been referred to several times by Professor +Tyndall in the numerous papers he has contributed to Alpine literature. I +will dismiss it, therefore, as briefly as possible. + +Mr. Hawkins had inspected the mountain in 1859, with the guide J. J. +Bennen, and he had formed the opinion that the south-west ridge(37) would +lead to the summit. He engaged J. Jacques Carrel, who was concerned in the +first attempts, and, accompanied by Bennen (and by Professor Tyndall, whom +he had invited to take part in the expedition), he started for the gap +between the little and the great peak.(38) + + [Illustration: J. J. BENNEN (1862).] + +Bennen was a guide who was beginning to be talked about. During the chief +part of his brief career he was in the service of Wellig, the landlord of +the inn on the Æggischhorn, and was hired out by him to tourists. Although +his experience was limited, he had acquired a good reputation; and his +book of certificates, which is lying before me,(39) shows that he was +highly esteemed by his employers. A good-looking man, with courteous, +gentlemanly manners, skilful and bold, he might, by this time, have taken +a front place amongst guides if he had only been endowed with more +prudence. He perished miserably, in the spring of 1864, not far from his +home, on a mountain called the Haut de Cry, in the Valais.(40) + +Mr. Hawkins’ party, led by Bennen, climbed the rocks abutting against the +Couloir du Lion, on its south side, and attained the Col du Lion, although +not without difficulty. They then followed the south-west ridge, passed +the place at which the earliest explorers had turned back (the +Chimney),(41) and ascended about 300 feet more. Mr. Hawkins and J. J. +Carrel then stopped, but Bennen and Professor Tyndall mounted a few feet +higher. They retreated, however, in less than half-an-hour, finding that +there was too little time; and, descending to the Col by the same route as +they had followed on the ascent, proceeded thence to Breil, down the +Couloir instead of by the rocks. The point at which Mr. Hawkins stopped is +easily identified from his description. Its height is 12,992 feet above +the sea. I think that Bennen and Tyndall could not have ascended more than +50 or 60 feet beyond this in the few minutes they were absent from the +others, as they were upon one of the most difficult parts of the mountain. +This party therefore accomplished an advance of about 350 or 400 feet. + +Mr. Hawkins did not, as far as I know, make another attempt; and the next +was made by the Messrs. Parker, in July 1861. They again started from +Zermatt; followed the route they had struck out on the previous year, and +got a little higher than before; but they were defeated by want of time, +shortly afterwards left Zermatt on account of bad weather, and did not +again renew their attempts. Mr. Parker says—“In neither case did we go as +high as we could. At the point where we turned we saw our way for a few +hundred feet farther; but, beyond that, the difficulties seemed to +increase.” I am informed that both attempts should be considered as +excursions undertaken with the view of ascertaining whether there was any +encouragement to make a more deliberate attack on the north-east side. + + + +My guide and I arrived at Breil on the 28th of August 1861, and we found +that Professor Tyndall _had_ been there a day or two before, but had done +nothing. I had seen the mountain from nearly every direction, and it +seemed, even to a novice like myself, far too much for a single day. I +intended to sleep out upon it, as high as possible, and to attempt to +reach the summit on the following day. We endeavoured to induce another +man to accompany us, but without success. Matthias zum Taugwald and other +well-known guides were there at the time, but they declined to go on any +account. A sturdy old fellow—Peter Taugwalder by name—said he would go! +His price? “Two hundred francs.” “What, whether we ascend or not?” +“Yes—nothing less.” The end of the matter was, that all the men who were +more or less capable showed a strong disinclination, or positively +refused, to go (their disinclination being very much in proportion to +their capacity), or else asked a prohibitive price. This, it may be said +once for all, was the reason why so many futile attempts were made upon +the Matterhorn. One first-rate guide after another was brought up to the +mountain, and patted on the back, but all declined the business. The men +who went had no heart in the matter, and took the first opportunity to +turn back.(42) For they were, with the exception of one man, to whom +reference will be made presently, universally impressed with the belief +that the summit was entirely inaccessible. + +We resolved to go alone, and anticipating a cold bivouac, begged the loan +of a couple of blankets from the innkeeper. He refused them; giving the +curious reason, that we had bought a bottle of brandy at Val Tournanche, +and had not bought any from him! No brandy, no blankets, appeared to be +his rule. We did not require them that night, as it was passed in the +highest cow-shed in the valley, which is about an hour nearer to the +mountain than is the hotel. The cowherds, worthy fellows, seldom troubled +by tourists, hailed our company with delight, and did their best to make +us comfortable; brought out their little stores of simple food, and, as we +sat with them round the great copper pot which hung over the fire, bade us +in husky voice, but with honest intent, to beware of the perils of the +haunted cliffs. When night was coming on, we saw, stealing up the +hill-side, the forms of Jean-Antoine Carrel and the comrade. “Oh ho!” I +said, “you have repented?” “Not at all; you deceive yourself.” “Why then +have you come here?” “Because we ourselves are going on the mountain +to-morrow.” “Oh, then it is _not_ necessary to have more than three.” “Not +for _us_.” I admired their pluck, and had a strong inclination to engage +the pair; but, finally, decided against it. The comrade turned out to be +the J. J. Carrel who had been with Mr. Hawkins, and was nearly related to +the other man. + + [Illustration: JEAN-ANTOINE CARREL (1869).] + +Both were bold mountaineers; but Jean-Antoine was incomparably the better +man of the two, and he is the finest rock-climber I have ever seen. He was +the only man who persistently refused to accept defeat, and who continued +to believe, in spite of all discouragements, that the great mountain was +not inaccessible, and that it could be ascended from the side of his +native valley. + +The night wore away without any excitement, except from the fleas, a party +of whom executed a spirited fandango on my cheek, to the sound of music +produced on the drum of my ear, by one of their fellows beating with a +wisp of hay. The two Carrels crept noiselessly out before daybreak, and +went off. We did not start until nearly seven o’clock, and followed them +leisurely, leaving all our properties in the cow-shed; sauntered over the +gentian-studded slopes which intervene between the shed and the Glacier du +Lion, left cows and their pastures behind, traversed the stony wastes, and +arrived at the ice. Old, hard beds of snow lay on its right bank (our left +hand), and we mounted over them on to the lower portion of the glacier +with ease. But, as we ascended, crevasses became numerous, and we were at +last brought to a halt by some which were of very large dimensions; and, +as our cutting powers were limited, we sought an easier route, and turned, +naturally, to the lower rocks of the Tête du Lion, which overlook the +glacier on its west. Some good scrambling took us in a short time on to +the crest of the ridge which descends towards the south; and thence, up to +the level of the Col du Lion, there was a long natural staircase, on which +it was seldom necessary to use the hands. We dubbed the place “The Great +Staircase.” Then the cliffs of the Tête du Lion, which rise above the +Couloir, had to be skirted. This part varies considerably in different +seasons, and in 1861 we found it difficult; for the fine steady weather of +that year had reduced the snow-beds abutting against it to a lower level +than usual, and the rocks which were left exposed at the junction of the +snow with the cliffs, had few ledges or cracks to which we could hold. But +by half-past ten o’clock we stood on the Col, and looked down upon the +magnificent basin out of which the Z’Mutt glacier flows. We decided to +pass the night upon the Col, for we were charmed with the capabilities of +the place, although it was one where liberties could not be taken. On one +side a sheer wall overhung the Tiefenmatten glacier. On the other, steep, +glassy slopes of hard snow descended to the Glacier du Lion, furrowed by +water and by falling stones. On the north there was the great peak of the +Matterhorn,(43) and on the south the cliffs of the Tête du Lion. Throw a +bottle down to the Tiefenmatten—no sound returns for more than a dozen +seconds. + + * * * “how fearful + And dizzy ’tis, to cast one’s eyes so low!” + + [Illustration: THE COL DU LION: LOOKING TOWARDS THE TÊTE DU LION.] + +But no harm could come from that side. Neither could it from the other. +Nor was it likely that it would from the Tête du Lion, for some jutting +ledges conveniently overhung our proposed resting-place. We waited for a +while, basked in the sunshine, and watched or listened to the Carrels, who +were sometimes seen or heard, high above us, upon the ridge leading +towards the summit; and, leaving at mid-day, we descended to the cow-shed, +packed up the tent and other properties, and returned to the Col, although +heavily laden, before six o’clock. This tent was constructed on a pattern +suggested by Mr. Francis Galton, and it was not a success. It looked very +pretty when set up in London, but it proved thoroughly useless in the +Alps. It was made of light canvas, and opened like a book; had one end +closed permanently and the other with flaps; it was supported by two +alpenstocks, and had the canvas sides prolonged so as to turn in +underneath. Numerous cords were sewn to the lower edges, to which stones +were to be attached; but the main fastenings were by a cord which passed +underneath the ridge and through iron rings screwed into the tops of the +alpenstocks, and were secured by pegs. The wind, which playfully careered +about the surrounding cliffs, was driven through our gap with the force of +a blow-pipe; the flaps of the tent would not keep down, the pegs would not +stay in, and it exhibited so marked a desire to go to the top of the Dent +Blanche, that we thought it prudent to take it down and to sit upon it. +When night came on we wrapped ourselves in it, and made our camp as +comfortable as the circumstances would allow. The silence was impressive. +No living thing was near our solitary bivouac; the Carrels had turned back +and were out of hearing; the stones had ceased to fall, and the trickling +water to murmur— + + “The music of whose liquid lip + Had been to us companionship, + And, in our lonely life, had grown + To have an almost human tone.”(44) + +It was bitterly cold. Water froze hard in a bottle under my head. Not +surprising, as we were actually on snow, and in a position where the +slightest wind was at once felt. For a time we dozed, but about midnight +there came from high aloft a tremendous explosion, followed by a second of +dead quiet. A great mass of rock had split off, and was descending towards +us. My guide started up, wrung his hands, and exclaimed, “O my God, we are +lost!” We heard it coming, mass after mass pouring over the precipices, +bounding and rebounding from cliff to cliff, and the great rocks in +advance smiting one another. They seemed to be close, although they were +probably distant, but some small fragments, which dropped upon us at the +same time from the ledges just above, added to the alarm, and my +demoralised companion passed the remainder of the night in a state of +shudder, ejaculating “terrible,” and other adjectives. + +We put ourselves in motion at daybreak, and commenced the ascent of the +south-west ridge. There was no more sauntering with hands in the pockets; +each step had to be earned by downright climbing. But it was the most +pleasant kind of climbing. The rocks were fast and unencumbered with +débris; the cracks were good, although not numerous, and there was nothing +to fear except from one’s-self. So we thought, at least, and shouted to +awake echoes from the cliffs. Ah! there is no response. Not yet; wait a +while, everything here is upon a superlative scale; count a dozen, and +then the echoes will return from the walls of the Dent d’Hérens, miles +away, in waves of pure and undefiled sound; soft, musical, and sweet. Halt +a moment to regard the view! We overlook the Tête du Lion, and nothing +except the Dent d’Hérens, whose summit is still a thousand feet above us, +stands in the way. The ranges of the Graian Alps—an ocean of mountains—are +seen, at a glance, governed by their three great peaks, the Grivola, Grand +Paradis, and Tour de St. Pierre. How soft, and yet how sharp, they look in +the early morning! The mid-day mists have not begun to rise; nothing is +obscured; even the pointed Viso, all but a hundred miles away, is +perfectly defined. + +Turn to the east, and watch the sun’s slanting rays coming across the +Monte Rosa snow-fields. Look at the shadowed parts, and see how even +they—radiant with reflected light—are more brilliant than man knows how to +depict. See, how—even there—the gentle undulations give shadows within +shadows; and how—yet again—where falling stones or ice have left a track, +there are shadows upon shadows, each with a light and a dark side, with +infinite gradations of matchless tenderness. Then, note the sunlight as it +steals noiselessly along, and reveals countless unsuspected forms;—the +delicate ripple-lines which mark the concealed crevasse, and the waves of +drifted snow; producing each minute more lights and fresh shadows; +sparkling on the edges and glittering on the ends of the icicles; shining +on the heights and illuminating the depths, until all is aglow, and the +dazzled eye returns for relief to the sombre crags. + +Hardly an hour had passed since we left the Col before we arrived at the +“Chimney.” It proved to be the counterpart of the place to which reference +has been made at p. 3; a smooth, straight slab of rock was fixed, at a +considerable angle, between two others equally smooth.(45) My companion +essayed to go up, and, after crumpling his long body into many ridiculous +positions, he said that he would not, for he could not, do it. With some +little trouble I got up it unassisted, and then my guide tied himself on +to the end of our rope, and I endeavoured to pull him up. But he was so +awkward that he did little for himself, and so heavy that he proved too +much for me, and after several attempts he untied himself, and quietly +observed that he should go down. I told him he was a coward, and _he_ +mentioned his opinion of me. I requested him to go to Breil, and to say +that he had left his “monsieur” on the mountain, and he turned to go; +whereupon I had to eat humble pie and ask him to come back; for, although +it was not very difficult to go up, and not at all dangerous with a man +standing below, it was quite another thing to come down, as the lower edge +overhung in a provoking manner. + +The day was perfect; the sun was pouring down grateful warmth; the wind +had fallen; the way seemed clear, no insuperable obstacle was in sight; +yet what could one do alone? I stood on the top, chafing under this +unexpected contretemps, and remained for some time irresolute; but as it +became apparent that the Chimney was swept more frequently than was +necessary (it was a natural channel for falling stones), I turned at last, +descended with the assistance of my companion, and returned with him to +Breil, where we arrived about mid-day. + +The Carrels did not show themselves, but we were told that they had not +got to any great height,(46) and that the “comrade,” who for convenience +had taken off his shoes and tied them round his waist, had managed to let +one of them slip, and had come down with a piece of cord fastened round +his naked foot. Notwithstanding this, they had boldly glissaded down the +Couloir du Lion, J. J. Carrel having his shoeless foot tied up in a pocket +handkerchief. + +The Matterhorn was not assailed again in 1861. I left Breil with the +conviction that it was little use for a single tourist to organise an +attack upon it, so great was its influence on the morals of the guides, +and persuaded that it was desirable at least two should go, to back each +other when required: and departed with my guide(47) over the Col Théodule, +longing, more than before, to make the ascent, and determined to return, +if possible with a companion, to lay siege to the mountain until one or +the other was vanquished. + + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + + RENEWED ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN. + + + “’Tis a lesson you should heed, + Try, try, try again. + If at first you don’t succeed, + Try, try, try again. + Then your courage should appear, + For if you will persevere + You will conquer, never fear. + Try, try, try again.” + HICKSON. + + +The year 1862 was still young, and the Matterhorn, clad in its wintry +garb, bore but little resemblance to the Matterhorn of the summer, when a +new force came to do battle with the mountain, from another direction. Mr. +T. S. Kennedy of Leeds conceived the extraordinary idea that the peak +might prove less impracticable in January than in June, and arrived at +Zermatt in the former month to put his conception to the test. With stout +Peter Perrn and sturdy Peter Taugwalder he slept in the little chapel at +the Schwarzensee, and on the next morning, like the Messrs. Parker, +followed the ridge between the peak called Hörnli and the great mountain. +But they found that snow in winter obeyed the ordinary laws, and that the +wind and frost were not less unkind than in summer. “The wind whirled up +the snow and spiculæ of ice into our faces like needles, and flat pieces +of ice a foot in diameter, carried up from the glacier below, went flying +past. Still no one seemed to like to be the first to give in, till a gust +fiercer than usual forced us to shelter for a time behind a rock. +Immediately it was tacitly understood that our expedition must now end; +but we determined to leave some memento of our visit, and, after +descending a considerable distance, we found a suitable place with loose +stones of which to build a cairn. In half-an-hour a tower six feet high +was erected; a bottle, with the date, was placed inside, and we retreated +as rapidly as possible.”(48) This cairn was placed at the spot marked upon +Dufour’s Map of Switzerland 10,820 feet (3298 mètres), and the highest +point attained by Mr. Kennedy was not, I imagine, more than two or three +hundred feet above it. + +Shortly after this Professor Tyndall gave, in his little tract +_Mountaineering in 1861_, an account of the reason why he had left Breil, +in August 1861, without doing anything.(49) It seems that he sent his +guide Bennen to reconnoitre, and that the latter made the following report +to his employer:—“Herr, I have examined the mountain carefully, and find +it more difficult and dangerous than I had imagined. There is no place +upon it where we could well pass the night. We might do so on yonder Col +upon the snow, but there we should be almost frozen to death, and totally +unfit for the work of the next day. On the rocks there is no ledge or +cranny which could give us proper harbourage; and starting from Breuil it +is certainly impossible to reach the summit in a single day.” “I was +entirely taken aback,” says Tyndall, “by this report. I felt like a man +whose grip had given way, and who was dropping through the air.... Bennen +was evidently dead against any attempt upon the mountain. ‘We can, at all +events, reach the lower of the two summits,’ I remarked. ‘Even that is +difficult,’ he replied; ‘but when you have reached it, what then? The peak +has neither name nor fame.’”(50) + +I was more surprised than discouraged by this report by Bennen. One half +of his assertions I knew to be wrong. The Col to which he referred was the +Col du Lion, upon which we had passed a night less than a week after he +had spoken so authoritatively; and I had seen a place not far below the +“Chimney,”—a place about 500 feet above the Col—where it seemed possible +to construct a sleeping-place. Bennen’s opinions seem to have undergone a +complete change. In 1860 he is described as having been enthusiastic to +make an attempt, and in 1861 he was dead against one. Nothing dismayed by +this, my friend Mr. Reginald Macdonald, our companion on the Pelvoux—to +whom so much of our success had been due, agreed to join me in a renewed +assault from the south; and, although we failed to secure Melchior +Anderegg and some other notable guides, we obtained two men of repute, +namely, Johann zum Taugwald and Johann Kronig, of Zermatt. We met at that +place early in July, but stormy weather prevented us even from passing to +the other side of the chain for some time. We crossed the Col Théodule on +the 5th, in thoroughly unsettled weather—rain was falling in the valleys, +and snow upon the mountains. Shortly before we gained the summit we were +made extremely uncomfortable by hearing mysterious, rushing sounds, which +sometimes seemed as if a sudden gust of wind was sweeping along the snow, +and, at others, almost like the swishing of a long whip: yet the snow +exhibited no signs of motion, and the air was perfectly calm. The dense, +black storm-clouds made us momentarily expect that our bodies might be +used as lightning-conductors, and we were well satisfied to get under +shelter of the inn at Breil, without having submitted to any such +experience.(51) + +We had need of a porter, and, by the advice of our landlord, descended to +the chalets of Breil in search of one Luc Meynet. We found his house a +mean abode, encumbered with cheese-making apparatus, and tenanted only by +some bright-eyed children; but as they said that uncle Luc would soon be +home, we waited at the door of the little chalet and watched for him. At +last a speck was seen coming round the corner of the patch of firs below +Breil, and then the children clapped their hands, dropped their toys, and +ran eagerly forward to meet him. We saw an ungainly, wobbling figure stoop +down and catch up the little ones, kiss them on each cheek, and put them +into the empty panniers on each side of the mule, and then heard it come +on carolling, as if this was not a world of woe: and yet the face of +little Luc Meynet, the hunchback of Breil, bore traces of trouble and +sorrow, and there was more than a touch of sadness in his voice when he +said that he must look after his brother’s children. All his difficulties +were, however, at length overcome, and he agreed to join us to carry the +tent. + + + +In the past winter I had turned my attention to tents, and that which we +had brought with us was the result of experiments to devise one which +should be sufficiently portable to be taken over the most difficult +ground, and which should combine lightness with stability. Its base was +just under six feet square, and a cross-section perpendicular to its +length was an equilateral triangle, the sides of which were six feet long. +It was intended to accommodate four persons. It was supported by four +ash-poles, six feet and a half long, and one inch and a quarter thick, +tapering to the top to an inch and an eighth; these were shod with iron +points. The order of proceeding in the construction of the tent was as +follows:—Holes were drilled through the poles about five inches from their +tops, for the insertion of two wrought-iron bolts, three inches long and +one quarter of an inch thick. The bolts were then inserted, and the two +pairs of poles were set out (and fixed up by cords), to the proper +dimensions. The roof was then put on. This was made of the rough, +unbleached calico called forfar, which can be obtained in six-feet widths, +and it was continued round for about two feet, on each side, on to the +floor. The width of the material was the length of the tent, and seams +were thus avoided in the roof. The forfar was sewn round each pole; +particular care being taken to avoid wrinkles, and to get the whole +perfectly taut. The flooring was next put in and sewn down to the forfar. +This was of the ordinary plaid mackintosh, about nine feet square; the +surplus three feet being continued up the sides to prevent draughts. It is +as well to have two feet of this surplus on one side, and only one foot on +the other; the latter amount being sufficient for the side occupied by the +feet. One end was then permanently closed by a triangular piece of forfar, +which was sewn down to that which was already fixed. The other end was +left open, and had two triangular flaps that overlapped each other, and +which were fastened up when we were inside by pieces of tape. Lastly, the +forfar was nailed down to the poles to prevent the tent getting out of +shape. The cord which was used for climbing served for the tent; it was +passed over the crossed poles and underneath the ridge of the roof, and +the two ends—one fore and the other aft—were easily secured to pieces of +rock. Such a tent costs about four guineas, and its weight is about +twenty-three pounds; or, if the lightest kind of forfar is used, it need +not exceed twenty pounds. When it was fastened up for transport it +presented the appearance shown in the portrait of Meynet at p. 234, and it +could be unrolled and set up by two persons in three minutes; a point of +no small importance during extreme weather. + + [Illustration: Diagram to show manner of fastening tent-poles] + + [Illustration: THE AUTHOR’S MOUNTAIN TENT.] + +This tent is intended, and adapted, for camping out at high altitudes, or +in cold climates. It is not pretended that it is perfectly waterproof, but +it can be made so by the addition of mackintosh to the roof; and this +increases the weight by only two and a half pounds. It is then fit for +general use.(52) It may be observed that the pattern of this tent is +identical in all essential points with that arrived at (after great +experience) by Sir Leopold M’Clintock for Arctic work, and frequent use by +many persons, under varied conditions, has shown that the pattern is both +practical and substantial. + +Sunday, the 6th of July, was showery, and snow fell on the Matterhorn, but +we started on the following morning with our three men, and pursued my +route of the previous year. I was requested to direct the way, as none +save myself had been on the mountain before. I did not distinguish myself +upon this occasion, and led my companions nearly to the top of the small +peak before the mistake was discovered. The party becoming rebellious, a +little exploration was made towards our right, and we found that we were +upon the top of the cliff overlooking the Col du Lion. The upper part of +the small peak is of a very different character to the lower part; the +rocks are not so firm, and they are usually covered, or intermixed, with +snow, and glazed with ice: the angle too is more severe. While descending +a small snow-slope, to get on to the right track, Kronig slipped on a +streak of ice, and went down at a fearful pace. Fortunately he kept on his +legs, and, by a great effort, succeeded in stopping just before he arrived +at some rocks that jutted through the snow, which would infallibly have +knocked him over. When we rejoined him a few minutes later, we found that +he was incapable of standing, much less of moving, with a face corpse-like +in hue, and trembling violently. He remained in this condition for more +than an hour, and the day was consequently far advanced before we arrived +at our camping-place on the Col. Profiting by the experience of last year, +we did not pitch the tent actually on the snow, but collected a quantity +of débris from the neighbouring ledges, and after constructing a rough +platform of the larger pieces, levelled the whole with the dirt and mud. + +Meynet had proved invaluable as a tent-bearer; for—although his legs were +more picturesque than symmetrical, and although he seemed to be built on +principle with no two parts alike—his very deformities proved of service; +and we quickly found he had spirit of no common order, and that few +peasants are more agreeable companions, or better climbers, than little +Luc Meynet, the hunchback of Breil. He now showed himself not less +serviceable as a scavenger, and humbly asked for gristly pieces of meat, +rejected by the others, or for suspicious eggs; and seemed to consider it +a peculiar favour, if not a treat, to be permitted to drink the +coffee-grounds. With the greatest contentment he took the worst place at +the door of the tent, and did all the dirty work which was put upon him by +the guides, as gratefully as a dog—who has been well beaten—will receive a +stroke. + +A strong wind sprang up from the east during the night, and in the morning +it was blowing almost a hurricane. The tent behaved nobly, and we remained +under its shelter for several hours after the sun had risen, uncertain +what it was best to do. A lull tempted us to move, but we had scarcely +ascended a hundred feet before the storm burst upon us with increased +fury. Advance or return was alike impossible; the ridge was denuded of its +débris; and we clutched our hardest when we saw stones as big as a man’s +fist blown away horizontally into space. We dared not attempt to stand +upright, and remained stationary, on all fours, glued, as it were, to the +rocks. It was intensely cold, for the blast had swept along the main chain +of the Pennine Alps, and across the great snow-fields around Monte Rosa. +Our warmth and courage rapidly evaporated, and at the next lull we +retreated to the tent; having to halt several times even in that short +distance. Taugwald and Kronig then declared that they had had enough, and +refused to have anything more to do with the mountain. Meynet also +informed us that he would be required down below for important +cheese-making operations on the following day. It was therefore needful to +return to Breil, and we arrived there at 2.30 P.M., extremely chagrined at +our complete defeat. + +Jean-Antoine Carrel, attracted by rumours, had come up to the inn during +our absence, and after some negotiations agreed to accompany us, with one +of his friends named Pession, on the first fine day. We thought ourselves +fortunate; for Carrel clearly considered the mountain a kind of +_preserve_, and regarded our late attempt as an act of _poaching_. The +wind blew itself out during the night, and we started again, with these +two men and a porter, at 8 A.M. on the 9th, with unexceptionable weather. +Carrel pleased us by suggesting that we should camp even higher than +before; and we accordingly proceeded, without resting at the Col, until we +overtopped the Tête du Lion. Near the foot of the “Chimney,” a little +below the crest of the ridge, and on its eastern side, we found a +protected place; and by building up from ledge to ledge (under the +direction of our leader, who was a mason by profession), we at length +constructed a platform of sufficient size and of considerable solidity. +Its height was about 12,550 feet above the sea; and it exists, I believe, +at the present time.(53) We then pushed on, as the day was very fine, and, +after a short hour’s scramble, got to the foot of the Great Tower upon the +ridge (that is to say, to Mr. Hawkins’ farthest point), and afterwards +returned to our bivouac. We turned out again at 4 A.M., and at 5.15 +started upwards once more, with fine weather and the thermometer at 28°. +Carrel scrambled up the Chimney, and Macdonald and I after him. Pession’s +turn came, but when he arrived at the top he looked very ill, declared +himself to be thoroughly incapable, and said that he must go back. We +waited some time, but he did not get better, neither could we learn the +nature of his illness. Carrel flatly refused to go on with us alone. We +were helpless. Macdonald, ever the coolest of the cool, suggested that we +should try what we could do without them; but our better judgment +prevailed, and, finally, we returned together to Breil. On the next day my +friend started for London. + +Three times I had essayed the ascent of this mountain, and on each +occasion had failed ignominiously. I had not advanced a yard beyond my +predecessors. Up to the height of nearly 13,000 feet there were no +extraordinary difficulties; the way so far might even become “a matter of +amusement.” Only 1800 feet remained; but they were as yet untrodden, and +might present the most formidable obstacles. No man could expect to climb +them by himself. A morsel of rock only seven feet high might at any time +defeat him, if it were perpendicular. Such a place might be possible to +two, or a bagatelle to three men. It was evident that a party should +consist of three men at least. But where could the other two men be +obtained? Carrel was the only man who exhibited any enthusiasm in the +matter; and he, in 1861, had absolutely refused to go unless the party +consisted of at least _four_ persons. Want of men made the difficulty, not +the mountain. + +The weather became bad again, so I went to Zermatt on the chance of +picking up a man, and remained there during a week of storms.(54) Not one +of the better men, however, could be induced to come, and I returned to +Breil on the 17th, hoping to combine the skill of Carrel with the +willingness of Meynet on a new attempt, by the same route as before; for +the Hörnli ridge, which I had examined in the meantime, seemed to be +entirely impracticable. Both men were inclined to go, but their ordinary +occupations prevented them from starting at once.(55) + +My tent had been left rolled up at the second platform, and whilst waiting +for the men it occurred to me that it might have been blown away during +the late stormy weather; so I started off on the 18th to see if this were +so or not. The way was by this time familiar, and I mounted rapidly, +astonishing the friendly herdsmen—who nodded recognition as I flitted past +them and the cows—for I was alone, because no man was available. But more +deliberation was necessary when the pastures were passed, and climbing +began, for it was needful to mark each step, in case of mist, or surprise +by night. It is one of the few things which can be said in favour of +mountaineering alone (a practice which has little besides to commend it), +that it awakens a man’s faculties, and makes him observe. When one has no +arms to help, and no head to guide him except his own, he must needs take +note even of small things, for he cannot afford to throw away a chance; +and so it came to pass, upon my solitary scramble, when above the +snow-line, and beyond the ordinary limits of flowering plants, when +peering about, noting angles and landmarks, that my eyes fell upon the +tiny straggling plants—oftentimes a single flower on a single +stalk—pioneers of vegetation, atoms of life in a world of desolation, +which had found their way up—who can tell how?—from far below, and were +obtaining bare sustenance from the scanty soil in protected nooks; and it +gave a new interest to the well-known rocks to see what a gallant fight +the survivors made (for many must have perished in the attempt) to ascend +the great mountain. The Gentian, as one might have expected, was there; +but it was run close by Saxifrages, and by _Linaria alpina_, and was +beaten by _Thlaspi rotundifolium_, which latter plant was the highest I +was able to secure, although it too was overtopped by a little white +flower which I knew not, and was unable to reach.(56) + +The tent was safe, although snowed up; and I turned to contemplate the +view, which, when seen alone and undisturbed, had all the strength and +charm of complete novelty. The highest peaks of the Pennine chain were in +front—the Breithorn (13,685 feet), the Lyskamm (14,889), and Monte Rosa +(15,217); then, turning to the right, the entire block of mountains which +separated the Val Tournanche from the Val d’Ayas was seen at a glance, +with its dominating summit the Grand Tournalin (11,155). Behind were the +ranges dividing the Val d’Ayas from the Valley of Gressoney, backed by +higher summits. More still to the right, the eye wandered down the entire +length of the Val Tournanche, and then rested upon the Graian Alps with +their innumerable peaks, and upon the isolated pyramid of Monte Viso +(12,643) in the extreme distance. Next, still turning to the right, came +the mountains intervening between the Val Tournanche and the Val +Barthélemy: Mont Rouss (a round-topped snowy summit, which seems so +important from Breil, but which is in reality only a buttress of the +higher mountain, the Château des Dames), had long ago sunk, and the eye +passed over it, scarcely heeding its existence, to the Becca Salle (or, as +it is sometimes called, Bec de Sale),—a miniature Matterhorn—and to other, +and more important heights. Then the grand mass of the Dent d’Hérens +(13,714) stopped the way; a noble mountain, encrusted on its northern +slopes with enormous hanging glaciers, which broke away at mid-day in +immense slices, and thundered down on to the Tiefenmatten glacier; and +lastly, most splendid of all, came the Dent Blanche (14,318), soaring +above the basin of the great Z’Muttgletscher. Such a view is hardly to be +excelled in the Alps, and _this_ view is very rarely seen, as I saw it, +perfectly unclouded.(57) + +Time sped away unregarded, and the little birds which had built their +nests on the neighbouring cliffs had begun to chirp their evening hymn +before I thought of returning. Half mechanically I turned to the tent, +unrolled it, and set it up; it contained food enough for several days, and +I resolved to stay over the night. I had started from Breil without +provisions, or telling Favre—the innkeeper, who was accustomed to my +erratic ways—where I was going. I returned to the view. The sun was +setting, and its rosy rays, blending with the snowy blue, had thrown a +pale, pure violet far as the eye could see; the valleys were drowned in +purple gloom, whilst the summits shone with unnatural brightness: and as I +sat in the door of the tent, and watched the twilight change to darkness, +the earth seemed to become less earthy and almost sublime; the world +seemed dead, and I, its sole inhabitant. By and by, the moon as it rose +brought the hills again into sight, and by a judicious repression of +detail rendered the view yet more magnificent. Something in the south hung +like a great glow-worm in the air; it was too large for a star, and too +steady for a meteor; and it was long before I could realise the incredible +fact that it was the moonlight glittering on the great snow-slope on the +north side of Monte Viso, at a distance, as the crow flies, of 98 miles. +Shivering, at last I entered the tent and made my coffee. The night was +passed comfortably, and the next morning, tempted by the brilliancy of the +weather, I proceeded yet higher in search of another place for a platform. + + [Illustration: Climbing claw] + +Solitary scrambling over a pretty wide area had shown me that a single +individual is subjected to many difficulties which do not trouble a party +of two or three men, and that the disadvantages of being alone are more +felt while descending than during the ascent. In order to neutralise these +inconveniences, I devised two little appliances, which were now brought +into use for the first time. One was a claw—a kind of grapnel—about five +inches long, made of shear steel, one-fifth of an inch thick. This was of +use in difficult places, where there was no hold within arm’s length, but +where there were cracks or ledges some distance higher. The claw could be +stuck on the end of the alpenstock and dropped into such places, or, on +extreme occasions, flung up until it attached itself to something. The +edges that laid hold of the rocks were serrated, which tended to make them +catch more readily: the other end had a ring to which a rope was fastened. +It must not be understood that this was employed for hauling one’s-self up +for any great distance, but that it was used in ascending, at the most, +for only a few yards at a time. In descending, however, it could be +prudently used for a greater distance at a time, as the claws could be +planted firmly; but it was necessary to keep the rope taut, and the pull +constantly in the direction of the length of the implement, otherwise it +had a tendency to slip away. The second device was merely a modification +of a dodge practised by all climbers. It is frequently necessary for a +single man (or for the last man of a party) during a descent, to make a +loop in the end of his rope, to pass it over some rocks, and to come down +holding the free end. The loop is then jerked off, and the process may be +repeated. But as it sometimes happens that there are no rocks at hand +which will allow a loose loop to be used, a slip-knot has to be resorted +to, and the rope is drawn in tightly. Consequently it will occur that it +is not possible to jerk the loop off, and the rope has to be cut and left +behind. To prevent this, I had a wrought-iron ring (two and a quarter +inches in diameter and three-eighths of an inch thick) attached to one end +of my rope. A loop could be made in a moment by passing the other end of +the rope through this ring, which of course slipped up and held tightly as +I descended holding the free end. A strong piece of cord was also attached +to the ring, and, on arriving at the bottom, this was pulled; the ring +slid back again, and the loop was whipped off readily. By means of these +two simple appliances I was able to ascend and descend rocks, which +otherwise would have been completely impassable for a single person. The +combined weight of these two things amounted to less than half-a-pound. + + [Illustration: Rope and rin] + +It has been mentioned (p. 55) that the rocks of the south-west ridge are +by no means difficult for some distance above the Col du Lion. This is +true of the rocks up to the level of the Chimney, but they steepen when +that is passed, and remaining smooth and with but few fractures, and still +continuing to dip outwards, present some steps of a very uncertain kind, +particularly when they are glazed with ice. At this point (just above the +Chimney) the climber is obliged to follow the southern (or Breil) side of +the ridge, but, in a few feet more, one must turn over to the northern (or +Z’Mutt) side, where, in most years, nature kindly provides a snow-slope. +When this is surmounted, one can again return to the crest of the ridge, +and follow it, by easy rocks, to the foot of the Great Tower. This was the +highest point attained by Mr. Hawkins in 1860, and it was also our highest +on the 9th of July. + +This Great Tower is one of the most striking features of the ridge. It +stands out like a turret at the angle of a castle. Behind it a +battlemented wall leads upwards to the citadel.(58) Seen from the Théodule +pass, it looks only an insignificant pinnacle, but as one approaches it +(on the ridge) so it seems to rise, and, when one is at its base, it +completely conceals the upper parts of the mountain. I found here a +suitable place for the tent; which, although not so well protected as the +second platform, possessed the advantage of being 300 feet higher up; and +fascinated by the wildness of the cliffs, and enticed by the perfection of +the weather, I went on to see what was behind. + +The first step was a difficult one. The ridge became diminished to the +least possible width—it was hard to keep one’s balance—and just where it +was narrowest, a more than perpendicular mass barred the way. Nothing +fairly within arm’s reach could be laid hold of; it was necessary to +spring up, and then to haul one’s-self over the sharp edge by sheer +strength. Progression directly upwards was then impossible. Enormous and +appalling precipices plunged down to the Tiefenmatten glacier on the left, +but round the right-hand side it was just possible to go. One hindrance +then succeeded another, and much time was consumed in seeking the way. I +have a vivid recollection of a gully of more than usual perplexity at the +side of the Great Tower, with minute ledges and steep walls; of the ledges +dwindling down and at last ceasing; and of finding myself, with arms and +legs divergent, fixed as if crucified, pressing against the rock, and +feeling each rise and fall of my chest as I breathed; of screwing my head +round to look for hold, and not seeing any, and of jumping sideways on to +the other side. ’Tis vain to attempt to describe such places. Whether they +are sketched with a light hand, or wrought out in laborious detail, one +stands an equal chance of being misunderstood. Their enchantment to the +climber arises from their calls on his faculties, in their demands on his +strength, and on overcoming the impediments which they oppose to his +skill. The non-mountaineering reader cannot feel this, and his interest in +descriptions of such places is usually small, unless he supposes that the +situations are perilous. They are not necessarily perilous, but I think +that it is impossible to avoid giving such an impression if the +difficulties are particularly insisted upon. + +About this part there was a change in the quality of the rock, and there +was a change in the general appearance of the ridge. The rocks (talcose +gneiss) below this spot were singularly firm; it was rarely necessary to +test one’s hold; the way led over the living rock, and not up rent-off +fragments. But here, all was decay and ruin. The crest of the ridge was +shattered and cleft, and the feet sank in the chips which had drifted +down; while above, huge blocks, hacked and carved by the hand of time, +nodded to the sky, looking like the grave-stones of giants. Out of +curiosity I wandered to a notch in the ridge, between two tottering piles +of immense masses, which seemed to need but a few pounds on one or the +other side to make them fall; so nicely poised that they would literally +have rocked in the wind, for they were put in motion by a touch; and based +on support so frail that I wondered they did not collapse before my eyes. +In the whole range of my Alpine experience I have seen nothing more +striking than this desolate, ruined, and shattered ridge at the back of +the Great Tower. I have seen stranger shapes,—rocks which mimic the human +form, with monstrous leering faces—and isolated pinnacles, sharper and +greater than any here; but I have never seen exhibited so impressively the +tremendous effects which may be produced by frost, and by the +long-continued action of forces whose individual effects are barely +perceptible. + +It is needless to say that it is impossible to climb by the crest of the +ridge at this part; still one is compelled to keep near to it, for there +is no other way. Generally speaking, the angles on the Matterhorn are too +steep to allow the formation of considerable beds of snow, but here there +is a corner which permits it to accumulate, and it is turned to +gratefully, for, by its assistance, one can ascend four times as rapidly +as upon the rocks. + +The Tower was now almost out of sight, and I looked over the central +Pennine Alps to the Grand Combin, and to the chain of Mont Blanc. My +neighbour, the Dent d’Hérens, still rose above me, although but slightly, +and the height which had been attained could be measured by its help. So +far, I had no doubts about my capacity to descend that which had been +ascended; but, in a short time, on looking ahead, I saw that the cliffs +steepened, and I turned back (without pushing on to them, and getting into +inextricable difficulties), exulting in the thought that they would be +passed when we returned together, and that I had, without assistance, got +nearly to the height of the Dent d’Hérens, and considerably higher than +any one had been before.(59) My exultation was a little premature. + +About 5 P.M. I left the tent again, and thought myself as good as at +Breil. The friendly rope and claw had done good service, and had +smoothened all the difficulties. I lowered myself through the Chimney, +however, by making a fixture of the rope, which I then cut off, and left +behind, as there was enough and to spare. My axe had proved a great +nuisance in coming down, and I left it in the tent. It was not attached to +the bâton, but was a separate affair,—an old navy boarding-axe. While +cutting up the different snow-beds on the ascent, the bâton trailed behind +fastened to the rope; and, when climbing, the axe was carried behind, run +through the rope tied round my waist, and was sufficiently out of the way. +But in descending, when coming down face outwards (as is always best where +it is possible), the head or the handle of the weapon caught frequently +against the rocks, and several times nearly upset me. So, out of laziness +if you will, it was left in the tent. I paid dearly for the imprudence. + +The Col du Lion was passed, and fifty yards more would have placed me on +the “Great Staircase,” down which one can run. But on arriving at an angle +of the cliffs of the Tête du Lion, while skirting the upper edge of the +snow which abuts against them, I found that the heat of the two past days +had nearly obliterated the steps which had been cut when coming up. The +rocks happened to be impracticable just at this corner, so nothing could +be done except make the steps afresh. The snow was too hard to beat or +tread down, and at the angle it was all but ice. Half-a-dozen steps only +were required, and then the ledges could be followed again. So I held to +the rock with my right hand, and prodded at the snow with the point of my +stick until a good step was made, and then, leaning round the angle, did +the same for the other side. So far well, but in attempting to pass the +corner (to the present moment I cannot tell how it happened) I slipped and +fell. + + [Illustration: “THE CHIMNEY.” + (ON THE SOUTH-WEST RIDGE OF THE MATTERHORN).] + +The slope was steep on which this took place, and was at the top of a +gully that led down through two subordinate buttresses towards the Glacier +du Lion—which was just seen, a thousand feet below. The gully narrowed and +narrowed, until there was a mere thread of snow lying between two walls of +rock, which came to an abrupt termination at the top of a precipice that +intervened between it and the glacier. Imagine a funnel cut in half +through its length, placed at an angle of 45 degrees, with its point below +and its concave side uppermost, and you will have a fair idea of the +place. + +The knapsack brought my head down first, and I pitched into some rocks +about a dozen feet below; they caught something and tumbled me off the +edge, head over heels, into the gully; the bâton was dashed from my hands, +and I whirled downwards in a series of bounds, each longer than the last; +now over ice, now into rocks; striking my head four or five times, each +time with increased force. The last bound sent me spinning through the +air, in a leap of fifty or sixty feet, from one side of the gully to the +other, and I struck the rocks, luckily, with the whole of my left side. +They caught my clothes for a moment, and I fell back on to the snow with +motion arrested. My head fortunately came the right side up, and a few +frantic catches brought me to a halt, in the neck of the gully, and on the +verge of the precipice. Bâton, hat, and veil skimmed by and disappeared, +and the crash of the rocks—which I had started—as they fell on to the +glacier, told how narrow had been the escape from utter destruction. As it +was, I fell nearly 200 feet in seven or eight bounds. Ten feet more would +have taken me in one gigantic leap of 800 feet on to the glacier below. + +The situation was sufficiently serious. The rocks could not be left go for +a moment, and the blood was spirting out of more than twenty cuts. The +most serious ones were in the head, and I vainly tried to close them with +one hand, whilst holding on with the other. It was useless; the blood +jerked out in blinding jets at each pulsation. At last, in a moment of +inspiration, I kicked out a big lump of snow, and stuck it as a plaster on +my head. The idea was a happy one, and the flow of blood diminished. Then, +scrambling up, I got, not a moment too soon, to a place of safety, and +fainted away. The sun was setting when consciousness returned, and it was +pitch dark before the Great Staircase was descended; but, by a combination +of luck and care, the whole 4800 feet of descent to Breil was accomplished +without a slip, or once missing the way. I slunk past the cabin of the +cowherds, who were talking and laughing inside, utterly ashamed of the +state to which I had been brought by my imbecility, and entered the inn +stealthily, wishing to escape to my room unnoticed. But Favre met me in +the passage, demanded “Who is it?” screamed with fright when he got a +light, and aroused the household. Two dozen heads then held solemn council +over mine, with more talk than action. The natives were unanimous in +recommending that hot wine (syn. vinegar), mixed with salt, should be +rubbed into the cuts. I protested, but they insisted. It was all the +doctoring they received. Whether their rapid healing was to be attributed +to that simple remedy, or to a good state of health, is a question; they +closed up remarkably quickly, and in a few days I was able to move +again.(60) + + [Illustration: “IN ATTEMPTING TO PASS THE CORNER I SLIPPED AND FELL.”] + + [Illustration: AT BREIL (GIOMEIN).] + +It was sufficiently dull during this time. I was chiefly occupied in +meditating on the vanity of human wishes, and in watching my clothes being +washed in the tub which was turned by the stream in the front of the +house; and I vowed that if an Englishman should at any time fall sick in +the Val Tournanche, he should not feel so solitary as I did at this dreary +time.(61) + +The news of the accident brought Jean-Antoine Carrel up to Breil, and, +along with the haughty chasseur, came one of his relatives, a strong and +able young fellow named Cæsar. With these two men and Meynet I made +another start on the 23rd of July. We got to the tent without any trouble, +and on the following day had ascended beyond the Tower, and were picking +our way cautiously over the loose rocks behind (where my traces of the +week before were well apparent) in lovely weather, when one of those +abominable and almost instantaneous changes occurred, to which the +Matterhorn is so liable on its southern side. Mists were created out of +invisible vapours, and in a few minutes snow fell heavily. We stopped, as +this part was of excessive difficulty, and, unwilling to retreat, remained +on the spot several hours, in hopes that another change would occur; but, +as it did not, we at length went down to the base of the Tower, and +commenced to make a third platform, at the height of 12,992 feet above the +sea. It still continued to snow, and we took refuge in the tent. Carrel +argued that the weather had broken up, and that the mountain would become +so glazed with ice as to render any attempt futile; and I, that the change +was only temporary, and that the rocks were too hot to allow ice to form +upon them. I wished to stay until the weather improved, but my leader +would not endure contradiction, grew more positive, and insisted that we +must go down. We went down, and when we got below the Col his opinion was +found to be wrong; the cloud was confined to the upper 3000 feet, and +outside it there was brilliant weather. + +Carrel was not an easy man to manage. He was perfectly aware that he was +the cock of the Val Tournanche, and he commanded the other men as by +right. He was equally conscious that he was indispensable to me, and took +no pains to conceal his knowledge of the fact. If he had been commanded, +or if he had been entreated to stop, it would have been all the same. But, +let me repeat, he was the only first-rate climber I could find who +believed that the mountain was not inaccessible. With him I had hopes, but +without him none; so he was allowed to do as he would. His will on this +occasion was almost incomprehensible. He certainly could not be charged +with cowardice, for a bolder man could hardly be found; nor was he turning +away on account of difficulty, for nothing to which we had yet come seemed +to be difficult to _him_; and his strong personal desire to make the +ascent was evident. There was no occasion to come down on account of food, +for we had taken, to guard against this very casualty, enough to last for +a week; and there was no danger, and little or no discomfort, in stopping +in the tent. It seemed to me that he was spinning out the ascent for his +own purposes, and that although he wished very much to be the first man on +the top, and did not object to be accompanied by any one else who had the +same wish, he had no intention of letting one succeed too soon,—perhaps to +give a greater appearance of _éclat_ when the thing was accomplished. As +he feared no rival, he may have supposed that the more difficulties he +made the more valuable he would be estimated; though, to do him justice, +he never showed any great hunger for money. His demands were fair, not +excessive; but he always stipulated for so much per day, and so, under any +circumstances, he did not do badly. + +Vexed at having my time thus frittered away, I was still well pleased when +he volunteered to start again on the morrow, if it should be fine. We were +to advance the tent to the foot of the Tower, to fix ropes in the most +difficult parts beyond, and to make a push for the summit on the following +day. + +The next morning (Friday the 25th) when I arose, good little Meynet was +ready and waiting, and he said that the two Carrels had gone off some time +before, and had left word that they intended marmot-hunting, as the day +was favourable for that sport.(62) My holiday had nearly expired, and +these men clearly could not be relied upon; so, as a last resort, I +proposed to the hunchback to accompany me alone, to see if we could not +get higher than before, though of reaching the summit there was little or +no hope. He did not hesitate, and in a few hours we stood—for the third +time together—upon the Col du Lion. It was the first time Meynet had seen +the view unclouded. The poor little deformed peasant gazed upon it +silently and reverently for a time, and then, unconsciously, fell on one +knee in an attitude of adoration, and clasped his hands, exclaiming in +ecstasy, “Oh, beautiful mountains!” His actions were as appropriate as his +words were natural, and tears bore witness to the reality of his emotion. + +Our power was too limited to advance the tent, so we slept at the old +station, and starting very early the next morning, passed the place where +we had turned back on the 24th, and, subsequently, my highest point on the +19th. We found the crest of the ridge so treacherous that we took to the +cliffs on the right, although most unwillingly. Little by little we fought +our way up, but at length we were both spread-eagled on the all but +perpendicular face, unable to advance, and barely able to descend. We +returned to the ridge. It was almost equally difficult, and infinitely +more unstable; and at length, after having pushed our attempts as far as +was prudent, I determined to return to Breil, and to have a light ladder +made to assist us to overcome some of the steepest parts.(63) I expected, +too, that by this time Carrel would have had enough marmot-hunting, and +would deign to accompany us again. + +We came down at a great pace, for we were now so familiar with the +mountain, and with each other’s wants, that we knew immediately when to +give a helping hand, and when to let alone. The rocks also were in a +better state than I have ever seen them, being almost entirely free from +glaze of ice. Meynet was always merriest on the difficult parts, and, on +the most difficult, kept on enunciating the sentiment, “We can only die +once,” which thought seemed to afford him infinite satisfaction. We +arrived at the inn early in the evening, and I found my projects summarily +and unexpectedly knocked on the head. + +Professor Tyndall had arrived while we were absent, and he had engaged +both Cæsar and Jean-Antoine Carrel. Bennen was also with him, together +with a powerful and active friend, a Valaisan guide, named Anton Walter. +They had a ladder already prepared, provisions were being collected, and +they intended to start on the following morning (Sunday). This new arrival +took me by surprise. Bennen, it will be remembered, refused point-blank to +take Professor Tyndall on the Matterhorn in 1861. “He was dead against any +attempt on the mountain,” says Tyndall. He was now eager to set out. +Professor Tyndall has not explained in what way this revolution came about +in his guide. I was equally astonished at the faithlessness of Carrel, and +attributed it to pique at our having presumed to do without him. It was +useless to compete with the Professor and his four men, who were ready to +start in a few hours, so I waited to see what would come of their +attempt.(64) + +Everything seemed to favour it, and they set out on a fine morning in high +spirits, leaving me tormented with envy and all uncharitableness. If they +succeeded, they carried off the prize for which I had been so long +struggling; and if they failed, there was no time to make another attempt, +for I was due in a few days more in London. When this came home clearly to +me, I resolved to leave Breil at once; but, when packing up, found that +some necessaries had been left behind in the tent. So I went off about +midday to recover them; caught the army of the Professor before it reached +the Col, as they were going very slowly; left them there (stopping to take +food), and went on to the tent. I was near to it when all at once I heard +a noise aloft, and, on looking up, perceived a stone of at least a foot +cube flying straight at my head. I ducked, and scrambled under the lee +side of a friendly rock, while the stone went by with a loud buzz. It was +the advanced guard of a perfect storm of stones, which descended with +infernal clatter down the very edge of the ridge, leaving a trail of dust +behind, with a strong smell of sulphur, that told who had sent them. The +men below were on the look-out, but the stones did not come near them, and +breaking away on one side went down to the Glacier du Lion.(65) + +I waited at the tent to welcome the Professor, and when he arrived went +down to Breil. Early next morning some one ran to me saying that a flag +was seen on the summit of the Matterhorn. It was not so, however, although +I saw that they had passed the place where we had turned back on the 26th. +I had now no doubt of their final success, for they had got beyond the +point which Carrel, not less than myself, had always considered to be the +most questionable place on the whole mountain. Up to it there was no +choice of route,—I suppose that at no one point between it and the Col was +it possible to diverge a dozen paces to the right or left, but beyond it +it was otherwise, and we had always agreed, in our debates, that if it +could be passed success was certain. The accompanying outline from a +sketch taken from the door of the inn at Breil will help to explain. The +letter *A* indicates the position of the Great Tower; *C* the “cravate” +(the strongly-marked streak of snow referred to on p. 76, and which we +just failed to arrive at on the 26th); *B* the place where we now saw +something that looked like a flag. Behind the point B a nearly level ridge +leads up to the foot of the final peak, which will be understood by a +reference to the outline facing p. 44, on which the same letters indicate +the same places. It was just now said, we considered that if the point *C* +could be passed, success was certain. Tyndall was at *B* very early in the +morning, and I did not doubt that he would reach the summit, although it +yet remained problematical whether he would be able to stand on the very +highest point. The summit was evidently formed of a long ridge, on which +there were two points nearly equally elevated—so equally that one could +not say which was the highest—and between the two there seemed to be a +deep notch, marked *D* on the outlines, which might defeat one at the very +last moment. + + [Illustration: A CANNONADE ON THE MATTERHORN (1862).] + + [Illustration: The Matterhorn from Breil] + +My knapsack was packed, and I had taken a parting glass of wine with +Favre, who was jubilant at the success which was to make the fortune of +his inn; but I could not bring myself to leave until the result was heard, +and lingered about, as a foolish lover hovers round the object of his +affections, even after he has been contemptuously rejected. The sun had +set before the men were descried coming over the pastures. There was no +spring in their steps—they, too, were defeated. The Carrels hid their +heads, and the others said, as men will do when they have been beaten, +that the mountain was horrible, impossible, and so forth. Professor +Tyndall told me they had arrived _within a stone’s throw of the summit_, +and admonished me to have nothing more to do with the mountain. I +understood him to say that he should not try again, and ran down to the +village of Val Tournanche, almost inclined to believe that the mountain +was inaccessible; leaving the tent, ropes, and other matters in the hands +of Favre, to be placed at the disposal of any person who wished to ascend +it, more, I am afraid, out of irony than from generosity. There may have +been those who believed that the Matterhorn could be ascended, but, +anyhow, their faith did not bring forth works. No one tried again in 1862. + + + +Business took me into Dauphiné before returning to London, and a week +after Tyndall’s defeat I lay one night, after a sultry day, half-asleep, +tossing about in one of the abominations which serve for beds in the inn +kept by the Deputy-Mayor of La Ville de Val Louise; looking at a strange +ruddiness on the ceiling, which I thought might be some effect of +electricity produced by the irritation of the myriads of fleas; when the +great bell of the church, close at hand, pealed out with loud and hurried +clangour. I jumped up, for the voices and movements of the people in the +house made me think of fire. It _was_ fire; and I saw from my window, on +the other side of the river, great forked flames shooting high into the +sky, black dots with long shadows hurrying towards the place, and the +crests of the ridges catching the light and standing out like spectres. +All the world was in motion, for the neighbouring villages—now +aroused—rang out the alarm. I pulled on my shirt, and tore over the +bridge. Three large chalets were on fire, and were surrounded by a mass of +people, who were bringing all their pots and pans, and anything that would +hold water. They formed themselves into several chains, each two deep, +leading towards the nearest stream, and passed the water up one side, and +the empty utensils down the other. My old friend the mayor was there, in +full force, striking the ground with his stick, and vociferating, “Work! +work!” but the men, with much presence of mind, chiefly ranged themselves +on the sides of the empty buckets, and left the real work to their better +halves. Their efforts were useless, and the chalets burnt themselves out. + +The next morning I visited the still smouldering ruins, and saw the +homeless families sitting in a dismal row in front of their charred +property. The people said that one of the houses had been well insured, +and that its owner had endeavoured to forestall luck. He had arranged the +place for a bonfire, set the lower rooms on fire in several places, and +had then gone out of the way, leaving his wife and children in the upper +rooms, to be roasted or not as the case might be. His plans only partially +succeeded, and it was satisfactory to see the scoundrel brought back in +the custody of two stalwart gensdarmes. Three days afterwards I was in +London. + + [Illustration: “BUT WHAT IS THIS?”] + + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + + THE VAL TOURNANCHE—DIRECT PASS FROM BREIL TO ZERMATT + (BREUILJOCH)—ZERMATT—FIRST ASCENT OF THE GRAND TOURNALIN. + + + “How like a winter hath my absence been + From thee, the pleasure of a fleeting year!” + W. SHAKESPEARE. + + +I crossed the Channel on the 29th of July 1863, embarrassed by the +possession of two ladders, each twelve feet long, which joined together +like those used by firemen, and shut up like parallel rulers. My luggage +was highly suggestive of housebreaking, for, besides these, there were +several coils of rope, and numerous tools of suspicious appearance, and it +was reluctantly admitted into France, but it passed through the +custom-house with less trouble than I anticipated, after a timely +expenditure of a few francs. + +I am not in love with the douane. It is the purgatory of travellers, where +uncongenial spirits mingle together for a time, before they are separated +into rich and poor. The douaniers look upon tourists as their natural +enemies; see how eagerly they pounce upon the portmanteaux! One of them +has discovered something! He has never seen its like before, and he holds +it aloft in the face of its owner, with inquisitorial insolence. “But +_what is_ this?” The explanation is only half-satisfactory. “But what is +_this_?” says he, laying hold of a little box. “Powder.” “But that it is +forbidden to carry of powder on the railway.” “Bah!” says another and +older hand, “pass the effects of Monsieur;” and our countryman—whose +cheeks had begun to redden under the stares of his fellow-travellers—is +allowed to depart with his half-worn tooth-brush, while the discomfited +douanier gives a mighty shrug at the strange habits of those “whose +insular position excludes them from the march of continental ideas.” + +My real troubles commenced at Susa. The officials there, more honest and +more obtuse than the Frenchmen, declined at one and the same time to be +bribed, or to pass my baggage until a satisfactory account of it was +rendered; and, as they refused to believe the true explanation, I was +puzzled what to say, but was presently relieved from the dilemma by one of +the men, who was cleverer than his fellows, suggesting that I was going to +Turin to exhibit in the streets; that I mounted the ladder and balanced +myself on the end of it, then lighted my pipe and put the point of the +bâton in its bowl, and caused the bâton to gyrate around my head. The rope +was to keep back the spectators, and an Englishman in my company was the +agent. “Monsieur is acrobat then?” “Yes, certainly.” “Pass the effects of +Monsieur the acrobat!” + +These ladders were the source of endless trouble. Let us pass over the +doubts of the guardians of the Hôtel d’Europe (Trombetta), whether a +person in the possession of such questionable articles should be admitted +to their very respectable house, and get to Chatillon, at the entrance of +the Val Tournanche. A mule was chartered to carry them, and, as they were +too long to sling across its back, they were arranged lengthways, and one +end projected over the animal’s head, while the other extended beyond its +tail. A mule when going up or down hill always moves with a jerky action, +and in consequence of this the ladders hit my mule severe blows between +its ears and in its flanks. The beast, not knowing what strange creature +it had on its back, naturally tossed its head and threw out its legs, and +this, of course, only made the blows that it received more severe. At last +it ran away, and would have perished by rolling down a precipice, if the +men had not caught hold of its tail. The end of the matter was that a man +had to follow the mule, holding the end of the ladders, which obliged him +to move his arms up and down incessantly, and to bow to the hind quarters +of the animal in a way that afforded more amusement to his comrades than +it did to him. + +I was once more _en route_ for the Matterhorn, for I had heard in the +spring of 1863 the cause of the failure of Professor Tyndall, and learnt +that the case was not so hopeless as it appeared to be at one time. I +found that he arrived as far only as the northern end of “the shoulder.” +The point at which he says,(66) they “sat down with broken hopes, the +summit within a stone’s throw of us, but still defying us,” was not the +notch or cleft at D (which is literally within a stone’s throw of the +summit), but another and more formidable cleft that intervenes between the +northern end of “the shoulder” and the commencement of the final peak. It +is marked E on the outline which faces p. 44. Carrel and all the men who +had been with me knew of the existence of this cleft, and of the pinnacle +which rose between it and the final peak;(67) and we had frequently talked +about the best manner of passing the place. On this we disagreed, but we +were both of opinion that when we got to “the shoulder,” it would be +necessary to bear down gradually to the right or to the left, to avoid +coming to the top of the notch. Tyndall’s party, after arriving at “the +shoulder,” was led by his guides along the crest of the ridge, and, +consequently, when they got to its northern end, they came to the top of +the notch, instead of the bottom—to the dismay of all but the Carrels. Dr. +Tyndall’s words are, “The ridge was here split by a deep cleft which +separated it from the final precipice, and the case became more hopeless +as we came more near.” The Professor adds, “The mountain is 14,800 feet +high, and 14,600 feet had been accomplished.” He greatly deceived himself; +by the barometric measurements of Signor Giordano the notch is no less +than 800 feet below the summit. The guide Walter (Dr. Tyndall says) said +it was impossible to proceed, and the Carrels, appealed to for their +opinion (this is their own account), gave as an answer, “We are porters; +ask your guides.” Bennen, thus left to himself, “was finally forced to +accept defeat.” Tyndall had nevertheless accomplished an advance of about +400 feet over one of the most difficult parts of the mountain. + +There are material discrepancies between the published narratives of +Professor Tyndall(68) and the verbal accounts of the Carrels. The former +says the men had to be “urged on,” that “they pronounced flatly against +the final precipice,” “they yielded so utterly,” and that Bennen said, in +answer to a final appeal made to him, “‘What could I do, sir? not one of +them would accompany me.’ It was the accurate truth.” Jean-Antoine Carrel +says that when Professor Tyndall gave the order to turn _he_ would have +advanced to examine the route, as he did not think that farther progress +was impossible, but he was stopped by the Professor, and was naturally +obliged to follow the others.(69) These disagreements may well be left to +be settled by those who are concerned. Tyndall, Walter, and Bennen, now +disappear from this history.(70) + + [Illustration: An arch of the aqueduct in the Val Tournanche] + +The Val Tournanche is one of the most charming valleys in the Italian +Alps; it is a paradise to an artist, and if the space at my command were +greater, I would willingly linger over its groves of chestnuts, its bright +trickling rills and its roaring torrents, its upland unsuspected valleys +and its noble cliffs. The path rises steeply from Chatillon, but it is +well shaded, and the heat of the summer sun is tempered by cool air and +spray which comes off the ice-cold streams.(71) One sees from the path, at +several places on the right bank of the valley, groups of arches which +have been built high up against the faces of the cliffs. Guide-books +repeat—on whose authority I know not—that they are the remains of a Roman +aqueduct. They have the Roman boldness of conception, but the work has not +the usual Roman solidity. The arches have always seemed to me to be the +remains of an _unfinished_ work, and I learn from Jean-Antoine Carrel that +there are other groups of arches, which are not seen from the path, all +having the same appearance. It may be questioned whether those seen near +the village of Antey are Roman. Some of them are semicircular, whilst +others are distinctly pointed. Here is one of the latter, which might pass +for fourteenth-century work, or later;—a two-centred arch, with mean +voussoirs, and the masonry in rough courses. These arches are well worth +the attention of an archæologist, but some difficulty will be found in +approaching them closely. + +We sauntered up the valley, and got to Breil when all were asleep. A halo +round the moon promised watery weather, and we were not disappointed, for, +on the next day (August 1), rain fell heavily, and when the clouds lifted +for a time, we saw that new snow lay thickly over everything higher than +9000 feet. J.-A. Carrel was ready and waiting (as I had determined to give +the bold cragsman another chance); and he did not need to say that the +Matterhorn would be impracticable for several days after all this new +snow, even if the weather were to arrange itself at once. Our first day +together was accordingly spent upon a neighbouring summit, the Cimes +Blanches; a degraded mountain, well known for its fine panoramic view. It +was little that we saw; for, in every direction except to the south, +writhing masses of heavy clouds obscured everything; and to the south our +view was intercepted by a peak higher than the Cimes Blanches, named the +Grand Tournalin.(72) But we got some innocent pleasure out of watching the +gambolings of a number of goats, who became fast friends after we had +given them some salt; in fact, too fast, and caused us no little annoyance +when we were descending. “Carrel,” I said, as a number of stones whizzed +by which they had dislodged, “this must be put a stop to.” “Diable!” he +grunted, “it is very well to talk, but how will you do it?” I said that I +would try; and, sitting down, poured a little brandy into the hollow of my +hand, and allured the nearest goat with deceitful gestures. It was one who +had gobbled up the paper in which the salt had been carried—an animal of +enterprising character—and it advanced fearlessly and licked up the +brandy. I shall not easily forget its surprise. It stopped short, and +coughed, and looked at me as much as to say, “Oh, you cheat!” and spat and +ran away; stopping now and then to cough and spit again. We were not +troubled any more by those goats. + +More snow fell during the night, and our attempt on the Matterhorn was +postponed indefinitely. As there was nothing to be done at Breil, I +determined to make the tour of the mountain, and commenced by inventing a +pass from Breil to Zermatt,(73) in place of the hackneyed Théodule. Any +one who looks at the map will see that the latter pass makes a +considerable détour to the east, and, apparently, goes out of the way. I +thought that it was possible to strike out a shorter route, both in +distance and in time, and we set out on the 3rd of August, to carry out +the idea. We followed the Théodule path for some time, but quitted it when +it bore away to the east, and kept straight on until we struck the moraine +of the Mont Cervin glacier. Our track still continued in a straight line +up the centre of the glacier to the foot of a tooth of rock, which juts +prominently out of the ridge (Furggengrat) connecting the Matterhorn with +the Théodulehorn. The head of the glacier was connected with this little +peak by a steep bank of snow; but we were able to go straight up, and +struck the Col at its lowest point, a little to the right (that is to say, +to the east) of the above-mentioned peak. On the north there was a +snow-slope corresponding to that on the other side. Half-an-hour took us +to its base. We then bore away over the nearly level plateau of the +Furggengletscher, making a straight track to the Hörnli, from whence we +descended to Zermatt by one of the well-known paths. This pass has been +dubbed the Breuiljoch by the Swiss surveyors. It is a few feet higher than +the Théodule, and it may be recommended to those who are familiar with +that pass, as it gives equally fine views, and is accessible at all times. +But it will never be frequented like the Théodule, as the snow-slope at +its summit, at certain times, will require the use of the axe. It took us +six hours and a quarter to go from one place to the other, which was an +hour longer than we would have occupied by the Théodule, although the +distance in miles is less. + +It is stated in one of the MS. note-books of the late Principal J. D. +Forbes, that this depression, now called the Breuiljoch, was formerly +_the_ pass between the Val Tournanche and Zermatt, and that it was +abandoned for the Théodule in consequence of changes in the glaciers.(74) +The authority for the statement was not given. I presume it was from local +tradition, but I readily credit it; for, before the time that the glaciers +had shrunk to so great an extent, the steep snow-slopes above mentioned, +in all probability, did not exist; and, most likely, the glaciers led by +very gentle gradients up to the summit; in which case the route would have +formed the natural highway between the two places. It is far from +impossible, if the glaciers continue to diminish at their present rapid +rate,(75) that the Théodule itself, the easiest and the most frequented of +all the higher Alpine passes, may, in the course of a few years, become +somewhat difficult; and if this should be the case, the prosperity of +Zermatt will probably suffer.(76) + +Carrel and I wandered out again in the afternoon, and went, first of all, +to a favourite spot with tourists near the end of the Gorner glacier (or, +properly speaking, the Boden glacier), to a little verdant flat—studded +with _Euphrasia officinalis_—the delight of swarms of bees, who gather +there the honey which afterwards appears at the _table d’hôte_. + +[Illustration: WATER-WORN ROCKS IN THE GORGE BELOW THE GORNER GLACIER.] + +On our right the glacier-torrent thundered down the valley through a gorge +with precipitous sides, not easily approached; for the turf at the top was +slippery, and the rocks had everywhere been rounded by the glacier,—which +formerly extended far away. This gorge seems to have been made chiefly by +the torrent, and to have been excavated subsequently to the retreat of the +glacier. It seems so because not merely upon its walls are there the marks +of running water, but even upon the rounded rocks at the top of its walls, +at a height of seventy or eighty feet above the present level of the +torrent, there are some of those queer concavities which rapid streams +alone are known to produce on rocks. + + [Illustration: STRIATIONS PRODUCED BY GLACIER-ACTION (AT GRINDELWALD).] + +A little bridge, apparently frail, spans the torrent just above the +entrance to this gorge, and from it one perceives, being fashioned in the +rocks below, concavities similar to those to which reference has just been +made. The torrent is seen hurrying forwards. Not everywhere. In some +places the water strikes projecting angles, and, thrown back by them, +remains almost stationary, eddying round and round: in others, +obstructions fling it up in fountains, which play perpetually on the +_under_ surfaces of overhanging masses; and sometimes do so in such a way +that the water not only works upon the under surfaces, but round the +corner; that is to say, upon the surfaces which are _not_ opposed to the +general direction of the current. In all cases _concavities_ are being +produced. Projecting angles are rounded, it is true, and are more or less +convex, but they are overlooked on account of the prevalence of concave +forms. + +Cause and effect help each other here. The inequalities of the torrent bed +and walls cause its eddyings, and the eddies fashion the concavities. The +more profound the latter become, the more disturbance is caused in the +water. The destruction of the rocks proceeds at an ever-increasing rate; +for the larger the amount of surface that is exposed, the greater are the +opportunities for the assaults of heat and cold. + +When water is in the form of glacier it has not the power of making +concavities, such as these, in rocks, and of working upon surfaces which +are not opposed to the direction of the current. Its nature is changed; it +operates in a different way, and it leaves marks which are readily +distinguished from those produced by torrent-action. + +The prevailing forms which result from glacier-action are more or less +_convex_. Ultimately, all angles and almost all curves are obliterated, +and large areas of flat surfaces are produced. This perfection of abrasion +is rarely found, except in such localities as have sustained a grinding +much more severe than that which has occurred in the Alps; and, generally +speaking, the dictum of the veteran geologist Studer, quoted below, is +undoubtedly true.(77) Not merely can the operations of extinct glaciers be +traced in detail by means of the bosses of rock popularly termed _roches +moutonnées_, but their effects in the aggregate, on a range of mountains +or an entire country, can be recognised sometimes at a distance of fifteen +or twenty miles from the incessant repetition of these convex forms. + + + +We finished up the 3d of August with a walk over the Findelen glacier, and +returned to Zermatt at a later hour than we intended, both very sleepy. +This is noteworthy only on account of that which followed. We had to cross +the Col de Valpelline on the next day, and an early start was desirable. +Monsieur Seiler, excellent man, knowing this, called us himself, and when +he came to my door, I answered, “All right, Seiler, I will get up,” and +immediately turned over to the other side, saying to myself, “First of +all, ten minutes more sleep.” But Seiler waited and listened, and, +suspecting the case, knocked again. “Herr Whymper, have you got a light?” +Without thinking what the consequences might be, I answered, “No,” and +then the worthy man actually forced the lock off his own door to give me +one. By similar and equally friendly and disinterested acts, Monsieur +Seiler has acquired his enviable reputation. + +At 4 A.M. we left his Monte Rosa Hotel, and were soon pushing our way +through the thickets of grey alder that skirt the path up the right bank +of the exquisite little valley which leads to the Z’Muttgletscher. + +Nothing can well seem more inaccessible than the Matterhorn upon this +side; and even in cold blood one holds the breath when looking at its +stupendous cliffs. There are but few equal to them in size in the Alps, +and there are none which can more truly be termed _precipices_. Greatest +of them all is the immense north cliff,—that which bends over towards the +Z’Muttgletscher. Stones which drop from the top of that amazing wall fall +for about 1500 feet before they touch anything; and those which roll down +from above, and bound over it, fall to a much greater depth, and leap +well-nigh 1000 feet beyond its base. This side of the mountain has always +seemed sombre—sad—terrible; it is painfully suggestive of decay, ruin, and +death; and it is now, alas! more than terrible by its associations. + +“There is no aspect of destruction about the Matterhorn cliffs,” says +Professor Ruskin. Granted;—when they are seen from afar. But approach, and +sit down by the side of the Z’Muttgletscher, and you will hear that their +piecemeal destruction is proceeding ceaselessly—incessantly. You will +_hear_, but, probably, you will not _see_; for even when the descending +masses thunder as loudly as heavy guns, and the echoes roll back from the +Ebihorn opposite, they will still be as pin-points against this grand old +face, so vast is its scale! + +If you would see the “aspects of destruction,” you must come still closer, +and climb its cliffs and ridges, or mount to the plateau of the +Matterhorngletscher, which is cut up and ploughed up by these missiles, +and strewn on its surface with their smaller fragments; the larger masses, +falling with tremendous velocity, plunge into the snow and are lost to +sight. + +The Matterhorngletscher, too, sends down _its_ avalanches, as if in +rivalry with the rocks behind. Round the whole of its northern side it +does not terminate in the usual manner by gentle slopes, but comes to a +sudden end at the top of the steep rocks which lie betwixt it and the +Z’Muttgletscher; and seldom does an hour pass without a huge slice +breaking away and falling with dreadful uproar on to the slopes below, +where it is re-compacted. + +The desolate, outside pines of the Z’Mutt forests, stripped of their bark, +and blanched by the weather, are a fit foreground to a scene that can +hardly be surpassed in solemn grandeur. It is a subject worthy of the +pencil of a great painter, and one which would tax the powers of the very +greatest. + +Higher up the glacier the mountain appeared less savage although not less +inaccessible; and, about three hours later, when we arrived at the island +of rock, called the Stockje (which marks the end of the Z’Muttgletscher +proper, and which separates its higher feeder, the Stockgletscher, from +its lower and greater one, the Tiefenmatten), Carrel himself, one of the +least demonstrative of men, could not refrain from expressing wonder at +the steepness of its faces, and at the audacity that had prompted us to +camp upon the south-west ridge; the profile of which is seen very well +from the Stockje.(78) Carrel then saw the north and north-west sides of +the mountain for the first time, and was more firmly persuaded than ever +that an ascent was possible _only_ from the direction of Breil. + +Three years afterwards I was traversing the same spot with the guide Franz +Biener, when all at once a puff of wind brought to us a very bad smell; +and, on looking about, we discovered a dead chamois half-way up the +southern cliffs of the Stockje. We clambered up, and found that it had +been killed by a most uncommon and extraordinary accident. It had slipped +on the upper rocks, had rolled over and over down a slope of débris, +without being able to regain its feet, had fallen over a little patch of +rocks that projected through the débris, and had caught the points of both +horns on a tiny ledge, not an inch broad. It had just been able to touch +the débris, where it led away down from the rocks, and had pawed and +scratched until it could no longer touch. It had evidently been starved to +death, and we found the poor beast almost swinging in the air, with its +head thrown back and tongue protruding, looking to the sky as if imploring +help. + +We had no such excitement as this in 1863, and crossed this easy pass to +the châlets of Prerayen in a very leisurely fashion. From the summit to +Prerayen let us descend in one step. The way has been described before; +and those who wish for information about it should consult the description +of Mr. Jacomb, the discoverer of the pass. Nor need we stop at Prerayen, +except to remark that the owner of the châlets (who is usually taken for a +common herdsman) must not be judged by appearances. He is a man of +substance; he has many flocks and herds; and although, when approached +politely, is courteous, he can (and probably will) act as the _master_ of +Prerayen, if his position is _not_ recognised, and with all the importance +of a man who pays taxes to the extent of 500 francs per annum to his +government. + + [Illustration: CHAMOIS IN DIFFICULTIES.] + +The hill-tops were clouded when we rose from our hay on the 5th of August. +We decided not to continue the tour of our mountain immediately, and +returned over our track of the preceding day to the highest châlet on the +left bank of the valley, with the intention of attacking the Dent d’Erin +on the next morning. We were interested in this summit, more on account of +the excellent view which it commanded of the south-west ridge and the +terminal peak of the Matterhorn, than from any other reason. + +The Dent d’Erin had not been ascended at this time, and we had diverged +from our route on the 4th, and had scrambled some distance up the base of +Mont Brulé, to see how far its south-western slopes were assailable. We +were divided in opinion as to the best way of approaching the peak. +Carrel, true to his habit of sticking to rocks in preference to ice, +counselled ascending by the long buttress of the Tête de Bella Cia (which +descends towards the west, and forms the southern boundary of the last +glacier that falls into the Glacier de Zardesan), and thence traversing +the heads of all the tributaries of the Zardesan to the western and rocky +ridge of the Dent. I, on the other hand, proposed to follow the Glacier de +Zardesan itself throughout its entire length, and from the plateau at its +head (where my proposed route would cross Carrel’s) to make directly +towards the summit, up the snow-covered glacier slope, instead of by the +western ridge. The hunchback, who was accompanying us on these excursions, +declared in favour of Carrel’s route, and it was accordingly adopted. + +The first part of the programme was successfully executed; and at 10.30 +A.M. on the 6th of August, we were sitting astride the western ridge, at a +height of about 12,500 feet, looking down upon the Tiefenmatten glacier. +To all appearance another hour would place us on the summit; but in +another hour we found that we were not destined to succeed. The ridge +(like all of the principal rocky ridges of the great peaks upon which I +have stood) had been completely shattered by frost, and was nothing more +than a heap of piled up fragments. It was always narrow, and where it was +narrowest it was also the most unstable and the most difficult. On neither +side could we ascend it by keeping a little below its crest,—on the side +of the Tiefenmatten because it was too steep, and on both sides because +the dislodgment of a single block would have disturbed the equilibrium of +all those which were above. Forced, therefore, to keep to the very crest +of the ridge, and unable to deviate a single step either to the right or +to the left, we were compelled to trust ourselves upon unsteady masses, +which trembled under our tread, which sometimes settled down, grating in a +hollow and ominous manner, and which seemed as if a little shake would +send the whole roaring down in one awful avalanche. + +I followed my leader, who said not a word, and did not rebel until we came +to a place where a block had to be surmounted which lay poised across the +ridge. Carrel could not climb it without assistance, or advance beyond it +until I joined him above; and as he stepped off my back on to it, I felt +it quiver and bear down upon me. I doubted the possibility of another man +standing upon it without bringing it down. Then I rebelled. There was no +honour to be gained by persevering, or dishonour in turning from a place +which was dangerous on account of its excessive difficulty. So we returned +to Prerayen, for there was too little time to allow us to re-ascend by the +other route, which was subsequently shown to be the right way up the +mountain. + +Four days afterwards a party of Englishmen (including my friends, W. E. +Hall, Craufurd Grove, and Reginald Macdonald), arrived in the Valpelline, +and (unaware of our attempt) on the 12th, under the skilful guidance of +Melchior Anderegg, made the first ascent of the Dent d’Erin by the route +which I had proposed. This is the only mountain which I have essayed to +ascend, that has not, sooner or later, fallen to me. Our failure was +mortifying, yet I am satisfied that we did wisely in returning, and that +if we had persevered, by Carrel’s route, another Alpine accident would +have been recorded. Other routes have been since discovered up the Dent +d’Erin. The ascent ranks amongst the more difficult ones which have been +made in the Alps.(79) + +On the 7th of August we crossed the Va Cornère pass,(80) and had a good +look at the mountain named the Grand Tournalin as we descended the Val de +Chignana. This mountain was seen from so many points, and was so much +higher than any peak in its immediate neighbourhood, that it was bound to +give a very fine view; and (as the weather continued unfavourable for the +Matterhorn) I arranged with Carrel to ascend it the next day, and +despatched him direct to the village of Val Tournanche to make the +necessary preparations, whilst I, with Meynet, made a short cut to Breil, +at the back of Mont Panquero, by a little pass locally known as the Col de +Fenêtre. I rejoined Carrel the same evening at Val Tournanche, and we +started from that place at a little before 5 A.M. on the 8th, to attack +the Tournalin. + +Meynet was left behind for that day, and most unwillingly did the +hunchback part from us, and begged hard to be allowed to come. “Pay me +nothing, only let me go with you;” “I shall want but a little bread and +cheese, and of that I won’t eat much;” “I would much rather go with you +than carry things down the valley.” Such were his arguments, and I was +really sorry that the rapidity of our movements obliged us to desert the +good little man. + +Carrel led over the meadows on the south and east of the bluff upon which +the village of Val Tournanche is built, and then by a zig-zag path through +a long and steep forest, making many short cuts, which showed he had a +thorough knowledge of the ground. After we came again into daylight, our +route took us up one of those little, concealed, lateral valleys which are +so numerous on the slopes bounding the Val Tournanche. + +This valley, the Combe de Ceneil, has a general easterly trend, and +contains but one small cluster of houses (Ceneil). The Tournalin is +situated at the head of the Combe, and nearly due east of the village of +Val Tournanche, but from that place no part of the mountain is visible. +After Ceneil is passed it comes into view, rising above a cirque of cliffs +(streaked by several fine waterfalls), at the end of the Combe. To avoid +these cliffs the path bends somewhat to the south, keeping throughout to +the left bank of the valley, and at about 3500 feet above Val Tournanche, +and 1500 feet above Ceneil and a mile or so to its east, arrives at the +base of some moraines, which are remarkably large considering the +dimensions of the glaciers which formed them. The ranges upon the western +side of the Val Tournanche are seen to great advantage from this spot; and +here the path ends and the way steepens. + +When we arrived at these moraines, we had a choice of two routes. One, +continuing to the east, over the moraines themselves, the débris above +them, and a large snow-bed still higher up, to a kind of _col_ or +depression to the _south_ of the peak, from whence an easy ridge led +towards the summit. The other, over a shrunken glacier on our north-east +(now, perhaps, not in existence), which led to a well-marked _col_ on the +_north_ of the peak, from whence a less easy ridge rose directly to the +highest point. We followed the first named of these routes, and in little +more than half-an-hour stood upon the Col, which commanded a most glorious +view of the southern side of Monte Rosa, and of the ranges to its east, +and to the east of the Val d’Ayas. + +[Illustration: “THEY SCATTERED IN A PANIC WHEN SALUTED BY THE CRIES OF MY + EXCITED COMRADE.”] + +Whilst we were resting at this point, a large party of vagrant chamois +arrived on the summit of the mountain from the northern side, some of +whom—by their statuesque position—seemed to appreciate the grand panorama +by which they were surrounded, while others amused themselves, like +two-legged tourists, in rolling stones over the cliffs. The clatter of +these falling fragments made us look up. The chamois were so numerous that +we could not count them, and clustered around the summit, totally unaware +of our presence. They scattered in a panic, as if a shell had burst +amongst them, when saluted by the cries of my excited comrade; and plunged +wildly down in several directions, with unfaltering and unerring bounds, +with such speed and with such grace that we were filled with admiration +and respect for their mountaineering abilities. + +The ridge that led from the Col towards the summit was singularly easy, +although well broken up by frost, and Carrel thought that it would not be +difficult to arrange a path for mules out of the shattered blocks; but +when we arrived on the summit we found ourselves separated from the very +highest point by a cleft which had been concealed up to that time: its +southern side was nearly perpendicular, but it was only fourteen or +fifteen feet deep. Carrel lowered me down, and afterwards descended on to +the head of my axe, and subsequently on to my shoulders, with a cleverness +which was almost as far removed from my awkwardness as his own efforts +were from those of the chamois. A few easy steps then placed us on the +highest point. It had not been ascended before, and we commemorated the +event by building a huge cairn, which was seen for many a mile, and would +have lasted for many a year, had it not been thrown down by the orders of +Canon Carrel, on account of its interrupting the sweep of a camera which +he took to the lower summit in 1868, in order to photograph the panorama. +According to that well-known mountaineer the summit of the Grand Tournalin +is 6100 feet above the village of Val Tournanche, and 11,155 feet above +the sea. Its ascent (including halts) occupied us only four hours. + + [Illustration: “CARREL LOWERED ME DOWN.”] + +I recommend any person who has a day to spare in the Val Tournanche to +ascend the Tournalin. It should be remembered, however (if its ascent is +made for the sake of the view), that these southern Pennine Alps seldom +remain unclouded after mid-day, and, indeed, frequently not later than 10 +or 11 A.M. Towards sunset the equilibrium of the atmosphere is restored, +and the clouds very commonly disappear. + +I advise the ascent of this mountain not on account of its height, or from +its accessibility or inaccessibility, but simply for the wide and splendid +view which may be seen from its summit. Its position is superb, and the +list of the peaks which can be seen from it includes almost the whole of +the principal mountains of the Cottian, Dauphiné, Graian, Pennine, and +Oberland groups. The view has, in the highest perfection, those elements +of picturesqueness which are wanting in the purely panoramic views of +higher summits. There are three principal sections, each with a central or +dominating point, to which the eye is naturally drawn. All three alike are +pictures in themselves; yet all are dissimilar. In the south, softened by +the vapours of the Val d’Aoste, extends the long line of the Graians, with +mountain after mountain 12,000 feet and upwards in height. It is not upon +these, noble as some of them are, that the eye will rest, but upon the +Viso, far off in the background. In the west and towards the north the +range of Mont Blanc, and some of the greatest of the Central Pennine Alps +(including the Grand Combin and the Dent Blanche) form the background, but +they are overpowered by the grandeur of the ridges which culminate in the +Matterhorn. Nor in the east and north, where pleasant grassy slopes lead +downwards to the Val d’Ayas, nor upon the glaciers and snow-fields above +them, nor upon the Oberland in the background, will the eye long linger, +when immediately in front, several miles away, but seeming close at hand, +thrown out by the pure azure sky, there are the glittering crests of Monte +Rosa. + + [Illustration: THE LATE CANON CARREL, OF AOSTA.] + +Those who would, but cannot, stand upon the highest Alps, may console +themselves with the knowledge that they do not usually yield the views +that make the strongest and most permanent impressions. Marvellous some of +the panoramas seen from the greatest peaks undoubtedly are; but they are +necessarily without those isolated and central points which are so +valuable pictorially. The eye roams over a multitude of objects (each, +perhaps, grand individually), and, distracted by an embarrassment of +riches, wanders from one to another, erasing by the contemplation of the +next the effect that was produced by the last; and when those happy +moments are over, which always fly with too great rapidity, the summit is +left with an impression that is seldom durable, because it is usually +vague. + +No views create such lasting impressions as those which are seen but for a +moment, when a veil of mist is rent in twain, and a single spire or dome +is disclosed. The peaks which are seen at these moments are not, perhaps, +the greatest or the noblest, but the recollection of them outlives the +memory of any panoramic view, because the picture, photographed by the +eye, has time to dry, instead of being blurred, while yet wet, by contact +with other impressions. The reverse is the case with the bird’s-eye +panoramic views from the great peaks, which sometimes embrace a hundred +miles in nearly every direction. The eye is confounded by the crowd of +details, and is unable to distinguish the relative importance of the +objects which are seen. It is almost as difficult to form a just estimate +(with the eye) of the respective heights of a number of peaks from a very +high summit, as it is from the bottom of a valley. I think that the +grandest and the most satisfactory standpoints for viewing mountain +scenery are those which are sufficiently elevated to give a feeling of +depth, as well as of height, which are lofty enough to exhibit wide and +varied views, but not so high as to sink everything to the level of the +spectator. The view from the Grand Tournalin is a favourable example of +this class of panoramic views. + +We descended from the summit by the northern route, and found it tolerably +stiff clambering as far as the Col. Thence, down the glacier, the way was +straightforward, and we joined the route taken on the ascent at the foot +of the ridge leading towards the east. In the evening we returned to +Breil. + +There is an abrupt rise in the valley about two miles to the north of the +village of Val Tournanche, and just above this step the torrent has eaten +its way into its bed and formed an extraordinary chasm, which has long +been known by the name Gouffre des Busserailles. We lingered about this +spot to listen to the thunder of the concealed water, and to watch its +tumultuous boiling as it issued from the gloomy cleft, but our efforts to +peer into the mysteries of the place were baffled. In November 1865, the +intrepid Carrel induced two trusty comrades—the Maquignaz’s of Val +Tournanche—to lower him by a rope into the chasm and over the cataract. +The feat required iron nerves, and muscles and sinews of no ordinary kind; +and its performance alone stamps Carrel as a man of dauntless courage. One +of the Maquignaz’s subsequently descended in the same way, and these two +men were so astonished at what they saw, that they forthwith set to work +with hammer and chisel to make a way into this romantic gulf. In a few +days they constructed a rough but convenient plank gallery into the centre +of the _gouffre_, along its walls; and, on payment of a toll of half a +franc, any one can now enter the Gouffre des Busserailles. + +I cannot, without a couple of sections and a plan, give an exact idea to +the reader of this remarkable place. It corresponds in some of its +features to the gorge figured upon page 96, but it exhibits in a much more +notable manner the characteristic action and extraordinary power of +running water. The length of the chasm or _gouffre_ is about 320 feet, and +from the top of its walls to the surface of the water is about 110 feet. +At no part can the entire length or depth be seen at a glance; for, +although the width at some places is 15 feet or more, the view is limited +by the sinuosities of the walls. These are everywhere polished to a +smooth, vitreous-in-appearance surface. In some places the torrent has +wormed into the rock, and has left natural bridges. The most extraordinary +features of the Gouffre des Busserailles, however, are the caverns (or +_marmites_ as they are termed), which the water has hollowed out of the +heart of the rock. Carrel’s plank path leads into one of the greatest,—a +grotto that is about 28 feet across at its largest diameter, and 15 or 16 +feet high; roofed above by the living rock, and with the torrent roaring +50 feet or thereabouts below, at the bottom of a fissure. This cavern is +lighted by candles, and talking in it can only be managed by signs. + +I visited the interior of the _gouffre_ in 1869, and my wonder at its +caverns was increased by observing the hardness of the hornblende out of +which they have been hollowed. Carrel chiselled off a large piece, which +is now lying before me. It has a highly polished, glassy surface, and +might be mistaken, for a moment, for ice-polished rock. But the water has +found out the atoms which were least hard, and it is dotted all over by +minute depressions, much as the face of one is who has suffered from +smallpox. The edges of these little hollows are _rounded_, and the whole +surfaces of the depressions are polished nearly, or quite, as highly as +the general surface of the fragment. The water has eaten more deeply into +some veins of steatite than in other places, and the presence of the +steatite may possibly have had something to do with the formation of the +_gouffre_. + +I arrived at Breil again after an absence of six days, well satisfied with +my tour of the Matterhorn, which had been rendered very pleasant by the +willingness of my guides, and by the kindliness of the natives. Still, it +must be admitted that the inhabitants of the Val Tournanche are behind the +times. Their paths are as bad as, or worse than, they were in the time of +De Saussure, and their inns are much inferior to those on the Swiss side. +If it were otherwise there would be nothing to prevent the valley becoming +one of the most popular and frequented of all the valleys in the Alps. As +it is, tourists who enter it seem to think only about how soon they can +get out of it, and hence it is much less known than it deserves to be on +account of its natural attractions. + +I believe that the great hindrance to the improvement of the paths in the +Italian valleys generally is the wide-spread impression that the +innkeepers would alone directly benefit by any amelioration of their +condition. To a certain extent this view is correct; but inasmuch as the +prosperity of the natives is connected with that of the innkeepers, the +interests of both are pretty nearly identical. Until their paths are +rendered less rough and swampy, I think the Italians must submit to see +the golden harvest principally reaped in Switzerland and Savoy. At the +same time, let the innkeepers look to the commissariat. Their supplies are +not unfrequently deficient in quantity, and, according to my experience, +very often deplorable in quality. + +I will not venture to criticise in detail the dishes which are brought to +table, since I am profoundly ignorant of their constitution. It is +commonly said amongst Alpine tourists that goat flesh represents mutton, +and mule does service for beef and chamois. I reserve my own opinion upon +this point until it has been shown what becomes of all the dead mules. But +I may say, I hope, without wounding the susceptibilities of my +acquaintances among the Italian innkeepers, that it would tend to smoothen +their intercourse with their guests if requests for solid food were less +frequently regarded as criminal. The deprecating airs with which inquiries +for really substantial food are received always remind me of a Dauphiné +innkeeper, who remarked that he had heard a good many tourists travel in +Switzerland. “Yes,” I answered, “there are a good many.” “How many?” +“Well,” I said, “I have seen a hundred or more sit down at a table +d’hôte.” He lifted up his hands—“Why,” said he, “they would want meat +every day!” “Yes, that is not improbable.” “In that case,” he replied, “_I +think we are better without them_.” + + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + + OUR SIXTH ATTEMPT TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN.(81) + + + “But mighty Jove cuts short, with just disdain, + The long, long views of poor, designing man.” + HOMER. + + +Carrel had _carte blanche_ in the matter of guides, and his choice fell +upon his relative Cæsar, Luc Meynet, and two others whose names I do not +know. These men were now brought together, and our preparations were +completed, as the weather was clearing up. + +We rested on Sunday, August 9, eagerly watching the lessening of the mists +around the great peak, and started just before dawn upon the 10th, on a +still and cloudless morning, which seemed to promise a happy termination +to our enterprise. + +By going always, though gently, we arrived upon the Col du Lion before +nine o’clock. Changes were apparent. Familiar ledges had vanished; the +platform, whereupon my tent had stood, looked very forlorn, its stones had +been scattered by wind and frost, and had half disappeared: and the summit +of the Col itself, which in 1862 had always been respectably broad, and +covered by snow, was now sharper than the ridge of any church roof, and +was hard ice. Already we had found that the bad weather of the past week +had done its work. The rocks for several hundred feet below the Col were +varnished with ice. Loose, incoherent snow covered the older and harder +beds below, and we nearly lost our leader through its treacherousness. He +stepped on some snow which seemed firm, and raised his axe to deliver a +swinging blow, but, just as it was highest, the crust of the slope upon +which he stood broke away, and poured down in serpentine streams, leaving +long, bare strips, which glittered in the sun, for they were glassy ice. +Carrel, with admirable readiness, flung himself back on to the rock off +which he had stepped, and was at once secured. He simply remarked, “It is +time we were tied up,” and, after we had been tied up, he went to work +again as if nothing had happened.(82) + +We had abundant illustrations during the next two hours of the value of a +rope to climbers. We were tied up rather widely apart, and advanced, +generally, in pairs. Carrel, who led, was followed closely by another man, +who lent him a shoulder or placed an axe-head under his feet, when there +was need; and when this couple were well placed the second pair advanced, +in similar fashion,—the rope being drawn in by those above, and paid out +gradually by those below. The leading men again advanced, or the third +pair, and so on. This manner of progression was slow, but sure. One man +only moved at a time, and if he slipped (and we frequently did slip) he +could slide scarcely a foot without being checked by the others. The +certainty and safety of the method gave confidence to the one who was +moving, and not only nerved him to put out his powers to the utmost, but +sustained nerve in really difficult situations. For these rocks (which, it +has been already said, were easy enough under ordinary circumstances) were +now difficult in a high degree. The snow-water which had trickled down for +many days past in little streams, had taken, naturally, the very route by +which we wished to ascend; and, refrozen in the night, had glazed the +slabs over which we had to pass,—sometimes with a fine film of ice as thin +as a sheet of paper, and sometimes so thickly that we could almost cut +footsteps in it. The weather was superb, the men made light of the toil, +and shouted to rouse the echoes from the Dent d’Hérens. + +We went on gaily, passed the second tent platform, the Chimney, and the +other well-remembered points, and reckoned, confidently, on sleeping that +night upon the top of “the shoulder;” but, before we had well arrived at +the foot of the Great Tower, a sudden rush of cold air warned us to look +out. + +It was difficult to say where this air came from; it did not blow as a +wind, but descended rather as the water in a shower-bath! All was tranquil +again; the atmosphere _showed_ no signs of disturbance; there was a dead +calm, and not a speck of cloud to be seen anywhere. But we did not remain +very long in this state. The cold air came again, and this time it was +difficult to say where it did _not_ come from. We jammed down our hats as +it beat against the ridge, and screamed amongst the crags. Before we had +got to the foot of the Tower, mists had been formed above and below. They +appeared at first in small, isolated patches (in several places at the +same time), which danced and jerked and were torn into shreds by the wind, +but grew larger under the process. They were united together, and rent +again,—showing us the blue sky for a moment, and blotting it out the next; +and augmented incessantly, until the whole heavens were filled with +whirling, boiling clouds. Before we could take off our packs, and get +under any kind of shelter, a hurricane of snow burst upon us from the +east. It fell very heavily, and in a few minutes the ridge was covered by +it. “What shall we do?” I shouted to Carrel. “Monsieur,” said he, “the +wind is bad; the weather has changed; we are heavily laden. Here is a fine +_gîte_; let us stop! If we go on we shall be half-frozen. That is _my_ +opinion.” No one differed from him; so we fell to work to make a place for +the tent, and in a couple of hours completed the platform which we had +commenced in 1862. The clouds had blackened during that time, and we had +hardly finished our task before a thunderstorm broke upon us with +appalling fury. Forked lightning shot out at the turrets above, and at the +crags below. It was so close that we quailed at its darts. It seemed to +scorch us,—we were in the very focus of the storm. The thunder was +simultaneous with the flashes; short and sharp, and more like the noise of +a door that is violently slammed, multiplied a thousandfold, than any +noise to which I can compare it. + +When I say that the thunder was _simultaneous_ with the lightning, I speak +as an inexact person. My meaning is that the time which elapsed between +seeing the flash and hearing the report was inappreciable to me. I wish to +speak with all possible precision, and there are two points with regard to +this storm upon which I can speak with some accuracy. The first is in +regard to the distance of the lightning from our party. We _might_ have +been 1100 feet from it if a second of time had elapsed between seeing the +flashes and hearing the reports; and a second of time is not appreciated +by inexact persons. It was certain that we were sometimes less than that +distance from the lightning, because I saw it pass in front of well-known +points on the ridge, both above and below us, which were less (sometimes +considerably less) than a thousand feet distant. + +Secondly, in regard to the difficulty of distinguishing sounds which are +merely echoes from true thunder, or the noise which occurs simultaneously +with lightning. Arago entered into this subject at some length in his +_Meteorological Essays_, and seemed to doubt if it would ever be possible +to determine whether echoes are _always_ the cause of the rolling sounds +commonly called thunder.(83) I shall not attempt to show whether the +rolling sounds should ever, or never, be regarded as true thunder, but +only that during this storm upon the Matterhorn it was possible to +distinguish the sound of the thunder itself from the sounds (rolling and +otherwise) which were merely the echoes of the first, original sound. + +At the place where we were camped a remarkable echo could be heard (one so +remarkable that if it could be heard in this country it would draw crowds +for its own sake); I believe it came from the cliffs of the Dent d’Hérens. +It was a favourite amusement with us to shout to rouse this echo, which +repeated any sharp cry, in a very distinct manner, several times, after +the lapse of something like a dozen seconds. The thunderstorm lasted +nearly two hours, and raged at times with great fury; and the prolonged +rollings from the surrounding mountains, after one flash, had not usually +ceased before another set of echoes took up the discourse, and maintained +the reverberations without a break. Occasionally there was a pause, +interrupted presently by a single clap, the accompaniment of a single +discharge, and after such times I could recognise the echoes from the Dent +d’Hérens by their peculiar repetitions, and by the length of time which +had passed since the reports had occurred of which they were the echoes. + +If I had been unaware of the existence of this echo, I should have +supposed that the resounds were original reports of explosions which had +been unnoticed, since in intensity they were scarcely distinguishable from +the true thunder; which, during this storm, seemed to me, upon every +occasion, to consist of a single, harsh, instantaneous sound.(84) + +Or if, instead of being placed at a distance of less than a thousand feet +from the points of explosion (and consequently hearing the report almost +in the same moment as we saw the flash, and the rollings after a +considerable interval of time), we had been placed so that the original +report had fallen on our ears nearly at the same moment as the echoes, we +should probably have considered that the successive reports and rollings +of the echoes were reports of successive explosions occurring nearly at +the same moment, and that they were not echoes at all. + +This is the only time (out of many storms witnessed in the Alps) I have +obtained evidence that the rollings of thunder are actually echoes; and +that they are not, necessarily, the reports of a number of discharges over +a long line, occurring at varying distances from the spectator, and +consequently unable to arrive at his ear at the same moment, although they +follow each other so swiftly as to produce a sound more or less +continuous.(85) + +The wind during all this time seemed to blow tolerably consistently from +the east. It smote the tent so vehemently (notwithstanding it was partly +protected by rocks) that we had grave fears our refuge might be blown away +bodily, with ourselves inside; so, during some of the lulls, we issued out +and built a wall to windward. At half-past three the wind changed to the +north-west, and the clouds vanished. We immediately took the opportunity +to send down one of the porters (under protection of some of the others, a +little beyond the Col du Lion), as the tent would accommodate only five +persons. From this time to sunset the weather was variable. It was +sometimes blowing and snowing hard, and sometimes a dead calm. The bad +weather was evidently confined to the Mont Cervin, for when the clouds +lifted we could see everything that could be seen from our gîte. Monte +Viso, a hundred miles off, was clear, and the sun set gorgeously behind +the range of Mont Blanc. We passed the night comfortably—even +luxuriously—in our blanket-bags, but there was little chance of sleeping, +between the noise of the wind, of the thunder, and of the falling rocks. I +forgave the thunder for the sake of the lightning. A more splendid +spectacle than its illumination of the Matterhorn crags I do not expect to +see.(86) + +The greatest rock-falls always seemed to occur in the night, between +midnight and daybreak. This was noticeable on each of the seven nights +which I passed upon the south-west ridge, at heights varying from 11,800 +to 13,000 feet. + +I may be wrong in supposing that the falls in the night are greater than +those in the daytime, since sound is much more startling during darkness +than when the cause of its production is seen. Even a sigh may be terrible +in the stillness of the night. In the daytime one’s attention is probably +divided between the sound and the motion of rocks which fall; or it may be +concentrated on other matters. But it is certain that the greatest of the +falls which happened during the night took place after midnight, and this +I connect with the fact that the maximum of cold during any twenty-four +hours very commonly occurs between midnight and dawn. + +We turned out at 3.30 A.M. on the 11th, and were dismayed to find that it +still continued to snow. At 9 A.M. it ceased to fall, and the sun showed +itself feebly, so we packed up our baggage, and set out to try to get upon +“the shoulder.” We struggled upwards until eleven o’clock, and then it +commenced to snow again. We held a council; the opinions expressed at it +were unanimous against advancing, and I decided to retreat. For we had +risen less than 300 feet in the past two hours, and had not even arrived +at the rope which Tyndall’s party left behind, attached to the rocks, in +1862. At the same rate of progression it would have taken us from four to +five hours to get upon “the shoulder.” Not one of us cared to attempt to +do so under the existing circumstances; for besides having to move our own +weight, which was sufficiently troublesome at this part of the ridge, we +had to transport much heavy baggage, tent, blankets, and provisions, +ladder, and 450 feet of rope, besides many other smaller matters. These, +however, were not the most serious considerations. Supposing that we got +upon “the shoulder,” we might find ourselves detained there several days, +unable either to go up or down.(87) I could not risk any such detention, +being under obligations to appear in London at the end of the week. + + [Illustration: THE CRAGS OF THE MATTERHORN, DURING THE STORM, MIDNIGHT, + AUG. 10, 1863.] + +We returned to Breil in the course of the afternoon. It was quite fine +there, and the tenants of the inn received our statements with evident +scepticism. They were astonished to learn that we had been exposed to a +snow-storm of twenty-six hours’ duration. “Why,” said Favre, the +innkeeper, “_we_ have had no snow; it has been fine all the time you have +been absent, and there has been only that small cloud upon the mountain.” +Ah! that small cloud! None except those who have had experience of it can +tell what a formidable obstacle it is. + + [Illustration: MONSIEUR FAVRE.] + +Why is it that the Matterhorn is subject to these abominable variations of +weather? The ready answer is, “Oh, the mountain is so isolated; it +attracts the clouds.” This is not a sufficient answer. Although the +mountain _is_ isolated, it is not so much more isolated than the +neighbouring peaks that it should gather clouds when none of the others do +so. It will not at all account for the cloud to which I refer, which is +not formed by an aggregation of smaller, stray clouds drawn together from +a distance (as scum collects round a log in the water), but is created +against the mountain itself, and springs into existence where no clouds +were seen before. It is formed and hangs chiefly against the southern +sides, and particularly against the south-eastern side. It frequently does +not envelop the summit, and rarely extends down to the Glacier du Lion, +and to the Glacier du Mont Cervin below. It forms in the finest weather; +on cloudless and windless days. + +I conceive that we should look to differences of temperature rather than +to the height or isolation of the mountain for an explanation. I am +inclined to attribute the disturbances which occur in the atmosphere of +the southern sides of the Matterhorn on fine days,(88) principally to the +fact that the mountain is a _rock_ mountain; that it receives a great +amount of heat,(89) and is not only warmer itself, but is surrounded by an +atmosphere of a higher temperature than such peaks as the Weisshorn and +the Lyskamm, which are eminently _snow_ mountains. + +In certain states of the atmosphere its temperature may be tolerably +uniform over wide areas and to great elevations. I have known the +thermometer to show 70° in the shade at the top of an Alpine peak more +than 13,000 feet high, and but a very few degrees higher 6000 or 7000 feet +lower. At other times, there will be a difference of forty or fifty +degrees (Faht.) between two stations, the higher not more than 6000 or +7000 feet above the lower. + +Provided that the temperature was uniform, or nearly so, on all sides of +the Matterhorn, and to a considerable distance above its summit, no clouds +would be likely to form upon it. But if the atmosphere immediately +surrounding it is warmer than the contiguous strata, a local “courant +ascendant” must necessarily be generated; and portions of the cooler +superincumbent (or circumjacent) air will naturally be attracted towards +the mountain, where they will speedily condense the moisture of the warm +air in contact with it. I cannot explain the downrushes of cold air which +occur on it, when all the rest of the neighbourhood appears to be +tranquil, in any other way. The clouds are produced by the contact of two +strata of air (of widely different temperatures) charged with invisible +moisture, as surely as certain colourless fluids produce a white, turbid +liquid, when mixed together. The order has been—wind of a low +temperature—mist—rain—snow or hail.(90) + +This opinion is borne out to some extent by the behaviour of the +neighbouring mountains. The Dom (14,935 feet) and the Dent Blanche +(14,318) have both of them large cliffs of bare rock upon their southern +sides, and against those cliffs clouds commonly form (during fine, still +weather) at the same time as the cloud on the Matterhorn; whilst the +Weisshorn (14,804) and the Lyskamm (14,889), (mountains of about the same +altitude, and which are in corresponding situations to the former pair) +usually remain perfectly clear. + + [Illustration: CROSSING THE CHANNEL.] + +I arrived at Chatillon at midnight on the 11th, defeated and disconsolate; +but, like a gambler who loses each throw, only the more eager to have +another try, to see if the luck would change: and returned to London ready +to devise fresh combinations, and to form new plans. + + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + + FROM ST. MICHEL ON THE MONT CENIS ROAD BY THE COL DES AIGUILLES D’ARVE, + COL DE MARTIGNARE, AND THE BRÈCHE DE LA MEIJE TO LA BÉRARDE. + + + “The more to help the greater deed is done.” + HOMER. + + +When we arrived upon the highest summit of Mont Pelvoux, in Dauphiné, in +1861, we saw, to our surprise and disappointment, that it was not the +culminating point of the district; and that another mountain—distant about +a couple of miles, and separated from us by an impassable gulf—claimed +that distinction. I was troubled in spirit about this mountain, and my +thoughts often reverted to the great wall-sided peak, second in apparent +inaccessibility only to the Matterhorn. It had, moreover, another claim to +attention—it was the highest mountain IN France. + +The year 1862 passed away without a chance of getting to it, and my +holiday was too brief in 1863 even to think about it; but in the following +year it was possible, and I resolved to set my mind at rest by completing +the task which had been left unfinished in 1861. + +In the meantime others had turned their attention to Dauphiné. First of +all (in 1862) came Mr. F. Tuckett—that mighty mountaineer, whose name is +known throughout the length and breadth of the Alps—with the guides Michel +Croz, Peter Perrn, and Bartolommeo Peyrotte, and great success attended +his arms. But Mr. Tuckett halted before the Pointe des Ecrins, and, +dismayed by its appearance, withdrew his forces to gather less dangerous +laurels elsewhere. + +His expedition, however, threw some light upon the Ecrins. He pointed out +the direction from which an attack was most likely to be successful, and +Mr. William Mathews and the Rev. T. G. Bonney (to whom he communicated the +result of his labours) attempted to execute the ascent, with the brothers +Michel and J. B. Croz, by following his indications. But they too were +defeated, as I shall relate more particularly presently. + + [Illustration: MICHEL-AUGUSTE CROZ (1865).] + +The guide Michel Croz had thus been engaged in both of these expeditions +in Dauphiné, and I naturally looked to him for assistance. Mr. Mathews (to +whom I applied for information) gave him a high character, and concluded +his reply to me by saying, “he was only happy when upwards of 10,000 feet +high.” + +I know what my friend meant. Croz was happiest when he was employing his +powers to the utmost. Places where you and I would “toil and sweat, and +yet be freezing cold,” were bagatelles to him, and it was only when he got +above the range of ordinary mortals, and was required to employ his +magnificent strength, and to draw upon his unsurpassed knowledge of ice +and snow, that he could be said to be really and truly happy. + +Of all the guides with whom I travelled, Michel Croz was the man who was +most after my own heart. He did not work like a blunt razor, and take to +his toil unkindly. He did not need urging, or to be told a second time to +do anything. You had but to say _what_ was to be done, and _how_ it was to +be done, and the work _was_ done, if it was possible. Such men are not +common, and when they are known they are valued. Michel was not widely +known, but those who did know him employed him again and again. The +inscription that is placed upon his tomb truthfully records that he was +“beloved by his comrades and esteemed by travellers.” + +At the time that I was planning my journey, my friends Messrs. A. W. Moore +and Horace Walker were also drawing up their programme; and, as we found +that our wishes were very similar, we agreed to unite our respective +parties. The excursions which are described in this and the two following +chapters are mutual ideas which were jointly executed. + +Our united programme was framed so as to avoid sleeping in inns, and so +that we should see from the highest point attained on one day a +considerable portion of the route which was intended to be followed on the +next. This latter matter was an important one to us, as all of our +projected excursions were new ones, and led over ground about which there +was very little information in print. + +My friends had happily secured Christian Almer of Grindelwald as their +guide. The combination of Croz and Almer was a perfect one. Both men were +in the prime of life;(91) both were endued with strength and activity far +beyond the average; and the courage and the knowledge of each was alike +undoubted. The temper of Almer it was impossible to ruffle; he was ever +obliging and enduring,—a bold but a safe man. That which he lacked in +fire—in dash—was supplied by Croz, who, in his turn, was kept in place by +Almer. It is pleasant to remember how they worked together, and how each +one confided to you that he liked the other so much because he worked so +well; but it is sad, very sad, to those who have known the men, to know +that they can never work together again. + + + +We met at St. Michel on the Mont Cenis road, at midday on June 20, 1864, +and proceeded in the afternoon over the Col de Valloires to the village of +the same name. The summit of this pretty little pass is about 3500 feet +above St. Michel, and from it we had a fair view of the Aiguilles d’Arve, +a group of three peaks of singular form, which it was our especial object +to investigate.(92) They had been seen by ourselves and others from +numerous distant points, and always looked very high and very +inaccessible; but we had been unable to obtain any information about them, +except the few words in Joanne’s _Itinéraire du Dauphiné_. Having made out +from the summit of the Col de Valloires that they could be approached from +the Valley of Valloires, we hastened down to find a place where we could +pass the night, as near as possible to the entrance of the little valley +leading up to them. + +By nightfall we arrived at the entrance to this little valley (Vallon des +Aiguilles d’Arve), and found some buildings placed just where they were +wanted. The proprietress received us with civility, and placed a large +barn at our disposal, on the conditions that no lights were struck or +pipes smoked therein; and when her terms were agreed to, she took us into +her own chalet, made up a huge fire, heated a gallon of milk, and treated +us with genuine hospitality. + +In the morning we found that the Vallon des Aiguilles d’Arve led away +nearly due west from the Valley of Valloires, and that the village of +Bonnenuit was placed (in the latter valley) almost exactly opposite to the +junction of the two. + +At 3.55 A.M. on the 21st we set out up the Vallon, passed for a time over +pasture-land, and then over a stony waste, deeply channelled by +watercourses. At 5.30 the two principal Aiguilles were well seen, and as, +by this time, it was evident that the authors of the Sardinian official +map had romanced as extensively in this neighbourhood as elsewhere, it was +necessary to hold a council. + + [Illustration: Plan to show route] + +Three questions were submitted to it:—Firstly, Which is the highest of +these Aiguilles? Secondly, Which shall we go up? Thirdly, How is it to be +done? + +The French engineers, it was said, had determined that the two highest of +them were respectively 11,513 and 11,529 feet in height; but we were +without information as to which two they had measured.(93) Joanne indeed +said (but without specifying whether he meant all three) that the +Aiguilles had been several times ascended, and particularly mentioned that +the one of 11,513 feet was “relatively easy.” + +We therefore said, “We will go up the peak of 11,529 feet.” That +determination did not settle the second question. Joanne’s “relatively +easy” peak, according to his description, was evidently the most northern +of the three. _Our_ peak then was to be one of the other two;—but which of +them? We were inclined to favour the central one; but it was hard to +determine, they looked so equal in height. When, however, the council came +to study the third question—“How is it to be done?” it was unanimously +voted that upon the eastern and southern sides it was certainly +“relatively” difficult, and that a move should be made round to the +northern side. + +The movement was duly executed, and after wading up some snow-slopes of +considerable steepness (going occasionally beyond 40°), we found ourselves +in a gap or nick, between the central and northernmost Aiguille, at 8.45 +A.M. We then studied the northern face of our intended peak, and finally +arrived at the conclusion that it was “relatively” impracticable. Croz +shrugged his big shoulders, and said, “My faith! I think you will do well +to leave it to others.” Almer was more explicit, and volunteered the +information that a thousand francs would not tempt him to _try_ it. We +then turned to the northernmost peak, but found its southern faces even +more hopeless than the northern faces of the central one. We enjoyed +accordingly the unwonted luxury of a three-hours’ rest on the top of our +pass; for pass we were determined it should be. + +We might have done worse. We were 10,300 or 10,400 feet above the level of +the sea, and commanded a most picturesque view of the mountains of the +Tarentaise; while, somewhat east of south, we saw the monarch of the +Dauphiné _massif_, whose closer acquaintance it was our intention to make. +Three sunny hours passed away, and then we turned to the descent. We saw +the distant pastures of a valley (which we supposed was the Vallon or +Ravine de la Sausse), and a long snow-slope leading down to them. But from +that slope we were cut off by precipitous rocks, and our first impression +was that we should have to return in our track. Some running up and down, +however, discovered two little gullies, filled with threads of snow, and +down the most northern of these we decided to go. It was a steep way but a +safe one, for the cleft was so narrow that we could press the shoulder +against one side whilst the feet were against the other, and the last +remnant of the winter’s snow, well hardened, clung to the rift with great +tenacity, and gave us a path when the rocks refused one. In half-an-hour +we got to the top of the great snow-slope. Walker said—“Let us glissade;” +the guides—“No, it is too steep.” Our friend, however, started off at a +standing glissade, and advanced for a time very skilfully; but after a +while he lost his balance, and progressed downwards and backwards with +great rapidity, in a way that seemed to us very much like tumbling head +over heels. He let go his axe, and left it behind, but it overtook him and +batted him heartily. He and it travelled in this fashion for some hundreds +of feet, and at last subsided into the rocks at the bottom. In a few +moments we were reassured as to his safety, by hearing him ironically +request us not to keep him waiting down there. + +[Illustration: THE AIGUILLES D’ARVE, FROM ABOVE THE CHALETS OF RIEU BLANC, + SHOWING ROUTE.] + +We others followed the track shown by the dotted line upon the engraving +(making zigzags to avoid the little groups of rocks which jutted through +the snow, by which Walker had been upset), descended by a _sitting_ +glissade, and rejoined our friend at the bottom. We then turned sharply to +the left, and tramped down the summit ridge of an old moraine of great +size. Its mud was excessively hard, and where some large erratic blocks +lay perched upon its crest, we were obliged to cut steps (in the mud) with +our ice-axes. + +Guided by the sound of a distant “moo,” we speedily found the highest +chalets in the valley, named Rieu Blanc. They were tenanted by three old +women (who seemed to belong to one of the missing links sought by +naturalists), destitute of all ideas except in regard to cows, and who +spoke a barbarous patois, well-nigh unintelligible to the Savoyard Croz. +They would not believe that we had passed between the Aiguilles,—“It is +impossible, the _cows_ never go there.” “Could we get to La Grave over +yonder ridge?” “Oh yes! the _cows_ often crossed!” Could they show us the +way? No; but we could follow the _cow_-tracks. + +We stayed a while near these chalets, to examine the western sides of the +Aiguilles d’Arve, and, according to our united opinion, the central one +was as inaccessible from this direction as from the east, north, or south. +On the following day we saw them again, from a height of about 11,000 +feet, in a south-easterly direction, and our opinion remained unchanged. + +We saw (on June 20-22) the central Aiguille from all sides, and very +nearly completely round the southernmost one. The northern one we also saw +on all sides excepting from the north. (It is, however, precisely from +this direction M. Joanne says that its ascent is relatively easy.) We do +not, therefore, venture to express any opinion respecting its ascent, +except as regards its actual summit. This is formed of two curious prongs, +or pinnacles of rock, and we do not understand in what way they (or either +of them) can be ascended; nor shall we be surprised if this ascent is +discovered to have been made in spirit rather than body; in fact, in the +same manner as the celebrated ascent of Mont Blanc, “not entirely to the +summit, but as far as the Montanvert!” + +All three of the Aiguilles _may_ be accessible, but they _look_ as +inaccessible as anything I have seen. They are the highest summits between +the valleys of the Romanche and the Arc; they are placed slightly to the +north of the watershed between those two valleys, and a line drawn through +them runs, pretty nearly, north and south. + +We descended by a rough path from Rieu Blanc to the chalets of La Sausse, +which give the name to the Vallon or Ravine de la Sausse, in which they +are situated. This is one of the numerous branches of the valley that +descends to St. Jean d’Arve, and subsequently to St. Jean de Maurienne. + +Two passes, more or less known, lead from this valley to the village of La +Grave (on the Lautaret road) in the valley of the Romanche, viz.:—the Col +de l’Infernet and the Col de Martignare. The former pass was crossed, many +years ago, by J. D. Forbes, and was mentioned by him in his _Norway and +its Glaciers_. The latter one lies to the north of the former, and is +seldom traversed by tourists, but it was convenient for us, and we set out +to cross it on the morning of the 22d, after having passed a comfortable, +but not luxurious, night in the hay, at La Sausse, where, however, the +simplicity of the accommodation was more than counterbalanced by the +civility and hospitality of the people in charge.(94) + +[Our object now was to cross to La Grave (on the high road from Grenoble +to Briançon), and to ascend, _en route_, some point sufficiently high to +give us a good view of the Dauphiné Alps in general, and of the grand +chain of the Meije in particular. Before leaving England a careful study +of “Joanne” had elicited the fact that the shortest route from La Sausse +to La Grave was by the Col de Martignare; and also that from the aforesaid +Col it was possible to ascend a lofty summit, called by him the +Bec-du-Grenier, also called Aiguille de Goléon. On referring, however, to +the Sardinian survey, we found there depicted, to the east of the Col de +Martignare, not _one_ peak bearing the above _two_ names, but _two +distinct summits_; one—just above the Col—the Bec-du-Grenier (the height +of which was not stated); the other, still farther to the east, and +somewhat to the south of the watershed—the Aiguille du Goléon (11,250 +English feet in height), with a very considerable glacier—the Glacier +Lombard—between the two. On the French map,(95) on the other hand, neither +of the above names was to be found, but a peak called Aiguille de la +Sausse (10,897 feet), was placed in the position assigned to the +Bec-du-Grenier in the Sardinian map; while farther to the east was a +second and nameless peak (10,841), not at all in the position given to the +Aiguille du Goléon, of which and of the Glacier Lombard there was not a +sign. All this was very puzzling and unsatisfactory; but as we had no +doubt of being able to climb one of the points to the east of the Col de +Martignare (which overhung the Ravine de la Sausse), we determined to make +that col the basis of our operations.](96) + +We left the chalets at 4.15 A.M. [under a shower of good wishes from our +hostesses], proceeded at first towards the upper end of the ravine, then +doubled back up a long buttress which projects in an unusual way, and went +towards the Col de Martignare; but before arriving at its summit we again +doubled, and resumed the original course.(97) At 6 A.M. we stood on the +watershed, and followed it towards the east; keeping for some distance +strictly to the ridge, and afterwards diverging a little to the south to +avoid a considerable secondary aiguille, which prevented a straight track +being made to the summit at which we were aiming. At 9.15 we stood on its +top, and saw at once the lay of the land. + +We found that our peak was one of four which enclosed a plateau that was +filled by a glacier. Let us call these summits *A*, *B*, *C*, *D* (see +plan on p. 128). We stood upon *C*, which was almost exactly the same +elevation as *B*, but was higher than *D*, and lower than *A*. Peak *A* +was the highest of the four, and was about 200 feet higher than *B* and +*C*; we identified it as the Aiguille de Goléon (French survey, 11,250 +feet). Peak *D* we considered was the Bec-du-Grenier; and, in default of +other names, we called *B* and *C* the Aiguilles de la Sausse. The glacier +flowed in a south-easterly direction, and was the Glacier Lombard. + +Peaks *B* and *C* overhung the Ravine de la Sausse, and were connected +with another aiguille—*E*—which did the same. A continuation of the ridge +out of which these three aiguilles rose joined the Aiguilles d’Arve. The +head of the Ravine de la Sausse was therefore encircled by six peaks; +three of which it was convenient to term the Aiguilles de la Sausse, and +the others were the Aiguilles d’Arve. + +We were very fortunate in the selection of our summit. Not to speak of +other things, it gave a grand view of the ridge which culminates in the +peak called La Meije (13,080 feet), which used to be mentioned by +travellers under the name Aiguille du Midi de la Grave. The view of this +mountain from the village of La Grave itself can hardly be praised too +highly,—it is one of the very finest road-views in the Alps. The Ortler +Spitz from the Stelvio is, in fact, its only worthy competitor; and the +opinions generally of those who have seen the two views are in favour of +the former. But from La Grave one can no more appreciate the noble +proportions and the towering height of the Meije, than understand the +symmetry of the dome of St. Paul’s by gazing upon it from the churchyard. +To see it fairly, one must be placed at a greater distance and at a +greater height. + +I shall not try to describe the Meije. The same words, and the same +phrases, have to do duty for one and another mountain; their repetition +becomes wearisome; and ’tis a discouraging fact that any description, +however true or however elaborated, seldom or never gives an idea of the +reality. + +Yet the Meije deserves more than a passing notice. It was the last great +Alpine peak which knew the foot of man, and one can scarcely speak in +exaggerated terms of its jagged ridges, torrential glaciers, and +tremendous precipices.(98) But were I to discourse upon these things +without the aid of pictures, or to endeavour to convey in _words_ a sense +of the loveliness of _curves_, of the beauty of _colour_, or of the +harmonies of _sound_, I should try to accomplish that which is impossible; +and, at the best, should succeed in but giving an impression that the +things spoken of may have been pleasant to hear or to behold, although +they are perfectly incomprehensible to read about. Let me therefore avoid +these things, not because I have no love for or thought of them, but +because they cannot be translated into language; and presently, when +topographical details must, of necessity, be returned to again, I will +endeavour to relieve the poverty of the pen by a free use of the pencil. + +Whilst we sat upon the Aiguille de la Sausse, our attention was +concentrated on a point that was immediately opposite—on a gap or cleft +between the Meije and the mountain called the Rateau. It was, indeed, in +order to have a good view of this place that we made the ascent of the +Aiguille. It (that is the gap itself) looked, as my companions remarked, +obtrusively and offensively a pass. It had not been crossed, but it ought +to have been; and this seemed to have been recognised by the natives, who +called it, very appropriately, the Brèche de la Meije. + +I had seen the place in 1860, and again in 1861, but had not then thought +about getting through it; and our information in respect to it was chiefly +derived from a photographic reproduction of the then unpublished sheet +189, of the great map of France, which Mr. Tuckett, with his usual +liberality, had placed at our disposal. It was evident from this map that +if we could succeed in passing the Brèche, we should make the most direct +route between the village of La Grave and that of Bérarde in the +Department of the Isère, and that the distance between these two places by +this route, would be less than one-third that of the ordinary way via the +villages of Freney and Venos. It may occur to some of my readers, why had +it not been done before? For the very sound reason that the valley on its +southern side (Vallon des Etançons) is uninhabited, and La Bérarde itself +is a miserable village, without interest, without commerce, and almost +without population. Why then did we wish to cross it? Because we were +bound to the Pointe des Ecrins, to which La Bérarde was the nearest +inhabited place. + +When we sat upon the Aiguille de la Sausse, we were rather despondent +about our prospects of crossing the Brèche, which seemed to present a +combination of all that was formidable. There was, evidently, but one way +by which it could be approached. We saw that at the top of the pass there +was a steep wall of snow or ice (so steep that it was most likely ice) +protected at its base by a big schrund or moat, which severed it from the +snow-fields below. Then (tracking our course downwards) we saw undulating +snow-fields leading down to a great glacier. The snow-fields would be easy +work, but the glacier was riven and broken in every direction; huge +crevasses seemed to extend entirely across it in some places, and +everywhere it had that strange twisted look, which tells of the unequal +motion of the ice. Where could we get on to it? At its base it came to a +violent end, being cut short by a cliff, over which it poured periodical +avalanches, as we saw by a great triangular bed of débris below. We could +not venture there,—the glacier must be taken in flank. But on which side? +Not on the west,—no one could climb those cliffs. It must, if any where, +be by the rocks on the east; and _they_ looked as if they were _roches +moutonnées_. + +So we hurried down to La Grave, to hear what Melchior Anderegg (who had +just passed through the village with the family of our friend Walker) had +to say on the matter. Who is Melchior Anderegg? Those who ask the question +cannot have been in Alpine Switzerland, where the name of Melchior is as +well known as the name of Napoleon. Melchior, too, is an Emperor in his +way—a very Prince among guides. His empire is amongst the “eternal +snows,”—his sceptre is an ice-axe. + +Melchior Anderegg, more familiarly, and perhaps more generally known +simply as Melchior, was born at Zaun, near Meiringen, on April 6, 1828. He +was first brought into public notice in Hinchcliff’s _Summer Months in the +Alps_, and was known to very few persons at the time that little work was +published. In 1855 he was “Boots” at the Grimsel Hotel, and in those days, +when he went out on expeditions, it was for the benefit of his master, the +proprietor; Melchior himself only got the _trinkgelt_. In 1856 he migrated +to the Schwarenbach Inn on the Gemmi, where he employed his time in +carving objects for sale. In 1858 he made numerous expeditions with +Messrs. Hinchcliff and Stephen, and proved to his employers that he +possessed first-rate skill, indomitable courage, and an admirable +character. His position has never been doubtful since that year, and for a +long time there has been no guide whose services have been more in +request: he is usually engaged a year in advance. + +It would be almost an easier task to say what he has not done than to +catalogue his achievements. Invariable success attends his arms; he leads +his followers to victory, but not to death. I believe that no serious +accident has ever befallen travellers in his charge. Like his friend +Almer, he can be called a _safe_ man. It is the highest praise that can be +given to a first-rate guide. + + [Illustration: MELCHIOR ANDEREGG IN 1864.] + +Early in the afternoon we found ourselves in the little inn at La Grave, +on the great Lautaret road, a rickety, tumble-down sort of place, with +nothing stable about it, as Moore wittily remarked, except the smell.(99) +Melchior had gone, and had left behind a note which said, “I think the +passage of the Brèche is possible, but that it will be very difficult.” +His opinion coincided with ours, and we went to sleep, expecting to be +afoot about eighteen or twenty hours on the morrow. + +At 2.40 the next morning we left La Grave, in a few minutes crossed the +Romanche, and at 4 A.M. got to the moraine of the eastern branch of the +glacier that descends from the Brèche.(100) The rocks by which we intended +to ascend were placed between the two branches of this glacier, and still +looked smooth and unbroken. By 5 o’clock we were upon them, and saw that +we had been deluded by them. No carpenter could have planned a more +convenient staircase. They were _not moutonnée_, their smooth look from a +distance was only owing to their singular firmness. [It was really quite a +pleasure to scale such delightful rocks. We felt the stone held the boot +so well, that, without making a positive effort to do so, it would be +almost impossible to slip.] In an hour we had risen above the most +crevassed portion of the glacier, and began to look for a way on to it. +Just at the right place there was a patch of old snow at the side, and, +instead of gaining the ice by desperate acrobatic feats, we passed from +the rocks on to it as easily as one walks across a gangway. At half-past 6 +we were on the centre of the glacier, and the inhabitants of La Grave +turned out _en masse_ into the road, and watched us with amazement as they +witnessed the falsification of their confident predictions. Well might +they stare, for our little caravan, looking to them like a train of flies +on a wall, crept up and up, without hesitation and without a halt—lost to +their sight one minute as it dived into a crevasse, then seen again +clambering up the other side. The higher we rose the easier became the +work, the angles lessened, and our pace increased. The snow remained +shadowed, and we walked as easily as on a high road; and when (at 7.45) +the summit of the Brèche was seen, we rushed at it as furiously as if it +had been a breach in the wall of a fortress, carried the moat by a dash, +with a push behind and a pull before, stormed the steep slope above, and +at 8.50 stood in the little gap, 11,054 feet above the level of the sea. +The Brèche was won. Well might they stare; five hours and a quarter had +sufficed for 6500 feet of ascent.(101) We screamed triumphantly as they +turned in to breakfast. + + [Illustration: Map of the Brèche de la Meije, etc.] + +All mountaineers know how valuable it is to study beforehand an intended +route over new ground from a height at some distance. None but blunderers +fail to do so, if it is possible; and one cannot do so too thoroughly. As +a rule, the closer one approaches underneath a summit, the more difficult +it is to pick out a path with judgment. Inferior peaks seem unduly +important, subordinate ridges are exalted, and slopes conceal points +beyond; and if one blindly undertakes an ascent, without having acquired a +tolerable notion of the relative importance of the parts, and of their +positions to one another, it will be miraculous if great difficulties are +not encountered. + +But although the examination of an intended route from a height at a +distance will tell one (who knows the meaning of the things he is looking +at) a good deal, and will enable him to steer clear of many difficulties +against which he might otherwise blindly run, it will seldom allow one to +pronounce positively upon the practicability or impracticability of the +whole of the route. No living man, for example, can pronounce positively +from a distance in regard to rocks. Those just mentioned are an +illustration of this. Three of the ablest and most experienced guides +concurred in thinking that they would be found very difficult, and yet +they presented no difficulty whatever. In truth, the sounder and less +broken up are the rocks, the more impracticable do they usually look from +a distance; while soft and easily rent rocks, which are often amongst the +most difficult and perilous to climb, very frequently look from afar as if +they might be traversed by a child. + +It is possible to decide with greater certainty in regard to the +practicability of glaciers. When one is seen to have few open crevasses +(and this may be told from a great distance), then we know that it is +_possible_ to traverse it; but to what extent it, or a glacier that is +much broken up by crevasses, will be troublesome, will depend upon the +width and length of the crevasses, and upon the angles of the surface of +the glacier itself. A glacier may be greatly crevassed, but the fissures +may be so narrow that there is no occasion to deviate from a straight line +when passing across them; or a glacier may have few open crevasses, and +yet may be practically impassable on account of the steepness of the +angles of its surface. Nominally, a man with an axe can go anywhere upon a +glacier, but in practice it is found that to move freely upon ice one must +have to deal only with small angles. It is thus necessary to know +approximately the angles of the surfaces of a glacier before it is +possible to determine whether it will afford easy travelling, or will be +so difficult as to be (for all practical purposes) impassable. This cannot +be told by looking at glaciers in full face from a distance; they must be +seen in profile; and it is often desirable to examine them both from the +front and in profile,—to do the first to study the direction of the +crevasses, to note where they are most and least numerous; and the second +to see whether its angles are moderate or great. Should they be very +steep, it may be better to avoid them altogether, and to mount even by +difficult rocks; but upon glaciers of _gentle_ inclination, and with few +open crevasses, better progress can always be made than upon the _easiest_ +rocks. + +So much to explain why we were deceived when looking at the Brèche de la +Meije from the Aiguille de la Sausse. We took note of all the +difficulties, but did not pay sufficient attention to the distance that +the Brèche was south of La Grave. My meaning will be apparent from the +accompanying diagram, Fig. 1 (constructed upon the data supplied by the +French surveyors), which will also serve to illustrate how badly angles of +elevation are judged by the unaided eye. + + [Illustration: Diagram to show angle of summit of Meije, etc.] + +The village of La Grave is just 5000 feet, and the highest summit of the +Meije is 13,080 feet above the level of the sea. There is therefore a +difference in their levels of 8080 feet. But the summit of the Meije is +south of La Grave about 14,750 feet, and, consequently, a line drawn from +La Grave to the summit of the Meije is no steeper than the dotted line +drawn from *A* to *C*, Fig. 1; or, in other words, if one could go in a +direct line from La Grave to the summit of the Meije the ascent would be +at an angle of less than 30°. Nine persons out of ten would probably +estimate the angle on the spot at double this amount.(102) + +The Brèche is 2000 feet below the summit of the Meije, and only 6000 feet +above La Grave. A direct ascent from the village to the Brèche would +consequently be at an angle of not much more than 20°. But it is not +possible to make the ascent as the crow flies; it has to be made by an +indirect and much longer route. Our track was probably double the length +of a direct line between the two places. Doubling the length halved the +angles, and we therefore arrive at the somewhat amazing conclusion, that +upon this, one of the steepest passes in the Alps, the mean of all the +angles upon the ascent could not have been greater than 11° or 12°. Of +course, in some places, the angles were much steeper, and in others less, +but the _mean_ of the whole could not have passed the angle above +indicated. + +[Illustration: THE VALLON DES ETANÇONS (LOOKING TOWARDS LA BÉRARDE).(103)] + +We did not trouble ourselves much with these matters when we sat on the +top of the Brèche. Our day’s work was as good as over (for we knew from +Messrs. Mathews and Bonney that there was no difficulty upon the other +side), and we abandoned ourselves to ease and luxury; wondering, +alternately, as we gazed upon the Rateau and the Ecrins, how the one +mountain could possibly hold itself together, and whether the other would +hold out against us. The former looked [so rotten that it seemed as if a +puff of wind or a clap of thunder might dash the whole fabric to pieces]; +while the latter asserted itself the monarch of the group, and towered +head and shoulders above all the rest of the peaks which form the great +horse-shoe of Dauphiné. At length a cruel rush of cold air made us shiver, +and shift our quarters to a little grassy plot, 3000 feet below—an oasis +in a desert—where we lay nearly four hours admiring the splendid wall of +the Meije.(104) Then we tramped down the Vallon des Etançons, a howling +wilderness, the abomination of desolation; destitute alike of animal or +vegetable life; pathless, of course; suggestive of chaos, but of little +else; covered almost throughout its entire length with débris from the +size of a walnut up to that of a house; in a word, it looked as if +half-a-dozen moraines of first-rate dimensions had been carted and shot +into it. Our tempers were soured by constant pitfalls [it was impossible +to take the eyes from the feet, and if an unlucky individual so much as +blew his nose, without standing still to perform the operation, the result +was either an instantaneous tumble, or a barked shin, or a half-twisted +ankle. There was no end to it, and we became more savage at every step, +unanimously agreeing that no power on earth would ever induce us to walk +up or down this particular valley again.] It was not just to the valley, +which was enclosed by noble mountains,—unknown, it is true, but worthy of +a great reputation, and which, if placed in other districts, would be +sought after, and cited as types of daring form and graceful outline.(105) + + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE POINTE DES ECRINS. + + + “Filled with high mountains, rearing their heads as if to reach + to heaven, crowned with glaciers, and fissured with immense + chasms, where lie the eternal snows guarded by bare and rugged + cliffs; offering the most varied sights, and enjoying all + temperatures; and containing everything that is most curious and + interesting, the most simple and the most sublime, the most + smiling and the most severe, the most beautiful and the most + awful; such is the department of the High Alps.” + LADOUCETTE. + + +Before 5 o’clock on the afternoon of June 23, we were trotting down the +steep path that leads into La Bérarde. We put up, of course, with the +chasseur-guide Rodier (who, as usual, was smooth and smiling), and, after +congratulations were over, we returned to the exterior to watch for the +arrival of one Alexander Pic, who had been sent overnight with our baggage +_viâ_ Freney and Venos. But when the night fell, and no Pic appeared, we +saw that our plans must be modified; for he was necessary to our very +existence—he carried our food, our tobacco, our all. So, after some +discussion, it was agreed that a portion of our programme should be +abandoned, that the night of the 24th should be passed at the head of the +Glacier de la Bonne Pierre, and that, on the 25th, a push should be made +for the summit of the Ecrins. We then went to straw. + +Our porter Pic strolled in next morning with a very jaunty air, and we +seized upon our tooth-brushes; but, upon looking for the cigars, we found +starvation staring us in the face. “Hullo! Monsieur Pic, where are our +cigars?” “Gentlemen,” he began, “I am desolated!” and then, quite pat, he +told a long rigmarole about a fit on the road, of brigands, thieves, of +their ransacking the knapsacks when he was insensible, and of finding them +gone when he revived! “Ah! Monsieur Pic, we see what it is, you have +smoked them yourself!” “Gentlemen, I never smoke, _never_!” Whereupon we +inquired secretly if he was known to smoke, and found that he was. +However, he said that he had never spoken truer words, and perhaps he had +not, for he is reported to be the greatest liar in Dauphiné! + + [Illustration: Map of the central Dauphiné Alps] + +We were now able to start, and set out at 1.15 P.M. to bivouac upon the +Glacier de la Bonne Pierre, accompanied by Rodier, who staggered under a +load of blankets. Many slopes had to be mounted, and many torrents to be +crossed, all of which has been described by Mr. Tuckett.(106) We, however, +avoided the difficulties he experienced with the latter by crossing them +high up, where they were subdivided. But when we got on to the moraine on +the right bank of the glacier (or, properly speaking, on to one of the +moraines, for there are several), mists descended, to our great hindrance; +and it was 5.30 before we arrived on the spot at which it was intended to +camp. + +Each one selected his nook, and we then joined round a grand fire made by +our men. Fortnum and Mason’s portable soup was sliced up and brewed, and +was excellent; but it should be said that before it _was_ excellent, three +times the quantity named in the directions had to be used. Art is required +in drinking as in making this soup, and one point is this—always let your +friends drink first; not only because it is more polite, but because the +soup has a tendency to burn the mouth if taken too hot, and one drink of +the bottom is worth two of the top, as all the goodness settles. + +[While engaged in these operations, the mist that enveloped the glacier +and surrounding peaks was becoming thinner; little bits of blue sky +appeared here and there, until suddenly, when we were looking towards the +head of the glacier, far, far above us, at an almost inconceivable height, +in a tiny patch of blue, appeared a wonderful rocky pinnacle, bathed in +the beams of the fast-sinking sun. We were so electrified by the glory of +the sight that it was some seconds before we realised what we saw, and +understood that that astounding point, removed apparently miles from the +earth, was one of the highest summits of Les Ecrins; and that we hoped, +before another sun had set, to have stood upon an even loftier pinnacle. +The mists rose and fell, presenting us with a series of dissolving views +of ravishing grandeur, and finally died away, leaving the glacier and its +mighty bounding precipices under an exquisite pale blue sky, free from a +single speck of cloud.] + +The night passed over without anything worth mention, but we had had +occasion to observe in the morning an instance of the curious evaporation +that is frequently noticeable in the High Alps. On the previous night we +had hung up on a knob of rock our mackintosh bag containing five bottles +of Rodier’s bad wine. In the morning, although the stopper appeared to +have been in all night, about four-fifths had evaporated. It was strange; +my friends had not taken any, neither had I, and the guides each declared +that they had not seen any one touch it. In fact it was clear that there +was no explanation of the phenomenon, but in the dryness of the air. Still +it is remarkable that the dryness of the air (or the evaporation of wine) +is always greatest when a stranger is in one’s party—the dryness caused by +the presence of even a single Chamounix porter is sometimes so great, that +not four-fifths but the entire quantity disappears. For a time I found +difficulty in combating this phenomenon, but at last discovered that if I +used the wine-flask as a pillow during the night, the evaporation was +completely stopped. + +At 4 A.M. we moved off across the glacier in single file towards the foot +of a great gully, which led from the upper slopes of the glacier de la +Bonne Pierre, to the lowest point in the ridge that runs from the Ecrins +to the mountain called Roche Faurio,—cheered by Rodier, who now returned +with his wraps to La Bérarde. This gully (or _couloir_) was discovered and +descended by Mr. Tuckett, and we will now return for a minute to the +explorations of that accomplished mountaineer. + +In the year 1862 he had the good fortune to obtain from the _Dépôt de la +Guerre_ at Paris, a MS. copy of the then unpublished sheet 189 of the map +of France, and with it in hand, he swept backwards and forwards across the +central Dauphiné Alps, untroubled by the doubts as to the identity of +peaks, which had perplexed Mr. Macdonald and myself in 1861; and, +enlightened by it, he was able to point out (which he did in the fairest +manner) that we had confounded the Ecrins with another mountain—the Pic +Sans Nom. We made this blunder through imperfect knowledge of the district +and inaccurate reports of the natives;—but it was not an extraordinary one +(the two mountains are not unlike each other), considering the difficulty +that there is in obtaining from any except the very highest summits a +complete view of this intricate group. + +The situations of the principal summits can be perceived at a glance on +the accompanying map, which is a reproduction of a portion of sheet 189. +The main ridge of the chain runs, at this part, nearly north and south. +Roche Faurio, at the northern extreme, is 3716 mètres, or 12,192 feet, +above the level of the sea. The lowest point between that mountain and the +Ecrins (the Col des Ecrins) is 11,000 feet. The ridge again rises, and +passes 13,000 feet in the neighbourhood of the Ecrins. The highest summit +of that mountain (13,462 feet) is, however, placed a little to the east of +and off the main ridge. It then again falls, and in the vicinity of the +Col de la Tempe it is, perhaps, below 11,000 feet; but immediately to the +south of the summit of that pass, there is upon the ridge a point which +has been determined by the French surveyors to be 12,323 feet. This peak +is without a name. The ridge continues to gain height as we come to the +south, and culminates in the mountain which the French surveyors have +called Sommet de l’Aile Froide. On the spot it is called, very commonly, +the Aléfroide. + +There is some uncertainty respecting the elevation of this mountain. The +Frenchmen give 3925 mètres (12,878) as its highest point, but Mr. Tuckett, +who took a good theodolite to the top of Mont Pelvoux (which he agreed +with his predecessors had an elevation of 12,973 feet), found that the +summit of the Aléfroide was elevated above his station 4′; and as the +distance between the two points was 12,467 feet, this would represent a +difference in altitude of 5 mètres in favour of the Aléfroide. I saw this +mountain from the summit of Mont Pelvoux in 1861, and was in doubt as to +which of the two was the higher, and in 1864, from the summit of the +Pointe des Ecrins (as will presently be related), it looked actually +higher than Mont Pelvoux. I have therefore little doubt but that Mr. +Tuckett is right in believing the Aléfroide to have an elevation of about +13,000 feet, instead of 12,878, as determined by the French surveyors. + +Mont Pelvoux is to the east of the Aléfroide and off the main ridge, and +the Pic Sans Nom (12,845 feet) is placed between these two mountains. The +latter is one of the grandest of the Dauphiné peaks, but it is shut in by +the other mountains, and is seldom seen except from a distance, and then +is usually confounded with the neighbouring summits. Its name has been +accidentally omitted on the map, but its situation is represented by the +large patch of rocks, nearly surrounded by glaciers, that is seen between +the words Ailefroide and Mt. Pelvoux. + +The lowest depression on the main ridge to the south of the Aléfroide is +the Col du Selé, and this, according to Mr. Tuckett, is 10,834 feet. The +ridge soon rises again, and, a little farther to the south, joins another +ridge running nearly east and west. To a mountain at the junction of these +two ridges the Frenchmen have given the singular name Crête des Bœufs +Rouges! The highest point hereabouts is 11,332 feet; and a little to the +west there is another peak (Mont Bans) of 11,979 feet. The main ridge runs +from this last-named point, in a north-westerly direction, to the Cols de +Says, both of which exceed 10,000 feet. + +It will thus be seen that the general elevation of this main ridge is +almost equal to that of the range of Mont Blanc, or of the central Pennine +Alps; and if we were to follow it out more completely, or to follow the +other ridges surrounding or radiating from it, we should find that there +is a remarkable absence, throughout the entire district, of low gaps and +depressions, and that there are an extraordinary number of peaks of medium +elevation.(107) The difficulty which explorers have experienced in +Dauphiné in identifying peaks, has very much arisen from the elevation of +the ridges generally being more uniform than is commonly found in the +Alps, and the consequent facile concealment of one point by another. The +difficulty has been enhanced by the narrowness and erratic courses of the +valleys. + +The possession of the “advanced copy” of sheet 189 of the French map, +enabled Mr. Tuckett to grasp most of what I have just said, and much more; +and he added, in 1862, three interesting passes across this part of the +chain to those already known. The first, from Ville Vallouise to La +Bérarde, _viâ_ the village of Claux, and the glaciers du Selé and de la +Pilatte,—this he called the Col du Selé; the second, between Ville +Vallouise and Villar d’Arène (on the Lautaret road) _viâ_ Claux and the +glaciers Blanc and d’Arsine,—the Col du Glacier Blanc; and the third, from +Vallouise to La Bérarde, _viâ_ the Glacier Blanc, the Glacier de l’Encula, +and the Glacier de la Bonne Pierre, the Col des Ecrins. + +This last pass was discovered accidentally. Mr. Tuckett set out intending +to endeavour to ascend the Pointe des Ecrins, but circumstances were +against him, as he relates in the following words:—“Arrived on the +plateau” (of the Glacier de l’Encula), “a most striking view of the Ecrins +burst upon us, and a hasty inspection encouraged us to hope that its +ascent would be practicable. On the sides of La Bérarde and the Glacier +Noir it presents, as has been already stated, the most precipitous and +inaccessible faces that can well be conceived; but in the direction of the +Glacier de l’Encula, as the upper plateau of the Glacier Blanc is named on +the French map, the slopes are less rapid, and immense masses of _névé_ +and _séracs_ cover it nearly to the summit.” + +“The snow was in very bad order, and as we sank at each step above the +knee, it soon became evident that our prospects of success were extremely +doubtful. A nearer approach, too, disclosed traces of fresh avalanches, +and after much deliberation and a careful examination through the +telescope, it was decided that the chances in our favour were too small to +render it desirable to waste time in the attempt.... I examined the map, +from which I perceived that the glacier seen through the gap” (in the +ridge running from Roche Faurio to the Ecrins) “to the west, at a great +depth below, must be that of La Bonne Pierre; and if a descent to its head +was practicable, a passage might probably be effected to La Bérarde. On +suggesting to Croz and Perrn that, though baffled by the state of the snow +on the Ecrins, we might still achieve something of interest and importance +by discovering a new col, they both heartily assented, and in a few +minutes Perrn was over the edge, and cutting his way down the rather +formidable _couloir_,” etc. etc.(108) + +This was the couloir at the foot of which we found ourselves at daybreak +on the 25th of June 1864; but before commencing the relation of our doings +upon that eventful day, I must recount the experiences of Messrs. Mathews +and Bonney in 1862. + +These gentlemen, with the two Croz’s, attempted the ascent of the Ecrins a +few weeks after Mr. Tuckett had inspected the mountain. On August 26, says +Mr. Bonney, “we pushed on, and our hopes each moment rose higher and +higher; even the cautious Michel committed himself so far as to cry, ‘Ah, +malheureux Ecrins, vous serez bientôt morts,’ as we addressed ourselves to +the last slope leading up to the foot of the final cone. The old proverb +about ‘many a slip’ was, however, to prove true on this occasion. Arrived +at the top of this slope, we found that we were cut off from the peak by a +formidable bergschrund, crossed by the rottenest of snow-bridges. We +looked to the right and to the left, to see whether it would be possible +to get on either arête at its extremity; but instead of rising directly +from the snow as they appeared to do from below, they were terminated by a +wall of rock some forty feet high. There was but one place where the +bergschrund was narrow enough to admit of crossing, and there a cliff of +ice had to be climbed, and then a path to be cut up a steep slope of snow, +before the arête could be reached. At last, after searching in vain for +some time, Michel bade us wait a little, and started off to explore the +gap separating the highest peak from the snow-dome on the right, and see +if it were possible to ascend the rocky wall. Presently he appeared, +evidently climbing with difficulty, and at last stood on the arête itself. +Again we thought the victory was won, and started off to follow him. +Suddenly he called to us to halt, and turned to descend. In a few minutes +he stopped. After a long pause he shouted to his brother, saying that he +was not able to return by the way he had ascended. Jean was evidently +uneasy about him, and for some time we watched him with much anxiety. At +length he began to hew out steps in the snow along the face of the peak +towards us. Jean now left us, and, making for the ice-cliff mentioned +above, chopped away until, after about a quarter of an hour’s labour, he +contrived, somehow or other, to worm himself up it, and began to cut steps +to meet his brother. Almost every step appeared to be cut right through +the snowy crust into the hard ice below, and an incipient stream of snow +came hissing down the sides of the peak as they dug it away with their +axes. Michel could not have been much more than 100 yards from us, and yet +it was full three quarters of an hour before the brothers met. This done, +they descended carefully, burying their axe-heads deep in the snow at +every step. + +“Michel’s account was that he had reached the arête with great difficulty, +and saw that it was practicable for some distance, in fact, as far as he +could see; but that the snow was in a most dangerous condition, being very +incoherent and resting on hard ice; that when he began to descend in order +to tell us this, he found the rocks so smooth and slippery that return was +impossible; and that for some little time he feared that he should not be +able to extricate himself, and was in considerable danger. Of course the +arête could have been reached by the way our guides had descended, but it +was so evident that their judgment was against proceeding, that we did not +feel justified in urging them on. We had seen so much of them that we felt +sure they would never hang back unless there was real danger, and so we +gave the word for retreating.”(109) + +On both of these expeditions there was fine weather and plenty of time. On +each occasion the parties slept out at, and started from, a considerable +elevation, and arrived at the base of the final peak of the Ecrins early +in the day, and with plenty of superfluous energy. Guides and travellers +alike, on each occasion, were exceptional men, experienced mountaineers, +who had proved their skill and courage on numerous antecedent occasions, +and who were not accustomed to turn away from a thing merely because it +was difficult. On each occasion the attempts were abandoned because the +state of the snow on and below the final peak was such that avalanches +were anticipated; and, according to the judgment of those who were +concerned, there was such an amount of positive danger from this condition +of things, that it was unjustifiable to persevere. + +We learnt privately, from Messrs. Mathews, Bonney, and Tuckett, that +unless the snow was in a good state upon the final peak (that is to say, +coherent and stable), we should probably be of the same opinion as +themselves; and that, although the face of the mountain fronting the +Glacier de l’Encula was much less steep than its other faces, and was +apparently the _only_ side upon which an attempt was at all likely to be +successful, it was, nevertheless, so steep, that for several days, at +least, after a fall of snow upon it, the chances in favour of avalanches +would be considerable. + +The reader need scarcely be told, after all that has been said about the +variableness of weather in the High Alps, the chance was small indeed that +we should find upon the 25th of June, or any other set day, the precise +condition of affairs that was deemed indispensable for success. We had +such confidence in the judgment of our friends, that it was understood +amongst us the ascent should be abandoned, unless the conditions were +manifestly favourable. + + [Illustration: The Pointe des Ecrins from the Col du Galibier] + +By five minutes to six we were at the top of the gully (a first-rate +couloir, about 1000 feet high), and within sight of our work. Hard, thin, +and wedge-like as the Ecrins had looked from afar, it had never looked so +hard and so thin as it did when we emerged from the top of the couloir +through the gap in the ridge. No tender shadows spoke of broad and rounded +ridges, but sharp and shadowless its serrated edges stood out against the +clear sky.(110) It had been said that the route must be taken by one of +the ridges of the final peak, but both were alike repellent, hacked and +notched in numberless places. They reminded me of my failure on the Dent +d’Hérens in 1863, and of a place on a similar ridge, from which advance or +retreat was alike difficult. But, presuming one or other of these ridges +or arêtes was practicable, there remained the task of getting to them, for +completely round the base of the final peak swept an enormous bergschrund, +almost separating it from the slopes which lay beneath. It was evident +thus early that the ascent would not be accomplished without exertion, and +that it would demand all our faculties and all our time. In more than one +respect we were favoured. The mists were gone, the day was bright and +perfectly calm; there had been a long stretch of fine weather beforehand, +and the snow was in excellent order; and, most important of all, the last +new snow which had fallen on the final peak, unable to support itself, had +broken away and rolled in a mighty avalanche, over schrund, névé, séracs, +over hills and valleys in the glacier (levelling one and filling the +other), completely down to the summit of the Col des Ecrins, where it lay +in huge jammed masses, powerless to harm us; and had made a broad track, +almost a road, over which, for part of the way at least, we might advance +with rapidity. + +We took in all this in a few minutes, and seeing there was no time to be +lost, despatched a hasty meal, left knapsacks, provisions, and all +incumbrances by the Col, started again at half-past six, and made direct +for the left side of the schrund, for it was there alone that a passage +was practicable. We crossed it at 8.10. Our route can now be followed upon +the annexed outline. The arrow marked *D* points out the direction of the +Glacier de la Bonne Pierre. The ridge in front, that extends right across, +is the ridge that is partially shown on the top of the map at p. 146, +leading from Roche Faurio towards the W.N.W. We arrived upon the plateau +of the Glacier de l’Encula, behind this ridge, from the direction of *D*, +and then made a nearly straight track to the left hand of the bergschrund +at *A*. + + [Illustration: Outline to show route up Pointe des Ecrins] + +Thus far there was no trouble, but the nature of the work changed +immediately. If we regard the upper 700 feet alone of the final peak of +the Ecrins, it may be described as a three-sided pyramid. One face is +towards the Glacier Noir, and forms one of the sheerest precipices in the +Alps. Another is towards the Glacier du Vallon, and is less steep, and +less uniform in angle than the first. The third is towards the Glacier de +l’Encula, and it was by this one we approached the summit. Imagine a +triangular plane, 700 or 800 feet high, set at an angle exceeding 50°; let +it be smooth, glassy; let the uppermost edges be cut into spikes and +teeth, and let them be bent, some one way, some another. Let the glassy +face be covered with minute fragments of rock, scarcely attached, but +varnished with ice; imagine this, and then you will have a very faint idea +of the face of the Ecrins on which we stood. It was not possible to avoid +detaching stones, which, as they fell, cause words unmentionable to rise. +The greatest friends would have reviled each other in such a situation. We +gained the eastern arête, and endeavoured for half-an-hour to work upwards +towards the summit; but it was useless (each yard of progress cost an +incredible time); and having no desire to form the acquaintance of the +Glacier Noir in a precipitate manner, we beat a retreat, and returned to +the schrund. We again held a council, and it was unanimously decided that +we should be beaten if we could not cut along the upper edge of the +schrund, and, when nearly beneath the summit, work up to it. So Croz took +off his coat and went to work;—on ice,—not that black ice so often +mentioned and so seldom seen, but on ice as hard as ice could be. Weary +work for the guides. Croz cut for more than half-an-hour, and we did not +seem to have advanced at all. Some one behind, seeing how great the labour +was, and how slow the progress, suggested that after all we might do +better on the arête. Croz’s blood was up, and indignant at this slight on +his powers, he ceased working, turned in his steps, and rushed towards me +with a haste that made me shudder: “By all means let us go there, the +sooner the better.” No slight was intended, and he resumed his work, after +a time being relieved by Almer. Half-past ten came; an hour had passed; +they were still cutting. Dreary work for us, for no capering about could +be done here; hand as well as foot holes were necessary; the fingers and +toes got very cold; the ice, as it boomed in bounding down the +bergschrund, was very suggestive; conversation was very restricted, +separated as we were by our tether of 20 feet apiece. Another hour passed. +We were now almost immediately below the summit, and we stopped to look +up. We were nearly as far off it (vertically) as we had been more than +three hours before. The day seemed going against us. The only rocks near +at hand were scattered; no bigger than tea-cups, and most of these, we +found afterwards, were glazed with ice. Time forbade cutting right up to +the summit, even had it been possible, which it was not. We decided to go +up to the ridge again by means of the rocks; but had we not had a certain +confidence in each other, it unquestionably would not have been done; for +this, it must be understood, was a situation where not only _might_ a slip +have been fatal to every one, but it would have been so beyond doubt: +nothing, moreover, was easier than to make one. It was a place where all +had to work in unison, where there must be no slackening of the rope, and +no unnecessary tension. For another hour we were in this trying situation, +and at 12.30 we gained the arête again at a much higher point (*B*), close +to the summit. Our men were, I am afraid, well-nigh worn out. Cutting up a +couloir 1000 feet high was not the right sort of preparation for work of +this kind. Be it so or not, we were all glad to rest for a short time, for +we had not sat down a minute since leaving the col six hours before. +Almer, however, was restless, knowing that midday was past, and that much +remained to be accomplished, and untied himself, and commenced working +towards the summit. Connecting the teeth of rock were beds of snow, and +Almer, only a few feet from me, was crossing the top of one of these, when +suddenly, without a moment’s warning, it broke away under him, and plunged +down on to the glacier. As he staggered for a second, one foot in the act +of stepping, and the other on the falling mass, I thought him lost; but he +happily fell on to the right side and stopped himself. Had he taken the +step with his right instead of the left foot, he would, in all +probability, have fallen several hundred feet without touching anything, +and would not have been arrested before reaching the glacier, a vertical +distance of at least 3000 feet. + +Small, ridiculously small, as the distance was to the summit, we were +occupied nearly another hour before it was gained. Almer was a few feet in +front, and he, with characteristic modesty, hesitated to step on the +highest point, and drew back to allow us to pass. A cry was raised for +Croz, who had done the chief part of the work, but he declined the honour, +and we marched on to the top simultaneously; that is to say, clustered +round it, a yard or two below, for it was much too small to get upon. + +According to my custom, I bagged a piece from off the highest rock +(chlorite slate), and I found afterwards that it had a striking similarity +to the final peak of the Ecrins. I have noticed the same thing on other +occasions,(111) and it is worthy of remark that not only do fragments of +such rock as limestone often present the characteristic forms of the +cliffs from which they have been broken, but that morsels of mica slate +will represent, in a wonderful manner, the identical shape of the peaks of +which they have formed part. Why should it not be so if the mountain’s +mass is more or less homogeneous? The same causes which produce the small +forms fashion the large ones; the same influences are at work; the same +frost and rain give shape to the mass as well as to its parts. + + [Illustration: FRAGMENT FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE POINTE DES ECRINS.] + +Did space permit me, I could give a very poor idea of the view, but it +will be readily imagined that a panorama extending over as much ground as +the whole of England is one worth taking some trouble to see, and one +which is not often to be seen even in the Alps. No clouds obscured it, and +a list of the summits that we saw would include nearly all the highest +peaks of the chain. I saw the Pelvoux now—as I had seen the Ecrins from it +three years before—across the basin of the Glacier Noir. It is a splendid +mountain, although in height it is equalled, if not surpassed, by its +neighbour the Aléfroide. + +We could stay on the summit only a short time, and at a quarter to two +prepared for the descent. Now, as we looked down, and thought of what we +had passed over in coming up, we one and all hesitated about returning the +same way. Moore said, no. Walker said the same, and I too; the guides were +both of the same mind: this, be it remarked, although we had considered +that there was no chance whatever of getting up any other way. But those +“last rocks” were not to be forgotten. Had they only protruded to a +moderate extent, or had they been merely glazed, we should doubtless still +have tried: but they were not reasonable rocks,—they would neither allow +us to hold, nor would do it themselves. So we turned to the western arête, +trusting to luck that we should find a way down to the schrund, and some +means of getting over it afterwards. Our faces were a tolerable index to +our thoughts, and apparently the thoughts of the party were not happy +ones. Had any one then said to me, “You are a great fool for coming here,” +I should have answered with humility, “It is too true.” And had my monitor +gone on to say, “Swear you will never ascend another mountain if you get +down safely,” I am inclined to think I should have taken the oath. In +fact, the game here was not worth the risk. The guides felt it as well as +ourselves, and as Almer led off, he remarked, with more piety than logic, +“The good God has brought us up, and he will take us down in safety,” +which showed pretty well what _he_ was thinking about. + +The ridge down which we now endeavoured to make our way was not inferior +in difficulty to the other. But were serrated to an extent that made it +impossible to keep strictly to them, and obliged us to descend +occasionally for some distance on the northern face and then mount again. +Both were so rotten that the most experienced of our party, as well as the +least, continually upset blocks large and small. Both arêtes were so +narrow, so thin, that it was often a matter for speculation on which side +an unstable block would fall. + +At one point it seemed that we should be obliged to return to the summit +and try the other way down. We were on the very edge of the arête. On one +side was the enormous precipice facing the Pelvoux, which is not far from +perpendicular; on the other a slope exceeding 50°. A deep notch brought us +to an abrupt halt. Almer, who was leading, advanced cautiously to the edge +on hands and knees, and peered over; his care was by no means unnecessary, +for the rocks had broken away from under us unexpectedly several times. In +this position he gazed down for some moments, and then, without a word, +turned his head and looked at us. His face _may_ have expressed +apprehension or alarm, but it certainly did not show hope or joy. We +learned that there was no means of getting down, and that we must, if we +wanted to pass the notch, jump across on to an unstable block on the other +side. It was decided that it should be done, and Almer, with a larger +extent of rope than usual, jumped. The rock swayed as he came down upon +it, but he clutched a large mass with both arms and brought himself to +anchor. That which was both difficult and dangerous for the first man was +easy enough for the others, and we got across with less trouble than I +expected; stimulated by Croz’s perfectly just observation, that if we +couldn’t get across there we were not likely to get down the other way. + +We had now arrived at *C* and could no longer continue on the arête, so we +commenced descending the face again. Before long we were close to the +schrund, but unable to see what it was like at this part, as the upper +edge bent over. Two hours had already passed since leaving the summit, and +it began to be highly probable that we should have to spend a night on the +Glacier Blanc. Almer, who yet led, cut steps right down to the edge, but +still he could not see below; therefore, warning us to hold tight, he made +his whole body rigid, and (standing in the large step which he had cut for +the purpose), had the upper part of his person lowered out until he saw +what he wanted. He shouted that our work was finished, made me come close +to the edge and untie myself, advanced the others until he had rope +enough, and then with a loud _jödel_ jumped down on to soft snow. Partly +by skill and partly by luck he had hit the crevasse at its easiest point, +and we had only to make a downward jump of eight or ten feet. + +We had been more than eight hours and a half accomplishing the ascent of +the final peak, which, according to an observation by Mr. Bonney in 1862, +is only 525 feet high.(112) During this period we had not stopped for more +than half-an-hour, and our nerves and muscles had been kept at the highest +degree of tension the whole time. It may be imagined that we accepted the +ordinary conditions of glacier travelling as an agreeable relief, and that +that which at another time might have seemed formidable we treated as the +veriest bagatelle. Late in the day as it was, and soft as was the snow, we +put on such pace that we reached the Col des Ecrins in less than forty +minutes. We lost no time in arranging our baggage, for we had still to +traverse a long glacier, and to get clear of two ice-falls before it was +dark; so, at 5.35 we resumed the march, adjourning eating and drinking, +and put on a spurt which took us clear of the Glacier Blanc by 7.45 +P.M.(113) We got off the moraine of the Glacier Noir at 8.45, just as the +last remnant of daylight vanished. Croz and myself were a trifle in +advance of the others, and fortunately so for us; for as they were about +to commence the descent of the snout of the glacier, the whole of the +moraine that rested on its face peeled off, and came down with a +tremendous roar. + +We had now the pleasure of walking over a plain that is known by the name +of the Pré de Madame Carle, covered with pebbles of all sizes, and +intersected by numerous small streams or torrents. Every hole looked like +a stone, every stone like a hole, and we tumbled about from side to side +until our limbs and our tempers became thoroughly jaded. My companions, +being both short-sighted, found the travelling especially disagreeable; so +there was little wonder that when we came upon a huge mass of rock as big +as a house, which had fallen from the flanks of Pelvoux, a regular cube +that offered no shelter whatever, Moore cried out in ecstasy, “Oh, how +delightful! the very thing I have been longing for. Let us have a +perfectly extemporaneous bivouac.” This, it should be said, was when the +night threatened thunder and lightning, rain, and all other delights. + +The pleasures of a perfectly extemporaneous bivouac under these +circumstances not being novelties to Croz and myself, we thought we would +try for the miseries of a roof; but Walker and Almer, with their usual +good nature, declared it was the very thing that they, too, were longing +for; so the trio resolved to stop. We generously left them all the +provisions (a dozen cubic inches or thereabouts of bacon fat, and half a +candle), and pushed on for the chalets of Aléfroide, or at least we +thought we did, but could not be certain. In the course of half-an-hour we +got uncommonly close to the main torrent, and Croz all at once +disappeared. I stepped cautiously forward to peer down into the place +where I thought he was, and quietly tumbled head over heels into a big +rhododendron bush. Extricating myself with some trouble, I fell backwards +over some rocks, and got wedged in a cleft so close to the torrent that it +splashed all over me. + +The colloquy which then ensued amid the thundering of the stream was as +follows:— + +“Hullo, Croz!” “Eh, Monsieur.” “Where _are_ you?” “Here, Monsieur.” “Where +_is_ here?” “I don’t know; where are _you_?” “Here, Croz;” and so on. + +The fact was, from the intense darkness, and the noise of the torrent, we +had no idea of each other’s situation. In the course of ten minutes, +however, we joined together again, agreed we had had quite enough of that +kind of thing, and adjourned to a most eligible rock at 10.15. + +How well I remember the night at that rock, and the jolly way in which +Croz came out! We were both very wet about the legs, and both uncommonly +hungry, but the time passed pleasantly enough round our fire of juniper, +and until long past midnight we sat up recounting, over our pipes, +wonderful stories of the most incredible description, in which I must +admit, my companion beat me hollow. Then throwing ourselves on our beds of +rhododendron, we slept an untroubled sleep, and rose on a bright Sunday +morning as fresh as might be, intending to enjoy a day’s rest and luxury +with our friends at La Ville de Val Louise. + + [Illustration: A NIGHT WITH CROZ.] + +I have failed to give the impression I wish if it has not been made +evident that the ascent of the Pointe des Ecrins was not an ordinary piece +of work. There is an increasing disposition now-a-days amongst those who +write on the Alps, to underrate the difficulties and dangers which are met +with, and this disposition is, I think, not less mischievous than the +old-fashioned style of making everything terrible. Difficult as we found +the peak, I believe we took it at the best, perhaps the only possible, +time of the year. The great slope on which we spent so much time was, from +being denuded by the avalanche of which I have spoken, deprived of its +greatest danger. Had it had the snow still resting upon it, and had we +persevered with the expedition, we should almost without doubt have ended +with calamity instead of success. The ice of that slope is always below, +its angle is severe, and the rocks do not project sufficiently to afford +the support that snow requires, to be stable, when at a great angle. So +far am I from desiring to tempt any one to repeat the expedition, that I +put it on record as my belief, however sad and however miserable a man may +have been, if he is found on the summit of the Pointe des Ecrins after a +fall of new snow, he is likely to experience misery far deeper than +anything with which he has hitherto been acquainted.(114) + + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + + FROM VAL LOUISE TO LA BÉRARDE BY THE COL DE PILATTE.(115) + + + “How pleasant it is for him who is saved to remember his + danger.” + EURIPIDES. + + +From Ailefroide to Claux, but for the path, travel would be scarcely more +easy than over the Pré de Madame Carle.(116) The valley is strewn with +immense masses of gneiss, from the size of a large house downwards, and it +is only occasionally that rock _in situ_ is seen, so covered up is it by +the débris, which seems to have been derived almost entirely from the +neighbouring cliffs. + +It was Sunday, a “day most calm and bright.” Golden sunlight had dispersed +the clouds, and was glorifying the heights, and we forgot hunger through +the brilliancy of the morning and beauty of the mountains. + +We meant the 26th to be a day of rest, but it was little that we found in +the _cabaret_ of Claude Giraud, and we fled before the babel of sound +which rose in intensity as men descended to a depth which is unattainable +by the beasts of the field, and found at the chalets of Entraigues(117) +the peace that had been denied to us at Val Louise. + +Again we were received with the most cordial hospitality. Everything that +was eatable or drinkable was brought out and pressed upon us; every little +curiosity was exhibited; every information that could be afforded was +given; and when we retired to our clean straw, we again congratulated each +other that we had escaped from the foul den which is where a good inn +should be, and had cast in our lot with those who dwell in chalets. Very +luxurious that straw seemed after two nights upon quartz pebbles and +glacier mud, and I felt quite aggrieved (expecting it was the summons for +departure) when, about midnight, the heavy wooden door creaked on its +hinges, and a man hem’d and ha’d to attract attention; but when it +whispered, “Monsieur Edvard,” I perceived my mistake,—it was our Pelvoux +companion, Monsieur Reynaud, the excellent _agent-voyer_ of La Bessée. + +Monsieur Reynaud had been invited to accompany us on the excursion that is +described in this chapter, but had arrived at Val Louise after we had +left, and had energetically pursued us during the night. Our idea was that +a pass might be made over the high ridge called (on the French map) Crête +de Bœufs Rouges,(118) near to the peak named Les Bans, and that it might +be the shortest route in time (as it certainly would be in distance) from +Val Louise, across the Central Dauphiné Alps. We had seen the northern (or +Pilatte) side from the Brèche de la Meije, and it seemed to be practicable +at one place near the above-mentioned mountain. More than that could not +be told at a distance of eleven miles. We intended to try to hit a point +on the ridge immediately above the part where it seemed to be easiest. + +We left Entraigues at 3.30 on the morning of June 27, and proceeded, over +very gently-inclined ground, towards the foot of the Pic de Bonvoisin +(following in fact the route of the Col de Sellar, which leads from the +Val Louise into the Val Godemar);(119) and at 5 A.M., finding that there +was no chance of obtaining a view from the bottom of the valley of the +ridge over which our route was to be taken, sent Almer up the lower slopes +of the Bonvoisin to reconnoitre. He telegraphed that we might proceed; and +at 5.45 we quitted the snow-beds at the bottom of the valley for the +slopes which rose towards the north. + +The course was N.N.W., and was prodigiously steep. _In less than two miles +difference of latitude we rose one mile of absolute height._ But the route +was so far from being an exceptionally difficult one, that at 10.45 we +stood on the summit of the pass, having made an ascent of more than 5000 +feet in five hours, inclusive of halts. + +Upon sheet 189 of the French map a glacier is laid down on the south of +the Crête des Bœufs Rouges, extending along the entire length of the +ridge, at its foot, from east to west. In 1864 this glacier did not exist +as _one_ glacier, but in the place where it should have been there were +several small ones, all of which were, I believe, separated from each +other.(120) + +We commenced the ascent from the Val d’Entraigues, to the west of the most +western of these small glaciers, and quitted the valley by the first great +gap in its cliffs after that glacier was passed. We did not take to the +ice until it afforded an easier route than the rocks; then (8.30) Croz +went to the front, and led with admirable skill through a maze of +crevasses up to the foot of a great snow _couloir_, that rose from the +head of the glacier to the summit of the ridge over which we had to pass. + +We had settled beforehand in London, without knowing anything whatever +about the place, that such a couloir as this should be in this angle; but +when we got into the Val d’Entraigues, and found that it was not possible +to see into the corner, our faith in its existence became less and less, +until the telegraphing of Almer, who was sent up the opposite slopes to +search for it, assured us that we were true prophets. + + [Illustration: A SNOW COULOIR.] + +Snow _couloirs_ are nothing more or less than gullies partly filled by +snow. They are most useful institutions, and may be considered as natural +highways placed, by a kind Providence, in convenient situations for +getting over places which would otherwise be inaccessible. They are a joy +to the mountaineer, and, from afar, assure him of a path when all beside +is uncertain; but they are grief to novices, who, when upon steep snow, +are usually seized with two notions—first, that the snow will slip, and +secondly, that those who are upon it must slip too. + +Nothing, perhaps, could look much more unpromising to those who do not +know the virtues of couloirs than such a place as the engraving +represents,(121) and if persons inexperienced in mountain craft had +occasion to cross a ridge or to climb rocks, in which there were such +couloirs, they would instinctively avoid them. But practised mountaineers +would naturally look to them for a path, and would follow them almost as a +matter of course, unless they turned out to be filled with ice, or too +much swept by falling stones, or the rock at the sides proved to be of +such an exceptional character as to afford an easier path than the snow. + +Couloirs look prodigiously steep when seen from the front, and, so viewed, +it is impossible to be certain of their inclination within many degrees. +Snow, however, does actually lie at steeper angles in couloirs than in any +other situations;—45° to 50° degrees is not an uncommon inclination. Even +at such angles, two men with proper axes can mount on snow at the rate of +700 to 800 feet per hour. The same amount can only be accomplished in the +same time on steep rocks when they are of the very easiest character, and +four or five hours may be readily spent upon an equal height of difficult +rocks. Snow couloirs are therefore to be commended because they economise +time. + +Of course, in all gullies, one is liable to be encountered by falling +stones. Most of those which fall from the rocks of a couloir, sooner or +later spin down the snow which fills the trough; and, as their course and +pace are more clearly apparent when falling over snow than when jumping +from ledge to ledge, persons with lively imaginations are readily +impressed by them. The grooves which are usually seen wandering down the +length of snow couloirs are deepened (and, perhaps, occasionally +originated) by falling stones, and they are sometimes pointed out by +cautious men as reasons why couloirs should not be followed. I think they +are very frequently only gutters, caused by water trickling off the rocks. +Whether this is so or not, one should always consider the possibility of +being struck by falling stones, and, in order to lessen the risk as far as +possible, should mount upon the sides of the snow, and not up its centre. +Stones that come off the rocks will then generally fly over one’s head, or +bound down the middle of the trough at a safe distance. + +At 9.30 A.M. we commenced the ascent of the couloir leading from the +nameless glacier to a point in the ridge, just to the east of Mont +Bans.(122) So far the route had been nothing more than a steep grind in an +angle where little could be seen, but now views opened out in several +directions, and the way began to be interesting. It was more so, perhaps, +to us than to our companion M. Reynaud, who had no rest in the last night. +He was, moreover, heavily laden. Science was to be regarded—his pockets +were stuffed with books; heights and angles were to be observed—his +knapsack was filled with instruments; hunger was to be guarded against—his +shoulders were ornamented with a huge nimbus of bread, and a leg of mutton +swung behind from his knapsack, looking like an overgrown tail. Being a +good-hearted fellow, he had brought this food, thinking we might be in +need of it. As it happened, we were well provided for, and having our own +packs to carry, could not relieve him of his superfluous burdens, which, +naturally, he did not like to throw away. As the angles steepened, the +strain on his strength became more and more apparent. At last he began to +groan. At first a most gentle and mellow groan; but as we rose so did his +groans, till at last the cliffs were groaning in echo, and we were moved +to laughter. + +Croz cut the way with unflagging energy throughout the whole of the +ascent, and at 10.45 we stood on the summit of our pass, intending to +refresh ourselves with a good halt. Unhappily, at that moment a mist, +which had been playing about the ridge, swooped down and blotted out the +whole of the view on the northern side. Croz was the only one who caught a +glimpse of the descent, and it was deemed advisable to push on +immediately, while its recollection was fresh in his memory. We are +consequently unable to tell anything about the summit of the pass, except +that it lies immediately to the east of Mont Bans, and is elevated about +11,300 feet above the level of the sea. It is the highest pass in +Dauphiné. We called it the Col de Pilatte. + +We commenced to descend towards the Glacier de Pilatte by a slope of +smooth ice, the face of which, according to the measurement of Mr. Moore, +had an inclination of 54°! Croz still led, and the others followed at +intervals of about 15 feet, all being tied together, and Almer occupying +the responsible position of last man. The two guides were therefore about +70 feet apart. They were quite invisible to each other from the mist, and +looked spectral even to us. But the _strong_ man could be heard by all +hewing out the steps below, while every now and then the voice of the +_steady_ man pierced the cloud,—“Slip not, dear sirs; place well your +feet: stir not until you are certain.” + +For three quarters of an hour we progressed in this fashion. The axe of +Croz all at once stopped. “What is the matter, Croz?” “Bergschrund, +gentlemen.” “Can we get over?” “Upon my word, I don’t know; I think we +must jump.” The clouds rolled away right and left as he spoke. The effect +was dramatic! It was a _coup de théâtre_, preparatory to the “great +sensation leap” which was about to be executed by the entire company. + +Some unseen cause, some cliff or obstruction in the rocks underneath, had +caused our wall of ice to split into two portions, and the huge fissure +which had thus been formed extended, on each hand, as far as could be +seen. We, on the slope above, were separated from the slope below by a +mighty crevasse. No running up and down to look for an easier place to +cross could be done on an ice-slope of 54°; the chasm had to be passed +then and there. + +A downward jump of 15 or 16 feet, and a forward leap of 7 or 8 feet had to +be made at the same time. That is not much, you will say. It was not much; +it was not the quantity, but it was the quality of the jump which gave to +it its particular flavour. You had to hit a narrow ridge of ice. If that +was passed, it seemed as if you might roll down for ever and ever. If it +was not attained, you dropped into the crevasse below; which, although +partly choked by icicles and snow that had fallen from above, was still +gaping in many places, ready to receive an erratic body. + +Croz untied Walker in order to get rope enough, and warning us to hold +fast, sprang over the chasm. He alighted cleverly on his feet; untied +himself and sent up the rope to Walker, who followed his example. It was +then my turn, and I advanced to the edge of the ice. The second which +followed was what is called a supreme moment. That is to say, I felt +supremely ridiculous. The world seemed to revolve at a frightful pace, and +my stomach to fly away. The next moment I found myself sprawling in the +snow, and then, of course, vowed that _it was nothing_, and prepared to +encourage my friend Reynaud. + +He came to the edge and made declarations. I do not believe that he was a +whit more reluctant to pass the place than we others, but he was +infinitely more demonstrative,—in a word, he was French. He wrung his +hands, “Oh! what a _diable_ of a place!” “It is nothing, Reynaud,” I said, +“it is _nothing_.” “Jump,” cried the others, “jump.” But he turned round, +as far as one can do such a thing in an ice-step, and covered his face +with his hands, ejaculating, “Upon my word, it is not possible. No! no!! +no!!! it is not possible.” + +How he came over I do not know. We saw a toe—it seemed to belong to Moore; +we saw Reynaud a flying body, coming down as if taking a header into +water; with arms and legs all abroad, his leg of mutton flying in the air, +his bâton escaped from his grasp; and then we heard a thud as if a bundle +of carpets had been pitched out of a window. When set upon his feet he was +a sorry spectacle; his head was a great snowball; brandy was trickling out +of one side of the knapsack, chartreuse out of the other—we bemoaned its +loss, but we roared with laughter. + + + +This chapter has already passed the limits within which it should have +been confined, but I cannot close it without paying tribute to the ability +with which Croz led us, through a dense mist, down the remainder of the +Glacier de Pilatte. As an exhibition of strength and skill, it has +probably never been surpassed in the Alps or elsewhere. On this almost +unknown and very steep glacier, he was perfectly at home, even in the +mists. Never able to see fifty feet ahead, he still went on with the +utmost certainty, and without having to retrace a single step; and +displayed from first to last consummate knowledge of the materials with +which he was dealing. Now he cut steps down one side of a _sérac_, went +with a dash at the other side, and hauled us up after him; then cut away +along a ridge until a point was gained from which we could jump on to +another ridge; then, doubling back, found a snow-bridge, across which he +crawled on hands and knees, towed us across by the legs, ridiculing our +apprehensions, mimicking our awkwardness, declining all help, bidding us +only to follow him. + +About 1 P.M. we emerged from the mist and found ourselves just arrived +upon the level portion of the glacier, having, as Reynaud properly +remarked, come down as quickly as if there had not been any mist at all. +Then we attacked the leg of mutton which my friend had so thoughtfully +brought with him, and afterwards raced down, with renewed energy, to La +Bérarde. + +Reynaud and I walked together to St. Christophe, where we parted. Since +then we have talked over the doings of this momentous day; and I know that +he would not, for a good deal, have missed the passage of the Col de +Pilatte, although we failed to make it an easier or a shorter route than +the Col du Selé. I rejoined Moore and Walker, the same evening, at Venos, +and on the next day went with them over the Lautaret road to the hospice +on its summit, where we slept. + +So our little campaign in Dauphiné came to an end. It was remarkable for +the absence of failures, and for the ease and precision with which all our +plans were carried out. This was due very much to the spirit of my +companions; but it was also owing to the fine weather which we were +fortunate enough to enjoy, and to our making a very early start every +morning. By beginning our work at or before the break of day, on the +longest days in the year, we were not only able to avoid hurrying when +deliberation was desirable, but could afford to spend several hours in +delightful ease whenever the fancy seized us. + +I cannot too strongly recommend to tourists in search of amusement to +avoid the inns of Dauphiné. Sleep in the chalets. Get what food you can +from the inns, but do not as a rule attempt to pass nights in them.(123) +_Sleep_ in them you cannot. M. Joanne says that the inventor of the +insecticide powder was a native of Dauphiné. I can well believe it. He +must have often felt the necessity of such an invention in his infancy and +childhood. + +On June 29 I crossed the Col du Galibier to St. Michel; on the 30th, the +Col des Encombres to Moutiers; on July 1, the Col du Bonhomme to +Contamines; and on the 2d, by the Pavilion de Bellevue to Chamounix, where +I joined Mr. Adams-Reilly to take part in some expeditions which had been +planned long before. + + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + +THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE COL DE TRIOLET, AND FIRST ASCENTS OF MONT DOLENT, + AIGUILLE DE TRÉLATÊTE, AND AIGUILLE D’ARGENTIÈRE. + + + “Nothing binds men so closely together as agreement in plans and + desires.” + CICERO. + + +A few years ago not many persons knew from personal knowledge how +extremely inaccurately the chain of Mont Blanc was delineated. In the +earlier part of the century thousands had made the tour of the chain, and +before the year 1860 at least _one_ thousand individuals had stood upon +its highest summit; but out of all this number there was not one capable, +willing, or able, to map the mountain which, until recently, was regarded +the highest in Europe. + +Many persons knew that great blunders had been perpetrated, and it was +notorious that even Mont Blanc itself was represented in a ludicrously +incorrect manner on all sides excepting the north; but there was not, +perhaps, a single individual who knew, at the time to which I refer, that +errors of no less than 1000 feet had been committed in the determination +of heights at each end of the chain; that some glaciers were represented +of double their real dimensions; and that ridges and mountains were laid +down which actually had no existence. + +One portion alone of the entire chain had been surveyed at the time of +which I speak with anything like accuracy. It was not done (as one would +have expected) by a Government, but by a private individual,—by the +British De Saussure,—the late J. D. Forbes. In the year 1842, he “made a +special survey of the Mer de Glace of Chamounix and its tributaries, +which, in some of the following years, he extended by further +observations, so as to include the Glacier des Bossons.” The map produced +from this survey was worthy of its author; and subsequent explorers of the +region he investigated have been able to detect only trivial inaccuracies +in his work. + +In 1861, Sheet xxii. of Dufour’s Map of Switzerland appeared. It included +the section of the chain of Mont Blanc that belonged to Switzerland, and +this portion of the sheet was executed with the admirable fidelity and +thoroughness which characterise the whole of Dufour’s unique map. The +remainder of the chain (amounting to about four-fifths of the whole) was +laid down after the work of previous topographers, and its wretchedness +was made more apparent by contrast with the finished work of the Swiss +surveyors. + +In 1863, Mr. Adams-Reilly, who had been travelling in the Alps during +several years, resolved to attempt a survey of the unsurveyed portions of +the chain of Mont Blanc. He provided himself with a good theodolite, and +starting from a base-line measured by Forbes in the Valley of Chamounix, +determined the positions of no less than 200 points. The accuracy of his +work may be judged from the fact that, after having turned many corners +and carried his observations over a distance of fifty miles, his Col +Ferret “fell within 200 yards of the position assigned to it by General +Dufour!” + +In the winter of 1863 and the spring of 1864, Mr. Reilly constructed an +entirely original map from his newly-acquired data. The spaces between his +trigonometrically determined points he filled in after photographs, and a +series of panoramic sketches which he made from his different stations. +The map so produced was an immense advance upon those already in +existence, and it was the first which exhibited the great peaks in their +proper positions. + +This extraordinary piece of work revealed Mr. Reilly to me as a man of +wonderful determination and perseverance. With very small hope that my +proposal would be accepted, I invited him to take part in renewed attacks +on the Matterhorn. He entered heartily into my plans, and met me with a +counter-proposition, namely, that I should accompany him on some +expeditions which he had projected in the chain of Mont Blanc. The +unwritten contract took this form:—I will help you to carry out your +desires, and you shall assist me to carry out mine. I eagerly closed with +an arrangement in which all the advantages were upon my side. + +At the time that Mr. Reilly was carrying on his survey, Captain Mieulet +was executing another in continuation of the great map of France; for +about one-half of the chain of Mont Blanc (including the whole of the +valley of Chamounix) had recently become French once more. Captain Mieulet +was directed to survey up to his frontier only, and the sheet which was +destined to include his work was to be engraved, of course, upon the scale +of the rest of the map, viz., 1/80000 of nature. But upon representations +being made at head-quarters that it would be of great advantage to extend +the survey as far as Courmayeur, Captain Mieulet was directed to continue +his observations into the south (or Italian) side of the chain. A special +sheet on the scale of 1/40000 was promptly engraved from the materials he +accumulated, and was published in 1865, by order of the late Minister of +War, Marshal Randon.(124) This sheet was admirably executed, but it +included the central portion of the chain only, and a complete map was +still wanting. + +Mr. Reilly presented his MS. map to the English Alpine Club. It was +resolved that it should be published; but before it passed into the +engraver’s hands its author undertook to revise it carefully. To this end +he planned a number of expeditions to high points which up to that time +had been regarded inaccessible, and upon some of these ascents he invited +me to accompany him. Before I pass on to these expeditions, it will be +convenient to devote a few lines to the topography of the chain of Mont +Blanc. + +At the present time the chain is divided betwixt France, Switzerland, and +Italy. France has the lion’s share, Switzerland the most fertile portion, +and Italy the steepest side. It has acquired a reputation which is not +extraordinary, but which is not wholly merited. It has neither the beauty +of the Oberland, nor the sublimity of Dauphiné. It attracts the vulgar by +the possession of the highest summit in the Alps. If that is removed, the +elevation of the chain is in nowise remarkable. In fact, excluding Mont +Blanc itself, the mountains of which the chain is made up are less +important than those of the Oberland and the central Pennine groups. The +following table will afford a ready means of comparison.(125) + + Mètres. Eng. feet(126) + 1. Mont Blanc 4810 = 15,781 + 2. Grandes Jorasses 4206 . 13,800 + 3. Aiguille Verte 4127 . 13,540 + 4. Aiguille de Bionnassay 4061 . 13,324 + 5. Les Droites 4030 . 13,222 + 6. Aiguille du Géant 4010 . 13,157 + 7. Aiguille de Trélatête, No. 1 3932 . 12,900 + Aiguille de Trélatête, No. 2 3904 . 12,809 + Aiguille de Trélatête, No. 3 3896 . 12,782 + 8. Aiguille d’Argentière 3901 . 12,799 + 9. Aiguille de Triolet 3879 . 12,726 +10. Aiguille du Midi 3843 . 12,608 +11. Aiguille du Glacier 3834 . 12,579 +12. Mont Dolent 3830 . 12,566 +13. Aiguille du Chardonnet 3823 . 12,543 +14. Aiguille du Dru 3815 . 12,517 +15. Aiguille de Miage 3680 . 12,074 +16. Aiguille du Plan 3673 . 12,051 +17. Aiguille de Blaitière 3533 . 11,591 +18. Aiguille des Charmoz 3442 . 11,293 + +The frontier-line follows the main ridge. Very little of it can be seen +from the Valley of Chamounix, and from the village itself two small strips +only are visible (amounting to scarcely three miles in length)—viz. from +the summit of Mont Blanc to the Dôme du Goûter, and in the neighbourhood +of the Col de Balme. All the rest is concealed by outlying ridges and by +mountains of secondary importance. + +Mont Blanc itself is bounded by the two glaciers of Miage, the glaciers de +la Brenva and du Géant, the Val Véni and the Valley of Chamounix. A long +ridge runs out towards the N.N.E. from the summit, through Mont Maudit, to +the Aiguille du Midi. Another ridge proceeds towards the N.W., through the +Bosse du Dromadaire to the Dôme du Goûter; this then divides into two, of +which one continues N.W. to the Aiguille du Goûter, and the other (which +is a part of the main ridge of the chain) towards the W. to the Aiguille +de Bionnassay. The two routes which are commonly followed for the ascent +of Mont Blanc lie between these two principal ridges—one leading from +Chamounix, _viâ_ the Grands Mulets, the other from the village of +Bionnassay, _viâ_ the Aiguille and Dôme du Goûter. + +The ascent of Mont Blanc has been made from several directions besides +these, and perhaps there is no single point of the compass from which the +mountain cannot be ascended. But there is not the least probability that +any one will discover easier ways to the summit than those already known. + +I believe it is correct to say that the Aiguille du Midi and the Aiguille +de Miage were the only two summits in the chain of Mont Blanc which had +been ascended at the beginning of 1864.(127) The latter of these two is a +perfectly insignificant point; and the former is only a portion of one of +the ridges just now mentioned, and can hardly be regarded as a mountain +separate and distinct from Mont Blanc. The really great peaks of the chain +were considered inaccessible, and, I think, with the exception of the +Aiguille Verte, had never been assailed. + +The finest, as well as the highest peak in the chain (after Mont Blanc +itself), is the Grandes Jorasses. The next, without a doubt, is the +Aiguille Verte. The Aiguille de Bionnassay, which in actual height follows +the Verte, should be considered as a part of Mont Blanc; and in the same +way the summit called Les Droites is only a part of the ridge which +culminates in the Verte. The Aiguille de Trélatête is the next on the list +that is entitled to be considered a separate mountain, and is by far the +most important peak (as well as the highest) at the south-west end of the +chain. Then comes the Aiguille d’Argentière, which occupies the same rank +at the north-east end as the last-mentioned mountain does in the +south-west. The rest of the aiguilles are comparatively insignificant; and +although some of them (such as the Mont Dolent) look well from low +elevations, and seem to possess a certain importance, they sink into their +proper places directly one arrives at a considerable altitude. + +The summit of the Aiguille Verte would have been one of the best stations +out of all these mountains for the purposes of my friend. Its great +height, and its isolated and commanding position, make it a most admirable +point for viewing the intricacies of the chain; but he exercised a wise +discretion in passing it by, and in selecting as our first excursion the +passage of the Col de Triolet.(128) + +We slept under some big rocks on the Couvercle on the night of July 7, +with the thermometer at 26·5 Faht., and at 4.30 on the 8th made a straight +track to the north of the Jardin, and thence went in zigzags, to break the +ascent, over the upper slopes of the Glacier de Talèfre towards the foot +of the Aiguille de Triolet. Croz was still my guide, Reilly was +accompanied by one of the Michel Payots of Chamounix, and Henri Charlet, +of the same place, was our porter. + +The way was over an undulating plain of glacier of moderate inclination +until the corner leading to the Col, from whence a steep secondary glacier +led down into the basin of the Talèfre. We experienced no difficulty in +making the ascent of this secondary glacier with such ice-men as Croz and +Payot, and at 7.50 A.M. arrived on the top of the so-called pass, at a +height, according to Mieulet, of 12,162 feet, and 4530 above our camp on +the Couvercle. + +The descent was commenced by very steep, but firm, rocks, and then by a +branch of the Glacier de Triolet. Schrunds(129) were abundant; there were +no less than five extending completely across the glacier, all of which +had to be jumped. Not one was equal in dimensions to the extraordinary +chasm on the Col de Pilatte, although in the aggregate they far surpassed +it. “Our lives,” so Reilly expressed it, “were made a burden to us with +schrunds.” + +We flattered ourselves that we should arrive at the chalets of Prè du Bar +very early in the day; but, owing to much time being lost on the slopes of +Mont Rouge, it was nearly 4 P.M. before we got to them. There were no +bridges across the torrent nearer than Gruetta, and rather than descend so +far, we preferred to round the base of Mont Rouge, and to cross the snout +of the Glacier du Mont Dolent.(130) + +We occupied the 9th with a scramble up Mont Dolent. This was a miniature +ascent. It contained a little of everything. First we went up to the Col +Ferret (No. 1), and had a little grind over shaly banks; then there was a +little walk over grass; then a little tramp over a moraine (which, strange +to say, gave a pleasant path); then a little zigzagging over the +snow-covered glacier of Mont Dolent. Then there was a little bergschrund; +then a little wall of snow,—which we mounted by the side of a little +buttress; and when we struck the ridge descending S.E. from the summit, we +found a little arête of snow leading to the highest point. The summit +itself was little,—very small indeed; it was the loveliest little cone of +snow that was ever piled up on mountain-top; so soft, so pure; it seemed a +crime to defile it; it was a miniature Jungfrau, a toy summit, you could +cover it with the hand.(131) + +But there was nothing little about the _view_ from the Mont Dolent. +[Situated at the junction of three mountain ridges, it rises in a positive +steeple far above anything in its immediate neighbourhood; and certain +gaps in the surrounding ridges, which seem contrived for that especial +purpose, extend the view in almost every direction. The precipices which +descend to the Glacier d’Argentière I can only compare to those of the +Jungfrau, and the ridges on both sides of that glacier, especially the +steep rocks of Les Droites and Les Courtes, surmounted by the sharp +snow-peak of the Aig. Verte, have almost the effect of the Grandes +Jorasses. Then, framed, as it were, between the massive tower of the Aig. +de Triolet and the more distant Jorasses, lies, without exception, the +most delicately beautiful picture I have ever seen—the whole _massif_ of +Mont Blanc, raising its great head of snow far above the tangled series of +flying buttresses which uphold the Monts Maudits, supported on the left by +Mont Peuteret and by the mass of ragged aiguilles which overhang the +Brenva. This aspect of Mont Blanc is not new, but from this point its +_pose_ is unrivalled, and it has all the superiority of a picture grouped +by the hand of a master.... The view is as extensive, and far more lovely +than that from Mont Blanc itself.](132) + + + +We went down to Courmayeur, and on the afternoon of July 10 started from +that place to camp on Mont Suc, for the ascent of the Aiguille de +Trélatête; hopeful that the mists which were hanging about would clear +away. They did not, so we deposited ourselves, and a vast load of straw, +on the moraine of the Miage Glacier, just above the Lac de Combal, in a +charming little hole which some solitary shepherd had excavated beneath a +great slab of rock. We spent the night there, and the whole of the next +day, unwilling to run away, and equally so to get into difficulties by +venturing into the mist. It was a dull time, and I grew restless. Reilly +read to me a lecture on the excellence of patience, and composed himself +in an easy attitude, to pore over the pages of a yellow-covered book. +“Patience,” I said to him viciously, “comes readily to fellows who have +shilling novels; but I have not got one; I have picked all the mud out of +the nails of my boots, and have skinned my face; what shall I do?” “Go and +study the moraine of the Miage,” said he. I went, and came back after an +hour. “What news?” cried Reilly, raising himself on his elbow. “Very +little; it’s a big moraine, bigger than I thought, with ridge outside +ridge, like a fortified camp; and there are walls upon it which have been +built and loop-holed, as if for defence.” “Try again,” he said, as he +threw himself on his back. But I went to Croz, who was asleep, and tickled +his nose with a straw until he awoke; and then, as that amusement was +played out, watched Reilly, who was getting numbed, and shifted uneasily +from side to side, and threw himself on his stomach, and rested his head +on his elbows, and lighted his pipe and puffed at it savagely. When I +looked again, how was Reilly? An indistinguishable heap; arms, legs, head, +stones, and straw, all mixed together, his hat flung on one side, his +novel tossed far away! Then I went to him, and read him a lecture on the +excellence of patience. + + [Illustration: Portraits of Mr. Reilly on a wet day] + [Illustration: Portraits of Mr. Reilly on a wet day] + [Illustration: Portraits of Mr. Reilly on a wet day] + [Illustration: Portraits of Mr. Reilly on a wet day] + [Illustration: Portraits of Mr. Reilly on a wet day] + +Bah! it was a dull time. Our mountain, like a beautiful coquette, +sometimes unveiled herself for a moment, and looked charming above, +although very mysterious below. It was not until eventide she allowed us +to approach her; then, as darkness came on, the curtains were withdrawn, +the light drapery was lifted, and we stole up on tiptoe through the grand +portal formed by Mont Suc. But night advanced rapidly, and we found +ourselves left out in the cold, without a hole to creep into or shelter +from overhanging rock. We might have fared badly, except for our good +plaids. When they were sewn together down their long edges, and one end +tossed over our rope (which was passed round some rocks), and the other +secured by stones, there was sufficient protection; and we slept on this +exposed ridge, 9700 feet above the level of the sea, more soundly, +perhaps, than if we had been lying on feather beds. + + [Illustration: OUR CAMP ON MONT SUC.(133)] + +We left our bivouac at 4.45 A.M., and at 9.40 arrived upon the highest of +the three summits of the Trélatête, by passing over the lowest one. It was +well above everything at this end of the chain, and the view from it was +extraordinarily magnificent. The whole of the western face of Mont Blanc +was spread out before us; we were the first by whom it had been ever seen. +I cede the description of this view to my comrade, to whom it rightfully +belongs. + +[For four years I had felt great interest in the geography of the chain; +the year before I had mapped, more or less successfully, all but this +spot, and this spot had always eluded my grasp. The praises, undeserved as +they were, which my map had received, were as gall and wormwood to me when +I thought of that great slope which I had been obliged to leave a blank, +speckled over with unmeaning dots of rock, gathered from previous maps—for +I had consulted them all without meeting an intelligible representation of +it. From the surface of the Miage glacier I had gained nothing, for I +could only see the feet of magnificent ice-streams, and no more; but now, +from the top of the dead wall of rock which had so long closed my view, I +saw those fine glaciers from top to bottom, pouring down their streams, +nearly as large as the Bossons, from Mont Blanc, from the Bosse, and from +the Dôme. + +The head of Mont Blanc is supported on this side by two buttresses, +between which vast glaciers descend. Of these the most southern(134) takes +its rise at the foot of the precipices which fall steeply down from the +Calotte,(135) and its stream, as it joins that of the Miage, is cut in two +by an enormous _rognon_ of rock. Next, to the left, comes the largest of +the buttresses of which I have spoken, almost forming an aiguille in +itself. The next glacier(136) descends from a large basin which receives +the snows of the summit-ridge between the Bosse and the Dome, and it is +divided from the third and last glacier(137) by another buttress, which +joins the summit-ridge at a point between the Dôme and the Aig. de +Bionnassay.] + +The great buttresses betwixt these magnificent ice-streams have supplied a +large portion of the enormous masses of débris which are disposed in +ridges round about, and are strewn over, the termination of the Glacier de +Miage in the Val Véni. These moraines(138) used to be classed amongst the +wonders of the world. They are very large for a glacier of the size of the +Miage. + +The dimensions of moraines are not ruled by those of glaciers. Many small +glaciers have large moraines,(139) and many large ones have small +moraines. The size of the moraines of any glacier depends mainly upon the +area of rock surface that is exposed to atmospheric influences within the +basin drained by the glacier; upon the nature of such rock,—whether it is +friable or resistant; and upon the dip of strata. Moraines most likely +will be small if little rock surface is exposed; but when large ones are +seen, then, in all probability, large areas of rock, uncovered by snow or +ice, will be found in immediate contiguity to the glacier. The Miage +glacier has large ones, because it receives detritus from many great +cliffs and ridges. But if this glacier, instead of lying, as it does, at +the bottom of a trough, were to fill that trough, if it were to completely +envelope the Aiguille de Trélatête, and the other mountains which border +it, and were to descend from Mont Blanc unbroken by rock or ridge, it +would be as destitute of morainic matter as the great _Mer de Glace_ of +Greenland. For if a country or district is _completely_ covered up by +glacier, the moraines may be of the very smallest dimensions.(140) + +The contributions that are supplied to moraines by glaciers themselves, +from the abrasion of the rocks over which their ice passes, are minute +compared with the accumulations which are furnished from other sources. +These great rubbish-heaps are formed, one may say almost entirely, from +débris which falls, or is washed down the flanks of mountains, or from +cliffs bordering glaciers; and are composed, to a very limited extent +only, of matter that is ground, rasped, or filed off by the friction of +the ice. + +If the contrary view were to be adopted, if it could be maintained that +“glaciers, _by their motion, break off masses of rock from the sides and +bottoms of their valley courses_, and crowd along every thing that is +movable, so as to form large accumulations of débris in front, and along +their sides,”(141) the conclusion could not be resisted, the greater the +glacier, the greater should be the moraine. + +This doctrine does not find much favour with those who have personal +knowledge of what glaciers do at the present time. From De Saussure(142) +downwards it has been pointed out, time after time, that moraines are +chiefly formed from débris coming from rocks or soil _above_ the ice, not +from the bed over which it passes. But amongst the writings of modern +speculators upon glaciers and glacier-action in bygone times, it is not +uncommon to find the notions entertained, that moraines represent the +amount of _excavation_ (such is the term employed) performed by glaciers, +or at least are comprised of matter which has been excavated by glaciers; +that vast moraines have necessarily been produced by vast glaciers; and +that a great extension of glaciers necessarily causes the production of +vast moraines. Such generalisations cannot be sustained. + +We descended in our track to the Lac de Combal, and from thence went over +the Col de la Seigne to les Motets, where we slept; on July 13, crossed +the Col du Mont Tondu to Contamines (in a sharp thunderstorm), and the Col +de Voza to Chamounix. Two days only remained for excursions in this +neighbourhood, and we resolved to employ them in another attempt to ascend +the Aiguille d’Argentière, upon which mountain we had been cruelly +defeated just eight days before. + +It happened in this way.—Reilly had a notion that the ascent of the +Aiguille could be accomplished by following the ridge leading to its +summit from the Col du Chardonnet. At half-past six, on the morning of the +6th, we found ourselves accordingly on the top of that pass. The party +consisted of our friend Moore and his guide Almer, Reilly and his guide +François Couttet, myself and Michel Croz. So far the weather had been +calm, and the way easy; but immediately we arrived on the summit of the +pass, we got into a furious wind. Five minutes earlier we were warm,—now +we were frozen. Fine snow whirled up into the air penetrated every crack +in our harness, and assailed our skins as painfully as if it had been red +hot instead of freezing cold. The teeth chattered involuntarily—talking +was laborious; the breath froze instantaneously; eating was disagreeable; +sitting was impossible! + +We looked towards our mountain. Its aspect was not encouraging. The ridge +that led upwards had a spiked arête, palisaded with miniature aiguilles, +banked up at their bases by heavy snow-beds, which led down, at +considerable angles, on one side towards the Glacier de Saleinoz, on the +other towards the Glacier du Chardonnet. Under any circumstances, it would +have been a stiff piece of work to clamber up that way. Prudence and +comfort counselled, “Give it up.” Discretion overruled valour. Moore and +Almer crossed the Col du Chardonnet to go to Orsières, and we others +returned towards Chamounix. + +But when we got some distance down, the evil spirit which prompts men to +ascend mountains tempted us to stop, and to look back at the Aiguille +d’Argentière. The sky was cloudless; no wind could be felt, nor sign of it +perceived; it was only eight o’clock in the morning; and there, right +before us, we saw another branch of the glacier leading high up into the +mountain—far above the Col du Chardonnet—and a little couloir rising from +its head almost to the top of the peak. This was clearly the right route +to take. We turned back, and went at it. + +The glacier was steep, and the snow gully rising out of it was steeper. +Seven hundred steps were cut. Then the couloir became _too_ steep. We took +to the rocks on its left, and at last gained the ridge, at a point about +1500 feet above the Col du Chardonnet. We faced about to the right, and +went along the ridge; keeping on some snow a little below its crest, on +the Saleinoz side. Then we got the wind again; yet no one thought of +turning, for we were within 250 feet of the summit. + +The axes of Croz and Couttet went to work once more, for the slope was +about as steep as snow-slope could be. Its surface was covered with a +loose, granular crust; dry and utterly incoherent; which slipped away in +streaks directly it was meddled with. The men had to cut through this into +the old beds underneath, and to pause incessantly to rake away the powdery +stuff, which poured down in hissing streams over the hard substratum. Ugh! +how cold it was! How the wind blew! Couttet’s hat was torn from its +fastenings, and went on a tour in Switzerland. The flour-like snow, swept +off the ridge above, was tossed spirally upwards, eddying in _tourmentes_; +then, dropt in lulls, or caught by other gusts, was flung far and wide to +feed the Saleinoz. + +“My feet are getting suspiciously numbed,” cried Reilly: “how about +frost-bites?” “Kick hard, sir,” shouted the men; “it’s the only way.” +_Their_ fingers were kept alive by their work; but it was cold for the +feet, and they kicked and hewed simultaneously. I followed their example +too violently, and made a hole clean through my footing. A clatter +followed as if crockery had been thrown down a well. + +I went down a step or two, and discovered in a second that all were +standing over a cavern (not a crevasse, speaking properly) that was +bridged over by a thin vault of ice, from which great icicles hung in +groves. Almost in the same minute Reilly pushed one of his hands right +through the roof. The whole party might have tumbled through at any +moment. “Go ahead, Croz, we are over a chasm!” “We know it,” he answered, +“and we can’t find a firm place.” + +In the blandest manner, my comrade inquired if to persevere would not be +to do that which is called “tempting Providence.” My reply being in the +affirmative, he further observed, “Suppose we go down?” “Very willingly.” +“Ask the guides.” They had not the least objection; so we went down, and +slept that night at the Montanvert. + +Off the ridge we were out of the wind. In fact, a hundred feet down _to +windward_, on the slope fronting the Glacier du Chardonnet, we were +broiling hot; there was not a suspicion of a breeze. Upon that side there +was nothing to tell that a hurricane was raging a hundred feet higher,—the +cloudless sky looked tranquillity itself: whilst to leeward the only sign +of a disturbed atmosphere was the friskiness of the snow upon the crests +of the ridges. + +We set out on the 14th, with Croz, Payot, and Charlet, to finish off the +work which had been cut short so abruptly, and slept, as before, at the +Chalets de Lognan. On the 15th, about midday, we arrived upon the summit +of the aiguille, and found that we had actually been within one hundred +feet of it when we turned back upon the first attempt. + +It was a triumph to Reilly. In this neighbourhood he had performed the +feat (in 1863) of joining together “two mountains, each about 13,000 feet +high, standing on the map about a mile and a half apart.” Long before we +made the ascent he had procured evidence which could not be impugned, that +the Pointe des Plines, a fictitious summit which had figured on other maps +as a distinct mountain, could be no other than the Aiguille d’Argentière, +and he had accordingly obliterated it from the preliminary draft of his +map. We saw that it was right to do so. The Pointe des Plines did not +exist. We had ocular demonstration of the accuracy of his previous +observations. + +I do not know which to admire most, the fidelity of Mr. Reilly’s map, or +the indefatigable industry by which the materials were accumulated from +which it was constructed. To men who are sound in limb it may be amusing +to arrive on a summit (as we did upon the top of Mont Dolent), sitting +astride a ridge too narrow to stand upon; or to do battle with a ferocious +wind (as we did on the top of the Aiguille de Trélatête); or to feel +half-frozen in midsummer (as we did on the Aiguille d’Argentière). But +there is extremely little amusement in making sketches and notes under +such conditions. Yet upon all these expeditions, under the most adverse +circumstances, and in the most trying situations, Mr. Reilly’s brain and +fingers were always at work. Throughout all he was ever alike; the same +genial, equable-tempered companion, whether victorious or whether +defeated; always ready to sacrifice his own desires to suit our comfort +and convenience. By a happy union of audacity and prudence, combined with +untiring perseverance, he eventually completed his self-imposed task—a +work which would have been intolerable except as a labour of love—and +which, for a single individual, may well-nigh be termed Herculean. + +We separated upon the level part of the Glacier d’Argentière, Reilly going +with Payot and Charlet _viâ_ the chalets of Lognan and de la Pendant, +whilst I, with Croz, followed the right bank of the glacier to the village +of Argentière.(143) At 7 P.M. we entered the humble inn, and ten minutes +afterwards heard the echoes of the cannon which were fired upon the +arrival of our comrades at Chamounix.(144) + + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + + THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE MOMING PASS—ZINAL TO ZERMATT. + + + “A daring leader is a dangerous thing.” + EURIPIDES. + + +On July 10, Croz and I went to Sierre, in the Valais, _viâ_ the Col de +Balme, the Col de la Forclaz, and Martigny. The Swiss side of the Forclaz +is not creditable to Switzerland. The path from Martigny to the summit has +undergone successive improvements in these latter years; but mendicants +permanently disfigure it. + +We passed many tired pedestrians toiling up this oven, persecuted by +trains of parasitic children. These children swarm there like maggots in a +rotten cheese. They carry baskets of fruit with which to plague the weary +tourist. They flit around him like flies; they thrust the fruit in his +face; they pester him with their pertinacity. Beware of them!—taste, touch +not their fruit. In the eyes of these children, each peach, each grape, is +worth a prince’s ransom. It is to no purpose to be angry; it is like +flapping wasps—they only buzz the more. Whatever you do, or whatever you +say, the end will be the same. “Give me something,” is the alpha and omega +of all their addresses. They learn the phrase, it is said, before they are +taught the alphabet. It is in all their mouths. From the tiny toddler up +to the maiden of sixteen, there is nothing heard but one universal chorus +of—“Give me something; will you have the goodness to give me something?” + +From Sierre we went up the Val d’Anniviers to Zinal, to join our former +companions, Moore and Almer. Moore was ambitious to discover a shorter way +from Zinal to Zermatt than the two passes which were known.(145) He had +shown to me, upon Dufour’s map, that a direct line, connecting the two +places, passed exactly over the depression between the Zinal-Rothhorn and +the Schallhorn. He was confident that a passage could be effected over +this depression, and was sanguine that it would (in consequence of its +directness) prove to be a quicker route than the circuitous ones over the +Triftjoch and the Col Durand. + +He was awaiting us, and we immediately proceeded up the valley, and across +the foot of the Zinal glacier to the Arpitetta Alp, where a chalet was +supposed to exist in which we might pass the night. We found it at +length,(146) but it was not equal to our expectations. It was not one of +those fine timbered chalets, with huge overhanging eaves, covered with +pious sentences carved in unintelligible characters. It was a hovel, +growing, as it were, out of the hill-side; roofed with rough slabs of +slaty stone; without a door or window; surrounded by quagmires of ordure, +and dirt of every description. + +A foul native invited us to enter. The interior was dark; and, when our +eyes became accustomed to the gloom, we saw that our palace was in plan +about 15 by 20 feet; on one side it was scarcely five feet high, and on +the other was nearly seven. On this side there was a raised platform, +about six feet wide, littered with dirty straw and still dirtier +sheepskins. This was the bedroom. The remainder of the width of the +apartment was the parlour. The rest was the factory. Cheese was the +article which was being fabricated, and the foul native was engaged in its +manufacture. He was garnished behind with a regular cowherd’s one-legged +stool, which gave him a queer, uncanny look when it was elevated in the +air as he bent over into his tub; for the making of his cheese required +him to blow into a tub for ten minutes at a time. He then squatted on his +stool to gain breath, and took a few whiffs at a short pipe; after which +he blew away more vigorously than before. We were told that this procedure +was necessary. It appeared to us to be nasty. It accounts, perhaps, for +the flavour possessed by certain Swiss cheeses. + +Big, black, and leaden-coloured clouds rolled up from Zinal, and met in +combat on the Moming glacier with others which descended from the +Rothhorn. Down came the rain in torrents, and crash went the thunder. The +herd-boys hurried under shelter, for the frightened cattle needed no +driving, and tore spontaneously down the Alp as if running a +steeple-chase. Men, cows, pigs, sheep, and goats forgot their mutual +animosities, and rushed to the only refuge on the mountain. The spell was +broken which had bound the elements for some weeks past, and the _cirque_ +from the Weisshorn to Lo Besso was the theatre in which they spent their +fury. + +A sullen morning succeeded an angry night. We were undecided in our +council whether to advance or to return down the valley. Good seemed +likely to overpower bad; so, at 5.40, we left the chalet _en route_ for +our pass [amidst the most encouraging assurances from all the people on +the Alp that we need not distress ourselves about the weather, as it was +not possible to get to the point at which we were aiming].(147) + +Our course led us at first over ordinary mountain slopes, and then over a +flat expanse of glacier. Before this was quitted, it was needful to +determine the exact line which was to be taken. We were divided betwixt +two opinions. I advocated that a course should be steered due south, and +that the upper plateau of the Moming glacier should be attained by making +a great detour to our right. This was negatived without a division. Almer +declared in favour of making for some rocks to the south-west of the +Schallhorn, and attaining the upper plateau of the glacier by mounting +them. Croz advised a middle course, up some very steep and broken glacier. +Croz’s route seemed likely to turn out to be impracticable, because much +step-cutting would be required upon it. Almer’s rocks did not look good; +they were, possibly, unassailable. I thought both routes were bad, and +declined to vote for either of them. Moore hesitated, Almer gave way, and +Croz’s route was adopted. + +He did not go very far, however, before he found that he had undertaken +too much, and after [glancing occasionally round at us, to see what we +thought about it, suggested that it might, after all, be wiser to take to +the rocks of the Schallhorn]. That is to say, he suggested the abandonment +of his own and the adoption of Almer’s route. No one opposed the change of +plan, and, in the absence of instructions to the contrary, he proceeded to +cut steps across an ice-slope towards the rocks. + +Let the reader now cast his eye upon the map of the Valley of Zermatt, and +he will see that when we quitted the slopes of the Arpitetta Alp, we took +a south-easterly course over the Moming glacier. We halted to settle the +plan of attack shortly after we got upon the ice. The rocks of the +Schallhorn, whose ascent Almer recommended, were then to our south-east. +Croz’s proposed route was to the south-west of the rocks, and led up the +southern side of a very steep and broken glacier.(148) The part he +intended to traverse was, in a sense, undoubtedly practicable. He gave it +up because it would have involved too much step-cutting. But the part of +this glacier which intervened between his route and Almer’s rocks was, in +the most complete sense of the word, impracticable. It passed over a +continuation of the rocks, and was broken in half by them. The upper +portion was separated from the lower portion by a long slope of ice that +had been built up from the débris of the glacier which had fallen from +above. The foot of this slope was surrounded by immense quantities of the +larger avalanche blocks. These we cautiously skirted, and when Croz halted +they had been left far below, and we were half-way up the side of the +great slope which led to the base of the ice-wall above. + +Across this ice-slope Croz now proceeded to cut. It was executing a flank +movement in the face of an enemy by whom we might be attacked at any +moment. The peril was obvious. It was a monstrous folly. It was +foolhardiness. A retreat should have been sounded.(149) + +“I am not ashamed to confess,” wrote Moore in his Journal, “that during +the whole time we were crossing this slope my heart was in my mouth, and I +never felt relieved from such a load of care as when, after, I suppose, a +passage of about twenty minutes, we got on to the rocks and were in +safety.... I have never heard a positive oath come from Almer’s mouth, but +the language in which he kept up a running commentary, more to himself +than to me, as we went along, was stronger than I should have given him +credit for using. His prominent feeling seemed to be one of _indignation_ +that we should be in such a position, and self-reproach at being a party +to the proceeding; while the emphatic way in which, at intervals, he +exclaimed, ‘Quick; be quick,’ sufficiently betokened his alarm.” + +It was not necessary to admonish Croz to be quick. He was fully as alive +to the risk as any of the others. He told me afterwards, that this place +was the most dangerous he had ever crossed, and that no consideration +whatever would tempt him to cross it again. Manfully did he exert himself +to escape from the impending destruction. His head, bent down to his work, +never turned to the right or to the left. One, two, three, went his axe, +and then he stepped on to the spot where he had been cutting. How +painfully insecure should we have considered those steps at any other +time! But now, we thought only of the rocks in front, and of the hideous +_séracs_, lurching over above us, apparently in the act of falling. + +We got to the rocks in safety, and if they had been doubly as difficult as +they were, we should still have been well content. We sat down and +refreshed the inner man; keeping our eyes on the towering pinnacles of ice +under which we had passed; but which, now, were almost beneath us. Without +a preliminary warning sound, one of the largest—as high as the Monument at +London Bridge—fell upon the slope below. The stately mass heeled over as +if upon a hinge (holding together until it bent 30 degrees forwards), then +it crushed out its base, and, rent into a thousand fragments, plunged +vertically down upon the slope that we had crossed! Every atom of our +track, that was in its course, was obliterated; all the new snow was swept +away, and a broad sheet of smooth, glassy ice, showed the resistless force +with which it had fallen. + + [Illustration: ICE-AVALANCHE ON THE MOMING PASS.] + +It was inexcusable to follow such a perilous path, but it is easy to +understand why it was taken. To have retreated from the place where Croz +suggested a change of plan, to have descended below the reach of danger, +and to have mounted again by the route which Almer suggested, would have +been equivalent to abandoning the excursion; for no one would have passed +another night in the chalet on the Arpitetta Alp. “Many,” says Thucydides, +“though seeing well the perils ahead, are forced along by fear of +dishonour—as the world calls it—so that, vanquished by a mere word, they +fall into irremediable calamities.” Such was nearly the case here. No one +could say a word in justification of the course which was adopted; all +were alive to the danger that was being encountered; yet a grave risk was +deliberately—although unwillingly—incurred, in preference to admitting, by +withdrawal from an untenable position, that an error of judgment had been +committed. + +After a laborious trudge over many species of snow, and through many +varieties of vapour—from the quality of a Scotch mist to that of a London +fog—we at length stood on the depression between the Rothhorn and the +Schallhorn.(150) A steep wall of snow was upon the Zinal side of the +summit; but what the descent was like on the other side we could not tell, +for a billow of snow tossed over its crest by the western winds, suspended +o’er Zermatt with motion arrested, resembling an ocean-wave frozen in the +act of breaking, cut off the view.(151) + +Croz—held hard in by the others, who kept down the Zinal side—opened his +shoulders, flogged down the foam, and cut away the cornice to its junction +with the summit; then boldly leaped down, and called on us to follow him. + + [Illustration: SUMMIT OF THE MOMING PASS IN 1864.] + +It was well for us now that we had such a man as leader. An inferior or +less daring guide would have hesitated to enter upon the descent in a +dense mist; and Croz himself would have done right to pause had he been +less magnificent in _physique_. He acted, rather than said, “Where snow +lies fast, there man can go; where ice exists, a way may be cut; it is a +question of power; I have the power,—all you have to do is to follow me.” +Truly, he did not spare himself, and could he have performed the feats +upon the boards of a theatre that he did upon this occasion, he would have +brought down the house with thunders of applause. Here is what Moore wrote +in _his_ Journal. + +[The descent bore a strong resemblance to the Col de Pilatte, but was very +much steeper and altogether more difficult, which is saying a good deal. +Croz was in his element, and selected his way with marvellous sagacity, +while Almer had an equally honourable and, perhaps, more responsible post +in the rear, which he kept with his usual steadiness.... One particular +passage has impressed itself on my mind as one of the most nervous I have +ever made. We had to pass along a crest of ice, a mere knife-edge,—on our +left a broad crevasse, whose bottom was lost in blue haze, and on our +right, at an angle of 70°, or more, a slope falling to a similar gulf +below. Croz, as he went along the edge, chipped small notches in the ice, +in which we placed our feet, with the toes well turned out, doing all we +knew to preserve our balance. While stepping from one of these precarious +footholds to another, I staggered for a moment. I had not really lost my +footing; but the agonised tone in which Almer, who was behind me, on +seeing me waver, exclaimed, “Slip not, sir!” gave us an even livelier +impression than we already had of the insecurity of the position.... One +huge chasm, whose upper edge was far above the lower one, could neither be +leaped nor turned, and threatened to prove an insuperable barrier. But +Croz showed himself equal to the emergency. Held up by the rest of the +party, he cut a series of holes for the hands and feet, down and along the +almost perpendicular wall of ice forming the upper side of the _schrund_. +Down this slippery staircase we crept, with our faces to the wall, until a +point was reached where the width of the chasm was not too great for us to +drop across. Before we had done, we got quite accustomed to taking flying +leaps over the _schrunds_.... To make a long story short; after a most +desperate and exciting struggle, and as bad a piece of ice-work as it is +possible to imagine, we emerged on to the upper plateau of the Hohlicht +glacier.] + +The glimpses which had been caught of the lower part of the Hohlicht +glacier were discouraging, so it was now determined to cross over the +ridge between it and the Rothhorn glacier. This was not done without great +trouble. Again we rose to a height exceeding 12,000 feet. Eventually we +took to the track of the despised Triftjoch, and descended by the +well-known, but rough, path which leads to that pass; arriving at the +Monte Rosa hotel at Zermatt at 7.20 P.M. We occupied nearly twelve hours +of actual walking in coming from the chalet on the Arpitetta Alp (which +was 2½ hours above Zinal), and we consequently found that the Moming pass +was not the shortest route from Zinal to Zermatt, although it was the most +direct. + + + +Two dozen guides—good, bad, and indifferent; French, Swiss, and +Italian—can commonly be seen sitting on the wall on the front of the Monte +Rosa hotel: waiting on their employers, and looking for employers; +watching new arrivals, and speculating on the number of francs which may +be extracted from their pockets. The _Messieurs_—sometimes strangely and +wonderfully dressed—stand about in groups, or lean back in chairs, or +lounge on the benches which are placed by the door. They wear +extraordinary boots, and still more remarkable head-dresses. Their peeled, +blistered, and swollen faces are worth studying. Some, by the exercise of +watchfulness and unremitting care, have been fortunate enough to acquire a +fine raw sienna complexion. But most of them have not been so happy. They +have been scorched on rocks, and roasted on glaciers. Their cheeks—first +puffed, then cracked—have exuded a turpentine-like matter, which has +coursed down their faces, and has dried in patches like the resin on the +trunks of pines. They have removed it, and at the same time have pulled +off large flakes of their skin. They have gone from bad to worse—their +case has become hopeless—knives and scissors have been called into play; +tenderly, and daintily, they have endeavoured to reduce their cheeks to +one, uniform hue. It is not to be done. But they have gone on, fascinated, +and at last have brought their unhappy countenances to a state of helpless +and complete ruin. Their lips are cracked; their cheeks are swollen; their +eyes are blood-shot; their noses are peeled and indescribable. + + [Illustration: THE CLUB-ROOM OF ZERMATT, IN 1864.] + +Such are the pleasures of the mountaineer! Scornfully and derisively the +last comer compares the sight with his own flaccid face and dainty hands; +unconscious that he too, perhaps, will be numbered with those whom he now +ridicules. + +There is a frankness of manner about these strangely-apparelled and +queer-faced men, which does not remind one of drawing-room, or city life; +and it is good to see—in this club-room of Zermatt—those cold bodies, our +too-frigid countrymen, regale together when brought into contact; and it +is pleasant to witness the hearty welcome given to the new-comers by the +host and his excellent wife.(152) + + + +I left this agreeable society to seek letters at the post. They yielded +disastrous intelligence. My holiday was brought to an abrupt termination, +and I awaited the arrival of Reilly (who was convoying the stores for the +attack on the Matterhorn) only to inform him that our arrangements were +upset; then travelled home, day and night, as fast as express trains would +carry me. + + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE GRAND CORNIER. + + + “Ye crags and peaks, I’m with you once again! + . . . Methinks I hear + A spirit in your echoes answers me, + And bid your tenant welcome to his home + Again!” + S. KNOWLES. + + +Our career in 1864 had been one of unbroken success, but the great ascent +upon which I had set my heart was not attempted, and, until it was +accomplished, I was unsatisfied. Other things, too, influenced me to visit +the Alps once more. I wished to travel elsewhere, in places where the +responsibility of direction would rest with myself alone. It was well to +know how far my judgment in the choice of routes could be relied upon. + +The journey of 1865 was chiefly undertaken, then, to find out to what +extent I was capable to select paths over mountainous country. The +programme which was drawn up for this journey was rather ambitious, since +it included almost all of the great peaks which had not then been +ascended; but it was neither lightly undertaken nor hastily executed. All +pains were taken to secure success. Information was sought from those who +could give it, and the defeats of others were studied, that their errors +might be avoided. The results which followed came not so much, perhaps, +from luck, as from forethought and careful calculation. + +For success does not, as a rule, come by chance, and when one fails there +is a reason for it. But when any notable, or so-called brilliant thing is +done, we are too apt to look upon the success alone, without considering +how it was accomplished. Whilst, when men fail, we inquire why they have +not succeeded. So failures are oftentimes more instructive than successes, +and the disappointments of some become profitable to others. + +Up to a certain point, the programme was completely and happily carried +out. Nothing but success attended our efforts so long as the excursions +were executed as they had been planned. Most of them were made upon the +very days which had been fixed for them months beforehand; and all were +accomplished, comparatively speaking, so easily, that their descriptions +must be, in the absence of difficulty and danger, less interesting to the +general reader than they would have been if our course had been marked by +blunders and want of judgment. Before proceeding to speak of these +excursions, it will not be entirely useless to explain the reasons which +influenced the selection of the routes which were adopted upon them. + +In the course of the past five seasons my early practices were +revolutionised. My antipathy to snow was overcome, and my predilection for +rocks was modified. Like all those who are not mountaineers born, I was, +at the first, extremely nervous upon steep snow. The snow seemed bound to +slip, and all those who were upon it to go along with it. Snow of a +certain quality is undoubtedly liable to slip when it is at a certain +inclination.(153) The exact states which are dangerous, or safe, it is not +possible to describe in writing. That is only learnt by experience, and +confidence upon snow is not really felt until one has gained experience. +Confidence gradually came to me, and as it came so did my partiality for +rocks diminish. For it was evident, to use a common expression, that it +paid better to travel upon snow than upon rocks. This applies to snow-beds +pure and simple, or to snow which is lying over glacier; and in the +selection of routes it has, latterly, always been my practice to look for +the places where snow slopes, or snow-covered glaciers, reach highest into +mountains.(154) + +It is comparatively seldom, however, that an ascent of a great mountain +can be executed exclusively upon snow and glacier. Ridges peep through +which have to be surmounted. In my earlier scramblings I usually took to, +or was taken upon, the summits (or arêtes) of the ridges, and a good many +mountaineers habitually take to them on principle, as the natural and +proper way. According to my experience, it is seldom well to do so when +any other course is open. As I have already said, and presently shall +repeat more particularly, the crests of all the main ridges of the great +peaks of the Alps are shattered and cleft by frost; and it not +unfrequently happens that a notch in a ridge, which appears perfectly +insignificant from a distance, is found to be an insuperable barrier to +farther progress; and a great detour, or a long descent, has to be made to +avoid the obstacle. When committed to an arête one is tied, almost always, +to a particular course, from which it is difficult to deviate. Much loss +of time must result if any serious obstruction occurs; and defeat often +follows a temporary check. + +But it rarely happens that a great alpine peak is seen that is cut off +abruptly, in all directions, from the snows and glaciers which surround +it. In its gullies snow will cling, although its faces may be too steep +for the formation of permanent snow-beds. The merits of these snow-gullies +(or _couloirs_) have been already pointed out,(155) and it is hardly +necessary to observe, after that which was just now said about snow, that +ascents of snow-gullies (with proper precautions) are very much to be +preferred to ascents of rocky arêtes. + +By following the glaciers, the snow-slopes above, and the couloirs rising +from them, it is usually possible to get very close to the summits of the +great peaks in the Alps. The final climb will, perhaps, necessarily be by +an arête. The less of it the better. + +It occasionally occurs that considerable mountain slopes, or faces, are +destitute of snow-gullies. In that case it will, very likely, be best to +adhere to the faces (or to the gullies or minor ridges upon them) rather +than to take to the _great_ ridges. Upon a face one can move to the right +or to the left with more facility than upon the crest of a ridge; and when +a difficulty is arrived at, it is, consequently, less troublesome to +circumvent. + +In selecting the routes which were taken in 1865, I looked, first, for +places where glaciers and snow extended highest up into the mountains +which were to be ascended, or the ridges which were to be crossed. Next, +for gullies filled with snow leading still higher; and finally, from the +heads of the gullies we completed the ascents, whenever it was +practicable, by faces instead of by arêtes. The ascent of the Grand +Cornier (13,022), of the Dent Blanche (14,318), Grandes Jorasses (13,700), +Aiguille Verte (13,540), Ruinette (12,727), and the Matterhorn (14,780), +were all accomplished in this way; besides the other excursions which will +be referred to by and by. The route selected, before the start was made, +was in every case strictly followed out. + +We inspected all of these mountains from neighbouring heights before +entering upon their ascents. I explained to the guides the routes I +proposed to be taken, and (when the courses were at all complicated) +sketched them out on paper to prevent misunderstanding. In some few cases +they suggested variations, and in every case the route was well discussed. +The _execution_ of the work was done by the guides, and I seldom +interfered with, or attempted to assist in it. + + + +The 13th of June 1865 I spent in the valley of Lauterbrunnen with the Rev. +W. H. Hawker and the guides Christian and Ulrich Lauener; and on the 14th +crossed the Petersgrat with Christian Almer and Johann Tännler to Turtman +(Tourtemagne) in the Valais. Tännler was then paid off, as Michel Croz and +Franz Biener were awaiting me. + +It was not possible to find two leading guides who worked together more +harmoniously than Croz and Almer. Biener’s part was subordinate to theirs, +and he was added as a convenience rather than as a necessity. Croz spoke +French alone, Almer little else than German. Biener spoke both languages, +and was useful on that account; but he seldom went to the front, excepting +during the early part of the day, when the work was easy, and he acted +throughout more as a porter than as a guide. + +The importance of having a reserve of power on mountain expeditions cannot +be too strongly insisted upon. We always had some in hand, and were never +pressed, or overworked, so long as we were together. Come what might, we +were ready for it. But by a series of chances, which I shall never cease +to regret, I was first obliged to part with Croz, and then to dismiss the +others;(156) and so, deviating from the course that I had deliberately +adopted, which was successful in practice because it was sound in +principle, became fortuitously a member of an expedition that ended with +the catastrophe which brings this book, and brought my scrambles amongst +the Alps, to a close.(157) + +On June 15 we went, from Turtman to Z’meiden, and thence over the +Forcletta pass to Zinal. We diverged from the summit of the pass up some +neighbouring heights to inspect the Grand Cornier, and I decided to have +nothing to do with its northern side. It seemed quite safe to pronounce it +inaccessible from that direction, although it was more than seven miles +away. + +On the 16th we left Zinal at 2.5 A.M., having been for a moment greatly +surprised by an entry in the hotel-book,(158) and ascending by the Zinal +glacier, and giving the base of our mountain a wide berth in order that it +might be better examined, passed gradually right round to its south, +before a way up it was seen.(159) At 8.30 we arrived upon the plateau of +the glacier that descends towards the east, between the Grand Cornier and +the Dent Blanche, and from this place a route was readily traced. We +steered to the north (as shown upon the map) over the glacier, towards the +ridge that descends to the east; gained it by mounting snow-slopes, and +followed it to the summit, which was arrived at before half-past twelve. +From first to last the route was almost entirely over snow. + +The ridges leading to the north and to the south from the summit of the +Grand Cornier, exhibited in a most striking manner the extraordinary +effects that may be produced by violent alternations of heat and cold. The +southern one was hacked and split into the wildest forms; and the northern +one was not less cleft and impracticable, and offered the droll piece of +rock-carving which is represented upon page 211. Some small blocks +actually tottered and fell before our eyes, and, starting others in their +downward course, grew into a perfect avalanche, which descended with a +solemn roar on to the glaciers beneath. + + [Illustration: PART OF THE SOUTHERN RIDGE OF THE GRAND CORNIER.] + +It is natural that the great ridges should present the wildest forms—not +on account of their dimensions, but by reason of their positions. They are +exposed to the fiercest heat of the sun, and are seldom in shadow as long +as it is above the horizon. They are entirely unprotected, and are +attacked by the strongest blasts and by the most intense cold. The most +durable rocks are not proof against such assaults. These grand, apparently +solid—eternal—mountains, seeming so firm, so immutable, are yet ever +changing and crumbling into dust. These shattered ridges are evidence of +their sufferings. Let me repeat that every principal ridge of every great +peak in the Alps amongst those I have seen has been shattered in this way; +and that every summit, amongst the rock-summits upon which I have stood, +has been nothing but a piled-up heap of fragments. + +The minor ridges do not usually present such extraordinary forms as the +principal ones. They are less exposed, and they are less broken up; and it +is reasonable to assume that their annual degradation is less than that of +the summit-ridges. + +The wear and tear does not cease even in winter, for these great ridges +are never completely covered up by snow,(160) and the sun has still power. +The destruction is incessant, and increases as time goes on; for the +greater the surfaces which are exposed to the practically inexhaustible +powers of sun and frost, the greater ruin will be effected. + + [Illustration: PART OF THE NORTHERN RIDGE OF THE GRAND CORNIER.] + +The rock-falls which are continually occurring upon all rock mountains +(such as are referred to upon pp. 29, 55) are, of course, caused by these +powers. No one doubts it; but one never believes it so thoroughly as when +the quarries are seen from which their materials have been hewn; and when +the germs, so to speak, of these avalanches have been seen actually +starting from above. + +These falls of rock take place from two causes. First, from the heat of +the sun detaching small stones or rocks which have been arrested on ledges +or slopes and bound together by snow or ice. I have seen such released +many times when the sun has risen high; fall gently at first, gather +strength, grow in volume, and at last rush down with a cloud trailing +behind, like the dust after an express train. Secondly, from the freezing +of the water which trickles, during the day, into the clefts, fissures, +and crannies. This agency is naturally most active in the night, and then, +or during very cold weather, the greatest falls take place.(161) + +When one has continually seen and heard these falls, it is easily +understood why the glaciers are laden with moraines. The wonder is, not +that they are sometimes so great, but that they are not always greater. +Irrespective of lithological considerations, one knows that this débris +cannot have been excavated _by_ the glaciers. The moraines are _borne_ by +glaciers, but they are _born_ from the ridges. They are generated by the +sun, and delivered by the frost. “Fire,” it is well said in Plutarch’s +life of Camillus, “is the most active thing in nature, and all generation +is motion, or at least, with motion; all other parts of matter without +warmth lie sluggish and dead, and crave the influence of heat as their +life, and when that comes upon them, they immediately acquire some active +or passive qualities.”(162) + +If the Alps were granted a perfectly invariable temperature, if they were +no longer subjected, alternately, to freezing blasts and to scorching +heat, they might more correctly be termed “eternal.” They might still +continue to decay, but their abasement would be much less rapid. + +When rocks are covered up by a sheet of glacier they do enjoy an almost +invariable temperature. The extremes of summer and winter are unknown to +rocks which are so covered up,—a range of a very few degrees is the most +that is possible underneath the ice.(163) There is, _then_, little or no +disintegration from unequal expansion and contraction. Frost, _then_, does +not penetrate into the heart of the rock, and cleave off vast masses. The +rocks, _then_, sustain grinding instead of cleaving. Atoms, _then_, come +away instead of masses. Fissures and overhanging surfaces are bridged, for +the ice cannot get at them; and after many centuries of grinding have been +sustained, we still find numberless angular surfaces (in the _lee-sides_) +which were fashioned before the ice began to work. + +The points of difference which are so evident between the operations of +heat, cold, and water, and those of glaciers upon rocks, are as follow. +The former take advantage of cracks, fissures, joints, and soft places; +the latter do not. The former can work _underneath_ overhanging masses; +the latter cannot. The effects produced by the former continually +_increase_, because they continually expose fresh surfaces by forming new +cracks, fissures, and holes. The effects which the latter produce +constantly _diminish_, because the area of the surfaces operated upon +becomes less and less, as they become smoother and flatter. + +What can one conclude, then, but that sun, frost, and water, have had +infinitely more to do than glaciers with the fashioning of mountain-forms +and valley-slopes? Who can refuse to believe that powers which are at work +everywhere, which have been at work always, which are so incomparably +active, capable, and enduring, must have produced greater effects than a +solitary power which is always local in its influence, which has worked, +_comparatively_, but for a short time, which is always slow and feeble in +its operations, and which constantly diminishes in intensity? + +Yet there are some who refuse to believe that sun, frost, and water have +played an important part in modelling the Alps, and hold it as an article +of their faith that the Alpine region “owes its present conformation +mainly to the action of its ancient glaciers”!(164) + + + +My reverie was interrupted by Croz observing that it was time to be off. +Less than two hours sufficed to take us to the glacier plateau below +(where we had left our baggage); three quarters of an hour more placed us +upon the depression between the Grand Cornier and the Dent Blanche (Col du +Grand Cornier(165)), and at 6 P.M. we arrived at Abricolla. Croz and +Biener hankered after milk, and descended to a village lower down the +valley; but Almer and I stayed where we were, and passed a chilly night on +some planks in a half-burnt chalet.(166) + + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + + THE ASCENT OF THE DENT BLANCHE. + + + “God help thee, Trav’ller, on thy journey far; + The wind is bitter keen,—the snow o’erlays + The hidden pits, and dang’rous hollow-ways, + And darkness will involve thee.—No kind star + To-night will guide thee.”... + H. KIRKE WHITE. + + +Croz and Biener did not return until past 5 A.M. on June 17, and we then +set out at once for Zermatt, intending to cross the Col d’Hérens. But we +did not proceed far before the attractions of the Dent Blanche were felt +to be irresistible, and we turned aside up the steep lateral glacier which +descends along its south-western face. + +The Dent Blanche is a mountain that is little known except to the climbing +fraternity. It was, and is, reputed to be one of the most difficult +mountains in the Alps. Many attempts were made to scale it before its +ascent was accomplished. Even Leslie Stephen himself, fleetest of foot of +the whole Alpine brotherhood, once upon a time returned discomfited from +it. + + [Illustration: LESLIE STEPHEN.] + +It was not climbed until 1862; but in that year Mr. T. S. Kennedy, with +Mr. Wigram, and the guides Jean B. Croz(167) and Kronig, managed to +conquer it. They had a hard fight though before they gained the victory; a +furious wind and driving snow, added to the natural difficulties, nearly +turned the scale against them.(168) + +Mr. Kennedy started from Abricolla between 2 and 3 A.M. on July 18, 1862, +and ascending the glacier that is mentioned in the opening paragraph, went +towards the point marked 3912 mètres upon the map;(169) then turned to the +left (that is, to the north), and completed the ascent by the southern +ridge—that which overhangs the western side of the Schönbühl glacier. + +Mr. Kennedy described his expedition in a very interesting paper in the +_Alpine Journal_. His account bore the impress of truth; yet unbelievers +said that it was impossible to have told (in weather such as was +experienced) whether the summit had actually been attained, and sometimes +roundly asserted that the mountain, as the saying is, still remained +virgin. + +I did not share these doubts, although they influenced me to make the +ascent. I thought it might be possible to find an easier route than that +taken by Mr. Kennedy, and that if we succeeded in discovering one we +should be able at once to refute his traducers, and to vaunt our superior +wisdom. Actuated by these elevated motives, I halted my little army at the +foot of the glacier, and inquired, “Which is best for us to do?—to ascend +the Dent Blanche, or to cross to Zermatt?” They answered, with befitting +solemnity, “We think Dent Blanche is best.” + +From the chalets of Abricolla the south-west face of the Dent Blanche is +regarded almost exactly in profile. From thence it is seen that the angle +of the face scarcely exceeds thirty degrees, and after observing this I +concluded that the face would, in all probability, give an easier path to +the summit than the crest of the very jagged ridge which was followed by +Mr. Kennedy. + +We zigzagged up the glacier along the foot of the face, and looked for a +way on to it. We looked for some time in vain, for a mighty _bergschrund_ +effectually prevented approach, and, like a fortress’ moat, protected the +wall from assault. We went up and up, until, I suppose, we were not more +than a thousand feet below the point marked 3912 mètres; then a bridge was +discovered, and we dropped down on hands and knees to cross it. + + [Illustration: THE BERGSCHRUND ON THE DENT BLANCHE IN 1865] + +A bergschrund, it was said on p. 182, is a schrund, and something more +than a schrund. A schrund is simply a big crevasse. A bergschrund is +frequently, although not always, a big crevasse. The term is applied to +the last of the crevasses that one finds, in ascending, before quitting +the glacier, and taking to the rocks which bound it. It is the mountains’ +schrund. Sometimes it is _very_ large, but early in the season (that is to +say in the month of June or before) bergschrunds are usually snowed up, or +well bridged over, and do not give much trouble. Later in the year, say in +August, they are frequently very great hindrances, and occasionally are +completely impassable. + +They are lines of rupture consequent upon unequal motion. The glaciers +below move quicker than the snow or ice which clings immediately to the +mountains; hence these fissures result. The slower motion of that which is +above can only be attributed to its having to sustain greater friction; +for the rule is that the upper portion is set at a steeper angle than the +lower. As that is the case, we should expect that the upper portion would +move _quicker_ than the lower, and it would do so, doubtless, but for the +retardation of the rocks over which, and through which, it passes.(170) + + + +We crossed the bergschrund of the Dent Blanche, I suppose, at a height of +about 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. Our work may be said to have +commenced at that point. The face, although not steep in its general +inclination, was so cut up by little ridges and cliffs, and so seamed with +incipient couloirs, that it had all the difficulty of a much more +precipitous slope. The difficulties were never great, but they were +numerous, and made a very respectable total when put together. We passed +the bergschrund soon after nine in the morning, and during the next eleven +hours halted only five-and-forty minutes. The whole of the remainder of +the time was occupied in ascending and descending the 2400 feet which +compose this south-western face; and inasmuch as 1000 feet per hour +(taking the mean of ascent and descent) is an ordinary rate of +progression, it is tolerably certain that the Dent Blanche is a mountain +of exceptional difficulty. + +The hindrances opposed to us by the mountain itself were, however, as +nothing compared with the atmospheric obstructions. It is true there was +plenty of, “Are you fast, Almer?” “Yes.” “Go ahead, Biener.” Biener, made +secure, cried, “Come on, sir,” and _Monsieur_ endeavoured. “No, no,” said +Almer, “not there,—_here_,”—pointing with his bâton to the right place to +clutch. Then ’twas Croz’s turn, and we all drew in the rope as the great +man followed. “Forwards” once more—and so on. + +Five hundred feet of this kind of work had been accomplished when we were +saluted (not entirely unexpectedly) by the first gust of a hurricane which +was raging above. The day was a lovely one for dwellers in the valleys, +but we had, long ago, noted some light, gossamer clouds, that were +hovering round our summit, being drawn out in a suspicious manner into +long, silky threads. Croz, indeed, prophesied before we had crossed the +schrund, that we should be beaten by the wind, and had advised that we +should return. But I had retorted, “No, my good Croz, you said just now +‘Dent Blanche is best’; we must go up the Dent Blanche.” + +I have a very lively and disagreeable recollection of this wind. Upon the +outskirts of the disturbed region it was only felt occasionally. It then +seemed to make rushes at one particular man, and when it had discomfited +him, it whisked itself away to some far-off spot, only to return, +presently, in greater force than before. + +My old enemy—the Matterhorn—seen across the basin of the Z’Muttgletscher, +looked totally unassailable. “Do you think,” the men asked, “that you, or +any one else, will ever get up _that_ mountain?” And when, undismayed by +their ridicule, I stoutly answered, “Yes, but not upon that side,” they +burst into derisive chuckles. I must confess that my hopes sank; for +nothing can look more completely inaccessible than the Matterhorn on its +northern and north-west sides. + +“Forwards” once again. We overtopped the Dent d’Hérens. “Not a thousand +feet more; in three hours we shall be on the summit.” “You mean _ten_,” +echoed Croz, so slow had been the progress. But I was not far wrong in the +estimate. At 3.15 we struck the great ridge followed by Mr. Kennedy, close +to the top of the mountain. The wind and cold were terrible there. +Progress was oftentimes impossible, and we waited, crouching under the lee +of rocks, listening to “the shrieking of the mindless wind,” while the +blasts swept across, tearing off the upper snow and blowing it away in +streamers over the Schönbühl glacier—“nothing seen except an indescribable +writhing in the air, like the wind made visible.” + +Our goal was concealed by mist, although it was only a few yards away, and +Croz’s prophecy, that we should stay all night upon the summit, seemed +likely to come true. The men rose with the occasion, although even _their_ +fingers had nearly lost sensation. There were no murmurings, nor +suggestions of return, and they pressed on for the little white cone which +they knew must be near at hand. Stopped again; a big mass perched loosely +on the ridge barred the way; we could not crawl over, and scarcely dared +creep round it. The wine went round for the last time. The liquor was +half-frozen,—still we would more of it. It was all gone; the bottle was +left behind, and we pushed on, for there was a lull. + +The end came almost before it was expected. The clouds opened, and I saw +that we were all but upon the highest point, and that, between us and it, +about twenty yards off, there was a little artificial pile of stones. +Kennedy was a true man,—it was a cairn which he had erected. “What is +that, Croz?” “_Homme des pierres_,” he bawled. It was needless to proceed +farther; I jerked the rope from Biener, and motioned that we should go +back. He did the same to Almer, and we turned immediately. _They_ did not +see the stones (they were cutting footsteps), and misinterpreted the +reason of the retreat. Voices were inaudible, and explanations +impossible.(171) + +We commenced the descent of the face. It was hideous work. The men looked +like impersonations of Winter, with their hair all frosted, and their +beards matted with ice. My hands were numbed—dead. I begged the others to +stop. “_We cannot afford to stop; we must continue to move_,” was their +reply. They were right; to stop was to be entirely frozen. So we went +down; gripping rocks varnished with ice, which pulled the skin from the +fingers. Gloves were useless; they became iced too, and the bâtons slid +through them as slippery as eels. The iron of the axes stuck to the +fingers—it felt red-hot; but it was useless to shrink, the rocks and the +axes had to be firmly grasped—no faltering would do here. + +We turned back at 4.12 P.M., and at 8.15 crossed the bergschrund again, +not having halted for a minute upon the entire descent. During the last +two hours it was windless, but time was of such vital importance that we +pressed on incessantly, and did not stop until we were fairly upon the +glacier. Then we took stock of what remained of the tips of our fingers. +There was not much skin left; they were perfectly raw, and for weeks +afterwards I was reminded of the ascent of the Dent Blanche by the twinges +which I felt when I pulled on my boots. The others escaped with some +slight frost-bites; and, altogether, we had reason to congratulate +ourselves that we got off so lightly. The men complimented me upon the +descent, and I could do the same honestly to them. If they had worked less +vigorously, or harmoniously, we should have been benighted upon the face, +where there was not a single spot upon which it was possible to sit; and +if that had happened, I do not think that one would have survived to tell +the tale. + +We made the descent of the glacier in a mist, and of the moraine at its +base, and of the slopes below, in total darkness, and regained the chalets +of Abricolla at 11.45 P.M. We had been absent eighteen and a half hours, +and out of that time had been going not less than seventeen. That night we +slept the sleep of those who are thoroughly tired.(172) + + + + [Illustration: T. S. KENNEDY.] + +Two days afterwards, when walking into Zermatt, whom should we meet but +Mr. Kennedy. “Hullo!” we said, “we have just seen your cairn on the top of +the Dent Blanche.” “No, you haven’t,” he answered, very positively. “What +do you mean?” “Why, that you cannot have seen my cairn, because I didn’t +make one!” “Well, but we saw _a_ cairn.” “No doubt; it was made by a man +who went up the mountain last year with Lauener and Zurfluh,” “O-o-h,” we +said, rather disgusted at hearing news when we expected to communicate +some, “O-o-h! good morning, Kennedy.” Before this happened, we managed to +lose our way upon the Col d’Hérens; but an account of that must be +reserved for the next chapter. + + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + + LOST ON THE COL D’HÉRENS.—MY SEVENTH ATTEMPT TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN. + + + “Oh! ye immortal gods, where in the world are we?” + CICERO. + + +We should have started for Zermatt about 7 A.M. on the 18th, had not +Biener asked to be allowed to go to mass at Evolène, a village about two +and a half hours from Abricolla. He received permission, on the condition +that he returned not later than mid-day, but he did not come back until +2.30 P.M., and we thereby got into a pretty little mess. + +The pass which we were about to traverse to Zermatt—the Col d’Hérens—is +one of the few glacier-passes in this district which have been known +almost from time immemorial. It is frequently crossed in the summer +season, and is a very easy route, notwithstanding that the summit of the +pass is 11,417 feet above the level of the sea.(173) + +From Abricolla to the summit the way lies chiefly over the flat Glacier de +Ferpècle. The walk is of the most straightforward kind. The glacier rises +in gentle undulations; its crevasses are small and easily avoided; and all +you have to do, after once getting upon the ice, is to proceed due south, +in the most direct manner possible. If you do so, in two hours you should +be upon the summit of the pass. + +We tied ourselves in line, of course, when we entered upon the glacier, +and placed Biener to lead, as he had frequently crossed the pass; +supposing that his local knowledge might save us some time upon the other +side. We had proceeded, I believe, about half-way up, when a little, thin +cloud dropped down upon us from above. It was so light and gauzy, that we +did not for a moment suppose it would become embarrassing, and hence I +neglected to note at the proper moment the course which we should +steer,—that is to say, to observe our precise situation, in regard to the +summit of the pass. + +For some little time Biener progressed steadily, making a tolerably +straight track; but at length he wavered, and deviated sometimes to the +right, and sometimes to the left. Croz rushed forward directly he saw +this, and taking the poor young man by his shoulders gave him a good +shaking, told him that he was an imbecile, to untie himself at once, and +to go to the rear. Biener looked half-frightened, and obeyed without a +murmur. Croz led off briskly, and made a good straight track for a few +minutes. Then, it seemed to me, he began to move steadily round to the +left. I looked back, but the mist was now too thick to see our traces, and +so we continued to follow our leader. At last the others (who were behind, +and in a better position to judge) thought the same as I did, and we +pulled up Croz to deliver our opinion. He took our criticism in good part, +but when Biener opened his mouth that was too much for him to stand, and +he told the young man again, “_You_ are imbecile; I bet you twenty francs +to one that _my_ track is better than _yours_; twenty francs, now then, +imbecile!” + +Almer went to the front. He commenced by returning in the track for a +hundred yards or so, and then started off at a tangent from Croz’s curve. +We kept this course for half-an-hour, and then were certain that we were +not on the right route, because the snow became decidedly steep. We bore +away more and more to the right, to avoid this steep bank, but at last I +rebelled, as we had for some time been going almost south-west, which was +altogether the wrong direction. After a long discussion we returned some +distance in our track, and then steered a little east of south, but we +continually met steep snow-slopes, and to avoid them went right or left as +the case might require. + +We were greatly puzzled, and could not in the least tell whether we were +too near the Dent Blanche or too close to the Tête Blanche. The mists had +thickened, and were now as dense as a moderate London fog. There were no +rocks or echoes to direct us, and the guidance of the compass brought us +invariably against these steep snow-banks. The men were fairly beaten; +they had all had a try, or more than one, and at last gave it up as a bad +job, and asked what was to be done. It was 7.30 P.M. and only an hour of +daylight was left. We were beginning to feel used up, for we had wandered +about at tip-top speed for the last three hours and a half, so I said, +“This is my advice; let us turn in our track, and go back as hard as ever +we can, not quitting the track for an instant.” They were well content, +but just as we were starting off, the clouds lifted a little, and we +thought we saw the Col. It was then to our right, and we went at it with a +dash. Before we had gone a hundred paces down came the mist again. We kept +on nevertheless for twenty minutes, and then, as darkness was perceptibly +coming on, and the snow was yet rising in front, we turned back, and by +running down the entire distance managed to get clear of the Ferpècle +glacier just as it became pitch dark. We arrived at our cheerless chalet +in due course, and went to bed supperless, for our food was gone; all very +sulky—not to say savage—agreeing in nothing except in bullying Biener. + +At 7 A.M. on the 19th, we set out, for the third time, for the Col +d’Hérens. It was a fine day, and we gradually recovered our tempers as we +saw the follies which had been committed on the previous evening. Biener’s +wavering track was not so bad; but Croz had swerved from the right route +from the first, and had traced a complete semicircle, so that when we +stopped him we were facing Abricolla—whence we had started. Almer had +commenced with great discretion; but he kept on too long, and crossed the +proper route. When I stopped them (because we were going south-west), we +were a long way up the Tête Blanche! Our last attempt was in the right +direction; we were actually upon the summit of the pass, and in another +ten yards we should have commenced to go down hill! It is needless to +point out that if the compass had been looked to at the proper moment—that +is, immediately the mist came down—we should have avoided all our +troubles. It was little use afterwards, except to tell us when we were +going _wrong_. We arrived at Zermatt in six and a half hours’ walking from +Abricolla, and Seller’s hospitable reception set us all right again. + +On the 20th we crossed the Théodule pass, and diverged from its summit up +the Théodulhorn (11,391) to examine a route which I suggested for the +ascent of the Matterhorn. Before continuing an account of our proceedings, +I must stop for a minute to explain why this new route was proposed, in +place of that up the south-western ridge. + +The main peak of the Matterhorn may be divided into three sections.(174) +The first, facing the Z’Muttgletscher, looks completely unassailable; the +second, facing the east, seems inaccessibility itself; whilst the third, +facing Breil, does not look entirely hopeless. It was from this last +direction that all my previous attempts were made. It was by the +south-western ridge, it will be remembered, that not only I, but Mr. +Hawkins, Professor Tyndall, and the chasseurs of Val Tournanche, essayed +to climb the mountain. Why then abandon a route which had been shown to be +feasible up to a certain point? + +I gave it up for four reasons. 1. On account of my growing disinclination +for arêtes, and preference for snow and rock-faces (see Chap. XII.). 2. +Because I was persuaded that meteorological disturbances (by which we had +been baffled several times) might be expected to occur again and +again(175) (see Chaps. IV. and VI.). 3. Because I found that the east face +was a gross imposition—it looked not far from perpendicular; while its +angle was, in fact, scarcely more than 40°. 4. Because I observed for +myself that the strata of the mountain dipped to the west-south-west. It +is not necessary to say anything more than has been already said upon the +first two of these four points, but upon the latter two a few words are +indispensable. Let us consider, first, why most persons receive such an +exaggerated impression of the steepness of the eastern face. + + [Illustration: THE MATTERHORN FROM THE RIFFELBERG.] + +When one looks at the Matterhorn from Zermatt, the mountain is regarded +(nearly) from the north-east. The face that fronts the east is +consequently neither seen in profile nor in full front, but almost +half-way between the two; it looks, therefore, more steep than it really +is. The majority of those who visit Zermatt go up to the Riffelberg, or to +the Gornergrat, and from these places, the mountain naturally looks still +more precipitous, because its eastern face (which is almost all that is +seen of it) is viewed more directly in front. From the Riffel hotel the +slope seems to be set at an angle of 70°. If the tourist continues to go +southwards, and crosses the Théodule pass, he gets, at one point, +immediately in front of the eastern face, which then seems to be +absolutely perpendicular. Comparatively few persons correct the erroneous +impressions they receive in these quarters by studying the face in +profile, and most go away with a very incorrect and exaggerated idea of +the precipitousness of this side of the mountain, because they have +considered the question from one point of view alone. + +Several years passed away before I shook myself clear of my early and +false impressions regarding the steepness of this side of the Matterhorn. +First of all, I noticed that there were places on this eastern face where +snow remained permanently all the year round. I do not speak of snow in +gullies, but of the considerable slopes which are seen upon the +accompanying engraving, about half-way up the face. Such beds as these +could not continue to remain throughout the summer, unless the snow had +been able to accumulate in the winter in large masses; and snow cannot +accumulate and remain in large masses, in a situation such as this, at +angles much exceeding 45°.(176) Hence I was bound to conclude that the +eastern face was many degrees removed from perpendicularity; and, to be +sure on this point, I went to the slopes between the Z’Muttgletscher and +the Matterhorngletscher, above the chalets of Staffel, whence the face +could be seen in profile. Its appearance from this direction would be +amazing to one who had seen it only from the east. It looks so totally +different from the apparently sheer and perfectly unclimbable cliff one +sees from the Riffelberg, that it is hard to believe the two slopes are +one and the same thing. Its angle scarcely exceeds 40°. + +A great step was made when this was learnt. This knowledge alone would +not, however, have caused me to try an ascent by the eastern face instead +of by the south-west ridge. Forty degrees may not seem a formidable +inclination to the reader, nor is it for only a small cliff. But it is +very unusual to find so steep a gradient maintained continuously as the +general angle of a great mountain-slope, and very few instances can be +quoted from the High Alps of such an angle being preserved over a rise of +3000 feet. + +I do not think that the steepness or the height of this cliff would have +deterred climbers from attempting to ascend it, if it had not, in +addition, looked so repulsively smooth. Men despaired of finding anything +to grasp. Now, some of the difficulties of the south-west ridge came from +the smoothness of the rocks, although that ridge, even from a distance, +seemed to be well broken up. How much greater, then, might not have been +the difficulty of climbing a face which looked smooth and unbroken close +at hand? + +A more serious hindrance to mounting the south-west ridge is found in the +dip of its rocks to the west-south-west. The great mass of the Matterhorn, +it is now well ascertained, is composed of regularly stratified +rocks,(177) which rise towards the east. It has been mentioned in the +text, more than once, that the rocks on some portions of the ridge leading +from the Col du Lion to the summit dip outwards, and that fractured edges +overhang.(178) This is shown in the illustrations facing pp. 76 and 84; +and the annexed diagram, Fig. 1, exhibits the same thing still more +clearly. It will be readily understood that such an arrangement is not +favourable for climbers, and that the degree of facility with which rocks +can be ascended that are so disposed, must depend very much upon the +frequency or paucity of fissures and joints. The rocks of the south-west +ridge are sufficiently provided with cracks, but if it were otherwise, +their texture and arrangement would render them unassailable.(179) + + [Illustration: Diagrams to show dip of strata on the Matterhorn] + +It is not possible to go a single time upon the rocks of the south-west +ridge, from the Col du Lion to the foot of the Great Tower, without +observing the prevalence of their outward dip, and that their fractured +edges have a tendency to overhang; nor can one fail to notice that it is +upon this account the débris, which is rent off by frost, does not remain +_in situ_, but pours down in showers over the surrounding cliffs. Each +day’s work, so to speak, is cleared away; the ridge is swept clean; there +is scarcely anything seen but firm rock.(180) + +The fact that the mountain is composed of a series of stratified beds was +pointed out long ago. De Saussure remarked it, and recorded explicitly, in +his _Travels_ (§ 2243), that they “rose to the north-east at an angle of +about 45°.” Forbes noticed it also; and gave it as his opinion that the +beds were “less inclined, or nearly horizontal.” He added, “De Saussure is +no doubt correct.”(181) The truth, I think, lies between the two. + +I was acquainted with both of the above-quoted passages, but did not turn +the knowledge to any practical account until I re-observed the same fact +for myself. It was not until after my repulse in 1863, that I referred the +peculiar difficulties of the south-west ridge to the dip of the strata; +but when once persuaded that structure and not texture was the real +impediment, it was reasonable to infer that the opposite side, that is to +say the eastern face, might be comparatively easy. In brief, that an +arrangement should be found like Fig. 2, instead of like Fig. 1. This +trivial deduction was the key to the ascent of the Matterhorn. + +The point was, Did the strata continue with a similar dip throughout the +mountain? If they did, then this great eastern face, instead of being +hopelessly impracticable, should be quite the reverse.—In fact, it should +be a great natural staircase, with steps inclining inwards; and, if it +were so, its smooth aspect might be of no account, for the smallest steps, +inclined in this fashion, would afford good footing. + +They did so, as far as one could judge from a distance. When snow fell in +the summer time, it brought out long, terraced lines upon the mountain; +rudely parallel to each other; inclined in the direction shown +(approximately) upon the figures in the accompanying plate; and the +eastern face, on those occasions, was often whitened almost completely +over; while the other sides, with the exception of the powdered terraces, +remained black—for the snow could not rest upon them. + + [Illustration: THE MATTERHORN FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE THEODULE PASS.] + + [Illustration: THE MATTERHORN FROM THE NORTH-EAST.] + + + THE SPACES BETWEEN THE PARALLEL RED LINES REPRESENT ON AN AVERAGE + A VERTICAL HEIGHT OF ABOUT 60 FEET, BUT, ON ACCOUNT OF + FORESHORTENING, THE HEIGHT BETWEEN THE UPPERMOST LINES IS SOMEWHAT + MORE THAN THIS AMOUNT. + + +The very outline of the mountain, too, confirmed the conjecture that its +structure would assist an ascent on the eastern face, although it opposed +one on all other sides. Look at any photograph of the peak from the +north-east (or, failing one, the outline facing page 230, which is +carefully traced from one), and you will see that upon the right-hand side +(that facing the Z’Muttgletscher) there is an incessant repetition of +overhanging cliffs, and of slopes all trending downwards; in short, that +the character of the whole of that side is similar to Fig. 1, p. 229; and +that upon the left hand (or south-east) ridge, the forms, as far as they +go, are suggestive of the structure of Fig. 2. There is no doubt that the +contours of the mountain, seen from this direction, have been largely +influenced by the direction of its beds. + + + +It was not, therefore, from a freak, that I invited Mr. Reilly to join in +an attack upon the eastern face, but from a gradually-acquired conviction +that it would prove to give the easiest path to the summit; and, if we had +not been obliged to part, the mountain would, doubtless, have been +ascended in 1864. + + + +My guides readily admitted that they had been greatly deceived as to the +steepness of the eastern face, when they were halted to look at it in +profile, as we came down the Z’Muttgletscher, on our way to Zermatt; but +they were far from being satisfied that it would turn out to be easy to +climb, and Almer and Biener expressed themselves decidedly averse to +making an attempt upon it. I gave way temporarily before their evident +reluctance, and we made the ascent of the Théodulhorn to examine an +alternative route, which I expected would commend itself to them in +preference to the other, as a great part of it led over snow. + +There is an immense gully in the Matterhorn, which leads up from the +Glacier du Mont Cervin to a point high up on the south-eastern ridge.(182) +I proposed to ascend this to its head, and to cross over the south-east +ridge on to the eastern face. This would have brought us on a level with +the bottom of the great snow-slope shown upon the centre of the eastern +face in the engraving facing p. 227. This snow-slope was to be crossed +diagonally, with the view of arriving at the snow upon the north-east +ridge, which is shown upon the same engraving, about half-an-inch from the +summit. The remainder of the ascent was to be made by the broken rocks, +mixed with snow, upon the north side of the mountain. Croz caught the idea +immediately, and thought the plan feasible; details were settled, and we +descended to Breil. Luc Meynet, the hunchback, was summoned, and expressed +himself delighted to resume his old vocation of tent-bearer; and Favre’s +kitchen was soon in commotion preparing three days’ rations, for I +intended to take that amount of time over the affair—to sleep on the first +night upon the rocks at the top of the gully; to make a push for the +summit, and to return to the tent on the second day; and upon the third to +come back to Breil. + +We started at 5.45 A.M. on June 21, and followed the route of the +Breuiljoch(183) for three hours. We were then in full view of our gully, +and turned off at right angles for it. The closer we approached, the more +favourable did it look. There was a good deal of snow in it, which was +evidently at a small angle, and it seemed as if one-third of the ascent, +at least, would be a very simple matter. Some suspicious marks in the snow +at its base suggested that it was not free from falling stones, and, as a +measure of precaution, we turned off on one side, worked up under cover of +the cliffs, and waited to see if anything should descend. Nothing fell, so +we proceeded up its right or northern side, sometimes cutting steps up the +snow and sometimes mounting by the rocks. Shortly before 10 A.M. we +arrived at a convenient place for a halt, and stopped to rest upon some +rocks, immediately close to the snow, which commanded an excellent view of +the gully. + +While the men were unpacking the food I went to a little promontory to +examine our proposed route more narrowly, and to admire our noble couloir, +which led straight up into the heart of the mountain for fully one +thousand feet. It then bent towards the north, and ran up to the crest of +the south-eastern ridge. My curiosity was piqued to know what was round +this corner, and whilst I was gazing up at it, and following with the eye +the exquisitely drawn curves which wandered down the snow in the gully, +all converging to a large rut in its centre, I saw a few little stones +skidding down. I consoled myself with thinking that they would not +interfere with us if we adhered to the side. But then a larger one came +down, a solitary fellow, rushing at the rate of sixty miles an hour—and +another—and another. I was unwilling to raise the fears of the men +unnecessarily, and said nothing to them. They did not hear the stones. +Almer was seated on a rock, carving large slices from a leg of mutton, the +others were chatting, and the first intimation they had of danger was from +a crash—a sudden roar—which reverberated awfully amongst the cliffs, and, +looking up, they saw masses of rocks, boulders and stones, big and little, +dart round the corner eight hundred feet or so above us, fly with fearful +fury against the opposite cliffs, rebound from them against the walls on +our side, and descend; some ricochetting from side to side in a frantic +manner; some bounding down in leaps of a hundred feet or more over the +snow; and others trailing down in a jumbled, confused mass, mixed with +snow and ice, deepening the grooves which, a moment before, had excited my +admiration. + +The men looked wildly around for protection, and, dropping the food, +dashed under cover in all directions. The precious mutton was pitched on +one side, the wine-bag was let fall, and its contents gushed out from the +unclosed neck, whilst all four cowered under defending rocks, endeavouring +to make themselves as small as possible. Let it not be supposed that their +fright was unreasonable, or that I was free from it. I took good care to +make myself safe, and went and cringed in a cleft until the storm had +passed. But their scramble to get under shelter was indescribably +ludicrous. Such a panic I have never witnessed, before or since, upon a +mountain-side.(184) + +This ricochet practice was a novelty to me. It arose, of course, from the +couloir being bent, and from the falling rocks having acquired great pace +before they passed the angle. In straight gullies it will, probably, never +be experienced. The rule is, as I have already remarked, that falling +stones keep down the centres of gullies, and they are out of harm’s way if +one follows the sides. + + [Illustration: MY TENT-BEARER—THE HUNCHBACK.] + +There would have been singularly little amusement, and very great risk, in +mounting this gully, and we turned our backs upon it with perfect +unanimity. The question then arose, “What is to be done?” I suggested +climbing the rocks above us, but this was voted impossible. I thought the +men were right, yet would not give in without being assured of the fact, +and clambered up to settle the question. In a few minutes I was brought to +a halt. My forces were scattered; the little hunchback alone was closely +following me—with a broad grin upon his face, and the tent upon his +shoulder; Croz, more behind, was still keeping an eye upon his _Monsieur_; +Almer, a hundred feet below, sat on a rock with his face buried in his +hands; Biener was nowhere, out of sight. “Come down, come down,” shouted +Croz; “it is useless,” and I turned at length, convinced that it was even +as he said. Thus my little plan was knocked on the head, and we were +thrown back upon the original scheme. + +We at once made a straight track for Mr. Morshead’s Breuiljoch(185) (which +was the most direct route to take in order to get to the Hörnli, where we +intended to sleep, preparatory to attacking the eastern face), and arrived +upon its summit at 12.30 P.M. We were then unexpectedly checked. The pass, +as one, had vanished! and we found ourselves cut off from the +Furggengletscher by a small but precipitous wall of rock;—the glacier had +shrunk so much that descent was impracticable. During the last hour clouds +had been coming up from the south; they now surrounded us, and it began to +blow hard. The men clustered together, and advocated leaving the mountain +alone. Almer asked, with more point than politeness, “Why don’t you try to +go up a mountain which _can_ be ascended?” “It is impossible,” chimed in +Biener. “Sir,” said Croz, “if we cross to the other side we shall lose +three days, and very likely shall not succeed. You want to make ascents in +the chain of Mont Blanc, and I believe they can be made. But I shall not +be able to make them with you if I spend these days here, for I must be at +Chamounix on the 27th.” There was force in what he said, and his words +made me hesitate. I relied upon his strong arms for some work which it was +expected would be unusually difficult. Snow began to fall; that settled +the matter, and I gave the word to retreat. We went back to Breil, and on +to the village of Val Tournanche, where we slept; and the next day +proceeded to Chatillon, and thence up the Valley of Aosta to Courmayeur. + +I cannot but regret that the counsels of the guides prevailed. If Croz had +not uttered his well-intentioned words, he might still have been living. +He parted from us at Chamounix at the appointed time, but by a strange +chance we met again at Zermatt three weeks later, and two days afterwards +he perished before my eyes on the very mountain from which we turned away, +at his advice, on the 21st of June. + + + +On June 23 we mounted to the top of Mont Saxe, to scan the Grandes +Jorasses, with the view of ascending it. Five thousand feet of +glacier-covered precipices rose above us, and up all that height we +tracked a way to our satisfaction. Three thousand feet more of glacier and +forest-covered slopes lay beneath, and _there_, there was only one point +at which it was doubtful if we should find a path. The glaciers were +shrinking, and were surrounded by bastions of rounded rock, far too +polished to please the rough mountaineer. We could not track a way across +them. However, at 4 A.M. the next day, under the dexterous leading of +Michel Croz, we passed the doubtful spot. Thence it was all plain sailing, +and at 1 P.M. we gained the summit. The weather was boisterous in the +upper regions, and storm-clouds driven before the wind, and wrecked +against our heights, enveloped us in misty spray, which danced around and +fled away, which cut us off from the material universe, and caused us to +be, as it were, suspended betwixt heaven and earth, seeing both +occasionally, but seeming to belong to neither. + +The mists lasted longer than my patience, and we descended without having +attained the object for which the ascent was made. At first we followed +the little ridge shown upon the accompanying engraving, leading from our +summit towards the spectator, and then took to the head of the corridor of +glacier on its left, which in the view is left perfectly white. The slopes +were steep and covered with new-fallen snow, flour-like and evil to tread +upon. On the ascent we had reviled it, and had made our staircase with +much caution, knowing full well that the disturbance of its base would +bring down all that was above. In descending, the bolder spirits +counselled trusting to luck and a glissade; the cautious ones advocated +avoiding the slopes and crossing to the rocks on their farther side. The +advice of the latter prevailed, and we had half-traversed the snow, to +gain the ridge, when the crust slipped and we went along with it. “Halt!” +broke from all four, unanimously. The axe-heads flew round as we started +on this involuntary glissade. It was useless, they slid over the +underlying ice fruitlessly. “Halt!” thundered Croz, as he dashed his +weapon in again with superhuman energy. No halt could be made, and we slid +down slowly, but with accelerating motion, driving up waves of snow in +front, with streams of the nasty stuff hissing all around. Luckily, the +slope eased off at one place, the leading men cleverly jumped aside out of +the moving snow, we others followed, and the young avalanche which we had +started, continuing to pour down, fell into a yawning crevasse, and showed +us where our grave would have been if we had remained in its company five +seconds longer. The whole affair did not occupy half-a-minute. It was the +solitary incident of a long day, and at nightfall we re-entered the +excellent house kept by the courteous Bertolini, well satisfied that we +had not met with more incidents of a similar description.(186) + + [Illustration: THE GRANDES JORASSES AND THE DOIRE TORRENT, FROM THE + ITALIAN VAL FERRET.] + + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + + THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE COL DOLENT. + + + “Men willingly believe what they wish.”—CÆSAR. + + +Freethinking mountaineers have been latterly in the habit of going up one +side of an Alp and coming down the other, and calling the route a pass. In +this confusion of ideas may be recognised the result of the looseness of +thought which arises from the absence of technical education. The true +believer abhors such heresies, and observes with satisfaction that +Providence oftentimes punishes the offenders for their greediness by +causing them to be benighted. The faithful know that passes must be made +_between_ mountains, and not over their tops. Their creed declares that +between any two mountains there _must_ be a pass, and they believe that +the end for which big peaks were created—the office they are especially +designed to fulfil—is to point out the way one should go. This is the true +faith, and there is no other. + +We set out upon the 26th of June to endeavour to add one more to the +passes which are strictly orthodox. We hoped, rather than expected, to +discover a quicker route from Courmayeur to Chamounix than the Col du +Géant, which was the easiest, quickest, and most direct pass known at the +time across the main chain of Mont Blanc.(187) The misgivings which I had +as to the result caused us to start at the unusual hour of 12.40 A.M. At +4.30 we passed the chalets of Prè du Bar, and thence, for some distance, +followed the track which we had made upon the ascent of Mont Dolent, over +the glacier of the same name (p. 182). At a quarter past 8 we arrived at +the head of the glacier, and at the foot of the only steep gradient upon +the whole of the ascent. + +It was the beau-ideal of a pass. There was a gap in the mountains, with a +big peak on each side (Mount Dolent and the Aig. de Triolet). A narrow +thread of snow led up to the lowest point between those mountains, and the +blue sky beyond said, Directly you arrive here you will begin to go down. +We addressed ourselves to our task, and at 10.15 A.M. arrived at the top +of the pass. + +Had things gone as they ought, within six hours more we should have been +at Chamounix. Upon the other side we knew that there was a couloir in +correspondence with that up which we had just come. If it had been filled +with snow all would have been well. It turned out to be filled with ice. +Croz, who led, passed over to the other side, and reported that we should +get down somehow, but I knew from the sound of his axe how the somehow +would be, and settled myself to sketch, well assured that _I_ should not +be wanted for an hour to come. What I saw is shown in the engraving. A +sharp aiguille (nameless), perhaps the sharpest in the whole range, backed +on the left by the Aig. de Triolet; queer blocks of (probably) protogine +sticking out awkwardly through the snow; and a huge cornice from which big +icicles depended, that broke away occasionally and went skiddling down the +slope up which we had come. Of the Argentière side I could not see +anything. + +Croz was tied up with our good Manilla rope, and the whole 200 feet were +payed out gradually by Almer and Biener before he ceased working. After +two hours’ incessant toil, he was able to anchor himself to the rock on +his right. He then untied himself, the rope was drawn in, Biener was +attached to the end and went down to join his comrade. There was then room +enough for me to stand by the side of Almer, and I got my first view of +the other side. For the first and only time in my life I looked down a +slope more than a thousand feet long, set at an angle of about 50°, which +was a sheet of ice from top to bottom. It was unbroken by rock or crag, +and anything thrown down it sped away unarrested until the level of the +Glacier d’Argentière was reached. The entire basin of that noble +glacier(188) was spread out at our feet, and the ridge beyond, culminating +in the Aig. d’Argentière, was seen to the greatest advantage. I confess, +however, that I paid very little attention to the view, for there was no +time to indulge in such luxuries. I descended the icy staircase and joined +the others, and then we three drew in the rope tenderly as Almer came +down. His was not an enviable position, but he descended with as much +steadiness as if his whole life had been passed on ice-slopes of 50°. The +process was repeated; Croz again going to the front, and availing himself +very skilfully of the rocks which projected from the cliff on our right. +Our 200 feet of rope again came to an end, and we again descended one by +one. From this point we were able to clamber down by the rocks alone for +about 300 feet. They then became sheer cliff, and we stopped for dinner, +about 2.30 P.M., at the last place upon which we could sit. Four hours’ +incessant work had brought us rather more than half-way down the gully. We +were now approaching, although we were still high above, the schrunds at +its base, and the guides made out, in some way unknown to me, that Nature +had perversely placed the only snow-bridge across the topmost one towards +the centre of the gully. It was decided to cut diagonally across the gully +to the point where the snow-bridge was supposed to be. Almer and Biener +undertook the work, leaving Croz and myself firmly planted on the rocks to +pay out the rope to them as they advanced. + + [Illustration: THE SUMMIT OF THE COL DOLENT.] + +It is generally admitted that veritable ice-slopes (understanding by ice +something more than a crust of hard snow over soft snow) are only rarely +met with in the Alps. They are frequently spoken of, but such as that to +which I refer are _very_ rarely seen, and still more seldom traversed. It +is, however, always possible that they may be encountered, and on this +account, if for no other, it is necessary for men who go mountaineering to +be armed with ice-axes, and with good ones. The form is of more importance +than might be supposed. Of course, if you intend to act as a simple +amateur, and let others do the work, and only follow in their steps, it is +not of much importance what kind of ice-axe you carry, so long as its head +does not fall off, or otherwise behave itself improperly.(189) There is no +better weapon for cutting steps in ice than a common pick-axe, and the +form of ice-axe which is now usually employed by the best guides is very +like a miniature pick. My own axe is copied from Melchior Anderegg’s. It +is of wrought iron, with point and edge steeled. Its weight, including +spiked handle, is four pounds. For cutting steps in ice, the pointed end +of the head is almost exclusively employed; the adze-end is handy for +polishing them up, but is principally used for cutting in hard snow. Apart +from its value as a cutting weapon, it is invaluable as a grapnel. It is +naturally a rather awkward implement when it is not being employed for its +legitimate purpose, and is likely to give rise to much strong language in +crushes at railway termini, unless its head is protected with a leathern +cap, or in some other way. Many attempts have been made, for the sake of +convenience, to fashion an ice-axe with a movable head, but it seems +difficult or impossible to produce one except at the expense of cutting +qualities, and by increasing the weight. + + [Illustration: MY ICE-AXE.] + + [Illustration: KENNEDY ICE-AXE.] + + [Illustration: THE “LESLIE STEPHEN” AXE.] + +Mr. T. S. Kennedy (of the firm of Fairbairn & Co.), whose practical +acquaintance with mountaineering, and with the use and manufacture of +tools, makes his opinion particularly valuable, has contrived the best +that I have seen; but even it seems to me to be deficient in rigidity, and +not to be so powerful a weapon as the more common kind with the fixed +head. The simple instrument which is shown in the annexed diagram is the +invention of Mr. Leslie Stephen, and it answers the purposes for which he +devised it, namely, for giving better hold upon snow and ice than can be +obtained from the common alpenstock, and for cutting an occasional step. +The amateur scarcely requires anything more imposing, but for serious +ice-work a heavier weapon is indispensable. + +To persons armed with the proper tools, ice-slopes are not so dangerous as +many places which appeal less to the imagination. Their ascent or descent +is necessarily laborious (to those who do the work), and they may +therefore be termed difficult. They _ought_ not to be dangerous. Yet they +always seem dangerous, for one is profoundly convinced that if he slips he +will certainly go to the bottom. Hence, any man, who is not a fool, takes +particular care to preserve his balance, and, in consequence, we have the +noteworthy fact that accidents have seldom or never taken place upon +ice-slopes. + +The same slopes covered with snow are much less impressive, and _may_ be +much more dangerous. They may be less slippery, the balance may be more +easily preserved, and if one man slips he may be stopped by his own +personal efforts, provided the snow which over-lies the ice is +consolidated and of a reasonable depth. But if, as is more likely to be +the case upon an angle of 50° (or anything approaching that angle), there +is only a thin stratum of snow which is not consolidated, the occurrence +of a slip will most likely take the entire party as low as possible, and +in addition to the chance of broken necks, there will be a strong +probability that some, at least, will be smothered by the dislodged snow. +Such accidents are far too common, and their occurrence, as a rule, may be +traced to the want of caution which is induced by the apparent absence of +danger. + +I do not believe that the use of the rope, in the ordinary way, affords +the least _real_ security upon ice-slopes. Nor do I think that any benefit +is derived from the employment of crampons. Mr. Kennedy was good enough to +present me with a pair some time ago, and one of these has been engraved. +They are the best variety I have seen of the species, but I only feel +comfortable with them on my feet in places where they are not of the +slightest use, that is in situations where there is no possibility of +slipping, and would not wear them upon an ice-slope for any consideration +whatever. All such adventitious aids are useless if you have not a good +step in the ice to stand upon, and if you have got that, nothing more is +wanted except a few nails in the boots. + + [Illustration: Crampon] + +Almer and Biener got to the end of their tether; the rope no longer +assured their safety, and they stopped work as we advanced and coiled it +up. Shortly afterwards they struck a streak of snow that proved to be just +above the bridge of which they were in search. The slope steepened, and +for thirty feet or so we descended face to the wall, making steps by +kicking with the toes, and thrusting the arms well into the holes above, +just as if they had been rounds in a ladder. At this time we were crossing +the uppermost of the schrunds. Needless to say that the snow was of an +admirable quality; this performance would otherwise have been impossible. +It was soon over, and we then found ourselves upon a huge rhomboidal mass +of ice, and still separated from the Argentière glacier by a gigantic +crevasse. The only bridge over this lower schrund was at its eastern end, +and we were obliged to double back to get to it. Cutting continued for +half-an-hour after it was passed, and it was 5.35 P.M. before the axes +stopped work, and we could at last turn back and look comfortably at the +formidable slope upon which seven hours had been spent.(190) + +The Col Dolent is not likely to compete with the Col du Géant, and I would +recommend any person who starts to cross it to allow himself plenty of +time, plenty of rope, and ample guide-power. There is no difficulty +whatever upon any part of the route, excepting upon the steep slopes +immediately below the summit on each side. When we arrived upon the +Glacier d’Argentière, our work was as good as over. We drove a straight +track to the chalets of Lognan, and thence the way led over familiar +ground. Soon after dusk we got into the high road at les Tines, and at 10 +P.M. arrived at Chamounix. Our labours were duly rewarded. Houris brought +us champagne and the other drinks which are reserved for the faithful, but +before my share was consumed I fell asleep in an arm-chair. I slept +soundly until daybreak, and then turned into bed and went to sleep again. + + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE AIGUILLE VERTE. + + + “Few have the fortitude of soul to honour, + A friend’s success, without a touch of envy.” + ÆSCHYLUS. + + +Michel Croz now parted from us. His new employer had not arrived at +Chamounix, but Croz considered that he was bound by honour to wait for +him, and thus Christian Almer, of Grindelwald, became my leading guide. + +Almer displayed aptitude for mountaineering at an early age. Whilst still +a very young man he was known as a crack chamois-hunter, and he soon +developed into an accomplished guide. Those who have read Mr. Wills’ +graphic account of the first ascent of the Wetterhorn(191) will remember +that, when his party was approaching the top of the mountain, two stranger +men were seen climbing by a slightly different route, one of whom carried +upon his back a young fir-tree, branches, leaves, and all. Mr. Wills’ +guides were extremely indignant with these two strangers (who were +evidently determined to be the first at the summit), and talked of giving +them blows. Eventually they gave them a cake of chocolate instead, and +declared that they were good fellows. “Thus the pipe of peace was smoked, +and tranquillity reigned between the rival forces.” Christian Almer was +one of these two men. + +This was in 1854. In 1858-9 he made the first ascents of the Eigher and +the Mönch, the former with a Mr. Harrington (?), and the latter with Dr. +Porges. Since then he has wandered far and near, from Dauphiné to the +Tyrol.(192) With the exception of Melchior Anderegg, there is not, +perhaps, another guide of such wide experience, or one who has been so +invariably successful; and his numerous employers concur in saying that +there is not a truer heart or a surer foot to be found amongst the Alps. + + [Illustration: CHRISTIAN ALMER.(193)] + +Before recrossing the chain to Courmayeur, we ascended the Aiguille Verte. +In company with Mr. Reilly I inspected this mountain from every direction +in 1864, and came to the conclusion that an ascent could more easily be +made from the south than upon any other side. We set out upon the 28th +from Chamounix to attack it, minus Croz, and plus a porter (of whom I will +speak more particularly presently), leaving our comrade very downcast at +having to kick his heels in idleness, whilst we were about to scale the +most celebrated of his native Aiguilles. + +Our course led us over the old Mer de Glace—the glacier made famous by De +Saussure and Forbes. The heat of the day was over, but the little rills +and rivulets were still flowing along the surface of the ice: cutting deep +troughs where the gradients were small; leaving ripple-marks where the +water was with more difficulty confined to one channel; and falling over +the precipitous walls of the great crevasses, sometimes in bounding +cascades, and sometimes in diffused streams, which marked the +perpendicular faces with graceful sinuosities.(194) As night came on, +their music died away, the rivulets dwindled down to rills; the rills +ceased to murmur, and the sparkling drops, caught by the hand of frost, +were bound to the ice, coating it with an enamelled film which lasted +until the sun struck the glacier once more. + + [Illustration: ON THE MER DE GLACE.] + +We camped on the Couvercle (7800) under a great rock, and at 3.15 the next +morning started for our aiguille, leaving the porter in charge of the tent +and of the food. Two hours’ walking over crisp snow brought us up more +than 4000 feet, and within about 1600 feet of the summit. From no other +direction can it be approached so closely with equal facility. Thence the +mountain steepens. After his late severe piece of ice-work, Almer had a +natural inclination for rocks; but the lower rocks of the final peak of +the Verte were not inviting, and he went on and on, looking for a way up +them, until we arrived in front of a great snow couloir that led from the +Glacier de Talèfre right up to the crest of the ridge connecting the +summit of the Verte with the mountain called Les Droites. This was the +route which I intended to be taken; but Almer pointed out that the gully +narrowed at the lower part, and that, if stones fell, we should stand some +chance of getting our heads broken; and so we went on still more to the +east of the summit, to another and smaller couloir which ran up side by +side with the great one. At 5.30 we crossed the schrund which protected +the final peak, and, a few minutes afterwards, saw the summit and the +whole of the intervening route. “Oh! Aiguille Verte,” said my guide, +stopping as he said it, “you are dead, you are dead;” which, being +translated into plain English, meant that he was cock-sure we should make +its ascent. + +Almer is a quiet man at all times. When climbing he is taciturn—and this +is one of his great merits. A garrulous man is always a nuisance, and upon +the mountain-side he may be a danger, for actual climbing requires a man’s +whole attention. Added to this, talkative men are hindrances; they are +usually thirsty, and a thirsty man is a drag. + +Guide-books recommend mountain-walkers to suck pebbles, to prevent their +throats from becoming parched. There is not much goodness to be got out of +the pebbles; but you cannot suck them and keep the mouth open at the same +time, and hence the throat does not become dry. It answers just as well to +keep the mouth shut, without any pebbles inside,—indeed, I think, better; +for if you have occasion to open your mouth, you can do so without +swallowing any pebbles.(195) As a rule, amateurs, and particularly +novices, _will not_ keep their mouths shut. They attempt to “force the +pace,” they go faster than they can go without being compelled to open +their mouths to breathe, they pant, their throats and tongues become +parched, they drink and perspire copiously, and, becoming exhausted, +declare that the dryness of the air, or the rarefaction of the air +(everything is laid upon the air), is in fault. On several accounts, +therefore, a mountain-climber does well to hold his tongue when he is at +his work. + +At the top of the small gully we crossed over the intervening rocks into +the large one, and followed it so long as it was filled with snow. At last +ice replaced snow, and we turned over to the rocks upon its left. Charming +rocks they were; granitic in texture,(196) gritty, holding the nails well. +At 9.45 we parted from them, and completed the ascent by a little ridge of +snow which descended in the direction of the Aiguille du Moine. At 10.15 +we stood on the summit (13,540), and devoured our bread and cheese with a +good appetite. + +I have already spoken of the disappointing nature of purely panoramic +views. That seen from Mont Blanc itself is notoriously unsatisfactory. +When you are upon that summit you look down upon all the rest of Europe. +There is nothing to look up to; all is below; there is no one point for +the eye to rest upon. The man who is there is somewhat in the position of +one who has attained all that he desires,—he has nothing to aspire to; his +position must needs be unsatisfactory. Upon the summit of the Verte there +is not this objection. You see valleys, villages, fields; you see +mountains interminable rolling away, lakes resting in their hollows; you +hear the tinkling of the sheep-bells as it rises through the clear +mountain air, and the roar of the avalanches as they descend to the +valleys: but above all there is the great white dome, with its shining +crest high above; with its sparkling glaciers that descend between +buttresses which support them: with its brilliant snows, purer and yet +purer the farther they are removed from this unclean world.(197) + +Even upon this mountain-top it was impossible to forget the world, for +some vile wretch came to the Jardin and made hideous sounds by blowing +through a horn. Whilst we were denouncing him a change came over the +weather; cumulous clouds gathered in all directions, and we started off in +hot haste. Snow began to fall heavily before we were off the summit-rocks, +our track was obscured and frequently lost, and everything became so +sloppy and slippery that the descent took as long as the ascent. The +schrund was recrossed at 3.15 P.M., and thence we raced down to the +Couvercle, intending to have a carouse there; but as we rounded our rock a +howl broke simultaneously from all three of us, for the porter had taken +down the tent, and was in the act of moving off with it. “Stop, there! +what are you doing?” He observed that he had thought we were killed, or at +least lost, and was going to Chamounix to communicate his ideas to the +_guide chef_. “Unfasten the tent, and get out the food.” Instead of doing +so the porter fumbled in his pockets. “Get out the food,” we roared, +losing all patience. “Here it is,” said our worthy friend, producing a +dirty piece of bread about as big as a halfpenny roll. We three looked +solemnly at the fluff-covered morsel. It was past a joke,—he had devoured +everything. Mutton, loaves, cheese, wine, eggs, sausages—all was gone—past +recovery. It was idle to grumble, and useless to wait. We were light, and +could move quickly,—the porter was laden inside and out. We went our +hardest,—he had to shuffle and trot. He streamed with perspiration; the +mutton and cheese oozed out in big drops,—he larded the glacier. We had +our revenge, and dried our clothes at the same time, but when we arrived +at the Montanvert the porter was as wet as we had been upon our arrival at +the Couvercle. We halted at the inn to get a little food, and at a quarter +past eight re-entered Chamounix, amidst firing of cannon and other +demonstrations of satisfaction on the part of the hotel-keepers. + +One would have thought that the ascent of this mountain, which had been +frequently assailed before without success, would have afforded some +gratification to a population whose chief support is derived from +tourists, and that the prospect of the perennial flow of francs which +might be expected to result from it would have stifled the jealousy +consequent on the success of foreigners.(198) + +It was not so. Chamounix stood on its rights. A stranger had ignored the +“regulations,” had imported two foreign guides, and, furthermore, he had +added injury to that insult—he had not taken a single Chamounix guide. +Chamounix would be revenged! It would bully the foreign guides; it would +tell them they had lied,—that they had not made the ascent! Where were +their proofs? Where was the flag upon the summit? + +Poor Almer and Biener were accordingly chivied from pillar to post, from +one inn to another, and at length complained to me. Peter Perrn, the +Zermatt guide, said on the night that we returned that this was to happen, +but the story seemed too absurd to be true. I now bade my men go out +again, and followed them myself to see the sport. Chamounix was greatly +excited. The _bureau_ of the _guide chef_ was thronged with clamouring +men. Their ringleader—one Zacharie Cachat—a well-known guide, of no +particular merit, but not a bad fellow, was haranguing the multitude. He +met with more than his match. My friend Kennedy, who was on the spot, +heard of the disturbance and rushed into the fray, confronted the burly +guide, and thrust back his absurdities into his teeth. + +There were the materials for a very pretty riot; but they manage these +things better in France than we do, and the gensdarmes—three strong—came +down and dispersed the crowd. The guides quailed before the cocked hats, +and retired to cabarets to take little glasses of absinthe and other +liquors more or less injurious to the human frame. Under the influence of +these stimulants, they conceived an idea which combined revenge with +profit. “You have ascended the Aiguille Verte, you say. _We_ say we don’t +believe it. _We_ say, do it again! Take three of us with you, and we will +bet you two thousand francs to one thousand, that you won’t make the +ascent!” + +This proposition was formally notified to me, but I declined it, with +thanks, and recommended Kennedy to go in and win. I accepted, however, a +hundred franc share in the bet, and calculated upon getting two hundred +per cent on my investment. Alas! how vain are human expectations! Zacharie +Cachat was put into confinement, and although Kennedy actually ascended +the Aiguille a week later, with two Chamounix guides and Peter Perrn, the +bet came to nothing.(199) + +The weather arranged itself just as this storm in a teapot blew over, and +we left at once for the Montanvert, in order to show the Chamouniards the +easiest way over the chain of Mont Blanc, in return for the civilities +which we had received from them during the past three days. + + [Illustration: WESTERN SIDE OF THE COL DE TALÈFRE.] + + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + + THE FIRST PASSAGE OF THE COL DE TALÈFRE. + + + “’Tis more by art than force of numerous strokes.” + HOMER. + + +The person who discovered the Col du Géant must have been a shrewd +mountaineer. The pass was in use before any other was known across the +main chain of Mont Blanc, and down to the present time it remains the +easiest and quickest route from Chamounix to Courmayeur, with the single +exception of the pass that we crossed upon the 3d of July, for the first +time, which lies about mid-way between the Aiguille de Triolet and the +Aiguille de Talèfre, and which, for want of a better name, I have called +the Col de Talèfre. + +When one looks toward the upper end of the Glacier de Talèfre from the +direction of the Jardin or of the Couvercle, the ridge that bounds the +view seems to be of little elevation. It is overpowered by the colossal +Grandes Jorasses, and by the almost equally magnificent Aiguille Verte. +The ridge, notwithstanding, is by no means despicable. At no point is its +elevation less than 11,600 feet. It does not look anything like this +height. The Glacier de Talèfre mounts with a steady incline, and the eye +is completely deceived. + +In 1864, when prowling about with Mr. Reilly, I instinctively fixed upon a +bent couloir which led up from the glacier to the lowest part of the +ridge; and when, after crossing the Col de Triolet, I saw that the other +side presented no particular difficulty, it seemed to me that this was the +_one_ point in the whole of the range which would afford an easier passage +than the Col du Géant. + +We set out from the Montanvert at 4 A.M. upon July 3, to see whether this +opinion was correct, and it fortunately happened that the Rev. A. G. +Girdlestone and a friend, with two Chamounix guides, left the inn at the +same hour as ourselves, to cross the Col du Géant. We kept in company as +far as our routes lay together, and at 9.35 we arrived at the top of our +pass, having taken the route to the south of the Jardin. Description is +unnecessary, as our track is laid down very clearly on the engraving at +the head of this chapter. + +Much snow had fallen during the late bad weather, and as we reposed upon +the top of our pass (which was about 11,650 feet above the level of the +sea, and 600 feet above the Col du Géant), we saw that the descent of the +rocks which intervened between us and the Glacier de Triolet would require +some caution, for the sun’s rays poured down directly upon them, and the +snow slipped away every now and then from ledge to ledge just as if it had +been water,—in cascades not large enough to be imposing, but sufficient to +knock us over if we got in their way. This little bit of cliff +consequently took a longer time than it should have done, for when we +heard the indescribable swishing, hissing sound which announced a coming +fall, we of necessity huddled under the lee of the rocks until the snow +ceased to shoot over us. + +We got to the level of the Glacier de Triolet without misadventure, then +steered for its left bank to avoid the upper of its two formidable +ice-falls, and after descending the requisite distance by some old snow +lying between the glacier and the cliffs which border it, crossed directly +to the right bank over the level ice between the two ice-falls.(200) The +right bank was gained without any trouble, and we found there numerous +beds of hard snow (avalanche débris) down which we could run or glissade +as fast as we liked. + +Glissading is a very pleasant employment when it is accomplished +successfully, and I have never seen a place where it can be more safely +indulged in than the snowy valley on the right bank of the Glacier de +Triolet. In my dreams I glissade delightfully, but in practice I find that +somehow the snow will not behave properly, and that my alpenstock _will_ +get between my legs. Then my legs go where my head should be, and I see +the sky revolving at a rapid pace; the snow rises up and smites me, and +runs away; and when it is at last overtaken it suddenly stops, and we come +into violent collision. Those who are with me say that I tumble head over +heels, and there may be some truth in what they say. Streaks of ice are +apt to make the heels shoot away, and stray stones cause one to pitch +headlong down. Somehow these things always seem to come in the way, so it +is as well to glissade only when there is something soft to tumble +into.(201) + + [Illustration: Glissading] + +Near the termination of the glacier we could not avoid traversing a +portion of its abominable moraine, but at 1.30 P.M. we were clear of it, +and threw ourselves upon some springy turf conscious that our day’s work +was over. An hour afterwards we resumed the march, crossed the Doire +torrent by a bridge a little below Gruetta, and at five o’clock entered +Courmayeur, having occupied somewhat less than ten hours on the way. Mr. +Girdlestone’s party came in, I believe, about four hours afterwards, so +there was no doubt that we made a shorter pass than the Col du Géant; and +I believe we discovered a quicker way of getting from Chamounix to +Courmayeur, or _vice versa_, than will be found elsewhere, so long as the +chain of Mont Blanc remains in its present condition.(202) + + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE RUINETTE—THE MATTERHORN. + + + “In almost every art, experience is worth more than precepts.” + QUINTILIAN. + + +All of the excursions that were set down in my programme had been carried +out, with the exception of the ascent of the Matterhorn, and we now turned +our faces in its direction, but instead of returning _viâ_ the Val +Tournanche, we took a route across country, and bagged upon our way the +summit of the Ruinette. + +We passed the night of July 4, at Aosta, under the roof of the genial +Tairraz, and on the 5th went by the Val d’Ollomont and the Col de la +Fenêtre (9140) to Chermontane. We slept that night at the chalets of +Chanrion (a foul spot, which should be avoided), left them at 3.50 the +next morning, and after a short scramble over the slope above, and a +half-mile tramp on the glacier de Breney, we crossed directly to the +Ruinette, and went almost straight up it. There is not, I suppose, another +mountain in the Alps of the same height that can be ascended so easily. +You have only to go ahead: upon its southern side one can walk about +almost anywhere. + +Though I speak thus slightingly of a very respectable peak, I will not do +anything of the kind in regard to the view which it gives. It is happily +placed in respect to the rest of the Pennine Alps, and as a stand-point it +has not many superiors. You see mountains, and nothing but mountains. It +is a solemn—some would say a dreary—view, but it is very grand. The great +Combin (14,164), with its noble background of the whole range of Mont +Blanc, never looks so big as it does from here. In the contrary direction, +the Matterhorn overpowers all besides. The Dent d’Hérens, although closer, +looks a mere outlier of its great neighbour, and the snows of Monte Rosa, +behind, seem intended for no other purpose than to give relief to the +crags in front. To the south there is an endless array of Bec’s and +Becca’s, backed by the great Italian peaks, whilst to the north Mont +Pleureur (12,159) holds it own against the more distant Wildstrubel. + +We gained the summit at 9.15,(203) and stayed there an hour and a half. My +faithful guides then admonished me that Prerayen, whither we were bound, +was still far away, and that we had yet to cross two lofty ridges. So we +resumed our harness and departed; not, however, before a huge cairn had +been built out of the blocks of gneiss with which the summit is bestrewn. +Then we trotted down the slopes of the Ruinette, over the glacier de +Breney, and across a pass which (if it deserves a name) may be called the +Col des Portons, after the neighbouring peaks. Thence we proceeded across +the great Otemma glacier towards the Col d’Olen. + +The part of the glacier that we traversed was overspread with snow which +completely concealed its numerous pitfalls. We marched across it in single +file, and, of course, roped together. All at once Almer dropped into a +crevasse up to his shoulders. I pulled in the rope immediately, but the +snow gave way as it was being done, and I had to spread out my arms to +stop my descent. Biener held fast, and said afterwards, that his feet went +through as well; so, for a moment, all three were in the jaws of the +crevasse. We now altered our course, so as to take the fissures +transversely, and changed it again after the centre of the glacier was +passed, and made directly for the summit of the Col d’Olen. + +It is scarcely necessary to observe, after what I have said before, that +it is my invariable practice to employ a rope when traversing a +snow-covered glacier. Many guides, even the best ones, object to be roped, +more especially early in the morning, when the snow is hard. They object +sometimes, because they think it is unnecessary. Crevasses that are +bridged by snow are almost always more or less perceptible by undulations +on the surface; the snow droops down, and hollows mark the courses of the +chasms beneath. An experienced guide usually notices these almost +imperceptible wrinkles, steps one side or the other, as the case may +require, and rarely breaks through unawares. Guides think there is no +occasion to employ a rope because they think that they will not be taken +by surprise. Michel Croz used to be of this opinion. He used to say that +only imbeciles and children required to be tied up in the morning. I told +him that in this particular matter I was a child to him. “You see these +things, my good Croz, and avoid them. I do _not_, except you point them +out to me, and so that which is not a danger to you, _is_ a danger to me.” +The sharper one’s eyes get by use, the less is a rope required as a +protective against these hidden pitfalls; but, according to my experience, +the sight never becomes so keen that they can be avoided with unvarying +certainty, and I mentioned what occurred upon the Otemma glacier to show +that this is so. + +I well remember my first passage of the Col Théodule—the easiest of the +higher Alpine glacier passes. We had a rope, but my guide said it was not +necessary, he knew all the crevasses. However, we did not go a quarter of +a mile before he dropped through the snow into a crevasse up to his neck. +He was a heavy man, and would scarcely have extricated himself alone; +anyhow, he was very glad of my assistance. When he got on to his legs +again, he said, “Well, I had no idea that there was a crevasse there!” He +no longer objected to use the rope, and we proceeded; upon my part, with +greater peace of mind than before. I have crossed the pass fourteen times +since then, and have invariably insisted upon being tied together. + +Guides object to the use of the rope upon snow-covered glacier, because +they are afraid of being laughed at by their comrades; and this, perhaps, +is the more common reason. To illustrate this, here is another Théodule +experience. We arrived at the edge of the ice, and I required to be tied. +My guide (a Zermatt man of repute) said that no one used a rope going +across that pass. I declined to argue the matter, and we put on the rope; +though very much against the wish of my man, who protested that he should +have to submit to perpetual ridicule if we met any of his acquaintances. +We had not gone very far before we saw a train coming in the contrary +direction. “Ah!” cried my man, “there is R—— (mentioning a guide who used +to be kept at the Riffel Hotel for the ascent of Monte Rosa); it will be +as I said, I shall never hear the end of this.” The guide we met was +followed by a string of tom-fools, none of whom were tied together, and +had his face covered by a mask to prevent it becoming blistered. After we +had passed, I said, “Now, should R—— make any observations to you, ask him +why he takes such extraordinary care to preserve the skin of his face, +which will grow again in a week, when he neglects such an obvious +precaution in regard to his life, which he can only lose once.” This was +quite a new idea to my guide, and he said nothing more against the use of +the rope so long as we were together. + +I believe that the unwillingness to use a rope upon snow-covered glacier +which born mountaineers not unfrequently exhibit, arises—First, on the +part of expert men, from the consciousness that they themselves incur +little risk; secondly, on the part of inferior men, from fear of ridicule, +and from aping the ways of their superiors; and, thirdly, from pure +ignorance or laziness. Whatever may be the reason, I raise up my voice +against the neglect of a precaution so simple and so effectual. In my +opinion, the very first thing a glacier traveller requires is plenty of +good rope. + +A committee of the English Alpine Club was appointed in 1864 to test, and +to report upon, the most suitable ropes for mountaineering purposes, and +those which were approved are probably as good as can be found. One is +made of Manilla and another of Italian hemp. The former is the heavier, +and weighs a little more than an ounce per foot (103 ozs. to 100 feet). +The latter weighs 79 ozs. per 100 feet; but I prefer the Manilla rope, +because it is more handy to handle. Both of these ropes will sustain 168 +lbs. falling 10 feet, or 196 lbs. falling 8 feet, and they break with a +dead weight of two tons.(204) In 1865 we carried two 100 feet lengths of +the Manilla rope, and the inconvenience arising from its weight was more +than made up for by the security which it afforded. Upon several occasions +it was worth more than an extra guide. + +Now, touching the _use_ of the rope. There is a right way, and there are +wrong ways of using it. I often meet, upon glacier-passes, elegantly +got-up persons, who are clearly out of their element, with a guide +stalking along in front, who pays no attention to the innocents in his +charge. They are tied together as a matter of form, but they evidently +have no idea _why_ they are tied up, for they walk side by side, or close +together, with the rope trailing on the snow. If one tumbles into a +crevasse, the rest stare, and say, “La! what is the matter with Smith?” +unless, as is more likely, they all tumble in together. This is the wrong +way to use a rope. It is abuse of the rope. + + [Illustration: The wrong way to use a rope on glacier] + +It is of the first importance to keep the rope taut from man to man. If +this is not done, there is no real security, and your risks may be +considerably magnified. There is little or no difficulty in extricating +one man who breaks through a bridged crevasse if the rope is taut; but the +case may be very awkward if two break through at the same moment, close +together, and there are only two others to aid, or perhaps only one other. +Further, the rope ought not upon any account to graze over snow, ice, or +rocks, otherwise the strands suffer, and the lives of the whole party may +be endangered. Apart from this, it is extremely annoying to have a rope +knocking about one’s heels. If circumstances render it impossible for the +rope to be kept taut by itself, the men behind should gather it up round +their hands,(205) and not allow it to incommode those in advance. A man +must either be incompetent, careless, or selfish, if he permits the rope +to dangle about the heels of the person in front of him. + + [Illustration: THE RIGHT WAY TO USE THE ROPE.] + +The distance from man to man must neither be too great nor too small. +About 12 feet between each is sufficient. If there are only two or three +persons, it is prudent to allow a little more—say 15 feet. More than this +is unnecessary, and less than 9 or 10 feet is not much good. + +It is essential to examine your rope from time to time to see that it is +in good condition. If you are wise you will do this yourself every day. +Latterly, I have examined every inch of my rope overnight, and upon more +than one occasion have found the strands of the Manilla rope nearly half +severed through accidental grazes. + +Thus far the rope has been supposed to be employed upon level, +snow-covered glacier, to prevent any risk from concealed crevasses. On +rocks and on slopes it is used for a different purpose (namely, to guard +against slips), and in these cases it is equally important to keep it +taut, and to preserve a reasonable distance one from the other. It is much +more troublesome to keep the rope taut upon slopes than upon the level; +and upon difficult rocks it is all but impossible, except by adopting the +plan of moving only one at a time (see p. 115). + +There is no good reason for employing a rope upon easy rocks, and I +believe that its needless use is likely to promote carelessness. On +difficult rocks and on snow-slopes (frequently improperly called +ice-slopes) it is a great advantage to be tied together, provided the rope +is handled properly; but upon actual ice-slopes, such as that on the Col +Dolent (p. 240), or upon slopes in which ice is mingled with small and +loose rocks, such as the upper part of the Pointe des Ecrins, it is almost +useless, because a slip made by one person might upset the entire +party.(206) I am not prepared to say, however, that men should not be tied +together upon similar slopes. Being attached to others usually gives +confidence, and confidence decidedly assists stability. It is more +questionable whether men should be in such places at all. If a man can +keep on his feet upon an _escalier_ cut in an ice-slope, I see no reason +why he should be debarred from making use of that particular form of +staircase. If he cannot, let him keep clear of such places.(207) + +There would be no advantage in discoursing upon the use of the rope at +greater length. A single day upon a mountain’s side will give a clearer +idea of the value of a good rope, and of the numerous purposes for which +it may be employed, than any one will obtain from reading all that has +been written upon the subject; but no one will become really expert in its +management without much experience. + + + +From the Col d’Olen we proceeded down the Combe of the same name to the +chalets of Prerayen, and passed the night of the 6th under the roof of our +old acquaintance, the wealthy herdsman. On the 7th we crossed the Va +Cornère pass, _en route_ for Breil. My thoughts were fixed on the +Matterhorn, and my guides knew that I wished them to accompany me. They +had an aversion to the mountain, and repeatedly expressed their belief +that it was useless to try to ascend it. “_Anything_ but Matterhorn, dear +sir!” said Almer; “_anything_ but Matterhorn.” He did not speak of +difficulty or of danger, nor was he shirking _work_. He offered to go +_anywhere_; but he entreated that the Matterhorn should be abandoned. Both +men spoke fairly enough. They did not think that an ascent could be made; +and for their own credit, as well as for my sake, they did not wish to +undertake a business which, in their opinion, would only lead to loss of +time and money. + +I sent them by the short cut to Breil, and walked down to Val Tournanche +to look for Jean-Antoine Carrel. He was not there. The villagers said that +he, and three others, had started on the 6th to try the Matterhorn by the +old way, on their own account. They will have no luck, I thought, for the +clouds were low down on the mountains; and I walked up to Breil, fully +expecting to meet them. Nor was I disappointed. About half-way up I saw a +group of men clustered around a chalet upon the other side of the torrent, +and, crossing over, found that the party had returned. Jean-Antoine and +Cæsar were there, C. E. Gorret, and J. J. Maquignaz. They had had no +success. The weather, they said, had been horrible, and they had scarcely +reached the glacier du Lion. + +I explained the situation to Carrel, and proposed that we, with Cæsar and +another man, should cross the Théodule by moonlight on the 9th, and that +upon the 10th we should pitch the tent as high as possible upon the east +face. He was unwilling to abandon the old route, and urged me to try it +again. I promised to do so provided the new route failed. This satisfied +him, and he agreed to my proposal. I then went up to Breil, and discharged +Almer and Biener—with much regret, for no two men ever served me more +faithfully or more willingly.(208) On the next day they crossed to +Zermatt. + +The 8th was occupied with preparations. The weather was stormy; and black, +rainy vapours obscured the mountains. Towards evening a young man came +from Val Tournanche, and reported that an Englishman was lying there, +extremely ill. Now was the time for the performance of my vow;(209) and on +the morning of Sunday the 9th I went down the valley to look after the +sick man. On my way I passed a foreign gentleman, with a mule and several +porters laden with baggage. Amongst these men were Jean-Antoine and Cæsar, +carrying some barometers. “Hullo!” I said, “what are you doing?” They +explained that the foreigner had arrived just as they were setting out, +and that they were assisting his porters. “Very well; go on to Breil, and +await me there; we start at midnight as agreed.” Jean-Antoine then said +that he should not be able to serve me after Tuesday the 11th, as he was +engaged to travel “with a family of distinction” in the valley of Aosta. +“And Cæsar?” “And Cæsar also.” “Why did you not say this before?” +“Because,” said he, “it was not settled. The engagement is of long +standing, but _the day_ was not fixed. When I got back to Val Tournanche +on Friday night, after leaving you, I found a letter naming the day.” I +could not object to the answer; but the prospect of being left guideless +was provoking. They went up, and I down, the valley. + +The sick man declared that he was better, though the exertion of saying as +much tumbled him over on to the floor in a fainting fit. He was badly in +want of medicine, and I tramped down to Chatillon to get it. It was late +before I returned to Val Tournanche, for the weather was tempestuous, and +rain fell in torrents. A figure passed me under the church porch. “_Qui +vive?_” “Jean-Antoine.” “I thought you were at Breil.” “No, sir: when the +storms came on I knew we should not start to-night, and so came down to +sleep here.” “Ha, Carrel!” I said; “this is a great bore. If to-morrow is +not fine we shall not be able to do anything together. I have sent away my +guides, relying on you; and now you are going to leave me to travel with a +party of ladies. That work is not fit for _you_ (he smiled, I supposed at +the implied compliment); can’t you send some one else instead?” “No, +monsieur. I am sorry, but my word is pledged. I should like to accompany +you, but I can’t break my engagement.” By this time we had arrived at the +inn door. “Well, it is no fault of yours. Come presently with Cæsar, and +have some wine.” They came, and we sat up till midnight, recounting our +old adventures, in the inn of Val Tournanche. + +The weather continued bad upon the 10th, and I returned to Breil. The two +Carrels were again hovering about the above mentioned chalet, and I bade +them adieu. In the evening the sick man crawled up, a good deal better; +but his was the only arrival. The Monday crowd(210) did not cross the +Théodule, on account of the continued storms. The inn was lonely. I went +to bed early, and was awoke the next morning by the invalid inquiring if I +had “heard the news.” “No; what news?” “Why,” said he, “a large party of +guides went off this morning to try the Matterhorn, taking with them a +mule laden with provisions.” + +I went to the door, and with a telescope saw the party upon the lower +slopes of the mountain. Favre, the landlord, stood by. “What is all this +about?” I inquired, “who is the leader of this party?” “Carrel.” “What! +Jean-Antoine?” “Yes; Jean-Antoine.” “Is Cæsar there too?” “Yes, he is +there.” Then I saw in a moment that I had been bamboozled and humbugged; +and learned, bit by bit, that the affair had been arranged long +beforehand. The start on the 6th had been for a preliminary +reconnaissance; the mule, that I passed, was conveying stores for the +attack; the “family of distinction” was Signor F. Giordano, who had just +despatched the party to facilitate the way to the summit, and who, when +the facilitation was completed, was to be taken to the top along with +Signor Sella!(211) + +I was greatly mortified. My plans were upset; the Italians had clearly +stolen a march upon me, and I saw that the astute Favre chuckled over my +discomfiture, because the route by the eastern face, if successful, would +not benefit his inn. What was to be done? I retired to my room, and +soothed by tobacco, re-studied my plans, to see if it was not possible to +outmanœuvre the Italians. + +“They have taken a mule’s load of provisions.” “That is _one_ point in my +favour, for they will take two or three days to get through the food, and, +until that is done, no work will be accomplished.” “How is the weather?” I +went to the window. The mountain was smothered up in mist. “Another point +in my favour.” “They are to facilitate the way. Well, if they do that to +any purpose, it will be a long job.” Altogether, I reckoned that they +could not possibly ascend the mountain and come back to Breil in less than +seven days. I got cooler, for it was evident that the wily ones might be +outwitted after all. There was time enough to go to Zermatt, to try the +eastern face, and, should it prove impracticable, to come back to Breil +before the men returned; and then, it seemed to me, as the mountain was +not padlocked, one might start at the same time as the Messieurs, and yet +get to the top before them. + +The first thing to do was to go to Zermatt. Easier said than done. The +seven guides upon the mountain included the ablest men in the valley, and +none of the ordinary muleteer-guides were at Breil. Two men, at least, +were wanted for my baggage, but not a soul could be found. I ran about, +and sent about in all directions, but not a single porter could be +obtained. One was with Carrel; another was ill; another was at Chatillon, +and so forth. Even Meynet, the hunchback, could not be induced to come; he +was in the thick of some important cheese-making operations. I was in the +position of a general without an army; it was all very well to make plans, +but there was no one to execute them. This did not much trouble me, for it +was evident that so long as the weather stopped traffic over the Théodule +pass, it would hinder the men equally upon the Matterhorn; and I knew that +directly it improved company would certainly arrive. + +About midday on Tuesday the 11th a large party hove in sight from Zermatt, +preceded by a nimble young Englishman, and one of old Peter Taugwalder’s +sons.(212) I went at once to this gentleman to learn if he could dispense +with Taugwalder. He said that he could not, as they were going to recross +to Zermatt on the morrow, but that the young man should assist in +transporting my baggage, as he had nothing to carry. We naturally got into +conversation. I told my story, and learned that the young Englishman was +Lord Francis Douglas,(213) whose recent exploit—the ascent of the +Gabelhorn—had excited my wonder and admiration. He brought good news. Old +Peter had lately been beyond the Hörnli, and had reported that he thought +an ascent of the Matterhorn was possible upon that side. Almer had left +Zermatt, and could not be recovered, so I determined to seek for old +Peter. Lord Francis Douglas expressed a warm desire to ascend the +mountain, and before long it was determined that he should take part in +the expedition. + +Favre could no longer hinder our departure, and lent us one of his men. We +crossed the Col Théodule on Wednesday morning the 12th of July, rounded +the foot of the Ober Théodulgletscher, crossed the Furggengletscher, and +deposited tent, blankets, ropes, and other matters in the little chapel at +the Schwarzsee.(214) All four were heavily laden, for we brought across +the whole of my stores from Breil. Of rope alone there was about 600 feet. +There were three kinds. First, 200 feet of the Manilla rope; second, 150 +feet of a stouter, and probably stronger rope than the first; and third, +more than 200 feet of a lighter and weaker rope than the first, of a kind +that I used formerly (stout sash-line). + +We descended to Zermatt, sought and engaged old Peter, and gave him +permission to choose another guide. When we returned to the Monte Rosa +Hotel, whom should we see sitting upon the wall in front but my old _guide +chef_, Michel Croz. I supposed that he had come with Mr. B——, but I +learned that that gentleman had arrived in ill health, at Chamounix, and +had returned to England. Croz, thus left free, had been immediately +engaged by the Rev. Charles Hudson, and they had come to Zermatt with the +same object as ourselves—namely, to attempt the ascent of the Matterhorn! + +Lord Francis Douglas and I dined at the Monte Rosa, and had just finished +when Mr. Hudson and a friend entered the _salle à manger_. They had +returned from inspecting the mountain, and some idlers in the room +demanded their intentions. We heard a confirmation of Croz’s statement, +and learned that Mr. Hudson intended to set out on the morrow at the same +hour as ourselves. We left the room to consult, and agreed it was +undesirable that two independent parties should be on the mountain at the +same time with the same object. Mr. Hudson was therefore invited to join +us, and he accepted our proposal. Before admitting his friend—Mr. Hadow—I +took the precaution to inquire what he had done in the Alps, and, as well +as I remember, Mr. Hudson’s reply was, “Mr. Hadow has done Mont Blanc in +less time than most men.” He then mentioned several other excursions that +were unknown to me, and added, in answer to a further question, “I +consider he is a sufficiently good man to go with us.” Mr. Hadow was +admitted without any further question, and we then went into the matter of +guides. Hudson thought that Croz and old Peter would be sufficient. The +question was referred to the men themselves, and they made no objection. + +So Croz and I became comrades once more; and as I threw myself on my bed +and tried to go to sleep, I wondered at the strange series of chances +which had first separated us and then brought us together again. I thought +of the mistake through which he had accepted the engagement to Mr. B——; of +his unwillingness to adopt my route; of his recommendation to transfer our +energies to the chain of Mont Blanc; of the retirement of Almer and +Biener; of the desertion of Carrel; of the arrival of Lord Francis +Douglas; and, lastly, of our meeting at Zermatt; and as I pondered over +these things I could not help asking, “What next?” If any one of the links +of this fatal chain of circumstances had been omitted, what a different +story I should have to tell! + + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + + THE FIRST ASCENT OF THE MATTERHORN. + + + “Had we succeeded well, + We had been reckoned ’mongst the wise: our minds + Are so disposed to judge from the event.” + EURIPIDES. + + “It is a thoroughly unfair, but an ordinary custom, to praise or + blame designs (which in themselves may be good or bad) just as + they turn out well or ill. Hence the same actions are at one + time attributed to earnestness and at another to vanity.” + PLINY MIN. + + +We started from Zermatt on the 13th of July, at half-past 5, on a +brilliant and perfectly cloudless morning. We were eight in number—Croz, +old Peter and his two sons,(215) Lord F. Douglas, Hadow, Hudson,(216) and +I. To ensure steady motion, one tourist and one native walked together. +The youngest Taugwalder fell to my share, and the lad marched well, proud +to be on the expedition, and happy to show his powers. The wine-bags also +fell to my lot to carry, and throughout the day, after each drink, I +replenished them secretly with water, so that at the next halt they were +found fuller than before! This was considered a good omen, and little +short of miraculous. + +On the first day we did not intend to ascend to any great height, and we +mounted, accordingly, very leisurely; picked up the things which were left +in the chapel at the Schwarzsee at 8.20, and proceeded thence along the +ridge connecting the Hörnli with the Matterhorn.(217) At half-past 11 we +arrived at the base of the actual peak; then quitted the ridge, and +clambered round some ledges, on to the eastern face. We were now fairly +upon the mountain, and were astonished to find that places which from the +Riffel, or even from the Furggengletscher, looked entirely impracticable, +were so easy that we could _run about_. + +Before twelve o’clock we had found a good position for the tent, at a +height of 11,000 feet.(218) Croz and young Peter went on to see what was +above, in order to save time on the following morning. They cut across the +heads of the snow-slopes which descended towards the Furggengletscher, and +disappeared round a corner; and shortly afterwards we saw them high up on +the face, moving quickly. We others made a solid platform for the tent in +a well-protected spot, and then watched eagerly for the return of the men. +The stones which they upset told that they were very high, and we supposed +that the way must be easy. At length, just before 3 P.M., we saw them +coming down, evidently much excited. “What are they saying, Peter?” +“Gentlemen, they say it is no good.” But when they came near we heard a +different story. “Nothing but what was good; not a difficulty, not a +single difficulty! We could have gone to the summit and returned to-day +easily!” + +We passed the remaining hours of daylight—some basking in the sunshine, +some sketching or collecting; and when the sun went down, giving, as it +departed, a glorious promise for the morrow, we returned to the tent to +arrange for the night. Hudson made tea, I coffee, and we then retired each +one to his blanket-bag; the Taugwalders, Lord Francis Douglas, and myself, +occupying the tent, the others remaining, by preference, outside. Long +after dusk the cliffs above echoed with our laughter and with the songs of +the guides, for we were happy that night in camp, and feared no evil. + +We assembled together outside the tent before dawn on the morning of the +14th, and started directly it was light enough to move. Young Peter came +on with us as a guide, and his brother returned to Zermatt.(219) We +followed the route which had been taken on the previous day, and in a few +minutes turned the rib which had intercepted the view of the eastern face +from our tent platform. The whole of this great slope was now revealed, +rising for 3000 feet like a huge natural staircase.(220) Some parts were +more, and others were less, easy; but we were not once brought to a halt +by any serious impediment, for when an obstruction was met in front it +could always be turned to the right or to the left. For the greater part +of the way there was, indeed, no occasion for the rope, and sometimes +Hudson led, sometimes myself. At 6.20 we had attained a height of 12,800 +feet, and halted for half-an-hour; we then continued the ascent without a +break until 9.55, when we stopped for 50 minutes, at a height of 14,000 +feet. Twice we struck the N.E. ridge, and followed it for some little +distance,(221)—to no advantage, for it was usually more rotten and steep, +and always more difficult than the face.(222) Still, we kept near to it, +lest stones perchance might fall.(223) + +We had now arrived at the foot of that part which, from the Riffelberg or +from Zermatt, seems perpendicular or overhanging, and could no longer +continue upon the eastern side. For a little distance we ascended by snow +upon the arête(224)—that is, the ridge—descending towards Zermatt, and +then, by common consent, turned over to the right, or to the northern +side. Before doing so, we made a change in the order of ascent. Croz went +first, I followed, Hudson came third; Hadow and old Peter were last. +“Now,” said Croz, as he led off, “now for something altogether different.” +The work became difficult, and required caution. In some places there was +little to hold, and it was desirable that those should be in front who +were least likely to slip. The general slope of the mountain at this part +was _less_ than 40°, and snow had accumulated in, and had filled up, the +interstices of the rock-face, leaving only occasional fragments projecting +here and there. These were at times covered with a thin film of ice, +produced from the melting and refreezing of the snow. It was the +counterpart, on a small scale, of the upper 700 feet of the Pointe des +Ecrins,—only there was this material difference; the face of the Ecrins +was about, or exceeded, an angle of 50°, and the Matterhorn face was less +than 40°.(225) It was a place over which any fair mountaineer might pass +in safety, and Mr. Hudson ascended this part, and, as far as I know, the +entire mountain, without having the slightest assistance rendered to him +upon any occasion. Sometimes, after I had taken a hand from Croz, or +received a pull, I turned to offer the same to Hudson; but he invariably +declined, saying it was not necessary. Mr. Hadow, however, was not +accustomed to this kind of work, and required continual assistance. It is +only fair to say that the difficulty which he found at this part arose +simply and entirely from want of experience. + +This solitary difficult part was of no great extent.(226) We bore away +over it at first, nearly horizontally, for a distance of about 400 feet; +then ascended directly towards the summit for about 60 feet; and then +doubled back to the ridge which descends towards Zermatt. A long stride +round a rather awkward corner brought us to snow once more. The last doubt +vanished! The Matterhorn was ours! Nothing but 200 feet of easy snow +remained to be surmounted! + +You must now carry your thoughts back to the seven Italians who started +from Breil on the 11th of July. Four days had passed since their +departure, and we were tormented with anxiety lest they should arrive on +the top before us. All the way up we had talked of them, and many false +alarms of “men on the summit” had been raised. The higher we rose, the +more intense became the excitement. What if we should be beaten at the +last moment? The slope eased off, at length we could be detached, and Croz +and I, dashing away, ran a neck-and-neck race, which ended in a dead heat. +At 1.40 P.M. the world was at our feet, and the Matterhorn was conquered. +Hurrah! Not a footstep could be seen. + +It was not yet certain that we had not been beaten. The summit of the +Matterhorn was formed of a rudely level ridge, about 350 feet long,(227) +and the Italians might have been at its farther extremity. I hastened to +the southern end, scanning the snow right and left eagerly. Hurrah! again; +it was untrodden. “Where were the men?” I peered over the cliff, half +doubting, half expectant. I saw them immediately—mere dots on the ridge, +at an immense distance below. Up went my arms and my hat. “Croz! Croz!! +come here!” “Where are they, Monsieur?” “There, don’t you see them, down +there?” “Ah! the _coquins_, they are low down.” “Croz, we must make those +fellows hear us.” We yelled until we were hoarse. The Italians seemed to +regard us—we could not be certain. “Croz, we _must_ make them hear us; +they _shall_ hear us!” I seized a block of rock and hurled it down, and +called upon my companion, in the name of friendship, to do the same. We +drove our sticks in, and prized away the crags, and soon a torrent of +stones poured down the cliffs. There was no mistake about it this time. +The Italians turned and fled.(228) + + [Illustration: “CROZ! CROZ!! COME HERE!”] + +Still, I would that the leader of that party could have stood with us at +that moment, for our victorious shouts conveyed to him the disappointment +of the ambition of a lifetime. He was _the_ man, of all those who +attempted the ascent of the Matterhorn, who most deserved to be the first +upon its summit. He was the first to doubt its inaccessibility, and he was +the only man who persisted in believing that its ascent would be +accomplished. It was the aim of his life to make the ascent from the side +of Italy, for the honour of his native valley. For a time he had the game +in his hands: he played it as he thought best; but he made a false move, +and he lost it. Times have changed with Carrel. His supremacy is +questioned in the Val Tournanche; new men have arisen; and he is no longer +recognised as _the_ chasseur above all others: though so long as he +remains the man that he is to-day, it will not be easy to find his +superior. + +The others had arrived, so we went back to the northern end of the ridge. +Croz now took the tent-pole,(229) and planted it in the highest snow. +“Yes,” we said, “there is the flag-staff, but where is the flag?” “Here it +is,” he answered, pulling off his blouse and fixing it to the stick. It +made a poor flag, and there was no wind to float it out, yet it was seen +all around. They saw it at Zermatt—at the Riffel—in the Val Tournanche. At +Breil, the watchers cried, “Victory is ours!” They raised “bravos” for +Carrel, and “vivas” for Italy, and hastened to put themselves _en fête_. +On the morrow they were undeceived. “All was changed; the explorers +returned sad—cast down—disheartened—confounded—gloomy.” “It is true,” said +the men. “We saw them ourselves—they hurled stones at us! The old +traditions _are_ true,—there are spirits on the top of the +Matterhorn!”(230) + + [Illustration: THE SUMMIT OF THE MATTERHORN IN 1865 (NORTHERN END).] + +We returned to the southern end of the ridge to build a cairn, and then +paid homage to the view.(231) The day was one of those superlatively calm +and clear ones which usually precede bad weather. The atmosphere was +perfectly still, and free from all clouds or vapours. Mountains fifty—nay +a hundred—miles off, looked sharp and near. All their details—ridge and +crag, snow and glacier—stood out with faultless definition. Pleasant +thoughts of happy days in bygone years came up unbidden, as we recognised +the old, familiar forms. All were revealed—not one of the principal peaks +of the Alps was hidden.(232) I see them clearly now—the great inner +circles of giants, backed by the ranges, chains, and _massifs_. First came +the Dent Blanche, hoary and grand; the Gabelhorn and pointed Rothhorn; and +then the peerless Weisshorn: the towering Mischabelhörner, flanked by the +Allaleinhorn, Strahlhorn, and Rimpfischhorn; then Monte Rosa—with its many +Spitzes—the Lyskamm and the Breithorn. Behind was the Bernese Oberland +governed by the Finsteraarhorn, and then the Simplon and St. Gothard +groups; the Disgrazia and the Orteler. Towards the south we looked down to +Chivasso on the plain of Piedmont, and far beyond. The Viso—one hundred +miles away—seemed close upon us; the Maritime Alps—one hundred and thirty +miles distant—were free from haze. Then came my first love—the Pelvoux; +the Ecrins and the Meije; the clusters of the Graians; and lastly, in the +west, gorgeous in the full sunlight, rose the monarch of all—Mont Blanc. +Ten thousand feet beneath us were the green fields of Zermatt, dotted with +chalets, from which blue smoke rose lazily. Eight thousand feet below, on +the other side, were the pastures of Breil. There were black and gloomy +forests, bright and cheerful meadows; bounding waterfalls and tranquil +lakes; fertile lands and savage wastes; sunny plains and frigid +_plateaux_. There were the most rugged forms, and the most graceful +outlines—bold, perpendicular cliffs, and gentle, undulating slopes; rocky +mountains and snowy mountains, sombre and solemn, or glittering and white, +with walls—turrets—pinnacles—pyramids—domes—cones—and spires! There was +every combination that the world can give, and every contrast that the +heart could desire. + +We remained on the summit for one hour— + + “One crowded hour of glorious life.” + +It passed away too quickly, and we began to prepare for the descent. + + [Illustration: THE ACTUAL SUMMIT OF THE MATTERHORN IN 1865.] + + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + + DESCENT OF THE MATTERHORN.(233) + + +Hudson and I again consulted as to the best and safest arrangement of the +party. We agreed that it would be best for Croz to go first,(234) and +Hadow second; Hudson, who was almost equal to a guide in sureness of foot, +wished to be third; Lord F. Douglas was placed next, and old Peter, the +strongest of the remainder, after him. I suggested to Hudson that we +should attach a rope to the rocks on our arrival at the difficult bit, and +hold it as we descended, as an additional protection. He approved the +idea, but it was not definitely settled that it should be done. The party +was being arranged in the above order whilst I was sketching the summit, +and they had finished, and were waiting for me to be tied in line, when +some one remembered that our names had not been left in a bottle. They +requested me to write them down, and moved off while it was being done. + +A few minutes afterwards I tied myself to young Peter, ran down after the +others, and caught them just as they were commencing the descent of the +difficult part.(235) Great care was being taken. Only one man was moving +at a time; when he was firmly planted the next advanced, and so on. They +had not, however, attached the additional rope to rocks, and nothing was +said about it. The suggestion was not made for my own sake, and I am not +sure that it even occurred to me again. For some little distance we two +followed the others, detached from them, and should have continued so had +not Lord F. Douglas asked me, about 3 P.M., to tie on to old Peter, as he +feared, he said, that Taugwalder would not be able to hold his ground if a +slip occurred. + + + +A few minutes later, a sharp-eyed lad ran into the Monte Rosa hotel, to +Seiler, saying that he had seen an avalanche fall from the summit of the +Matterhorn on to the Matterhorngletscher. The boy was reproved for telling +idle stories; he was right, nevertheless, and this was what he saw. + + + +Michel Croz had laid aside his axe, and in order to give Mr. Hadow greater +security, was absolutely taking hold of his legs, and putting his feet, +one by one, into their proper positions.(236) As far as I know, no one was +actually descending. I cannot speak with certainty, because the two +leading men were partially hidden from my sight by an intervening mass of +rock, but it is my belief, from the movements of their shoulders, that +Croz, having done as I have said, was in the act of turning round to go +down a step or two himself; at this moment Mr. Hadow slipped, fell against +him, and knocked him over. I heard one startled exclamation from Croz, +then saw him and Mr. Hadow flying downwards; in another moment Hudson was +dragged from his steps, and Lord F. Douglas immediately after him.(237) +All this was the work of a moment. Immediately we heard Croz’s +exclamation, old Peter and I planted ourselves as firmly as the rocks +would permit:(238) the rope was taut between us, and the jerk came on us +both as on one man. We held; but the rope broke midway between Taugwalder +and Lord Francis Douglas. For a few seconds we saw our unfortunate +companions sliding downwards on their backs, and spreading out their +hands, endeavouring to save themselves. They passed from our sight +uninjured, disappeared one by one, and fell from precipice to precipice on +to the Matterhorngletscher below, a distance of nearly 4000 feet in +height. From the moment the rope broke it was impossible to help them. + + [Illustration: ROPE BROKEN ON THE MATTERHORN.] + +So perished our comrades! For the space of half-an-hour we remained on the +spot without moving a single step. The two men, paralysed by terror, cried +like infants, and trembled in such a manner as to threaten us with the +fate of the others. Old Peter rent the air with exclamations of +“Chamounix! Oh, what will Chamounix say?” He meant, Who would believe that +Croz could fall? The young man did nothing but scream or sob, “We are +lost! we are lost!” Fixed between the two, I could neither move up nor +down. I begged young Peter to descend, but he dared not. Unless he did, we +could not advance. Old Peter became alive to the danger, and swelled the +cry, “We are lost! we are lost!” The father’s fear was natural—he trembled +for his son; the young man’s fear was cowardly—he thought of self alone. +At last old Peter summoned up courage, and changed his position to a rock +to which he could fix the rope; the young man then descended, and we all +stood together. Immediately we did so, I asked for the rope which had +given way, and found, to my surprise—indeed, to my horror—that it was the +weakest of the three ropes. It was not brought, and should not have been +employed, for the purpose for which it was used. It was old rope, and, +compared with the others, was feeble. It was intended as a reserve, in +case we had to leave much rope behind, attached to rocks. I saw at once +that a serious question was involved, and made him give me the end. It had +broken in mid-air, and it did not appear to have sustained previous +injury. + +For more than two hours afterwards I thought almost every moment that the +next would be my last; for the Taugwalders, utterly unnerved, were not +only incapable of giving assistance, but were in such a state that a slip +might have been expected from them at any moment. After a time we were +able to do that which should have been done at first, and fixed rope to +firm rocks, in addition to being tied together. These ropes were cut from +time to time, and were left behind.(239) Even with their assurance the men +were sometimes afraid to proceed, and several times old Peter turned with +ashy face and faltering limbs, and said, with terrible emphasis, “_I +cannot!_” + + [Illustration: FOG-BOW SEEN FROM THE MATTERHORN ON JULY 14, 1865. + “THE TAUGWALDERS THOUGHT THAT IT HAD SOME CONNECTION WITH THE ACCIDENT”] + +About 6 P.M. we arrived at the snow upon the ridge descending towards +Zermatt, and all peril was over. We frequently looked, but in vain, for +traces of our unfortunate companions; we bent over the ridge and cried to +them, but no sound returned. Convinced at last that they were neither +within sight nor hearing, we ceased from our useless efforts; and, too +cast down for speech, silently gathered up our things, and the little +effects of those who were lost, preparatory to continuing the descent. +When, lo! a mighty arch appeared, rising above the Lyskamm, high into the +sky. Pale, colourless, and noiseless, but perfectly sharp and defined, +except where it was lost in the clouds, this unearthly apparition seemed +like a vision from another world; and, almost appalled, we watched with +amazement the gradual development of two vast crosses, one on either side. +If the Taugwalders had not been the first to perceive it, I should have +doubted my senses. They thought it had some connection with the accident, +and I, after a while, that it might bear some relation to ourselves. But +our movements had no effect upon it. The spectral forms remained +motionless. It was a fearful and wonderful sight; unique in my experience, +and impressive beyond description, coming at such a moment.(240) + +I was ready to leave, and waiting for the others. They had recovered their +appetites and the use of their tongues. They spoke in patois, which I did +not understand. At length the son said in French, “Monsieur.” “Yes.” “We +are poor men; we have lost our Herr; we shall not get paid; we can ill +afford this.”(241) “Stop!” I said, interrupting him, “that is nonsense; I +shall pay you, of course, just as if your Herr were here.” They talked +together in their patois for a short time, and then the son spoke again. +“We don’t wish you to pay us. We wish you to write in the hotel-book at +Zermatt, and to your journals, that we have not been paid.” “What nonsense +are you talking? I don’t understand you. What do you mean?” He +proceeded—“Why, next year there will be many travellers at Zermatt, and we +shall get more _voyageurs_.”(242) + + [Illustration: MONSIEUR ALEX. SEILER.] + +Who would answer such a proposition? I made them no reply in words,(243) +but they knew very well the indignation that I felt. They filled the cup +of bitterness to overflowing, and I tore down the cliff, madly and +recklessly, in a way that caused them, more than once, to inquire if I +wished to kill them. Night fell; and for an hour the descent was continued +in the darkness. At half-past 9 a resting-place was found, and upon a +wretched slab, barely large enough to hold the three, we passed six +miserable hours. At daybreak the descent was resumed, and from the Hörnli +ridge we ran down to the chalets of Buhl, and on to Zermatt. Seiler met me +at his door, and followed in silence to my room. “What is the matter?” +“The Taugwalders and I have returned.” He did not need more, and burst +into tears; but lost no time in useless lamentations, and set to work to +arouse the village. Ere long a score of men had started to ascend the +Hohlicht heights, above Kalbermatt and Z’Mutt, which commanded the plateau +of the Matterhorngletscher. They returned after six hours, and reported +that they had seen the bodies lying motionless on the snow. This was on +Saturday; and they proposed that we should leave on Sunday evening, so as +to arrive upon the plateau at daybreak on Monday. Unwilling to lose the +slightest chance, the Rev. J. M’Cormick and I resolved to start on Sunday +morning. The Zermatt men, threatened with excommunication by their priests +if they failed to attend the early mass, were unable to accompany us. To +several of them, at least, this was a severe trial. Peter Perrn declared +with tears that nothing else would have prevented him from joining in the +search for his old comrades. Englishmen came to our aid. The Rev. J. +Robertson and Mr. J. Phillpotts offered themselves, and their guide Franz +Andermatten;(244) another Englishman lent us Joseph Marie and Alexandre +Lochmatter. Frédéric Payot and Jean Tairraz, of Chamounix, also +volunteered. + +We started at 2 A.M. on Sunday the 16th, and followed the route that we +had taken on the previous Thursday as far as the Hörnli. From thence we +went down to the right of the ridge,(245) and mounted through the _séracs_ +of the Matterhorngletscher. By 8.30 we had got to the plateau at the top +of the glacier, and within sight of the corner in which we knew my +companions must be.(246) As we saw one weather-beaten man after another +raise the telescope, turn deadly pale, and pass it on without a word to +the next, we knew that all hope was gone. We approached. They had fallen +below as they had fallen above—Croz a little in advance, Hadow near him, +and Hudson some distance behind; but of Lord F. Douglas we could see +nothing.(247) We left them where they fell; buried in snow at the base of +the grandest cliff of the most majestic mountain of the Alps. + + [Illustration: THE MANILLA ROPE.(248)] + +All those who had fallen had been tied with the Manilla, or with the +second and equally strong rope, and, consequently, there had been only one +link—that between old Peter and Lord F. Douglas—where the weaker rope had +been used. This had a very ugly look for Taugwalder, for it was not +possible to suppose that the others would have sanctioned the employment +of a rope so greatly inferior in strength when there were more than 250 +feet of the better qualities still remaining out of use.(249) For the sake +of the old guide (who bore a good reputation), and upon all other +accounts, it was desirable that this matter should be cleared up; and +after my examination before the court of inquiry which was instituted by +the Government was over, I handed in a number of questions which were +framed so as to afford old Peter an opportunity of exculpating himself +from the grave suspicions which at once fell upon him. The questions, I +was told, were put and answered; but the answers, although promised, have +never reached me.(250) + + [Illustration: THE SECOND ROPE.] + + [Illustration: THE ENGLISH CHURCH AT ZERMATT.] + +Meanwhile, the administration sent strict injunctions to recover the +bodies, and upon the 19th of July, twenty-one men of Zermatt accomplished +that sad and dangerous task.(251) Of the body of Lord Francis Douglas +they, too, saw nothing; it is probably still arrested on the rocks +above.(252) The remains of Hudson and Hadow were interred upon the north +side of the Zermatt Church, in the presence of a reverent crowd of +sympathising friends. The body of Michel Croz lies upon the other side, +under a simpler tomb; whose inscription bears honourable testimony to his +rectitude, to his courage, and to his devotion. + + + +So the traditional inaccessibility of the Matterhorn was vanquished, and +was replaced by legends of a more real character. Others will essay to +scale its proud cliffs, but to none will it be the mountain that it was to +its early explorers. Others may tread its summit-snows, but none will ever +know the feelings of those who first gazed upon its marvellous panorama; +and none, I trust, will ever be compelled to tell of joy turned into +grief, and of laughter into mourning. It proved to be a stubborn foe; it +resisted long, and gave many a hard blow; it was defeated at last with an +ease that none could have anticipated, but, like a relentless +enemy—conquered but not crushed—it took terrible vengeance. The time may +come when the Matterhorn shall have passed away, and nothing, save a heap +of shapeless fragments, will mark the spot where the great mountain stood; +for, atom by atom, inch by inch, and yard by yard, it yields to forces +which nothing can withstand. That time is far distant; and, ages hence, +generations unborn will gaze upon its awful precipices, and wonder at its +unique form. However exalted may be their ideas, and however exaggerated +their expectations, none will come to return disappointed! + + + +With the Ascent of the Matterhorn, my mountaineering in the Alps came to a +close. The disastrous termination, though casting a permanent cloud over +otherwise happy memories, and leaving a train of life-long regrets, has +not altered my regard for the purest, healthiest and most manly of sports; +and, often, in grappling with every day difficulties, sometimes in +apparently hopeless tasks, encouragement has been found in the remembrance +of hard-won victories over stubborn Alps. + +We who go mountain-scrambling have constantly set before us the +superiority of fixed purpose or perseverance to brute force. We know that +each height, each step, must be gained by patient, laborious toil, and +that wishing cannot take the place of working; we know the benefits of +mutual aid; that many a difficulty must be encountered, and many an +obstacle must be grappled with or turned, but we know that where there’s a +will there’s a way: and we come back to our daily occupations better +fitted to fight the battle of life, and to overcome the impediments which +obstruct our paths, strengthened and cheered by the recollection of past +labours, and by the memories of victories gained in other fields. + +I have not made myself an apologist for mountaineering, nor do I now +intend to usurp the functions of a moralist; but my task would have been +ill performed if it had been concluded without one reference to the more +serious lessons of the mountaineer. We glory in the physical regeneration +which is the product of our exertions; we exult over the grandeur of the +scenes that are brought before our eyes, the splendours of sunrise and +sunset, and the beauties of hill, dale, lake, wood, and waterfall; but we +value more highly the development of manliness, and the evolution, under +combat with difficulties, of those noble qualities of human +nature—courage, patience, endurance, and fortitude. + +Some hold these virtues in less estimation, and assign base and +contemptible motives to those who indulge in our innocent sport. + + “Be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny.” + +Others, again, who are not detractors, find mountaineering, as a sport, to +be wholly unintelligible. It is not greatly to be wondered at—we are not +all constituted alike. Mountaineering is a pursuit essentially adapted to +the young or vigorous, and not to the old or feeble. To the latter, toil +may be no pleasure; and it is often said by such persons, “This man is +making a toil of pleasure.” Let the motto on the title-page be an answer, +if an answer be required. Toil he must who goes mountaineering; but out of +the toil comes strength (not merely muscular energy—more than that), an +awakening of all the faculties; and from the strength arises pleasure. +Then, again, it is often asked, in tones which seem to imply that the +answer must, at least, be doubtful, “But does it repay you?” Well, we +cannot estimate our enjoyment as you measure your wine, or weigh your +lead,—it is real, nevertheless. If I could blot out every reminiscence, or +erase every memory, still I should say that my scrambles amongst the Alps +have repaid me, for they have given me two of the best things a man can +possess—health and friends. + +The recollections of past pleasures cannot be effaced. Even now as I write +they crowd up before me. First comes an endless series of pictures, +magnificent in form, effect, and colour. I see the great peaks, with +clouded tops, seeming to mount up for ever and ever; I hear the music of +the distant herds, the peasant’s jodel, and the solemn church-bells; and I +scent the fragrant breath of the pines: and after these have passed away, +another train of thoughts succeeds—of those who have been upright, brave, +and true; of kind hearts and bold deeds; and of courtesies received at +stranger hands, trifles in themselves, but expressive of that good will +towards men which is the essence of charity. + +Still, the last, sad memory hovers round, and sometimes drifts across like +floating mist, cutting off sunshine, and chilling the remembrance of +happier times. There have been joys too great to be described in words, +and there have been griefs upon which I have not dared to dwell; and with +these in mind I say, Climb if you will, but remember that courage and +strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may +destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to +each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end. + + [Illustration: The end] + + + + + + + APPENDIX. + + + + + *A.* THE DEATH OF BENNEN.(253) + + +On February 28, 1864, Mr. P. C. Gosset and Mr. B—— started from the +village of Ardon (about mid-way between Sion and Martigny), to make the +ascent of the Haut-de-Cry (9688 feet), with the guides J. J. Nance, F. +Rebot, A. Bevard, and J. J. Bennen. They arrived within a few hundred feet +of the summit before mid-day, and determined to complete the ascent by +following the crest of a ridge leading towards the east. Before this could +be done it was necessary to cross some steep snow; and, while passing +this, an avalanche was unfortunately started. Bennen and Mr. B—— perished; +the others happily escaped. The following narrative, from the pen of Mr. +Gosset, illustrates, in a very impressive manner, the danger of traversing +new-fallen snow at considerable inclinations:— + + + “We had to go up a steep snow-field, about 800 feet high, as well + as I remember. It was about 150 feet broad at the top, and 400 or + 500 at the bottom. It was a sort of couloir on a large scale. + During the ascent we sank about one foot deep at every step. + Bennen did not seem to like the look of the snow very much. He + asked the local guides whether avalanches ever came down this + couloir, to which they answered that our position was perfectly + safe. We had mounted on the northern side of the couloir, and + having arrived at 150 feet from the top, we began crossing it on a + horizontal curve, so as to gain the E. arête. The inflexion or dip + of the couloir was slight, not above 25 feet, the inclination near + 35°. We were walking in the following order:—Bevard, Nance, + Bennen, myself, B., and Rebot. Having crossed over about + three-quarters of the breadth of the couloir, the two leading men + suddenly sank considerably above their waists. Bennen tightened + the rope. The snow was too deep to think of getting out of the + hole they had made, so they advanced one or two steps, dividing + the snow with their bodies. Bennen turned round and told us he was + afraid of starting an avalanche; we asked whether it would not be + better to return and cross the couloir higher up. To this the + three Ardon men opposed themselves; they mistook the proposed + precaution for fear, and the two leading men continued their work. + After three or four steps gained in the aforesaid manner, the snow + became hard again. Bennen had not moved—he was evidently undecided + what he should do; as soon, however, as he saw hard snow again, he + advanced and crossed parallel to, but above, the furrow the Ardon + men had made. Strange to say, the snow supported him. While he was + passing I observed that the leader, Bevard, had ten or twelve feet + of rope coiled round his shoulder. I of course at once told him to + uncoil it and get on the arête, from which he was not more than + fifteen feet distant. Bennen then told me to follow. I tried his + steps, but sank up to my waist in the very first. So I went + through the furrows, holding my elbows close to my body, so as not + to touch the sides. This furrow was about twelve feet long, and as + the snow was good on the other side, we had all come to the false + conclusion that the snow was accidentally softer there than + elsewhere. Bennen advanced; he had made but a few steps when we + heard a deep, cutting sound. The snow-field split in two about + fourteen or fifteen feet above us. The cleft was at first quite + narrow, not more than an inch broad. An awful silence ensued; it + lasted but a few seconds, and then it was broken by Bennen’s + voice, ‘We are all lost.’ His words were slow and solemn, and + those who knew him felt what they really meant when spoken by such + a man as Bennen. They were his last words. I drove my alpenstock + into the snow, and brought the weight of my body to bear on it. I + then waited. It was an awful moment of suspense. I turned my head + towards Bennen to see whether he had done the same thing. To my + astonishment I saw him turn round, face the valley, and stretch + out both arms. The snow on which we stood began to move slowly, + and I felt the utter uselessness of any alpenstock. I soon sank up + to my shoulders, and began descending backwards. From this moment + I saw nothing of what had happened to the rest of the party. With + a good deal of trouble I succeeded in turning round. The speed of + the avalanche increased rapidly, and before long I was covered up + with snow. I was suffocating when I suddenly came to the surface + again. I was on a wave of the avalanche, and saw it before me as I + was carried down. It was the most awful sight I ever saw. The head + of the avalanche was already at the spot where we had made our + last halt. The head alone was preceded by a thick cloud of + snow-dust; the rest of the avalanche was clear. Around me I heard + the horrid hissing of the snow, and far before me the thundering + of the foremost part of the avalanche. To prevent myself sinking + again, I made use of my arms much in the same way as when swimming + in a standing position. At last I noticed that I was moving + slower; then I saw the pieces of snow in front of me stop at some + yards’ distance; then the snow straight before me stopped, and I + heard on a large scale the same creaking sound that is produced + when a heavy cart passes over frozen snow in winter. I felt that I + also had stopped, and instantly threw up both arms to protect my + head in case I should again be covered up. I had stopped, but the + snow behind me was still in motion; its pressure on my body was so + strong, that I thought I should be crushed to death. This + tremendous pressure lasted but a short time; I was covered up by + snow coming from behind me. My first impulse was to try and + uncover my head—but this I could not do, the avalanche had frozen + by pressure the moment it stopped, and I was frozen in. Whilst + trying vainly to move my arms, I suddenly became aware that the + hands as far as the wrist had the faculty of motion. The + conclusion was easy, they must be above the snow. I set to work as + well as I could; it was time, for I could not have held out much + longer. At last I saw a faint glimmer of light. The crust above my + head was getting thinner, but I could not reach it any more with + my hands; the idea struck me that I might pierce it with my + breath. After several efforts I succeeded in doing so, and felt + suddenly a rush of air towards my mouth. I saw the sky again + through a little round hole. A dead silence reigned around me; I + was so surprised to be still alive, and so persuaded at the first + moment that none of my fellow-sufferers had survived, that I did + not even think of shouting for them. I then made vain efforts to + extricate my arms, but found it impossible; the most I could do + was to join the ends of my fingers, but they could not reach the + snow any longer. After a few minutes I heard a man shouting; what + a relief it was to know that I was not the sole survivor! to know + that perhaps he was not frozen in and could come to my assistance! + I answered; the voice approached, but seemed uncertain where to + go, and yet it was now quite near. A sudden exclamation of + surprise! Rebot had seen my hands. He cleared my head in an + instant, and was about to try and cut me out completely, when I + saw a foot above the snow, and so near to me that I could touch it + with my arms, although they were not quite free yet. I at once + tried to move the foot; it was my poor friend’s. A pang of agony + shot through me as I saw that the foot did not move. Poor B. had + lost sensation, and was perhaps already dead. Rebot did his best: + after some time he wished me to help him, so he freed my arms a + little more so that I could make use of them. I could do but + little, for Rebot had torn the axe from my shoulder as soon as he + had cleared my head (I generally carry an axe separate from my + alpenstock—the blade tied to the belt, and the handle attached to + the left shoulder). Before coming to me Rebot had helped Nance out + of the snow; he was lying nearly horizontally, and was not much + covered over. Nance found Bevard, who was upright in the snow, but + covered up to the head. After about twenty minutes the two + last-named guides came up. I was at length taken out; the snow had + to be cut with the axe down to my feet before I could be pulled + out. A few minutes after one o’clock P.M. we came to my poor + friend’s face.... I wished the body to be taken out completely, + but nothing could induce the three guides to work any longer, from + the moment they saw that it was too late to save him. I + acknowledge that they were nearly as incapable of doing anything + as I was. When I was taken out of the snow the cord had to be cut. + We tried the end going towards Bennen, but could not move it; it + went nearly straight down, and showed us that there was the grave + of the bravest guide the Valais ever had, and ever will have. The + cold had done its work on us; we could stand it no longer, and + began the descent.” + + + + + *B.* STRUCK BY LIGHTNING UPON THE MATTERHORN.(254) + + +[Mr. B. B. Heathcote, of Chingford, Essex, whilst attempting to ascend the +Matterhorn by the southern route, was unfortunately used as a +lightning-conductor, when he was within 500 feet of the summit of the +mountain. It may be observed that the Matterhorn (like all isolated Alpine +rock summits) is frequently struck by lightning. Signor Giordano has +pointed out elsewhere that he found numerous traces of electric discharges +upon its summit.](255) + + + “On July 30, 1869, in company with Peter Perrn,(256) Peter + Taugwalder junior, and Jos. Maquignaz, I commenced the ascent. The + atmosphere was clear, and the wind southerly. When very near to + the summit an extremely loud thunder-clap was heard, and we + thought it prudent to descend. We commenced the descent in the + following order:—Taugwalder first, myself next, then Perrn, and + Maquignaz last. On approaching the Col do Felicité(257) I received + a sharp, stinging blow on the leg, and thought, at first, that a + stone had been dislodged; but a loud thunder-clap at once told me + what it was. Perrn also said that he had been hit on the leg. In a + few moments I received a hit on the right arm, which seemed to run + along it, and resembled a shock from a galvanic battery. At the + same time all the men gave a startled shriek, and exclaimed that + they were hit by lightning. The storm continued near us for some + little time, and then gradually died away. On arriving at the + _cabane_ I found that Perrn had a long sore on his arm; next + morning his leg was much swollen and very weak. We descended to + Breil on the following day, and crossed to Zermatt. The same day + my hand began to swell, and it continued very weak for about a + week. Maquignaz’s neck was much swollen on each side; the + lightning hitting him (according to his account) on the back, and + upon each side of the neck. Taugwalder’s leg was also slightly + swollen. The thunder was tremendous—louder than I have ever heard + it before. There was no wind, nor rain, and everything was in a + mist.” + + + + + *C.* NOTE TO CHAPTER VII. + + +It was stated in the commencement of this chapter that the Pointe des +Ecrins was the highest mountain in France. I have learned, since that +paragraph was written, that Captain Mieulet has determined that the height +of the Aiguille Verte is 13,540 feet; that mountain is consequently 78 +feet higher than the Pointe des Ecrins, and is the highest in France. + + + + + *D.* SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE MATTERHORN.(258) + + +The Val Tournanche natives who started to facilitate the way up the +south-west ridge of the Matterhorn for MM. Giordano and Sella, pitched +their tent upon my third platform, at the foot of the Great Tower (12,992 +feet), and enjoyed several days of bad weather under its shelter. On the +first fine day (13th of July) they began their work, and about midday on +the 14th got on to the “shoulder,” and arrived at the base of the final +peak (the point where Bennen stopped on July 28, 1862). The counsels of +the party were then divided. Two—Jean-Antoine Carrel and Joseph +Maquignaz—wished to go on; the others were not eager about it. A +discussion took place, and the result was they all commenced to descend, +and whilst upon the “cravate” (13,524) they heard our cries from the +summit.(259) Upon the 15th they went down to Breil and reported their +ill-success to M. Giordano (see p. 281). That gentleman was naturally much +disappointed, and pressed the men to set out again.(260) Said he, “Until +now I have striven for the honour of making the first ascent,—fate has +decided against me,—I am beaten. Patience! Now, if I make further +sacrifices it will be on your account, for your honour, and for your +interests. Will you start again to settle the question, or, at least, to +let there be no more uncertainty?” The majority of the men (in fact the +whole of them with the exception of Jean-Antoine) refused point-blank to +have anything more to do with the mountain. Carrel, however, stepped +forward, saying, “As for me, I have not given it up; if you (turning to +the Abbé Gorret) or the others will come, I will start again immediately.” +“Not I!” said one. “No more for me,” cried a second. “If you would give me +a thousand francs I would not go back,” said a third. The Abbé Gorret +alone volunteered. This plucky priest was concerned in the very first +attempts upon the mountain,(261) and is an enthusiastic mountaineer. +Carrel and the Abbé would have set out by themselves had not J. B. Bich +and J.-A. Meynet (two men in the employ of Favre the innkeeper) come +forward at the last moment. M. Giordano also wished to accompany them, but +the men knew the nature of the work they had to undertake, and positively +declined to be accompanied by an amateur. + +These four men left Breil at 6.30 A.M. on July 16, at 1 P.M. arrived at +the third tent-platform, and there passed the night. At daybreak on the +17th they continued the ascent by the route which had been taken before; +passed successively the Great Tower, the “crête du coq,” the “cravate,” +and the “shoulder,”(262) and at 10 A.M. gained the point at the foot of +the final peak from which the explorers had turned back on the 14th.(263) +They had then about 800 feet to accomplish, and, says the Abbé, “nous +allions entrer en pays inconnu, aucun n’étant jamais allé aussi loin.” + +The passage of the cleft which stopped Bennen was accomplished, and then +the party proceeded directly towards the summit, over rocks which for some +distance were not particularly difficult. The steep cliffs down which we +had hurled stones (on the 14th) then stopped their way, and Carrel led +round to the left or Z’Mutt side. The work at this part was of the very +greatest difficulty, and stones and icicles which fell rendered the +position of the party very precarious;(264) so much so that they preferred +to turn up directly towards the summit, and climb by rocks that the Abbé +termed “almost perpendicular.” He added, “This part occupied the most +time, and gave us the greatest trouble.” At length they arrived at a fault +in the rocks which formed a roughly horizontal gallery. They crept along +this in the direction of a ridge that descended towards the north-west, or +thereabouts, and when close to the ridge, found that they could not climb +on to it; but they perceived that, by descending a gully with +perpendicular sides, they could reach the ridge at a lower point. The bold +Abbé was the heaviest and the strongest of the four, and he was sacrificed +for the success of the expedition. He and Meynet remained behind, and +lowered the others, one by one, into the gully. Carrel and Bich clambered +up the other side, attained the ridge descending towards the north-west, +shortly afterwards gained an “easy route, they galloped,”(265) and in a +few minutes reached the southern end of the summit-ridge. + +The time of their arrival does not appear to have been noticed. It was +late in the day, I believe about 3 P.M. Carrel and his comrade only waited +long enough to plant a flag by the side of the cairn that we had built +three days previously, then descended at once, rejoined the others, and +all four hurried down as fast as possible to the tent. They were so +pressed for time that they could not eat! and it was 9 P.M. before they +arrived at their camp at the foot of the Great Tower. In descending they +followed the gallery above mentioned throughout its entire length, and so +avoided the very difficult rocks over which they had passed on the ascent. +As they were traversing the length of the “shoulder” they witnessed the +phenomenon to which I have already adverted at the foot of p. 289. + +When Carrel and Bich were near the summit they saw our traces upon the +Matterhorngletscher, and suspected that an accident had occurred; they did +not, however, hear of the Matterhorn catastrophe until their return to +Breil, at 3 P.M. upon the 18th. The details of that sad event were in the +mouths of all, and it was not unnaturally supposed, in the absence of +correct information, that the accident was a proof that the northern side +was frightfully dangerous. The safe return of the four Italians was +regarded, on the other hand, as evidence that the Breil route was the +best. Those who were interested (either personally or otherwise) in the +Val Tournanche made the most of the circumstances, and trumpeted the +praises of the southern route. Some went farther, and instituted +comparisons between the two routes to the disadvantage of the northern +one, and were pleased to term our expedition on the 13-14th of July +precipitate, and so forth. Considering the circumstances which caused us +to leave the Val Tournanche on the 12th of July, these remarks were not in +the best possible taste, but I have no feeling regarding them. There may +be some, however, who may be interested in a comparison of the two routes, +and for their sakes I will place the essential points in juxtaposition. We +(that is the Taugwalders and myself) were absent from Zermatt 53 hours. +Excluding halts and stoppages of one sort or another, the ascent and +descent occupied us 23 hours. Zermatt is 5315 feet above the level of the +sea, and the Matterhorn is 14,780; we had therefore to ascend 9465 feet. +As far as the point marked 10,820 feet the way was known, so we had to +find the way over only 3960 feet. The members of our party (I now include +all) were very unequal in ability, and none of us could for a moment be +compared as cragsmen with Jean-Antoine Carrel. The four Italians who +started from Breil on the 16th of July were absent during 56½ hours, and +as far as I can gather from the published account, and from conversation +with the men, excluding halts, they took for the ascent and descent 23¾ +hours. The hotel at Breil is 6890 feet above the sea, so they had to +ascend 7890 feet. As far as the end of the “shoulder” the way was known to +Carrel, and he had to find the way over only about 800 feet. All four men +were born mountaineers, good climbers, and they were led by the most +expert cragsman I have seen. The weather in each instance was fine. It is +seen, therefore, that these four nearly equally matched men took a +_longer_ time to ascend 1500 feet _less_ height than ourselves, although +we had to find the way over more than four times as much untrodden ground +as they. This alone would lead any mountaineer to suppose that their route +must have been more difficult than ours.(266) I know the greater part of +the ground over which they passed, and from my knowledge, and from the +account of Mr. Grove, I am sure that their route was not only more +difficult, but that it was _much_ more difficult than ours. + +This was not the opinion in the Val Tournanche at the end of 1865, and the +natives confidently reckoned that tourists would flock to their side in +preference to the other. It was, I believe, the late Canon Carrel of Aosta +(who always took great interest in such matters) who first proposed the +construction of a _cabane_ upon the southern side of the Matterhorn. The +project was taken up with spirit, and funds for its execution were +speedily provided—principally by the members of the Italian Alpine Club, +or by their friends. The indefatigable Carrel found a natural hole upon +the ledge called the “cravate” (13,524), and this, in course of time, was +turned, under his direction, into a respectable little hut. Its position +is superb, and gives a view of the most magnificent character. + +Whilst this work was being carried out, my friend Mr. F. Craufurd Grove +consulted me respecting the ascent of the Matterhorn. I recommended him to +ascend by the northern route, and to place himself in the hands of +Jean-Antoine Carrel. Mr. Grove found, however, that Carrel distinctly +preferred the southern side, and they ascended accordingly by the Breil +route. Mr. Grove has been good enough to supply the following account of +his expedition. He carries on my description of the southern route from +the highest point I attained on that side (a little below the “cravate”) +to the summit, and thus renders complete my descriptions of the two sides. + + + “In August 1867 I ascended the Matterhorn from Breil, taking as + guides three mountaineers of the Val Tournanche—J. A. Carrel, J. + Bich, and S. Meynet,—Carrel being the leader. At that time the + Matterhorn had not been scaled since the famous expedition of the + Italian guides mentioned above. + + + “Our route was identical with that which they followed in their + descent when, as will be seen, they struck out on one part of the + mountain a different line from that which they had taken in + ascending. After gaining the Col du Lion, we climbed the + south-western or Breil _arête_ by the route which has been + described in these pages, passing the night at the then unfinished + hut constructed by the Italian Alpine Club on the ‘cravate.’ + Starting from the hut at daylight, we reached at an early hour the + summit of the ‘shoulder,’ and then traversed its _arête_ to the + final peak of the Matterhorn. The passage of this _arête_ was + perhaps the most enjoyable part of the whole expedition. The + ridge, worn by slow irregular decay into monstrous and rugged + battlements, and guarded on each side by tremendous precipices, is + grand beyond all description, but does not, strange to say, + present any remarkable difficulty to the climber, save that it is + exceedingly trying to the head. Great care is of course necessary, + but the scramble is by no means of so arduous a nature as entirely + to absorb the attention; so that a fine climb, and rock scenery, + of grandeur perhaps unparalleled in the Alps, can both be + appreciated. + + + “It was near the end of this _arête_, close to the place where it + abuts against the final peak, that Professor Tyndall’s party + turned in 1862,(267) arrested by a cleft in the ridge. From the + point where they stopped the main tower of the Matterhorn rises in + front of the climber, abrupt, magnificent, and apparently + inaccessible. The summit is fully 750 feet in vertical height + above this spot, and certainly, to my eye, appeared to be + separated from me by a yet more considerable interval; for I + remember, when at the end of the _arête_, looking upward at the + crest of the mountain, and thinking that it must be a good 1000 + feet above me. + + + “When the Italian guides made their splendid ascent, they + traversed the _arête_ of the shoulder to the main peak, passed the + cleft which has been mentioned (p. 90), clambered on to the + tremendous north-western face of the mountain (described by Mr. + Whymper at pp. 277 and 282), and then endeavoured to cross this + face so as to get on to the Z’Mutt _arête_.(268) The passage of + this slope proved a work of great difficulty and danger. I saw it + from very near the place which they traversed, and was unable to + conceive how any human creatures managed to crawl over rocks so + steep and so treacherous. After they had got about half-way + across, they found the difficulties of the route and the danger + from falling stones so great, that they struck straight up the + mountain, in the hope of finding some safer way. They were to a + certain extent successful, for they came presently to a small + ledge, caused by a sort of fault in the rock, running horizontally + across the north-western face of the mountain a little distance + below the summit. Traversing this ledge, the Italians found + themselves close to the Z’Mutt _arête_, but still separated from + it by a barrier, to outflank which it was necessary to descend a + perpendicular gully. Carrel and Bich were lowered down this, the + other two men remaining at the top to haul up their companions on + their return, as otherwise they could not have got up again. + Passing on to the Z’Mutt _arête_ without further difficulty, + Carrel and Bich climbed by that ridge to the summit of the + mountain. In returning, the Italians kept to the ledge for the + whole distance across the north-western face, and descended to the + place where the _arête_ of the shoulder abuts against the main + peak by a sort of rough ridge of rocks between the north-western + and southern faces. When I ascended in 1867, we followed this + route in the ascent and in the descent. I thought the ledge + difficult, in some places decidedly dangerous, and should not care + to set foot on it again; but assuredly it neither is so difficult + nor so continuously dangerous as those gaunt and pitiless + rock-slopes which the Italians crossed in their upward route. + + + [Illustration: THE HUT (CABANE) ON THE ZERMATT SIDE OF THE MATTERHORN. + FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY THE AUTHOR.] + + + “The credit of making the _Italian_ ascent of the Matterhorn + belongs undoubtedly to J.-A. Carrel and to the other mountaineers + who accompanied him. Bennen led his party bravely and skilfully to + a point some 750 feet below the top. From this point, however, + good guide though he was, Bennen had to retire defeated; and it + was reserved for the better mountain-craft of the Valtournanche + guide to win the difficult way to the summit of the Matterhorn.” + + +Mr. Craufurd Grove was the first traveller who ascended the Matterhorn +after the accident, and the natives of Val Tournanche were, of course, +greatly delighted that his ascent was made upon their side. Some of them, +however, were by no means well pleased that J.-A. Carrel was so much +regarded. They feared, perhaps, that he would acquire the monopoly of the +mountain. Just a month after Mr. Grove’s ascent, six Valtournanchians set +out to see whether they could not learn the route, and so come in for a +share of the good things which were expected to arrive. They were three +Maquignaz’s, Cæsar Carrel (my old guide), J.-B. Carrel, and a daughter of +the last named! They left Breil at 5 A.M. on Sept. 12, and at 3 P.M. +arrived at the hut, where they passed the night. At 7 A.M. the next day +they started again (leaving J.-B. Carrel behind), and proceeded along the +“shoulder” to the final peak; passed the cleft which had stopped Bennen, +and clambered up the comparatively easy rocks on the other side until they +arrived at the base of the last precipice, down which we had hurled stones +on July 14, 1865. They (young woman and all) were then about 350 feet from +the summit! Then, instead of turning to the left, as Carrel and Mr. Grove +had done, Joseph and J.-Pierre Maquignaz paid attention to the cliff in +front of them, and managed to find a means of passing up, by clefts, +ledges, and gullies, to the summit. This was a shorter (and it appears to +be an easier) route than that taken by Carrel and Grove, and it has been +followed by all those who have since then ascended the mountain from the +side of Breil.(269) Subsequently, a rope was fixed over the most difficult +portions of the final climb. + +In the meantime they had not been idle upon the other side. A hut was +constructed upon the eastern face, at a height of 12,526 feet above the +sea, near to the crest of the ridge which descends towards Zermatt +(north-east ridge). This was done at the expense of Monsieur Seiler and of +the Swiss Alpine Club. Mons. Seiler placed the execution of the work under +the direction of the Knubels, of the village of St. Nicholas, in the +Zermatt valley; and Peter Knubel, along with Joseph Marie Lochmatter of +the same village, had the honour of making the second ascent of the +mountain upon the northern side with Mr. Elliott. This took place on July +24-25, 1868. Since then very numerous ascents have been made both on the +Swiss and upon the Italian side. The list of ascents will, however, show +that far more have been made by the Zermatt or northern route than by the +Breil or southern route. + + [Illustration: THE CHAPEL AT THE SCHWARZSEE.] + +Mr. Elliott supposed that he avoided the place where the accident +occurred, and that he improved the northern route. This, however, is not +the case. Both he and the others who have succeeded him have followed in +all essential points the route which we took upon July 13-15, 1865, with +the exception of the deviations which I will point out. Upon leaving +Zermatt, the traveller commences by crossing a bridge which is commonly +termed the Matterhorn bridge, and proceeds to the chapel at the +Schwarzsee. Thence he mounts the Hörnli, and follows its ridge along its +entire length right up to the foot of the Matterhorn. There is now a good +path along the whole of this ridge, but when we traversed it for the First +Ascent there was not even so much as a faintly marked track. The first +steps which are taken upon the mountain itself follow the exact line over +which I myself led upon the first ascent, and the track presently passes +over the precise spot upon which our tent was placed in 1865. In 1874, and +again in 1876, I saw the initials which I marked on the rock by the side +of our tent. The route now taken passes this rock, and then goes round the +corner of the buttress to which I referred upon p. 276. At this point the +route now followed deviates somewhat from the line of our ascent, and goes +more directly up to the part of the north-east ridge upon which the +_Cabane_ is placed. We bore more away on to the face of the mountain, and +proceeded more directly towards the summit. At the upper part of the +ascent of the north-east ridge the route now taken is exactly that of the +first ascent until the foot of the final peak is reached; and there, +instead of bearing away to the right, as we did, the tourist now clambers +up directly towards the summit by means of the fixed ropes and chains. The +final portion of the ascent, over the snow at the summit, again follows +our route. + + [Illustration: THE SUMMIT OF THE MATTERHORN IN 1874 (NORTHERN END).] + +So far as the _Cabane_ there is now a strongly marked track, almost a +path, over the mountain; and little piles of stones, placed in prominent +situations, point out the way even to the dullest person. What the +_Cabane_ itself is like will be seen by reference to the illustration +which faces p. 309. It is placed in a very insecure position, and will +probably one of these days disappear by disintegration. It is not easy at +this part of the mountain to find a good situation for a hut, though there +is plenty of choice both higher up and lower down. + +Amongst the ascents that have been made which are most worthy of note, +that made by Signor Giordano may be mentioned first. This gentleman came +to Breil several times after his famous visit in 1865, with the intention +of making the ascent, but he was always baffled by the weather. In July +1866 he got as high as the “cravate” (with J. A. Carrel and other men) and +_was detained there five days and nights, unable to move either up or +down_. At last, upon Sept. 3-5, 1868, he was able to gratify his desires, +and accomplished the feat of ascending the mountain on one side and +descending it upon the other. Signor Giordano is, I believe, the only +geologist who has ascended the mountain. He spent a considerable time in +the examination of its structure, and became benighted on its eastern face +in consequence. I am indebted to him for the valuable note and the +accompanying section which follow the Table of Ascents. Signor Giordano +carried a mercurial barometer throughout the entire distance, and read it +frequently. His observations have enabled me to determine with confidence +and accuracy the heights which were attained upon the different attempts +to ascend the mountain, and the various points upon it which have been so +frequently mentioned throughout this volume. + +Questions having been frequently put to me respecting the immediate summit +of the Matterhorn, and difficulties having been expressed as to the +recognition of the two views given upon pp. 279 and 281, I made an ascent +of the mountain in 1874 to photograph the summit, in order that I might +see what changes had occurred since our visit of ten years before. The +summits of all high mountains vary from time to time, and I was not +surprised to find that the Matterhorn was no exception to the general +rule. It was altogether sharper and narrower in 1874 than 1865. Instead of +being able “to run about,” every step had to be painfully cut with the +axe; and the immediate summit, instead of being a blunt and rounded +eminence, was a little piled-up cone of snow which went to a very sharp +point. Our photographic operations were conducted with difficulty, for a +furious north wind was blowing which would have whisked away the camera +immediately if it had been set up in the most convenient position for +taking a view; and we were compelled to cut a great gash in the snow and +to work down upon the edge of the cliff overlooking Breil before we could +escape from the gusts which were whirling away the snow in writhing +eddies. My guides J. A. Carrel, Bic, and Lochmatter formed a strong party, +and eventually we gained a position, protected from the wind, whence there +was a good view of the summit; but our ledge was so small that we could +not venture to unrope, and Carrel had to squat down whilst I photographed +over his head. The engraving upon p. 311 has been made from the photograph +so taken. It will interest some of my readers to know that the nearest +peak, seen below, is the summit of the Dent d’Hérens. + +The light was not favourable for photographing the _Cabane_ when we +returned from the summit, and I stopped alone with Carrel in it for a +second night in order to get the morning light on the next day. Whilst +quietly reposing inside, I was startled to hear a rustling and crackling +sound, and jumped up, expecting that the building was about to take itself +off to lower quarters; and presently I perceived that the hut had a tenant +to whom I certainly did not expect to be introduced. A little, plump mouse +came creeping out over the floor, being apparently of opinion that there +ought not to be any one there at that time of day. It wandered about +picking up stray fragments of food, occasionally crunching a bit of +egg-shell, totally unaware of my presence, for I made out that the little +animal was both blind and deaf. It would have been easy to capture it, but +I would not do so, and left it there to keep company with other solitary +tourists. + +The view from the _Cabane_ extends from the Bietschhorn on the north to +the Grand Tournalin in the south; and includes the Mischabel group, the +Allalleinhorn and Alphubel, Mont Rosa, etc. etc. Its situation is not high +enough to overlook those mountains, and so the prospect is very similar to +the northern and eastern half of the view from the Riffel. The uppermost +800 feet of the Matterhorn can be seen from the hut, but the rest of the +part above it is not visible, being hidden by a small ridge which projects +from the face. Whilst stopping in the _Cabane_ we had the insecurity of +its position forcibly impressed upon us by seeing a huge block break away +from the rock at its side, and go crashing down over the very route which +is commonly pursued by tourists. + +The year 1879 is a memorable one in the history of the Matterhorn, for in +it there occurred two deaths upon the mountain, and two new routes were +discovered. Sufficient information has not come to hand at the time I +write upon what is termed the “_affaire Brantschen_” to enable one to form +a correct opinion about that lamentable business, and it is enough to say +that upon August 12 a party started from Breil, composed of Dr. Lüscher, +Prof. Schiess, and the guides J. M. Lochmatter, Jos. Brantschen, and +Petryson of Evolena. They gained the hut on the “cravate” in due course, +and on the following day the party crossed the mountain to Zermatt, with +the exception of Brantschen, who was left behind in the hut, some say only +slightly ill, and others at the point of death. Which of these was the +case is only known by those concerned. They sent back assistance to their +comrade in a somewhat tardy fashion, and when the relief party gained the +hut Brantschen was found dead. + +At the time that this was taking place on the southern side of the +Matterhorn, an accident occurred on the north-east face by which a life +was lost. Messrs. A. E. Craven and Dr. Moseley (of Boston), with the +guides Peter Rubi and C. Inabnit, left Zermatt at 10.30 P.M. on the night +of August 13, and ascended the mountain by the usual northern route +without stopping at the hut. They reached the summit at 9 A.M. on the +14th, and had returned to within a short distance of the hut, when Dr. +Moseley (who had found it irksome to be tied up, and had frequently wished +to go unroped) untied himself from the rest, doing so entirely upon his +own responsibility. A few minutes later, and within quite a short distance +of the hut, the party had to cross a projecting piece of rock. Rubi went +over first, and planted his axe in position to give firm footing to Dr. +Moseley, who followed. But, unhappily, he declined assistance; placed his +hand on the rock, and endeavoured to vault over it. In doing so he +slipped, lost hold of his axe, and fell with ever accelerating velocity +down almost the whole of the north-east face. He fell about 2000 feet, and +was of course killed on the spot. His body was recovered three days later, +and was interred in the English burying-ground at Zermatt. + +Many persons have talked at different times about the possibility of +finding a way up the Matterhorn from the side of the Z’Mutt glacier; but +it was not until the year 1879 that a way was found. On September 2-3, Mr. +A. F. Mummery, with the guides ? and ? , succeeded in gaining the +summit by first going up the long buttress of snow which runs out from the +mountain to the Z’Mutt glacier, and then up the rocks above. I have been +unable to procure any details respecting this expedition and my only +information about it has been derived from Mr. Baumann, who followed in +Mr. Mummery’s traces three days later. Mr. Baumann says: “We followed the +long ice-slope to its extreme upper end, then the jagged arête above it +for a short distance, and then deviated a little to the right, climbing by +a secondary rocky ridge descending towards the Stockhi until within an +hour of the summit, when we struck the main Z’Mutt arête and so completed +the ascent by joining the Breil route.” + +At the very time that Mr. Mummery was occupied in his expedition, Mr. W. +Penhall, with the guides F. Imseng and L. Sorbriehen, was engaged in a +similar enterprise, and also ascended the Matterhorn from the direction of +the Stockhi. He, however, at the first took a route closer to the +Tiefenmatten glacier, though he at last, like the others, eventually got +upon the main Z’Mutt arête and completed the ascent by following a portion +of the Breil route. + +Neither Mr. Mummery, nor Messrs. Baumann and Penhall, descended by the +routes which they struck out, and in each case the respective parties +descended by the northern or Zermatt route. It is therefore at present +impossible to determine the relative difficulty of the various routes up +the mountain. Still, I think that the great majority of tourists will, as +heretofore, prefer the ordinary Zermatt route, and that comparatively few +will patronize the newly-discovered ones. + +The ascent of the Matterhorn has now taken its place amongst those which +are considered fashionable, and many persons get upon it who ought not to +be upon a mountain at all. Although much has been done on both sides of it +to facilitate the routes, and although they are much easier to traverse +than they were in years gone by, it is still quite possible to get into +trouble upon them, and to come utterly to grief. Considering how large a +number of entirely incompetent persons venture upon the mountain, it is +surprising so few meet with accidents; but if the number of accidents +continues to increase at its present rate it will, ere long, not be easy +to find a place of interment in the English churchyard at Zermatt. + + + + +*E.* TABLE OF ATTEMPTS MADE TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN PREVIOUS TO THE FIRST + ASCENT. + + + +No. of Date. Names. Side upon Greatest REMARKS. +Attempt. which Height + the Attempt attained. + was + made, and + Place + arrived at. + + 1 1858-9. J.-Antoine Breil side 12,650 Several attempts + Carrel. “Chimney.” were made before + J.-Jacques this height was + Carrel attained; the men + Victor Carrel. concerned cannot + Gab. Maquignaz. remember how many. + Abbé Gorret. See p. 46. + + 1860. + 2 July Alfred Zermatt 11,500? Without guides. + Parker. side P. 46-7. + Charles East face. + Parker. + Sandbach + Parker. + + 3 August V. Hawkins. Breil side 12,992 Guides—J. J. + J. Tyndall. Hawkins got 13,050? Bennen and + to foot of J.-Jacques + “Great Tower,” Carrel. Pp. 47-9. + Tyndall a few + feet higher. + + 1861. + 4 July Messrs. Zermatt 11,700? No guides. + Parker side P. 49. + East face. + + 5 Aug. 29 J.-Antoine Breil side 13,230 See p. 57. + Carrel. “Crête du + J.-Jacques Coq.” + Carrel. + + 6 Aug. 29-30 Edward Breil side 12,650 Camped upon the + Whymper “Chimney.” mountain, with + an Oberland + guide. Pp. 51-7. + + 1862. + 7 January T. S. Zermatt 11,000? Winter attempt. + Kennedy side Pp. 58-9. + East face. + + 8 July 7-8 R. J. S. Breil side 12,000 Guides—Johann zum + Macdonald. Arête below Taugwald and + Edward “Chimney.” Johann Kronig. + Whymper. Pp. 64-5. + + 9 July 9-10 R. J. S. Breil side 12,992 Guides—J.-A. + Macdonald. “Great Carrel and + Edward Tower.” Pession. P. 66. + Whymper. + + ” July 18-19 ” ” Breil side 13,400 Alone. Pp. + Somewhat 67-79. + higher than + the lowest part + of the “Cravate.” + + 10 July 23-24 ” ” Breil side 13,150 Guides—J.-A. + “Crête du Carrel, Cæsar + Coq.” Carrel, and Luc + Meynet. P. 80. + + 11 July 25-26 ” ” Breil side 13,460 With Luc Meynet. + Nearly as Pp. 81-2. + high as the + highest part + of the “Cravate.” + + 12 July 27-28 J. Tyndall Breil side 13,970 Guides—J. J. + “The Bennen and Anton + Shoulder,” Walter; porters— + to foot of J.-Antoine + final peak. Carrel, Cæsar + Carrel, and + another. Pp. + 83-87, 90-92. + + 1863. + 13 Aug. 10-11 Edward Breil side 13,280 Guides—J.-A. + Whymper “Crête du Carrel, Cæsar + Coq.” Carrel, Luc + Meynet, and two + porters. Pp. + 114-123. + + 1865. + 14 June 21. ” ” South-east 11,200? Guides—Michel + face Croz, Christian + Almer, Franz + Biener; porter—Luc + Meynet. Pp. + 231-235. + + + + + *F.* ASCENTS OF THE MATTERHORN. + + +No. of Date. Names. Route taken. REMARKS. +Ascent + 1865. + 1 July 13-15 Lord Francis Douglas. Zermatt Guides—Michel + D. Hadow. (Or Northern Croz, Peter + Charles Hudson. route.) Taugwalder + Edward Whymper. _père_, Peter + Taugwalder + _fils_. See + pp. 271-290. + + 2 July 16-18 Jean-Antoine Carrel. Breil The first two + J. Baptiste Bich. (Or Southern named only + Amé Gorret. route.) ascended to the + J.-Augustin Meynet. summit. See + pp. 282, 304-6. + + 1867. + 3 Aug. 13-15 F. Craufurd Grove Breil Guides—J. A. + Carrel, Salamon + Meynet, and + J. B. Bich. + + 4 Sept. 12-14 Jos. Maquignaz. Breil An easier route + J.-Pierre Maquignaz. was discovered + Victor Maquignaz. by this party + Cæsar Carrel. than that taken + J.-B. Carrel. upon July 17, + 1865. The first + two named only + ascended to the + summit. See + p. 309. + + 5 Oct. 1-3 W. Leighton Jordan Breil Guides—the + Maquignaz’s just + named, Cæsar + Carrel, and F. + Ansermin. The + Maquignaz’s and + Mr. Jordan alone + reached the + summit. + + 1868. + 6 July 24-25 J. M. Elliott Zermatt Guides—Jos. Marie + Lochmatter and + Peter Knubel. + + 7 July 26-28 J. Tyndall Up Breil Guides—Jos. and + side and Pierre Maquignaz, + down Zermatt and three others. + side. + + 8 Aug. 2-4 O. Hoiler. ” ? Account given in + F. Thioly. hotel-book at + Breil is not + very clear. + Guides seem to + have been Jos. + and Victor + Maquignaz and + Elie Pession. + + 9 Aug. 3-4 G. E. Foster Zermatt Guides—Hans + Baumann, Peter + Bernett, and + Peter Knubel. + + 10 Aug. 8 Paul Guessfeldt Zermatt Guides—Jos. Marie + Lochmatter, + Nich. Knubel, and + Peter Knubel. + + 11 Sept. 1-2 A. G. Girdlestone. Zermatt Guides—Jos. Marie + F. Craufurd Grove. Lochmatter and + W. E. U. Kelso. the two Knubels. + + 12 Sept. 2-3 G. B. Marke Zermatt Guides—Nich. + Knubel and Pierre + Zurbriggen + (Saas). + + 13 Sept. 3-5 F. Giordano Up Breil Guides—J. A. + side and Carrel and + down Zermatt Jos. Maquignaz. + side. See p. 310. + + 14 Sept. 8-9 Paul Sauzet Breil Guides—J. A. + Carrel and Jos. + Maquignaz. + + 1869. + 15 July 20 James Eccles Breil Guides—J. A. + Carrel, Bich, + and two Payots + (Chamounix). + + 16 Aug. 26-27 R. B. Heathcote Breil Guides—The four + Maquignaz’s (Val + Tournanche). + + 1870. + 17 July 20 (?) ? Zermatt No details have + come to hand. + + 1871. + 18 July 16-17 E. R. Whitwell Zermatt Guides—Ulrich + and Ch. Lauener. + + 19 July 21-22 F. Gardiner. Zermatt Guides—Peter + F. Walker. Perrn, P. Knubel, + Lucy Walker. N. Knubel, + Melchior + Anderegg, and + Heinrich + Anderegg. + + 20 ? — Fowler Zermatt Guides—C. Knubel + and J. M. + Lochmatter. + + 21 Aug. 2-3 W. E. Utterson-Kelso Breil Guides—Victor + and Emmanuel + Maquignaz and + Joseph Gillioz. + + 22 Aug. 7-8 R. S. Lyle Breil Guides—J. J. + Maquignaz and ? + + 23 Aug. 18-19 C. E. Mathews. Breil Guides—J. A. + F. Morshead. Carrel and + Melchior + Anderegg, with + two porters. + + 24 Sept. 4-5 M. C. Brevoort. Zermatt to Breil Guides—Ch. + W. A. B. Coolidge. Almer, Ulr. + Almer, and N. + Knubel. + + 25 Sept. 7-8 R. Fowler Zermatt Guides—J. M. + Lochmatter + and P. Knubel. + + 1872. + 26 July 22-23 F. Gardiner. Zermatt to Breil Guides—J. + T. Middlemore. Maquignaz, + Peter Knubel, + and Johann Jaun. + + 27 July 21 H. Bicknell ? Guides—Not known. + + 28 July 24-25 R. Pendlebury. Zermatt to Breil Guides—Peter + W. M. Pendlebury. Taugwalder + C. Taylor. _fils_, Gabriel + Spechtenhauser, + and F. Imseng. + + 29 July 26 J. Jackson Breil to Zermatt Guides—Jos. + Maquignaz and + Anton Ritz. + + 30 July ? F. A. Wallroth ? Guides—Not known. + + 31 Aug. 29-30 A. Rothschild Zermatt Guides—Franz + Biener and two + Knubels. + + 32 Sept. 1-2 G. A. Passingham Zermatt Guides—F. Imseng + and Franz + Andermatten. + + 33 Sept. 9-10 H. Denning. Zermatt Guides—Melchior + E. Hutchins. Schlapp, Peter + J. Young. Rubi, and two + Knubels. + + 34 Sept. 10-11 L. Saunderson Zermatt Guides—Peter + Bohren and + Peter Knubel. + + 35 Sept. 11-12 E. Millidge Zermatt Guide— — + Pollinger. + + 36 Sept. 11-12 D. J. Abercromby Zermatt Guides—N. Knubel + and P. J. + Knubel. + + 37 Sept. 16-17 C. Bronzet Zermatt Guides—P. Knubel, + F. Truffer, and + J. Truffer. + + 1873. + 38 July 6-7 T. Cox. Zermatt Guides—Peter + J. Gardiner. Knubel and J. M. + Lochmatter. + + 39 July 6-7 C. Théraulaz Zermatt Guides—J. + Gillot and + Ignace Sarbach. + + 40 July 21-22 A. F. Leach Zermatt Guides—P. + Taugwalder + _fils_ and J. + M. Kronig. + + 41 July 21-22 T. A. Bishop Zermatt Guides—P. + Knubel, P. J. + Knubel, and F. + Devouassoud. + + 42 July 23-24 H. Salmond Breil Guides—Not known. + + 43 July 23-24 A. G. Puller. Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel and Jos. + Maquignaz. + + 44 July 25-26 E. Leatham Zermatt Guides—P. + Knubel and + Joseph Imboden. + + 45 July 25-27 W. W. Simpson Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel, P. + Maquignaz, and a + Chamounix guide. + + 46 July 29-30 M. Déchy Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel and P. + Taugwalder + _fils_. + + 47 Aug. 3 J. Bischoff. Zermatt Guides— + E. Burckhardt. + + 48 Aug. 6-7 Emile Veyrin Zermatt Guides—P. J. + Knubel; porter, + Joh. Knubel. + + 49 Aug. 9-10 L. Ewbank Zermatt Guides—J. M. and + Alex. Lochmatter. + + 50 Aug. 11 G. E. Hulton. Zermatt Guides—Ch. + F. C. Hulton. Lauener, Johann + Fischer, and + Peter Rubi. + + 51 Aug. 11-12 Marquis Maglioni Zermatt Guides—P. Knubel, + Edouard Capelin; + porter H. Knubel. + + 52 Aug. 14-15 F. Dawkins Zermatt Guides—Franz + Andermatten, A. + Burgener; porter, + Abraham Imseng. + + 53 Aug. 15-16 J. F. Bramston. Zermatt Guides—Melchior + F. Morshead. Anderegg, B. + C. H. Hawkins. Nageli, and J. + M. Lochmatter. + + 54 Aug. 16 H. S. Hoare Zermatt Guides—Johann + von Bergen and + A. Pollinger. + + 55 Aug. 18-22 E. Pigeon. Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A. + — Pigeon. Carrel, V. + Maquignaz, and J. + Martin. This + party was + confined in the + hut on the + Italian side from + the 18th to the + 21st of August, + by bad weather; + and in descending + upon the Zermatt + side it was + surprised by + night before the + _cabane_ could be + reached, and had + to pass the + night on the open + mountain-side. + + 56 Aug. 22-23 F. P. Barlow Zermatt Guides—Jakob + Anderegg and P. + Taugwalder + _fils_. + + 57 Oct 2-3 W. W. Stuart Breil to Zermatt Guides—Jos. + Maquignaz, F. + Bic, and Jos. + Balmat. + + 1874. + 58 July 14-15 T. G. Bonney Zermatt Guides—J. M. + Lochmatter and + J. Petrus. + + 59 July 17-18 F. Wolf Zermatt Guides—A. + Pollinger and + Jos. Lauber. + + 60 July 18-19 A. Millot and wife Zermatt Guides—Melchior + Anderegg, A. + Maurer, and P. + Taugwalder + _fils_. + + 61 July ? H. Lamb ? Guides—Not known. + + 62 July 19-20 J. Baumann Zermatt Guide-Ulrich + Lauener. + + 63 July 23-24 ? E. Javelle Breil to Zermatt Guides— + + 64 July 27-29 L. K. Rankine Zermatt Guides—A. + Pollinger and + Jos. Längen. + + 65 Aug. 7 J. Birkbeck, Jun. Breil to Breil Guides—J. Petrus + and J. B. Bic. + Mr. Birkbeck and + his guides + started from + Breil, crossed + the mountain to + the northern + side, and + returned to + Breil, in 19 + hours. + + 66 Aug. 7-8 G. F. Cobb. Zermatt Guides—P. + S. Forster. Taugwalder + A. M. Tod. _fils_, Jos. + Taugwalder, and + A. Summermatter. + + 67 Aug. 7-8 M. Bramston Zermatt Guide—B. Nageli. + + 68 Aug. 12 G. Dévin Zermatt Guides—L. + Pollinger and + Henri Séraphin. + + 69 Aug. 19-20 L. N. Walford Zermatt Guides—Alex. + Burgener and B. + Venetz. + + 70 Aug. 20-21 A. D. Puckle Zermatt Guides—J. Petrus + and N. Knubel. + + 71 Aug. 20-21 R. Lindt Zermatt Guides—Ig. + Sarbach and + Peter Sulzer. + + 72 Aug. 20-22 Edward Whymper Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel, J. B. + Bic, and J. M. + Lochmatter. An + ascent made for + the sake of + photography. + Passed two + nights in the + Zermatt + _cabane_. + + 73 Aug. 22-23 W. E. Davidson Zermatt Guides—Laurent + Lanier and Ig. + Sarbach. + + 74 Aug. 23 Prof. G. B—— ? Guides—P. + Prof. K—— Maquignaz, E. + Pession, and + Chas. Gorret. + Account is + illegible. + + 75 Aug. 25 F. W. Headley. Zermatt Guides—A. + E. P. Arnold. Pollinger and + J. J. Truffer. + + 76 Aug. 25 H. J. Smith Zermatt Guides—Alex. + Lochmatter and + Jos. Längen. + + 77 Aug. 25 M. J. Boswell Zermatt Guides—Jos. + Imboden and + Jos. Sarbach. + + 78 Aug. 26 W. J. Lewis Zermatt Guides—Moritz + Julen and Jos. + Taugwalder. + + 79 Aug. 27 W. Stirling Zermatt Guides—Johann + Petrus and + Franz Burgener. + + 80 Aug. 28 J. H. Pratt. Zermatt Guides—J. A. + — Prothero. Carrel and P. + Knubel. Ascent + made in one day. + + 81 Aug. 31 H. N. Malan Zermatt Guides—Jean + Martin and A. + Lochmatter. + + 82 Sept. 1-2 W. A. Lewis Zermatt Guides—J. M. + Lochmatter and + P. Imboden. + + 83 Sept. 2 E. Dent. Zermatt Guide—A. + C. T. Dent. Burgener. + + 84 Sept. 2 J. W. Borel Zermatt Guides—A. + Pollinger and + J. J. Truffer. + + 85 Sept. 3 Ernst Calbenla Zermatt Guides—P. Bohren + and P. Müller. + + 86 Sept. 8 A. H. Simpson. Zermatt Guides—P. Knubel, + M. Cullinan. P. J. Knubel, and + P. Truffer. + + 87 Sept. 8 A. H. Burton Zermatt Guides—P. + Baumann, P. + Taugwalder, and + B. Nageli. + + 88 Sept. 9 E. Pigeon. Zermatt Guides—N. and + — Pigeon. J. Knubel, and + F. Sarbach. + + 89 Sept. 16-17 W. Nägeli Zermatt Guides—J. and + P. Knubel. + + 1875. + 90 May 10 — Corona ? Guides—J. A. + Carrel and J. + J. Maquignaz. + Account is + perfectly + illegible. + + 91 Aug. 2-3 L. Brioschi Zermatt Guides—F. and + A. Imseng and + P. J. + Andermatten. + + 92 Aug. 10 J. W. Hartley Zermatt Guides—P. Rubi + and J. Moser. + + 93 Aug. 10-11 F. T. Wethered Zermatt Guides—Ch. Almer + and A. Pollinger. + + 94 Aug. 11 A. Fairbanks. Zermatt Guide—J. Perrn, + W. Fairbanks. and a porter. + + 95 Aug. 12 D. L. Pickman Zermatt Guides—J. + Taugwalder and + F. Biener. + Ascent made in + one day. + + 96 Aug. 16 D. Merritt Zermatt Guides—No + information. + + 97 Aug. 16 E. Hornby Zermatt Guides—A. and + F. Pollinger. + + 98 Aug. 16 J. J. Morgan. Zermatt Guides—J. + C. L. Morgan. Imboden and J. + Sarbach. + + 99 Aug. 16 A. W. Payne Zermatt Guide—J. + Taugwalder. + + 100 Aug. 17 J. H. Pratt. Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A. + W. Leaf. Carrel and N. + Knubel. + + 101 Aug. 19-20 F. Tendron. Zermatt Guides—F. and + G. F. Vernon. P. Sarbach and + J. Taugwalder. + + 102 Aug. 23-24 H. R. Whitehouse Zermatt Guides—P. J. + Knubel and P. + T. Truffer. + + 103 Aug. 26-27 F. Morshead. Zermatt Guides—M. + A. O. Prickard. Anderegg, Ch. + H. S. Wilson. Lauener, and J. + Moser. + + 104 Sept. 7 H. G. Gotch Zermatt Guides—Ig. and + Jos. Sarbach. + + 105 Sept. 8 R. King Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel and Jos. + Coulter, and + (porter) A. + Payot. + + 106 Sept. 8 H. Loschge Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. Petrus + and A. Ranier. + + 107 Sept. 9 P. Methuen Zermatt Guides—Johann + Jaun and A. + Maurer. + + 108 Sept. 14 — Butter Zermatt Guides—Jos. + Imboden and J. + Brantschen. + + 109 Sept. 15 W. Kittan Zermatt Guides—J. Petrus + and Franz + Burgener. + + 1876. + 110 July 22-23 A. H. Cawood. Zermatt Without guides, + J. B. Colgrove. and with two + A. Cust. porters. + + 111 July 29 J. Hazel. Zermatt Guides—P. + W. F. Loverell. Maquignaz and + F. Zuber. + + 112 July 30 Eug. Dacqué Zermatt Guides—Borren + (Bohren?) and + Platter (?). + + 113 Aug. 3-4 F. Corbett. Zermatt Guides—F. + M. Courtenay. Burgener, P. + Taugwalder + _fils_, and J. + Taugwalder. + + 114 Aug. 3-4 P. A. Singer. Zermatt Guides—J. + P. A. Singer. Imboden, Jos. + Perrn, P. + Perrn, and F. + Perrn (porter). + + 115 Aug. 6-7 D. E. Cardinal Zermatt Guides—Pierre + Carrel and + Louis Carrel. + + 116 Aug. 7 F. Reiners. Zermatt Guides—P. and + M. Haushofer. J. Knubel. + + 117 Aug. 8-9 H. de Saussure Zermatt Guides—A. + Burgener and J. + Knubel. + + 118 Aug. 8-9 W. Cooke Zermatt Guides—Louis + Carrel and + Pierre Carrel. + + 119 Aug. 8-9 J. J. Bischoff Zermatt Guides—J. Petrus, + P. T. Truffer, + and another. + + 120 Aug. 9 Joseph Seiler Zermatt Guides— — + Lauber and ? An + one day ascent. + + 121 Aug. 9-10 W. J. Whelpdale. Zermatt Guides—J. M. + C. Weightmann. Lochmatter, A. + Ritz, and Jos. + Brantschen as + porter. + + 122 Aug. 10 P. Watson Zermatt Guides—Alex. + Burgener and B. + Venetz. + + 123 Aug. 12 S. Waller. Zermatt Guides—J. M. + G. Fitzgerald. Lochmatter and + J. Lauber. + + 124 Aug. 12 H. Meyer. Zermatt Guides—Jos. + C. Estertag. Brantschen, P. + J. Knubel, and + Jos. Taugwalder. + + 125 Aug. 12 J. Jackson. Zermatt Guides—Christian + T. H. Kitson. and Ulrich + Almer. Ascent + in one day. + + 126 Aug. 12 Jos. Nantermod Zermatt Guides—A. + Pollinger and B. + Andenmatten. + + 127 Aug. 14 C. E. Mathews. Zermatt Guides—M. + F. Morshead. Anderegg and ? + Ascent made in + one day. + + 128 (?) — Dent. Zermatt Guide—Alex. + Burgener. + + 129 Aug. 28-29 G. W. Prothero. Zermatt to Breil Guide—J. A. + Carrel. + + 1877. + 130 Aug. 4 O. Boenaud. Zermatt Guides—No + G. Mermod. information. + L. Mermod. + + 131 Aug. 13-14 Q. Sella. Zermatt to Breil Guides—J. A. + L. Biraghi. Carrel, — Imseng, + J. B. Carrel, + Louis Carrel, + Jos. and + Vict. Maquignaz, + etc. etc. + + 132 Aug. 19 W. H. Grenfell. Breil Guides— — Imseng + J. H. A. Peebles. and ? + + 133 Aug. 20 W. Penhall Zermatt Guides—Jos. + Imboden and P. + Taugwalder + _fils_. + + 134 Aug. 24-25 G. Fitzgerald Zermatt Guides—J. M. + Lochmatter and + Joseph Lauber. + + 135 Aug. 29 J. A. Cooper Zermatt Guides—Alex and + Alois Burgener. + + 136 Aug. 30 J. D. Griffiths Zermatt Guides—Basile + Andenmatten and ? + + 137 Aug. 30 J. F. Yearsley Zermatt Guides—F. + Burgener, P. + Andenmatten, and + (porter) — + Blumenthal. + + 138 Aug. 30-31 J. C. Leman Zermatt Guides— — + Pollinger and ? + + 139 Aug. 30-31 T. de Cambray Digny Zermatt to Breil Guides—J. A. + Carrel and Henri + Séraphin. + + 140 Sept. 4 J. Freitschke Zermatt Guide—Basile + Andenmatten. + + 141 Sept. 4-5 H. Loschge Zermatt to Breil Guides—Alex. + Burgener and a + Tyrol guide. + + 142 Sept. 6-7 J. Nérot Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel, a + Chamounix guide, + and a porter. + + 1878. + 143 ? T. Jose Zermatt Guides—J. M. + Lochmatter, P. + Knubel, and + Pierre Truffer. + + 144 Sept. 7 Carl Hecke Zermatt Guide—Basile + Andenmatten. + + 145 Sept. 9 Jules Seiler Zermatt Guides—P. Knubel + and Basile + Andenmatten. + + 146 Sept. 21 Dr. Minnigerode Zermatt Guides—J. M. + Lochmatter and + J. Taugwalder. + + 147 Sept. 11-12 C. J. Thompson Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel and — + Imseng. + + 1879. + 148 Aug. 12-13 Dr. Lüscher. Up Breil side Guides—J. M. + Prof. Schiess. and down Zermatt Lochmatter, Jos. + side. Brantschen, and + Petryson + (Evolena). + Brantschen was + left behind in + the hut on the + “_cravate_,” and + died there. + + 149 Aug. 13 W. W. R. Powell Zermatt Guides—Peter + Taugwalder + _fils_ and A. + Imseng. + + 150 Aug. 13-14 C. E. Freeman Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A. + Carrel + and—Sopersac + (Saas). + + 151 Aug. 13-14 A. E. Craven. Zermatt Guides—P. Rubi + W. O. Moseley. and C. Inabnit. + Dr. Moseley lost + his life in + descending the + mountain. See + Appendix *D*. + + 152 Aug. 28-29 C. E. B. Watson Zermatt to Breil Guides—P. + Anderegg and A. + Imboden. + + 153 Aug. G. H. Savage Zermatt Guides—Jos. + 30-Sept. 1 Imboden and + Franz + Andermatten. Dr. + Savage slept on + the Hörnli Aug. + 30; began the + ascent by + moonlight at a + little before 2 + A.M. on Sept. 1, + reached the + summit at 6.30 + A.M., and + returned to + Zermatt by 12.30 + P.M. + + 154 Sept. 2-3 A. F. Mummery Z’Mutt side Mr. Mummery was + the first to + ascend the + Matterhorn from + the side of the + Z’Mutt Glacier. + No details have + been received. + + 155 Sept. 2-3 W. Penhall Z’Mutt side Guides—Ferdinand + Imseng and Louis + Sorbrichen. Mr. + Penhall also + made his ascent + upon the Z’Mutt + side, but took a + route more to + the south than + that followed by + Mr. Mummery. + + 156 Sept. 4-5 B. Wainewright Zermatt to Breil Guides—Jos. + Imboden and + Peter Sarbach. + + 157 Sept. 4-5 H. Hoare Zermatt Guide—J. + Anderegg and + (porter) Jos. + Chanton. + + 158 Sept. 5-6 J. Baumann Z’Mutt side Guides—Petrus + (Stalden) and + Emile Rey. Mr. + Mummery’s route + was followed. + + 159 ? J. Maurer Breil to Zermatt Guides—? No + information. + +The above table is known to be imperfect, and the Author will be obliged +if correspondents will enable him to correct and extend it. Communications +should be addressed to him _Care of the Publisher_. + + + + + *G.* COURTE NOTE SUR LA GÉOLOGIE DU MATTERHORN. PAR SIGNOR F. GIORDANO, + Ingénieur en Chef des Mines d’Italie, etc. etc. + + +Le Matterhorn ou Mont Cervin est formé depuis la base jusqu’au sommet de +roches stratifiées en bancs assez réguliers, qui sont tous légèrement +rélevés vers l’Est, savoir vers le Mont Rose. Ces roches quoiqu’évidemment +d’origine sédimentaire ont une structure fortement cristalline qui doit +être l’effet d’une puissante action de métamorphisme très développée dans +cette région des Alpes. Dans la série des roches constituantes du Mont +Cervin l’on peut faire une distinction assez marquée, savoir celles +formant la base inférieure de la montagne, et celles formant le pic +proprement dit. + +Les roches de la base qu’on voit dans le Val Tournanche, dans le vallon de +Z’Mutt, au col de Théodule et ailleurs, sont en général des schistes +talqueux, serpentineux, chloriteux, et amphiboliques, alternant fort +souvent avec des schistes calcaires à noyaux quartzeux. Ces schistes +calcaires de couleur brunâtre alternent ça et là avec des dolomies, des +cargueules, et des quartzites tégulaires. Cette formation +calcaréo-serpentineuse est très étendue dans les environs. Le pic au +contraire est tout formé d’un gneiss talqueux, souvent à gros éléments, +alternant parfois à quelques bancs de schistes talqueux et quartzeux, mais +sans bancs calcaires. Vers le pied ouest du pic, le gneiss est remplacé +par de l’euphotide granitoïde massive, qui semble y former une grosse +lentille se fondant de tous côtés dans le gneiss même. Du reste, les +roches du Cervin montrent partout des exemples fort instructifs de +passages graduels d’une structure à l’autre, résultant du métamorphisme +plus ou moins avancé. + +Le pic actuel n’est que le reste d’une puissante formation géologique +ancienne, triasique peut-être, dont les couches puissantes de plus de 3500 +mètres enveloppaient tout autour comme un immense manteau le grand massif +granitoïde et feldspathique du Mont Rose. Aussi son étude détaillée, qui +par exception est rendue fort facile par la profondeur des vallons d’où il +surgit, donne la clef de la structure géologique de beaucoup d’autres +montagnes des environs. On y voit partout le phénomène assez curieux d’une +puissante formation talqueuse très cristalline, presque granitoïde, +régulièrement superposée à une formation schisteuse et calcarifère. Cette +même constitution géologique est en partie la cause de la forme aiguë et +de l’isolement du pic qui en font la merveille des voyageurs. En effet, +tandis que les roches feuilletées de la base, étant facilement corrodées +par l’action des météores et de l’eau, ont été facilement creusées en +vallées larges et profondes, la roche supérieure qui constitue la pyramide +donne lieu par sa dureté à des fendillements formant des parois escarpées +qui conservent au pic ce profil élancé, et caractéristique alpin. Les +glaciers qui entourent son pied de tous les côtés, en emportant d’une +manière continue les débris tombant de ses flancs, contribuent pour leur +part à maintenir cet isolement de la merveilleuse pyramide qui sans eux +serait peut-être déjà ensevelie sous ses propres ruines. + +REFERENCES TO THE GEOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE MATTERHORN. + + I. Gneiss talqueux quartzifère. Beaucoup de traces de foudres. + II. Banc de 3 à 4 mètres de schistes serpentineux et talqueux verts. + III. Gneiss talqueux à éléments plus ou moins schisteux, avec quelque lit + de quartzite. + ” Gneiss et micaschistes ferrugineux à éléments très fins, beaucoup de + traces de foudre. + IV. Gneiss alternant avec des schistes talqueux et à des felsites en + zones blanches et grises. + V. Petite couche de schistes serpentineux, vert sombre. + VI. Gneiss et micaschiste avec zones quartzifères rubanées. + VII. Gneiss talqueux à éléments schisteux. +_VIII. Id._ _id._ verdâtre, porphyroïde à éléments moyens. + IX. Gneiss talqueux granitoïde à gros éléments et avec des cristaux de + feldspath. + X. Schistes grisâtres. + XI. Micaschistes ferrugineux. + XII. Gneiss talqueux vert sombre. +XIII. Gneiss et schistes quartzeux, couleur vert clair. + XIV. Euphotide massive (feldspath et diallage) à éléments cristallins + bien développés, traversée par des veines d’eurite blanchâtre. Cette + roche forme un banc ou plutôt une lentille de plus de 500 mètres de + puissance intercalée au gneiss talqueux.(270) + XV. Gneiss talqueux alternant avec des schistes talqueux et micacés. + XVI. Schistes compactes, couleur vert clair. +XVII. Calcaire cristallin micacé (calcschiste) avec veines et rognons de + quartz. Il alterne avec des schistes verts chloriteux et + serpentineux. +XVIII. Schistes verts chloriteux, serpentineux et talqueux, avec des + masses stéatiteuses. + XIX. Calcschistes (comme ci-dessus) formant un banc de plus de 100 + mètres.(271) + XX. Schistes verts chloriteux. + XXI. Calcschistes (comme ci-dessus). +XXII. Il suit ci-dessous une série fort puissante de schistes verts + serpentineux, chloriteux, talqueux et stéatiteux alternant encore + avec des calcschistes. En plusieurs localités les schistes + deviennent très amphiboliques à petits cristaux noirs. Cette + puissante formation calcaréo-serpentineuse repose inférieurement sur + des micaschistes et des gneiss anciens. + + [Illustration: GEOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE MATTERHORN. (MONT CERVIN) + BY SIGNOR F. GIORDANO.] + + + + + *H.* PROFESSOR TYNDALL AND THE MATTERHORN. + + +In the second edition of Tyndall’s _Hours of Exercise in the Alps_ the +Professor made some additional remarks upon his defeat in 1862, and to +these remarks I replied in No. 35 of the _Alpine Journal_. I do not feel +that the additional information afforded in these publications possesses +the least interest to the majority of my readers, and therefore I do not +reprint it; and I refer to it only for the sake of those who may be +desirous to pursue the subject. + + [Illustration: “The things which tumble about the ears of unwary + travellers”] + + + + + LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING + CROSS. + + + + + THE MATTERHORN AND ITS GLACIERS + + + [Map: The Matterhorn and its glaciers] + + + + + THE VALLEY OF ZERMATT + + + [Map: The Valley of Zermatt; and the Central Pennine Alps] + + + + + + FOOTNOTES + + + 1 In the lower diagram the tins are shown as they appear when packed + for travelling. I generally carry them at the top of a knapsack, + outside. + + 2 I extract from No. 63 of the _Alpine Journal_ the following note by + Gustav de Veh, a retired Russian officer, upon the prevention of + snow-blindness. “We were on the march home along the mountain + plains, when, dazzled by the intense sun-rays reflected by the + endless snow-fields we were marching along, my eyelids lost all + power to open; I felt my elbow touched, and, looking through my + fingers, I beheld one of our friendly highlanders preparing a kind + of black paste by mixing gunpowder with snow. The General told me to + let him do what he wanted. The Circassian applied the black stuff + under my eyes, on my cheeks, and to the sides of my nose. To my + astonishment I could then open my eyes, and felt no more difficulty + to see plainly and clearly everything. I have tried that experiment + many times since, and it never failed to relieve me, although I used + common Indian-ink and black water-colour, instead of the + above-mentioned paste.” + + 3 I understand that scarcely any nails wore found in the boots of Dr. + Moseley, who lost his life recently on the Matterhorn, and this fact + sufficiently accounts for the accident. + + 4 The author of _Travels in Alaska_. + + 5 The Riffel hotel (the starting-point for the ascent of Monte Rosa), + a deservedly popular inn, leased to Monsieur Seiler, the hotel + proprietor of Zermatt, is placed at a height of 3100 feet above that + village (8400 above the sea), and commands a superb panoramic view. + The house has continually grown, and it can now accommodate a large + number of persons. In 1879, it was connected by telegraph with the + rest of Switzerland. + + 6 The highest of the Mischabelhörner. + + 7 The temperature at the St. Bernard in the winter is frequently 40° + Fahr. below freezing-point. January is their coldest month. See + Dollfus-Ausset’s _Matériaux pour l’étude des Glaciers_, vols. vi. + and vii. + + 8 There was not a pass between Prerayen and Breil. See note to p. 105. + + 9 This pass is called usually the Va Cornère. It is also known as the + Gra Cornère; which is, I believe, patois for Grand Cornier. It is + mentioned in the first volume of the second series of _Peaks, + Passes, and Glaciers_, and in Chapters V. and XVIII. of this volume. + + 10 I had been sent to the Val Louise to illustrate this ascent. + + 11 Since that time a decent house has been built on the summit of this + pass. The old vaulted hospice was erected for the benefit of the + pilgrims who formerly crossed the pass _en route_ for Rome.—Joanne’s + _Itinéraire du Dauphiné_. + + 12 See the Map in Chap. VIII. + + 13 The depth of the valleys is so great that the sun not only is not + seen for more than a few hours per day during the greatest portion + of the year, but in some places—at Villard d’Arène and at Andrieux + for example—it is not seen at all for one hundred days.—Lodoucette’s + _Hautes-Alpes_, p. 599. + + 14 Sometimes called the Aiguille du Midi de la Grave, or the Aiguille + de la Medje. + + 15 The maps of the Dauphiné Alps to Ball’s _Guide to the Western Alps_, + and to Joanne’s _Itinéraire du Dauphiné_, must be excepted. These + maps are, however, on too small a scale for travelling purposes. + + 16 “Faits pour servir à l’Histoire des Montagnes de l’Oisans,” by Elie + de Beaumont, in the _Annales des Mines_. + + _Norway and its Glaciers; followed by Excursions in the High Alps of + Dauphiné._ By J. D. Forbes. + + The following works also treat more or less of the districts + referred to in this chapter:— + + _ Outline Sketches in the High Alps of Dauphiné_, by T. G. + Bonney. + _ Histoire des Hautes-Alpes_, by J. C. F. Ladoucette. + _ Itinéraire du Dauphiné_, by Adolphe Joanne (2nd part). + _ Tour du Monde, 1860_, edited by Ed. Charton. + _ The Israel of the Alps_, by Alexis Muston. + _ A Memoir of Felix Neff_, by W. S. Gilly. + + Good pictures of Dauphiné scenery are to be found in _Voyages + Pittoresques dans l’ancienne France_, by Ch. Nodier, J. Taylor, and + A. de Cailleux, and in Lord Monson’s _Views in the Departments of + the Isère and the High Alps_. + + 17 M. Puiseux took for guide a man named Pierre Bornéoud, of Claux in + the Val Louise; who had accompanied Captain Durand in 1828. In 1861, + the expedition of M. Puiseux was quite forgotten in the Val Louise. + I am indebted to M. Puiseux for the above and other details. + + 18 This is a common saying in Dauphiné. It means that there is usually + less snow on the mountains during these days than at any other time + of the year. The natives have an almost childish dread of venturing + upon snow or glaciers, and hence the period of minimum snow seems to + them to be the most favourable time for excursions. + + 19 See Chapter VII. + + 20 Monte Viso is not seen from the Lautaret Road. That this is so is + seen when one crosses the Col du Galibier, on the south side of + which pass the Monte Viso is visible for a short time. + + 21 It became a regular business. “We find amongst the current accounts + of the Bailiff of Embrun this singular article—‘_Item, for + persecuting the Vaudois, eight sols and thirty deniers of + gold._’”—Muston, vol. i. p. 38. + + 22 On the 22d of May 1393, eighty persons of the valleys of + Freissinières and Argentière, and one hundred and fifty persons of + the Val Louise, were burnt at Embrun.—Muston, vol. i. p. 41. + + 23 See Morland’s _History of the Evangelical Churches of Piedmont_, + 1658; Cromwell’s _Acts_, 1658; and Burton’s _Diary_, 1828. + + 24 The commune of the Val Louise contains at the present time about + 3400 inhabitants. This crétin population has been aptly described by + M. Elisée Reclus in the _Tour du Monde_, 1860. He says:—“They attain + the highest possible development of their intelligence in their + infancy, and—abundantly provided with majestic goîtres, which are + lengthened and swollen by age—are in this respect like to the + ourangoutangs, who have nothing more to acquire after the age of + three years. At the age of five years the little crétins have + already the placid and mature expression which they ought to keep + all their lives.... They wear trousers, and coats with tails, and a + large black hat.” + + 25 “The nucleus of the ‘massif’ is a line protogine, divided by nearly + vertical cracks.”—_Dollfus-Ausset._ + + 26 J. G. Whittier, “Snow-Bound.” + + 27 M. Puiseux, on his expedition of 1848, was surprised, when at + breakfast on the side of the mountain, by a mass of rock of more + than a cubic yard falling like a bomb at his side, which threw up + splinters in all directions. + + 28 This mountain is the culminating point of the group, and is named on + the French map, Pointe des Ecrins. It is seen from the Val + Christophe, and from that direction its ridges completely conceal + Mont Pelvoux. On the other side—that is, from the direction of La + Bessée or the Val Louise—the reverse is the case: the Pelvoux + completely conceals it. + + Unaware that this name was going to be applied to it, we gave the + name Pic des Arcines or des Ecrins to our summit, in accordance with + the traditions of the natives. + + 29 There are three cols or passes close to Monte Viso on its northern + side, which lead from the valley of the Po into that of the Guil. + The deep notch spoken of above is the nearest to the mountain, and + although it is by far the lowest gap in that part of the chain, and + would seem to be the true Col Viso, it does not appear to be used as + a pass. The second, which I crossed in 1860, has the name Col del + Color del Porco given to it upon the Sardinian map! The third is the + Col de la Traversette; and this, although higher than at least one + of those mentioned above, is that which is used by the natives who + pass from one valley to the other. + + 30 See Ladoucette’s _Hautes-Alpes_, p. 596. + + 31 Frequently spelt Breuil. + + 32 See the Map of the Matterhorn and its Glaciers. + + 33 There were no guides, properly speaking, in this valley at that + time, with the exception of one or two Pessions and Pelissiers. + + 34 This face is that on the right hand of the large engraving opposite + p. 46. It is also represented, more prominently, in the engraving + facing p. 227. + + 35 Mr. Hawkins was unaware that any attempts had been made before his + own, and spoke of it as the first. + +_ 36 Macmillan_, 1861. + + 37 This ridge is seen on the left of the large engraving accompanying + this chapter; and if the reader consults this view, the explanatory + outlines, and the maps, he will be able to form a fair idea of the + points which were attained on this and on the subsequent attempts. + + 38 Since this time the small peak has received the name Tête du Lion. + The gap is now called the Col du Lion; the glacier at its base, the + Glacier du Lion; and the gully which connects the Col with the + glacier, the Couloir du Lion. + + 39 By the kindness of its owner, Mr. F. Tuckett. + + 40 See Appendix A. + + 41 A view of this place faces p. 76. + + 42 The guide Bennen must be excepted. + + 43 The engraving is made after a sketch taken from the rocks of the + Matterhorn just above the Col. + + 44 J. G. Whittier. + + 45 Mr. Hawkins referred to this place as one of excessive difficulty. + He, however, found it coated with ice; we found it free from ice. + + 46 I learned afterwards from Jean-Antoine Carrel that they got + considerably higher than upon their previous attempts, and about 250 + or 300 feet higher than Professor Tyndall in 1860. In 1862 I saw the + initials of J. A. Carrel cut on the rocks at the place where he and + his comrade had turned back. + + 47 This man proved to be both willing and useful on lower ground, and + voluntarily accompanied me a considerable distance out of his way, + without fee or reward. + +_ 48 Alpine Journal_, 1863, p. 82. + + 49 See p. 49. + +_ 50 Mountaineering in 1861_, pp. 86-7. Tyndall and Bennen were mistaken + in supposing that the mountain has two summits; it has only one. + They seem to have been deceived by the appearance of that part of + the south-west ridge which is called “the shoulder” (l’épaule), as + seen from Breil. Viewed from that place, its southern end has + certainly, through foreshortening, the semblance of a peak; but when + one regards it from the Col Théodule, or from any place in the same + direction, the delusion is at once apparent. + + 51 The late Principal Forbes was similarly situated while crossing the + same pass in 1842. He described the sounds as rustling, fizzing, and + hissing. See his _Travels in the Alps of Savoy_, second ed., p. 323. + Mr. R. Spence Watson experienced the same upon the upper part of the + Aletsch glacier in July 1863, and he spoke of the sounds as singing + or hissing. See the _Athenæum_, Sept. 12, 1863. The respective + parties seem to have been highly electrified on each occasion. + Forbes says that his fingers “yielded a fizzing sound;” and Watson + says that his “hair stood on end in an uncomfortable but very + amusing manner,” and that “the veil on the wide-awake of one of the + party stood upright in the air!” + + 52 I have described this tent at length, as frequent application has + been made to me for information on the subject. I would strongly + recommend any person who wishes to have one for long-continued use, + to have one made under his own eye, and to be particularly careful + to test the poles. My experience goes to show that poles which (when + supported upon their extremities) will bear a dead weight of 100 + lbs. suspended from their centres, will stand any wind to which they + are likely to be submitted. Ash is, perhaps, the best wood that can + be selected. Tents of this pattern have been used, amongst others, + by Messrs. Freshfield, Moore, and Tucker, in the Caucasus; by the + Rev. W. H. Hawker in Corsica; and by myself in Greenland. + + 53 The heights given on the outlines of the Matterhorn accompanying + Chap. III., on the geological section in the Appendix, and quoted + throughout the book, are after the barometric (mercurial) + measurements of Signor F. Giordano in 1866 and 1868. I have ventured + to differ from him only in regard to the height of the second + tent-platform, and have assigned to it a somewhat lower elevation + than his estimate. + + 54 During this time making the ascent of Monte Rosa. + + 55 They were not guides by profession. + + 56 Those which I collected were as follow:—_Myosotis alpestris_, Gm.; + _Veronica alpina_, L.; _Linaria alpina_, M.; _Gentiana Bavarica_, + L.; _Thlaspi rotundifolium_, Gaud.; _Silene acaulis_, L. (?); + _Potentilla_ sp.; _Saxifraga_ sp.; _Saxifraga muscoides_, Wulf. I am + indebted for these names to Mr. William Carruthers of the British + Museum. These plants ranged from about 10,500 to a little below + 13,000 feet, and are the highest which I have seen anywhere in the + Alps. Several times this number of species might be collected, I + have no doubt, within these limits. I was not endeavouring to make a + _flora_ of the Matterhorn, but to obtain those plants which attained + the greatest height. Very few lichens are seen on the higher parts + of this mountain; their rarity is due, doubtless, to the constant + disintegration of the rocks, and the consequent exposure of fresh + surfaces. _Silene acaulis_ was the highest plant found by De + Saussure on his travels in the Alps. He mentions (§ 2018) that he + found a tuft “near the place where I slept on my return (from the + ascent of Mont Blanc), about 1780 toises (11,388 feet) above the + level of the sea.” + + Mr. William Mathews and Mr. Charles Packe, who have botanised + respectively for many years in the Alps and Pyrenees, have favoured + me with the names of the highest plants that they have obtained upon + their excursions. Their lists, although not extensive, are + interesting as showing the extreme limits attained by some of the + hardiest of Alpine plants. Those mentioned by Mr. Mathews + are—_Campanula renisia_ (on the Grivola, 12,047 feet); _Saxifraga + bryoides_ and _Androsace glacialis_ (on the summits of Mont Emilius, + 11,677, and the Ruitor, 11,480); _Ranunculus glacialis_, _Armeria + alpina_, and _Pyrethrum alpinum_ (on Monte Viso, from 10,000 to + 10,500 feet); _Thlaspi rotundifolium_ and _Saxifraga biflora_ (Monte + Viso, about 9500 feet); and _Campanula rotundifolia_ (?), _Artemisia + spicata_ (Wulf.), _Aronicum Doronicum_, and _Petrocallis Pyrenaica_ + (Col de Seylières, 9247). + + Mr. Packe obtained, on or close to the summit of the Pic de + Mulhahacen, Sierra Nevada, of Granada (11,600 to 11,700 feet), + _Papaver alpinum_ (var. _Pyrenaicum_), _Artemisia Nevadensis_ (used + for giving the flavour to the Manzanilla sherry), _Viola + Nevadensis_, _Galium Pyrenaicum_, _Trisetum glaciale_, _Festuca + Clementei_, _Saxifraga Grœnlandica_ (var. _Mista_), _Erigeron + alpinum_ (var. _glaciale_), and _Arenaria tetraquetra_. On the + Picacho de Veleta (11,440 feet), and on the Alcazaba (11,350), the + same plants were obtained, with the exception of the first named. At + a height of 11,150 feet on these mountains he also collected + _Ptilotrichum purpureum_, _Lepidium stylatum_, and _Biscutella + saxatilis_; and, at 10,000 feet, _Alyssum spicatum_ and _Sideritis + scordiodes_. Mr. Packe mentions the following plants as occurring at + 9000 to 10,000 feet in the Pyrenees:—_Cerastium latifolium_, _Draba + Wahlenbergii_, _Hutchinsia alpina_, _Linaria alpina_, _Oxyria + reniformis_, _Ranunculus glacialis_, _Saxifraga nervosa_, _S. + oppositifolia_, _S. Grœnlandica_, _Statice Armeria_, _Veronica + alpina_. + + Information on the botany of the Val Tournanche is contained in the + little pamphlet by the late Canon G. Carrel, entitled _La Vallée de + Valtornenche en 1867_; and a list of the plants which have hitherto + been collected on the glacier-surrounded ridge (Furgen Grat) + connecting the Matterhorn with the Col Théodule, will be found in + Dollfus-Ausset’s _Matériaux pour l’étude des Glaciers_, vol. viii. + part first, 1868. In the _Jahrbuch_ for 1873 of the Swiss Alpine + Club it is stated that on an ascent of the Finsteraarhorn (14,106 + feet) the following were collected within the last 1000 + feet:—_Saxifraga bryoides_, _S. Muscoides_, _Achillea atrata_, and + _Ranunculus glacialis_. + + 57 I have already had occasion to mention the rapid changes which occur + in the weather at considerable elevations in the Alps, and shall + have to do so again in subsequent chapters. No one can regret more + than myself the variable weather which afflicts that otherwise + delightful chain of mountains, or the necessity of speaking about + it: its summits appear to enjoy more than their fair share of wind + and tempests. Meteorological disturbances, some would say, are by no + means necessary accompaniments of high regions. There are some happy + places which are said to be favoured with almost perpetual calm. + Take the case of the Sierra Nevada of California, for example, which + includes numerous summits from 13,000 to 15,000 feet. Mr. Whitney, + of San Francisco, says (in his _Guide-book to the Yosemite Valley, + and the adjacent region_), “At high altitudes, all through the + mountains, the weather during the summer is almost always the finest + possible for travelling. There are occasional storms in the high + mountains; but, in ordinary seasons, these are quite rare, and one + of the greatest drawbacks to the pleasure of travelling in the Alps, + the uncertainty of the weather, is here almost entirely wanting.” It + is probable that a more thorough acquaintance with that region will + modify this opinion; for it must be admitted that it is very + difficult to judge of the state of the atmosphere at great heights + from the valleys, and it often occurs that a terrific storm is + raging above when there is a dead calm below, at a distance perhaps + of not more than three or four miles. A case of this kind is + described in Chapter VI., and another may be mentioned here. At the + very time that I was regarding the Dent Blanche from a height of + 12,550 feet on the Matterhorn, Mr. T. S. Kennedy was engaged in + making the first ascent of the former mountain. He described his + ascent in a very picturesque paper in the _Alpine Journal_ (1863), + and I learn from it that he experienced severe weather. “The wind + roared over our ridge, making fearfully wild music among the + desolate crags.... It rendered an ordinary voice inaudible,” and + “nothing at a distance greater than fifty yards could be seen at + all.... Thick mists and driving clouds of snow swept over and past + us;” the thermometer fell to 20° Fahr., and his companion’s hair + became a mass of white icicles. Now, at this time, Mr. Kennedy was + distant from me only four and a half miles. With me, and in my + immediate neighbourhood, the air was perfectly calm, and the + temperature was agreeably warm; even during the night it fell only + two or three degrees below freezing-point. During most of the day + the Dent Blanche was perfectly unclouded, though, for a time, light + fleecy clouds were hovering about its upper 2000 feet. Still no one + would have supposed from appearances that my friend was experiencing + a storm such as he has described. + + 58 See the engraving “Crags of the Matterhorn,” facing p. 120. + + 59 A remarkable streak of snow (marked “cravate” in the outline of the + Matterhorn, as seen from the Théodule) runs across the cliff at this + part of the mountain. My highest point was somewhat higher than the + lowest part of this snow, and was consequently about 13,400 feet + above the sea. + + 60 I received much attention from a kind English lady who was staying + in the inn. + + 61 As it seldom happens that one survives such a fall, it may be + interesting to record what my sensations were during its occurrence. + I was perfectly conscious of what was happening, and felt each blow; + but, like a patient under chloroform, experienced no pain. Each blow + was, naturally, more severe than that which preceded it, and I + distinctly remember thinking, “Well, if the next is harder still, + that will be the end!” Like persons who have been rescued from + drowning, I remember that the recollection of a multitude of things + rushed through my head, many of them trivialities or absurdities, + which had been forgotten long before; and, more remarkable, this + bounding through space did not feel disagreeable. But I think that + in no very great distance more, consciousness as well as sensation + would have been lost, and upon that I base my belief, improbable as + it seems, that death by a fall from a great height is as painless an + end as can be experienced. + + The battering was very rough, yet no bones were broken. The most + severe cuts were one of four inches long on the top of the head, and + another of three inches on the right temple: this latter bled + frightfully. There was a formidable-looking cut, of about the same + size as the last, on the palm of the left hand, and every limb was + grazed, or cut, more or less seriously. The tips of the ears were + taken off, and a sharp rock cut a circular bit out of the side of + the left boot, sock, and ankle, at one stroke. The loss of blood, + although so great, did not seem to be permanently injurious. The + only serious effect has been the reduction of a naturally retentive + memory to a very common-place one; and although my recollections of + more distant occurrences remain unshaken, the events of that + particular day would be clean gone but for the few notes which were + written down before the accident. + + 62 An incident like this goes far to make one look favourably upon the + _règlements_ of Chamounix and other places. This could not have + occurred at Chamounix, nor here, if there had been a _bureau des + guides_. + + 63 This appeared to be the most difficult part of the mountain. One was + driven to keep to the edge of the ridge, or very near to it; and at + the point where we turned back (which was almost as high as the + _highest_ part of the “cravate,” and perhaps 100 feet higher than my + scramble on the 19th) there were smooth walls seven or eight feet + high in every direction, which were impassable to a single man, and + which could only be surmounted by the assistance of ladders, or by + using one’s comrades as ladders. + + 64 See Appendix H. + + 65 Professor Tyndall describes this incident in the following + words:—“We had gathered up our traps, and bent to the work before + us, when suddenly an explosion occurred overhead. We looked aloft + and saw in mid-air a solid shot from the Matterhorn describing its + proper parabola, and finally splitting into fragments as it smote + one of the rocky towers in front. Down the shattered fragments came + like a kind of spray, slightly wide of us, but still near enough to + compel a sharp look-out. Two or three such explosions occurred, but + we chose the back fin of the mountain for our track, and from this + the falling stones were speedily deflected right or left.”—_Saturday + Review_, Aug. 8, 1863. Reprinted in _Macmillan’s Magazine_, April, + 1869. + +_ 66 Saturday Review_, August 8, 1863. + + 67 The pinnacle, in fact, had a name,—“L’ange Anbé.” + +_ 68 Saturday Review_, 1863, and _Macmillan’s Magazine_, 1869. + + 69 I have entered into this matter because much surprise has been + expressed that Carrel was able to pass this place without any great + difficulty in 1865, which turned back so strong a party in 1862. The + cause of Professor Tyndall’s defeat was simply that his second guide + (Walter) did not give aid to Bennen when it was required, and that + the Carrels _would not act as guides after having been hired as + porters_. J.-A. Carrel not only knew of the existence of this place + before they came to it, but always believed in the possibility of + passing it, and of ascending the mountain; and had he been leader to + the party, I do not doubt that he might have taken Tyndall to the + top. But when appealed to to assist Bennen (a Swiss, and the + recognised leader of the party), was it likely that he (an Italian, + a porter), who intended to be the first man up the mountain by a + route which he regarded peculiarly his own, would render any aid? + + It is not so easy to understand how Dr. Tyndall and Bennen + overlooked the existence of this cleft, for it is seen over several + points of the compass, and particularly well from the southern side + of the Théodule pass. Still more difficult is it to explain how the + Professor came to consider that he was only a stone’s-throw from the + summit; for, when he got to the end of “the shoulder,” he must have + been perfectly aware that the whole height of the final peak was + still above him. + + 70 Dr. Tyndall ascended the Matterhorn in 1868. See Appendix *F*. + + 71 Information upon the Val Tournanche will be found in De Saussure’s + _Voyages dans les Alpes_, vol. iv. pp. 379-81, 406-9; in Canon + Carrel’s pamphlet, _La Vallée de Valtornenche en 1867_; and in + King’s _Italian Valleys of the Alps_, pp. 220-1. + + 72 I shall speak again of this mountain, and therefore pass it over for + the present. + + 73 See the Map of the Matterhorn and its Glaciers. + + 74 My attention was directed to this note by Mr. A. Adams-Reilly. + + 75 The summit of the Théodule pass is 10,899 feet above the sea. It is + estimated that of late about a thousand tourists have crossed it per + annum. In the winter, when the crevasses are bridged over and + partially filled up, and the weather is favourable, cows and sheep + pass over it from Zermatt to Val Tournanche, and _vice versa_. + + In the _middle of August, 1792_, De Saussure appears to have taken + mules from Breil, over the Val Tournanche glacier to the summit of + the Théodule; and on a previous journey he did the same, also in the + middle of August. He distinctly mentions (§ 2220) that the glacier + was completely covered with snow, and that _no_ crevasses were open. + I do not think mules could have been taken over the same spot in any + August during the past twenty years without great difficulty. In + that month the glacier is usually very bare of snow, and many + crevasses are open. They are easily enough avoided by those on foot, + but would prove very troublesome to mules. + + A few days before we crossed the Breuiljoch in 1863, Mr. F. Morshead + made a parallel pass to it. He crossed the ridge on the _western_ + side of the little peak, and followed a somewhat more difficult + route than ours. In 1865 I wanted to use Mr. Morshead’s pass (see p. + 235), but found that it was not possible to descend the Zermatt + side; for, during the two years which had elapsed, the glacier had + shrunk so much that it was completely severed from the summit of the + pass, and we could not get down the rocks that were exposed. + + 76 Although the admirable situation of Zermatt has been known for, at + least, forty years, it is only within the last twenty or so that it + has become an approved Alpine centre. Thirty years ago the Théodule + pass, the Weissthor, and the Col d’Hérens, were, I believe, the only + routes ever taken from Zermatt across the Pennine Alps. At the + present time there are (inclusive of these passes and of the valley + road) no less than twenty-six different ways in which a tourist may + go from Zermatt. The summits of some of these cols are more than + 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, and a good many of them + cannot be recommended, either for ease, or as offering the shortest + way from Zermatt to the valleys and villages to which they lead. + + Zermatt itself is still only a village with 600 inhabitants (about + forty of whom are guides), with picturesque châlet dwellings, black + with age. The hotels, including the new inn on the Riffelberg, + mostly belong to M. Alexandre Seiler, to whom the village and valley + are very much indebted for their prosperity, and who is the best + person to consult for information, or in all cases of difficulty. + + 77 “Un des faits les mieux constatés est que l’érosion des glaciers se + distingue de celle des eaux en ce que la première produit des roches + convexes ou moutonnées, tandis que la seconde donne lieu à des + concavités.”—Prof. B. Studer, _Origine des Lacs Suisses_. + + 78 Professor Ruskin’s view of “the Cervin from the north-west” (_Modern + Painters_, vol. iv.) is taken from the Stockje. The Col du Lion is a + little depression on the ridge, close to the margin of the + engraving, on the right-hand side; the third tent-platform was + formed at the foot of the perpendicular cliff, on the ridge, exactly + one-third way between the Col du Lion and the summit. The + battlemented portion of the ridge, a little higher up, is called the + “_crête du coq_”; and the nearly horizontal portion of the ridge + above it is “the shoulder.” + + 79 On p. 7 it is stated that there was not a pass from Prerayen to + Breil in 1860, and this is correct. On July 8, 1868, my enterprising + guide, Jean-Antoine Carrel, started from Breil at 2 A.M. with a + well-known comrade—J. Baptiste Bich, of Val Tournanche—to endeavour + to make one. They went towards the glacier which descends from the + Dent d’Erin to the south-east, and, on arriving at its base, + ascended at first by some snow between it and the cliffs on its + south, and afterwards took to the cliffs themselves. [This glacier + they called the glacier of Mont Albert, after the local name of the + peak which on Mr. Reilly’s map of the Valpelline is called “Les + Jumeaux.” On Mr. Reilly’s map the glacier is called “Glacier + d’Erin.”] They ascended the rocks to a considerable height, and then + struck across the glacier, towards the north, to a small “_rognon_” + (isolated patch of rocks) that is nearly in the centre of the + glacier. They passed above this, and between it and the great + _séracs_. Afterwards their route led them towards the Dent d’Erin, + and they arrived at the base of its final peak by mounting a + _couloir_ (gully filled with snow), and the rocks at the head of the + glacier. They gained the summit of their pass at 1 P.M., and, + descending by the glacier of Zardesan, arrived at Prerayen at 6.30 + P.M. + + As their route joins that taken by Messrs. Hall, Grove, and + Macdonald, on their ascent of the Dent d’Erin in 1863, it is evident + that that mountain can be ascended from Breil. Carrel considers that + the route taken by himself and his comrade Bich can be improved + upon; and, if so, it is possible that the ascent of the Dent d’Erin + can be made from Breil in less time than from Prerayen. Breil is + very much to be preferred as a starting-point. + + 80 See p. 8. The height of this pass, according to the late Canon + Carrel, is 10,335 feet. A portrait of this enthusiastic and worthy + mountaineer is given upon p. 109. + + 81 A brief account of this excursion was published in the _Athenæum_, + August 29, 1863. + + 82 This incident occurred close to the place represented in the + engraving facing p. 78. The new, dry snow was very troublesome, and + poured down like flour into the steps which were cut across the + slopes. The front man accordingly moved ahead as far as possible, + and anchored himself to rocks. A rope was sent across to him, was + fixed at each end, and was held as a rail by the others as they + crossed. We did not trust to this rope alone, but were also tied in + the usual manner. The second rope was employed as an additional + security against slips. + + 83 “There is, therefore, little hope of thus arriving at anything + decisive as to the exact part which echoes take in the production of + the rolling sound of thunder.” P. 165, English ed., translated by + Col. Sabine: Longmans, 1855. + + 84 The same has seemed to me to be the case at all times when I have + been close to the points of explosion. There has been always a + distinct interval between the first explosion and the rolling sounds + and secondary explosions which I have _believed_ to be merely + echoes; but it has never been possible (except in the + above-mentioned case) to _identify_ them as such. + + Others have observed the same. “The geologist, Professor Theobald, + of Chur, who was in the Solferino storm, between the Tschiertscher + and Urden Alp, in the electric clouds, says that the peals were + short, like cannon shots, but of a clearer, more cracking tone, and + that the rolling of the thunder was only heard farther on.” + Berlepsch’s _Alps_, English ed., p. 133. + + 85 Mr. J. Glaisher has frequently pointed out that all sounds in + balloons at some distance from the earth are notable for their + brevity. “It is one sound only; _there is no reverberation, no + reflection_; and this is characteristic of all sounds in the + balloon, one clear sound, continuing during its own vibrations, then + gone in a moment.”—_Good Words_, 1863, p. 224. + + I learn from Mr. Glaisher that the thunder-claps which have been + heard by him during his “travels in the air” have been no exception + to the general rule, and the absence of rolling has fortified his + belief that the rolling sounds which accompany thunder are echoes, + and echoes _only_. + + 86 See Appendix B for the experiences of Mr. R. B. Heathcote during a + thunderstorm on the Matterhorn in 1869. + + 87 Since then (on at least one occasion), several persons have found + themselves in this predicament for five or six consecutive days! + + 88 I am speaking exclusively of the disturbances which occur in the + day-time during fine weather. + + 89 The rocks are sometimes so hot that they are almost painful to + touch. + + 90 The mists are extremely deceptive to those who are on the mountain + itself. Sometimes they _seem_ to be created at a _considerable + distance_, as if the whole of the atmosphere of the neighbourhood + was undergoing a change, when in reality they are being formed in + immediate proximity to the mountain. + + 91 Croz was born at the Village du Tour, in the valley of Chamounix, on + April 22, 1830; Almer was a year or two older. + + 92 The Pointe des Ecrins is also seen from the top of the Col de + Valloires, rising above the Col du Galibier. This is the lowest + elevation from which I have seen the actual summit of the Ecrins. + + 93 It should be observed that these mountains were included in the + territory recently ceded to France. The Sardinian map above referred + to was the old official map. The French survey alluded to afterwards + is the survey in continuation of the great French official map. + Sheet No. 179 includes the Aiguilles d’Arve. + + 94 Whilst stopping in the hospice on the Col de Lautaret, in 1869, I + was accosted by a middle-aged peasant, who asked if I would ride + (for a consideration) in his cart towards Briançon. He was + inquisitive as to my knowledge of his district, and at last asked, + “Have you been at La Sausse?” “Yes.” “Well, then, I tell you, _you + saw there some of the first people in the world_.” “Yes,” I said, + “they were primitive, certainly.” But he was serious, and went + on—“Yes, real brave people;” and, slapping his knee to give + emphasis, “_but that they are first-rate for minding the cows!_” + + After this he became communicative. “You thought, probably,” said + he, “when I offered to take you down, that I was some poor ——, not + worth a _sou_; but I will tell you, that was my mountain! _my_ + mountain! that you saw at La Sausse; they were _my_ cows! a hundred + of them altogether.” “Why, you are rich.” “Passably rich. I have + another mountain on the Col du Galibier, and another at Villeneuve.” + He (although a common peasant in outward appearance) confessed to + being worth four thousand pounds. + + 95 We had seen a tracing from the unpublished sheets of the French + Government Survey. + + 96 The bracketed paragraphs in Chaps. VII. VIII. and IX. are extracted + from the Journal of Mr. A. W. Moore. + + It would be uninteresting and unprofitable to enter into a + discussion of the confusion of these names at greater length. It is + sufficient to say that they were confounded in a most perplexing + manner by all the authorities we were able to consult, and also by + the natives on the spot. + + 97 A great part of this morning’s route led over shales, which were + loose and troublesome, and were probably a continuation of the + well-known beds of the Col du Galibier and the Col de Lautaret. + + 98 The ridge called La Meije runs from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and is crowned + by numerous aiguilles of tolerably equal elevation. The two highest + are towards the eastern and western ends of the ridge, and are + rather more than a mile apart. To the former the French surveyors + assign a height of 12,730, and to the latter 13,080 feet. In our + opinion the western aiguille can hardly be more than 200 feet higher + than the eastern one. It is possible that its height may have + diminished since it was measured. + + In 1869 I carefully examined the eastern end of the ridge from the + top of the Col de Lautaret, and saw that the summit at that end can + be ascended by following a long glacier which descends from it + towards the N.E. into the Valley of Arsine. The highest summit + presents considerable difficulties. + + Sheet 189 of the French map is extremely inaccurate in the + neighbourhood of the Meije, and particularly so on its northern + side. The ridges and glaciers which are laid down upon it can + scarcely be identified on the spot. + + 99 The justness of the observation will be felt by those who knew La + Grave in or before 1864. At that time the horses of the couriers who + were passing from Grenoble to Briançon, and _vice versa_, were + lodged immediately underneath the salle-à-manger and bedrooms, and a + pungent, steamy odour rose from them through the cracks in the + floor, and constantly pervaded the whole house. I am told that the + inn has been considerably improved since 1864. + + 100 Our route from La Grave to La Bérarde will be seen on the + accompanying map. + + 101 Taking one kind of work with another, a thousand feet of height per + hour is about as much as is usually accomplished on great Alpine + ascents. + + 102 Fig. 2 represents in a similar manner the distance and elevation of + the Matterhorn from and above Zermatt. See p. 45. + + 103 The drawing was inadvertently made the right way on the wood, and + the view is now _reversed_ in consequence. + + 104 This wall may be described as an exaggerated Gemmi, as seen from + Leukerbad. From the highest summit of La Meije right down to the + Glacier des Etançons (a depth of about 3200 feet), the cliff is all + but perpendicular, and appears to be completely unassailable. It is + the most imposing thing of its kind that I have seen. + + 105 Since this chapter was first printed, the whole of the Aiguilles + d’Arve have been ascended, and also the highest point of the Meije. + For information upon these ascents the reader is referred to the + pages of the _Alpine Journal_. + +_ 106 Alpine Journal_, December 1863. + + 107 There are more than twenty peaks exceeding 12,000 feet, and thirty + others exceeding 11,000 feet, within the district bounded by the + rivers Romanche, Drac, and Durance. + +_ 108 Alpine Journal_, Dec. 1863. + +_ 109 Alpine Journal_, June 1863. + + 110 The above view of the Ecrins was taken from the summit of the Col du + Galibier. + + 111 The most striking example which has come under my notice is referred + to in Chapter XIX. + + 112 See vol. i., p. 73 of _Alpine Journal_. We considered the height + assigned to the final peak by Mr. Bonney was too small, and thought + it should have been 200 feet more. + + 113 The Glacier Blanc is in the direction indicated by the arrow below + the letter *E* on the outline on p. 156. + + 114 The ascent of the Pointe des Ecrins has been made several times + since 1864. The second ascent was made by a French gentleman, named + Vincent, with the Chamounix guides Jean Carrier and Alexandre + Tournier. They followed our route, but reversed it; that is to say, + ascended by the western and descended by the eastern arête. + + The best course to adopt in future attacks on the mountain, would be + to bring a ladder, or some other means of passing the bergschrund, + in its centre, immediately under the summit. One could then proceed + directly upwards, and so avoid the labour and difficulties which are + inevitable upon any ascent by way of the arêtes. + + 115 For route, see Map in Chap. VIII. + + 116 For route, see Map in Chap. VIII. + + 117 The path from Ville de Val Louise to Entraigues is good, and well + shaded by luxuriant foliage. The valley (d’Entraigues) is narrow; + bordered by fine cliffs; and closed at its western end by a noble + block of mountains, which looks much higher than it is. The highest + point (the Pic de Bonvoisin) is 11,500 feet. Potatoes, peas, and + other vegetables, are grown at Entraigues (5284 feet), although the + situation of the chalets is bleak, and cut off from the sun. + + The Combe (or Vallon) de la Selle joins the main valley at + Entraigues, and one can pass from the former by the little-known Col + de Loup (immediately to the south of the Pic de Bonvoisin) into the + Val Godemar. Two other passes, both of considerable height, lead + from the head of the Vallon de la Selle into the valleys of + Champoléon and Argentière. + + 118 This, like many other names given to mountains and glaciers on sheet + 189, is not a local name, or, at least, is not one that is in common + use. + + 119 The height of the Col de Sellar (or de Celar) is 10,073 feet + (Forbes). I was told by peasants at Entraigues that sheep and goats + can be easily taken across it. + + 120 See map on p. 146. It is perhaps just possible, although improbable, + that these little glaciers were united together at the time that the + survey was made. Since then the glaciers of Dauphiné (as throughout + the Alps generally) have shrunk very considerably. A notable + diminution took place in their size in 1869, which was attributed by + the natives to the very heavy rains of that year. + + 121 This drawing was made to illustrate the remarks which follow. It + does not represent any particular couloir, though it would serve, + tolerably well, as a portrait of the one which we ascended when + crossing the Col de Pilatte. + + 122 The upper part of the southern side of the Col de Pilatte, and the + small glaciers spoken of on p. 168, can be seen from the high road + leading from Briançon to Mont Dauphin, between the 12th and 13th + kilomètre stones (from Briançon). + + 123 Since the above paragraphs were first printed, there has been some + improvement in Dauphiné in respect to the inns; and there is now at + La Ville de Val Louise a very decent little auberge called the Hôtel + Pelvoux, kept by M. Gauthier. + + 124 Under the title of _Massif du Mont Blanc, extrait des minutes de la + Carte de France, leré par M. Mieulet, Capitaine d’Etat Major_. + + 125 The heights (in mètres) are after Captain Mieulet. + + 126 Some of these heights have no business to figure in a list of the + principal peaks of the chain, being nothing more than teeth or + pinnacles in ridges, or portions of higher mountains. Such, for + example, are the Aiguilles du Géant, du Dru, and de Bionnassay. + + 127 Besides Mont Blanc itself. + + 128 Previous to this we made an attempt to ascend the Aiguille + d’Argentière, and were defeated by a violent wind when within a + hundred feet of the summit. + + 129 Great crevasses. A bergschrund is a schrund, and something more. + + 130 The passage of the Col de Triolet from the Couvercle to Prè du Bar + occupied 8½ hours of actual walking. If the pass had been taken in + the contrary direction it would have consumed a much longer time. It + gave a route shorter than any known at the time between Chamounix + and the St. Bernard. As a pass I cannot conscientiously recommend it + to any one (see Chap. XVII.), nor am I desirous to go again over the + moraine on the left bank of the Glacier de Triolet, or the rocks of + Mont Rouge. + + 131 The ascent of Mont Dolent and return to Prè du Bar (halts included) + occupied less than 11 hours. + + 132 The bracketed paragraphs in this chapter are extracted from the + notes of Mr. Reilly. + + 133 From a sketch by Mr. Adams-Reilly. + + 134 This glacier is named Glacier du Mont Blanc. + + 135 The Calotte is the name given to the dome of snow at the summit of + Mont Blanc. + + 136 Glacier du Dôme. + + 137 This is without a name. + + 138 I do not know the origin of the term _moraine_. De Saussure says + (vol. i. p. 380, § 536), “the peasants of Chamounix call these heaps + of débris _the moraine_ of the glacier.” It may be inferred from + this that the term was a local one, peculiar to Chamounix. + + 139 An example is referred to on p. 106. Much more remarkable cases + might be instanced. + + 140 It is not usual to find small moraines to large glaciers fed by many + branches draining many different basins. That is, if the branches + are draining basins which are separated by mountain ridges, or + which, at least, have islands of rock protruding through the ice. + The small moraines contributed by one affluent are balanced, + probably, by great ones brought by another feeder. + +_ 141 Atlas of Physical Geography_, by Augustus Petermann and the Rev. T. + Milner. The italics are not in the original. + + 142 “The stones that are found upon the upper extremities of glaciers + are of the same nature as the mountains which rise above; but, as + the ice carries them down into the valleys, they arrive between + rocks of a totally different nature from their own.”—De Saussure, § + 536. + + 143 One cannot do worse than follow that path. + + 144 The lower chalet de Lognan is 2½ hours’ walking from Chamounix. From + thence to the summit of the Aiguille d’Argentière, and down to the + village of the same name, occupied 12½ hours. + + 145 The Col de Zinal or Triftjoch, between the Trifthorn and the Ober + Gabelhorn; and the Col Durand between the last-mentioned mountain + and the Dent Blanche. + + For our route from Zinal to Zermatt, see the Map of the Valley of + Zermatt. + + 146 High above the Glacier de Moming at the foot of the Crête de Milton. + + 147 Moore’s Journal. + + 148 Through what is technically called an “ice-fall.” + + 149 The responsibility, however, did not rest with Croz. His part was to + advise, but not to direct. + + 150 The summit of the pass has been marked on Dufour’s map 3793 mètres, + or 12,444 feet. + + 151 These snow-cornices are common on the crests of high mountain + ridges, and it is always prudent (just before arriving upon the + summit of a mountain or ridge) to _sound_ with the alpenstock, that + is to say, drive it in, to discover whether there is one or not. Men + have often narrowly escaped losing their lives from neglecting this + precaution. Several instances have been known of cornices having + given way without a moment’s notice, and of life only having been + saved through men being tied together. + + These cornices are frequently rolled round in a volute, and + sometimes take most extravagant forms. See page 32. + + 152 This opportunity has been taken to introduce to the reader some of + the most expert amateur mountaineers of the time; and a few of the + guides who have been, or will be, mentioned in the course of the + book. + + The late Peter Perrn is on the extreme right. Then come young Peter + Taugwalder (upon the bench); and J. J. Maquignaz (leaning against + the door-post). Franz Andermatten occupies the steps, and Ulrich + Lauener towers in the background. + + 153 See pp. 115 and 190. + + 154 See p. 141. + + 155 See pp. 169-171. + + 156 See pp. 236 and 266. + + 157 I engaged Croz for 1865 before I parted from him in 1864; but upon + writing to him in the month of April to fix the dates of his + engagement, I found that he had supposed he was free (in consequence + of not having heard from me earlier), and had engaged himself to a + Mr. B—— from the 27th of June. I endeavoured to hold him to his + promise, but he considered himself unable to withdraw from his later + obligation. His letters were honourable to him. The following + extract from the last one he wrote to me is given as an interesting + souvenir of a brave and upright man:— + + [Illustration: Facsimile of a letter from Croz] + + 158 It was an entry describing an ascent of the Grand Cornier (which we + supposed had never been ascended) from the very direction which we + had just pronounced to be hopeless! It was especially startling, + because Franz Biener was spoken of in the account as having been + concerned in the ascent. On examining Biener it was found that he + had made the excursion, and had supposed at the time he was upon his + summit that it was the Grand Cornier. He saw afterwards that they + had only ascended one of the several points upon the ridge running + northwards from the Grand Cornier—I believe, the Pigne de l’Allée + (11,168 feet)! + + 159 For route, see the map of the Valley of Zermatt. + + 160 I wrote in the _Athenæum_, August 29, 1863, to the same effect. + “This action of the frost does not cease in winter, inasmuch as it + is impossible for the Matterhorn to be entirely covered by snow. + Less precipitous mountains may be entirely covered up during winter, + and if they do not then actually gain height, the wear and tear is, + at least, suspended.... We arrive, therefore, at the conclusion + that, although such snow-peaks as Mont Blanc _may_ in the course of + ages grow higher, the Matterhorn must decrease in height.” These + remarks have received confirmation. + + The men who were left by M. Dollfus-Ausset in his observatory upon + the summit of the Col Théodule, during the winter of 1865, remarked + that the snow was partially melted upon the rocks in their vicinity + upon 19th, 20th, 21st, 22d, 23d, 26th, 27th December of that year, + and upon the 22d of December they entered in their Journal, “_Nous + avons vu au Matterhorn que la neige se fondait sur roches et qu’il + s’en écoulait de l’eau._”—_Matériaux pour l’étude des Glaciers_, + vol. viii. part i. p. 246, 1868; and vol. viii. part ii. p. 77, + 1869. + + 161 In each of the seven nights I passed upon the south-west ridge of + the Matterhorn in 1861-3 (at heights varying from 11,844 to 12,992 + feet above the level of the sea), the rocks fell incessantly in + showers and avalanches. See p. 120. + + 162 Tonson’s Ed. of 1758. Bacon may have had this passage in mind when + he wrote, “It must not be thought that heat generates motion, or + motion heat (though in some respects this be true), but that the + very essence of heat, or the substantial self of heat, is motion and + nothing else.”—_Novum Organum_, book ii. Devey’s Translation. + + 163 Doubtless, _at the sides_ of glacier beds, the range of temperature + is greater. But there is evidence that the winter cold does not + penetrate to the innermost recesses of glacier-beds in the fact that + streams continue to flow underneath the ice all the year round, + winter as well as summer, in the Alps and (I was informed in + Greenland) in Greenland. Experimental proof can be readily obtained + that even in midsummer the bottom temperature is close to 32° Faht. + + 164 Professor Tyndall “On the Conformation of the Alps,” _Phil. Mag._, + Sept. 1862. + + 165 This had been crossed, for the first time, a few months before. + + 166 The following details may interest mountain-climbers. Left Zinal + (5505 feet) 2.5 A.M. Thence to plateau S.E. of summit of Grand + Cornier, 5 h. 25 min. From the plateau to the summit of the + mountain, 2½ hours. The last 300 feet of the ridge followed were + exceedingly sharp and narrow, with a great cornice, from which huge + icicles depended. We were obliged to go _underneath_ the cornice, + and to cut a way through the icicles. Descent from summit to + plateau, 1 h. 40 min. Sharp snow-storm, with thunder. Plateau to + summit of Col du Grand Cornier (rocks easy), 45 min. From the summit + of the Col to the end of glacier leading to the west, 55 min. Thence + to Abricolla (7959), 15 min. + + 167 The brother of my guide Michel Croz. + + 168 See note to p. 70. + + 169 See map of the Valley of Zermatt. + + 170 Couloirs are invariably protected at their bases by bergschrunds. An + example of a couloir with a double bergschrund is given on p. 169. + + 171 The summit of the Dent Blanche is a ridge, perhaps one hundred yards + in length. The highest point is usually at its north-eastern end. + Several ascents besides those made by Mr. Kennedy and the author + have been made in late years; but, as yet, no one seems to have + discovered an easy route up the mountain. + + 172 The ascent of the Dent Blanche is the hardest that I have made. + There was nothing upon it so difficult as the last 500 feet of the + Pointe des Ecrins; but, on the other hand, there was hardly a step + upon it which was positively easy. The whole of the face required + actual climbing. There was, probably, very little difference in + difficulty between the route we took in 1865, and that followed by + Mr. Kennedy in 1862. + + 173 See Map of the Valley of Zermatt. The route taken upon June 19 is + alone marked. + + 174 See Chap. III. pp. 44-5. + + 175 Subsequent experiences of others have strengthened this opinion. + + 176 I prefer to be on the safe side. My impression is that snow cannot + accumulate in large masses _at_ 45°. + + 177 Upon this subject I beg to refer the reader to the valuable note + furnished by Signor F. Giordano in the Appendix. + + 178 See pp. 56 and 73. + + 179 Weathered granite is an admirable rock to climb; its gritty texture + giving excellent hold to the nails in one’s boots. But upon such + metamorphic schists as compose the mass of the great peak of the + Matterhorn, the texture of the rock itself is of little or no value. + + 180 I refer here only to that portion of the ridge which is between the + Col du Lion and the Great Tower. The remarks would not apply to the + rocks higher up (see p. 75); higher still the rocks are firm again; + yet higher (upon the “Shoulder”) they are much disintegrated; and + then, upon the final peak, they are again firm. + +_ 181 Travels through the Alps_, 2nd ed. p. 317. + + 182 Its position is shown by the letter F, on the right of the outline, + on p. 85. See also Map of the Matterhorn and its Glaciers. + + 183 See p. 94. + + 184 See Frontispiece. + + 185 See note to p. 95. + + 186 The ascent of the Grandes Jorasses was made to obtain a view of the + upper part of the Aig. Verte, and upon that account the westernmost + summit was selected in preference to the highest one. Both summits + are shown upon the accompanying engraving. That on the right is (as + it appears to be) the highest. That upon its left is the one which + we ascended, and is about 100 feet lower than the other. A couple of + days after our ascent, Henri Grati, Julien Grange, Jos. Mar. Perrod, + Alexis Clusaz, and Daniel Gex (all of Courmayeur), followed our + traces to the summit in order to learn the way. As far as my + observation extends, such things are seldom done by money-grasping + or spiritless guides, and I have much pleasure in being able to + mention their names. The highest point (13,799) was ascended on June + 29-30, 1868, by Mr. Horace Walker, with the guides Melchior + Anderegg, J. Jaun, and Julien Grange. + + 187 The view of Mont Blanc from a gorge on the south of the Italian Val + Ferret, mid-way between the villages of La Vachey and Praz Sec, and + about 3000 feet above them, is, in my opinion, the finest which can + be obtained of that mountain range anywhere upon the Italian side. + + 188 The next generation may witness its extinction. The portion of it + seen from the village of Argentière was in 1869 at least one quarter + less in width than it was ten years earlier. + + 189 This observation is not made without reason. I have seen the head of + one tumble off at a slight tap, in consequence of its handle having + been perforated by an ingenious but useless arrangement of nails. + + 190 I estimate its height at 1200 feet. The triangulation of Capt. + Mieulet places the summit of the pass 11,624 feet above the sea. + This, I think, is rather too high. + +_ 191 Wanderings among the High Alps_, 1858. + + 192 Most of his principal exploits are recorded in the publications of + the Alpine Club. + + 193 Engraved, by permission, from a photograph by Mr. E. Edwards. + + 194 Admirably rendered in the accompanying drawing by Mr. Cyrus Johnson. + + 195 I heard lately of two well-known mountaineers who, under the + influence of sudden alarm, _swallowed their crystals_. I am happy to + say that they were able to cough them up again. + + 196 Hand specimens of the highest rocks of the Aiguille Verte cannot be + distinguished from granite. The rock is almost identical in quality + with that at the summit of Mont Dolent, and is probably a granitöid + gneiss. + + 197 The summit of the Aiguille Verte was a snowy dome, large enough for + a quadrille. I was surprised to see the great height of Les Droites. + Captain Mieulet places its summit at 13,222 feet, but I think it + must be very slightly lower than the Verte itself. + + 198 The Chamounix tariff price for the ascent of the Aiguille is now + placed at £4 _per guide_. + + 199 It should be said that we received the most polite apologies for + this affair from the chief of the gensdarmes, and an invitation to + lodge a complaint against the ring-leaders. We accepted his + apologies, and declined his invitation. Needless to add, Michel Croz + took no part in the demonstration. + + 200 Below the second ice-fall the glacier is completely covered up with + moraine matter, and if the _left_ bank is followed, one is compelled + either to traverse this howling waste or to lose much time upon the + tedious and somewhat difficult rocks of Mont Rouge. + + 201 In glissading an erect position should be maintained, and the point + of the alpenstock allowed to trail over the snow. If it is necessary + to stop, or to slacken speed, the point is pressed against the + slope, as shown in the illustration. + + 202 Comparison of the Col de Triolet with the Col de Talèfre will show + what a great difference in ease there may be between tracks which + are nearly identical. For a distance of several miles these routes + are scarcely more than half-a-mile apart. Nearly every step of the + former is difficult, whilst the latter has no difficulty whatever. + The route we adopted over the Col de Talèfre may perhaps be + improved. It may be possible to go directly from the head of the + Glacier de Triolet to its right bank, and, if so, at least thirty + minutes might be saved. + + The following is a list of the principal of the passes across the + main ridge of the range of Mont Blanc, with the years in which the + first passages were effected, as far as I know them:—1. Col de + Trélatête (1864), between Aig. du Glacier and Aig. de Trélatête. 2. + Col de Miage, between Aig. de Miage and Aig. de Bionnassay. 3. Col + du Dôme (1865), over the Dôme du Goûter. 4. Col du Mont Blanc + (1868), over Mont Blanc. 5. Col de la Brenva (1865), between Mont + Blanc and Mont Maudit. 6. Col de la Tour Ronde (1867), over la Tour + Ronde. 7. Col du Géant, between la Tour Ronde and Aigs. Marbrées. 8. + Col des Grandes Jorasses (1873), between the Grandes and Petites + Jorasses. 9. Col de Leschaux (1877), between the Aig. de + l’Eboulement and the Aig. de Leschaux. 10. Col Pierre Joseph (1866), + over Aig. de l’Eboulement. 11. Col de Talèfre (1865), between Aigs. + Talèfre and Triolet. 12. Col de Triolet (1864), between Aigs. + Talèfre and Triolet. 13. Col Dolent (1865), between Aig. de Triolet + and Mont Dolent. 14. Col d’Argentière (1861), between Mont Dolent + and la Tour Noire. 15. Col de la Tour Noire (1863), between the Tour + Noire and the Aig. d’Argentière. 16. Col du Chardonnet (1863), + between Aigs. d’Argentière and Chardonnet. 17. Col du Tour, between + Aigs. du Chardonnet and Tour. + + 203 After crossing the glacier de Breney, we ascended by some débris, + and then by some cliffy ground, to the glacier which surrounds the + peak upon the south; bore to the left (that is to the west) and went + up the edge of the glacier; and lastly took to the arête of the + ridge which descends towards the south-west, and followed it to the + summit (12,727). + + 204 Manufactured and sold by Messrs. Buckingham, Broad Street, + Bloomsbury. + + 205 For example, when the leader suspects crevasses, and _sounds_ for + them, in the manner shown in the engraving, he usually loses half a + step or more. The second man should take a turn of the rope around + his hand to draw it back in case the leader goes through. + + 206 When several persons are descending such places, it is evident that + the _last man_ cannot derive any assistance from the rope, and so + might as well be untied. Partly upon this account, it is usual to + place one of the strongest and steadiest men last. Now, although + this cannot be termed a senseless precaution, it is obvious that it + is a perfectly useless one, if it is true that a single slip would + upset the entire party. The best plan I know is that which we + adopted on the descent of the Col Dolent, namely, to let one man go + in advance until he reaches some secure point. This one then + detaches himself, the rope is drawn up, and another man is sent down + to join him, and so on until the last. The last man still occupies + the most difficult post, and should be the steadiest man; but he is + not exposed to any risk from his comrades slipping, and they, of + course, draw in the rope as he descends, so that his position is + less hazardous than if he were to come down quite by himself. + + 207 If you are out upon an excursion, and find the work becoming so + arduous that you have great difficulty in maintaining your balance, + you should at once retire, and not imperil the lives of others. I am + well aware that the withdrawal of one person for such reasons would + usually necessitate the retreat of a second, and that expeditions + would be often cut short if this were to happen. With the fear of + this before their eyes, I believe that many amateurs continue to go + on, albeit well convinced that they ought not. They do not wish to + stop the sport of their comrades; but they frequently suffer mental + tortures in consequence, which most emphatically do not assist their + stability, and are likely to lead to something even more + disagreeable than the abandonment of the excursion. The moral is, + take an adequate number of guides. + + 208 During the preceding eighteen days (I exclude Sundays and other + non-working days) we ascended more than 100,000 feet, and descended + 98,000 feet. + + 209 See p. 79. + + 210 Tourists usually congregate at Zermatt upon Sundays, and large gangs + and droves cross the Théodule pass on Mondays. + + 211 The Italian Minister. Signor Giordano had undertaken the business + arrangements for Signor Sella. + + 212 Peter Taugwalder, the father, is called _old_ Peter, to distinguish + him from his eldest son, _young_ Peter. In 1865 the father’s age was + about 45. + + 213 Brother of the present Marquis of Queensberry. + + 214 For route, and the others mentioned in the subsequent chapters, see + map of Matterhorn and its glaciers. + + 215 The two young Taugwalders were taken as porters, by desire of their + father, and carried provisions amply sufficient for three days, in + case the ascent should prove more troublesome than we anticipated. + + 216 I remember speaking about pedestrianism to a well-known mountaineer + some years ago, and venturing to remark that a man who averaged + thirty miles a-day might be considered a good walker. “A fair + walker,” he said, “a _fair_ walker.” “What then would you consider + _good_ walking?” “Well,” he replied, “I will tell you. Some time + back a friend and I agreed to go to Switzerland, but a short time + afterwards he wrote to say he ought to let me know that a young and + delicate lad was going with him who would not be equal to great + things, in fact, he would not be able to do more than fifty miles + a-day!” “What became of the young and delicate lad?” “He lives.” + “And who was your extraordinary friend?” “Charles Hudson.” I have + every reason to believe that the gentlemen referred to _were_ equal + to walking more than fifty miles a-day, but they were exceptional, + not _good_ pedestrians. + + Charles Hudson, Vicar of Skillington in Lincolnshire, was considered + by the mountaineering fraternity to be the best amateur of his time. + He was the organiser and leader of the party of Englishmen who + ascended Mont Blanc by the Aig. du Goûter, and descended by the + Grands Mulets route, without guides, in 1855. His long practice made + him surefooted, and in that respect he was not greatly inferior to a + born mountaineer. I remember him as a well-made man of middle height + and age, neither stout nor thin, with face pleasant—though grave, + and with quiet unassuming manners. Although an athletic man, he + would have been overlooked in a crowd; and although he had done the + greatest mountaineering feats which have been done, he was the last + man to speak of his own doings. His friend Mr. Hadow was a young man + of nineteen, who had the looks and manners of a greater age. He was + a rapid walker, but 1865 was his first season in the Alps. Lord + Francis Douglas was about the same age as Mr. Hadow. He had had the + advantage of several seasons in the Alps. He was nimble as a deer, + and was becoming an expert mountaineer. Just before our meeting he + had ascended the Ober Gabelhorn (with old Peter Taugwalder and Jos. + Viennin), and this gave me a high opinion of his powers; for I had + examined that mountain all round, a few weeks before, and had + declined its ascent on account of its apparent difficulty. + + My personal acquaintance with Mr. Hudson was very slight—still I + should have been content to have placed myself under his orders if + he had chosen to claim the position to which he was entitled. Those + who knew him will not be surprised to learn that, so far from doing + this, he lost no opportunity of consulting the wishes and opinions + of those around him. We deliberated together whenever there was + occasion, and our authority was recognised by the others. Whatever + responsibility there was devolved upon _us_. I recollect with + satisfaction that there was no difference of opinion between us as + to what should be done, and that the most perfect harmony existed + between all of us so long as we were together. + + 217 Arrived at the chapel 7.30 A.M.; left it, 8.20; halted to examine + route 9.30; started again 10.25, and arrived at 11.20 at the cairn + made by Mr. Kennedy in 1862 (see p. 59), marked 10,820 feet upon the + map. Stopped 10 min. here. From the Hörnli to this point we kept, + when possible, to the crest of the ridge. The greater part of the + way was excessively easy, though there were a few places where the + axe had to be used. + + 218 Thus far the guides did not once go to the front. Hudson or I led, + and when any cutting was required we did it ourselves. This was done + to spare the guides, and to show them that we were thoroughly in + earnest. The spot at which we camped was four hours’ walking from + Zermatt, and is marked upon the map—CAMP (1865). It was just upon a + level with the Furggengrat, and its position is indicated upon the + engraving facing p. 227 by a little circular white spot, in a line + with the word CAMP. + + 219 It was originally intended to leave both of the young men behind. We + found it difficult to divide the food, and so the new arrangement + was made. + + 220 See pp. 227-231. + + 221 For track, see the lower of the outlines facing p. 230. + + 222 See remarks on arêtes and faces on p. 206. There is very little to + choose between in the arêtes leading from the summit towards the + Hörnli (N.E. ridge) and towards the Col du Lion (S.W. ridge). Both + are jagged, serrated ridges, which any experienced climber would + willingly avoid if he could find another route. On the northern + (Zermatt) side the eastern face affords another route, or any number + of routes, since there is hardly a part of it which cannot be + traversed! On the southern (Breil) side the ridge alone, generally + speaking, can be followed; and when it becomes impracticable, and + the climber is forced to bear down to the right or to the left, the + work is of the most difficult character. + + 223 Very few stones fell during the two days I was on the mountain, and + none came near us. Others who have followed the same route have not + been so fortunate; they may not, perhaps, have taken the same + precautions. It is a noteworthy fact, that the lateral moraine of + the left bank of the Furggengletscher is scarcely larger than that + of the right bank, although the former receives all the débris that + falls from the 4000 feet of cliffs which form the eastern side of + the Matterhorn, whilst the latter is fed by perfectly insignificant + slopes. Neither of these moraines is large. This is strong evidence + that stones do _not_ fall to any great extent from the eastern face. + The inward dip of the beds retains the detritus in place. Hence the + eastern face appears, when one is upon it, to be undergoing more + rapid disintegration than the other sides: in reality, the mantle of + ruin spares the mountain from farther waste. Upon the southern side, + rocks fall as they are rent off; “each day’s work is cleared away” + every day; and hence the faces and ridges are left naked, and are + exposed to fresh attacks. + + 224 The snow seen in the engraving facing p. 227, half-an-inch below the + summit, and a little to its right. + + 225 This part was less steeply inclined than the whole of the eastern + face. + + 226 I have no memorandum of the time that it occupied. It must have + taken about an hour and a half. + + 227 The highest points are towards the two ends. In 1865 the northern + end was slightly higher than the southern one. In bygone years + Carrel and I often suggested to each other that we might one day + arrive upon the top, and find ourselves cut off from the very + highest point by a notch in the summit-ridge which is seen from the + Theodule and from Breil (marked *D* on the outline on p. 85). This + notch is very conspicuous from below, but when we were upon the + summit it was hardly noticed, and it could be passed without the + least difficulty. + + 228 I have learnt since from J.-A. Carrel that they heard our first + cries. They were then upon the south-west ridge, close to the + “Cravate,” and _twelve hundred and fifty_ feet below us; or, as the + crow flies, at a distance of about one-third of a mile. + + 229 At our departure the men were confident that the ascent would be + made, and took one of the poles out of the tent. I protested that it + was tempting Providence; they took the pole, nevertheless. + + 230 Signor Giordano was naturally disappointed at the result, and wished + the men to start again. _They all refused to do so, with the + exception of Jean-Antoine._ Upon the 16th of July he set out again + with three others, and upon the 17th gained the summit by passing + (at first) up the south-west ridge, and (afterwards) by turning over + to the Z’Mutt, or north-western side. On the 18th he returned to + Breil. + + Whilst we were upon the southern end of the summit-ridge, we paid + some attention to the portion of the mountain which intervened + between ourselves and the Italian guides. It seemed as if there + would not be the least chance for them if they should attempt to + storm the final peak directly from the end of the “shoulder.” In + that direction cliffs fell sheer down from the summit, and we were + unable to see beyond a certain distance. There remained the route + about which Carrel and I had often talked, namely to ascend directly + at first from the end of the “shoulder,” and afterwards to swerve to + the left—that is, to the Z’Mutt side—and to complete the ascent from + the north-west. When we were upon the summit we laughed at this + idea. The part of the mountain that I have described upon p. 278, + was not easy, although its inclination was moderate. If that slope + were made only ten degrees steeper, its difficulty would be + enormously increased. To double its inclination would be to make it + impracticable. The slope at the southern end of the summit-ridge, + falling towards the north-west, was _much_ steeper than that over + which we passed, and we ridiculed the idea that any person should + attempt to ascend in that direction, when the northern route was so + easy. Nevertheless, the summit was reached by that route by the + undaunted Carrel. From knowing the final slope over which he passed, + and from the account of Mr. F. C. Grove—who is the only traveller by + whom it has been traversed—I do not hesitate to term the ascent of + Carrel and Bich in 1865 the most desperate piece of + mountain-scrambling upon record. In 1869 I asked Carrel if he had + ever done anything more difficult. His reply was, “Man cannot do + anything much more difficult than that!” See Appendix *D*. + + 231 The summit-ridge was much shattered, although not so extensively as + the south-west and north-east ridges. The highest rock, in 1865, was + a block of micaschist, and the fragment I broke off it not only + possesses, in a remarkable degree, the character of the peak, but + mimics, in an astonishing manner, the details of its form. (See + illustration on page 284.) + + 232 It is most unusual to see the southern half of the panorama + unclouded. A hundred ascents may be made before this will be the + case again. + + 233 The substance of Chapter XX. appeared in a letter in the _Times_, + August 8, 1865. A few paragraphs have now been added, and a few + corrections have been made. The former will help to make clear that + which was obscure in the original account, and the latter are, + mostly, unimportant. + + 234 If the members of the party had been more equally efficient, Croz + would have been placed _last_. + + 235 Described upon pp. 277-8. + + 236 Not at all an unusual proceeding, even between born mountaineers. I + wish to convey the impression that Croz was using all pains, rather + than to indicate extreme inability on the part of Mr. Hadow. The + insertion of the word “absolutely” makes the passage, perhaps, + rather ambiguous. I retain it now, in order to offer the above + explanation. + + 237 At the moment of the accident, Croz, Hadow, and Hudson, were all + close together. Between Hudson and Lord F. Douglas the rope was all + but taut, and the same between all the others, who were _above_. + Croz was standing by the side of a rock which afforded good hold, + and if he had been aware, or had suspected, that anything was about + to occur, he might and would have gripped it, and would have + prevented any mischief. He was taken totally by surprise. Mr. Hadow + slipped off his feet on to his back, his feet struck Croz in the + small of the back, and knocked him right over, head first. Croz’s + axe was out of his reach, yet without it he managed to get his head + uppermost before he disappeared from our sight. If it had been in + his hand I have no doubt that he would have stopped himself and Mr. + Hadow. + + Mr. Hadow, at the moment of his slip, was not occupying a bad + position. He could have moved either up or down, and could touch + with his hand the rock of which I have spoken. Hudson was not so + well placed, but he had liberty of motion. The rope was not taut + from him to Hadow, and the two men fell ten or twelve feet before + the jerk came upon him. Lord F. Douglas was not favourably placed, + and could neither move up nor down. Old Peter was firmly planted, + and stood just beneath a large rock which he hugged with both arms. + I enter into these details to make it more apparent that the + position occupied by the party at the moment of the accident was not + by any means excessively trying. We were compelled to pass over the + exact spot where the slip occurred, and we found—even with shaken + nerves—that _it_ was not a difficult place to pass. I have described + the _slope generally_ as difficult, and it is so undoubtedly to most + persons; but it must be distinctly understood that Mr. Hadow slipped + at an easy part. + + 238 Or, more correctly, we held on as tightly as possible. There was no + time to change our position. + + 239 These ends, I believe, are still attached to the rocks, and mark our + line of ascent and descent. I saw one of them in 1873. + + 240 I paid very little attention to this remarkable phenomenon, and was + glad when it disappeared, as it distracted our attention. Under + ordinary circumstances I should have felt vexed afterwards at not + having observed with greater precision an occurrence so rare and so + wonderful. I can add very little about it to that which is said + above. The sun was directly at our backs; that is to say, the + fog-bow was opposite to the sun. The time was 6.30 P.M. The forms + were at once tender and sharp; neutral in tone; were developed + gradually, and disappeared suddenly. The mists were light (that is, + not dense), and were dissipated in the course of the evening. + + It has been suggested that the crosses are incorrectly figured in + the accompanying view, and that they were probably formed by the + intersection of other circles or ellipses, as shown in the annexed + diagram. I think this suggestion is very likely correct; but I have + preferred to follow my original memorandum. + + [Illustration: Diagram of fog-bow] + + In Parry’s _Narrative of an Attempt to reach the North Pole_, 4to, + 1828, there is, at pp. 99-100, an account of the occurrence of a + phenomenon analogous to the above-mentioned one. “At half-past five + P.M. we witnessed a very beautiful natural phenomenon. A broad white + fog-bow first appeared opposite to the sun, as was very commonly the + case,” etc. I follow Parry in using the term fog-bow. + + It may be observed that, upon the descent of the Italian guides + (whose expedition is noticed upon p. 282, and again in the + Appendix), upon July 17, 1865, the phenomenon commonly termed the + Brocken was observed. The following is the account given by the Abbé + Amé Gorret in the _Feuille d’Aoste_, October 31, 1865:—“Nous étions + sur l’épaule (the ‘shoulder’) quand nous remarquâmes un phénomène + qui nous fit plaisir; le nuage était très-dense du côté de + Valtornanche, c’était serein en Suisse; nous nous vîmes au milieu + d’un cercle aux couleurs de l’arc-en-ciel; ce mirage nous formait à + tous une couronne au milieu de laquelle nous voyions notre ombre.” + This occurred at about 6.30 to 7 P.M., and the Italians in question + were at about the same height as ourselves—namely, 14,000 feet. + + 241 They had been travelling with, and had been engaged by, Lord F. + Douglas, and so considered him their employer, and responsible to + them. + + 242 Transcribed from the original memorandum. + + 243 Nor did I speak to them afterwards, unless it was absolutely + necessary, so long as we were together. + + 244 A portrait of Franz Andermatten is given in the engraving facing p. + 202. + + 245 To the point marked *Z* on the map. + + 246 Marked with a cross on the map. + + 247 A pair of gloves, a belt, and boot that had belonged to him, were + found. This, somehow, became publicly known, and gave rise to wild + notions, which would not have been entertained had it been also + known that the _whole_ of the boots of those who had fallen _were + off_, and were lying upon the snow near the bodies. + + 248 The three ropes have been reduced by photography to the same scale. + + 249 I was one hundred feet or more from the others whilst they were + being tied up, and am unable to throw any light on the matter. Croz + and old Peter no doubt tied up the others. + + 250 This is not the only occasion upon which M. Clemenz (who presided + over the inquiry) has failed to give up answers that he has + promised. It is greatly to be regretted that he does not feel that + the suppression of the truth is equally against the interests of + travellers and of the guides. If the men are untrustworthy, the + public should be warned of the fact; but if they are blameless, why + allow them to remain under unmerited suspicion? + + Old Peter Taugwalder is a man who is labouring under an unjust + accusation. Notwithstanding repeated denials, even his comrades and + neighbours at Zermatt persist in asserting or insinuating that he + _cut_ the rope which led from him to Lord F. Douglas. In regard to + this infamous charge, I say that he _could_ not do so at the moment + of the slip, and that the end of the rope in my possession shows + that he did not do so beforehand. There remains, however, the + suspicious fact that the rope which broke was the thinnest and + weakest one that we had. It is suspicious, because it is unlikely + that any of the four men in front would have selected an old and + weak rope when there was abundance of new, and much stronger, rope + to spare; and, on the other hand, because if Taugwalder thought that + an accident was likely to happen, it was to his interest to have the + weaker rope where it was placed. + + I should rejoice to learn that his answers to the questions which + were put to him were satisfactory. Not only was his act at the + critical moment wonderful as a feat of strength, but it was + admirable in its performance at the right time. I am told that he is + now nearly incapable for work—not absolutely mad, but with intellect + gone and almost crazy; which is not to be wondered at, whether we + regard him as a man who contemplated a scoundrelly meanness, or as + an injured man suffering under an unjust accusation. + + In respect to young Peter, it is not possible to speak in the same + manner. The odious idea that he propounded (which I believe emanated + from _him_) he has endeavoured to trade upon, in spite of the fact + that his father was paid (for both) in the presence of witnesses. + Whatever may be his abilities as a guide, he is not one to whom I + would ever trust my life, or afford any countenance. + + 251 They followed the route laid down upon the map, and on their descent + were in great peril from the fall of a _sérac_. The character of the + work they undertook may be gathered from a reference to p. 100. + + 252 This, or a subsequent party, discovered a sleeve. No other traces + have been found. + + 253 See p. 48. + + 254 See p. 120. + + 255 Malte-Brun’s _Annales des Voyages_, April 1869. + + 256 Peter Perrn, the well-known guide, died at Zermatt in the winter of + 1873-4. + + 257 A place on the final peak, about half-way between the “Shoulder” and + the summit. + + 258 We resume here the account of the proceedings of the Italians who + started from Breil on the 11th of July 1865. See p. 269. + + 259 The foregoing particulars were related to me by J.-A. Carrel. + + 260 The following details are taken from the account of the Abbé Amé + Gorret (published in the _Feuille d’Aoste_, Oct. 1865), who was at + Breil when the men returned. + + 261 See Appendix *E*, attempt No. 1. + + 262 These terms, as well as the others, Great Staircase, Col du Lion, + Tête du Lion, Chimney, and so forth, were applied by Carrel and + myself to the various points, in consequence of real or supposed + resemblances in the rocks to other things. A few of the terms + originated with the Author, but they are chiefly due to the + inventive genius of J.-A. Carrel. + + 263 This point is marked by the red letter *E* upon the lower of the two + outlines facing p. 44. + + 264 I have seen icicles more than a hundred feet long hanging from the + rocks near the summit of the Matterhorn. + + 265 The words of the Abbé. I imagine that he meant _comparatively easy_. + + 266 The pace of a party is ruled by that of its least efficient member. + + 267 See pp. 83-4 and pp. 90-1. + + 268 A ridge descending towards the Z’Muttgletscher. + + 269 Joseph and J.-Pierre Maquignaz alone ascended; the others had had + enough and returned. It should be observed that ropes had been + fixed, by J.-A. Carrel and others, over _all_ the difficult parts of + the mountain as high as the shoulder, _before_ the advent of these + persons. This explains the facility with which they moved over + ground which had been found very trying in earlier times. The young + woman declared that the ascent (as far as she went) was a trifle, or + used words to that effect; if she had tried to get to the same + height before 1862, she would probably have been of a different + opinion. + + 270 Cette roche granitoïde paraît surtout à la base ouest du pic sous le + col du Lion, tandis qu’elle ne paraît pas du tout sur le flanc est, + où elle paraît passer au gneiss talqueux. + + 271 En plusieurs localités des environs, cette zone calcarifère présente + des bancs et des lentilles de dolomie, de cargueule, de gypse et de + quartzite. + + + + + + TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE + + +Italic type is marked by underscore (_), boldface by asterisk (*). + +The following changes have been made to the text: + + page 24, “fire” changed to “fir” + page 178, “Cormayeur” changed to “Courmayeur” + page 203, “regele” changed to “regale”, “Pernn” changed to “Perrn” + page 243, “naturrally” changed to “naturally” + page 269, opening quote added before “That” + page 294, “crritical” changed to “critical” + page 315, period added after “47-9” + page 319, period added after “Andermatten” + page 321, period added after “Taugwalder” + +Variations in accentuation (“chalet”/“châlet”), hyphenation (e.g. +“commonplace”/“common-place”, “midday”/“mid-day”) and spelling +(“Ortler”/“Orteler”) have not been changed. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ASCENT OF THE MATTERHORN*** + + + + CREDITS + + +November 17, 2011 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Stefan Cramme, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + A WORD FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG + + +This file should be named 38044‐0.txt or 38044‐0.zip. + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + + + http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/8/0/4/38044/ + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one — the old editions will be +renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one +owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and +you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission +and without paying copyright royalties. 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