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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..80c91f5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54163 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54163) diff --git a/old/54163-0.txt b/old/54163-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4c170b4..0000000 --- a/old/54163-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8750 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ski-runs in the High Alps, by F. F. -(François Frédéric) Roget, Illustrated by L. M. Crisp - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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 -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Ski-runs in the High Alps - - -Author: F. F. (François Frédéric) Roget - - - -Release Date: February 13, 2017 [eBook #54163] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS*** - - -E-text prepared by Ann Jury and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team -(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 54163-h.htm or 54163-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/54163/54163-h/54163-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/54163/54163-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/skirunsinhighalp00roge - - - - - -SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS - - - * * * * * * - - SKI-ING FOR BEGINNERS AND MOUNTAINEERS - - By W. RICKMER RICKMERS - - With 72 Full-page Plates and many Diagrams in the Text - - _Crown 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. net. (Post free, 4s. 9d.)_ - - Opinions of the Press - - “A fascinating book on the most delightful of Continental - winter sports. Not only is Mr. Rickmers a strenuous and - accomplished ski-runner himself, but he has had years of - experience as a teacher of the art, and his handy volume - embodies everything that it is essential for the novice to know - in order to become an efficient ski-runner in as short a time - as possible”--_T. P.’s Weekly._ - - “He is a teacher of vast experience, who has studied every - defect in style that a beginner can possibly fall into, and has - learned how to cure them all. If the novice with the aid of - this book studies his every posture and action, practising the - right and with pains correcting what he learns is wrong, he is - on the high road to becoming a first-class runner.”--_Scottish - Ski Club Magazine._ - - “Mr Rickmers has written a lucid book which, as regards - ski-ing, is cyclopædically exhaustive.”--_Illustrated Sporting - and Dramatic News._ - - “This book will be a great boon to those wishing to learn - the art of ski-ing. The illustrations are excellent and most - carefully chosen--in fact, the whole book from beginning to - end is full of useful knowledge, and is most interestingly - written. It will be enjoyed not only by the initiate, but by - the experienced ski-runner.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._ - - LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN - - * * * * * * - - -[Illustration: SUNSET, FROM MONT DURAND GLACIER. - -Frontispiece.] - - -SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS - -by - -F. F. ROGET, S.A.C. - -Honorary Member of the Alpine Ski Club -Honorary Member of the Association of -British Members of the Swiss Alpine Club - -With 25 Illustrations by L. M. Crisp -And 6 Maps - - - - - - -T. Fisher Unwin -London: Adelphi Terrace -Leipsic: Inselstrasse 20 -1913 - -(All rights reserved.) - - - - - [Illustration] - - TO - MY DAUGHTER - ISMAY - HOPING SHE MAY NOT GO FORTH - AND DO LIKEWISE - - - - -PREFACE - - -In 1905, when nearer fifty than forty, had I not been the happy father -of a girl of seven I should have had no occasion to write this book. -I bought, for her to play with, a pair of small ski in deal, which I -remember cost nine francs. For myself I bought a rough pair, on which to -fetch and bring her back to shore if the small ship foundered. - -No sooner had I equipped myself, standing, as a Newfoundland dog, on the -brink of the waves, ready to rescue a child from snow peril, than I was -born again into a ski-runner. - -Since, I have devoted some of my spare time to revisiting--in winter--the -passes and peaks of Switzerland. - -The bringing of the ski to Switzerland ushered in the “New -Mountaineering,” of which a few specimens seek in these pages the favour -of the general public. - -The reader may notice that I never spell “ski” with an _s_ in the plural, -because it is quite unnecessary. One may stand on one ski, and one may -stand on both ski. The _s_ adds nothing to intelligibility. - -Nor do I ever pronounce ski otherwise than I write it. There is in ski -the _k_ that appears in skipper and in skiff. Though cultured Germans say -_Schiff_ and _Schiffer_, the _k_ sound of ski is quite good Norse. It has -been preserved in the French _esquif_, of same origin. - -The _i_ should be pronounced long as in “tree.” - -So let us always say _s-k-ee_ and write ski for both numbers. - -SAAS-FEE. _August 14, 1912._ - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - CHAPTER I - - SKI-RUNNING IN THE HIGH ALPS 17 - - The different ski-ing zones--Their characteristics and - dangers--The glaciers as ski-ing grounds--The ski-running - season--Inverted temperature--The conformation of winter - snow--Precautionary measures--Glacier weather--Rock - conditions--Weather reports--Guides and porters. - - CHAPTER II - - WITH SKI TO THE DIABLERETS 34 - - _First Ascent_--The Bear inn at Gsteig--The young - Martis--Superstitions--The rights of guides. - - _Second Ascent_--The composition of the caravan--Odd - symptoms--Winter amusements on the glacier--A broken ankle--The - salvage operations--On accidents--My juvenile experience--A - broken limb on the Jaman. - - _Third Ascent_--The Marti family--The Synagogue once more--An - old porter--We are off. - - CHAPTER III - - FROM THE COL DU PILLON TO THE GEMMI PASS (DIABLERETS, WILDHORN, - WILDSTRUBEL, AND KANDERSTEG) 59 - - The range--Ski-runners’ logic--Itinerary--The Plan des - Roses--Untoward experiences on the Rawyl pass--Death - through exposure--The _Daily Mail_ and Mr. Arnold Lunn’s - feat--House-breaking--On the Gemmi--Perspective and - levels--Relief models of the Alps--My smoking den--Old Egger. - - CHAPTER IV - - THE SKI-RUNNER OF VERMALA 83 - - Vermala--The mysterious runner--The Plain of the - Dead--Popular beliefs--The purification of the grazings--A - haunted piece of rock--An awful noose is thrown over the - country-side--Supernatural lights and events--The Babel of - tongues--The Saillon and Brigue testimonies--The curé of Lens - and his sundial--The people’s cure--The Strubel--_Chauffage - central_--Did I meet the Ski-runner of Vermala?--My third - ascent of the Wildstrubel--A night encampment on the - glacier--Meditations on mountains, mountaineers, and the - Swiss--How to make _café noir_--Where to sleep and when not - to--Alpine refuges--The old huts and the new--The English - Alpinists and the Swiss huts--The Britannia hut. - - CHAPTER V - - THE BERNESE OBERLAND FROM END TO END 113 - - The Oberland circuit--My appointment with Arnold - Lunn--An Anglo-Swiss piece of work--An unbelieving - public--Switzerland and Britain--Geographical--Practical--We - start from Beatenberg--The Jungfrau ice-slabs--New - Year’s Day at Kandersteg--In the Gasterenthal--On the - Tschingelfirn--Foehn-effects on the Petersgrat--The Telli - glacier--The Kippel bottle-race--A church door--Theodore - Kalbermatten--The Loetschen pass--Burnt socks--Roped - ski-ing--The Concordia breakfast-table--Why we did not ascend - the Jungfrau--The Concordia huts--The Grünhornlücke--On snow - “lips” and cornices--An afternoon snooze--The Finsteraarhorn - hut--A guideless party--Ascent of the Finsteraarhorn--Our - next pass--A stranded runner--The Grimsel--Home life at - Guttannen--Our sleigh ran to Meiringen--A comparison of winter - and summer work--Memories and visions--Table of levels--How - to form a caravan--The pay of the men--Side-slip and - back-slip--Future railway facilities. - - CHAPTER VI - - THE AIGUILLE DU CHARDONNET AND THE AIGUILLE DU TOUR 181 - - The aspect of the Grand Combin--Topography--Weather conditions - for a successful raid--A classification of peaks--The Orny - nivometer--The small snowfall of the High Alps--The shrinkage - of snow--Its insufficiency to feed the glaciers--The Aiguille - du Tour--Ascent of Aiguille du Chardonnet--The St. Bernard - hospice--Helplessness of the dogs--The narrow winter path--The - monks’ hospitality--Their ski--The accident on the Col de - Fenêtre--_Ce n’est pas le ski_. - - CHAPTER VII - - THE GRAND COMBIN 197 - - The Panossière hut--Tropical winter heat--Schoolboys and - the Matterhorn--Shall it be rock or snow?--The Combin - de Valsorey--My third ascent of the Grand Combin--The - track home--Col des Avolions--Natural highways of a new - character--Twenty-three thousand feet ascended on ski. - - CHAPTER VIII - - ACROSS THE PENNINE ALPS ON SKI BY THE “HIGH-LEVEL” ROUTE 206 - - The “high-level” route--Previous attempts--My itinerary--Marcel - Kurz--The wise old men of Bourg St. Pierre--Maurice - Crettex--Guides with bamboos and laupars!--The snow-clad - cliffs of Sonadon--The Chanrion hut--Sealed-up crevasses--The - nameless pass--Louis Theytaz--The Pigne d’Arolla--The Bertol - hut--Why the Dent Blanche could be ascended--The lady’s - maid’s easy job--The dreadful summer slabs--We push past - two “constables”!--My cane--We bash in her ladyship’s white - bonnet--The Ice-Maid presses gently my finger-tips--The - cornice crashes down--A second night in the Bertol hut--The - Col d’Hérens--An impending tragedy--A milk-pail _versus_ - ski--Dr. Koenig and Captain Meade--The real tragedy of - Theytaz’s death--Ropes and crevasses--Mr. Moore’s account--My - comments--The Mischabel range and Monte Rosa. - - CHAPTER IX - - THE PIZ BERNINA SKI CIRCUIT IN ONE DAY 245 - - Old snow well padded with new--Christmas Eve in the - Bernina hospice--The alarum rings--Misgivings before - battle--_Crampons_ and sealskins--A causeway of snow--An - outraged glacier--The Disgrazia--A chess-player and a - ski-man--Unroped!--In the twilight--The Tschierva hut--Back to - Pontresina--Hotel limpets--Waiting for imitators. - - CHAPTER X - - FROM AROSA TO BELLINZONA OVER THE BERNARDINO PASS 256 - - The Arosa Information Bureau--The hospitality of sanatorium - guests--The allurements of loneliness--Whither the spirit - leads--Avalanche weather--The Spring god and King Frost--The - source of the Rhine--The post sleigh in a winter storm--The - Bernardino pass--Brissago. - - CHAPTER XI - - GLACIERS--AVALANCHES--MILITARY SKI-ING 264 - - A legacy from the past--The formation of glaciers and - atmospheric conditions--Forests and glaciers--Our deficient - knowledge--The upper ice and snow reservoirs--What is - the annual snowfall and what becomes of it--How glaciers - may be classed--Mechanical forces at work--Moraines and - _séracs_--Avalanches--Periodic avalanches--Accidental - avalanches--The general causes--The statics of snow--What - happens to winter snow--_Strata_--How steep slopes may be - classed--Excusable ignorance of strangers to the Alps--Those - who write glibly in home magazines--Unsafe slopes--Avalanches - when running across slopes--The probing-stick--Avalanche - runs--Military ski-ing--The St. Gothard and St. Maurice - districts--Military raids in the High Alps--The glaciers as - military highways--Riflemen on foot as against marksmen on ski. - - CHAPTER XII - - THE MECHANICS OF SKI-BINDINGS 282 - - The shoe--The original bindings--The modern bindings--The - foot--The hinge in the foot--Different functions of the - toe-strap and heel-band--The parts of the binding--Faulty - fasteners--Sketches of faulty and correct leverage--A schematic - binding--_Critique_ of bindings in use--Suggestions--Cheeks and - plates--A whole blade--Cause of strained feet--Steel wire in - bindings. - - CHAPTER XIII - - RUDIMENTS OF WINTER MOUNTAINEERING FOR SKI-RUNNERS 294 - - The new “Alpinism”--A re-statement of elementary - principles--Ski-runners _versus_ summer pedestrians--The - experiences of an eminent physician--How to walk in snow--Put - not your trust in sticks--Keep your rope dry--Stand up on your - feet--Ski-sticks as supports--Winter clothing. - - CHAPTER XIV - - WINTER STATIONS--WINTER SPORTS--HOW TO USE SKI 300 - - The awakening of the English--Switzerland the ice and - snow rink of Europe--The high winter stations and the - low--Principal sporting centres--Insular delusions--The - Continental network of winter sport associations--Winter - sports on ice--Tobogganing--The winter climate varies with - the altitude--A classification of sporting centres according - to altitude--The ski-runner is monarch of the Alps--How to - keep one’s ski in good order--How to learn the gentle art of - running on ski--Precepts and practice--The turns, breaks, and - swings--_Point final_. - -[Illustration] - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - SUNSET, FROM MONT DURAND GLACIER _Frontispiece_ - - FACE PAGE - - THE WILDSTRUBEL HUT 21 - - OBERGABELHORN, FROM THE DENT BLANCHE 29 - - SPORT ON THE ZAN FLEURON GLACIER 42 - - FROM THE DENT BLANCHE, LOOKING WEST 50 - - MOVING FROM THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN 60 - - DESCENT INTO THE TELLITHAL, LOETSCHENTHAL 70 - - ON THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN 80 - - ABOVE RIED, LOETSCHENTHAL 90 - - WILDSTRUBEL AND PLAINE MORTE GLACIER 100 - - KANDER GLACIER 123 - - GASTERNTHAL 130 - - CONCORDIA PLATZ 149 - - BREAKFAST ON THE FINSTERAARHORN 163 - - ADOLF ON THE FINSTERAARHORN ARÊTE 178 - - THE VALSOREY GLEN 190 - - THE SONADON CLIFFS 214 - - ON THE DENT BLANCHE, WITH MATTERHORN 230 - - TOP OF DENT BLANCHE 234 - - ON THE STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST 238 - - FOOT OF STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST 243 - - UPPER SCERSCEN AND ROSEG GLACIERS 253 - - THE SONADON GLACIER 266 - - AT THE FOOT OF THE COL D’HÉRENS 279 - - THE BRITANNIA HUT 302 - - MAPS. - - DIABLERETS--WILDHORN--WILDSTRUBEL--GEMMI PASS 64 - - KANDERSTEG--FINSTERAARHORN--GRIMSEL 114 - - FERRET--ENTREMONT--BAGNES 182 - - THE PENNINE RANGE FROM GRAND ST. BERNARD TO ZERMATT 208 - - MISCHABEL RANGE AND MONTE ROSA 240 - - PIZ BERNINA CIRCUIT 248 - -[Illustration] - - - - -Ski-Runs in the High Alps - - - - -CHAPTER I - -SKI-RUNNING IN THE HIGH ALPS - - The different ski-ing zones--Their characteristics and - dangers--The glaciers as ski-ing grounds--The ski-running - season--Inverted temperature--The conformation of winter - snow--Precautionary measures--Glacier weather--Rock - conditions--Weather reports--Guides and porters. - - -In a chapter like this, a writer on the High Alps may well abstain from -poetical or literary developments. His subject is best handled as a -technical sport, and personal experience should alone be drawn upon for -its illustration. - -Little more than ten years have elapsed since men with a knowledge of -summer mountaineering began to explore the Alps in winter. Not only -are the successes, which have almost invariably attended the winter -exploration of the Swiss ice-fields, full of instruction for the novice, -but also the accidents and misfortunes which, sad to say, ended in loss -of life or limb, have conveyed useful lessons. - -In this chapter the writer has nothing in view but to be practical and -pointed. His remarks must be taken to apply exclusively to the Alps. He -has no knowledge of any other ski-ing field, and is conversant with no -other experience but that gained in the Alps by himself and members of -the Swiss ski-ing clubs, which count in their membership thousands of -devotees. - -It is necessary to distinguish the zones of meadow land and cultivated -fields, forest land, cattle grazings, and rocks. - -In the forest zone the snow presents no danger except, perhaps, in -sharply inclined clearings where its solidity is not sufficiently assured -either by the nature of the underlying ground or by the presence of trees -growing closely together at the foot of the incline. - -Above the forest belt the zone of pastures is a favourite ski-ing ground. -This zone is wind-swept, sunburnt during the day, and under severe frost -at night. As a general rule, it may be laid down that snow accumulated in -winter on the grazings frequented by cows in summer affords a safe and -reliable ski-ing ground, at any rate in all parts where the cows are in -the habit of standing. When in doubt, the ski-runner should ask himself: -Are cows, as I know them, likely to feel comfortable when standing -on this slope in summer? If an affirmative answer can be given in a -_bona-fide_ manner, the slope is not dangerous. - -Alpine grazing lands being selected for the convenience of cows, they -are almost throughout well adapted to ski-runners. It is, of course, -understood that gorges, ravines, and steep declivities will be avoided -by Swiss cows just as much as by those of any other nationality. The -ski-runner should leave those parts of the grazing alone on which a herd -would not be allowed to roam by its shepherds. - -The deepest and heaviest Alpine snows lie on the grazings, and the -avalanches that occur there in spring are of the heaviest type and cover -the most extensive areas. These are spring avalanches. They are regular -phenomena, and it is totally unnecessary to expect them in midwinter. - -Above the grazings begin the rocks. They are either towering rocks and -walls, or else they lie broken up on slopes in varying sizes. In the -latter case the snow that may cover them is quite safe, provided the -points of those rocks be properly buried. As a rule, wherever there is a -belt or wall of solid rock above a grazing (which is practically the case -in every instance when it is not a wood), the loose stones at the foot -of the rocks give complete solidity to the snow surface resting on them. -The danger arises from the rocks towering aloft. If these are plastered -over with loose snow, the snow may come down at any moment on the lower -ground. One should not venture under such rocks till the snow that may -have gathered in the couloirs has come down or is melted away. - -Avalanches are a matter belonging more particularly to snow conditions -in the grazing areas, but they need not to any degree be looked upon as -characteristic of this area. Their cause has to be sought in the weather, -that is in the rise and fall of the temperature, and in the wind. There -is quite a number of slopes at varying angles, where it is impossible -that the snow surface should be well balanced under all weather -conditions, and these are the slopes where mishaps do occur. The easiest -method to avoid accidents is to keep on obviously safe ground, and it is -also on such ground that the best and most steady running can be got. - -The glaciers of Switzerland are a magnificent and absolutely unrivalled -ski-ing ground. - -The months appointed by natural circumstances for ski-running in the -High Alps are the months of January and February. This period may quite -well be taken to include the whole month of March and the last days in -December. - -There are reasons for excluding the first three weeks in December, and -the last three in April. - -In night temperature, but in night temperature only, the passing from -summer to winter, upwards of 9,000 feet may indeed be said to have fully -taken place long before the end of the year. This passage is marked -by the regular freezing at night of all moisture, and by the regular -freezing over of all surfaces on which moisture is deposited by day. -Still, the first fall of a general layer of snow, which will _last -throughout the winter_ on the high levels, may be much delayed. Till that -first layer has covered the high ground, the ski-runner’s winter has not -begun. - -[Illustration: THE WILDSTRUBEL HUT. - -To face p. 21.] - -The first general snowfall, if it mark the beginning of the ski-runner’s -winter, does not yet mark the setting in of the ski-running season. For -a time, which may extend from November to near the end of December, -moisture proceeding from the atmosphere, that is rain and _vapours_ -(warm, damp winds), is not without effect at the altitudes which we are -considering. Such a damp condition of the air and any risk of rain are -quite inconsistent with ski-running. But everybody should know that if -such risks must be taken throughout the winter by a ski-runner residing, -for instance, at the altitude of Grindelwald, they may practically be -neglected by a sportsman whose field of exercise is that to which the -Swiss Alpine Club huts afford access. - -There, from Christmas to early Easter, the only atmospheric obstacle -consists of snowstorms, in which the wind alone is an enemy, while -the snow entails an improvement in the conditions of sport each time -it falls. The November and December snowfalls prepare the ground for -running, and running at those heights is neither safe nor perfect as -long as the process goes on. In January and February any snowfall simply -improves the floor or keeps up its good condition. It may be taken that -during these months the atmosphere is absolutely dry from Tyrol to Mont -Blanc above 8,000 feet, and that a so-called wet wind will convey only -dry snow. Any moisture or water one may detect will be caused by the heat -of the sun melting the ice or the snow. It is a drying, not a wetting, -process; it leaves the rocks facing south, south-east, and south-west -beautifully dry, and completely clears them, by rapid evaporation, of the -early winter snows or of any casual midwinter fall accompanying a storm -of wind. - -Such are the atmospheric reasons which help to determine the proper -ski-running months in the High Alps. - -There are others which are still of a meteorological description, but -which are connected mainly with the temperature. We shall begin by -giving our thought a paradoxical expression as follows: it is a mistake -to talk of winter at all in connection with the High Alps. According -to the time of year, the weather in the Alps is subjected to general -rain conditions or to general snow conditions. Under snow conditions -the thermometer falls under zero Centigrade, and the temperature of the -air may range from zero to a very low reading; but the sun is extremely -powerful, its force is intensified by the reflection from the snow -surface. The temperature of the air in the shade is therefore no clue to -the temperature of material surfaces exposed to the rays of the sun. The -human frame, under suitable conditions of clothing and exercise, feels, -and actually is, quite warm in the sun, a violent wind being required -to approximate the subjective sensations of the body to those usually -associated with a cold, damp, and biting winter’s day. - -This is a general characteristic of the Alpine winter, to which must be -added an occasional, though perfectly regular, feature, namely, that -the Alps may offer, and do offer every winter, instances of _inverted_ -temperature. This name is given to periods which may extend over several -days at a stretch, and which are repeated several times during the -winter months. These are periods during which the constant temperature -of the air--that is, the average temperature by night and by day in the -shade--is higher upon the heights than in the plains and valleys. - -As a general principle, the winter sportsman may be sure that in the -proportion in which he rises he also leaves behind him the winter -conditions, as defined, in keeping with their own notions and experience -by the dwellers on plains, on the seaside, or in valleys. When travelling -upwards he reaches a dry air, a hot and bright light, and maybe a higher -temperature than prevails in the lower regions of the earth which lie at -his feet. - -We said a little while ago that in January and February any snowfall -improves the floor. In the preceding months the high regions pass -gradually from the condition in which they are practicable on foot -to those under which they are properly accessible to the ski-runner -only. Time must be allowed for the process, and till it is completed -ski-running is premature and consequently distinctly dangerous. The -Alpine huts should not be used as ski-ing centres before they can be -reached on ski, and one should not endeavour to reach them in that manner -as long as stones are visible among the snow. - -The distinctive feature of the ski-runner’s floor is that it is free -from stones and from holes. The stones should be well buried under -several feet of snow, and the holes filled up with compressed or frozen -snow before the ski-runner makes bold to sally forth, but when they are -he may practically go anywhere and dare anything so far as the ground -is concerned, provided he is an expert runner and a connoisseur in -the matter of avalanches. Of course, our “anywhere” applies to ski-ing -grounds only, and our “anything” means mountaineering as restricted to -the uses to which ski may fairly be put. - -The floor of the ski-runner is a dimpled surface consisting of an endless -variety of planes and curves. It is a geometrical surface upon which -the ski move like instruments of mensuration that are from two to three -yards long. Snowfalls and the winds determine the geometrical character -of the field upon which the long rulers are to glide. This, the only -true notion of the ski-ing field, means that the _detail_ of the ground -has disappeared. It presents a continuity of differently inclined, bent, -edged, or curved surfaces, all uniformly geometric in the construction -of each. Any attempt at ski-running upon this playground before its -engineers and levellers (which are snow and wind) have achieved their -work in point of depth, solidity, and extent, is unsporting and perilous. - -The continuous figure or design presented by the upper snow-fields of the -Alps in January, from end to end of the chain, is broken by prismatic -masses, such as cones, pyramids, and peaks, on the sides of which the -laws of gravity forbid the establishment by the concourse of natural -forces of snow-surfaces accessible with ski. The runner who has been -borne by his ski to the foot of those rock masses--such, for instance, -as the top of Monte Rosa as it rises from the Sattel--will continue his -ascent as a rock-climber. He will probably find the state of the rocks -quite as propitious as in summer, and often considerably better. - -To sum up, the characteristics of the ski-running season are: stability -of weather, constant dryness of the air, a uniform and continuous -running surface, windlessness, a constant body temperature from sunrise -to sunset, at times a relatively high air temperature, solar light and -solar heat, which must not be confused with air temperature and present -an intensity, a duration most surprising to the dweller in plains and on -the seaboard; last, but not least, accessibility of the rocky peaks with -climbing slopes turned to the sun. - -A real trouble is the crevasses. The ice-fields form such wide avenues -between the peaks bordering them that a ski-runner must be quite a fool -if an avalanche finds him within striking distance. But the crevasses -are quite another matter. In summer the protection against falling into -crevasses is the rope and careful steering between them. In winter -mountaineering the ski, properly speaking, take the place of the rope. -The longest traverses in the Alps have been performed by unroped -ski-runners. At the same time, the usefulness of the rope, in case of -an accident actually occurring, cannot be gainsaid, though it cannot be -maintained that the rope, which has been known to cause certain accidents -in summer, may be called absolutely free from any such liability in -winter. Of the use of the rope we therefore say, “Adhuc sub judice lis -est.” - -There are two golden rules for avoiding a drop into a crevasse: firstly, -keep off glaciers or of those parts of any glacier where crevasses -are known to be numerous, deep, long, and wide; secondly, if called -upon to run over a glacier that is crevassed, use the rope, but use it -properly--that is, bring its full length into use, take off your ski, -and proceed exactly as you would do in summer by sounding the snow and -crossing bridged crevasses one after another. It is absurd to mix summer -and winter craft; they are distinct. When the rope is used under winter -conditions, let it be exactly according to the best winter practice. - -If going uphill you find yourself landed on ice, take off your ski and -gain a footing on the ice by means of the heavy nails on your boots. -Never attempt glacier work with unnailed boots or short, light bamboo -sticks. If any accident happens suddenly to your ski you are helpless -and hopeless without nails; you probably will not have time to take your -climbing irons off your rucksack and bind them on to your feet. - -Accidents to ski generally happen when one is on the move on difficult -and dangerous ground. It is absurd to expect that the difficulty or -danger will abate while you take off your rucksack, sit down, and strap -on your climbing irons. Remember that you are on the move and that your -impetus will carry you on, if not immediately checked by nails gripping -the ice. That, too, is the reason why a short, light bamboo will not do; -it is a fine-weather weapon and quite the thing on easy snows. On rough -ground you want something with a substantial iron point, a weapon of some -weight and strength which can support your body and help in seeing you -home should your ski be injured. A good runner would never put his stick -to unfair uses, such as riding and leaning back. - -If on going downhill you find yourself landed on ice, the essential thing -is to be able to keep on your feet first, to your course next. A stout -stick with a sharp point will then be sorely needed, and if you have been -careful to fasten on to your ski-blades an appliance against skidding or -side-slip, you will find it much easier to steer and keep to your course. -On the whole, it is wiser on iced surfaces which are steep--and these are -generally not extensive--to carry one’s ski. - -There ought to be an ice-axe in the party, but this ice-axe should be -carried by a professional and used by him. Nobody can cut steps or carry -safely an ice-axe without some apprenticeship, and this it is impossible -to go through in severe winter weather. - -The principal glacier routes of Switzerland have been proved over -and over again to be free from any particular risk or danger arising -from winter conditions. The _ratio_ of risk is the same as in summer. -Consequently, select the best known routes, which are also the most -beautiful and ski-able. Take with you, as porters and servants rather -than guides, men who have frequently gone over those routes in winter -with some Swiss runner of experience. This is important, because many -guides, particularly the most approved summer guides, are creatures of -routine, and will take you quite obdurately along the summer routes, step -for step and inch after inch. Now, this is wrong and may lead to danger. -The ski-runner must dominate the snow slopes. His place is on the brow, -or rather on the coping, not at the foot of the slopes along which the -summer parties generally crawl. - -When going uphill for several hours consecutively, as it is necessary -to do in order to reach the Alpine huts, an artificial aid against -slipping back is indispensable. When going uphill the ski support the -weight of the runner and keep his feet on, or above, the snow. But they -do not distinguish between regressive and progressive locomotion. The -whole of the work of progression falls upon the human machinery. Under -those conditions the strain put on the muscles by continuous or repeated -backsliding is objectionable. The use of a mechanical contrivance is made -imperative by the steepness of the slopes and their great length. - -Another point is that when running downhill, say, from the Monte-Rosa -Sattel to the Bétemps hut, it is never advisable to pick out the shortest -and quickest route, which means the steepest run possible. High Alp -ski-running demands the choice of the longest course consistent with -steady progress and with an unbroken career along a safe line of advance. -The watchword of the good runner will always be--at those heights and -distances where so much that is ahead must remain problematical--move -onward on curves, so as to approach any obstacle by means of a bend, -admitting of an inspection of the obstacle, if it is above the surface, -before you are upon it, and which, if it is the running surface which -presents a break, even a concealed one, will prevent your hurling -yourself headlong into the trap. - -[Illustration: OBERGABELHORN, FROM DENT BLANCHE. - -To face p. 29.] - -The influence of wintry weather upon exposed and lofty rock pinnacles is -practically the same as that of summer weather, but still more so, if -such a paradoxical way of expressing oneself can be made clear. At the -height of 10,000 feet above the sea-level and upwards the winter weather -is glacier weather. This is not the weather that prevails in the depth -of the Swiss valleys or on the Swiss tableland. The snowfall upon the -glaciers is not so great as one might expect. The snow that does fall -there is dry, light, powdery, and wind-driven. Those characteristics -are such that only some slight proportion of the snow driven across -the glacier actually remains there. Most of it is carried along and -accumulates wherever it can settle down--that is, elsewhere than on -wind-swept surfaces. - -The winter sun is so powerful that it very soon clears the high ridges -from a kind of snow that is in itself little suited to adhere to -their steep, rocky sides. Therefore the position is as follows: the -ski-runner can gain access to the peaks with great ease. The so-called -_Bergschrunde_, in French _rimaie_, are closed up, and the rocks towering -above are practically just as climbable as in summer, with the help of -the same implements too--rope, ice-axe, and if one likes, climbing-irons. - -The start is made much later in the morning, but, on the other hand, one -need not be over-anxious as to getting to one’s night quarters by sunset. -Running on ski at night over a course that has been travelled over in the -morning, and therefore perfectly recognisable and familiar, is, in clear -weather, as pleasant as it is easy. That is why the ascent of a rocky -peak is, to my mind, an object which a ski-runner who does not take a -one-sided view of sport will gladly keep in view. - -The risk of frost-bite may be greater than in summer, in so far as the -temperature of the air is much lower. But the air being, as a rule, -extremely dry and the heat of the sun intense, the full benefit of this -extraordinary dryness and of this heat really puts frost-bite out of the -question in fine weather, provided rocks are attacked from the southern -or south-west aspect, or even south-east. It is quite easy to wear thick -gloves and to put one’s feet away in thick and warm woollen material. But -no attempt whatever should be made at rock climbing under dull skies, let -alone when the weather is actually bad. It must also be added that bad -health, exhaustion, indigestion, nervousness, and such like are, of all -things, the most conducive to frost-bite. - -The thermometer may mark in January, above the tree-line, and still more -among rocks, as much as 40 degrees Centigrade at midday in the sun. This -is not the air temperature, as in the shade the same thermometer will -soon drop to zero Centigrade or less. But anybody who has experienced the -wonderful glow of those winter suns on the highest peaks of Switzerland -will be careful that he does not bring them into disrepute by visiting -them when he himself is not fit or when they are out of humour. In any -case, people who go about on ski with feet and hands insufficiently clad -may well be expected to take the consequences. - -The foregoing lines bring us quite naturally to consideration of the -weather. The first principle to be borne in mind is that weather in -the High Alps is quite distinct from weather anywhere else. The only -authentic information at any time about the impending weather in the -Alpine area is that given day by day by the Swiss Central Meteorological -Office in Zürich. This report, and accompanying forecast, is published -in all the important daily papers, such as the _Journal de Genève_, the -_Gazette de Lausanne_, the _Bund_, &c. The figures are of less importance -than the notes on wind, air-pressure, and the description in ordinary -language which comments upon the more scientific data. Those reports -should be consulted, and should be posted up by every hotel keeper. - -Weather is not uniform throughout Switzerland. The driest area runs -along the backbone of the Alps from the lake of Geneva to the lake of -Constance, along the Canton du Valais and the Canton des Grisons. Chances -of steady, fine weather are consequently greater in those valleys than -elsewhere. The driest spot in Switzerland is Sierre. The High Alps, which -are of most interest to the ski-runner, are also the part of Switzerland -which presents the largest proportion of fine sunny days in the winter -months. - -The tableland, extending from the lake of Geneva to Bâle and Constance -along the Rhine, and bounded on the south-east by the lakes of Thoune and -Brienz, Lucerne, and the Wallensee, may remain for weeks together under -a sea of fog, resting at the height of about a thousand feet above the -surface of the ground. As long as those fog areas, which are generally -damp and cold, are curtained from the rays of the sun, the canopy of fog -acts as a huge reflector for the sun rays which impinge upon it from -above. Provided there is no wind (and the Alps may be windless for days -and weeks at a time) the rays, reflected back into space from the fog -surface, heat very considerably the layers of air above, while the air -imprisoned below remains cold. The winter snows themselves, by a similar -process of reflection, generate a great deal of heat of the kind which a -human body perceives, and in which the mountaineer is fond of basking. - -The long Jura range, extending from the lake of Geneva to Bâle along the -French border, shares in the Alpine climate, though in a somewhat rougher -form. - -The conclusion is that in Switzerland the weather conditions, to mention -these alone, are extremely favourable to the ski-runner. In the matter of -space at his disposal there are in Switzerland, on the slopes of either -the Alps or the Jura, generally above the forest belt, three thousand -grazings for cattle, every one of which is a ski-ing area. Only a very -small number have hitherto been frequented by the ski-runner. Yet last -winter three thousand pairs of ski were sold by one firm alone, and it -is reckoned that the number fitted and sold last winter (1911-12) in -Switzerland exceeds forty thousand. - -Swiss guides hitherto have been trained and engaged only for summer work. -Consequently their efficiency on ski is in every instance a personal -acquirement, and their knowledge of their duties under winter conditions -is simply consequent upon their summer training or derived from their -own native knowledge of winter conditions, without the addition of any -instruction. If one wishes to engage guides for winter work the best -guarantee is that the guide belong to a local ski club, and should have -attended, if possible, one or several ski courses before he is considered -fit to accompany _amateur_ ski-ing parties. - -Another point is that guides in winter must be prepared to act as -porters. It is in the nature of running on ski that the runner will -hardly ever find himself in a position to call for individual assistance, -and the routes he will frequent are of necessity routes which, from the -mountaineering point of view, are easy and not suited to give great -prominence to the qualities of a guide in the strict and recognised -meaning of the term. What the amateur ski-runner particularly wants is a -hardy and willing companion who will carry the victuals for him and is -wise enough to employ his influence in turning the ski-runner away from -any dangerous ground, and to pick out the best and safest lines across -country. Guides holding a diploma should not be paid more for winter work -than they are allowed to claim in summer under the established rates of -payment. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -WITH SKI TO THE DIABLERETS - - _First Ascent._--The Bear inn at Gsteig--The young - Martis--Superstitions--The rights of guides. - - _Second Ascent._--The composition of the caravan--Odd - symptoms--Winter amusements on the glacier--A broken ankle--The - salvage operations--On accidents--My juvenile experience--A - broken limb on the Jaman. - - _Third Ascent._--The Marti family--The Synagogue once more--An - old porter--We are off. - - -It has been three times my lot to lay the flat of my ski across the brow -of the Diablerets. This in itself would be of but little interest had not -a trifling incident occurred each time which may be related with more -animation than the ascents can be described. - -1. In the month of January, 19--, at a time when the ascent of the -Diablerets had not yet been attempted on ski, I marched early in the day -out of the slumbering Bahnhof hotel at Gstaad, with a full rucksack on my -back and rattled through the village on my ski along the ice-bound main -street. - -The sun had not yet risen when I knocked at the door of the Bear hotel at -Gsteig and presented to the frowsy servant who appeared on the doorstep a -face and head so hung about with icicles and hoar-frost that she started -back as though Father Christmas had come unbidden. - -When she had sufficiently recovered herself, I inquired of her whether -she knew of any man in the village who would accompany me to the top of -the Diablerets. She looked so puzzled that I hastened to explain that by -man I did not mean a guide, but any one who might be foolish enough to -enter upon such an expedition with a complete stranger advanced in years. -A mere boy would do, provided he could cook soup and could produce a pair -of ski with which to follow his employer. - -Two lads offered themselves; the brothers Victor and Ernest Marti, sons -of an old guide. At first they understood no more of the business than -that a gentleman had arrived with whom there was some chance of casual -employment. When I had made my intention plain to them, they jumped at my -purpose with the eagerness of their age. They had ski which they had made -themselves, but was the ascent possible? Anyhow, if I wanted one of them -only, he certainly would not go without the other, and when I tackled -the other to see whether he would not come alone, they might have been -Siamese twins for aught I could do to separate them alive. They went to -their mamma, who raised her hands to heaven and would have put them into -the fire to rescue her darlings from my dangerous clutches. - -In the end the boys, dare-devils much against their wish, sallied forth -loaded with ropes, ice-axes, and other cumbersome paraphernalia, among -which it would be unfair to reckon their mother’s blessings and their -father’s warnings. Indeed, in their sight I was an evil one, bent upon -sundry devilries in an ice-bound world. But for the halo thrown for them -about my undertaking by the prospect of the beautiful gold pieces to be -gained, they would rather have committed me alone to the mercy of the ice -fiends. - -Lusty of limb, though with quaking hearts, they had no sooner slipped on -their ski than their fears were dispelled. They flew to and fro on the -snow like gambolling puppies. Who would have thought they bore on their -backs a pack that would have curbed the ardour of any ordinary person? -They were already prepared in their minds to become Swiss soldiers a few -months later, when they would carry, in equipment and arms, more than -weighed their present guides’ attire. - -Guides, by the way, they were not, but hoped to be some day, when they -were soldiers. I discovered that, meanwhile, besides working at the -saw-mill, they played the part of local bandsmen. From Christmas Eve to -New Year’s Day they had shared as fiddlers in the mummeries, revels, and -dances of the season. They had conceived thereby much thirst, as was soon -made clear by the flagging of their spirits, and by the loving way in -which they bent down to the snow, pressed it between their hands like a -dear, long, unbeheld face and kissed it. When they were refreshed their -tongues were once more loosened. - -We were drawing nearer to the Diablerets. The overhanging rocks seemed -to arch themselves threateningly over our heads, and if the young men -now spoke glibly, it was with a tremble in their voices and about their -renewed fears. It is not without reason that Diablerets and devilry are -cognate sounds in languages so distant from each other as the Romance -_patois_ of the Vaudois Alps and the gentle speech of the Thames Valley. - -Like the remainder of Christian Europe, those valleys shared once upon -a time in the Catholic faith, and this had wonderfully commingled the -early and earthly beliefs of our kind with the teachings of Divinity. -Free-thinkers in the Protestant sense of the word, those boys, creeping -under the shadow of the cliffs up to the snowy vastness above, saw -welling up from the depths of their minds, as in a mirror, the images of -the strange beings with which the rude fancy of the peasantry peoples -those upper reaches of the Alps which they call the Evil Country. But on -that day nothing came of those forebodings. - -On the next morning, after a night spent in complete freedom from -haunting ghosts, my boys hesitated a moment before rounding the shoulder -of the Oldenhorn. The Zan Fleuron glacier opened up just beyond. This was -the known Synagogue, or meeting place of the spirits. They dreaded to see -what they might see there if they turned the corner before the arrows of -light-bearing Apollo had scattered the night mists of Hecate. - -Suddenly the sun broke and poured forth in floods upon a world springing -up innocently from the folds of sleep. My lads felt saved by glad day. - -But, if they went through this first expedition without suffering injury -from the spirits, they were less fortunate in their dealings with -myself. They had allowed themselves to be drawn into a temptation for -which they were yet to undergo punishment; namely, they had, for gold, -disregarded the rules of the Bernese corporation of guides. It is a -salutary regulation of that honourable guild that none who is not an -officially certificated guide shall accompany alone a gentleman in the -district. Now, a terrible thing had happened. Two young men, neither -of whom was a certificated guide, had accompanied a gentleman in the -district. Indeed, the mother of the boys must in the end be proved to -be right in her mistrust. That gentleman had induced her boys to make -light of the fundamental rule of local etiquette as to keeping off the -Zan Fleuron beat entirely reserved for the spirits from All Souls’ Day to -Easter Sunday, and, in addition, he was getting them into trouble with -the police. - -One or two months later I was busily and peacefully engaged in my study -when a member of the Geneva detective force was ushered in. I started up. -What could be the matter? - -The gentleman then explained politely that I was wanted somewhere in the -Canton de Berne. What for? It could be no light matter. - -Now I knew--by repute, rather than by personal experience--that justice -in Berne is extremely rough and even handed. I said I would rather -appear before a Geneva judge. On repairing to the courts, I was informed -that the brothers Marti were summoned at Saanen for palming themselves -off as guides upon an unwary gentleman of uncertain age and feeble -complexion. They had preyed upon his weak mind and enthusiasm to drag him -in midwinter up to the top of the Diablerets, exposing his body to grave -risks, and his soul to the resentment of the fairies, and thus indirectly -infringing a privilege which certificated guides alone enjoyed, to the -exclusion of the remainder of man and womankind. - -Reassured on my own behalf, I at once became “cocky” and proceeded to -prick that legal bubble and take the guiding corporation down a few pegs. -I solemnly swore before the judge--in presence of the clerk who took -my words down with forced gravity--that I had engaged Victor Marti as -lantern-bearer to the elderly Diogenes I actually was, and his brother -Ernest to act for me as crossing-sweeper over the Zan Fleuron glacier, -because I expected there might be some snow, and it is bad for old men to -have cold feet. - -I have since heard that the two boys got off that time without a stain on -their character. - -I say that time, because this trouble is not the last I got them into. -But this is another tale, and will appear hereafter. - -2. My second ascent of the Diablerets was somewhat tragic--this, too, in -January, and in pursuit of the magnificent ski-run which one gets down -the Zan Fleuron glacier to the Sanetsch pass, and back to Gsteig. - -The brothers Marti were again with me. The eldest was now a certificated -guide, and had thus acquired the legal right to take his brother with -him when escorting strangers in the mountains. - -On that occasion there were some strangers, mostly English, in the party. -One of them was a young and able runner on ski, another was an elderly -member of “the” Alpine Club, in whose breast a love for ski was born -late in life, probably in the same years when I myself fell a victim to -that infatuation. The third stranger of British blood need not for the -nonce be otherwise presented to the reader than in a spiritual garb as a -vision. He--or rather she--will appear in the flesh when a ministering -angel is called for in the disastrous scene yet to be enacted, when the -kind apparition will flutter down as unexpectedly as the goblins pop up -through the soft white carpet, under which they have their homes in the -comfortable cracks designed for them by the glacier architect. - -This caravan went up the usual way, in the usual manner, above the Pillon -pass. Near the end of the day, and at sunset, one of us was suddenly seen -to curl up and roll in the snow. The next moment he was back at his place -again, with his rucksack on his shoulder, ice-axe in hand, and with his -ski under his feet, as if nothing had happened. Yet we had all seen him -curl up and roll down. And here he was again, spick and span, like one of -those tourists carved in wood which are offered for sale at Interlaken or -Lucerne. The Marti brothers looked at me queerly. - -They were, indeed, thankful I had got them unscathed out of the police -court. In spite of parental advice, they had come again with me on that -account. But this was beyond a joke. However, they went on, exchanging -among themselves their own remarks, wondering whose sticks, ski, and -rucksack would next be seen flying in opposite directions. - -But nothing happened during the night. The next morning the brothers -Marti, heading our column, wended their way carefully, as before, to the -corner of the Oldenhorn, and peered cautiously round. It was still dark. -From this place it is usual before dawn to catch a glimpse of the gnomes. -They are impervious to cold. Being of an origin infernal in some degree, -they naturally delight in the coolness of winter nights, and their eyes -being habitually scorched by the flames that blaze in the bowels of the -glacier, they much enjoy the soothing caress of the moonbeams. - -On that morning--since there is a morning even to an evil day--the -gnomes were still engaged in their after midnight game of skittles. They -plant their mark on the edge of the glacier, above the cliffs which drop -down clear on to the Derborence grazings. Their bowls are like enormous -curling-stones hewn out of the ice. When the gnomes miss their aim--which -in their love of mischief they like to do--the ice blocks fly over the -edge of the rock parapet, and crash down upon the grazings. In summer the -shepherds endeavour to meet this calamity by prayer. In winter it is of -no consequence. - -But what was of consequence is that we had no business on the glacier -while the night sprites were still holding Synagogue. This the brothers -Marti knew, and that woe was in store for us on that account. But all -went well with us, to all appearances. - -We left our baggage at the foot of the Diablerets peak, and, on our ski, -pushed merrily along to the summit. We lunched, and enjoyed the view, -like any ordinary mortals, ignorant of having challenged Fate. - -Then down we went, curving and circling over the glacier, crossing -unawares the place of the Synagogue. A gnome, crouching somewhere on the -edge of a crevasse, lay in wait for us, hiding behind a heap of carefully -hoarded curling-stones. The deadly weapons began gliding about. The -brothers Marti were proof against them, being involuntary offenders. -The head of the party could not be struck, being of the sceptical kind. -The young Englishman jumped about, being ever safe in the air when -the gliding missile came his way. But the member of “the” Alpine Club -suffered the fate all were courting. His fibula was snapped. - -Then nothing was seen but a man lying down in pain upon a beautifully -white snow-field. The evil spot was clad in the garb of innocence. The -sky spread above in a blue vaulted canopy, such as Madonnas are pictured -against. One of the poor offending mortals lay low, expiating the fault -of all. Would the sacrifice be accepted? - -Yes. Amid the scene of temple-like beauty, charity--it might have been -the Madonna or a simple Ice Maid--appeared in human shape amid the -effulgence of midday, in the opportune costume of a hospital nurse. - -[Illustration: SPORT ON THE ZAN FLEURON GLACIER. - -To face p. 42.] - -With such help, the moment to be absolutely practical came. It was two -o’clock in the afternoon. We were still on the glacier as high as we -could be. Whether we retraced our footsteps or glided on, the distance -was the same to Gsteig, where the Pillon and Sanetsch passes join -together. Luckily the weather was fine, the air quite warm and still. I -despatched Victor Marti, the better runner of the two, down the Sanetsch -to Gsteig. His orders were to summon by telegraph a medical man from -Gstaad to Gsteig, with instructions there to await our arrival, and to -come provided with splints for the crippled man. - -This young winged Mercury received another message to convey. It was to -send forthwith a team of four men to the top of the Sanetsch pass. He -himself was to bring back to the pass eatables, drinkables, and blankets. -It was, indeed, impossible to tell whether we should not be kept out in -the wilderness the whole night. In such places at that time of the year, -the wind, in rising, might be attended by the worst consequences to human -life. - -We had before us many, many miles to be travelled over, across hill and -dale, in deep snow, conveying on foot a helpless man, whom immobility -would expose to serious risks while out in the open during the night -hours. - -Our messenger carried out his instructions with the utmost rapidity and -punctuality. His ski carried him swiftly over many miles of snow to the -wooded confines of the Sanetsch pass. He hailed two wood-cutters, and -sent them straight up to the top of the pass, as a forward relief party. -They got there some time after sunset, while Victor Marti continued on -his way down into the valley to complete his task. - -As for those left behind, they had in prospect a six-mile trudge before -they could reach the pass. No question of continuing on ski. Our sister -of mercy wanted them all to accommodate the wounded man. On the glacier -the snow was not so deep that the hard, icy, under-surface could not -support our footsteps, but as we proceeded lower our plight got worse. -A ski-runner who, on deep snow, has to give up the use of his ski, is -very much like a sailor upon a small craft in mid-ocean. Suppose the boat -capsizes, the sailor may swim. But for how long? Similarly, a ski-runner -bereft of his ski amid boundless, pathless snow-fields, may walk. But for -how long? Snow is a good servant, but a bad master. - -Most people who have not found it out for themselves do not know that -snow gets deeper and deeper as you descend from the glaciers into the -valleys. After we had reached the pass we would still have to climb by -night down the Sanetsch gorge. This manifold task was about to fall to -the lot of a party in which everybody, except one, was new to winter -work. They were, besides, totally unacquainted with night conditions. The -ministering angel dropped from heaven, too, was one who, strange to say, -had never yet been sent to Switzerland on an errand of mercy. Besides, -her task grew so upon her that the discharge of it made her more and more -human, and in the end she experienced in herself all the inconveniences -of being the possessor of a material body. - -With the help of puttees we tied the inert limb to one ski. The other ski -of the same pair supported the intact leg. We cut our ski-sticks into -lengths, split them down the middle, and making cross-bars of them we -fixed the ski to one another. Thus was the stretcher or shutter made. We -had nails, fortunately, and plenty of cord. - -A stretcher, however, cannot be carried in deep snow up hill and down -dale. We now required a sleigh. To build one we laid down on the snow, -carefully and side by side, three pairs of ski, binding them together -with straps, and thereupon we laid the shutter on which was tied the -wounded man. - -Would this improvised sleigh run on the snow? By means of his rope Ernest -Marti yoked himself to the front of it. Head down, shoulders bent, he -gave a pull. His feet broke through the crust of snow and he sank in up -to the waist. To this there was no remedy. He would plunge at each step, -and, recovering himself, breathless and quivering, he would start afresh. - -Each time he got off the victim of our accident received a jerk that -threw him back, for we had not the wherewithal to make a support for -his shoulders. To obviate this very serious trouble, we fitted an empty -rucksack to his back, and pulled tightly the straps over his shoulders -and across his chest. The young Englishman and myself walked then on each -side of him. Holding him by means of the shoulder straps, we checked the -back thrusts to which he was exposed, and kept him upright from the waist. - -Thus our caravan proceeded on its way, our pockets stuffed with the -remaining bits of our ski, with which we might be glad to light a fire -that night in some deserted shepherds’ hut. - -The charity dame walked alongside of us, cheering with her smile the sad -hero of this melancholy adventure. What a picture it would have made if -only one of us had had the heart to photograph it! - -Night was creeping on. The snows turned dark and gloomy, still we were -drawing near to the pass and had no sooner reached it than two burly -figures rose up before us. They smiled, and laid hold of the guiding-rope -which Ernest Marti, exhausted, threw to them. They had appeared in the -nick of time to save us from spending the night up there. From that -moment, turning to the north, we were able to continue to the top of the -Sanetsch gorge without a stop. - -The stars had long been glittering overhead when we were able to look -down into the gorge across to Gsteig. The village was all agog. Lanterns -were creeping about like glow-worms. Some appeared at time amid the -woods, flitting from place to place like fire-flies. The other two men, -ordered up by Victor Marti, now showed their lights quite near us. And -then began the last stage in our salvage operations. - -The Sanetsch gorge was as a vast, curved sheet of ice. Its northern -exposure and the night air had done their work. It would not be possible -to convey a man reclining on a stretcher down the steep windings of the -mule path. The rescuing party soon hit upon the only practicable scheme. -The patient was removed from his splints, poles, straps, and bindings, -and set across the back of a powerful highland man. Ernest Marti took -my Lucifer lamp and placed himself in front to light up the way. Two -men stood immediately behind the human pack-mule. The group thus formed -launched itself down into the gorge, each man depending for security upon -the rough _crampons_ driven into his shoe leather. All’s well that ends -well. The doctor was found waiting at Gsteig. - -It is now his turn to take up the cue, but we do not vouch that he will -satisfy the reader’s curiosity, should we by any chance have left him -with any curiosity to satisfy. I hope we may, because our third ascent of -the Diablerets still awaits him. - -This was not the first mountaineering misadventure I found myself mixed -up with. Moreover, it was an accident, the memory of which I do not -particularly relish. I am afraid I smarted visibly under it, and showed -my personal disappointment. This may have conveyed to some the impression -of some unfairness on my part. - -Has the reader ever noticed how different is the attitude of the public -mind towards accidents on land and on sea? Why should mountaineering -accidents be less sympathetically received than those befalling sailors? -It is, however, not unnatural that the sea should be more congenial, and -command forgiveness by its grandeur. It teaches charity by the immensity -in which it drops the cruel dramas enacted upon its surface. - -When casualties occur in mountaineering, even those concerned appear to -make efforts to single out somebody on whom to fasten the blame. Some -people’s vanity is bent upon discerning the wisdom, or unwisdom, of one -or another of their companions. If a boat goes down a respectful silence -is allowed to dwell alike around the survivors and those lost. But shall -we ever, for instance, hear the end of the merits or demerits of each -concerned in the accident that befell the Whymper party, in 1865, on the -Matterhorn? - -When a climbing party comes to grief, it is as an additional course -for the menu of the _table d’hôtes_: a dainty morsel for busybodies, -quidnuncs, and experts alike. The critical spirit grows ungenerous in -that atmosphere. The victims of the Alp were tempting Fate; one knows -exactly what mistake they made; so-and-so was altogether foolish in ----, -and so forth. With such more or less competent remarks, the fullest -mead of admiration is blended. This, too, be it added with the utmost -appreciation of a kind disposition, does not go without some admixture of -silliness. - -I should prefer, even now, to leave all accidents in an atmosphere of -romance. It is best to meet with them when one is young. The tender -spots in one’s nature are then nearer the surface, and the vein of -chivalry more easily struck. The flutter and excitement of a rescue are -then delightful. One would almost wish for accidents elsewhere than in -day-dreams for the sake of dramatic emotion. - -The accidents, however, arranged in the flights of my imagination -were weak in one respect. They were egotistic. The brilliant part of -a quixotic rescuer fell regularly to me. Let me give the reader an -instance from real life before I take him for the third time up the -Diablerets. - -The thing occurred in a Byronic spot. In this place in my book it will -detach itself as a spring-flower against the snow and ice background -which all these chapters have in common. - -Was I in my “teens,” like “her,” or not quite so green, or much greener? -The question arouses some vague twinges of wounded vanity. But I consult -in vain the tablets of my memory. They are now as illegible in many -places as old churchyard stones. If I then believed I had grounds for -jealousy, I could not now trust myself to say with truth that they were -genuine. - -My resentment fastened upon a rival. I withdrew proudly to the recesses -of the hills, as it is recorded by romantic lore that even males of -the dumb creation are in the habit of doing when baffled in desire and -injured in self-esteem. - -But as, a few days later, I lay lazily stretched out at full length -on the tender pasture grass of the Plan de Jaman, viewing at my feet -the scene of my sentimental _déconvenue_, I do not wish the reader to -paint for himself the picture of an angry bull pawing the ground and -snorting for revenge, though the number of cows grazing about and the -multitudinous tinkling of the bells might well suggest such a classical -impersonation. - -The view over the lake was pure, crystal-like through a moist, shiny air. -Rain had fallen during the night over Glion and the bay of Montreux. The -long grass on the steep pastures of Caux was tipped with fresh snow. It -lay here and there in melting patches, and every blade of grass had its -trickle of water. - -Seated on my knapsack for dryness, I was comfortably munching some bread -and chocolate when discordant and husky cries burst upon me from behind. -The sound was more grotesque than pathetic. - -On looking round there hove in sight a suit of fashionable clothes, which -seemed to betray the presence of a man. They were mud-bespattered and -stained green with grass. A scared and besmirched face stood forth from -above them, marked with what looked like dried-up daubs of blood. From -that dreadfully burlesque and woebegone countenance issued the affrighted -Red Indian cries which had startled my ears. Dear me, how un-Byronic all -this! - -My feelings grew more sympathetic to that vision--and that, in a sense -particularly exhilarating to myself--when in the soiled, distracted -fashion-plate I recognised my successful rival. His language became -immediately an intelligible speech for me, and when he blurted out a -familiar name he won a friend, if not to himself at least to his plight, -which was coming to me as a splendid opportunity. Too dazed to be aware -of the true identity of his audience, he confessed to having lost his way -with “her” that very morning on the Jaman grazings. Their house-shoes -had literally melted away in the wet, slippery grass and been torn to -shreds on the rocks. Famished, thirsty, exposed to the beating rays of -the midday sun, his presence of mind had deserted him. They had fallen -together over a wall of rock. “Where, oh where?” shouted I. - -[Illustration: FROM THE DENT BLANCHE, LOOKING WEST. - -To face p. 50.] - -The wretch could not tell. His mind was a blank. He had run thus far, -but knew not whence, and looked round vacantly for a clue. Exhausted, he -tumbled down upon the turf. To him it had fallen to do the mischief. I -was to repair it.... - -But was the repairing still within human power? My eyes travelled -anxiously up and down the hangs of the Dent de Jaman. By what end should -I begin my search? Had the accident occurred in the wooded parts screened -over by a growth through which I could not see? - -I began a systematic search at one end of the battlefield, as would have -done a party of stretcher-bearers, Red Cross men, clearing the ground of -the wounded and dead. I called out at regular intervals the name of the -object of my search. No reply. Her companion looked on disconsolately -from afar. An hour passed, two hours. Then at last, at one end of the -wooded slope, hidden away in a gorge of minute dimensions, I came upon an -apparently lifeless figure partly reclining on a moss bank with a foot -hanging out from a torn muslin dress over a running stream of snow water. -The faint had lasted long. But for the tears in her dress she looked as -though she had quietly fallen asleep. When I took her up in my arms, my -touch seemed to re-animate her, evidently because it caused her some -pain. Then she came back to life more fully, and gradually realised how -the situation accounted for my presence. She was suffering from a broken -leg. I carried her down to Les Avants. - -The reader would expect to hear that this adventure bound together again -the broken threads of love. Not so. The story did not end as in the case -of a friend of mine who happened to be at the right moment in command of -a column of artillery moving along the Freiburg high road. - -A carriage and pair with several ladies in it was being driven up -from behind. The horses took fright and bolted down a side lane. My -friend galloped up, cut the traces of the horses with his sword, while -the affrighted driver just managed to put on the brakes. On further -approaches being made from both sides, it turned out that the carriage -contained the material appointed by Fate to make a wife for him. - -I believe that in my case so much emotional force got vent in bringing -the work of rescue to a successful issue, that none was left over to -nurse the flower of love to fruition. My personal feeling became as a -part of my obligations to humanity. Dissolved into chivalry and quixotry, -its subtle essence was lost in so broad a river and swept away to the sea. - -3. It is not a far cry from the Dent de Jaman back to the Diablerets. At -the end of March, 1910, I set out with Monsieur Kurz, of Neuchâtel, to be -avenged on the ill-luck which had marred the January trip. - -The name of Mr. Marcel Kurz will appear repeatedly under my pen in this -volume. I made his acquaintance years ago on the occasion of a political -speech. I was only too glad, after a night spent in public talk and -conviviality, to throw off the fumes of oratory and post-prandial -cordiality. In this a lot of keen young ski-runners agreed with me. Among -them was Marcel Kurz, son of Louis Kurz, the eminent maker of the map of -the Mont Blanc range. He has since accompanied me on several expeditions, -the first of which was planned on that day, while practising side by -side Christiania and Telemark swings in friendly emulation. Some of the -photograph reproductions which adorn these pages were made from snapshots -taken by him. Not having yet become acquainted with the Diablerets range -in winter, he accompanied me there in 1910 with our old friends, the -brothers Marti. These were _dienstbereit_, which, being put in English, -would read: Ready for service, which guides and soldiers ever are. - -But were they as free from their ancient fears as they were willing -to undergo fresh trials? I might well have my doubts when, this time, -their father expressed a desire to see me before his boys acquiesced. -The accident which attended our last expedition had left its mark in -the minds of the people. The man with the broken leg had unfortunately -hobbled about so long, on crutches, all over the country side, that -this sight had rudely shaken the confidence which they were beginning -to repose in me, as bringing into the country fresh means of earning a -little money during the winter months. - -The old Marti lady, particularly, whose heart had no eye--if this is -not an Irish bull--for economic advantages that ran counter to the -conservative character of her domestic affections, watched me wickedly -from her doorstep, while her husband interviewed me in the village -street. Here we stood, with the villagers round us, looking a picture -truly symbolic. - -An old father, clothed in authority by his age and experience, the -preserver of the traditions of the past in his house, as in the village -community, and bearing within himself the true doctrine of the guiding -corporation; his sons, with their minds in that half-open condition -which is that of so many young peasants of the present day, when they -may be compared, without thereby losing anybody’s esteem, to oysters -opening to the sunlight the shells out of which they cannot grow; the -mother, anxious for those nurtured at her breast, the coming founders, -as she hoped, of a domestic hearth like unto the old; a man from the -outside, dropped maybe from a higher sphere, but disturbing the even -tenour of their lives, and presenting in a new light to their awakening -consciousness their sense of inferiority and perhaps of misdirected -adherence to the past; lastly, the onlookers and passers-by, a homely -throng, bearing witness, after the style of the Greek chorus in the -village comedy. - -I proposed to the old man that his sons should come again with me -unhindered. We were a small party, and made up of such elements that -there was but little chance of the last accident being repeated. But it -had got to his ears that I had privately consulted with his sons as to -pushing on from the Diablerets to the east over the Sanetsch and Rawyl -passes. I had to confess that such was the intention of myself and of -Marcel Kurz. Whereupon the old man held up his hands and his wife -hurried to his side. - -In the end it was decided that Ernest Marti should accompany me and my -friend with provisions for one day only, and that on the next day the -other brother and a porter would meet us on the Sanetsch pass. Unwilling -to inquire at once what this porter arrangement might portend, lest the -whole affair might be stranded on that inquiry, as a ship might do on -leaving the stocks, we agreed to the suggestion. The conference broke up, -each party being satisfied that it had gained one of its points. - -Our ash planks carried us up without a hitch to the confines of the -glacier. At the Oldenhorn hut, however, another of those sights awaited -us which had made the brothers Marti feel queer. They of the Synagogue -spent the witching hours of the next night in a drunken snowballing orgy. -They pushed an enormous bolt of snow against the door of the hut during -our peaceful slumbers therein. Never mind. We opened the window, got out -through it into the snow, bored our way to the outside, and slipped down -on to the ice. There was some spectral light in the air when we came out. -The Oldenhorn battlements crackled and crepitated a little. When the sun -lit them up from behind, it looked for a moment as if they were manned -with a fringe of tittering monkeys. As I have said, there was a strange -play of light in the air. But the snowballing might have been the work -of avalanches. There is as a rule a natural explanation to be given of -phenomena of this kind. - -While the Oldenhorn pyramid glowed in the morning light, a veil of mist -hung over the Zan Fleuron glacier. The mist in no ways interfered with -our run. We flew like birds over the scene of the January accident. On -the pass we sat down and waited. Victor Marti was to come up. But who was -to accompany him up the pass, in the guise of a porter, with a further -supply of provisions? We required no such thing as a porter--nor even -guides, for the matter of that; but if I acted upon that view, the game -was up. Local men would be slow in taking up the cry, the new cry: Winter -mountaineering! So we looked for the expected two. - -The mist still hung on the pass between us and the sun. Now and then the -sun shone vaguely, as through cotton wool. When the wind broke the mist -up in rifts a patch of blue would look down upon us benignly. At last, -low down in the north, a black speck showed itself to our straining eyes. -Then the speck divided up. There were two men, and something moving along -close to the ground. This turned out to be a dog, dragging along a pair -of ski. The dog got on very well on the hard frozen snow. But when about -to leave the wind-beaten tract, he floundered and got no further. On -inspection with my binoculars, the porter turned out to be none other -than Father Marti, come to fetch his bairns. But we never quite knew why -the dog was made to bring up an extra pair of ski. - -The position was peculiar; the would-be porter could not cover the -distance which separated him from us. We might have snapped our fingers -at him and parodied the biblical phrase: “Thus far shalt thou come and no -farther.” - -We preferred to push into shore on our skiffs and to parley. The old man -declared he had come up to say the weather was bad. We looked round. Did -appearances give him the lie? Kurz was sure they did. More cautious, -because nearer the age of the old salt, I thought they might; but both -boys promptly agreed with their father and the dog wagged its tail -approvingly. - -Kurz and myself began by making sure of the provisions. Then, by a few -judiciously applied biscuits, we won the favour of the dog. Then we said -that, rather than come down at such an early hour, we should spend the -day in runs on the glacier, whereupon Victor Marti felt it would be his -duty to do likewise. Ernest, in his turn, did not see why he should not -spend, in our agreeable company, a day that was so young. The father -winced, but consented. - -Then I thought the juncture had come when I might propose to both young -men to take full advantage of our new supplies of victuals and drink by -spending another night on the heights. The family met again to “sit” upon -the suggestion. Meanwhile I liberally paid old Marti for his trouble and -took him apart to tell him that if the weather was really bad on the -morrow, I should send his boys down. This arrow hit the mark. He was a -perfectly honourable old man, true to the core. Turning to his sons, -he told them that on no account were they to come back home without -their “gentlemen.” I hope, for his comfort, that he realised that the -“gentlemen” would not either consent to be seen again in the valley -without his boys. - -Anyhow, we spent a delightful day in ski-ing in the precincts of the -Synagogue, repaired at night to our hut, slipped through the window, and -spent a night free from molestation. I deemed that it would be wise to -let the sun rise before _we_ did. When it did, it shone with wonderful -grace and power. The mists were scattered out of the sky and the cobwebs -cleared away from our brains. We entered upon the trip which is described -in the next chapter, and during which my excellent young friends pushed -on steadily to Kandersteg, our goal, longing all the time for the sight -of the telegraph poles on which hung the wires which would convey to -their mother the message of their safety. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER III - -FROM THE COL DU PILLON TO THE GEMMI PASS (DIABLERETS, WILDHORN, -WILDSTRUBEL, AND KANDERSTEG). - - The range--Ski-runners’ logic--Itinerary--The Plan des - Roses--Untoward experiences on the Rawyl pass--Death - through exposure--The _Daily Mail_ and Mr. Arnold Lunn’s - feat--House-breaking--On the Gemmi--Perspective and - levels--Relief models of the Alps--My smoking den--Old Egger. - - -No visitor to Switzerland requires telling that a section of the Bernese -Alps runs up to the Gemmi pass from the south-west. In this secondary -range, the leading groups are the Diablerets, the Wildhorn, and the -Wildstrubel. So far as the Wildstrubel and Wildhorn are concerned, the -range separates the Canton du Valais from the Canton de Berne, but the -Diablerets throw out a shoulder into the Canton de Vaud. From their -summit the lake of Geneva can be seen. - -Each of these large mountain clusters is linked up to its neighbour by a -pass, running perpendicularly to the range. The Sanetsch pass is a dip -between the Wildhorn and the Wildstrubel. Just as--in January, 1909--I -had the pleasure of traversing the higher Bernese Alps between the Gemmi -and Grimsel passes, it was, in March, 1910, my good luck to carry out -in one continuous expedition the traverse of the nether Bernese Alps, -beginning at the Col du Pillon and ending at the Gemmi and Kandersteg. - -The summits of the Diablerets, Wildhorn, and Wildstrubel group do not -exceed 10,705 feet in height. Singly, they have frequently been ascended -on ski. But, to my knowledge, the ascent of all three had not yet been -achieved as a connected and consecutive piece of winter work. My traverse -having brought me much opportunity to fully realise the extraordinary -quality and beauty of this high ski-ing ground, I do not hesitate to give -here my best information on the route. - -The route now opened out presents this capital feature, that the -mountains along the top of which it lies are uniform in height and in -conformation. Their general lineal development is straight; they arise -steeply from their south-west extremities; they carry ski-runners down, -on well-defined inclines, to their north-east extremities, which rest on -the flat surface of high-lying passes. - -No wise runner will attempt to run from the Gemmi end. By so doing he -would be making light of the best rules of ski-ing, as well as throwing -away the indications which nature herself gives him. From all three -summits the larger and lengthier glaciers stretch uniformly from -south-west downwards to north-east, while on the opposite slope the -mountains are precipitous and the glaciers short. - -[Illustration: MOVING FROM THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN. - -To face p. 60.] - -Not only will no wise runner attempt the trip from the Gemmi end, but he -will also follow the rules of ski-runners’ logic. The reader will notice -that while summer tourists cross the Bernese Alps from north to south, -that is from Canton Berne to Canton Valais, or _vice versâ_, from Canton -Valais to Canton Berne, tourists on ski follow the range in its length, -and will have nothing to do with its passes, as leading from one valley -to another. - -Indeed, a ski-runner must look a very paradoxical creature. For him, -passes are just convenient, saddle-like depressions connecting the -summits he has left with the summit he next wishes to attain. He will -have no dealings with the valleys. He does not follow the path, say from -Kandersteg to Louèche. That is all very well for mules. But he crosses, -say, the Sanetsch and Rawyl passes, in the same way as a foot-passenger -goes across a street from one pavement to the other. By so doing he knows -no more of the actual pass-track than its width, say a matter of one to a -few yards, as the case may be. This totally new conception of how to get -about on the Alps from point to point is of great importance with a view -to the military occupation of the High Alp passes and their defence in -winter. I call it the ski-runners’ paradox. - -Gsteig is best reached from Montreux, on the lake of Geneva, or from -Spiez, on the lake of Thoune, by availing oneself of the electric -railway and getting out at the station of Gstaad; hence on foot or by -horse-sleigh to Gsteig. - -The hut, on the Tête aux Chamois, at the foot of the Oldenhorn, where the -first night had better be spent, lies to the south-west from Gsteig, and -is approached from the Pillon route. The approach _viâ_ the Sanetsch pass -necessitates the ascent of the Zan Fleuron glacier round the Oldenhorn. -It is therefore much longer. - -The map to be used, and to which all references in this book are made, -is the Swiss Military Survey Map (Siegfried Atlas), sold to the public -in sheets. A reprint covering the whole region may be bought at Gstaad, -price 4 francs. - -Cross the Reuschbach by a bridge, a little beyond point 1,340 (sheet -472). The chalets of Reusch will then be reached at Reuschalp, at the -altitude marked 1,326 on the map (sheet 472 or 471). At Bödeli one should -carefully avoid taking the path leading south, up to the Oldenhornalp. -The situation of the Cabane des Diablerets is given on the Siegfried -Atlas at point 2,487 (sheet 478). The line of access is plain from -Bödeli. But strangers should not attempt to reach the hut in winter -snow without being accompanied on the Martisberg slopes by some person -possessing full local knowledge. The traversing of steep slopes, such as -those which here run down from the Oldenhorn, is always dangerous. - -Runners start from Gsteig and will do well to take with them one or both -of the brothers Ernest and Victor Marti, young men and fair runners. -Readers of the preceding chapter know that I have trained them in what -little they understand about winter mountaineering. This little is quite -sufficient to enable them to guide safely any party of able-bodied and -fair ski-runners along the new route. - -From Gsteig to the hut an average walker on ski may count five hours. The -hut is comfortable enough for practical purposes, and can accommodate a -large party. - -On the next morning, do not leave the hut till daylight, and then, in -three hours, one may reach the top of the Diablerets on ski, though -these may have to be removed to traverse a part of the steep snow-fields -resting on ice which run down the precipitous cliffs to the south. -Runners with whom it is a point to run, rather than conquer hill-tops, -may leave the summit alone. Wending their way round the Oldenhorn, they -will at once face north-east and run down the Zan Fleuron glacier to the -top of the Sanetsch pass. Use a compass, and run strictly east. Full -north, full south, or south-east are equally pernicious. The snow may -be crusted and wind-swept. But if it is dry, powdery, and smooth, the -runner’s joy will be inexpressible. - -Our day--and so might yours--gave us a prospect of a very long run. We -knew that we should not be able to make use of the Alpine Club hut on -the Wildhorn, for a notice had appeared in the _Alpina_ (organ of the -Swiss Alpine Club) that this hut was badly overwhelmed with snow. Under -ordinary conditions, provided one did not mind sweeping low down out of -one’s way to the north, there would be no reason why this hut should -not be taken advantage of to spread over two days the work which on -that occasion we did in one day, to get from the Diablerets hut along to -the Wildstrubel huts. Without any waste of time, we pushed across the -Sanetsch pass, from the point marked 2,234 (sheet 481), on to the _arête_ -which runs due east across the point marked 2,354. - -If it is your intention to go as far as the Wildstrubel hut in one day, -you ought to cross the Sanetsch by eleven o’clock--an easy thing if -you left the Diablerets hut by eight o’clock. The line to be followed -leads down to, but keeps above, the small lakes which are marked with -the name Les Grandes Gouilles, altitude 2,456. These lakes must be left -on one’s right hand, and then make straight for the Glacier du Brozet, -above the words Luis de Marche. Under ordinary winter circumstances, -particularly late in the season, this glacier, which is broken up to any -extent in summer, will be found to present a steep and hard surface most -convenient to ascend. When once the point 3,166 has been reached, it will -be unnecessary to complete the ascent of the Wildhorn, though nothing -could be easier. Leaving the summit to your left at the point 3,172, the -descent on the Glacier de Tenehet comes next to be considered. At that -altitude you should ski onward sharply to the north-east for a while, -then great care should be taken to proceed downward gradually by taking a -curved route, below point 3,124 (sheet 472), full north-east, then east, -along the circular tiers of the ice. - -[Illustration: DIABLERETS--WILDHORN--WILDSTRUBEL--GEMMI PASS. - -(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, -26.8.12) - -To face p. 64.] - -Let me here remind the reader that the Wildhorn hut is away far down -on the northern slope of the Wildhorn, at the top of the Iffigenthal. -Runners who wish to break their journey and spend a night there will -beware of running down the glacier of Tenehet. They will cross the -watershed to the north at the point 2,795, or thereabouts, and descend to -the point 2,204, in the vicinity of which they will find the hut. - -The course on to the Rawyl pass presents no difficulty to a competent -runner. When under point 2,767, turn to the south, where the slope -dips, and then again, when well under point 2,797, and the lake, turn -to the north-east, so as to reach and keep on dotted curve 2,400. South -or south-east would be irrecoverably wrong. In fair weather it will -be unbroken pleasure, on condition that the runner is well led or is -thoroughly conversant with map or level readings in a very difficult -country. I reached the Rawyl pass by six o’clock. - -The fairly level stretch along which undulates the Rawyl mule track is -called the Plan des Roses, which sounds very poetical to cultivated -minds, such as my readers always are. The Alps, and many other ranges -in Europe, are studded with those appellations, whose delightful ring -calls forth the fragrance and beauty of the rose at an altitude at which -gardens are not usually met. Never did a summer rose grow or blossom -naturally in most of the places bearing that pretty name--not even the -Alpen Rose or the Alpine Anemone. - -The imagination of some has seen in the name an allusion to the pink -colour of the sky at dawn and at sunset. Alas, this too is a fallacy -borne in upon us by the literary faculty. Monte-Rosa does not mean pink -mountain. - -Rosa (as in Rosa Blanche, above the Val Cleuson), roses, roxes, rousse, -rossa, rasses, rosen (as in Rosenlaui), ross, rosso (as in Cima di -Rosso), rossère, all mean rocks or rock. The Tête Rousse (above St. -Gervais) would not be in English the Ruddy Brow, but the much more -commonplace Rocky Tor, Ben, or Fell. All forms of the word go back to -a common Celtic origin, whether they appear in Swiss nomenclature, in -a French, German, Italian, or Romance form. This phenomenon is a good -illustration of the manner in which the association of ideas by sound -enriches and varies in time the very rudimentary stock of primitive -impressions gathered in by the ancient Alp dwellers. - -If the reader will think of Rhine, Rhône, Reuse, Reuss, Reusch, in the -light of the foregoing explanations, he will hear through all those words -the rush of water that is characteristic of Alpine streams. - -I have lively recollections of the Rawyl pass dating back to the days -of my boyhood. This pass is dear to me also as having served as an -introduction to my young friend, Arnold Lunn. When he battled with the -pass, on ski, he was probably little older than myself when I first -fought my way through it on foot. - -I was following the range in its length in the early, old-fashioned -style, purposing to make my way from Sion, on the Rhône, to Grindelwald, -by dipping in and out of the valleys; namely, first to Lenk across the -Rawyl, then to Adelboden, thence to Kandersteg, then to Trachsellauenen, -in the Lauterbrunnen valley, hence to Grindelwald, over the little -Scheidegg--a regular switchback railway. - -My walk over the Rawyl was marked by an episode. It was late in the -season--late in the sense of the word in those days, when there was no -winter season to upset people’s ideas. I reached at night the Châlet -d’Armillon, by hook or by crook, along the precipitous Kaendle, and -crossing mountain torrents as casually as a squirrel would swing from -tree to tree, for those were the days of my _Sturm und Drang Periode_ as -a mountaineer. - -Nevertheless, when the Armillon shepherds pointed out to me the heights -of the pass shining pink in the sunset with a fresh snow edging, my -resolution wavered for an instant. On I went, little dreaming that thirty -years later I should despise being seen here at all, except in winter and -on ski. - -The job proved a serious one. Heavy snow lay over the marshes and -rivulets of the Plan des Roses. The mule track was buried under -wind-blown wreaths. The moon rose and illuminated a desolate landscape. -A little rain, then snow, began to fall, obliterating the moonbeams and -my own footprints behind me. Floundering about, I broke through the thin -ice that lay over the patches of water imprisoned under the snow. Still I -ploughed my way forward. - -Then, probably in the nick of time for my own safety (else I might have -spent the night up there, being still young enough to show myself, in -the circumstances, obstinate unto folly), a guardian angel, whose -assistance I certainly did not deserve, slily detached my brandy flask -from around my shoulders and dropped it well out of my reach. When I -discovered the trick, I took the hint and retraced my footsteps to the -shepherds’ huts at Armillon. - -I believe they were more pleased than surprised. They sat down round -the hearth, an open fireplace, with embers lying about on the ground. -They handed to me a bowl of milk, a lump of cheese, a piece of rye bread -as hard as a brick, and gave me a bit of goat’s liver that was stewing -in the pan in its own broth. They said their prayers aloud, standing -reverently in the firelight; then the goats’ skins were laid out flat on -the ground. We lay on them all in a heap together, with our feet turned -towards the fire. The last man threw the last chips upon it, pulled warm -sheeps’ skins over us, and laid himself down beside us. - -The moon, high up in the sky by this time, shone placidly upon the -pastoral scene. The air got sharper and more chilly. When we rose at dawn -every blade of grass sparkled with frost. - -I set out again up the pass in brilliant sunshine. My footprints were -still here and there faintly visible. When they came to an end I made for -the cross, marking the site of a rough stone refuge, then under snow. -From here some faint footprints again became visible, turning down the -gorge to the north. I made up my mind to follow them, for those who had -made them were certainly moving in the right direction. After a while -I saw a stick standing out of the snow. The footprints did not seem -to continue beyond. On approaching, I found myself in the presence of -the dead body of a mountaineer. Rumour will have it--for the scene of -this mishap was visited shortly after, to lift the body--that I leaped -aside at the sight, leaving marks on the snow which, graphologically -interpreted, were seen to signify my dismay. - -It was the first time that I had before my eyes an instance of death -through exposure in the mountains. - -On reaching the Iffigen Alp I reported the matter to the local -authorities. From later information it came to my knowledge that there -were two victims, the body of the second being covered up by the snow. - -My other connection with the Rawyl pass is less gloomy, since I owe to -the eccentricities of that pass one of my best young friends in England. - -I was, a few years ago, standing on the platform of the railway station -at Gstaad, when an English vicar, whom I took pleasure in instructing -in ski, brought me a copy of the _Daily Mail_, in which a whole column -was literally flaming with the exploits of two English runners who -had crossed the Rawyl a few days before. That sort of description we -generally call “Journalese,” and let it pass without correction. It would -be an ungracious act on the part of climbers, who seek out deliberately -so many hardships, to wince at the touch of the voluntary kindness that -almost kills. - -The true account of what then took place appeared in the columns of the -_Isis_, the Oxford undergraduates’ organ, on January 23, 1909. There -Arnold Lunn expresses himself as follows:-- - -“I spent five winters in climbing from various centres, before--in the -winter of 1907-8--I first tried cross-country work. With three ladies -and my brother, I visited the Great St. Bernard and spent New Year’s Eve -in the Hospice. Next day I was thoroughly walked out by two plucky Irish -ladies, and had just enough energy left to reach Montana on the following -afternoon. I had previously arranged with a friend to cross the mountains -to Villars, a four-day trip, but on arriving found that he was unable to -go. - -“I was introduced to Mr. W., who had only been on ski three afternoons, -but volunteered to come. We left next morning at 4 a.m., climbed for -eight hours up to the glacier of the Plaine Morte, and then separated. -Mr. W. went on to the hut and I climbed the Wildstrubel alone, from the -summit of which I saw a beautiful sunset. The solitary trudge back over -the glacier at night thoroughly exhausted me, and I narrowly escaped -frost-bite in one of my feet. At Lenk that night, 6,000 feet lower -down, they had 40 degrees of frost, and the cold in the hut was almost -unbearable. We did manage to get a fire alight, which proved a doubtful -blessing, as it thawed the snow in the top bunk, forming a lake which -trickled down on our faces during the night in intermittent showers. The -next morning our blankets were frozen as stiff as boards. Even the iron -stove was sticky with frost. - -[Illustration: DESCENT INTO THE TELLITHAL, LOETSCHENTHAL. - -To face p. 70.] - -“Our natural course led over the Wildhorn, a delightful ski-run, but -though Mr. W. throughout displayed wonderful pluck and perseverance, his -limited experience prevented our tackling the long but safe Wildhorn. So -we took a short and dangerous cut down to Lenk, following a track which -crossed several avalanche runs. We raced the darkness through a long -hour of unpleasant suspense, and won our race by a head, getting off the -cliff as the last rays of light disappeared. A night on the Rawyl would -probably have ended disastrously. - -“The remaining two days of the expedition were comparatively uneventful, -but we were dogged by an avenging Providence. A telegram miscarried, -and a search party was organised to hunt for our remains. The guests at -Montana spent a very pleasant day with ordnance maps in attempting to -locate the position of our corpses, and were not a little disappointed -when they learnt that the search party had found nothing but our tracks. -The net result of the expedition was a bill for £20 for search parties, -plus hospital expenses, as one of the guides had been frost-bitten.” - -Arnold Lunn’s performance in bringing down safely to Lenk a companion -encumbered with ski in places fit for the use of climbing-irons only, -at that time of year, was conclusive as a proof of his sportsmanlike -qualities, as it was a bold and unexpected line to take. For that -reason I found it necessary to reflect upon his daring in the _Gazette -de Lausanne_, which had quoted the English press, lest it should -unwittingly lead my young countrymen into dangerous undertakings. Arnold -Lunn and myself made friends over the correspondence which ensued between -us. A better companion and a fairer knight to joust with in Alpine -tourney it would be, I believe, difficult to meet. - -Now, it might be well to return to the Plan des Roses, whence, still -north-east, and then upwards on the Rohrbachstein glacier to the -Rohrbachhaus, whose roof was plainly visible at sunset, we strolled -peacefully and unconcernedly along. - -In connection with the Rohrbachhaus, the brothers Marti, for the second -time, had an encounter with the Bernese police courts on my account. It -was my evil influence that brought them to that comfortable but closed -house. I need not say that I carefully kept out of the mischief that was -brewing by lingering behind to admire the view by moonlight. - -With an ice-axe they dealt a well-directed blow upon the lock. Before -this “Open Sesame” the door gave way. We gained admittance to a kitchen, -well stocked with fire-wood; a dining-room, with preserves, tinned -victuals, and bottles of wine in the cupboards; a vast bedroom, furnished -with couches, mattresses, sheets, blankets, eiderdown quilts! Quite an -Eldorado, but, for my young friends, another step on the downward path to -the prisoners’ dock! - -The police of Berne had a watchful eye on the Rohrbachhaus. Though I did -promptly send the culprits to make their report in the proper quarter, -to ask for the bill and pay for the damage done (which precluded any -civil action being brought against me), the Court at Blankenburg tried -them for house-breaking on the Procurator’s charge. But this business -was happily purely formal, as the _bona-fides_ of the house-breakers was -not questioned. The offenders were spoken free, on condition that they -paid the costs of the official prosecution. This part of the bargain -was passed on to me to keep, which I did cheerfully. Indeed, the whole -transaction appealed to my sense of right in the administration of -law. There was no doubt in my mind that we had broken into a private -establishment without leave, and even without actual necessity. The -establishment was, of course, there for the use of such as ourselves, -even without consent, on an emergency. But the weather was good, the -night still and clear, our health excellent, and there was an open refuge -within short ski-ing distance. It is true that on foot we might have been -totally unable to reach it. - -Those who do not wish to run the risk attending the forcible bursting of -locks in order to get shelter at the first hut had better move on, in the -quiet of night and with an easy conscience, to the open hut, which stands -a little further on, and reach it by lantern light. They may, however, -make previously an appointment with the caretaker at Lenk. He will then -come up, weather permitting, and open the Rohrbachhaus. - -I need not dwell on the pleasant night we spent in the beds of the -Rohrbachhaus. Stolen joys are sweet, and even may, as in our case, -be well deserved, or at least well earned--a way of putting it which -leaves morals uninjured. Our first day had been heavy, but had afforded -two magnificent runs on glaciers and on slopes abutting to passes, each -covering about four miles exclusive of curves, which, of course, being -purely voluntary as to their number and scope, cannot be calculated. - -Ski-running parties spending a night in one or the other of the two -Wildstrubel huts will find themselves on the next day surrounded by as -fine and as varied a country as they may wish for. Whatever line they -choose, there is but one that should absolutely be avoided. This, they -know already, is the Rawyl pass, whether winter tourists wish to go -north to Lenk or south to Sion. The outlet of the pass to the north is -best described as a most precipitous and ice-bound region. The southward -descent is dangerous quite as much, owing to its great complication -amid rock, ravine, forest, and watercourse. Runners should divert their -ambitions well away from those gorges. The best way to Montana and -Vermala lies over the Glacier de la Plaine Morte, and thence to the south. - -Runners proceeding from the huts and wishing to follow in our footsteps, -in order to reach the Lämmern glacier and the Wildstrubel, will run -down the slopes leading to the Glacier de la Plaine Morte (map, sheet -473). They will glance at the Raezli glacier tumbling down to the -north-west, between the Gletschhorn and the Wildstrubel (west-end -summit). Hence they will steer a straight course to the east, along -the centre line of the Glacier de la Plaine Morte, and then turn to -the north-east towards the Lämmernjoch, a pass to the east of the -Weststrubel, on a ridge, which is steepish to reach, though usually well -covered with snow. From that point to the top of the Weststrubel there -is an additional rise of about 120 metres, say 400 feet. The view from -this Strubel is worth the additional labour, and it also gives one the -satisfaction of having reached the last of the highest points on the -Diablerets-Wildhorn-Wildstrubel route. The height of the Diablerets is -3,222, of the Wildhorn 3,264, and of the Wildstrubel west 3,251 metres. -But this satisfaction, like that which may have been got from ascending -the Diablerets and the Wildhorn, may, in point of time, be too dearly -bought. - -It is quite sufficient to direct one’s course straight from the -Lämmernjoch on to the higher reaches of the Lämmerngletscher, which open -up beyond the Lämmernjoch to the north. - -Runners should not plunge full east straight down the glacier. Such a -course would be attended with much danger, as a line of crevasses runs -across the glacier roughly from south to north. A careful runner will map -out for himself a “circumferential” route, which will bring him round -that dangerous part, by descending the slopes of the glacier which are -beyond that spot to the north. Then, by turning to the east, one enters -the lower reaches of the ice, when one faces the extensive building of -the Wildstrubel Hotel on the Gemmi pass, about 3 miles ahead. The best -way off the glacier on to the Lämmernalp is on the north side of the -gorge, in which the glacier tails off, though I found it quite convenient -to reach the Lämmernboden (see map) by means of the slopes which run down -to it on the southern side of the stream. - -Our route leaves completely out of account the Gross-strubel (3,253 -metres), which rises above Adelboden and the Engstligenalp. This summit -does not belong to the traverse I am now describing. There are quite -distinct expeditions to be made to either or both Strubels from Adelboden -or Kandersteg. If from Kandersteg, one should go and spend the night at -the Schwarenbach Hotel, on the Gemmi road, go up the way we have just -described for the descent, and return _viâ_ Ueschinenthal. The Kandersteg -guides know all about this run, which is much to be recommended to the -expert. - -There are three long, flat strips on the run from the Wildstrubel huts to -the Schwarenbach Hotel _viâ_ Gemmi. The first is the Glacier de la Plaine -Morte (about 3 miles), the second the Lämmernboden (about a mile), the -third the Daubensee (about a mile). - -The run from the Daubensee to Kandersteg requires no particular notice. -It begins at the spot where the Lämmernboden turns to the north, within -800 yards or so of the Wildstrubel Hotel on the Gemmi pass. The run on -the Daubensee, then to the Schwarenbach Hotel (one should not pass to the -right, east of the summer road) affords excellent ski-ing. Then, on the -rush down to the Spitalmatten, with the Balmhorn and the Altels towering -to one’s right, will be met some of the best ground of the whole trip, -the slopes being throughout beautifully exposed to the north. The gorges -to the east should on no account be entered. The course runs straight -north on the west side of the valley, till the upper bends of the summer -road are met on the shoulder which drops down to Inner Kandersteg, at the -entrance of the Gasternthal. The slopes to the west of the woods on the -shoulder are periodically swept by avalanches. Look carefully whether the -fragments lie on the ground, and whether the rocks above, whence they -start, are bare of snow. If so, you may proceed among the fragments. If -otherwise, take to the road and walk. - -The whole distance travelled over during this expedition, starting from -Gsteig, is, measured on the map, about 40 miles to Kandersteg. We had -with us ropes and axes, but never used them. In point of fact, I should -consider that expeditions upon which a use is foreseen for the axe and -the rope are not, strictly speaking, ski-ing expeditions. Ski-ing, by -definition, excludes the use of rope and axe, though one should be -provided with them when having reason to fear unforeseen contingencies. - -The levels are as follow:-- - - At Gsteig: 1,192 metres (3,937 feet). - - On the Zan Fleuron glacier: 2,866 metres, being a rise of 1,674 - metres. - - On the Sanetsch pass: 2,221 metres, being a fall of 645 metres. - - On the Wildhorn glacier: 3,172 metres, being a rise of 951 - metres. - - On the Rawyl pass: 2,400 metres, being a drop of 772 metres. - - On the Lämmernjoch: 3,132 metres, being a rise of 732 metres. - - On the Gemmi pass: 2,214 metres, being a drop of 918 metres. - - At Kandersteg: 1,169 metres, being a drop of 1,045 metres. - -From this table of levels, the general public, if there is any in -mountaineering topics, may draw a conclusion and a moral. - -Have you ever looked at a model relief map of the Alps? As one of the -general public, you may not be aware that the relief is artificially -forced. It is intended to amaze by the steepness of the declivities and -the terribly sharp angles at which the ridges of the peaks meet in the -air and terminate into a threatening point. - -The designers of those otherwise beautiful and attractive models wish to -heighten the impression which you are accustomed to receive when you look -up to the Alpine peaks from some point below. The laws of perspective -bring then those peaks nearer the perpendicular. By an optical delusion, -which is full of scenic effect, they tower aloft. The designers of Alpine -models run after poetical and picturesque effects. They very naturally do -not wish to show you in plaster Alps far less formidable than those which -agreeably overawe you in nature. They add from 10 to 20 per cent. to the -angles of declivity, deepen the valleys and pull out the mountain tops -like putty. They thus show you the Alps in your own natural perspective, -as a painter does on his canvas. But the whole thing is fallacious. - -I should feel called upon to condemn the process as a downright black -lie if there was not enough snow on those models to paint the lie white. -Look at the Matterhorn from Zermatt and then look at one of those -paper-weight models in stone which are sold for a few francs in the local -bazaars and which are cut according to scale. You will be surprised to -see how really flat the Matterhorn is. I advise every one who intends to -climb it to first make a careful study of a paper-weight model. It is -most reassuring. - -Now this is exactly what an Alpine ski-runner does or should do. - -There is in the vestibule of the University buildings at Geneva, on the -first floor, a magnificent plaster model of Switzerland, true to scale. -Each time I cast my eyes upon this model I more fully realise how exactly -the author’s execution of the relief, based on science, corresponds with -the runner’s conception, based on experience. In its own unvarnished -language, the model says: “By me know the Alps, and by them know thyself -and be modest, thou hast not done so much after all.” - -So the general public may now understand why the runner sees the Alpine -world in his own perspective. The real reliefs are printed on his mind. -A summer tourist, who instead of fitting foot-rules to his feet, pegs or -stumps along, can with difficulty enter into the runner’s notion. - -Orographic conformation and questions of exposure are ski-running -matters. The runner studies the _relievo_ in the light of two or three -truisms resting on experience, which are as conditions determining the -rational use of ski and assuring the pleasure of the runner. - -1. The runner aims at rising rapidly, because he cannot draw from his ski -a full measure of pleasure except from the moment when the ski cease to -be the means of carrying his weight uphill, and become merely a means of -velocity. - -2. While rising as abruptly as he possibly can, the runner seeks out--for -this tiresome operation is seldom avoidable--the declivities whose -exposure marks them out as unsuitable for a good run down. No wonder. -It is not to his interest to throw away, as it were, good slopes by -employing them for work uphill. Now, steepnesses turned to the south, -south-west, and west, afford poor running, viewed, of course, in their -generality. - -Here meteorology--or, in plain English, weather--is more important than -geography, because warm winds, whether they blow soft or wild, beat upon -those faces. When not actually dangerous, such defective slopes are -convenient for rising to the high levels. The runner who knows how to -take advantage both of meteorology and orography shows himself possessed -of an advanced knowledge of his craft. - -3. The best running hills are those whose gentler slopes are exposed -north and east. The winds from those quarters are not warm winds, though -they too have their own way of spoiling the snow. At any rate, the -sun--which has even in winter powers for mischief--is too low on the -southern horizon to interfere with the powdery condition of snow facing -north. But there is not much gained in mapping out one’s tour in the -manner indicated if one is landed for the descent on abrupt, though -northern or eastern, slopes. - -[Illustration: ON THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN. - -To face p. 80.] - -So now draw your moral and conclusion. Will it not be that you should -walk round and round a large relief model of the Alps when planning -your winter excursions? This you could easily do if some kind patron -of Alpinism would provide you in London with a copy, cast in metal for -durability, of the Geneva plaster relief. - -Would the reader like to know, after this long lecture, how I take -the refreshment, and smoke the pipe--in my case it has always been a -cigar--which I should like to offer him now? He is welcome to my den. - -I scoop out the snow, in the manner of dogs, to the depth of 2 feet, or -thereabouts. I lay my ski across the cavity thus formed. Pressed close -together, they roof in about one-third of the opening. I put my feet in -the hole, wrap them up in my empty rucksack, bend my knees and sit on the -ski. Before me, on the snow shovelled up with my hands in the shape of a -tray, I display the contents of my larder. Then I plant my sticks behind -me, one supporting each shoulder. Thus, my armchair, dining-room, and -table are all ready. I wait upon myself, as is usual at lunch, and when -the time has come for the blissful smoke, I lazily stretch my legs across -the empty table and lean back, looking into immensity through the puffs. -When the time comes when I should like a nap, I find that the sticks at -my back invite me to recline by gradually giving way. I lay them flat on -the snow, spread my cloak over them and, thus comfortably padded, I pull -my cap over my eyes, and try hard to convince myself that it is a cold -midwinter day. The smoke ceases to rise, the cigar end drops and---- This -is all vanity no doubt, but is mine not better than that of many a wiser -man? - -Old Egger at Kandersteg, who received me with a cheery handshake on -completion of the trip described in this chapter, had seen me start -about a year before on my traverse of the Bernese Oberland. He expressed -satisfaction at seeing me again, though with another companion, and said -he thought we had been rather long. But when I told him that another trip -had been thrown in, as well as my companion changed, he insinuated with -a smile of great intelligence that we had had time to grow very thirsty. -It was, he said, a grand thing for Kandersteg that it had been at the -beginning of the first trip and at the end of the second. So he would -drink our healths. And we honoured him likewise. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE SKI-RUNNER OF VERMALA - - Vermala--The mysterious runner--The Plain of the - Dead--Popular beliefs--The purification of the grazings--A - haunted piece of rock--An awful noose is thrown over the - country-side--Supernatural lights and events--The Babel of - tongues--The Saillon and Brigue testimonies--The curé of Lens - and his sundial--The people’s cure--The Strubel--_Chauffage - central_--Did I meet the Ski-runner of Vermala?--My third - ascent of the Wildstrubel--A night encampment on the - glacier--Meditations on mountains, mountaineers, and the - Swiss--How to make _café noir_--Where to sleep and when not - to--Alpine refuges--The old huts and the new--The English - Alpinists and the Swiss huts--The Britannia hut. - - -The sheet 482 of the topographical atlas of Switzerland assigns the name -of Vermala to the _mayens_ in Canton Valais, situated above Sierre, at an -altitude of 4,500 feet or thereabouts. Swiss _mayens_ are places where -grass is grown that can be mown and on which cattle is grazed in autumn. - -About 600 feet higher there is in the forest a clearing, with a -south-west exposure, in which the Mont Blanc range, framed in fir-trees, -presents itself in the distance to the appreciative eye as a beautiful -background to a picture of loveliness. If the bareness of the map -is to be trusted, this spot was not yet inhabited in 1884 when the -topographical survey was made. - -The map is right, and yet it is not quite right. There were at that time -no ordinary dwelling-houses in the clearing, but people of ordinary mind -held that the Ski-runner of Vermala, whose presence on the country-side -was at that time exactly known, had his home somewhere in those parts. - -From afar curious people would point out a rocky platform planted with -beautiful, well-spaced firs amongst which it would be pleasant to bask -in the sun in winter. But others were rather taken up with the peculiar -apparitions which at night were seen there skimming the rocks in a -sinister play of light. The map marks the place with a broken line, -between Vermala and Marolire, right above Praz-Devant. - -It was said that in earlier times the mowers piled up their hay at the -top of the clearing in one or two _mazots_, or rough barns, set on short -posts, four in number, planted in the ground and crowned with flat stone -disks. But that hay had an unwelcome way of catching fire, consuming the -_mazots_ as well. Nothing was left but the stones. So the peasantry gave -up this unlucky storage ground. - -At present no other mystery hovers about this spot than that which these -recollections call back to mind. The Forest Hotel occupies the site. -The sun holds divided sway in summer with the coolness of the woods, in -winter with King Frost. Here conventional tourists embrace at a glance -the most marvellous piece of Alpine scenery--from Monte Leone and beyond, -to Mont Blanc--that human eye can long for, such, that had Byron known -of it, he would have sent his world-sick Manfred to contemplate it from -Vermala. - -The sweetness of this name would have rung as true to the poet’s ear as, -in the Italo-Celtic tongue, it rings to the ear of the rough mountaineer. -Would you not, for a while, when reading on the map names of such -romantic harmony, forget that they are mere geographical terms? Let us -personify those place names. Do not Vermala and Marolire spell out as -tunefully as the classically tender and melodious Daphnis and Chloe? - -But then there might be a risk of forgetting that there is not a -halfpenny worth of love in this story. It is a homespun yarn, woven by -rustics in ignorance and fear, and would fall very flat on the ears -of civilised mankind, but for the curiosity roused by that consummate -sportsman whose humours shine through the woof of the story. - -Whence did he come? Who was he? Nobody ever knew. - -He had already disappeared from the country when a more enlightened -generation ceased to look upon him as a true ghost. There arose a class -of minds which ran to the opposite extreme and held him to be a superman -of the morrow. In the end he was described as the Ski-runner of Vermala, -when some acquaintance with the new implements called back popular -imagination within the bounds of reason. Then the glamour that had -gathered around his memory at last faded away. - -The terraced plain of Crans on which there is now a golf course was not -then much frequented. The whole district was held to be inhospitable. -The Wildstrubel mountain group, which fills up all the space between -the Rawyl and Gemmi passes, bore a redoubtable reputation. It was still -more feared for the Plaine-Morte and the glacier of the same name, which -spread as a counterpane over his feet. Both the plaine and the glacier -were reputed abodes of the souls of the dead. Poor souls perishing with -cold in the cracks! Dante’s idea of an ice circle in hell harks back -to the rustic belief that souls serve their term of purgatory on the -Plaine-Morte and come down on certain sacramental nights to visit the -living and receive additional punishment from the contemplation of the -evil deeds they have left behind them to work themselves out. - -In summer, the Valaisan peasant would not venture upon the Plain of the -Dead, had he not first sought the protection of the Holy Virgin and -saints. In winter he doubts not that the Plain of the Dead is reserved -for the evil ones by the holy Powers that be. As soon as the first winter -snow turns to white the brown, sunburnt slopes of the upper grazings, -these are laid under the ban by the piety of the villagers, if not by the -Church. - -Who knows, say the vintners of Sierre, what is going on there? Assuredly, -nothing of worth, while the sun draws its daily course slowly on the -horizon from the Equinox of autumn to that of spring. Thus an alarming -scientific fact has become a nursery ground for fond popular beliefs. - -We should easily sympathise with the credulity of those big children -if we would but imagine our own state of mind, did we believe we had -positive reason to fear lest the sun which had ripened the last harvest -might not return in spring to ripen the next, after we had exhausted -the garnered crops of the former year. And in what mood would we see -the shades of night enfolding us this evening, if we did not rest more -confidently in the hope of dawn than in the arms of sleep? - -It is under the influence of motives of that kind that the inhabitants -of the populous villages thrown as a belt round the plateau of Crans -Mollens, Randogne, Montana, Chermignon, Lens, and Icogne--were quite -prepared to go into the forest to pick up their allotment of fire-wood, -and even to pilfer that of their neighbour. But, so long as their herds -and flocks--when the sun rises again full east and sets again full west, -which is the signal for the raising of the ban--have not been solemnly -escorted to the grazings by the priest with holy water and sprinkler, -they will not be seen ascending to the beats whence they retreated in the -autumn. And if any do visit those desecrated spots before they have again -been hallowed, even the boldest miscreants undertake the venture with a -sense of insecurity, knowing full well that, for the pure-minded, they -are committing sheer blasphemy. - -The God of winter is still a God for heathens in the eyes of those -people. Nor should this call forth any astonishment. “How beautiful upon -the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.” If so, how -much more awful than elsewhere must appear there those of the arch-fiend! -He alone is of a nature sufficiently proof to fire to make his home in -ice with impunity. His followers alone are sufficiently witched to share -in his privilege. - -Therefore, when the rumour was spread that a supernatural form haunted -the Vermala woods, it needed but little comment before it gained -credence. Everybody was pretty clear in his own mind as to what kind of -person he must be, and none needed to question others to know that they -thought exactly the same thing. - -As might be expected, poachers, chamois hunters, and wood-cutters, people -with uneasy consciences--because they steal wood or game, and because -their occupation makes them particularly liable to mistrust each other -and to meditate on the Evil One--were among the first to believe a story -so much in keeping with the trend of their own thoughts. They could even -bear witness to its truth. - -They had uplifted their eyes, at night, upon a shade so pellucid that the -moonbeams shone through it. The shade stole away among the trees like the -wind, with a slight rustling of the snow. Then, in a hollow lane leading -from the Mayens de Lens towards Chermignon, they had come across strange -marks which were not those of game, such as hares, foxes, or badgers. -They were not either the marks of any hoofed animal, whether it be a -four-footed beast or even the dreaded biped. Those marks soon seemed to -join together into tracks that flung themselves like huge ribbons all -over the country-side. But, of all those who would, none was able to -follow them out. Never had impressions like these been seen on the snow, -of which it was impossible to say whether the being who made them walked -backwards or forwards. Some said he was a creature mounted on a wheel or -riding on two. Others said he was a serpent crawling on his belly, so -unbroken was the track and so much did it keep winding about. - -However much it seemed to roll away in every direction and to stop -nowhere, a few bold spirits determined to follow its course. They -forthwith found themselves plunging and diving in such deep snow that, -breathless and shivering, they gave up the chase, feeling numb at heart. - -From that moment the public mind was made up. No creature in mortal -shape, no flesh could ever have marked the face of the snow with this -labyrinthine coil. To wind up this clue of thread one must either fly -like a bird, or blow like the wind, or be favoured with the malediction -of God. This last explanation being of all the most clear, and the most -creditable to the piety of the largest commune in the Canton du Valais, -it was accepted by the municipal council and the clergy. - -In the spring--the next to the great disturbance--the melting snow -blotted out the dreadful spoor, the alarm it had caused and, of course, -the Runner, for want of his element. - -As soon as they dared, people hurried up to the Vermala rock. There -they found the remains of a new and unexpected kind of habitation. -The drooping branches of a mighty fir appeared to have been pinned to -the ground by frost, consequent upon the piling of snow upon their -extremities. Then snow had been piled up higher and higher around the -tree, embedding other branches as it rose, which were cut away from -the trunk, except at the top, where they stretched out in the form of -a snow-covered dome. There had thus arisen a pyramid-shaped dwelling -enclosed in walls of ice, for the snow had clearly been brought to -transparency by the application of heat from within. And thus was -explained that wonderful effluvium of light, the shimmer of which looked -so sinister from afar. It is even said that some children picked among -the tufts of green grass which here and there began to grow about the -floor of the abandoned hut, pieces of a yellow amber-like substance which -shot forth sparks bathed in a soft purple radiance, when seen by them in -the darkness of their own homes. - -No wonder that people spoke of Vermala in fearsome strains! What a pity -the most beautiful spot in the country was haunted! - -In the ensuing winters, things went from bad to worse. People ceased -visiting the plateau de Crans for pleasure. Do you fancy, they said, that -strangers henceforth will ever set foot upon this ground, unless it be -for their sins? - -[Illustration: ABOVE RIED, LOETSCHENTHAL. - -To face p. 90.] - -So much tribulation turned the feebler heads. Folk no longer understood -each other aright. They got confused over names. Those who called La -Zaat by its name were rebuked by those who called it La Chaux Sei, and -those parties both fell out with the supporters of the name Bellalui. No -one was quite clear about the identity of Petit Mont Tubang and Grand -Mont Tubang. They were in a mist as to Petit Mont Bonvin and Grand -Mont Bonvin. Everybody confused one and all of these with the Tonio de -Merdasson. In short, the mind of the country-side was muddled, now that -all eyes saw double when they looked in the direction of Vermala. - -Old men, however, stiffened their backs and spoke in firm voices above -the new Babel of tongues. They said it had always been known before their -time and would ever hereafter be manifest, that the crest that is visible -from Lens is the brow of Bellalui, and they clinched the matter with the -reminder that when Bagnoud the mayor built his new house, he called it -Bellalui after the mountain. - -As it happens, it was at Lens that the meteoric personage once more -called attention to himself. - -Truth to say, though there was no one who did not expect his return, -there was nevertheless a general shudder when Jean Perrex who had gone to -Saillon, brought back the news that “he” was known to have brought out -of the stable the horse which had lately been bought with a new cart, -to show visitors over the country. “He” had put the horse to the cart -without collar, traces, or bridle. Without whip or ribbons, he had driven -to St. Pierre de Clages. He had tied the horse to the church door. Then -he had sat down on the grass at the foot of the Norman tower, between -the beehives of the curé and the wasps’ nest that is there sunk in the -soil. Nobody could say how and when they had seen him. It would have -been useless to ask what he was like. But it could not but be he, since -the abandoned horse and cart had been impounded, and the church was now -sinking more rapidly than heretofore. - -The most convincing testimony, however, was that of Claudine Rey. Her -brother was in the habit of walking out with a girl who had a situation -in a hotel in Brigue. One night he had clambered up the wall to the -terrace, when the moon suddenly grinned through the clouds. Then, instead -of the girl he was to meet, whom should he see there to his right in the -arbour but “him” in the shape of a dwarfish, wizened wiseacre, clutching -in his right hand a death’s head, and with the fingers of his left -running rapidly along the lines of a book of charms! - -When, on St. Martin’s eve, this account was given to the worthy curé of -Lens, who had gathered about his hearth some of his parishioners to crack -in goodly company the arolla nuts roasting in the ashes, the dear old man -shook his head; his mind was running on the words “Get thee behind me, -Satan.” - -Then a gentle scratching was heard on the panes of the closed window. The -gathering looked that way and most turned pale. The first snow of the -coming winter was swirling and whirling against the glass, borne on the -soughing wind. And the bluish purple light poured forth from the wells of -memory into the sockets of their eyes. - -The curé came out with his guests on his way to trim the church lamp. A -thin layer of snow covered the village lanes. He cast about him furtive -and mistrustful glances. The pure white carpet was as yet unsullied by -footprints. Would “he” come? - -Now this curé was a bit of an astronomer and a clerical moralist. He took -every care of the sundial of his church tower and had adorned it with an -inscription, in two expressive lines:-- - - “Le temps passé n’est plus, l’éternité commence. - Pensez-y donc, mortels, et pensez-y d’avance.” - -That night he stared at it. The piece of advice was as good as ever. -But the involutions of the meridian mean curve, drawn with such careful -exactness on the stone and painted with such a light hand in the gayest -colours, struck him now as being the exact counterfeit of the ribbons on -the snow. Was he not breaking away from his ordinary piety in accusing -his church dial of taking after an un-Christian pattern? Surely, he -was wronging his dial. And the good curé kept poring over the unholy -coincidence, in so far at least as his mind could find time to spare for -meditation upon matters of paramount importance. - -On the morning of St. Martin’s Day, the village showed itself to be all -in a tangle of loops. The diabolical spoor went in and out round every -house. The figure eight of the sundial had thrown off innumerable copies -upon the ground. The bells were tolled in vain. To no purpose did the -chimes peal. In vain did the most Christianlike of all suns that ever -poured its kindly light upon Lens, kindle the most reassuring smile upon -the wrinkled stones of the old tower. Not a single parishioner was bold -enough to spurn with his foot the cabalistic loops that embraced the -bosom of Mother Earth in their oppressive grasp. Not a child dare step -across them, not even to go and dip his fingers in the holy water at the -church door. - -The most thunder-struck was the curé. A truculent pentagram in red chalk -was displayed all over his distich, surrounded by a double circle that -looked like a green fairies’ ring designed in moss upon the church tower. - -As for the good men of the largest _commune_ in Canton Valais, they -bethought themselves of a day of fasting, the natural remedy for their -orthodox faith to point out. But there was a sign against that too. The -pewter pots and mugs of the village tavern appeared that morning all set -up in a row upon the railings of the churchyard gate, upside down. They -would have to be fetched and brought back to their proper place. The -hardiest commoners were summoned. They took heart from their thirst. The -general anxiety was soothed by such an obvious way of drowning care. - -The frequenters of the forests, whether they were honest day-labourers -or night-birds, knew alone, beyond all doubt, the identity of the -mischief-maker. For them the prime mover in the big upset was none other -than the _Strubel_, about whom the village elders would still relate, in -the dim light of the evening fires, dreadful stories of an ancient stamp, -such as suggest themselves in the woods after dark, when the old tree -stumps are phosphorescent and glow-worms come out of their retreats to -set up their tiny lamps on the edges of the rocks. - -Of all creatures born of local lore the Strubel was to them the nearest -in kin. When the north wind blows the Strubel races from crest to crest, -from the Gemmi to the Rawyl, and from the Rawyl to the Gemmi. Up there -his long white shock of hair streaming in the wind, and upturned by -the gale, spreads as a plume across the sky. The tumbling folds of his -beard fill the precipitous ravines. A hail of icicles rattles out of his -roaring breast. The rush of his huge body, soaring amid snowflakes and -in glacier dust, awakens the slumbering elements. At night the Aurora -Borealis gathers in streamers around his brow. At dawn and at sunset a -diadem of snow-crystals sets a many-coloured band about his hoary head. -He flies, and his feet do but tip the top of the peaks, and his stature -rises aloft in an immense upward sweep. In a blue-and-white transparency, -such as one sees in glacier crevasses and in pure ice water, the spring -of his sinuous limbs uplifts him to the confines of atmosphere and -firmament. - -Such is the poetic picture of the dread being which the shepherds still -worship secretly, far down in the recesses of their primitive hearts. And -it is he whose image the antics of an enigmatic ski-runner revived for -several winters, as our story shows, under the low and gloomy roofs of -the white-hooded chalets. - -There is an evening hour, when, after cooking and partaking of the day’s -last meal, the family gathers round the domestic hearth. Then the last -embers are fanned into a congenial flame. The dying light of the hearth -kindles anew the memories of a bygone age. Is the time near when these -will die out for want of fuel, as the flame of that hearth when the -family goes to bed? But why should we link any melancholy after-thought -with their well-earned rest? The thought of the reward granted to their -toil pleases one’s moral sense. Yet he who, like me in this chapter, uses -figments of the past as a page decoration, cannot but regret that such -picturesque elements should be gradually, but surely, vanishing for ever -from the face of our modern world. - -The accepted idea is that things have progressed. So they have. A nice -hotel crowns the Vermala rock. At night real electric light of industrial -origin has taken the place of the fantastic rays of old. There is a -_chauffage central_, fed with colliers’ coal, and stoked by porters -who never could produce heat without matter and on terms that were not -commercial. Now people dance at Vermala, they have music at night, they -lounge about in smoking-jackets, and, when all is said and done, I am one -of those who most enjoy the new situation. - -Did I ever meet the Ski-runner of Vermala? I should have a vague fear -of being caught prevaricating should I answer either Yes or No. Truth -sometimes dwells in half-way houses. - -I was staying at Vermala last winter. The glacier de la Plaine-Morte, and -the ascent of the Wildstrubel, were objects which a young man of my party -kept steadily in view. It was his second winter holiday in Switzerland. A -much-travelled man, he had camped out in Persia, and endured thirst and -hunger in some of the most God-forsaken spots of the globe. How would -he fare in the Wildstrubel country? A man may have done very well in -sandy deserts and yet find himself out of his depth in snow. He had ski, -but would they do as much for him on these charmed snows as a camel’s -spreading feet had done in the desert? - -So we set forth late one morning, after paying the usual penalty to the -photographic fiend. So great an honour conferred by a number of fair -women inspired us with proper pride. It was a most strengthening draught -to harden us against the trials that might be in store, but it also -worked so insidiously as to cause us to overlook the wise saw of the most -bourgeois of French fabulists: “Rien ne sert de courir, il faut partir -à temps,” which, topically rendered, might mean: “A man who has started -late need never hope to make up for lost time when going uphill on ski.” - -The glacier de la Plaine-Morte lies at the altitude of 9,500 feet -approximately, measured at the brim, or lip, which we had to overcome -before we could dip down to the surface of that shroud of the dead. We -were setting out for it from the altitude of 5,500 feet, and allowing -for unavoidable “downs” that would break the upline, we had quite 5,000 -feet of vertical displacement before us. - -At whatever hour of the day we might have started we had that much to -ascend by sunset, if we wished to reach the Hildebrand hut in comfortable -circumstances, and so the true bourgeois spirit would have us do. Had -we been in military mood we should have borne with the dictates of -punctuality. Unfortunately we had received attentions that had raised -us beyond ourselves. We chose to trust our elation to bring us on over -the ground. But the 5,000 feet we had to ascend would not grow less. The -sun would not delay its progress. The ups and downs would not smooth -themselves out, however much gentle pressure our planks might bring to -bear upon them. The refreshing compliments we had stored up would not -check the flight of time. - -All too early Night put in a punctual appearance upon the scene. She -found us, indeed, sailing gently along the shroud of the dead, but far -from the place prepared to shelter weary Alpinists. - -We seemed to be in for the same adventure as a friend of mine who spent -the night wandering on the glacier during a wind and snowstorm. The -dead then might almost have been moving under their shrouds in every -direction. He did not lose his way, but was impressed by solitude and by -the weirdness of the shifting snows, let alone the fatigue that loosened -his limbs. He confided to me quite lately how odd he still thought it -that he did not go off his “chump.” - -Anyhow, Mr. B., my present companion, decided that he saw something happy -in the situation, the beckoning finger of a friendly fate, that would -guard us while we spent that January night on the open glacier. The -air was still and clear. The cold might be keen, but not sharp, though -somebody since would absolutely have it that the thermometer marked that -night at Vermala 2.2 Fahrenheit. - -As Mr. B. was anxious to view this escapade as a fit counterpart to -his nights in the Persian desert, the situation could be accepted with -equanimity. He was possessed of the true romantic spirit. Poor man! He -was afflicted with much thirst. I had, unfortunately, nothing better to -offer him than the carefully worded expression of my regret that he had -not been able to get himself fitted up, before he left Persia, with some -of the valuable water compartments of his Bactrian camels. So by ten -o’clock we laid ourselves demurely down on the angular glacier moraine, -pretty confident that long before the hour struck for the sun to rise, we -should be anxious to roll the shutters away from the Palace of Dawn. - -On the contrary, when the sun stepped out of his car upon the glacier -and, at the most reasonable hour of eight on the clock, knocked us up, we -were still reclining in our _alcôve_. Shall I say that we found at our -bedside shaving water and a cup of tea? No, for this would be a really -undue elongation of truth. But we saw the “boots” busy lighting odd -scraps of paper and slipping them into our shoes to soften the frozen -leather. We thanked him and were about to tip him when he took fright -and flew away upon a sunbeam, leaving behind a pot of blacking and an -electric brush. - -If I ever did set eyes upon the Ski-runner of Vermala, it was during that -night, nor could it have been in a better setting than on the Plain of -the shrouded Dead. In fact, in the supposition that he is a person that -never existed, the glacier de la Plaine-Morte would cry out for him. - -Glaciers are legion, but there is only one glacier de la Plaine-Morte. - -Measured with tape, its size, as our readers have learnt in a preceding -chapter, would come out at a few miles. - -Sir Martin Conway, in his “Alps from End to End,” comes nearer to -conveying a correct impression, because he measures it by the standard of -his own mind. - -Those who have in any weather entrusted themselves in winter to that ice -cup scooped out of the top of lofty Alpine battlements, may alone imagine -in its true character the Alpine world as it was in those dim and distant -days, when half Europe would have been too small to hold the glories of -the Plaine-Morte in its prehistoric stage of being. - -Since last year (1911), a cable railway runs passengers up from Sierre -to Montana-Vermala. Some day, perhaps, the railway may be taken 5,000 -feet higher. It would then pass the place where we spent the hours of -our mystic night, alternately watchful and asleep, taking in the immense -charm that flowed in upon us, and seeking in short terms of slumber rest -from our meditation. - -[Illustration: WILDSTRUBEL AND PLAINE MORTE GLACIER. - -To face p. 100.] - -The _amateurs_ of mountain scenery whom the rail may bring up here -will not be so single-minded about it as we were. They will look for -something else to lie upon than a gritty stone bed. They will allow a -wooden barrier to intercept the pulsation of nature on its way to their -souls. They will not catch in full the gracious calls which pass in -the stillness between heaven and earth, and roll in harmoniously upon -the mind, as a sonorous shore echoes the beat of the waves. My young -companion, more restless because the situation was so overmasteringly -novel, looked around for distractions which I needed not. I have often -stood, or lain, like that, looking from the outside upon the play of life -in which I otherwise bear my faint part. I like to withdraw from the -stage of the company directed by Messrs. Time and Space in which we are, -with as much humbleness as the master dramatists could be with pride, -composers, actors, and managers of some small theatrical contribution. I -am then doubtful whether I feel some approach in me to the lotus eater’s -frame of mind, or whether I rejoice in the overflowing energy of the -superman. - -There is a deep meaning in the Gospel passage that shows us the Son of -man being led upon a hill, and upon a temple pinnacle, that He may be -tempted by the sight of those aspects of the world which it was His -mission to forswear, combat and finally to overcome by the spirit and -succumb to in the flesh. It is on pinnacles such as these that we may -behold ourselves. - -Let us see. Is he who learns his philosophy by conversation with the -mountains not at once a lotus eater and a superman? He acquires from them -a firm conviction that-- - - “Il mondo va da sè. - Le monde se fait lui-même;” - -which apophthegm breathes the spirit of abdication and is a source of -weakness for him. - -On the other hand, the conscious personal power by which he overcomes the -savage forces and the blind puttings-forth of might by Nature, does mark -him out as instancing in himself human courage, a well-created _physique_ -and some superiority. - -When his energy is excited, he caresses the illusion that he could -crush his fellow beings, if he thought it worth doing. But his dignity -forbids. His fellows need have no fear, for there is some taming effect -in his haughtiness. The loftiness of his spirit lames his hand for battle -against those in whom he hardly recognises his like. - -He cannot take the affairs of men so seriously that he would whip up in -himself the ambition to take after Napoleon or Cæsar. - -When he is in lotus-eating mood, the Rubicon is really too big a thing to -be crossed lightly. - -When he is in his superman’s temper, the undertaking is indeed so small -that it is not worth while that such as he should be bothered with it. - -The Swiss, as a people, have shown in a high degree that such is the -mental composition of a true mountain race. Left for six hundred years to -their unbroken line of development, they show in the successive layers -of the formation of their national mind the stages of the process. - -They first won in the Alps, by arms, sufficient room for themselves, and -set round their borders a ring-fence of impassable pikes. Then, turning -to supermen, they fought the battles of others, for the sake of war, -despising power, and moving untempted in the domains of kings. - -In the nineteenth century, the reflective mountain spirit gained hold -on them. They held war as an immoral pursuit and ceased from being -mercenaries. But their contemptuous loftiness remained. Without despising -their former glory they, as it were, drew into themselves and drew -themselves up at the same time. - -They have become the typically lotus-eating neutral nation in Europe, -supermen still in a way and armed to the teeth, but with swords ever -sheathed and with bayonets ever resting in the scabbard. - -In their national life the Swiss practice political self-education, and -would do so rather than seek the means of making their influence felt -among nations. The Swiss are but a small and insignificant nation, but -their history shows that, disillusioned of mere strength, they passed to -the consciousness of a moral identity. - -They became self-centred, and liked to keep aloof from other people’s -affairs. They formed the conclusion that-- - - “Le monde se fait lui-même. - Il mondo va da sè;” - -and, in the public life of Europe, assumed the part of spectators and -political moralists. - -For Napoleon, a mere village or two were a sufficient stake for which to -set Europe ablaze. With material means, he built up a political society -that soon crumbled away. Had the French been by temperament lotus-eating -supermen, would they have followed him? They too would have answered him -with the words-- - - “Le monde se fait lui-même. - Il mondo va da sè.” - -The victories of fourteen years could not make a Buonapartist Europe. - -What subsists of the Superman’s adventure? It had been just as well -for him, had he stood on the edge of the glacier of the Plaine-Morte, -withstanding temptation, though he had thereby shorn Elba and St. Helena -of their title to fame. - -The bent of the mountaineer’s mind is turned inwards, towards the -education of self. As a superman he pits himself against nature, to man -he is kind and just. He is the lotus-eater who would forget the things, -the seeking after which would turn him away from self tuition. - -He is a kind of Marcus Aurelius who does the share allotted to him in the -common task, and then withdraws into his higher self, preserving a kindly -interest in those who have built up no such upper chambers. - -That sort of man is not an adept at self-sacrifice, because sacrifice is -the opposite of education. If he entirely gave himself away, he would -have no inner garden left to cultivate, and in which to plant his own -vine and sit under his own fig-tree. But if you need not expect him to -die for you, or live for you, neither does he expect you to do the like -on his behalf. Mountaineers are known to help each other when their -lives are in danger in cases of Alpine peril. In self-love they practice -self-reliance. “Exercise _thyself_” would be their motto. - -Why? because the mountaineer believes in his Creator and looks upon His -work as a good piece of work, the quality of which the creature has -to justify in itself. So in the end should the mountaineer perish at -the hands of the forces of Nature which he has, by right of spiritual -conquest, transformed into moral values for the world, with him it is a -case of _invicto animo vicit moles_. - -While I was thus trimming the lamp of my thoughts Mr. B. contrived -sundry little amusements for himself. He brought out of his bag an -extremely smart dressing-gown and bedroom slippers. He arrayed himself -in the former and dressed his feet in the latter. Then he smoked the few -cigarettes he found in his pockets. Then we shared the frozen sandwiches -that were left over for our evening meal. When those occupations were -exhausted, it might almost be described as a fortunate factor in the -situation that his thirst would not depart from him. How to slake it -became the main concern that whiled away the long hours of the night for -the sleepless Londoner. - -The problem was as follows: being given snow ad _infinitum_ and a very -fair quantity of ground coffee beans, how to produce a refreshing and -fortifying beverage whose supreme quality consists in being black, hot, -pure, and strong:-- - - “Noir comme le diable, - Chaud comme l’enfer, - Pur comme un ange, - Fort comme l’amour;” - -but which, under the circumstances, would be valued principally for its -quantity. - -The improvised cook looked about him for a coffee-pot. He found nothing -in his bag that would do. But there was in mine a small tin pot which -had resided there from time immemorial. It was somewhat dented with age, -and bore many signs of the hardness of its lot, though its office was -of a quite amiable description. It carried about my smoked glasses and -sundry silk veils. I liked to have these by me--though I personally never -use them--because they often came in conveniently to relieve from the -glare of the sun those tender-skinned representatives of the fair sex -who insist on not making sufficient preparations to go over glaciers. -The pot contained also some cotton wadding, tintacks, pins, and such -like necessaries of hut life. With regret I poured these forth upon a -dry patch of ground, and committed the pot to the mercies--whatever they -might be--of the would-be cook. - -Some time later our camping ground was wrapped in a sheet of light. I -looked round. My friend had done wonders. He had scooped a nice square -hole in the snow and planted in it our lantern, in which he had stuck -and lit one of our tapers. The light from the taper had suddenly flashed -upon the scene through the transparent wall of snow. Then some of the -coffee was poured into my tin pot, and this was placed on the top of the -lantern and lumps of snow were heaped upon the coffee. - -Then began the labours of Hercules. The snow in the pot melted very -properly, but that which walled in the stove would do likewise. It either -fell in and smothered the lantern below, or else fell from above and put -out the taper. - -All night long the cunning of the young engineer was kept devising means -of meeting every fresh emergency. Anyhow, at every watch in the night I -was kept supplied with a few mouthfuls of hot coffee. - -So well did this suffice that, on striking our tents at eight -o’clock--_façon de parler_, for we had between us but one dressing-gown -to take off before revealing to an astonished world the effectiveness of -our Burberrys--we gave no thought to the Rohrbachhaus, but made our way -straight to the Wildstrubel, between the Raezli and Lämmern glaciers. - -Once more the popular notion that to allow one’s self to fall asleep -on an open glacier is to court an awakening in the other world, had -been effectually dispelled. Provided one is clad to perfection in -weather-proof material, with chamois leather underwear over the usual -woollen undergarments, one need have no fear as long as the air is still -and free from falling snow. - -On the contrary, in a violent snowstorm and with a heavy wind, nothing -but an actual place of shelter can afford sufficient protection. For all -that some people will push their dread to the most ridiculous extremes. -I met, not very long ago, a young German, an otherwise doughty lad, -who, rather than spend the night in one of the extremely comfortable -Concordia huts on the Aletsch glacier, preferred, after coming up on ski -the whole way from the Loetschenthal, to reach Rieder Alp in an exhausted -condition, at much greater risk than if he had stopped on the way. - -It is reported by de Saussure that the dread with which the men hired -by him in Chamounix to ascend Mont Blanc looked forward to the night -which must unavoidably be spent on the glacier des Bossons, was the main -difficulty he had to contend with in keeping up their _morale_. No sooner -had they reached the spot marked out for pitching the tents, than they -dug for themselves an underground recess and buried themselves therein, -as though they expected a hail of bullets to pepper them all night. -Yet, they had hardly been herded together for half an hour, when such -a terrible epidemic of heat broke out among the huddled pack that they -dribbled out one after another, saying they preferred a fair battle with -the elements to such a process of extinction. - -The history of the construction of Alpine huts enables us to trace the -progress which public opinion has made since. The first huts were simply -caves, walled in on the open side with a rough stone dyke, and on the -floor of which was strewn some straw, while a few utensils and a stove -lay about, all higgledy-piggledy, with some logs of fir or pine wood. -They were dirty, damp dens. - -Now, such ill-conditioned refuges have been given up as an absurd and -rudimentary conception of our forefathers. They sought a well hidden away -nook. We choose the most exposed spur of hill that is near our route. We -build on high, preferring places exposed to the full fury of the blast, -and we erect wooden houses that appear too fragile to resist the violent -onset of the storm fiends. But such refuges as these are dry and airy, -the snow has but little chance of choking them up. The light shining -through the windows when a party is gathered therein after dark, is as a -mast light on ships anchored at sea. - -The stored-up wood keeps dry. The emergency provisions that a party may -leave for the next--a party perhaps less favoured--do not rot away. And -when the sun shining upon those lofty mansions lights up the yellow or -brown pine wood, a sense of near comfort and of coming security pervades -the weary traveller’s breast and warms the cockles of his heart. - -This progress has to be paid for in the form of a light tax levied upon -the traveller to defray for the Swiss Alpine Club some portion of the -expense incurred in keeping the huts in order and regularly supplying -them with fire-wood. The original characteristic of the huts, which were -intended to be mere emergency refuges open gratis to all, has somewhat -suffered in this respect from the new policy. Visitors are now requested -in most of them, by an appropriate notice, to deposit their contribution -in a receptacle fastened to the wall. This may be the most convenient -way of collecting the money due. But it means that sums of money--not -inconsiderable in the opinion of any one badly in want--are left for -rather long periods in uninhabited premises which are far from being -inaccessible. - -It has happened that cash-boxes have been rifled. A less objectionable -way of managing this little piece of business is surely within the -resources of civilisation. It is not justifiable that any other premium -than wholesome exercise and natural beauty, should be held up as an -inducement to make an excursion on the glaciers of Switzerland. - -While here on the subject of huts, the awkward position which their great -multiplication of late years entailed upon the British clubs, may be -suitably laid before the reader. As the huts of the Swiss Alpine Club -became more and more frequented, questions of preferential rights of -admission came to the fore. It was obvious that non-Swiss clubs, able to -grant terms of reciprocal admission to the Swiss, must obtain for their -members, in the Swiss huts, preferential rights over Alpine clubs who -were so by genuine profession and yet had no local habitation in the Alps -or elsewhere in which they might hope to offer hospitality in their turn, -as an acknowledgement of hospitality received. - -Consequently, when notices were put up in the Swiss Alpine Club huts, -which number now from seventy-five to eighty, showing what clubs enjoyed -a right of admission on the score of reciprocity, the absence of any -and every English club struck the eye. English visitors were then able -to realise that they had been drawing benefit from the hospitality -provided--for all and sundry, it is true--by a large body of private -persons in Switzerland. In spite of every desire to remedy this situation -by contributing to the expense of building and maintaining the Swiss -huts, English climbers could not obtain a definite _locus standi_, for -want of being able to come under a reciprocity clause. Even at present it -would be idle to hope that English clubs may be quoted by name, beside -the Swiss, French, German-Austrian, and Italian clubs. But the following -arrangement was come to, on the initiative of English climbers, and with -the concurrence of the Swiss Alpine Club:-- - -1. A committee was formed in London, of an administrative character, to -serve as a rallying point for Englishmen who might wish to enter one of -the sections of the Swiss Alpine Club. The members recruited in that -fashion for the Swiss club formed an association of British members of -the Swiss Alpine Club, which is recognised by the Swiss club, but has no -corporate existence within that club. - -2. The new association, which now numbers little less than 400 members, -started a subscription with a view to providing the Swiss club with funds -sufficient for the building of a first-class hut on the Klein Allalin -Horn above Saas Fée, at the expense of £800. This hut was built by the -care, and will remain under the administration of the Geneva section of -the Swiss Alpine Club. It was completed and inaugurated this year (1912). - -The Britannia hut deserves particular mention in these pages, because it -has been contributed to by the ski-ing clubs of Great Britain, on account -of the first-rate opportunities it offers for ski tours in the High Alps. -It occupies a central position in the Mischabel range which, from the top -of Monte Rosa to the glacier of Ried that rolls down from the Balfrin to -within 4 miles of St. Niklaus, is one of the finest ski-ing fields of -Switzerland. - -[Illustration: The Strubel.] - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE BERNESE OBERLAND FROM END TO END - - The Oberland circuit--My appointment with Arnold - Lunn--An Anglo-Swiss piece of work--An unbelieving - public--Switzerland and Britain--Geographical--Practical--We - start from Beatenberg--The Jungfrau ice-slabs--New - Year’s Day at Kandersteg--In the Gasterenthal--On the - Tschingelfirn--Foehn-effects on the Petersgrat--The Telli - glacier--The Kippel bottle-race--A church door--Theodore - Kalbermatten--The Loetschen pass--Burnt socks--Roped - ski-ing--The Concordia breakfast-table--Why we did not ascend - the Jungfrau--The Concordia huts--The Grünhornlücke--On snow - “lips” and cornices--An afternoon snooze--The Finsteraarhorn - hut--A guideless party--Ascent of the Finsteraarhorn--Our - next pass--A stranded runner--The Grimsel--Home life at - Guttannen--Our sleigh run to Meiringen--A comparison of winter - and summer work--Memories and visions--Table of levels--How - to form a caravan--The pay of the men--Side-slip and - back-slip--Future railway facilities. - - -This the Oberland “circuit.” We left Beatenberg on December 31, 1908, -passed through Interlaken, went on to Kandersteg, crossed the Petersgrat -to the top of the Loetschenthal, traversed the Aletsch glacier between -the Jungfrau and the Concordia hut, ascended the Finsteraarhorn, reached -the Grimsel hospice, and came back to Interlaken and Beatenberg, where we -were again comfortably quartered on the night of January 8, 1909. - -This traverse was made into an event and marks a date in the history of -Swiss mountaineering. The telegraph and news agencies announced it far -and wide. It was the object of press articles and flattering references -in most countries in which interest is taken in mountaineering feats. It -has been lectured on, and related in periodicals over and over again. - -The reception given to a trip of this kind obeys the laws of pictorial -perspective. Maybe, however, shorn of the benevolent element so kindly -contributed by the public, our expedition is still worth describing in -its true relief, in the light of the impressions of the two explorers who -carried it out. - -This expedition, the first of its length at such altitudes at that time -of the year, was an Anglo-Swiss piece of work. It was performed in -company with Arnold Lunn. - -We met by appointment at Beatenberg, which his father was then opening -up for the first time as a winter station. Arnold Lunn is as keen a -mountaineer as was ever born under the skies of Britain. His poetic and -adventurous mind is endowed with an exceptional facility for imaging -forth in words Alpine scenery, and for communicating to others the -manly joy which overtakes him in such scenery. He has the soul of a -propagandist and missionary. He is a striking example of how, with -climbers, performance goes before propaganda, unless one would belong to -those who are deservedly marked out as hangers--on to the exploits of -others. There are only too many such loitering about the Alps nowadays. - -[Illustration: KANDERSTEG--FINSTERAARHORN--GRIMSEL. - -(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service. -26.8.12.) - -To face p. 114.] - -Can there be a more noble spectacle than the sight of one, who having -met young with an extremely serious accident in climbing, which to all -appearance, and according to cool reason, should confine him to the part -of an armchair propagandist and pen-wielding missionary, yields again to -the irresistible call of the Alps, and ascends the Dent Blanche in spite -of the lameness consequent upon the accident in North Wales in which his -right leg was broken in two places, under such conditions that it has -continued ever since to be a source of daily suffering? - -Last winter, on the Eiger, battling with a terrifying snow and wind -storm, my lame friend was three times thrown out of his steps. He had -with him Maurice Crettex, one of the most powerful rock and snow men, I -believe, of the present day among Swiss guides. The situation would have -been frantically impossible but for him. But what a picture! Two men, -side by side, one, all physical strength and professional devotion to -duty, the other, all spiritual energy and moral force. - -It is particularly gratifying that a Swiss and an Englishman should have -been united in showing to ski-runners that the way across the Bernese -Oberland was open from end to end and that the most magnificent mountain -scenery that ever wasted its sweetness upon the desert air was awaiting -them. These were spectacles for which I was quite prepared, having -already moved, like many of my country men, amid the glories of High Alp -winter scenery, ever since some of the sections of the Swiss Alpine -Club (that of Geneva leading the way), had instituted for their members -and friends, the expeditions known under the name of _Grandes Courses -d’hiver_. - -It is, however, one thing that the Swiss should favour such expeditions, -and quite another thing that strangers to Switzerland should entertain -the idea. I understand that when the first accounts of my winter ascents -of the Aiguille du Chardonnet and the Grand Combin were read, in London, -in the pages of the Alpine Ski Club Annual, there came upon the lips of -many competent readers a smile which partly betokened admiration--which -I certainly did not deserve--and, partly, incredulity--which I certainly -expected in some measure. - -Even in Geneva I had at first some hesitation in making known my -Bagnes-Entremonts-Ferret circuit. When I did make up my mind to send an -extremely short and compendious notice to the _Journal de Genève_, the -editors let my scrap of paper lie six weeks before they printed it. It -was unkind of me to laugh in my sleeve while this long pause lasted. I -did not fare much better after my ascent of the Dent Blanche. I slipped -a word about it into a local but widely read halfpenny paper, to whose -information people “in the know” are wont not to attach much importance. -In fact, some busybodies had already forestalled my note with a few -warning lines to the effect that any attempt to cross in a consecutive -trip the Pennine Alps, in January, from Mont Blanc to the Simplon pass, -would be too hazardous to prove anything but fatal. And here was a -gentleman who not only had got from Bourg St. Pierre to Zermatt, but -asseverated he had ascended the Dent Blanche. - -Some of my colleagues in the Geneva section, desirous of protecting -the good name of their club, and anxious to exonerate one of the older -and more respected members from any charge of senile self-complacency, -explained gravely that it was a printer’s mistake, and that surely I had -written Tête Blanche in my hastily scribbled manuscript note. - -The reader must be told at this juncture that the Tête Blanche is an -insignificant little bump of snow on the Col d’Hérens, of which those -good colleagues of mine, with their knowledge of my climbing powers, -could well trust themselves to say that I might have reached its summit, -without putting too great a strain on my powers. Even now, another of -my young disciples, Marcel Kurz, whose circuits on ski in the Bernina -and Mischabel districts may be followed in two of the maps appended to -this volume, writes me that he is pleased to hear of its approaching -publication, because it may conduce to the enlightenment of disbelievers, -across isolated specimens of whom he still occasionally comes. - -Arnold Lunn, too, has met with ultra-sceptical folks, and a boastful -trait has been read by some into his ardour. - -For my part, I am content to look upon our mountaineering fellowship -as a pleasant little incident in the history of Anglo-Swiss relations. -These I much take to heart. There is every reason in the world wherefore -they should be frequent, numerous, and close. Sometimes, in the flush of -after-dinner speeches, I have spoken of the Swiss as the navigators of -the Alps and of the English as the mountaineers of the sea. There is some -similarity in the risks incurred. - -It would be a truism--in fact the repetition of a truism--to say how -English climbers of the middle of the nineteenth century helped the Swiss -in introducing into mountaineering the wholesome element of risk. “On ne -fait pas d’omelettes sans casser des œufs.” - -It should not be hidden from the present generation of English climbers, -however, that the example of their forerunners has perhaps been more -thoroughly taken to heart in Switzerland than among themselves. There is -hardly a family or friendly circle in Switzerland that does not count one -of its members in the ring of those whose life was sacrificed for love of -the Alps. - -The motives for associating here Swiss and English in my mind are not -solely sporting. It has hitherto been little realised how much Swiss -neutrality and national integrity are one of the bulwarks of the freedom -of Britain’s movements in Europe. - -Every effort is being made to join Switzerland more closely to the -economic system of central Europe. In a century in which economics are -considered to offer a more effective political weapon than the open use -of military force, the tightening of the ties of fellowship between two -nations, neither of which can possibly aim at political encroachments -upon the other, may usefully serve to counteract a less innocent set of -tendencies. What with military roads, tunnels, and railways, the Alpine -barrier between the Baltic and the Mediterranean is being worn very thin. - -It needs, probably, no further insistence to show that sentimental -Anglo-Swiss relations may be attended by practical consequences of some -immediate utility. In this network of associations an important function -devolves upon winter mountaineering. The English have no sporting -winter. They have already, in large numbers, adopted the Swiss winter -as what they want to supply home deficiencies. May this continue and an -ever wider bridge of Swiss and British ski be thrown over the Channel. -That this book, among others, might serve this purpose was one of the -motives that impelled the writer when he put together, for publication in -England, such accounts as that which follows. - -At first sight, the title I have given to this chapter may appear -exaggerated. But it will not bear out any such unfavourable construction, -if the reader will charitably recollect that he has already travelled -with me from the western extremity of the Bernese Alps, visiting from end -to end the Diablerets, Wildhorn, and Wildstrubel range, as a prelude to -this excursion beyond the Gemmi to the east. - -Geographically and technically the euphemistic title of this chapter -is not without excuse. The Oberland is theoretically taken to include -not only a western, but also an eastern wing, on to the Galenstock and -Dammastock. Popularly, the name Oberland is understood to apply to the -great range which is cut off on the east by the Grimsel and Haslithal, on -the west by the Gemmi and Kanderthal. Classical literature agrees with -the popular definition, the main point about which is, for ski-runners, -that between those two depressions there is no pass that does not lead -across glaciers. - -The Oberland shows, between its extreme points, two parallel rows of -peaks. The northern row overlooks the lakes of Thun and Brienz. The -southern row overlooks the valleys of Loetsch and of Goms (in French -Conches), leading up to the Furka pass. Of those parallel rows the -northernmost, facing somewhat to the west, comprises the Blümlisalp and -the Lauterbrunner Breithorn. The southernmost, drawing to the east, -culminates in the Bietschhorn and Aletschhorn, and includes the summits -which, under the names of Wannehorn, Galmihorn, &c., look down upon the -glaciers of Fiesch and Oberaar, while the northern row, curving round the -Lauterbrunnen Valley from the Breithorn, is crowned by that magnificent -cluster overlooking both Scheideggs: the Jungfrau, Mönch, Eiger, -Wetterhorn, &c., with the Schreckhorn and Finsteraarhorn somewhat in the -rear. - -Between those two rows a high glacial basin takes the form of an -elongated trough. From distance to distance this trough shows transversal -lips (cross-bars or threshholds, if one so prefers to style them), -which are the upper Tschingel glacier with the Mutthorn hut (9,700 -feet), the Loetschenlücke, with the Egon von Steiger hut (10,515 feet), -the Grünhornlücke, between the Jungfraufirn and the glacier of Fiesch -(10,840 feet), and at length the Oberaarjoch (10,800 feet), between -the Oberaarhorn to the north and the Oberaar-Rothhorn to the south. -One sees from the figures quoted that those glacier passes all reach -to an altitude exceeding 9,000 feet. The top of the arc--to speak like -Euclid--would pass over the Finsteraarhorn at an altitude of 14,035 feet. - -This high level is, in the opinion of Sir Martin Conway, who followed -it in his journey through the Alps from end to end, the very finest -snow-field in the Alps. It passes at the head of the greatest ice -stream, and is sufficiently remote from the Italian border to escape -the unfavourable influence which the Rhaetic, Lepontine, and Pennine -faces of the Alps have to endure from the hot atmospheric currents and -inordinately violent action of the sun. - -“Two things were necessary for the success of this trip,” says Arnold -Lunn in one of his printed accounts; “good weather and immunity from -accidents. We could reduce the chances of accidents to a minimum by a -careful scrutiny of our kit, and we could reasonably expect fair play -from the weather by judiciously choosing the moment to begin our attack, -though, of course, the weather is always the most fickle factor in -determining the success of an expedition. - -“As regards kit, I carried two pairs of gloves, one made of reindeer skin -lined with sealskin, the other a thick pair of woollen gloves, a woollen -scarf, a silk scarf, and a woollen helmet. A spare suit of underclothing -and two pairs of stockings completed the list of extra clothing. I wore -laupar boots and goat’s-hair socks on my feet, with a pair of crampons in -my sack for rock and ice-climbing. And here, incidentally, let me remark -that the ordinary crampon-nails which are fixed into the sole of the boot -soon spoil laupars. The only practical kind are those which are sold in -summer to be strapped on under the boots. - -“I think I have at last found the ideal ski-binding for mountain work. It -is made by a Geneva firm, and was given me by Professor Roget. It never -gave any trouble; it was strong and tough. It did not vary in tightness -with the temperature, and, most important of all, it could be put on and -taken off at a moment’s notice. This is really essential, as one may meet -with short stretches on which it pays to ‘take up one’s ski and walk.’ - -“I tried, for the first time, a pair of sealskins, and found them answer -admirably. They reduced the labour of climbing by 20 per cent., weighed -hardly anything, and could be taken on and off without any trouble. An -extra ski-tip, a pair of Canadian rackets, ‘climber’s guides,’ maps, &c., -completed our kit.” - -[Illustration: KANDER GLACIER. - -To face p. 123.] - -My intention was to use Kandersteg as a starting-point, to land on the -high level, at 9,000 feet, by means of the Kander glacier gradient, -to go down to Kippel, in the Loetschenthal, by the Petersgrat; to pass -through the Loetschenlücke, to drop thence into the basin formed by the -Aletsch _névés_ (the Jungfraufirn and Ewig Schneefeld of German maps); -to rise again to the Grünhornlücke, to skid down upon the _firn_ of the -Fiesch glacier, to overtop this network of ice-mountains by the ascent -of the Finsteraarhorn, to go round the Finsteraarhorn group on its south -side, to return to the north as far as the Oberaarjoch, to descend the -Oberaar glacier to the Grimsel hospice, to follow thence the posting -road and to enter Guttannen as knights-errant, mounted and spurred--that -is, in our case, on trusty ski and shod with nailed boots, the attire in -which we would leave Kandersteg. - -Thanks to the absence of any unpleasant incident, thanks also to a -most obligingly long spell of unbroken weather, the precautions we had -taken enabled me and my companions to carry out this programme without -interruption and without inconvenience. The “stripling,” Mr. Arnold Lunn, -gave proof of remarkable staying powers. Though our Bernese porters -seemed at first to believe that they were being “let in” for harum-scarum -adventures, by which they discreetly hoped the party might be brought -to a standstill after a few hours’ march, before it could run its head, -beyond hope of escape, into the dangers of this raid, they laid no -visible claim to being wiser than ourselves. They proved themselves to be -good and reliable fellows to the end, and came out of their trials with -beaming countenances, grateful for the lessons they had received in High -Alp ski-running. - -We got into training at Beatenberg, where a snowfall delayed our -start for three days, if three days spent on the running slopes above -Beatenberg may be looked upon as a delay. Then, one morning, the sun, -bursting through the snow clouds, showed us the great peaks of the -Oberland looking down on a scene newly painted white. Our hopes rose -high, and making our rucksacks proportionately heavy, we skied down to -Interlaken, losing a bottle of whisky on the way. Carefully laid on the -top of my pack, with its nozzle looking out upon the world, it flew out, -on Arnold’s calling a sudden halt, and broke its nose against the wall -by the roadside. Thus was our expedition christened straight away, as a -launched ship that leaves the stocks. - -On reaching Kandersteg, the gossamer banner of ice-dust blowing off the -Blümlisalp showed plainly enough that the gale from the north, which had -brought the fine weather, was still in full swing. My sympathy went out -to any young men who might be then battling up there with the raging -wind, for at Christmas and New Year’s tide the Alpine huts are much -visited by holiday-makers. Indeed, I saw later from an account published -in the Swiss periodical _Ski_, by Mr. Tauern, and by Mr. Schloss in the -Alpine Ski Club Annual, that those gentlemen were actually at the time -on the Aletschfirn. They had hoped to ascend the Jungfrau. Under the -circumstances the prospect lost its charm. - -As I write, the Jungfrau has not yet been ascended in winter. The Swiss -papers gave out last year that my young friend Fritz Pfeiffer had -succeeded in reaching the top. It was a misapprehension. Within two -hundred yards of the ice-cap that crowns the Jungfrau, Mr. Pfeiffer, who -was accompanying an officer of the St. Gothard troops, was compelled to -fall back before the heap of slabs of solid ice, with which the combined -action of wind and sun had strewn the way. On these the two distinguished -mountaineers were unable to gain footing. The slabs slipped away from -under their feet, or bore them down in such a manner that they could not -have had better toboggans. Toboggans, however, were not the thing wanted, -nor even such trays or pieces of board as children are fond of using, for -the sake of amusement, in sliding down grass slopes nearer home. - -The formation of these ice-slabs on exposed summits of suitable shape -opens up an interesting, and as yet unsolved, question in the history -of natural phenomena. What clearly happens is this. Snow, driven by a -tearing wind, falls against an ice buttress. Then the sun shines with all -its winter power upon the snow that sticks to the rugged ice. Exposed to -the action of two physical agents of great force, namely, to the heat -produced by the sun and to the impetus of the wind sweeping now with -perhaps still greater violence across a clear sky, the amorphous but -plastic mass is cut up and divided by a process which may be compared, -though the analogy is merely superficial, to what happens to dough in an -oven when a hot blast is driven through it. The dried-up dough breaks up -into flakes. - -When I first came across that winter phenomenon--I have never met with -it in summer--I was led to compare those piled-up ice-slabs to the stone -slabs of like shape and size which lie on the bare crests of so many -mountains. The supposition lies near that these, too, may be due to some -combined action of pre-existent heat and supervening wind impetus, in -those geological ages when we have a fancy for imagining that the still -plastic earth-crust was blown about in huge billows by the liquid and -aerial elements. - -Be this as it may, I hope I may never be uncharitable enough to desire, -for ski-ing parties, an encounter with those ice-slab pyramids. - -The caretaker who in winter keeps watch over the Schwarenbach Hotel had -just come down to join in the New Year festivities. He announced that -there was on the heights a fresh layer of snow 30 inches deep. Stoller, -a guide of some reputation, whose advice we applied for, was of opinion -that we should put off our departure till the 2nd of January. The advice -might be sound, but I did not like it because I knew how badly the men I -might be about to engage were likely to spend their time on New Year’s -Day. As a matter of fact, when we did enter the Gasternthal, we found -nothing like the amount of snow that we were told would impede our way. -From Stoller, who had just returned from a week’s engagement to teach -the rudiments of ski-ing to a Swiss club, we heard that all guides with -first-class certificates were away climbing, and that he, having only -just returned, would not be available. We engaged three men, under his -advice and under that of Egger, for whom Arnold Lunn had a valuable -letter of introduction from his father. One of these men had a guide’s -certificate, the other two were porters. - -I took three men because I wanted to carry sufficient commissariat for -six days, which the raid was supposed to last, with a margin in case of -a check being put on our progress by a change in the weather or some -accident that could not be foreseen. I hoped to force my way through -without touching any inhabited spot before we reached Guttannen. We went -down to Kippel, because our progress was so smooth and easy that it would -have been a pity to sleep in a chalet at Guggi just for the pleasure of -not stopping in a decent hotel. - -None of our men had been beyond the Aletsch glacier. This I did not mind, -having previously gone over the whole route in summer. Provided those men -carried their loads from hut to hut, we should be satisfied. - -Arnold Lunn says in the _Isis_ that we arrived in Kandersteg just in time -for a fancy dress ball, and aroused considerable curiosity as to what we -were supposed to represent. At dinner he sat next to a man who, lost to -all sense of local colour, had come dressed as a nigger minstrel. This -was on New Year’s Eve. - -Next day we pottered round Kandersteg, one of us receiving much useful -advice as to how to fix on his ski, from a lady who was under the quite -pardonable impression that she was addressing a novice, while the other -was considered enough of an expert to instruct another lady who had the -good taste not to be so sure of her own knowledge. - -We left Kandersteg on the morning of January 2nd. As usual in those early -starts, we had plenty of time, the five of us, to try and find out of -what stuff each and every member of the party was made. It was my first -expedition with Arnold Lunn. I was entitled to think he would take my -measure as curiously as I was about to take his. Two of our men turned -out to be quite satisfactory, but the third was destined to become the -butt of our satire. I am not prepared to say that he had spent New Year’s -Day in those excesses which I dreaded, because I have since been told by -old Egger that Adolf--as we shall agree to call him--was in bad health -when he undertook to serve us. Whatever might be the cause, whether -excusable or not, he showed himself throughout in the colours in which -he is painted--maybe somewhat to the amusement of our readers--by Arnold -Lunn and myself. - -Those who mountaineer for sport are very much like schoolboys, or they -become schoolboys for the nonce. The printed records of mountaineering -are to a great extent records of the kind of humour that overgrown and -elderly boys--if I may so describe those of us who have gone through -public school-life and wish to preserve some of its characteristics -in a sphere where these may be as harmless to others as comforting to -themselves--would be expected to cultivate. - -For us, in the course of a constant fellowship of seven days, Adolf soon -represented quite a definite and rather objectionable specimen of the -human kind. We found him lazy, slow, clumsy, ever ready to take undue -advantage. Some one, who had evidently made a close study of political -types, dubbed him the Socialist, and the title stuck. For my part, -anxious to secure for him a place among types ranking in a higher class, -I placed him, under the name of Thersites, in a gallery of classical -portraits in which I allotted to Arnold the part of fiery Achilles, and -to myself that of the worldly-wise and cunningly cautious Ulysses. - -Our course lay up the Gasternthal, one of the wildest and most impressive -valleys in the Alps, utterly desolate in summer. From its rugged floor -rise some of the sternest precipices in Switzerland. On our way we had -plenty of time to examine the superstructure of the shafts which were -then being driven through the floor of the valley to ascertain the depth -of the gravel-bed that formed it. Our readers may remember that, in -1908, the Italian workmen engaged in excavations on the north front of -the Loetschberg tunnel were suddenly overwhelmed by an inrush of water, -gravel, and mud. The progress of the boring was stopped till it could be -known to what extent it would be necessary to divert the tunnel, in order -to keep in hard rock. - -It is a bit of a reflection upon the forethought of engineers--and -geologists--that, before working their way from beneath across -Gasternthal, they had not sunk that shaft which was now to supply them -with an information that would still be opportune from the engineer’s -point of view, but which was belated in regard to safeguarding human life. - -Three hours after starting, we reached a rustic _café_, or summer -restaurant, which we discovered it was Adolf’s summer occupation to -preside over. It was a pretty place with a fenced orchard about it, -whose trees now stood out barely from amid the coverlet of snow which -contributed to enhance the attractiveness of the spot. But a dreadful -doubt crossed our mind. Was Adolf a _bona-fide_ mountaineer or was he a -professional tavern keeper? - -On reaching the doorstep of his property, he angrily dropped to the -ground his burden, produced the key of his cellar, and contrived to give -us the impression that he expected us to call a halt of some duration and -indulge in the delights of his Capua. We were suddenly confronted with -the thought of the temptation put by Circe before wary Ulysses and his -simple-hearted companions. Thersites, as a mental picture, was outdone. -The vision conjured up before us was that of five days to be spent in -plenty in this winter-bound Abbey of Thelema. We would empty the larders. -We would clear the bottle shelves. We would rifle the cigar boxes, under -the watchful, but encouraging eye of this male Circe, who would fill his -pockets with sweet-scented coin, instead of bruising his shoulders any -longer with that dreadful pack. We commend the trick to those who may -have the face to play it on the public. Nothing is easier. Switzerland is -full of those concealed Canaans flowing with milk and honey. - -[Illustration: GASTERNTHAL. - -To face p. 130.] - -Shortly after leaving Adolf’s pavilion, a bend in the valley disclosed -the ice-fall of the Tschingel glacier. The moraine up which we had -to pass came into sight. It was three in the afternoon--and we had -distributed some of Adolf’s packages amongst the other two guides--before -we caught our first glimpse of the sun, which flashed out triumphantly -behind the Hockenhorn, only to disappear in a few minutes past the -Balmhorn. A steep slope of snow led from the moraine to the glacier. - -Out of laziness, we did not fix up our ski with carrying straps. We might -have paid dearly for the mistake, as a sharp wind caught us half-way -across, and a dropped ski would have taken hours to recover. It is always -wise to have at hand in one’s pockets the short straps which serve to -tie together the ski at each extremity, and to make use of them whenever -one has to carry ski across an unskiable piece of ground. It is also -better to be provided with ski-slings wherewith to carry them across both -shoulders. The wind is the ski-runner’s treacherous enemy. When you are -on your ski it may drive you out of your direction, and when you carry -your ski it may try to wrench them from you and blow you off your balance -by weighing upon them. - -The last three hours of our walk lay along the _névé_ of the Tschingel -glacier, a snow valley bounded on the north by the cliffs of the -Blümlisalp, on the south by the gently rising Petersgrat. - -“The last lingering rays,” writes Arnold Lunn, “faded from the snows, -but the sunset was soon followed by the rise of the full moon, a moon -undreamt of in our English skies, so bright that I read with ease a page -of my note-book. Those who have only seen her ‘hurrying with unhandsome -thrift of silver’ over English landscapes have little idea of her real -beauty. Before we reached the hut we had been climbing fourteen hours -uphill, loaded with heavy sacks. Yet such was the mysterious fascination -of the moonlit snows that we made no attempt to hurry. Again and again we -stopped, lost in silent wonder. - -“Straight ahead, the Jungfrau, backed by the slender cone of the Eiger, -rose above a sea of shadows. The moonlight slept on her snowy terraces, -steeping in silentness her cliffs and glaciers, and revealed the whole -as a living monument of incarnate light. A hut stood in a _cirque_ of -snow. Here the wind had played strange havoc, torturing the billows and -cornices into fantastic shapes. Anything more weirdly beautiful than the -glancing sheen of this hollow I cannot conceive. Its colour could only be -compared, if at all, to the fiery blue of Capri’s grotto.” - -The writer of the above lines, whom we shall not tire of quoting in this -chapter, does not overpaint the picture. What could be more beautiful, -more entrancing, than the Tschingel terrace, by moonlight, in the middle -of winter? Standing on a balcony little less than 10,000 feet high, we -were able to read our maps, after ten o’clock at night, as plainly as at -noonday. - -To the furrowed and broken ribs of the Blümlisalp clung several small -glaciers, suspended in the couloirs like swallows’ nests in the eaves of -a ruined castle. The sharp pyramid of the Eiger shone beyond the white -cupolas of the airy Jungfrau, as though they had been the distant walls -and minarets of an Oriental city. The snows about us were alive with a -smooth and soft radiance. The sky was transparent, and as yet hung about -with light veils. Silver clouds fluttered about the peaks, and when they -floated into the moonlight from behind them, they flashed forth like -fishes when the sun plays upon their scales. Layers of purple and crimson -haze rested upon one another along the horizon. The play of light and -shade upon the black patches and white spots of the visible world showed -them, according to whither you looked, wreathed in smiles or puckered up -in frowns. Buttresses, cliffs, abysses swam in a bluish mist, in which -the twinkling rays of a million stars danced as sparkling dust. - -It is a law of this world that what is unbecoming--τα ου δεοντα of Greek -comedy--must ever come to underline and show off the most beautiful -sights by giving them a contradictory background. For Arnold and myself, -the last three hours of that day were spent on one of the most beautiful -walks we can remember. But Adolf had been completely knocked up long -before. During the self-same last three hours he experienced a great -desire for sleep, and the burden of his refrain was not, “How grand! -How beautiful!” but “Very, very tired!” Sometimes he dozed; sometimes -he half uttered swear-words, which issued from his throat like stones -rattling down a mountain gully. I had to send one of the other men to his -help. Whether we shouted to him Thersites or Circe, or the Socialist, -he cared not. What went to his heart, and as it were broke his wind, -was that we had left his tea-house far behind and would not take him -back across the beloved threshold. A miserable Alpine hut awaited his -tottering footsteps. He staggered through the doorway and collapsed on -the mattresses, sleeping at last when to sleep was decent. What was it to -him that every curve in the swelling snows, every crag and buttress of -the Blümlisalp cliffs was lit up by the mellow rays of the mountain moon? - -Of the night spent in the Mutthorn hut nothing need be said, except that -it seemed to us a perfect night. At 5.30 the alarum went off, and, if -Arnold Lunn’s story be trusted--and it must be, in the absence of any -other accountable person, as I was asleep at that moment--the ring of the -bell was accompanied by an ill-sounding German epithet. A guide stumbled -to the door, threw it open, and muttered in more parliamentary language: -“Abscheuliches Wetter.” Arnold says--and I must trust him in this again, -for I was still asleep--that a sense of sickening disappointment, such -as climbers know so well, fell upon the waking inmates of the hut, -a definition which must be taken to exclude Adolf and myself. Arnold -stepped outside and discovered heavy grey clouds blowing up from behind -the Eiger, sniffed a gust of south-westerly wind, laid his finger on -sticky snow, and, in thus feeling the pulse of the weather, became aware -of a high temperature. - -He says: “We sulkily despatched our breakfast and started up the slope -leading towards the Petersgrat. Suddenly Professor Roget caught sight, -through a gap beyond the Blümlisalp, of the still lake of fog hanging -quite undisturbed over the plain of Switzerland and above lake Thun. -I should like to say that he gave a cry of surprise, but, alas! the -professor has his emotions under strict control, and was content to -rapidly communicate to us his analysis of the apparent bad weather. These -unauspicious phenomena were merely local disturbances, which would vanish -after dawn. The westerly breeze was only a glacier wind, the grey clouds -only the effect of the intense solar heat collected the day before and -blending throughout the night with the cold air from the snows. As long -as the _Nebelmeer_ remained undisturbed, no bad weather need be feared. -Every sign of evil actually vanished an hour after sunrise.” - -On the Petersgrat we could fancy ourselves on the top of the globe. We -were standing on the highest point of a curved surface, shaped like a -balloon, and on all sides it seemed to fall away into immensity. Beyond, -rose in gigantic outline the summits of the Alps and, still further, in -long sinuous lines curving in and out of sight, the Jura, the Vosges, -and all that distant girdle that hangs loosely about the outskirts of -Switzerland. The winter fog filled up the intervals. Afar, there was not -a breath of wind, not a whirl in the air. - -The phenomenon that alarmed my party was that which is well known under -the name of _Foehn_, a phenomenon which may assume almost any dimensions, -sometimes general enough to embrace the whole of the Alps, and sometimes -so closely circumscribed that you might almost compare it to the motion -in the air produced by a small top spinning round on the palm of your -hand. - -The phenomenon is as follows: Masses of air of varying density and -temperature are pushed up the Alps and are dropped down, as it were, -upon the other side. Or else, as this morning on the Petersgrat, it is a -layer of hot dry air formed aloft that forces its way down, in corkscrew -fashion, on a given spot, through the nether air. - -With us the phenomenon lasted an hour and was as a water spout in the -middle of a still ocean. The universal quietude of the elements impressed -itself again upon the spot on which we stood, doubting, like Thomas, but -ready to believe, if a sign would but be given. By 8.30 the sun gilded -gloriously the whole Pennine range, towards which our eyes were eagerly -turned. - -As we reached the sky-line, that distant host of old friends greeted -us beyond the morning shadows, but what held us most was the wonderful -pyramid of the Bietschhorn. The sharp-shouldered giant, sprinkled with -snow from head to foot, through which showed his jet-black armour, -stood forth before us, as within reach of the hand, strangely resembling -the view of the Weisshorn from above Randa, but how much grander in his -winter cloak with jewel-like crystals! - -This second day was to be a day spent in idling down glacier slopes and -in lounging above the forest zone of the Loetschenthal. We knew now -that we could count on the sun till its proper time for setting in the -evening. We knew that on his decline and fall the moon would take his -place, as the night policeman succeeds the day policeman upon the common -beat. The winter God was full of gentleman-like consideration. The rules -of meteorology might have been purely astronomical and mathematical for -any chances we might see of their being upset by the weather fiend. - -The snow was hard and crusted as we entered upon the southern slopes of -the Petersgrat. After forty minutes running, or thereabouts, the guides -advised us to take off our ski while we descended the steep bits on the -Telli glacier. The fact is that those men were not quite sure of their -ground. I asked the party to proceed in close formation and to move -with studied care till we should reach the bottom of the Telli glacier, -considering that it would be wiser to cope with any difficulties it might -put in our way than to ski down the Faffleralp, as to whose condition in -winter I had not the faintest indication. The ordinary summer route might -prove dangerous from avalanches. On the Telli glacier, the hardness and -comparative thinness of the snow layer cemented to the ice, allowed of -crevasses and depressions being easily recognised. It would be a piece of -summer mountaineering in midwinter, and to this, for safety’s sake, there -would be no valid objection. - -I kept my people close in, to the eastern edge of the glacier, so as to -pass under the buttress on which were supported the masses of snow over -which I would not ski. The descent of the deep gully proved the right -solution to our difficulty and procured for us for some twenty minutes -the distinct pleasure of being thoroughly occupied with a serious job. - -A run over some extremely broken ground, then some cuts and capers in a -wood led us to a chalet, where we decided to have a feed and a rest. - -“This confession,” says Arnold Lunn, “lays us open to the scorn of those -who imagine that mountaineering is a kind of game, the object of which -is to spend the minimum of time on a peak consistent with reaching its -summit. Our party fortunately belonged to the leisurely school that -combines a fondness for wise passiveness with a strong dislike to reach -one’s destination before sunset. - -“Thus understood, mountaineering on ski is the purest of all sports. The -competitive and record-breaking elements are entirely eliminated. Those -who go up to the hills on ski are then actuated by the most elemental -motives, the desire to explore the mountains in the most beautiful of all -their aspects, and to enjoy the most inspired motion known to man. - -“To me the ideal form of ski-ing is cross-country mountaineering. -One thus approaches nearest to the methods of the pioneers to whom -mountaineering meant the exploration of great ranges, not the exhausting -of all possible climbs from one small centre. Nothing is more delightful -than to penetrate into the remote Alpine valleys in the winter months. -The parasite population that thrives in summer on the tourist industry -has disappeared. One meets the genuine peasant, ‘the rough athletic -labourer wrestling with nature for his immediate wants.’ - -“Those who travel first class and stop in the best hotels do not know the -real Switzerland. It is in the third-class carriages and small inns that -one sees the most characteristic types. Nothing is more enjoyable than to -escape for ten days from conventionality and dress clothes, wandering, -kit on one’s back, from club hut to club hut, and descending at rare -intervals to remote recesses in winter-bound valleys.” - -The conclusion of this is that neither of us could describe in strenuous -language the lazy afternoon we spent on the upper fringe of the woods -above Blatten and Ried. We had a quiet repast, smoked our pipes, or -cigars--and watched the shadows creeping up the Loetschenlücke. Having -heaps of time, we sailed down to Kippel, as merry as finches, piping like -blackbirds, and as fresh as new-laid eggs. Would we have been in such a -happy predicament if we had not been on narrow boards about six and a -half feet long and half as many inches broad, of Norwegian origin, which -were used primarily as a means of crossing deep snow, and have lately -been adopted as an aid to winter mountaineering? - -The hotel we landed at was quite an ordinary eating and sleeping house -of the ugly type which too often disfigures Swiss villages. How is it -that dwellers in the Alps who, when left to themselves, show such good -taste in the plainness of their dwellings and in their primitive church -architecture, are, when they build for townspeople, such utter strangers -to the most spontaneous suggestions of the artistic instinct? - -At table we chanced to have as neighbours three members of the Swiss -Alpine Club, whose native language was the Germanic. They were on their -way from the Grimsel and had just completed that section of our route -upon which we were to enter on the morrow. We sat with them after -dinner, and here fiery Achilles behaved most wisely. With high hopes -he went quietly to bed at a reasonable hour. Then Ulysses, seeing his -opportunity, thought he would like to unbend for a while. He sat up with -the Swiss party and sacrificed to good fellowship a few hours of rest and -the contents of a few fragile flagons. - -As midnight came on, the moon suddenly peeped indiscreetly upon the -carouse, showing through the casement a seductive vista of most -beautifully slanting slopes round the foot of which roared the river -Lonza. Cunning Ulysses, beside himself with a naughty idea, sent the -empty bottles flying through the window. Immediately the blood of the -young Swiss was up. They rose, strapped on their ski in a trice, and down -they went along the slope to the bank of the Lonza. The bottles were -by then floating on the swirl of the stream. But, in the case of each -pursuer, a timely Christiania swing brought him round up the bank again. -There was a swish, a spray of snow, and three young men were saved to -fight again for their country. - -On returning to the hotel, they and I found a jolly old villain in -possession of the tap-room. He was in the early stages of inebriation. -Seeing from the costumes of the party that he had to do with town-bred -mountaineers only, he drew from the depths of his imagination the longest -bow that was ever harboured by a genuine mountaineer in his armoury. With -him the humour was transparent. But it is not always so, unfortunately. -Some of the Swiss peasantry, brought into contact with the foreign -_clientèle_, are in the habit of being so pampered by sentimental, -gullible people that they quite overstep the bounds of any liberty that -may be permissible in resenting such treatment. - -On the whole, the winter life led in the high Swiss valleys is not -altogether wholesome. When they are visited in summer, the people are -seen in the busiest time and appear in the most favourable light. The -domestic establishments of the hotels, and the few individuals who -benefit from the presence of strangers, such as mule drivers, casual -dealers in cut flowers, in carved bears and rock crystals, are merely -parasitic and as temporary features in the landscape as those whose -passage called them into being. - -The evils inherent to winter seclusion are more serious. This old man was -an example, for he could be seen there day after day, spending his time -in idle talk and throwing into the till his earnings of last season. - -But stop: is Ulysses acting up to his reputation for wariness in -moralising at the present moment to a weaker brother’s detriment? Has he -forgotten that on the next day, Monday, January 4th, the little company -turned out into the night at six o’clock without him? Was it a fair -excuse, that, on the eve, he had engaged Theodore Kalbermatten to carry -his kit for him to the next hut? - -Having once more sworn allegiance to his usual beverage, milk, the best -friend of the young and the old, he marched out last, but in good order, -to join the troop over which he held command. As the dawn broke he found -them waiting for him before a church in the Upper Loetschenthal, built -six hundred years ago. Arnold had time to examine it. He says:-- - -“The church door was carved by the hand of some long-forgotten genius, -carved with a delicacy of execution surprising in this remote corner of -the Alps. We stopped for breakfast in some cheese-making chalets high -up in the valley. Here we exchanged some remarks on cows and kindred -subjects and gently chaffed the cheese-makers on the proverbially high -stature of the men of Ried. But one realised throughout the barrier -which one could never pass. We could form little or no conception of the -world as seen through their eyes. To them these mountains must seem a -waste by-product, an inexplicable freak on the part of the Creator. They -regarded us and our ski with that amused tolerance that everyone extends -to those idiosyncrasies which are not personally annoying. - -“This rugged conservatism is nowhere so accentuated as among those who -are shut off by mountain barriers from the ‘sick, hurry, and divided -aims’ of modern life. Theirs is the spirit so gently satirised in Utopia. -These things they say pleased our forefathers and ancestors: would God we -might be as witty and wise! - -“For six hundred years their forefathers had worshipped in the little -church we had passed, sheltered by the hills from all breath of modern -scepticism, apparently undisturbed by the thought that beyond them -existed spirits who recklessly doubted the priest’s control over -the economy of nature in such modest details as harvest rains. The -Loetschenthal still possesses the strange pathetic beauty of those -secluded Catholic valleys whose inhabitants seem to live a life as old as -the hills themselves, and in which one poor priest and one little church -stand forth as the only help, the only symbol of the world outside, and -of ages not absolutely prehistoric.” - -Arnold Lunn relates that after leaving the chalets he had an amusing talk -with Theodore Kalbermatten, whom I had engaged to carry my sack up to the -club hut. A fine-looking fellow, he showed a touch of that not ungraceful -swagger which one notices in many guides and in which Lunn rightly sees -nothing more than the unsophisticated pride that humble and well-meaning -men take in the achievement of good work. But business is business. Lunn -says very wittily that the conversation concluded with the inevitable -production of a card, coupled with the caution that, though there were -many Kalbermattens, there was but one Theodore Kalbermatten. - -Anyhow, we were soon great friends with Theodore. The day was indeed -long enough--like the glacier on which we were wandering--to make and -undo friendships several times over. Circumstances lent themselves so -well to mere strolling--think what it is to be able to cross the Bernese -Oberland without once having one’s foot brought up against a stone--that -we pressed our pace no more on this third day than on the preceding. -We might have been Egyptian sages walking up and down in conversation -outside the porticoes of Thebes with the hundred gates. Had we been told -that what we stirred up with our ski were the burning sands of Africa -which we mistook for Alpine snow, because our eyes were under the spell -of _mirage_, it would have been ungracious on our part to pretend to know -better, so much did we long for the coolness of the evening, for sea -breezes and the dew at dusk, as Arabs might, returning upon their tired -steeds to the secrecy of the oasis, after a raid in the desert. - -All said and done, we found that we had spent twelve hours in reaching -the summit of the Loetschenlücke pass. Arnold’s poetic gift found at -every step fresh sustenance. He had discovered the _beau ideal_ of a -pass. “It was,” he says, “the only opening at the head of the valley, -visible, with the whole length of the glacier, during the entire day. -For twelve hours a little gap backed by blue sky told of a wonderful new -world that we should see from the summit. Above us we caught sight of our -goal, the Egon von Steiger hut, bearing the name of a Swiss climber who -perished on the Doldenhorn, and built in his memory. This is the real -ungrudging spirit of mountain lovers, the attitude which Mummery sums up -so well. ‘The great mountains,’ he writes, ‘sometimes demand a sacrifice, -but the true mountaineer would not forego their worship even though he -knew himself to be the destined victim.’ - -“We had the whole day,” says Lunn, “to reach the hut, and without being -lazy, were wise enough not to hurry, and, indeed, there was no temptation -to rush on. The time was all too short to take in the wonders of the Anen -glacier on our left, the stern beauty of the Sattelhorn cliffs on our -right. Slowly the distant ranges climbed higher into the sky. Peacefully -the morning merged into the afternoon, and the afternoon into the -evening. We paused below the final slope to watch the glow creeping down -the snows of Mont Blanc. Even the guides were impressed by the strange -stillness, as-- - - ‘Light and sound ebbed from the earth, - Like the tide of the full and weary sea, - To the depths of its own tranquillity.’ - -“I shall never forget the tantalising suspense of that last slope. For -twelve hours a little strip of blue behind the sky-line had been an -earnest of the revelation that was awaiting us. For some six hours we had -been faced by this same long slope in front and above. Now only a few -yards remained. We took them at a rush. At sunset exactly, the sky-line -was beneath our feet and in one moment were set forth before us, backed -by the Finsteraarhorn, the ‘urns of the silent snow’ from which the -greatest of all the Alpine glaciers draws its strength. The rays of the -risen moon mingled with the ebbing twilight and lent an atmosphere of -mystery to our surroundings. For the moment we were no longer of the -earth earthly, for the moment the Loetschenlücke became a magic casement -opening into perilous snows ’mid faery lands forlorn.’ - -“Thus what, seen from a distance, was obtrusively--almost offensively--a -pass, wore a peculiar fascination for that very reason. It grew upon the -imagination with the magic of those corners one has only turned in one’s -dreams.” - -Like the historic gap between the Mönch and Jungfrau, it led to the -solitudes of the Aletsch, which Lunn had never seen save as a white -streak from distant ranges. Like all good mountaineers, who have usefully -wasted hours over a map in keen and eager anticipation, he now could -dwell with gladness upon the reality of the mental picture elaborated -long ago, while contemplating certain white spaces on an old copy of the -Siegfried map. - -But the inevitable anti-climax that dogs the flight of all poets was -awaiting us. “On this occasion it took the form of the club hut stove, -and a more effective bathos has never been devised. Amongst the torments -of the damned I am sure the smoking stove holds a proud place.” Some of -last summer’s moisture had remained in the pipe. Our fire might have been -of green wood and wrung from us copious tears. - -“The guides for the space of some half-hour, wrestled and fought and -prayed, Kalbermatten meanwhile keeping up a running conversation with -his favourite saint. Adolf, with a wonderful sense of the fitness of -things, chose the moment when supper was on the table to put in a belated -appearance. His contribution to the evening’s work was a successful -attempt to burn my thick socks,” writes Lunn, righteously indignant. - -The temperature outside the hut was 8° Centigrade under zero on arriving -and, very naturally, somewhat colder inside. At the Mutthorn hut we had -noted 9° Centigrade under zero in the evening and 10° in the morning. - -Our expedition unfolded itself from day to day with the monotony and -exactitude of a scroll. On the 5th, by seven o’clock, an hour before -sunrise, we were again on the slide eastwards. The lie of the land was -nasty. Most of us turned a somersault or two, a performance at which -those will not be astonished who have come down in summer from the Egon -von Steiger hut to the Gross-Aletsch-Firn. Then badly conducted parties -are daily watched from the Concordia huts, with no little curiosity. -They flounder about till they are often heard calling for help, or seen -disappearing in a crevasse, from which moment they are entitled, under -the rules of the game, to a search party. - -In his diary Lunn says that the Aletschhorn had shoved its head in -front of the moon. The solitude was almost oppressive. “Never have I -so realised the weakness of the cry that the Alps are played out and -overcrowded. True, some thousands of climbers have explored their inmost -recesses; but substantially they are little changed from the peaks that -looked down on Hannibal:-- - - “‘Die unbegreiflich hohen Werke - Sind herrlich wie am ersten Tag.’ - -And on a winter night one feels more than ever the insignificance of such -trifling excrescences as club huts and mountain inns. The parting _genius -loci_ has, perhaps, been sent with sighing ‘from haunted hill and dale’; -but I strongly suspect that these white solitudes of eternal snow are -still visited by the court of the Ice Queen.” - -To tell the truth, I rather hope that the feminine section of that court -leave the Aletsch severely alone, for our remarks that morning would -have stood trimming. Why? Because, fearing concealed crevasses on the -Aletsch-Firn, we roped. It was a miserable experiment. At rapid intervals -Adolf sat down, in the rear, of course, as he never could do anything -else but tail. Four sudden jerks, and four more bold ski-runners bit the -dust. At times, somebody in the front of the train followed suit, an -inspiration which necessitated a rapid swing on the part of those behind. -We swung, of course, in opposite directions, and the tangled skein that -ensued was enveloped in a mist of snow with a few oaths darting about. -No wonder, for such evolutions “excyte beastlie and exstreme vyolence,” -as Lunn found it expressed in his mind, so elegantly stored up with -classical quotations, and we rapidly came to the conclusion that there -was “a good deal to be said for being dead,” oh, much more than for -roped ski-ing with Adolf. - -[Illustration: CONCORDIA PLATZ. - -To face p. 149.] - -Ski-running on a rope is only possible if every member of a party is -a steady runner. I, for one, have always found its utility limited -to providing a merry, rough-and-tumble entertainment, such as the -Wiggle-Woggle, the Whirling Pool, and such-like helter-skelter -performances in which ’Arry delights to jostle ’Arriet. - -Meanwhile the quotation runs that:-- - - “The hunter of the East had caught - The mountain turrets in a noose of light.” - -But its author was in far too sulky a condition to appreciate a sunrise. - -By nine o’clock, with our troubles well ended, we were all comfortably -seated on the rounded edges of the famous breakfast-table, an erratic -stone in the centre of that wonderful ice _quadrivium_ marked on the maps -as Concordia Platz, in which the stone in question expresses the altitude -in four figures (2,780 metres). Carpeted in the purest white, surrounded -by pyramids in the best assorted white marble architecture, set out with -flying buttresses and domes in jasper, jade, and sapphire, the Concordia -Platz did not betoken the symmetrical designing power of man, but perfect -harmony in the work of Nature’s agents--sun, snow, rock, and ice. - -What a perfectly beautiful city for the dead, these precincts and temple -whence the handiwork of man was absent! And what a number of graves were -laid under the pavement of this cathedral! Think of the tears shed for -the many who came here, impelled by the desire to behold in this world -a habitation pure enough for angels, and whose human strength gave way -before the resistance opposed by the cruel guardians of this blissful -abode! - -During breakfast we discussed our plans. Our eyes were fixed upon the -Jungfrau, partly because we had vaguely talked of the tempting ascent, -but still more because, having come up here with ice-axes, regulation -ropes, and ten-pronged climbing-irons, it was quite plain that a serious -ascent entered into our programme. If I may put it frankly, pure -adventure was not the purpose that brought me on the Concordia Platz. I -wished to put to the test of reality, in the highest mountain rink of -the Bernese range, the theory forced upon my mind by observations and -experiences elsewhere. - -I had learnt conclusively much that was new and interesting about winter -conditions in the forest zone and on the denuded grazings that rise above -them. The comparatively easy slanting and horizontal expanses of the -ice-covered parts of the Alps had yielded some positive information to -the winter pioneers now visiting them for the first time. Now I wanted -to know, with ever-increasing accuracy, how those huge spurs of rock -and ice that are thrown up into the sky from the glacier region behaved -in winter. Hitherto they had been looked at and their condition judged -from a distance. Conclusions come to in that manner were extremely -unfavourable to their accessibility. One might, moreover, safely say that -no scientific men had subjected the winter Alps to the same scrutiny -as, in the years following the middle of the nineteenth century, made -Agassiz, Desor, the Englishmen Tyndall and Sir John Lubbock, famous, and -so many more whose hard and shrewd thinking about the physical complexion -of the Alps has met with general acceptance. - -In a humbler sphere, too, among men in daily contact with the Alps, -such as guides and chamois hunters, there was till lately an absolutely -ineradicable belief that the Alp peaks would oppose almost insuperable -obstacles to those bold enough to grapple with them under winter -conditions. - -But neither scientific scholars nor practical men could exactly say why -this should be the case. It was one of those vague impressions or beliefs -which are more imperative in proportion as actual first-hand knowledge is -scantier. - -Most would tell you, when pressed, that in January the High Alps could -not but be found smothered in the most stupendous quantities of snow that -the frightened imagination could body forth, and that in those masses -rock peaks and ice domes would be buried alike. - -Once more, on the Concordia Platz, the notion I had formed as to the -comparative scarcity of snow on the flanks of the leading summits of our -Alps--those exceeding 10,000 feet--was about to be reported upon and -tested by impartial eyes. - -Our three Bernese guides could barely trust the testimony of their own -eyes. They expected to see a Jungfrau embedded in snow from head to -foot, stuffed out to a shapeless mass, bolstered out as with the seven -petticoats of a Dutch _belle_. On the contrary, the Bernese Maid was more -slim than they had ever seen her in summer. Almost entirely free from -snow, she turned towards us a shoulder as smooth, bright, and pure as -that of a Greek goddess that might have been clad in a close-fitting suit -of silver armour. One of my men who saw her again last summer (1911), one -of the two hottest recorded since 1830, found her less free from snow -than she appeared on that January day, when she was actually melting -away under the perfect downpour of solar rays towards which her face was -turned. - -Thus was an important doubt set at rest by the testimony of practical -men. It would have taken us half the day to cut steps in the sheer -ice that stretched from the Roththal Sattel to the very top. The near -completion of the railway from Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch will make it -quite easy to institute a series of regular scientific observations on -this interesting subject. - -So far as we were concerned, after five days of sun and inverted -temperature it was out of the question for us to attempt the top slopes -of the Jungfrau at that hour of the day. It was tacitly agreed to abandon -it for the Finsteraarhorn. The same causes which turned the snow slopes -of the Jungfrau to ice and rendered them impracticable would dry the -rocks of the Finsteraarhorn, clearing them from the excess of snow which -the winter winds might have piled up there. So we pressed on towards the -Grünhornlücke, past the Concordia huts, ski-ing leisurely downwards on -the Aletsch glacier. - -The reader may easily picture to himself how much our ski were in tune -with the wonderful surface over which we were passing. - -“These rollings of _névé_,” relates Lunn, “are almost unique in the Alps. -On other glaciers one’s attention is diverted to the surrounding peaks. -But, as some one says, on the Aletsch the boundary mountains form an -insignificant cup-lip to the glacier itself, which, to my knowledge, may -be compared to the same on the Plaine-Morte only. The Oberland peaks, -which from Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen exhibit such a wonderful wealth -of design, are comparatively tame from the basin of the Aletsch. When we -think of the Jungfrau we always think of her as seen from the pastures of -the Wengern Alp. Seen from the Aletsch she is not particularly striking. -One’s whole attention is focussed on the broad, silent reaches of snow. -From the Loetschenlücke, from the Jungfraujoch, from the Grünhornlücke, -three vast ice streams flow down towards the Concordia, rightly so named, -for, there, irresistible forces blend silently in perfect harmony and -move downwards without a break.” - -By three o’clock in the afternoon we passed by the huts which now form -quite a township on the rocky spur which supports them. There is the -Cathrein Pavilion, a regular little mountain hostelry, the new Swiss -Alpine Club hut, and the old hut. Stowed away under the rock the -ancestral hut of all might betray its site to curious Alpine antiquaries. - -We could have walked straight into the township on that day, the rocks -being dry and swept clean of snow, the effect of the sun only, as I can -easily prove by the testimony of Mr. Schloss who, with his party, had to -take refuge in the Swiss Club hut during the storm that had raged in the -last days of December. He says: “We rammed the ski into the snow at the -foot of these rocks, expecting to reach the hut, some 50 metres above us, -in a few minutes. But the storm made the passage up the narrow path hewn -out of the rock wall very unpleasant. It was covered with ice and snow, -and the wind, blowing in furious gusts from the Jungfrau snow-fields, -threatened every moment to hurl one or the other of us down on to the -glacier below.” Let the reader take warning. - -From the Concordia Platz we started up steep slopes to our next pass. -But were they so steep? and did we climb at all? There is in words a -forceful though conventional mendacity. In language the most honest catch -themselves playing the part of gay deceivers. Did we have any occasion -during that week to draw one laboured breath from our tranquil breasts? -Restful and vigorous, we led the æsthetic life. - -As on the previous evening, there was a tantalising interest, the same -eagerness to look beyond the sky-line into the new world of snow. This -time the pass revealed the Fiesch glacier and the great pyramid of the -Finsteraarhorn. “Professor Roget,” writes my young friend, whose fancy I -like to tickle by appearing before him in the _rôle_ of an old cynic, -“having been here before, exhibited no indecent haste, and so I had some -time to myself in the pass. The guides--to them also the country was -new--were moved to unwonted enthusiasm on seeing the Finsteraarhorn. They -said, ‘Eine schöne Spitze, die müssen wir morgen machen.’” - -Indeed they might on the morrow. There it stood before us such as three -times already I had climbed it in summer. A photograph would hardly show -the difference in the seasons. The Finsteraarhorn could be ranked in the -same category as the Combin de Valsorey and many others 12,000 feet high -and upwards with rocky sides falling away to the south and west. Whenever -they had a northern slope whereby they were accessible in summer, I had -found that by that flank their top could be reached in winter with the -help of ski and ice-axe judiciously blended, and that, on the other -side, they would regale the tourist with the gymnastics of a scramble as -diverting as in summer. - -It was about two in the afternoon when our party assembled on the lip of -the Grünhornlücke. This substantive, which has before now enjoyed our -favour, I do not employ as a mere literary phrase. Let me say why. - -High Alpine passes are like funnels up which the wind sweeps the snow. -Most passes I describe in this book being parallel to the main range -of the Alps, are most susceptible to winds blowing from the south-west -and to north-easters. When the wind blows from the south-west the snow -driven up the inclined funnel overlaps to the north-east and forms an -overhanging lip in that direction. After a time intervenes a gale from -the north-east. It drives up snow under the curve of the lip and fills -the bend as with plaster. A time comes when, that space being filled up, -the new snow is rolled up over the lip and then bulges out in a hanging -cornice towards the south-west. That in its turn gets reversed, and so -forth throughout the winter. On passes, therefore, cornices are not -fixed. They shift from one side to another of the sky-line. - -This may constitute a serious danger, either because the lip is curled -over above you, and then you may have to break through it or even bore -a tunnel, as when a waterpipe, in order to be carried up through the -projection of a roof, is led straight up a wall and an opening pierced -to take it above the roof. At other times it is easy enough to get on to -the lip, because the outside edge of it bends down away from you. But -then the difficulty is how to get off the lip on to the chin below. Here -again, if you go carelessly forward your weight may break off the edge -of the lip. You will fall with it, through the open space underneath, on -to the lower level. Or else you may have to jump, or let yourself down -by means of a rope if the distance is too great or the landing surface -too steep or too slippery or too near an abyss for you to be sure of -getting a safe foothold. It is sometimes the wisest course to dig one’s -way down, as on other occasions you may have dug your way up. These are -the minor incidents that attend every kind of mountaineering. But they -are much more frequent, and sometimes a cause of real peril in winter, -because overhanging hems of snow may be met with, even in the zone of -the grazings, where the snow is usually very deep and much tossed about -by the contrary currents of wind resulting from the extremely broken -character of the country. - -High glacier passes are, on the whole, pretty free from cornices because -the wind has free play so near the altitude where all land ceases. -Geography is very much simplified from 9,000 feet upwards. You would be -easily convinced of it if, on a relief model, you sliced off all the -pieces rising above 9,000 feet and separated them from the remainder of -the model by slipping in a tray under them at that altitude. That is why -the High Alp ski-runner is much less concerned with avalanches than his -less ambitious brother who confines himself to lower and more complicated -regions. The reader will now understand better why Lunn and myself are so -perpetually “lounging, strolling, idling” in this raid. - -It was actually only two in the afternoon--let us say it again in the -light of these observations--when our party assembled on the lip of the -Grünhornlücke. We looked back towards the Loetschenlücke, once more a -mere dent against the sky, and contrasted our easy journey with the -long, laborious tramp which is there the lot of summer trippers over -slushy, soft sticky snow. How often had I worked my way toilsomely, with -wet feet and perspiring brow, over these extensive fields when they -were mud-coloured and a vast network of puddles! Yet the temperature -throughout had been delightfully mild! Our party lay down on the summit -of the pass as comfortably as on a hot Sunday afternoon, the members of -a boating party on the Upper Thames might choose to land on a dry and -elevated part of the bank--but, alas! in our case quite shadeless--to -boil the kettle and lay the table for afternoon tea. - -At 11,000 feet above sea-level we lay about on the white dry floor and -enjoyed a prolonged siesta, and thought how unlikely all this would -seem when we should relate it. But when the sun had set behind the -Aletschhorn, the change was instantaneous. We had now to go down slopes -facing east, whose surface glazed immediately. Our ski seemed alive, and -skimmed over the glaze like swallows skimming the surface of a lake. -We had plenty of room in which to break our speed by curving in uphill -and bending down and round again. I could indulge to my heart’s content -in my favourite amusement on such slopes, which, when you present the -broadside of your ski somewhat upwards and sideways to the concavity of -the surface, let you down at varying rates of speed while you describe a -spiral line to the bottom. - -In this case the foot of the pass was indeed the bottom, but it was also -the top of the Walliser Fiescher Firn. Like arrows from a hidden bow, -we shot along the path of the moonbeams and came to a standstill at the -foot of a dreadful black rock, on the top of which the rays of the sun, -before parting, had lit up as a beacon the windows and chimney-pots of -the Finsteraarhorn hut. We left our ski well planted in the snow and -scrambled up with our packs. This hut once stood on the Oberaarjoch, -till it was removed thence and rebuilt in its present position. The -trials of transport may account for its being somewhat loose in the -joints. It is not weather-tight, and the snow on the roof--in summer I -have known it to be rain--trickles through in large drops, sometimes -on the clothes set out to dry on strings all round the stove pipe and -sometimes on the noses of the sleepers in their berths. I understand -that the trickle of water on one’s cranium is one of the most terrible -tortures a man can be subjected to. - -Anyhow we had climbed a thousand feet, taken perhaps the wrong way up, -the whole in very good time to allow Adolf his usual extra hour for -joining us round the flowing bowl of hot soup. - -“As we were sitting down to supper,” says Lunn, “a party of some six -or seven Swiss came in.” They had just completed the ascent of the -Finsteraarhorn, and were not a little pleased to find the stove lit -and water on the boil. We had noticed on arrival that the hut had the -appearance of being inhabited, and on looking round had soon caught sight -of its denizens slipping and stumbling merrily down the shoulder of the -Finsteraarhorn. A look at the hut guest-book also told us that it had -been lately visited by two Norwegians. - -“That night in the hut we were a merry party. The Swiss belonged to the -class that in England divide most of their time between watching football -matches and playing billiards. They made one realise how much the higher -life of a nation was stimulated by a prevailing love of mountains. -For mountaineering is essentially the people’s sport. Climbing tends -more than any other sport to break down artificial barriers between -classes. Snobbery is seen in its true proportion against a background of -mountains. The wealth of enthusiasm which mountaineering inspires among -the artisan classes of Switzerland is a permanent asset to the nation, -lifting all those who come into contact with the hills out of their -narrow ambitions. Shelley felt this truth. The great peaks, he writes, -have a voice to repeal large codes of fraud and woe. One had only to -look at these Swiss to feel how their lives were coloured, their ideals -raised, their views broadened, by their love of their native mountains.” - -Lunn likes to speak of the Swiss parties he meets as being “guideless.” -I do not know to what extent this epithet may convey a clear meaning to -others. It hardly does to me. What is a guideless party? Unless it means -a party who undertakes, without the assistance of a professional guide, -one of the ascents for which such a guide is authorised by a binding -tariff to claim payment, the expression is wanting in point. There is -nothing particularly noteworthy in this, that the natives of Switzerland -should explore and climb the mountains of their country without the -assistance of professional fellow-citizens. These form a class which -has been instituted to serve two purposes: (1) To provide them with an -additional economic asset; (2) to give strangers confidence in exploring -the Alps. - -Guides seek from their employers certificates of good conduct and -utility. Many of the latter have acquired a taste, in those documents, -for sitting, as it were, at the feet of their guides as though the -positions were reversed. Indeed, it would be more natural that the -guides should give certificates of ability, daring, and endurance to the -amateur mountaineers whom they have in their charge. Under such altered -circumstances a guideless party would be a party in possession of a -certificate to the effect that they had gained sufficient proficiency in -mountaineering to hold a licence as guideless parties. Till things are so -arranged, the epithet is bootless. - -Many young Swiss solve the difficulty by going through the official -course of training laid down for professional guides, in the persuasion -that should they, or the party they are with, meet with an accident, -it would not be possible for either the guiding corporation or public -opinion to fairly lay any blame at their door. There was assuredly -no reason why the young men whom we saw on that day should have been -expected to meet with an accident because they had no paid bystander. - -“Luxuries had long been devoured, but even soup has a delightful flavour -in a club hut. And no one can really understand the charms of tobacco -who has never smoked in a club hut at the end of a good day’s work. The -mountain pipe has a flavour undreamt of in the plains. Even some horrible -hay-like production purchased in Adolf’s inn seemed inspired with -ambrosial flavour.” - -On this 6th day of January it was to be our turn to ascend the -Finsteraarhorn. For the first time in our trip this verb is an apposite -term. It meant work, and our Socialist undertook to prove it. He first of -all swallowed up on the sly the last contents of our pot of honey. If I -wished to be nasty, I should say that he got himself tied at the end of -the rope because he had calculated selfishly that he would be dragged up -and, being first and lowest on the rope when descending, he would be held -up by us. - -This little piece of reckoning did not miscarry. Wise Ulysses was too -good natured to let it be seen that he “saw through” this little plot; -fiery Achilles was of too powerful a build to mind a little extra weight, -and the other two Bernese guides were such excellent fellows that they -gave no sign of how much they suffered in their pride on account of their -colleague. - -“For once in a way,” says Lunn, “the guides were punctual. I think -Professor Roget was the only one in the party who did justice to the -breakfast. A seasoned mountaineer of thirty years’ standing, he can -eat stale bread and tinned meat at 6.30 in the morning with the calm -persistency of the man who realises that food is a sound insurance -against cold and fatigue. But we were all glad to turn out of the hut, -which we left at 7.15 a.m. The first signs of dawn appeared before the -moon had set, a somewhat unusual phenomenon. Such a sunrise--though one -misses the more dramatic change from the darkest night to the day--is -accompanied by an almost unique depth of colouring. Two hours above the -hut the sun shot out from behind the Oberaarhorn, I should like to add, -like a stone flung out of a sling.” - -[Illustration: BREAKFAST ON THE FINSTERAARHORN. - -To face p. 163.] - -The simultaneous presence, morning and evening, of sun and moon at -opposite ends of the sky, was one of the most interesting pictorial -features displayed before our eyes. I am not aware that painters are ever -likely to succeed in reproducing the cross light effects we witnessed, -silvery and cold at one extremity, golden and warm at the opposite -extremity, meeting on that endless expanse of neutral white, and shot -throughout with the azure of the sky. - -The Finsteraarhorn proved itself as accommodating as the Jungfrau was -rebellious: for one and the same cause, as already hinted. The rocky -_arête_ stood up like a lace ruff above its shoulder, as fine as if it -were wrought in muslin, and offering everywhere an easy hold for our -hands. It was free from snow and from ice, owing to the constant action -of the sun’s rays percolating through the superimposed layers of dry air. -Where there was any snow there was so little that we could hardly have -expected less in summer. The _arête_ was warm to our touch. - -On reaching the breakfast place, we looked anxiously at the sweep of the -uppermost span into space. Not a suspicion of any wind blowing up there. -The last two hours of the six afforded a delightful scramble along the -edge of that very impressive cock’s comb. For an hour and a half more -we climbed up alongside steep snow slopes, down which we saw the most -alarming ski tracks I have ever beheld. - -By one o’clock our ropes were thrown as a noose all about the top of the -Finsteraarhorn, the giant of the Oberland. The Socialist hung on to the -end of the rope like a scorpion’s sting; Achilles led, presenting his -naked torso to the bite of the sun; in the middle bulged the robust frame -of venerable Ulysses, with his grey hair blown about by the wind, and, -filling the gaps between those three important personages, came Gyger -and Schmidt, betraying on their honest, grave countenances their naive -satisfaction at seeing themselves on such a lofty platform. We spent a -wonderful hour on the summit. - -The view was perfect, as only a winter view can be, over all the great -ranges mellowed by the winter atmosphere. Beyond them a vast sea of -cloud covered the plains of Switzerland and Italy. We lay about hatless, -coatless, and gloveless. Not a breath of wind even to make the inviolable -quiet audible. Quoth Lunn:-- - - “‘It seemed as if the hour were one - Sent from beyond the skies, - Which scattered from above the sun - The light of Paradise.’ - -“Time stood still, or rather the time we passed on that aerial summit, -seemed stolen from the rest of eternity. At such moments the mind becomes -a passive instrument for recording external impressions. Old memories -arose unbidden; old associations lived again. Familiar ridges, the hills -of Grindelwald, the little chalet, just visible, where I had spent so -many happy summers, all lent an element of personal romance to the view, -all helped to awaken memories of ‘far-off things and battles long ago.’ - -“The view from the Finsteraarhorn is of its kind almost unique. It is -the very hub of vast spaces of eternal winter. Below, the ice-bound -cliffs of the Oberland, scored with the passage of ages, rise from a -waste of glaciers. The Finsteraarhorn is the culminating point of this -rugged chain, and looks defiantly over a host of lesser peaks towards -its great brethren of the Swiss Alps. From the Dolomites to Dauphiny, -from the Vosges to the Apennines, scarcely a peak of any importance was -hid. The winter atmosphere toned down the harsh features whilst rendering -the whole flawless panorama strangely distinct. The mountains were clad -in those wonderful bluish tints peculiar to the winter months, their -crudities had been softened, their barren places made smooth. The keynote -in the panorama was a dreamy, languorous atmosphere.” - -The boundless canopy of clouds dragged itself out lazily, like a huge -soft beast, to fill up all the interstices in this rock-bound and -rock-studded vista, shot through with waves of light. There was a superb -suggestion of indolence on the far horizon, turning pale against a sky of -unfathomable blue. Below us the small wooden hut, perched on its rock, -added a touch of human interest to the view. - -The guides went to sleep in the snow, while the two educated men of the -party contemplated and smoked, smoked and contemplated. - -“Nine long summers I had spent as a small boy in getting to know the -remote bye-ways of the Faulhorn chain. For nine summers we had looked -longingly up to the great cliffs of the Oberland, the peaks of storm and -of dread, the dark Aar peak, the Maiden, the Monk, and the Giant. Vaguely -we wondered if it would ever be ours to penetrate into their recesses. -By the peculiar cussedness of things, I had climbed in other ranges, but -till then had never returned to my first love. - -“The force of associations formed in childhood has been insisted on -_ad nauseam_ by Wordsworth and his imitators, but the sentiment is -none the less powerful for being somewhat trite. And even now, as this -early ambition had at last reached the point of realisation, I could -scarce restrain a feeling of regret. Though, in later years, calm reason -convinced me that the terrors in which my childish imagination had clad -the Oberland peaks were almost non-existent, yet the ease with which we -had conquered their monarch had its element of sadness. - -“The hour passed like ten minutes. The professor gave the word to return. -We roused Adolf and sadly turned down the _arête_. The weaker brother -led with great deliberation. On this occasion we lacked not æsthetic -compensations for his slowness. It was a unique sensation, sitting -astride that vast cliff, watching the afternoon lights spreading tinges -of an infinite gradation of tones over the boundless canopy of mist.” - -We reached again the fantastic little gap of the Hugi-Sattel, overlooking -a sheer cliff that drops down to the Finsteraarhorn glacier. We now -rested in the afternoon where we had breakfasted in the forenoon. We -looked back up the way we had come down. Owing to the ice, we had -been forced off the summer route--which keeps some distance below the -ridge--on to the very _arête_. There is nothing on the Matterhorn finer -than that sheer cliff that falls away to the glacier 3,000 feet below. -Drop a stone, and it falls the entire distance without a bound. The -climbing, however, both up and down, had been easy enough. Good sound -hand and foot-holds--no shadow of an excuse for a slip, not even for -Adolf, who had come up wailing in the forenoon, contributing to the -gaiety of the party by his monotonous: “Ich komme schon, aber nur nicht -so schnell.” With a shudder he beheld the track of the two Norwegians, -who had taken their ski to within a thousand feet of the summit, and, on -their return, appeared to have gaily descended a slope of soft snow lying -on streaks of ice, at an angle of 45 degrees, bridging several yawning -cracks. - -Having rested on the Hugi-Sattel--this part of Switzerland recalls -everywhere the names of its explorers and scientific investigators--we -slowly retraced our steps to the hut, reaching it at 5.45. - -The merry Swiss boys had left everything in beautiful order. We had -all the room--and all the raindrops--to ourselves. Heated through and -through, the roof was letting the water from the melting snow pass -through the shingles. - -Once more a perfect sunset gave promise of yet another day of cloudless -beauty. Our anxieties--we had none others than those which might come -from eagerness to succeed--were at an end. We had done what we had set -out to do. Had we planned to go to the North Pole--or to discover the -Antarctic--and succeeded likewise (as mountaineers would have done long -ago if they had troubled to) our feelings could have differed but -little from those that now passed in our minds. There is a likeness in -all achievements in this. When the past is just putting forward its -forefinger in warning of its readiness to withdraw our deed gently -from our grasp and from the sight of men, we feel a pang that to have -done something means parting with it soon after. Some may have been -so ambitious to reach the North Pole that they set about it in a -dishonest spirit. Some returning from another voyage of joint and mutual -discovery--that generally goes under the name of a wedding tour--carry -home with them a melancholy tinge of regret upon their happiness. So did -we. - -Yet there is in simple achievements a satisfaction which nothing else in -the world can give. Most other successes leave something to be desired. -The instability of wealth and health is a platitude. But Lunn rightly -says that every successful expedition is a permanent asset, bringing in -year by year a high rate of interest, an incorruptible treasure in the -memories of the past which nothing can destroy. - -“Next day we got away by 7, stumbled down the steep rocks below the hut, -picked up our ski, our faithful boards, standing all bespattered with -snow, and by the light of the moon skied merrily down the Fiesch glacier. -As dawn broke we pushed up the long slopes leading to our next pass, the -Oberaarjoch. Suddenly an expression of pleasure escaped Professor Roget. -Such an unprecedented phenomenon--on the part of the old Cynic--aroused -my attention. I turned and saw what, for an æsthetic mind, was probably -the most striking view of the whole tour--namely, softened and subdued -by the magic of the winter atmosphere, the perfect pyramid of the -Weisshorn flanked by the daring spire of the Matterhorn. - -“A little later it was my turn to give vent to some satisfaction, and the -professor looked up to see Adolf walking well at the head of the party -with his pack trim and neat on his shoulders, like those people who, -when approaching the end of their trials, stride forth as if they had -conquered the world.” - -We almost reluctantly took our stand upon this the fifth and last -sky-line we were to cut through with the flat of our ski. The last of -our five passes disclosed the long arm of the Oberaar glacier, backed -by the mountains that overshadow the birthplace of the Rhône. Now the -Finsteraarhorn showed us his back view, his shoulder blades, terrace upon -terrace of sheer rock. - -Indeed, the force that was impelling Adolf back towards civilisation was -not of the sort that could make the pace for us. We were going onwards -and onwards, but rather drawn by the sun towards his haunt in the east, -the common goal of so many pilgrims. But our mood was not devout except -that we were nature worshippers who, while marching to Canterbury, were -diverting one another with appropriate tales. You might have had pleasure -in seeing us advance in very open order up the wrinkled back of the -Fiesch glacier. I believe one of us was holding a pipe between his teeth, -another strolled with his hands in his pockets, a fourth darted about -kodak in hand. - -Adolf thought we were slow, and grew impatient at our tarrying on this -astonishing veranda. It has, perhaps, no like in the world in this, that -it is a suspended ice-garden of an extent and altitude well proportioned -to the physical faculties of man, showing as much of natural beauty under -one of its most prodigious aspects as does not exceed the understanding -of a well-balanced mind. - -I shall never forget the ever renewed delight which I found in skirting -the southern buttresses of the Finsteraarhorn range. We did not take -a step forward without stopping to look backward through the wide gap -formed by the valley down which the Fiesch glacier pours its waters in -the Rhône. The whole of the Pennine Alps displayed themselves within this -gap. - -There they loomed as lifted off the earth, a gossamer, a sea of soft -light, a row of pearls looking as frail as a dream, and yet a real world, -the key to which is love of the beautiful. - -Softly--the ski have a way of caressing the snow--slowly, chatting, then -wrapped in silence, we went forward, as on wings. Immersed in light, -we might have been borne aloft by an expansive force within ourselves, -so much did we rise without any effort. It was barely midday when we -stood on the Oberaarjoch. Before us bent and curved the sides of the -last glacier which we had yet to follow--the Oberaar Gletscher. Our eyes -embraced a new horizon which, surging beyond the Galenstock and the -Dammastock, extended further than the Toedi in the north and enclosed the -Bernina in the east. - -We were not alone on this Belvedere. The Oberaarjoch hut, high above -us on our left, looked like one of those boxes which in a theatre allow -the eyes of the occupants to plunge down upon the stage unseen. The -platform in front of the hut was occupied by some fellow-runners, whose -voices reached our ears almost as soon as we saw them. They were watching -us, and we exchanged with them such greetings as ships may send to one -another when crossing on the high seas. To-morrow they would resume their -course towards the skies we had left behind us, while we pushed our way -towards those they had hitherto travelled under. - -It would be idle to attempt to reckon up our widely sweeping curves as we -came down the Oberaar glacier. The surface, concave at the top, becomes -convex at the bottom, with a regularity which is a good example of an -unfailing law in glacier phenomena. I think we turned to the right, and -spun round to the left, and then turned to the left and spun round to the -right for about twenty minutes on that sheet of snow without a stop. Our -men bowled themselves down anyhow. But the spiral line we looked back -upon from the foot of the glacier would have won respect from the most -exacting teacher in draughtsmanship. - -Lunn says that the top slope was unskiable. So we set our lunch upon it. -“Thence some straight running took us over an uninterrupted stretch of -snow about five miles in length. The surface was hard and wind-swept, -but the gradient was so gentle that we could let ourselves go without -thought of possible falls. We turned off beyond the snout of the glacier -and bore away down a gully to our left. Here the professor supplied an -interesting _entre-acte_. - -“The guides had, for once in a way, got ahead. Suddenly Professor Roget -fell down at the top of a steep and trying slope. He did not rise, so I -sent the guides back to help him. Adolf saw his opportunity: a little bit -of a tragedy coming in the nick of time when the perils of the route were -over. He puffed and panted up the slope, leading the search party with -a rush. When at last three hot and perspiring guides reached the piece -of wreckage stranded on the chilly shore they were not a little annoyed -to see the boat right itself without their help, and, recovering the use -of human speech, the Professor remarked that he hoped this lesson would -teach them to keep together. It did!” - -By four o’clock in the afternoon we had wandered over the long, flat -basin at the end of the Unteraar glacier, whence we said goodbye to the -Finsteraarhorn. Arnold, in high spirits, was bent on making the most of -his last chances. We were on the last spur abutting on to the flat land -in the middle of which stands the Grimsel hospice, when I saw him dash to -the left over the brow of the last wave of the hill, exclaiming, “I see a -cheeky thing to do!” The next moment he was sailing along safely on the -flats. We had no thought of entering into the hospice. Why should we? We -had not a scratch, we did not feel an ache, our equipment was as complete -as when we had started. We therefore took immediately to the road. - -“Here we at last discovered genuine winter. Above, on the glaciers, -all had been warmth, colour, and light. Here in this grim gorge all was -sombre, grey, and chill. The hospice seemed to breathe a feeble defiance -to the genius of this abode of frost. Never have I seen anything more -desolate than the deserted post-road, gagged with old avalanche tracks -and overhung with icicles. Below, the angry gash of the torrent peered -out between cakes of ice, whilst above the waning light revealed sombre -bosses of grey rock smothered in snow. - -“We were anxious to telephone, so I took one of the guides and made all -speed down the road. Some one had conveniently made tracks, which had -iced during the night and afforded some furious running. At last, at 6 -p.m., twelve hours after leaving the hut, we pulled up at Guttannen. -Here we telephoned to Beatenberg and Kandersteg and then went in search -of night quarters. The hotel was, of course, closed, but we found rooms -for the night in an adjoining chalet and were afforded one of those -sidelights on real Swiss life which the summer visitor so rarely sees. - -“We supped in the one room which was warmed, and here the family were -pursuing their various occupations. The patriarch was mumbling in the -corner over his pipe, attracting, like the majority of patriarchs, little -attention. The father, a guide in summer, chatted on the winter’s work. -He appeared to think that cutting the wood and bearing it towards the -valley left a man little time to grow fat. At the table a young girl was -plying--alas!--not the spinning-wheel of a previous generation, but an -unromantic ‘Singer.’ In front of her stood some dressmaker’s model, a -hideous, headless monstrosity on a wire cage. On the stove a small youth -slept contentedly. To him entered a bustling little damsel with the -maternal instinct precociously developed. With unsuspected tenderness -she gently lifted him up, still sleeping, bore him out of the room, and -attacked ‘with an undaunted tread the long black passage up to bed.’ - -“Supper over, we lit our pipes with pardonable satisfaction. Our long -journey had been carried through without a hitch. Perfect weather, -thorough arrangements, every precaution. Seriously, one can scarcely -be too careful in winter mountaineering. With every precaution, the -entire complexion of things may be altered in one moment. A broken -ski, a wrenched ankle, the work of a minute, and the situation becomes -charged with painful anxiety. With superb indifference the mountains -suffer us for ninety-nine days, and, perhaps on the hundredth--with equal -indifference--they strike. - -“_Friday, January 8th._--Up once more before the dawn, to discover signs -of bad weather, which had thoughtfully postponed its arrival till we had -left the upper snows. One day earlier and we should have been cooped up -in the Finsteraarhorn hut for four days, living on stale bread and tinned -meat. A sleigh was hired to drive us to Meiringen, but I was anxious to -finish the journey on ski, so, with unpardonable sophistry, I ‘tailed’ -behind the sleigh. This proved far from easy on the icy, winding road. - -“At last, six days and six hours after leaving Kandersteg, five happy -men stepped on to the Meiringen platform. On lake Brienz the sky was -veiled in dark, lowering clouds, and snow fell as we drove up to -Beatenberg. On arriving, we were plied with those questions which a -certain type of people offer as well-meant flattery: ‘Was it not too -cold?’ ‘Wasn’t it too, too awfully dangerous?’ We could have accepted -the heroic _rôle_ with greater equanimity, had we failed to realise that -any one with decent endurance and a fair knowledge of ski-ing could have -accompanied us without risk.” - -To give satisfaction to so many kind inquiries, I gave two days later -my first lecture before a more than crowded audience, and Arnold Lunn -supplemented it. The joint address is the common foundation of anything -we have since written on the subject. - -Let me now wind up with a few final remarks. - -1. Winter mountaineering may be more difficult and more dangerous than -summer climbing. One often has to face the most intense cold; but with -first-class conditions such as we enjoyed, it is scarcely more arduous, -and certainly much more enjoyable, than summer work. Our journey in -summer would have involved hours of walking through damp, slushy snow. -There would have been wearisome tramps up and down _moraines_, tedious -stretches of mule paths, dull grinds over grass slopes, and I shudder to -think--consider the mileage!--what the last day would have meant in July. -As it was, we at no time suffered from the cold, and, strangely enough, -though our days were long and mostly uphill, in point of time at least, -we neither of us ever felt tired. This was, to be sure, owing to good -ski technique. “The professor would never allow us to raise our ski off -the surface of the snow. In that way they were absolutely no weight, and -even the raising of the foot and leg was replaced by the glide upwards of -the ski blade which provided a resting-point and support, reducing the -muscular action to the same amount of forward movement as is necessary -on level ground, without any additional force being employed in vertical -action.” - -Given good weather and normal conditions, a six-day traverse can be -accomplished with very little fatigue and still less privation. I have -done four such and have never been any the worse. One may weary somewhat -of soup, bread and cheese, but barring these and similar drawbacks, there -is no reason why any one of moderate physique and fair ski-ing powers -should not follow in our steps. - -Somehow the memories of those six days have the power to impart something -of the magical colourings of a winter sunset to the drab dullness of -lowland evenings. On the mountains we all have moments when life assumes -unsuspected values, helping us to realise on our return to civilisation, -that the things that are seen are temporal, whereas the things which for -the time are not seen are for all practical purposes eternal. “The winter -Alps are but a vision, a faint memory intruding itself at intervals -when the roar of the commonplace is for a moment hushed in silence. If -visions were not at times the most solid of realities this world would be -intolerable.” - -“Just for a moment I have had a fleeting vision,” wrote Lunn, when he -had once more settled down to the round of daily life, “of the silent -snows of the Aletsch, as you and I saw them that glad evening on the -Loetschenlücke, lit in all the splendour of the January moon. It faded -all too soon, and the winter Alps again seem very far away.” - -2. I append a table of levels, in feet, similar to the table of my -vertical displacements, in metres, which the reader has found at the end -of the Diablerets to Kandersteg chapter:-- - - _January 2nd._--Kandersteg to Mutthorn hut: 5,700 feet - (Tschingel pass). - - _January 3rd._--Mutthorn hut to Petersgrat (our second pass): - 1,000 feet. - - _January 4th._--From Kippel to Egon von Steiger hut (Loetschen - pass): 6,000 feet. - - _January 5th._--From Concordia Platz to Grünhornlücke (our - fourth pass): 2,000 feet. - - _January 6th._--From Fieschfirn to Finsteraarhorn: 5,000 feet. - - _January 7th._--From Fieschfirn to Oberaarjoch (fifth pass): - 2,000 feet. - - Add 2,000 feet for unconsidered trifles. The total vertical - displacement is thus brought out at a little under 24,000 feet. - -We paid each of our men a pound a day. Other expenses brought the cost -to thirty pounds. It is better to have plenty of men and plenty of food. -Plenty of food because one is always liable to be detained some days in -the huts by the bad weather--plenty of men, which does not necessarily -mean guides, because a party that can be broken up into sections is -infinitely safer and handier. A party of six may be expressed by 2 + 2 -+ 2, or by 3 + 3, or by 4 + 2, dispositions which may fit into almost -every emergency. - -There is no doubt that sealskins are extremely convenient and a great -saving of labour in going uphill, because they annihilate back-slip, the -bugbear of beginners and of loaded men. Serious trouble may be caused -by wrinkled and puckered-up hard snow, or by those extremely slippery -patches, either snow or ice, which now and then upset the balance of the -High Alp runner. - -The remedy to this I have found in a contrivance against side-slip -which figures as a permanent fixture on the powerful pair of military -ski which I used on all my big traverses. It consists of two blades of -hardish steel, about 5 inches long, sharpened and shaped in the fashion -of skates. Linked to each other across the upper surface of my ski, they -adhere to the sides by lateral pressure only, which is applied by means -of a top screw. The edge of each blade stands out beyond the flat of -the ski by the merest fraction of an inch, in front of one, and behind -the other, foot. This secures straight running on hard snow and ice by -biting into it, preventing side-slip when the broadside of the ski slew’s -round to the drop of the slope. The laws of mechanics teach that this -contrivance, maintained against the ski by side-pressure only, should get -pushed out of place when, the ski being edged, an unduly large portion -of the weight of the runner falls to be borne by the ski edge. But, in -practice, it is not so, provided you are careful to obtain the maximum of -side-pressure that the horizontal binding screw can produce. - -[Illustration: ADOLF ON THE FINSTERAARHORN ARÊTE. - -To face p. 178.] - -Studs on the inside of the blade, making impressions upon the wood of -the ski, without injuring it in any way, increase the resistance of this -contrivance to the vertical pressure caused by the weight of the runner. - -3. Within a few years from the date of writing, this part of -the Alps will be girdled by a network of mountain railways. The -Grindelwald-Jungfrau railway, already completed to the Jungfraujoch -(11,000 feet), will deposit the ski-runner within a stone’s throw of the -Concordia Platz. There he will, as the phrase goes, have it all his own -way, with the resources of civilisation and a railway station to fall -back upon. - -The line of the Loetschberg, on the international railway, -now being built to join Berne to Brigue, should be open to -traffic by the end of 1913. It will then take but a few moments -to run there and back, underground, between Kandersteg and -Goppenstein in the Loetschenthal, joining together both ends -of the ski route Kandersteg--Gastern--Mutthorn--Petersgrat (or -Loetschberg)--Kippel--Goppenstein. - -To the east, a line now under construction from Brigue, with a tunnel -under the Furka pass to Andermatt, will connect the St. Gothard ski-ing -grounds with those we have just described. - -Skiers running down the Aletsch will be able to take train at Moerel -or Fiesch. These coming facilities are not altogether pleasant to -contemplate for those who hold the traditional ideas about the virginity -and sanctity of the Alpine Holy of Holies; but to the extent in which -it may be possible to work those lines in winter--and to this there is -no insuperable physical obstacle--they will greatly contribute to the -generalising of ski, and thereby confer inestimable benefits upon young -people in Europe, while reducing to the minimum consistent with the zest -of manly enjoyment those risks which are the haunting terror of the -parents, sisters, and wives of the adventurous winter sportsman. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE AIGUILLE DU CHARDONNET AND THE AIGUILLE DU TOUR - - The aspect of the Grand Combin--Topography--Weather conditions - for a successful raid--A classification of peaks--The Orny - nivometer--The small snowfall of the High Alps--The shrinkage - of snow--Its insufficiency to feed the glaciers--The Aiguille - du Tour--Ascent of Aiguille du Chardonnet--The St. Bernard - hospice--Helplessness of the dogs--The narrow winter path--The - monks’ hospitality--Their ski--The accident on the Col de - Fenêtre--“Ce n’est pas le ski.” - - -The Val de Bagnes, the Val d’Entremont, which leads up to the pass of -the great St. Bernard, and the Val Ferret are comparatively little -frequented by Englishmen, even in the height of the summer season. Why -it should be so is not quite clear. There is no finer group in the Alps, -from Tyrol to Dauphiné, than the Grand Combin and Mont Velan group. As -seen from Lake Champex, or from almost any point of vantage in the Val -de Bagnes, the group of the Combins and abutting snow-clad tops forms -one of the grandest pieces of mountain architecture that can be imagined, -one of a character that is somewhat uncommon, for the breadth and width -of the lines are more striking here than in the usual type of mountains -tapering up to a peak. The snow-fields and icefalls are magnificent, -while the altitude of this group (Grand Combin 4,317 metres, or 14,164 -feet) enables it to rank beside Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, and the Mischabel -range, eclipsing the Finsteraarhorn and Piz Bernina. - -If the Englishman is not so often seen in summer in that region as he -might be, I am sure that in winter none have yet visited on ski the -valleys of Bagnes, Entremont and Ferret, with the exception of a party -about which I may have something to say in another chapter. The writer of -these lines has, therefore, an excellent chance of introducing a novel -field to the British ski-runner. He spent an eight-days’ week in March, -1907, upon a raid in the valleys above named, ranging from one to another -on ski, with two friends, one of whom was a youth of eighteen, and the -other a well-known Valaisan ski-runner, Maurice Crettex, from Champex. - -A knowledge of topography being absolutely essential to one’s safety in -High Alp ski-running, even the most expert runner will take care that -at least one of his party possesses that knowledge to perfection. The -runner who takes the risk of wasting some of his strength--or time on -short winter days--upon errors in direction, is little short of a fool. -Owing to steep slopes and complicated ground, the slightest topographical -mistake may cause a fatal waste of precious time--and of a man’s -useful energy, the fund of which is limited in a town or plain dweller, -who only occasionally tries his physical endurance in winter at a high -altitude. - -[Illustration: FERRET--ENTREMONT--BAGNES. - -(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, -26.8.12.) - -To face p. 182.] - -A raid on ski is not a raid if it is interrupted by stress of weather. -It is then best described as a commonplace misadventure. The intending -raider must trust to chance, assisted by a careful reading of the daily -reports of the weather issued from Zürich. These reports now very usually -distinguish between High Alp weather and the conditions prevailing during -the same periods in the lake and river region. When there is a scientific -prospect of fog over the lakes and rivers, this means that the air is -still, and that the sun shines upon every mountain rising above four, -five, or six thousand feet, as the case may be. A wind arising from north -or east will not interfere with the raid (except in the matter of cold), -but a gale from west or south will bring it to an abrupt end, and be -attended with the utmost danger if the warning of a falling glass is not -immediately acted upon. - -During the eight days that this raid lasted, the weather was absolutely -steady, fine, and windless, the sun and moon vying uninterruptedly with -each other to extinguish darkness. We suffered at no time from the cold -after sunset or in club huts, and basked all day long in the sun’s direct -heat and in the rays reflected from the snows. The temperature fell -at night to 10 or 15 degrees under zero Centigrade, and rose to most -extraordinary readings during the day. We were dressed in the warm, tough -material used by all competent mountain climbers even in the height of -summer, with strong thick boots, and never for a moment suffered from -cold feet. - -Thanks to the above circumstances and to a happy concourse of every -advantage, my two companions and myself were the first human beings -who ever smoked their pipes and cigars in winter, and sat in their -shirt-sleeves on the top of the Aiguille du Tour, Aiguille du Chardonnet, -and Grand Combin. The latter summit was attempted by one of my colleagues -at Bâle (Mr. O. D. Tauern, the German gentleman mentioned in another -chapter). But the most gallant efforts failed to bring him and his -friends to the very top, though the tour was a complete vindication of -winter mountaineering on ski. An account of their expedition appeared in -the Annual (1908) of the _Schweizer Ski-Verband_. - -A ski-raid upon the giants of the Alpine world does not necessarily mean -that the raider sets his ski upon the brow of the conquered adversary. -Such a pretension would be pedantic. The summits of the Alps may, for the -ski-runner, be divided into three classes, strictly according to their -conformation, whether they be small or great, Alpine or only sub-Alpine. - -There is the class which is inaccessible under winter conditions, because -those summits are then led up to by slopes so sharp or insecure that -neither ski nor boot can reasonably be used upon them. That class we -reject altogether. Another class consists of mountains, such as the -Diablerets, Wildhorn, Wildstrubel, the tops of which are led up to by -slopes eminently fitted for ski, both upwards and downwards. A third -class consists of summits which cannot be reached on ski, because they -are rock-pinnacles, but which can be _only_ conveniently approached on -ski. This class, to my mind, is the best, as it combines ski-running with -rock-climbing. The Dufour Spitze of Monte Rosa would be the grandest -example in this category. - -Grand Combin, approached on the north side from the Plateau des Maisons -Blanches, belongs to the same class as Diablerets, Wildhorn, and -Wildstrubel. But if the ascent be varied by climbing the rocks _viâ_ -Combin de Valsorey, a course which I found as easy and comfortable in -winter as in summer, the Grand Combin passes into a--to my mind--higher -class. The Aiguille du Chardonnet and the Aiguille du Tour, to the tops -of which there is from no side a continuous way on snow, are other -typical instances. - -Any one who would follow in our footsteps and perform, like us, an eight -or ten days’ ski-running and rock-climbing raid, will find every useful -indication as to programme and distribution of time in the following -description:-- - -The raid comprises three parts: First, Aiguille du Tour and Aiguille du -Chardonnet; second, Great St. Bernard, and Val Ferret back to Orsières; -third, Grand Combin, and back to Martigny. - -The ski-runners will leave Orsières at about 7 o’clock a.m., and proceed -on their first day to the Cabane d’Orny, or to the Cabane Dupuys, which -lies still higher. The Cabane d’Orny being quite comfortable, the -vertical displacement from Orsières (890 metres) to the site of that hut -(2,692 metres) will probably be found a sufficient effort to justify one -in leaving the higher hut severely alone that day. The Cabane d’Orny may -be reached either by following the bed of the Combe d’Orny from Orsières, -or _viâ_ Chalets de Saleinaz, from Praz de Fort. We found both lines of -access equally good, but information as to the best at any given time of -the winter season should always be obtained from those locally acquainted -with snowcraft. The ascent to the hut being continuous, the ski-runner -will save much time, and save up much energy, in using a contrivance -against back-slip, whichever may be the one he favours. - -There is near the Cabane d’Orny, against a flight of rocks, a nivometer. -This is an apparatus for recording the height at which the snow may rise -against a rock face. Persons of an observant turn of mind are requested -to read the nivometer (which consists of horizontal bars of red paint, -bearing each a number at regular intervals) and to enter in the hut-book -the date of the observation. This is one of the many lame devices which -have been contrived to measure the snowfall at a given spot during the -year. It is supposed that interesting data, and points of comparison from -year to year, may thus be collected. And these, with observations made at -other places in the glacier zone, are digested and published from time to -time. - -There is no doubt that the nivometer will show every day in the -year--though it will not be so often noticed--the height at which the -snow stands against the face of that rock. But how much information can -it give about the snowfall? Snow cannot find its true level on the face -of a rock against which it is blown about by the wind and where it is -interfered with by the temperature of the stone, sometimes heated by the -sun and sometimes colder than the air surrounding it. - -Snow is not like water or air. It is not an elastic consistent substance -or a uniform fluid, like gas, seeking its own level or settling down -upon a surface. It falls unevenly upon an uneven ground. It melts or -accumulates, shrinks or flies about according to its local situation, -and, within a given time, the nivometer will give very contradictory -readings. A snow gauge is no easy thing to establish. When rain falls it -is easily measured, because, in the course of nature, it is mere water. -Not so with snow. - -What is measured by the Alpine nivometers is the height of the snow -lying at a certain place on a given day. Density cannot be checked. Yet -it operates immediately after the snowfall. This mode of mensuration -gives no reliable clue. Some of the snow was carried away by the wind -that would have remained on a windless day. Some has been blown from -elsewhere, in what proportion it is impossible to tell. How much has -melted depends on the sun heat, and the amount of this deficiency no -instrument is there to record. A storm may have intervened. Another may -have blown the snow flat, concentrating the total mass within a smaller -compass. Another may have piled it up in abnormal wreaths. - -The science of snow measurement is quite in its infancy. When it is -developed it will probably be on lines very different from those at -present followed, and the results cannot be foretold. - -Natural nivometers should be raised above the surface like dovecots and -set up in wide-open spaces, in situations exposed to the four winds of -heaven. They should be able to receive on all sides the snow moving in -the air. They should be in the shape of a cone with long, gently sloping -sides. And even then they would not prove much, unless the snow they had -collected was gauged after every fall and the apparatus swept clean and -prepared to receive the next fall on a smooth surface. - -It would then probably be found that the amount of snow falling on the -glaciers of the Alps is much smaller than we are apt to imagine. In any -case, the depth of the snow that finds a permanent station upon the rock -and ice surface of the Alps, till spring, is only a fraction of the -depth of snow that would be obtained by adding together each volume of -snow that might be gauged after each separate snowfall. Snowflakes form -an aggregate which gradually passes into a conglomerate. They lie at -first like the pieces of a game of spillikins, at different angles with -one another. By degrees the crystals lose their shape. The edges of the -prisms die out. The air that circulated between them is expelled. A hard -texture takes the place of the flimsy structure of the first moment. In -this process of reduction in volume and of increase in density, cracks -are generated in the mass. They are at first potential and remain latent -till wind-pressure, or the footfall of man, determines the bursting open -of the surface, accompanied by a report which sometimes unnecessarily -alarms the unwary, and at other times is a sure sign of a dangerous -snow-quake. - -The depth of the snow is also modified by a process of sublimation which -causes it to shrink rapidly. The atmosphere while re-absorbing the air -expired by the snow, also re-assimilates some of its moisture, even -without the suggestion of a thaw. - -The outcome of so many efficient causes may be summed up in one word: -shrinkage. But, as snow almost always is wind-driven when it falls, -a large portion of the quantity follows in the air a course parallel -to the wind, and (when it strikes obliquely the smooth and slippery -surfaces--old snow, ice, rock surfaces--over which it travels instead of -locating itself upon them) it is impelled forward, and sweeps along till -it can find a lodgement against a solid protuberance, or is dropped over -the edge of some break in the surface, out of the reach of the wind, when -it finds a resting-place and gets piled up. This is another reason why -one meets with less snow on the wind-swept, high-lying surfaces than in -the middle zone of the Alps. - -A third effective cause is to be found in the clouds. Snow-laden clouds -do not generally unload themselves at a very high altitude. They form -themselves in belts on the lower flanks of each range and pour forth -their contents nearer the grazing and forest zone than one would be led -to expect when one looks up towards them from the bottom of a valley. -We then see the basement and sides of the cloud masses. We project their -vertical lines almost infinitely into space. This is the kind of delusion -to which we are subject when we look at a house from the street-level -or, _vice versâ_, when we look down from a roof on to the pavement. The -actual volume of snow whirling above our heads is considerably thinner -than we assume. This is the case particularly during the winter season in -Switzerland, as winter balloonists may testify. - -So, without entering any further into the scientific aspects of this -question, we wish here to note provisionally that a properly conducted -nivometric survey of the Alps might show that the winter snow storage is -quite out of proportion with the quantities required to replenish the -upper ice-forming reservoirs to whose function so much importance is -attached in the current theories about glaciers. - -From the hut try the ascent of the Aiguille du Tour the following -morning. On ski, along the easy slant of the Glacier d’Orny, and then -by an easy climb, lasting one hour at the most, on good dry rock (3,531 -metres = 11,615 feet); this undertaking will be a great delight. The -upper reaches of the Glacier du Trient and of the Glacier d’Orny are one -of the most magnificent ski-grounds that man can imagine. They can be -taken advantage of both before sunset on the day of one’s arrival at the -hut, which should be reached by two o’clock, and on the next day, for a -departure at eight from the hut should enable you to be on the Aiguille -du Tour by eleven, which leaves the whole afternoon for runs. - -[Illustration: THE VALSOREY GLEN. - -To face page 190.] - -Your third day can be employed in ascending the Aiguille du Chardonnet -(12,585 feet) as follows: ski up to the Col du Tour; ski down the pass -facing west, and leaning a bit to your left; then up the slope from right -to left (that is facing full south) at first, and then full west, along -the foot of Aiguille Forbes. From the moment you have passed that point -the ski-runner becomes a climber. You may have to cut a few steps to -reach the eastern arête, which runs from the dip on the west flank of -Aiguille Forbes to the top. The _arête_, of course, requires rope and -much skill in manipulating it. - -In splendid weather, the rock being free from snow or ice, and, into the -bargain, well known to one of the three of us, we did the climb without -experiencing anywhere a moment’s delay. Time-table: Started from Cabane -d’Orny, 5.50 a.m.; reached Col d’Orny, 7.15 a.m.; crossed Plateau du -Trient to Col du Tour by 8.15 a.m.; passed foot of Aiguille Forbes by -10.20 a.m.; set foot on _arête_ by 12 a.m.; reached top at 1.25 p.m.; -completed descent of _arête_ by 3.20 p.m.; resumed our ski at 4.20 p.m.; -skied back to Col du Tour by 5.40 p.m.; got home by 7 o’clock. - -Our rests were: Twenty minutes at 8.15 a.m., twenty minutes at 10.20 -a.m., thirty-five minutes at 1.25 p.m., twenty-five minutes at 4.20 p.m., -twenty minutes at 5.40 p.m. - -For ski tours in the Mont Blanc range, consult the maps by Barbey, -Imfeld, and Kurz. - -The fourth day of this raid was employed in an easy and very fast run -down to Orsières, then on a vehicle to Bourg St. Pierre, whence four -hours on ski bring the runner to the Hospice du Grand St. Bernard, the -gates of which are open night and day to all-comers. A long night in a -most comfortable bed, after a most substantial meal, and followed by a -plentiful breakfast next day, made sufficient amends for the nights spent -in the Cabane d’Orny. - -In summer the hospitality extended by the St. Bernard monks to passing -tourists--one may not spend more than two nights under their roof--is -somewhat perfunctory, because they are oppressed by numbers. In winter, -on the contrary, they are left to themselves. Time and solitude are -somewhat heavy and passers-by of some education are the more welcome. - -Within a lap of the hospice we were spied by the famous dogs. They barked -and made but a poor pretence at coming towards us. They were terribly -handicapped in the snow, which we lightly brushed with the flat of our -ski. No wonder they floundered: the floury snow was about 6 feet deep. -Their fore and hind quarters went under, and then hove again into sight, -while they swung out of one hole into the next, as nutshells rising and -falling with the waves. - -This situation threw some fresh light upon their legendary life-saving -occupation. The tables were turned. We were much better prepared to save -them from suffocation than they to lend us a helping paw. In fact, one -huge beast’s efforts to get on board my ski somewhat perplexed me. - -We had struck out our own line, in coming up, across the surges of the -snow. The farther from any path, the happier the ski-runner. But we saw -enough of the winter track to understand the usefulness of the dogs. The -track is about 2 feet wide. It cuts in and out of the summer road, and -consists simply of the narrow footpath which pedestrians and the monks -have trodden hard. They manage to keep it open from summer to spring by -directing upon it the little traffic there is. The snow hardens after -each fall when walked on and raises the pathway by so much, building up -by degrees a kind of elevated viaduct on which to remain is the condition -of safe progress. Step out to the right or to the left by one inch, you -drop down several feet into the drifts. - -What this might mean, in the fog or during a blizzard, to those weary, -ill-shod, ill-clad, under-fed Italian labourers who still choose that -mode of transit to save their railway fare under the Simplon, we could -easily imagine. The dogs, on the other hand, would keep upon the track -and scent in what snow-covered spot the poor trespasser had missed his -footing and strayed. The remainder would be spade and shovel work for the -charitable monks. - -Easter being early that year, Lent was drawing to an end. The house was -wrapped in silence. The bells being hushed, a rattle croaked along the -passages instead. But Lenten hospitality may be lavish and fishes must -swim at all times, as the capital trout from the Dora Baltea experienced, -that was floated on the best of wines down to a worthy home of rest. On -the next morning we met a procession; they were calves being driven up -from Italy. They looked sickly against the pure sunlit snow, but they -capered and frolicked, and booed with joy. Well might they do so as long -as the bells were silent. But after! - -Years before this, the monks had been driven to the use of boards for -getting about. They invented a rude ski wanting in the essential feature -of modern planks, free action for the heel. With them the heel was -fastened down to the boards. They sprinted and punted about with the -help of a long stout pole, achieving quite a style of their own. With -their long robes waving, and swinging their gaffs from side to side, now -to steer, and now to propel their unsteady craft, with arms alternately -raised and lowered, they cut very picturesque figures against a terribly -bleak background, with their dogs pounding after them, till we lost sight -of them behind the corner like a flock of mountain choughs. - -My next day saw me across the Col de Fenêtre (2,773 metres = 8,855 -feet), along the whole Val Ferret, back to Orsières, a most magnificent, -perfectly easy and reposeful trip. From point to point, that is, from -Orsières up the Val d’Entremont to the Col du Grand St. Bernard, and -through the Col de Fenêtre, down the Val Ferret, back to Orsières, -the ski-ing is first-rate, these valleys running on parallel lines, -downwards, from south to north. The crossing from one col to the other, -upon south-facing slopes, is the only unpleasant piece of ski-ing, though -quite safe and easy. - -A fatal accident befell here a party of runners a few years after. They -intended running up the Val Ferret to the hospice when they committed -a serious mistake. As the map shows, the summer path winds corkscrew -fashion from the bed of the valley to the lakes of Ferret. Now, when a -ski-runner is seen upon a steep winding path, or ploughing his way up -the sides of it, it often means that he has not reconnoitred the skiers’ -route on his map. Those young men cut into a snow bulge, the snow ran out -through the slit and overwhelmed one of them. - -Those bulges are a most treacherous invention of the snow-fiend. They -are best likened to an egg-shell full of sand, with some compressed air -imprisoned between the shell and the sand. Break the crust, the air runs -out with a puffing sound, and the snow, freed from pressure, begins to -trickle through the hole, enlarging it. Then the whole mass, blowing -itself out and thrown out of balance, comes down. - -The study of the map would have shown to the victims of this phenomenon -of nature that however much the corkscrew might be the right way up or -down for loaded men and cows (the pack and the cow between them determine -the lie of every mountain path), such a path was not for men mounted on -skiffs that could choose their course upon the country-side with the same -liberty of choice as a ship steering upon the open sea. - -This brings back to my mind a regulation supposed to have been issued by -a certain War Office on the Continent. Some zealous officers had been -coaching their men in the use of ski upon open fields, and some trifling -injuries had been entered by the army medico in his report sheet. - -Next autumn a circular was received in every army corps recommending -officers to teach ski-ing on roads only! - -Last winter I was trotted up a steepish and narrow winding path by some -well-meaning friends who had acquired their ski-ing from a “big” man. -Some patches of the road under wood were sunk in deep snow; others, in -the open, were ice; others bare earth and stones, and the whole was so -well banked in that side-stepping was impossible. - -When I mildly remonstrated--after, not before, discipline would forbid--I -was politely told that so-and-so always took his parties up that way. No -doubt, and quite heroic of him, _mais ce n’est pas le ski_. - -In the evening of this day, which I reckon as the fifth, a conveyance -carried the three runners, in whom the readers of this chapter may by -now have become interested, to Châble, in the Val de Bagnes, and then -to Lourtier, a convenient starting-point for an attempt upon the Combin -region. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE GRAND COMBIN - - The Panossière hut--Tropical winter heat--Schoolboys and - the Matterhorn--Shall it be rock or snow?--The Combin - de Valsorey--My third ascent of the Grand Combin--The - track home--Col des Avolions--Natural highways of a new - character--Twenty-three thousand feet ascended on ski. - - -On the sixth day of my expedition we left Lourtier shortly before 10 -o’clock a.m., knowing full well that we were in no hurry, that we meant -to thoroughly enjoy our day’s work, and that the hospitable door of the -Cabane de Panossière would be no more difficult to open after sunset than -before. - -As soon as we had passed the last houses of Lourtier, we put on our ski, -and, practically, did not remove them from our feet till eight o’clock -that evening, allowing for two hours’ rest in the heat of the day, from -two to four. We branched off from the Fionnay direction to turn to the -right at Granges Neuves, crossing the bridge to Mayens du Revers, and -hence rising towards the path that leads in summer from Fionnay to the -Alpe de Corbassière. We thus reached, by two o’clock, after passing the -wooden cross at the point 1,967, and just beyond the chalets of the Alpe -de Corbassière, the point 2,227 of the map. We spent there two hours, -under a tropical sun. Then we plunged down a gully to the west, on our -right, so as to advance on ground which the sun had not softened, and -rose again along the side moraine to the point 2,644, whence there lay -before us a most romantic moonlit landscape. - -The hut was still in darkness when I reached it, the last of the party, -in order to enjoy the sensation of seeing the windows dimly lit by the -candlelight within, and the smoke curling up out of the chimney. The -impression was one of charming “cosiness,” in the middle of a more -than Arctic landscape, and there was that sublimity above and around -which beggars the art of description. A snow and wind-tight Alpine hut, -well stocked with fuel and blankets, well supplied with plain food and -wholesome drink from the provision bag of its guests, is, in midwinter, -one of the snuggest “ingle-nooks” a natural epicure may wish for, and, -strange to say, what he may therein find most pleasurable is the shade -and coolness of the shelter, so fairly could I compare our tramp of that -day to a trip in the “scrub” under the equator. Forsooth, the prejudice -which still prevails against roaming in winter at high altitudes is a -remnant of that state of mind which kept early explorers of the High Alps -tramping round and round the foot of such hills as the Matterhorn, which -Macaulay’s healthy “schoolboy” would now think nothing of rushing at, -with his sisters trailing behind. - -If it is possible, in sporting circles, to speak of the _Zeit Geist_ -without pedantry, we should say that the spirit of the time, in matters -mountaineering, has undergone a remarkable change since the advent of -Macaulay’s proverbial schoolboy. - -Or is the change not rather a return to a healthier frame of mind? - -It is quite true that in few sports is the extreme penalty, death, -so constantly near at hand as in mountaineering. But is it not quite -apparent, too, that the early lovers of the Alps were full-grown, -leisured, and cultured men, whose training, occupation, or temper, had -not properly prepared them to see the risk in its true proportions? From -them a whole generation took the cue. Then came another, for which the -taking of risks exceeding the _modicum_ attached to a passive existence -was the touchstone of manliness. They sought in the Alps opportunities -for strenuous displays, as well as haunts where the harassed soul could -take holiday. They are the generation which made of Switzerland the -playground of Europe. It is they who brought mountaineering to the -present period, when first ascents have become a hackneyed amusement, and -schoolboys marvel at the facility of undertakings which, when attempted -for the first time in bygone days, rightly called forth the admiration -of the civilised world. Is it in the modern spirit that, on the morning -of my seventh day, with the grand unconcern of an ever-victorious squad, -hitherto scratchless, bruiseless, and unwearied, we took the route, well -known to all of us, which leads up the Glacier de Corbassière to the Col -des Maisons Blanches? On reaching the plateau which precedes the col, we -made up our minds as to the choice between the two routes to the top of -Grand Combin. - -The choice lay between rock and snow. Rock won the toss. From the Plateau -des Maisons Blanches we turned full south, and left our ski at the foot -of the steep snow and ice slope which leads to the Col de Meiten. The -track over this col, dotted upon the map (Siegfried Atlas, Swiss military -survey), crosses the Combin rocks upon a snow belt from north to south, -where it ends upon the so-called Plateau du Couloir. The ascent to the -col--we were roped--presented no difficulty. The crusted snow was easily -kicked into foot-holds. - -The rocks of the Combin de Valsorey, which we ascended from the col, now -looking east, were absolutely free from snow or ice, the only discomfort -being exposure to a hot sun in an excessively dry atmosphere--just the -thing, I should say, for salamanders, which, unfortunately, we were -not. In this respect our experience totally differed from that, already -alluded to, of Mr. Tauern and his friends. Not only did they take to the -peak further east, from the corridor, _viâ_ Grand Combin de Zessetta -(this summit is immediately south of the figures 3,600 on the Siegfried), -using climbing-irons on the steep ice, but they experienced a cold so -intense that they were driven back. - -For my part, being no longer a young man at all, I felt so overcome with -the dry heat on Combin de Valsorey, that I remembered with complacency -how fully acquainted I was with the top of Grand Combin, and how useless -it would be to bore such an old friend with another visit at an unusual -time of year. I went, nevertheless, and spent some minutes of that -triumphant afternoon in amicable nods to Mont Viso, which somehow I had -missed on my previous visits. - -The reader will gather from the late hours noted in the following -time-table what confidence a rock-climber may gain from the knowledge -that his ski are waiting for him below, firmly planted in the snow, and -that a secure track marked on the friendly element runs uninterruptedly -from the spot where they stand to a trustworthy refuge hut. We cheerfully -cut through the loops of our ascending track, by a perpendicular course, -and, as the reader will see, returned to the hut in an incredibly short -time, enjoying with untroubled mind the afterglow of a magnificent sunset -gradually whitening into mellow moonlight. - -_Time-table_: Left Panossière hut at 7.15 a.m.; reached first plateau -by 8.20 a.m.; reached Maisons Blanches, 10 a.m.; reached foot of Col de -Meiten, 10.55 a.m.; lunch, thirty-five minutes; reached top of Meiten -pass, 12.20 p.m.; reached top of Combin de Valsorey, 2.30 p.m.; reached -top of Grand Combin, 3.30 p.m. (14,164 feet); afternoon tea on top of -Combin de Valsorey, thirty minutes; left Combin de Valsorey, 5 p.m., -resumed our ski, 7.15 p.m.; back to hut, 7.45 p.m. - -Remember that in runs like this, extending over 8 kilometres (5 miles), -the runners must keep together from beginning to end. - -The eighth day of this fascinating circular tour was an easy one. It is -worth noting, as an instance of many of the same kind, which moderately -trained ski-runners would find extremely remunerative. Our eight days’ -work would form the third and last portion of a typical ski trip, such as -the Val de Bagnes enables the intelligent amateur to compose in various -ways, in this instance as follows: First day, from Lourtier (where night -lodging can be had at the telegraph office), to Cabane de Panossière, -_viâ_ Fionnay; second day, Col des Maisons Blanches, and back to the -hut; third day, back to Lourtier _viâ_ Col des Avolions, leaving plenty -of time to reach Martigny by sledge, and catch the evening trains to -Lausanne, Geneva, Milan, or Berne. - -The Col des Avolions is an insignificant incision in the range of rocky -heights which run along the tongue of the Glacier de Corbassière on its -west side, from north to south. From the hut you cross the glacier very -much to the north, though slightly inclining to the west. In an hour’s -time you will be on the col, the vertical displacement from the hut down -to the foot of the pass being about 190 yards (the difference between -2,713 metres and 2,523 metres is the amount “dipped”), while the rise -from the foot of the pass is 125 yards, approximately. These 125 yards -were practically all the climbing we got that day. You will ascend with -your ski slung over your shoulders, the most convenient way when the -gullies are steep, short, and full of compact snow. - -No man in his senses will attempt High Alp ski-running without strong, -heavily soled and nailed mountain boots to his feet. The big nails round -the toe of the boot are most valuable for lodging one’s feet into steep -snow slopes or couloirs, and a broad, flat, nail-fringed heel need never -interfere with the running, unless the heads of the nails are uneven. -Nails on the sides of the boots are less necessary. - -From the Col des Avolions there is a delightful run down, full -north-west, to the stream which the path crosses (see map) to lead up to -the Chalets de Sery. Keep well to the right (east) of the point marked -2,419. We found the bed of the stream quite practicable on ski, as far -as we required it to get round the point 2,419. Then we made for point -2,243, so as to keep on the level (about 2,190 metres), while leaving -that point on our left, slightly above us. Then we proceeded down to -the Alpe de la Lys, keeping above the tree-line, till we could ski down -to Tougne on fairly open ground. Thence, to the bridge that crosses the -Dranse to Lourtier, the ground is not complicated, or you may ski down -to Champsec. We left the hut at 8 o’clock a.m., sat astride the Avolions -saddle at nine, and entered Lourtier at twelve, having in nowise hurried -ourselves. - -It is a distinctive feature of mountaineering on ski that its votaries -look for natural highways of a new character. - -The winter snow opens up quite unexpected routes, and it will soon be -the business of ski-ing clubs to issue maps revised from that point of -view. A well-filled-up steep gully becomes an opportunity for building -up a stairway that summer is unaware of. A gorge in which a dangerous -stream brawls in summer on slippery rocks may now appear in the guise -of an open and straight line of communication between upper and lower -reaches separated by impassable shelves of rock. Glacier tails, at other -times bristling with spiky _séracs_ and riddled with gaping blue pits, -turn into smooth bridges thrown over blanks in nature that were a torture -to contemplate. Torrents are reduced to the size of tiny transparent -rivulets closely hemmed in between narrow banks of solid snow and easily -spanned by the long, pliable boards. A frozen-over and snow-wadded Alpine -lake, toilsomely skirted in summer by winding up and down its rocky, -broken shores, may be crossed from point to point by a smiling navigator. -The word snowcraft acquires a new meaning. The runner eyes the country in -its broad, general aspect, determines, map in hand, the bee-line leading -to his destination, fixes upon the stretches of unbroken snow that will -bring him round any unskiable places, and in the end gets home more after -the style of birds borne through the air than after the fashion of the -clod-hopping kind. Here is, to wind up with, a note of the total vertical -displacement which we have shown may be attained, with ski, in the course -of eight days. From Orsières to Cabane d’Orny, 1,802 metres; to Aiguille -du Tour, 839; to Aiguille Chardonnet, 1,131; from Bourg St. Pierre to -Grand St. Bernard hospice, 839; thence to Col de Fenêtre, 228; from -Lourtier to Panossière hut, 1,613; thence to Grand Combin, 1,617; Col des -Avolions, 125; metres, 8,194. Of course, the measurement on the ground -would show a still more significant total, but I do not really believe -that more than 600 yards need be added on that score. On the other side -the following items may be deducted, as done on foot, climbing: Tour, -270; Chardonnet, 500; Combin, 1,000--metres, 1,770. This leaves, as -actually ascended on ski, a minimum of 7,000 metres, a trifle under -23,000 feet. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -ACROSS THE PENNINE ALPS ON SKI BY THE “HIGH-LEVEL” ROUTE. - - The “high-level” route--Previous attempts--My itinerary--Marcel - Kurz--The wise old men of Bourg St. Pierre--Maurice - Crettex--Guides with bamboos and laupars!--The snow-clad - cliffs of Sonadon--The Chanrion hut--Sealed-up crevasses--The - nameless pass--Louis Theytaz--The Pigne d’Arolla--The Bertol - hut--Why the Dent Blanche could be ascended--The ladies’ - maids’ easy job--The dreadful summer slabs--We push past - two “constables”--My cane--We bash in her ladyship’s white - bonnet--The Ice-Maid presses gently my finger-tips--The - cornice crashes down--A second night in the Bertol hut--The - Col d’Hérens--An impending tragedy--A milk-pail versus - ski--Dr. Koenig and Captain Meade--The real tragedy of - Theytaz’s death--Ropes and crevasses--Mr. Moore’s account--My - comments--The Mischabel range and Monte Rosa. - - -From the St. Bernard hospice to Bourg St. Pierre the run down presents no -particular interest. It is at Bourg St. Pierre the “high-level” road to -Zermatt is entered upon. - -For about fifty years it has been customary to give the name “high-level -route” to the glacier passes which connect Chamonix and Zermatt--Col -d’Argentière, Col des Planards, Col de Sonadon, Col de l’Evêque, Col -de Collon, Col du Mt. Brûlé, and Col de Valpelline. All these passes, -except the second (Col des Planards), are above 10,000 feet and linked to -each other by means of glaciers. This is the high-level route properly -so-called, and as followed in summer. - -The first attempt to cross the Pennine Alps in winter on ski, from west -to east, was made by a party of four from Chamonix, namely, Dr. Payot, -Joseph Couttet, Alfred Simond, and the guide, Joseph Ravanel, nicknamed -“le Rouge.” They started from Chamonix in the middle of January, 1903, -and appear to have outlined for themselves the following route, which was -intended to bring them in three days from the “Pavillon de Lognan,” above -Argentière to Zermatt:-- - - _First Day_.--Col du Chardonnet, Fenêtre de Saleinaz, Orsières, - Châble (in Vallée de Bagnes). - - _Second Day_.--Châble, Cabane de Chanrion. - - _Third Day_.--Chanrion, Glacier d’Otemma, Col de l’Evêque, Col - du Mt. Brûlé, Col de Valpelline, Glacier de Zmutt, Zermatt. - -Obviously, this plan could not be carried into practice as it was laid -down on paper. Into the bargain, the runners were stopped on the Col de -l’Evêque by bad weather, and, being short of provisions, they backed -down the Vallée de Bagnes, the whole way to Martigny. Thence they went -to Evolena, and crossing the Col d’Hérens, they reached Zermatt. From -Evolena to Zermatt the day was a long one, and they came down the Glacier -de Zmutt at night (see _Revue Alpine_, 1903, pp. 269-284). This first -attempt, over ground as yet unknown to the ski-runner, was broken up into -three sections. - -One month later (in February, 1903), two pioneers, who probably had no -knowledge of this first feat, started in their turn upon the high-level -route on ski. - -They were Dr. R. Helbling and Dr. F. Reichert. Starting from the Vallée -de Bagnes, they reached with much difficulty the Cabane de Panossière, on -the right bank of the Glacier de Corbassière. - -After attempting the Col des Maisons Blanches in order to reach the -Cabane de Valsorey, they found themselves compelled to return to the -Cabane de Panossière, and thence crossed the ridge at Mulets de la -Liaz. The descent on the face looking towards Chanrion was extremely -trying. They had to carry their ski. Anatole Pellaud, of Martigny, who -accompanied them, actually lost his pair, and came home along the Vallée -de Bagnes, while the others spent the night in the wretched huts of -la Petite Chermontane. The following day was spent in lounging about -the Cabane de Chanrion. Then they went on to Arolla by the Mont Rouge, -Seilon, and Riedmatten passes. At Arolla they slept in a barn, and next -day ascended to the Cabane de Bertol. The last day in this uncomfortable -pilgrimage was taken up in crossing the Col d’Hérens, ascending the Tête -de Valpelline, and descending to Zermatt (see Alpina 1903, p. 207, and -following: Erste Durchquerung der Walliseralpen). This is, beyond doubt, -one of the finest expeditions on ski that had yet been attempted in the -Alps. - -[Illustration: THE PENNINE RANGE FROM GRAND ST. BERNARD TO ZERMATT. - -(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, -26.8.12.) - -To face p. 208.] - -In January, 1908, the third attempt took place. Like the first, this -caravan started from Chamonix. It consisted of M. Baujard (from Paris), -with Joseph Ravanel, “le Rouge,” and E. D. Ravanel. Already on the first -day this party got off the bee-line. They went down to Châble along the -Col des Montets and the Col de Forclaz, then to Chanrion. On the third -day they left Chanrion at midnight, and got to Zermatt at 6.30 in the -evening, having crossed the Col de l’Evêque, Col du Mt. Brûlé, and the -Col de Valpelline (see _Revue Alpine_, 1908, p. 80). - -As one sees, these three expeditions partly followed, or cut across, the -high-level route. So far as the first three passes are concerned (those -of Argentière, of Planards, and of Sonadon), they left them completely -on one side. They were right in leaving the first. The best and only -rational course is to traverse this part of the Mont Blanc range by -the Col du Chardonnet, or the Col du Tour and Orny. Indeed, the Col -d’Argentière, on the Swiss side, lands one in a wall of rock, where -nobody should think of venturing on ski. The Col du Géant cannot either -be used to any advantage. - -The Col des Planards (2,736 m.), leading from the Val Ferret to Bourg -St. Pierre, is quite ski-able, but does not present the same interest as -a run on a glacier. Thus if you start from Chamonix, you must, at least -once, descend into the valleys. This necessity makes of the “high level” -from Chamonix an empty word for the Alpine runner. - -If you start from Bourg St. Pierre and proceed to Zermatt from pass to -pass, you will travel along an almost unbroken ice route, which may -be compared to that which leads across the Bernese Oberland from the -Lötschenthal to the Grimsel. Chanrion, at the altitude of 2,400 m., is -the only downward bend of some depth on this road, the only place where -one is not surrounded by ice. - -“Mr. F. F. Roget, of Geneva,” says a newspaper, “who in January, 1909, -with Mr. Arnold Lunn, explored the high-level route from Kandersteg to -Meiringen, planned out as follows his exploration of the Pennine high -level in January, 1911:-- - - “_First Day._--From Bourg St. Pierre to the Cabane de Valsorey - on the Sex du Meiten (3,100 m.). - - “_Second Day._--Col du Sonadon (3,389 m.), Glacier du Mt. - Durand, Cabane de Chanrion (2,460 m.). - - “_Third Day._--Col de l’Evêque (3,393 m.), Col de Collon (3,130 - m.), Col and Cabane de Bertol (3,421 m.). - - “_Fourth Day._--Ascent of Dent Blanche and a second night in - the Cabane de Bertol. - - “_Fifth Day._--Col d’Hérens (3,380 m.), Glacier de Zmutt, - Zermatt. - -“Mr. Roget was lucky in being able to carry out this programme from point -to point, with the exception of a delay of one day in the Valsorey hut, -where the atmospheric conditions compelled him to spend two nights. This -disturbance in the weather was in itself an additional piece of luck, -as a fall of snow, driven by a violent north wind, laid a fresh carpet -of dry stuff over the old, making the run, the whole way to Zermatt, a -perpetual delight. - -“Mr. Roget had asked Mr. Marcel Kurz, of Neuchâtel, to be his companion, -and had engaged four guides, all of whom did duty as porters, namely: -Maurice Crettex, Jules Crettex, Louis Theytaz (of Zinal), Léonce Murisier -(of Praz de Fort). The two Crettex are natives of Orsières, and form -probably the strongest pair of ski-ing guides that the Canton du Valais -can now produce.” - -Marcel Kurz had been my companion on the Aiguille du Chardonnet and on -the Grand Combin. He is the youth of eighteen alluded to in a preceding -chapter. He began his career as an Alpinist in 1898 and, since, he spent -every summer in improving himself, Praz de Fort being the usual summer -quarters of his family. In 1906 he became acquainted with the Grisons -ranges and particularly with the Bernina peaks. The following summer -finds him in the Mont Blanc range, in 1908 he was in the Pennines. His -first Alpine expedition on ski was when I took him up the Chardonnet. - -From that time he fell into my way of preferring winter tours to summer -climbing, and intends, in the end, to publish the skiers’ way up and -down every mountain in Switzerland to the top of which he may be able to -get on ski. For two years he presided over that extremely distinguished -society of young climbers, the Akademischer Alpen Club, at Zürich. Next -spring, on leaving the Polytechnic University of Switzerland, he will -enter the Federal Topographic Bureau in Berne as surveying engineer. - -As a soldier, he was first a private--like every able-bodied young -Swiss--in the corps of machine gunners attached to our mountain -infantry. He served his term as non-commissioned officer and is now -doing his officers’ training course at Lausanne. I would not in this -way offend Kurz’s modesty and tax my reader’s patience by giving here -so many particulars about a life career which after all is only at its -inception, and is not so very different from that of many young fellows -of the same age, did I think it out of place that a sample should appear -here of the manner in which mountaineering sport, professional studies -or occupations, and military obligations are crowded together in the -Switzer’s youth. - -The journey from Bourg St. Pierre to Zermatt was performed from Monday, -January 9, 1911, to Saturday night, the 14th. It might have been done in -half the time, but such was not the purpose of the expedition. - -At Bourg St. Pierre we met with one of those quite trifling but -somewhat unpleasant incidents with which mountaineers may be harried in -those remote Swiss villages where winter sportsmen are quite a novel -apparition. We fell upon a nest of those obsolete and retired guides -who fill the emptiness of their lives with nothing and find in the idle -habits they have acquired an excuse for passing adverse comments upon -the new mountaineering. We could not but go about collecting victuals -from the village shops, and did our packing in the public rooms of the -hostelry known under the name of Déjeuner de Napoléon. This started -the tongues of those who would talk. Buonaparte, indeed, seems to -have bequeathed to those big-mouthed villagers, whom he astonished by -breakfasting like any other mortal, a distinct capacity for bluff. - -Three old guides sat, hours before midday, with a glass of kirsch -huddled between their thumbs, eyeing our goings and comings and scanning -all our doings. Then they consulted each other and began bragging of -the wonderful exploits they had performed in their day. Having thus -employed half an hour in impressing us, they proceeded to call our -attention--simply by making much of it within our hearing--to the -enormous risk we were about to incur by entrusting ourselves to such -inexperienced men as those young madcaps whom we had brought along with -us, and who had no share in the vast knowledge and weight of authority -that had by degrees been amassed in Bourg St. Pierre. - -When they thought they had successfully filled us with suspicion towards -our men, they asked Maurice Crettex, in my presence, whether he had -fully recovered from an accident he had met in the summer when running -a cart-load of hay into a barn. The hay was toppling over and he had -been badly squeezed between the wall and the cart while holding up the -unsteady mass with his pitchfork. Little did they know that I was fully -aware of that and had purposely wished to be Crettex’ first employer -since the accident. - -All their sly dodges having failed, their vindictive jealousy and -self-conceit, when we had left, ran into another channel, and of this a -few words will be heard at the end of our chapter. The jolly old villain -of Kippel was sterling gold as compared with that ugly crew. - -_First Day._--Fine warm weather, foehn wind. From Bourg St. Pierre to -the Chalets d’Amont (2,192 m.), the ski-runner’s track falls in with -the summer route; but instead of climbing the chimney over which stands -a cross, the ski-runner keeps on to the south, and enters on the left -the gorge through which escapes the water of the Valsorey glacier. This -glacier is thus reached, then the Grand Plan, whence one discovers the -hut standing on the Sex du Meiten. Starting from Bourg St. Pierre at 11 -o’clock, it was quite easy to reach the hut by sunset. - -I noticed that the guides were provided with sealskins, light bamboos, -and laupars. There can be no question about the utility of sealskins -on long Alpine expeditions; but a light, short bamboo is certainly not -the right weapon for a guide, and laupars, with a few nails driven in, -certainly are most unsuited for glacier work. In other respects the men -were perfectly equipped. There were three ice-axes in the party, two -ropes, and everybody was provided with climbing-irons. - -_Second Day._--A violent wind during the night, then snow till midday, -when the north wind gained the upper hand, clearing the sky after 2 -o’clock. Beautiful sunset, clear night, 18 degrees Centigrade under zero. - -_Third Day._--Weather beautiful; quite half a foot of fresh dry snow on -the old wind-driven snow. - -[Illustration: THE SONADON CLIFFS. - -To face p. 214.] - -There is on the way from Bourg St. Pierre to Chanrion over the Col du -Sonadon a difficulty which may have turned the earlier runners away, -and no doubt induced them to go round that range from the north -rather than go across. This obstacle is the wall of rock which runs -as an unbroken, fortified line from the shoulder of the Combin on the -north to the Aiguilles Vertes in the south, and divides the Glacier de -Sonadon into two basins--the upper and the lower. The old editions of the -Siegfried Atlas show a dotted line which passes close to the Aiguille -du Déjeuner (3,009 m.), but it has been recognised that this route is -exposed to falling stones. Caravans now prefer to ascend to the Plateau -du Couloir under the shoulder of the Combin, and to descend upon the -Glacier de Sonadon, and thus reach the pass of that name. - -We were quite successful in traversing the snow-covered rocks, along -which ran in former days the usual route. In case any runners should feel -called upon to prefer the new route, owing to the state of the rocks and -of the snow, here are some indications as to how to strike upon the right -course. From the Valsorey hut one should climb straight up, on ski or on -foot, till one is on a level with the Plateau du Couloir. If the snow is -good it will generally be found to be hard; if it is powdery, avalanches -are likely. From the Plateau du Couloir one may slide down to the glacier -and put one’s ski on again, getting gradually on a level with the Col du -Sonadon. I do not say that this track is better than the old one which we -took. The conditions of snow and rock should each time be considered in -the choice, because open snow slopes on hard ice-worn rock are the happy -hunting ground of the avalanche fiend. - -At 10 o’clock, having crossed the small Glacier du Meiten, my party was -standing on the edge of the high wall which overlooks the lower basin -of the Glacier de Sonadon. For ski-runners the situation was somewhat -ludicrous, and was not one in which to remain for any length of time. The -party removed their ski, put on their climbing-irons, and the Crettex -brothers, carefully roped, went forward as scouts. The snow was in -capital condition (newly fallen powdery snow, very light and dry on the -bare rocks, and in the couloirs old snow of great consistency). Progress -was possible along a kind of ledge, which dropped slantingly along -slopes whose angle of declivity was about 45 degrees. One’s foot rested -occasionally in the compact snow, and sometimes on the rock itself. This -ledge presented an extremely narrow surface, and if one did not know that -it is in use in summer one might question in winter whether it existed at -all. It is very irregular, zigzagging across the couloirs and hanging on -to the spurs which separate them, but extremely interesting. - -When once the Col de l’Aiguille du Déjeuner had been reached, the snow -showed a continuous surface on to the Glacier du Sonadon. The ski were -once more put on, and the party “tacked” its way, first down, and then -up, on slopes on which the sun brought trifling avalanches into motion. -At about 3 o’clock in the afternoon the caravan was seated in the full -glow of the sun on the Col du Sonadon (3,389 m.). An hour later began -a rapid descent on the Glacier du Mont Durand--one of the many of that -name--with one’s face turned towards the sunset on the mountains above -Chanrion (Ruinette, Glacier de Breney, &c.). One should avoid running -too low down on the glacier. The thing to do is to cross over to the -north-east _arête_ on Mont Avril, and to descend full speed, pushing on -to the Glacier de Fenêtre, describing thus a vast semicircle on to the -tip of the tongue of the Glacier d’Otemma. Hence by moonlight to Chanrion -on the opposite slope. The hut was reached at 6 o’clock. There was but -little snow in front of the door, and no snow at all inside. By that time -the moon shone through a damper atmosphere; the glass was somewhat lower, -though comparatively high (it remained so throughout the expedition), -but the cold had considerably abated since the morning. This meant the -gathering up of mists during the night. - -There is a serious drawback to the Chanrion hut. Its situation marks it -out as a most convenient resort for Italian smugglers in the dull autumn -and winter months when the tourist traffic has ceased. Those smugglers -cross over from Italy in large numbers, bringing in farm and dairy -produce, and then return to their homes laden with heavy packages of -tobacco, sugar, and every kind of grocery that is heavily taxed in their -own country. They are not above lifting such things as spoons, forks, tin -plates, and sundry useful kitchen utensils, nay, even the blankets with -which the club huts are furnished. Such movables are therefore almost -entirely removed from Chanrion at the close of the summer season when the -caretaker comes down. The six of us had to be content with the barest -necessaries out of the always very scanty club furniture: six spoons, -six forks, six plates, six knives, six blankets: quite enough, you see, -whether smugglers or no smugglers. - -_Fourth Day (January 12th)._--As foreseen, the weather was dull. -Departure at 8.30. Considerable masses of snow had filled up, or at least -completely closed, the huge crevasses, which in summer are open at the -junction of the Glacier d’Otemma with the Glacier of Crête Sèche. Not the -slightest fissure could be detected. - -There are at the outlet of the Crête Sèche glacier some interesting -engineering works to regulate the outflow and obviate floods which have -repeatedly visited the Dranse valley, owing to the collection of water in -glacier pockets and their bursting when the weight is too great for the -ice walls to bear. Of these not a sign could be seen. - -As a long and wide avenue, the glacier stretched itself out before the -runners, and out of sight. Grey mists, rising from Italy, hung loosely -over the southern rim of the glacier. But when near the upper end, at an -altitude of 3,000 m. or thereabouts, the mist melted away and the sun -reappeared. Three passes had to be crossed on that day in order to reach -the Bertol hut by night. At that time of year those passes were nothing -more than slightly marked elevations in the snow-fields. The first opens -between Petit Mt. Collon and Becca d’Oren. This pass, as yet nameless, -and which it will be convenient to call here Pass 3,300 m., affords a -much more direct route than the Col de Chermontane, or any other. Messrs. -Helbling and Reichert had swerved away from the continuous snow-highway -to the north. Messrs. Baujard and Ravanel had taken refuge from the -crevasses upon the rock passes south of the Bouquetins range. In our case -the choice was determined by the requirements of ski technique. From Pass -3,300, gentle downward and upward slopes led us on to the Col de l’Evêque -(3,393 m.), which was reached at 2.30 in the afternoon. - -In the direction of Italy the sky had remained dull. To the north the -mountains shone (including the Bernese Oberland) in a blue sky, in which -floated a few clouds. The glass on that day, as before, gave very fair -readings. There was but little wind, and the cold was not sharp. - -On that day I conversed much with Louis Theytaz. It was with me a set -purpose that he should accompany us on this expedition, since I had read -in the Alpine Ski Club Annual, and otherwise heard, of his High Alp runs -with Mr. W. A. M. Moore and some of that gentleman’s friends. I wrote to -Theytaz from Les Basses above Ste. Croix. He joined me at Martigny. He -was what one would call “a nice, jolly chap.” - -But was he in for bad luck? He had hardly placed his things in the net -of our railway carriage, going to Orsières, when his climbing irons fell -from the top of his rucksack upon his head, badly bruising his forehead -with the prongs. I had engaged him to carry my own pack, as I had made -up my mind that I was now old enough to have a personal attendant all to -myself. My luggage was particularly valuable to the whole party, as it -contained all the spirits I allowed them, namely, in two large flasks, -the contents of four bottles of whisky, the proper allowance for six -men during six days in January weather at a minimum altitude of 10,000 -feet. Theytaz surprised me when, on arrival at the Valsorey hut, he -violently threw my pack upside down upon the bed planks. The stopper of -one of the flasks flew out, and then I had the pleasure of seeing the -floor streaming with whisky. We got through to Zermatt very well on the -contents of the other flask. But the head of an expedition so serious as -this, when he has forbidden wine and limited spirits to the supply which -is known to be in his possession only, does not like to see half of it -spilt on the first stage of the journey by an act of sheer carelessness. - -Anyhow, I viewed Louis Theytaz in the light of what I had read and -heard in his favour. Knowing that he was again to accompany, within a -fortnight of leaving me, Mr. Moore and friends to the Pigne d’Arolla, -that mountain gained much interest in our sight, as, with the searching -eyes of ski-runners, we examined its slopes dipping into the higher -reaches of the Glacier d’Otemma. We photographed it a little later in -the day in its eastern aspect. Seen from the south and west it presented -the most attractive appearance. From the east, it would have been out of -the question. What it might be from the north we could suspect from its -ominous hang that way. - -Recollecting that Messrs. Helbling and Reichert had struck the Glacier -de Seilon from the west, I advised Theytaz either to lead his party down -south to the Col de Chermontane, or to take them back the way they had -come, and reach Arolla in the same manner as the eminent gentlemen whose -route was on record. But I did not at the time attach any particular -value to my opinion, having learnt from experience how much better -things generally turn out in practice than they appear likely to do when -considered by an over-prudent man in a pessimistic mood. Louis Theytaz -was swallowed up by a crevasse on the Glacier de Seilon. - -From the Col de l’Evêque to the Col de Collon the snow was hard for -half a mile or so; but as soon as the northern slope of the latter was -reached the snow resumed its excellent quality. Thus the three passes -were crossed. Wide curves brought the party down the gentle slopes of the -Glacier d’Arolla to the level marked 2,670 in the map. From that point we -made towards the right bank of the glacier, and landed on the very steep -slopes which rise between it and the Plan de Bertol. Some of the party -removed their ski rather than run along the top of this ridge. When we -were well above the Plan de Bertol we were careful not to dip into it, -but turned in to the right, and this move brought us to the foot of the -Glacier de Bertol, in which the six runners opened a fairly deep track -while tacking with geometrical regularity in the direction of the Bertol -hut. They gained about 25 metres in each tack. The moon lit up their -march. In the higher reaches of the glacier the slope stiffened, but the -snow remained excellent. - -Let it be noted here that from one end to the other of the trip we were -entirely spared hard and wind-beaten snows, except at the Col de Collon, -as above specified, this being the result of the day’s delay in the -Valsorey hut, during which it snowed so nicely. Moreover, the high-level -route presents on its whole length a belt of comparatively low summits on -the south side--low because the route is situated so high. This almost -continuous parapet considerably interferes with the view upon Italy, but -it is a protection from sun and wind, and no doubt assists in keeping the -snow in good condition. - -At seven o’clock in the evening the foot of the Rocher de Bertol was -reached. The ski were hidden in a niche for the night. We climbed on -foot, like dismounted dragoons, up the wall, the rocks of which form a -kind of ladder. The rope which is permanently fixed there was available, -though partly buried in snow. This hut, perched as an eagle’s nest above -the glacier, looks as if the Neuchâtel section of the Swiss Alpine Club -(to whom it belongs) had wished to underline with a stroke of humour the -Swiss Alpine Club regulations, which say that, in the first instance, -huts are intended for the accommodation of the sick and wounded. The door -was blocked up with snow, but the windows gave quite comfortable access -to the kitchen. - -“On that evening,” says the newspaper already quoted, “the party became -more confirmed than ever in Mr. Roget’s resolve to attempt the ascent of -the Dent Blanche. The condition of the mountains and the weather seemed -to justify his anticipations. In forming that bold plan Mr. Roget had -taken his stand upon the successful experiences he had had before in his -winter ascents of the Aiguille du Tour, the Aiguille du Chardonnet, -the Grand Combin, the Finsteraarhorn, the Diablerets, the Wildhorn, the -Wildstrubel, &c. It could not but be, he thought, that the Dent Blanche, -like all the foregoing peaks, would present itself in January in such -a good condition that its ascent by the south _arête_ would be quite -possible. It was Mr. Roget’s belief that the _arête_ would show in its -fissures but a thin layer of dry and powdery snow. He was convinced that -the cornices would show a full development, with their faces to the east -and south-east, but without any hem of snow on the west side of the -_arête_, where the ascent is practically made. The slabs, he thought, -would be entirely covered with ice, but this ice, in its turn, could not -but be covered with an adhesive layer of old snow, with fresh snow on the -top of it, and this, having fallen in comparatively mild weather, must -have cemented itself on to the old snow, so as to form with it a reliable -surface, at whatever angle a footing might have to be gained. After a -spell of fine weather, the Dent Blanche could not be more difficult in -winter than in summer. In fact, he thought the rocks had been shone upon -by the sun till they were dry and free of snow, the couloirs had been -swept clean by the wind or clothed in a firm crust. That the cornices -might come down with a crash was evident, but this would be into the -abysses on the east slope, which was immaterial. On the western slope -the snow would be firmly enough attached to the ice to leave but little -opportunity for the ice-axe to come into play.” - -Those forecasts, brought to the proof, were borne out by reality. The -snow, which had fallen three days before (a light, powdery snow, coming -down in whirls), had gained no footing, nor could it, upon such an -_arête_ as that of the Dent Blanche. The little of it which the sun had -not had time to melt we swept away with our gloved hands. It was an easy -job, as that of ladies’ maids brushing away the dust on their mistress’s -sleeves, and we certainly did not complain of having some little -tidying-up to do. - -_Fifth Day._--At six in the morning some early mists were trailing slowly -on the ice and snow-fields between the Dent de Bertol and the Dent -Blanche. The light of the setting moon broke occasionally through the -clouds. The weather might be uncertain--and it might not, for the glass -was at fair. The mists turned out to be, as on the preceding days, such -as herald a beautiful autumn sunrise. A start was made in the direction -of the Col d’Hérens. Slowly the day dawned, and found the party on the -Glacier de Ferpècle. By that time we could make out which was the real -direction of the wind in the middle of those mists which seemed to drift -about aimlessly. It actually blew from the north-east, then from the -north, with a steady but moderate strength, which abated entirely only at -sunset. The _impedimenta_ were, for the most part, left on the northern -side of Col d’Hérens, keeping but a few victuals, the three ice-axes, the -climbing-irons, and two ropes. We turned the heads of our ski against the -north wind, skirting the foot of the big southern _arête_, so as to reach -a small terrace situated above the spot marked Roc Noir on the map. On -this terrace the ski were firmly planted in the snow. Dismounting, we -fastened on our climbing-irons. Three ski sticks were kept along with the -three ice-axes. - -Among the first rocks the party halted in order to take some food. It -was 9.15. By means of the ropes two caravans were formed, and these soon -started, exchanging a cheerful _au revoir_ in case some incident should -separate them. - -The brothers Crettex and Marcel Kurz were on the first rope; on another -myself, Louis Theytaz, and Léonce Murisier, this last carrying the bag of -eatables. - -The fairness of the weather, the capital condition of snow and rock, and -the fitness of the party would have made it quite possible to reach the -top of the Dent Blanche at one o’clock in the afternoon. But there was no -good reason for any hurry. A quick march might bring on some fatigue, or -at least some totally unnecessary tension of mind and physical effort. -This would entail some slight additional risk to no purpose whatever. The -climbers had the whole day before them, and need not make any allowance -for difficulties when returning to the Bertol hut, for they would follow -their own tracks (which they knew to be safe) back across the glacier, -whatever time of night it might be. Consequently this ascent of the Dent -Blanche was deliberately carried out, and almost without any effort. It -was accomplished in such leisure as not to need any quickening of the -pulse. - -Maurice Crettex and Louis Theytaz were fully acquainted with every -peculiarity of the Dent Blanche, and treated her with as much familiarity -as though they had been babes sitting on the lap of their own -grandmother. The Crettex section of the caravan got on to the _arête_ at -a trot, and began to ride it (the expression is false, but picturesque) -at the point 3,729. Lunch was relished at point 3,912. Thence the two -sections kept about 50 yards apart. Up to the first Grand Gendarme the -_arête_ is undulated rather than broken up, and quite comfortable to -follow. There are fine glimpses on the Obergabelhorn to the right and on -the Matterhorn; the cornices of the _arête_ formed round those pictures -magnificent frames with an ice fringe. - -I had long been curious to ascertain what might be in winter the -condition of the famous “plaques” or “dalles” (slabs), which have -acquired such an evil reputation in summer. No such thing was to be seen. -They were pasted over with excellent snow, in which Maurice Crettex dug a -few steps when the ice came near to the surface. He seemed to do it as a -matter of form: assuredly it would have been an irregular practice to do -otherwise. It is true that without our excellent climbing-irons we might -have been much less at ease. In point of fact, it was enough to dig out -the snow with one’s boot-tips and to stand firmly in the holes on one’s -climbing-irons in order to skip over those formidable slabs. - -The _arête_ offered the best means of progress immediately after passing -the Grand Gendarme. This appellation is bestowed upon the turrets, -which, constable-like, bar one’s progress along a ridge. On the rock of -the _arête_ there was the merest sprinkling of fresh snow, so dry and -light that it could easily be brushed aside, and nowhere prevented one’s -gloved hands from securely grasping the rock. The scramble was quite -interesting, and the hours passed by so agreeably while proceeding up -this magnificent staircase, that nobody felt in a hurry to shorten the -pleasure of the climb. There was occasionally a bit of a competition -between Louis Theytaz, leader of the second rope, and Maurice Crettex, -leader of the first, as to who should lead the van, but Crettex would not -yield his place, and stormed on. - -Here I left my stick planted in a mound of snow on the _arête_. We might, -or might not, pick it up on the way back, and I took my chance. This -stick was worthy of being planted and left there. It was a beautiful bit -of cane, smooth and white as ivory, which I had picked up from a heap of -drifted wreckage on the Cornish coast, in the preceding summer, while -bathing. What scenes it might have witnessed upon the deep I did not like -to picture. Yet, but for its suggestive power, I should not have brought -it the whole way from Watergate bay. - -It has always been my fancy to unite in one sweep of vision the ocean and -the mountains, the deepest with the highest. My Dent Blanche might be one -of a school of whales stranded on high when the waters withdrew, and my -harpoon was well placed, sticking in one of the vertebræ of her petrified -spine. - -At the time of writing, I understand that it is there still, respected -of the eagles and of the gales. The summer thaw has left untouched the -fleecy patch of snow. The lightning has drawn in its forks before the -unaccustomed wand. Now and then a guide writes me that he has seen it, -that so-and-so could not believe his eyes when he led up the first party -of the summer season and found an ivory staff shining on the ridge. In -wonderment, he reported the matter to some colleague of mine who had -heard in our club-room my first account of this ascent. - -For my part, I am content to look upon this incident as confirming my -views. A frail stick, planted in the middle of a patch of snow on the -most exposed and weather-beaten _arête_ in the Alps, appears here as the -needle showing how nicely balanced are the scales of Nature. - -In due course the rock came to an end, and the _arête_ showed itself -under the appearance of a white-hooded crest. It was the final pyramid. -On that day, Friday January 13, 1911, the small, conic snow-cap which -surmounted the brow of the peak was brought down by a blow from an -ice-axe, at 3.30 p.m. A short time was spent on the summit. The view was -now and then obscured by a cloud sailing rapidly down from the north and -skirting the watch-tower on which stood the onlookers. - -On the way down, each section, in its turn, with feet deeply embedded in -the snow, reached again the bare rocks of the _arête_, having resumed the -footprints made on the way up. But when leaving the snow that covered -the terminal pyramid, the party did not continue on the _arête_ the way -it had come up, but wheeled to the right--that is, westward--and began -ploughing in a downward course the slopes of the Dent Blanche facing -Bertol, which had the appearance of being all snow. In spite of the -extreme steepness of the slope, the party, with heels and climbing-irons -well wedged into the snow, advanced with great security and speed, -though the irons did occasionally impinge upon the ice. The slope -getting sharper and the layer of snow thinner, it became necessary to -substitute a lateral or horizontal course for the vertically downward -course. A few steps had to be cut before a footing could again be gained -on the _arête_. But, by that time, the caravan had proceeded beyond both -Gendarmes, and, though it was night, we could hop along quite nicely. - -During this bit of traverse, being without a stick I rested my left hand -upon the snow each time I moved forward, digging in my bent fingers to -relieve the foothold from some of my weight. The Ice Maid then kissed my -finger-tips very gently. The bite was so timid that the kind attention -escaped my notice at the moment. But late that night, before the stove, -in the hut, I struck a match upon the hot iron plates with my right hand, -to light my cigar, while holding up some garment to the fire with my -left. The heat made the mischief apparent. It caused almost no pain, only -giving an earnest of what the Ice Maid could do if pressed too hard. - -Through the mists of this January dusk the moon threw a gentle light, -which made it easy to discern the footprints made in the morning on the -snow. The few steps which had been cut here and there on the ice were -quite visible, and the rope made it a simple matter to descend the rocky -parts. So, from that moment, the descent consisted simply in repeating -in the opposite direction the moves of the morning. - -The cornices on the left hand were made more beautiful than ever by the -play of the moonbeams through the icicles. Now and then some fragment of -the cornice came down with a crash, and a cloud of dust arose from the -abyss and sent minute crystals across the faces of the men. It was 8.30 -when the party stood again beside their ski. An hour later we picked -up our heavier luggage. Sitting on our rucksacks, we took an evening -meal. Then, ropes and all being packed, the six strolled back across -the Glacier de Ferpècle at pleasure, and, as fancy bade, each chose his -own way. The night sped on, and half its course was almost run when we -reached for the second time the hospitable nest on the Bertol rock. We -might have been shades moving in a dream rather than men. Our task being -successfully accomplished, we might claim a right to vanish away, like -dissolving views thrown for a moment upon a screen. - -_Sixth Day._--The morning was long and lazy. At eleven o’clock, after a -good rest and full of good cheer, we entered upon our last day’s work. -The sun shone brilliantly, and, thanks to his kindness, and thanks also -to the smooth and sparkling snow, this last day, more than any of the -foregoing, if possible, gave rise to one of those rambles on ski which -are the delight of the Alpine explorer. On approaching the Col d’Hérens, -the track of the preceding day was departed from where it had bent away -towards the Dent Blanche, and the party turned their backs upon -their conquest. The rocks, which on the Col d’Hérens divide the Glacier -de Ferpècle, on the north, from the Stock glacier to the south of the -Wandfluh, could just be seen emerging from the snow. The ski were removed -for about ten minutes while descending those rocks. - -[Illustration: ON THE DENT BLANCHE, WITH MATTERHORN. - -To face p. 230.] - -It may be said that from that point to Zermatt the run was practically -continuous. No obstacle of any sort ever came to interfere with the -downward flight. Whenever the party came to a stop, it did so for its -own pleasure and convenience. After the rush down the sides of the -Stockjé came the run down the Glacier de Zmutt, with the icefalls of -the Matterhorn glacier on the right. Fragments of ice studded the snow -surface, and the ski occasionally grated against them. On the moraine, -where in summer the surface is stony and the climber’s brow wet with -perspiration, we slid along as borne on by wings, rushing through the -air. When we reached the Staffelalp the sun was beginning to set. Over -the tops of the arolla pines stood forth in a mighty blaze many friends -visited of old--the Rimpfischhorn, the Strahlhorn, the Allalinhorn, the -Alphubel; the beautiful mouldings of the Findelen glacier were bathed in -rays of purple fire. On approaching Zermatt the snow proved heavy and -deep. The ski got buried in it and shovelled along masses of it, somewhat -delaying the running. Zermatt was reached by five o’clock at night. - -The village was in a hubbub, and we arrived in the nick of time to ring -the necks of I do not know how many birds of ill omen ready to take their -flight. The Bourg St. Pierre dunderheads had had six days in which to -rouse the journalists. They had stuffed them with fusty words of ignorant -wisdom. Reporters had telegraphed and telephoned, to make sure of their -quarry. A column of guides had been warned by the head of the Zermatt -relief station to be in readiness. They were to leave on the next morning -for the scene of the expected disaster. - -They might do so yet, for all we cared. By looking about carefully they -might detect the tip of one of Mr. Kurz’s ski, which had snapped off -against a stone, at the moment when, entering the village at a quick -pace, he had suddenly come upon a milkmaid with her pail balanced on her -head. There was nothing for it but to go gallantly to the wall. This was -more courtesy than the ski could stand. Its point came off, and this the -rescue party might bring back as a trophy. - -Joking apart, Zermatt gave us a grand reception, seasoned with steaming -bowls of hot red wine and cinnamon. - -Thus was accomplished the first successful ski-run from Bourg St. Pierre -to Zermatt. Luck was good throughout; indeed, if an attempt to ascend the -Dent Blanche on a Friday and on the thirteenth day of the month could not -break the weather, nothing would. - -The Crettex brothers went back by rail to Orsières. Louis Theytaz got out -of the train at Sierre. He returned to his avocations at Zinal, looking -with well-founded confidence to his next engagement, a few days hence, -with Mr. Moore. - -The Crettex’ had no sooner reached home than a telegram reached them -from my friend Dr. König of Geneva, one of the pioneers of the new -mountaineering school, enjoining Maurice to expect him at once for a -repetition of the successful expedition, news of which had meanwhile been -carried to Geneva. - -Dr. König and Maurice found our ski track generally undisturbed, but the -wind and sun had done their work upon the fresh snow, hardening it and -covering it with the usual icy film. The running was fast and uncertain, -for want of side support for the ski blades. On the way they climbed the -Grand Combin, as I had done in 1907. Imitation by such a distinguished -mountaineer was the most flattering form of appreciation I could look -for. I met him some time after at our Geneva Ski Club, when he observed -that he wondered not so much at what my party had accomplished--in which -he was quite right, as I proved by producing the table of our very easy -hours--as at the bold practical thought that had inspired and helped us. - -Like me, Dr. König had noticed from the Zmutt glacier how practicable -the Matterhorn would be. In fact, Maurice would have tackled the Zmutt -_arête_ on the slightest provocation. Meeting at Zermatt Captain Meade, -who had just achieved the Zinal Rothhorn, Dr. König communicated to him -his observation concerning the Matterhorn. As was soon made public, -Captain Meade succeeded in making a January ascent of the Matterhorn. -Unfortunately he suffered very severely from exposure. - -I had returned to my ordinary occupations in Geneva, when I was startled -one morning by a note in the local papers. On the very day on which -Captain Meade was “doing” the Matterhorn--January 31st--Louis Theytaz -was perishing on the glacier de Seilon, an occurrence which changed an -otherwise successful trip into a dreadful ordeal. The cold may be gauged -from Captain Meade’s notes in the _Alpine Journal_. The thermometer down -at Zermatt at 7 a.m. showed 27 degrees of frost Fahrenheit. - -The fatal accidents to ski-ing parties that I so far know of in the -Alps have proceeded from one or another of three causes: avalanches, -exhaustion ensuing upon stress of weather or losing one’s way, and -crevasses. For no accident yet can ski be made responsible, a rather -remarkable exception, when one reflects how easily a ski blade may break -or a fastening get out of order. - -Theytaz’s accident was caused by a crevasse. He was one of four able -and well-known guides accompanying a party of three gentlemen who put -implicit faith in their leadership and in whom they had every confidence. - -The third on a rope of three, Louis Theytaz followed the two leading -over a crevasse which, after the event, showed itself about 7 feet wide, -and of which the party had become aware before launching themselves -across it. It was unfortunate that the leading guide “took” the crevasse -obliquely to its width. The moving rope, too, compelled each man in -succession to bring his weight to bear on the same spot. The rope -could not be of much use for want of stable supporting points. A man -advancing carefully on foot breaks his speed at every step. Not so a -runner on ski. - -[Illustration: TOP OF DENT BLANCHE. - -To face p. 234.] - -The gentleman preceding Theytaz made a stopping turn on the further side -of the crevasse, and waited to see him over. By that time Theytaz’s -brother Benoît, who was leader on the rope, might have been ready. -Anyhow, the snow broke. Theytaz was hurled down and the rope snapped. - -I was on the very rope when ascending the Dent Blanche. It was an old -rope, but perfectly satisfactory. Why are the best of ropes liable to -snap? After this accident, which roused his personal interest as it did -mine, my friend Kurz instituted experiments on all kinds of rope material -on the market. The results showed conclusively what rope material, -under tension, was the best, but no light was thrown upon the supposed -greater liability to snap when frozen, either when dry or after absorbing -moisture. All we know so far about the breaking-point of mountaineering -ropes, is that they may break under a shock which will leave a man -unmoved in his steps though, on trial, they may resist a tension far -greater than can be put upon them by the dropping suddenly into space of -a man’s weight. - -An athlete may burst a taut chain by muscular effort. A horse may burst -his girths by a little inflation. What about a slack rope? - -Popular imagination, baffled by such obvious but unexplained -contingencies, at once suspects foul play. The strangest stories may be -heard in the Val d’Anniviers about Theytaz’s broken rope. - -Mr. Moore’s own account appeared in the Alpine Ski Club Annual for 1911, -and runs as follows:-- - -“On January 28th last, a party assembled at Martigny, A. V. Fitzherbert, -A. D. Parkin, and myself, with four guides: Félix Abbet and the three -Theytaz brothers, Louis, Benoît, and Basile, all of Zinal. Next morning -we walked up to Fionnay, where a small hotel had been opened for us. The -snow was in perfect condition, and as we had an hour or so of daylight to -spare, we enjoyed some practice runs on an excellent slope just outside -the village. Here we made the acquaintance of three ex-presidents of -the Geneva section of the Swiss Alpine Club, who were learning to ski -in this deserted retreat. They had a comfortable chalet, where we spent -a most pleasant evening, surrounded by Alpine paintings and old Swiss -wood-carved furniture. - -“At 8 a.m. on the 30th we got off, provisioned and equipped for a hard -two days, and started up the valley to Chanrion. It was easy-going as far -as Mauvoisin, but beyond that the summer path was quite impassable in -places, owing to the overflowing and freezing of streams. We lost much -time over these, and finally had to descend to the bottom of the gorge, -which afforded much better going.” - -May I break here the thread of the narrative to insert an observation. -Louis Theytaz had got information from us as to this passage, and had -been told that the summer path was known in the Bagnes valley to be -impassable in the winter, particularly with ski. The gorge is the right -ski-ing route. - -“A steep and trying couloir brought us up to Chanrion. We left next -morning at 6.30, and made for the Glacier de Breney, where we were able -to put out the lamp. It was pretty cold. Near the top there must have -been nearly 50 degrees of frost. The glacier presented no difficulties, -the only obstacle being an ice-fall, up which we had a little -step-cutting. - -“The trouble began about an hour below the Col de Breney, where we were -met by a piercing north-east wind, which struck us in gusts, sweeping -up clouds of powdery snow, through which one could hardly see. The snow -was quite hard under foot, and all, except Louis, took their ski off on -reaching the col. Half an hour’s walking brought us to the top of the -Pigne (12,470 feet), where we got the full benefit of the gale. The view, -however, was magnificent, and fully justified the struggles of the last -few hours. - -“We stopped on the top about five minutes, and then returned to our ski -and began the descent to the Glacier de Seilon. For half an hour we -descended on foot over wind-swept slopes, at first gentle, and then steep -and crevassed, till we at last got out of the wind and into the sun, -when a short halt was made. At this point I became painfully aware that -three fingers had been temporarily frost-bitten. Parkin also had lost all -feeling in his toes, but did not realise how bad they were till later -on. We were soon off again on ski, and on perfect running snow, in the -following order: Benoît, Fitzherbert, and Louis on the first rope, myself -and Parkin on the second, followed by Félix Abbet and Basile unroped. - -“As we approached the ice-fall which gives access to the Glacier de -Seilon, there occurred the sad accident which cost Louis his life, -depriving us of an old and tried companion, and the Valais of one of its -best guides. We were running down and across the glacier when the leading -three came to a small depression and ridge running straight down the -slope parallel to the sides of the glacier, evidently a crevasse bridged -over by snow. The first two crossed safely, but apparently loosened the -snow, which gave way under Louis. He fell back into the crevasse which -was about 8 feet across, and as the rope tightened, it snapped, and he -was gone. Basile was running on to the bridged crevasse a little higher -up, at the same moment, but although it gave under him, his pace carried -him over, and he fell clear. Abbet was just behind Louis and saved -himself by throwing himself down.” - -[Illustration: ON THE STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST. - -To face p. 238.] - -Mr. Moore next gives a sketch of the crevasse and of the position of -each in relation to it. Then he continues: “This journal is no place to -describe the half-hour which followed, the memory of which is only too -fresh for those who were present. It is enough to say that we could not -reach Louis with 130 feet of rope, and had to tear ourselves away. It -was a great relief to know from subsequent examination that, although -we had heard him answer for about five minutes, he could not have lived -longer, and in all probability felt nothing. The search party of guides -that went up next day found the body 160 feet down, and as we had only 80 -feet of reliable rope, we could have done nothing.” - -The sketch shows--and its accuracy cannot be doubted--that Messrs. Moore -and Parkin were keeping a course that led them past the crevasse without -touching it; that Basile Theytaz showed less discretion, and escaped -because, being unroped, he came singly on the bridge, in a place where -the crevasse was narrower and when he was sufficiently under weigh. Abbet -escaped simply because he approached the crevasse in the wake of Louis -Theytaz, and took warning in time, for he was about to cross the gulf at -its widest. - -One may say--in all kindness and with every sympathy--that the roped -party which met with the accident was badly led, and one may say so the -more confidently, as the leader seems to have been fully aware that he -was heading for a formidable crevasse. - -When planning my traverse from Bourg St. Pierre to Zermatt, I had it in -my mind that an expedition across the Pennine Alps from end to end would -not be complete, unless I pushed on over the Mischabel and Weissmies -ranges to the Simplon pass, beyond which begin the Lepontine Alps. - -The weather was so fine and our powers of endurance had been so -slightly taxed that we might easily have pushed on. In fact, in respect -of weather, circumstances remained so favourable that we might have -continued till the end of February without experiencing a check. The -weather report was so perpetually: Still and warm in the High Alps. - -Unfortunately Marcel Kurz had broken his ski, and it might be just as -wise to go home and nurse my frozen finger-tips. There are other things -in life than ski-running. So we came to the conclusion that we had done -enough for glory. - -However, Marcel Kurz took this spring (1912) his revenge over the -misadventure to his ski and, with some friends, completed our interrupted -programme. - -I append here his notes, as the Mischabel range is about to be an object -of great interest for British runners who will find that Saas Fée has -become a nursery of excellent ski-running guides. - -At the moment of writing (August, 1912), the Britannia hut on the -Hinter Allalin, as already pointed out in this volume, is about to be -formally inaugurated. It opens up to the ski-runner a magnificent field -for exploration on account of which the English ski clubs liberally -contributed to the erection of this ski-runner’s hut _par excellence_. - -The map entitled Mischabel-Monte Rosa shows one of the numerous zigzag -tracks for which the district will become famous. - -[Illustration: MISCHABEL RANGE AND MONTE ROSA. - -(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, -26.8.12.) - -To face p. 240.] - -Mr Kurz’s notes show also what an incredible amount of stiff -mountaineering can be crowded easily into a short time by ski-runners, -including the ascent of Monte Rosa, the highest peak in the Alps next to -Mont Blanc. - -The latter is not a ski-runner’s mountain. The gradients are too sharp -and exposed. Monte Rosa, on the contrary, is an ideal runner’s mountain. -I lay no stress on the fact that Mr. Kurz’s raid was guideless. I have -endeavoured elsewhere to show how much this term is a misnomer when -applied to perfectly competent mountaineering parties that dispense with -professional guides. - -_March 27th._--We started three from St. Nicolas for the Mischabel hut -up the glacier of Ried and over the Windjoch pass. The weather was -very fine, extremely warm at about three o’clock in the afternoon. The -glacier was extremely broken up, presenting the same appearance as in -autumn. Would do very well for ski in a normal year, particularly on -the higher _névé_. The last 300 feet of the Windjoch should be done on -foot. On the top of the pass there rose an unpleasant west wind, and the -snow being most unpleasantly hard, we elected to leave our ski on the -spot, intending to come back for them on the next day and to ascend the -Nadelhorn by the way. We spent the night at the Mischabel hut. - -_March 28th._--Very uncertain weather; too much wind to attempt the -Nadelhorn. We walked down to Saas Fée in two hours on very firm and very -reliable snow. - -_March 29th._--On hard snow and dry rocks we walked up to the Gemshorn -and thence along the snow _arête_ to the Ulrichshorn, coming down on -to the Windjoch to pick up our ski. We then ran down the Riedgletscher -till within a few hundred feet of Gassenried, and thence walked to St. -Nicolas, first on hard snow and then on wet snow. - -_March 30th._--We walked from St. Nicolas and then skied to a fairly -hospitable hut on the Untere Taesch Alp. - -_March 31st._--Along the Untere Taesch Alp and the Langefluh glacier, our -ski carried us up to the _arête_ rising above the Rimpfisch Waenge and -along that _arête_ to the altitude of 3,600 metres. Then on foot along -the ordinary route we reached the top of the Rimpfischhorn (13,790 feet). -The ascent took seven hours, the descent four hours. The rocks were -absolutely dry, as “summery” as possible. This is a very interesting ski -tour and had not yet been attempted. - -_April 1st._--The weather is bad; we come down to Taesch and go to -Zermatt to get fresh supplies. - -_April 2nd._--Weather splendid with a furious north wind. We return to -our cabin on the Taesch Alp. One of us returns to the lowlands and two -only are left to continue the campaign. - -_April 3rd._--The weather is very cold and we make too early a start. We -cross the Alphubeljoch to Saas Fée, leaving the Alphubel unascended on -account of the fury of the wind. A pass somewhat steep from the Taesch -side and somewhat crevassed on the Saas side, from the runner’s point of -view, but magnificent with respect to scenery. - -[Illustration: FOOT OF STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST. - -To face p. 243.] - -_April 4th._--Weather magnificent. North wind not so strong. We ramble -most delightfully on our ski from Saas Fée to Mattmark, which is a deadly -place in other respects. - -_April 5th._--From Mattmark to Zermatt by the Schwarzberg Weissthor. -Weather mild, foehn, rather cold on the top, magnificent outlook over -Zermatt. The snow hard throughout allowed us to ski up very quickly (four -hours from Mattmark to the summit, 3,612 metres). At Findelen we enjoyed -an afternoon nap under the arolla pines. Amid regular flower-beds we -descended to Zermatt, where we met two other friends. - -_April 6th._--From Zermatt to the Bétemps hut on Monte Rosa, following -the Gorner glacier from the beginning and employing half an hour in -crossing the _sérac_ zone on foot. The heat on the upper reaches of the -glacier was most overpowering. - -_April 7th._--Monte Rosa. Snow quite hard here, and everywhere else, -throughout this fortnight. Weather beautiful, slight north wind. We left -the hut at six o’clock, reaching the top at 12.35. - -_April 8th._--Not a cloud in the sky all day long. We take sun baths all -day about the hut. - -_April 9th._--We intended to ascend the Lyskamm, but bad weather came and -punished us for our idleness on the preceding day. Foehn and fog. There -was nothing to do. We ran down to Zermatt in two hours along the whole of -the Gorner glacier. - -This laconic record is extremely instructive. It bears out the -contentions already formulated in other parts of this book. The snow -surface was hard, reduced in volume, and as cemented by the wind. -The _arêtes_ were bare of snow, free from ice, and perfectly dry. The -crevasses were either plainly visible or firmly crusted over. Ski were -throughout useful in preventing the surface from breaking underfoot, -perhaps still more in going uphill than when rapidity of movement -lightens one’s weight flying downhill. The summer of 1911, as one knows, -was one of the two driest on record in the preceding half-century. The -glacier snow was therefore worn down to its thinnest when the winter -snows began to pile themselves in layers above them. These too remained -comparatively thin, affording admirable running surfaces when sprinkled -over with fresh snow. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE PIZ BERNINA SKI CIRCUIT IN ONE DAY - - Old snow well padded with new--Christmas Eve in the Bernina - hospice--The alarum rings--Misgivings before battle--Crampons - and sealskins--A causeway of snow--An outraged glacier--The - Disgrazia--A chess-player and a ski-man--Unroped!--In the - twilight--The Tschierva hut--Back to Pontresina--Hotel - limpets--Waiting for imitators. - - -At the close of 1910 Marcel Kurz was at Pontresina. I had occasion to -draw up certain reports upon the winter aspect of the district, and -he kindly undertook the inspection of the glacier routes for me. A -few glorious days seemed about to efface the memory of many previous -gloomy ones. On the day on which this account begins, a little snow had -fallen in the morning, the skier’s welcome _quotum_. Nothing affords -such excellent sport as old snow well padded out with about a foot of -new floury stuff. The ski blades sink nicely through the top layer of -rustling crystals. The ski-points pop out of the snow like the periscope -of a submarine. The sparkling prismatic flakes stream past each side of -the lithe, curled-up blade, like silvery waves parted by the prow of a -fast motor canoe. - -“The north wind,” writes Mr. Kurz, “was now clearing the sky of every -cloud, leaving the dazzling snowy heights and the forests below steeped -in sunshine and brightness. It was our last chance, and, in a few -minutes, our minds were made up to accept it. Half an hour later we were -in the train on our way to the Bernina pass. - -“The exact itinerary of this expedition I published in the _Alpina_ -(Mitteilungen des Schweizer Alpenclubs) number of February 1st, 1911, -p. 22. The following only being intended as a short sketch, I will not -describe the route too minutely. The principal landmarks are: Pontresina, -Bernina pass, Alp Palü, Palü glacier, Fellaria glacier, Upper Scerscen -glacier, Fuorcla Sella, Sella glacier, Roseg glacier, and back to -Pontresina. - -“‘Grützi Herr Stäub! Grützi Herr Kurz!’ These first words of greeting, -uttered on our arrival by our little friend at the hospice, showed her -evident pleasure on seeing us so soon back again. It was, in fact, our -second visit to the hospice within the week, but this time we came firmly -intending at last to carry out our plan. - -“Here was the same low-ceiled, comfortable room in which we had sat -before, while the landlord and his friends talked the whole evening -away, with a big dog snoozing by the stove. We had taken supper at this -very table with Casper Grass, the Pontresina guide, on Christmas Eve. -Here had huddled together an Italian couple, busily writing endless -cards of Christmas greetings. The landlord, ever to be remembered, his -bead-like eyes looking out from behind his spectacles with a malicious -twinkle, stood up at times, munching a long ‘Brissago,’ to see that all -was right, while talking volubly in Italian. A maidservant sat at the -corner table, pen in hand and with vacant look, evidently stuck fast in -the midst of her literary endeavours. Not a star was to be seen outside, -and the howling wind, rattling the shutters with every gust, made us feel -how rash it was to have come at all. To drown the sound of the storm we -set the phonograph going, which cheered but little our drooping spirits. -Still, we started on the morrow, but on arriving at the Alp Grüm, the -violence of the wind made it impossible to go further--a disappointment -we had anticipated. - -“But now we were out on our second attempt, and would not go back. This -time our friend Grass had unfortunately been obliged to remain behind at -Pontresina, in spite of his longing to join our expedition. The weather -was fine and cold, intensely cold. Our chances of success were great; the -reconnoitring done on Christmas Eve had sharpened our appetite for the -unknown beyond. - -“The alarum had rung long since, and our candle had been alight some -time. The window-panes, white with frost, shut out the black night and -the piercing cold; never had one’s bed felt so comfortable. If our -bodies remained motionless, our thoughts wandered forth, trying to pry -into the secrets still lying concealed in the lap of the coming day, just -as the watchman’s lamp pierces the darkness of the night. - -“There is a delightful thrill of impending battle hazards in being the -first to break upon new ground, as when a troop nearing the line of fire -eagerly questions the dissolving morning mists and doubtingly greets the -light that will expose it to the enemy’s strokes. What unkind shafts -might Fate have in store? What bolts might the glacier be preparing to -fire off, when we should pass under the portcullisses of its castellated -strongholds? With what pitfalls might the snow desert not be strewn under -the winning aspect of its rustling silken gown? - -“If we wished to reach the Roseg glacier before nightfall, we must cross -the Fuorcla Sella between four and five o’clock that afternoon. This, -supposing that we should have passed the Palü glacier by midday. All -that, and back to Pontresina, in one day! Would it be very hard work? -That was the question, for nobody had yet ventured there in winter, and -on ski. - -“Thus did our thoughts travel till we finally dropped off to sleep again, -only to wake a few minutes later with a start, and leap from our beds to -make up for lost time. - -“At 6.30 we left the hospice. It was pitch dark, though numberless were -the stars shining overhead, so the lantern was lighted which had already -guided many travellers. A cheery voice, from one of the windows above, -wished us good luck, and with this pleasant sound in our ears we started -on our way. - -[Illustration: PIZ BERNINA CIRCUIT. - -(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, -26.8.12.) - -To face p. 248.] - -“Having reached Lago Bianco, we went due south, the wind at our backs. -Looking down, we saw the valley of Poschiavo sunk in the mist. We rapidly -crossed the lake and the level ground beyond, when dawn began to break. -By the time we had passed Pozzo del Drago it was already broad daylight. -At the steep wooded slope above Alp Palü we took off our ski and put on -crampons. The ten- or eight-pronged crampons fit very well on to ski. -They are wide enough--being calculated to enclose the heavy-nailed sole -of mountain shoes--to embrace the blade of the ski, and the bands are -long enough to be buckled conveniently over one’s boots. - -“To the left appeared Le Prese, with its lovely lake among forests of -chestnuts, while to the right began to tower the threatening mass of the -Palü glacier, which formed part of our route. We were again running on -our ski when, at this point, the snow proving very slippery, we attached -our sealskins. - -“These should be fitted with a ring to throw over the point of the -ski, and should stretch down to the middle of the ski, where they -should terminate. Here they are fastened to the ski binding by a proper -mechanical contrivance. They may be taken on to the back end of the ski, -but then they are difficult to stretch and fix over the heel of the ski. -It is quite unnecessary to carry the sealskin so far back. The clamp -under the beak of the ski completes the arrangement and tightens or -loosens the skin _ad libitum_. - -“We continued thus till our arrival at the first fall of the glacier, -when, to reach the opposite side, we passed along a narrow strip of -snow we had noticed and marked to that effect some time before. The -slope became so steep that our sealskins failed to adhere, and we were -beginning to skate about on the hard crust of snow. Above our heads hung -the _séracs_, which forbade our venting our wrath in loud vociferations. -We strengthened ourselves, therefore, with the additional safeguard of -our crampons, and proceeded comfortably, taking care to have a firm grip -of the hard snow. On arrival at the first table of the glacier we stopped -for breakfast and enjoyed the sun. Before us stretched a long causeway of -snow to the top of the glacier; near us Pizzo di Verona, its ice cascades -resembling a shower of glittering emeralds, cast a shadow on all around. -The weather was glorious. Stäubli introduced me to several of his old -friends towering on the opposite side. Far beyond appeared the majestic -Ortler group. - -“We continued our ascent round the western side of the glacier, roped -this time. At the foot of Piz Cambrena we took the direction of the col -opening to the west of Pizzo di Verona, and from thence an easy way -opened up through wonderful _séracs_ all aglow with the morning sun. _Va -piano, va sano._ A few more gaping crevasses had to be carefully avoided, -then the _névé_ became even, and we finally reached the col, leaving -behind us the Palü glacier, moping over its mysteries now unveiled. It -was midday. - -“We could not restrain an outburst of admiration at the new world before -us, with the Disgrazia as the culminating point. Stäubli, mad with -delight, began a wild dance on the edge of the precipice. One of the many -slabs of stone which surrounded us served well for a table. While the -kettle was boiling we could have had time to ascend Pizzo di Verona, but -we preferred to remain where we were and enjoy the wonders before us, -taking an occasional photograph. A great stillness reigned everywhere. -We did not talk. We understood each other just as well, perhaps better. -But why should there not have been more than the two of us to enjoy that -glorious sight? Would that I could have transported all you city people -to magic scenes like these! - -“I cannot help thinking of one who, regularly every day, at Zürich, comes -to the restaurant where I dine to play his game of chess at a table near -me. He salutes his partner, the small glass of cognac is brought, the -cigars are lighted, and then the game begins and continues to the end, -without a single word being uttered, and this each day of his life. Poor -wretch, how I pity you! How shall we repay our fathers for showing us the -mountains and their glory? - -“We were roused from our motionless ecstasy by a sensation of cold, and -upwards still, continued our way along the Italian frontier towards the -Piz Zupo, and lazily skid over the frozen ice-waves of the Fellaria -glacier. How shall I describe the fairy-like scenes met at every step? We -came to the foot of the huge buttresses of the Piz Zupo and Piz Argient. -What a contrast between those awful, dark, jagged arêtes and the snowy -robes flowing round their feet? Further on we came into a fresh region of -glaciers, dazzling in their brightness, with the mass of the Disgrazia in -the background, sunk in shadow. - -“‘Man wird verrückt!’ exclaimed Stäubli, my dear little friend Stäub. - -“Having unroped and relieved our ski both of crampons and sealskins, we -once more glided softly over those lovely snow deserts which run along -the border on Italian territory. A cry of ‘Youhéé’ fills the air. Stäubli -was flying over an enchanting lake of ice, and though the snow was not -of the best, we enjoyed our run to the full. Soon we were half-way -across the Fellaria glacier, directing our steps towards the western -side, where a new region was about to open before us; a black _arête_, -however, hid the other side still from view. It was a solemn moment. We -began to descend and fly over the ground, when, turning the cornice of -rock, we suddenly stopped to gaze on the wonderful sight before us. The -two Scerscen glaciers stood out bathed in light at the foot of the Gümels -and Piz Roseg, the whole suffused with the soft mauve tints of the ebbing -twilight. - -“We soon reached the Upper Scerscen glacier, in the midst of a formidable -amphitheatre of mountains. The king of them all, Piz Bernina, was at last -revealed to us, towering above Piz Argient, Crast Agüzza, and Monte Rosso -di Scerscen. The Italians showed their good taste in erecting the Rifugio -Marinelli in this very Eden. We could stop at this little stone hut for -the night. We preferred, however, continuing our run. From here to the -Fuorcla Sella we roped, and made a large circuit to avoid the region -of crevasses as much as possible. Soft clouds of snow were raised by the -wind, and sparkled like diamonds in the sun. - -[Illustration: UPPER SCERSCEN AND ROSEG GLACIERS. - -To face p. 253.] - -“By twilight we began ascending the last slopes to the Fuorcla Sella. We -reached the col, and, leaving the sunny Italian slopes behind us, entered -into the shadow of the Sella basin. It was 4.30 p.m.; we still had -three-quarters of an hour of daylight left, which would exactly allow us -to reach the flat of the Roseg glacier. We enjoyed a lovely run over the -soft, powdery snow tinted with mauve, the reflection from the rocks of -Piz Roseg all on fire in the setting sun. We knew our way here by heart, -and skimmed over the snow without fear, ‘yodling’ frantically. - -“By the last ray of the setting sun we left the Sella glacier, and -passed on to the Roseg glacier. There were still a few traces left of -our expedition three days before on our way to the Piz Glüschaint. Far -in the distance we could see the lights of Pontresina brightly shining. -We seemed quite near already. We stepped over the back of the glacier in -long strides, and on nearing the Tschierva hut, where two friends were -to meet us, we began to yodle. However, our calls remained unanswered, -and no lights could we see. We were not astonished on learning later that -those two distinguished mountaineers had been enjoying luxurious couches -at Samaden all the time! - -“One difficulty remained, in the shape of the Tschierva moraine. I asked -Stäubli for some light. He tied an electric lamp on to his belt, leaving -me in complete darkness! - -“A little later we started on a splendid run, descending from the -Tschierva hut, where we flew over the ground like phantoms. This run was -cut short on arrival at the bridge of the Roseg Restaurant, where the -road is completely spoiled with the deep ruts made by the sleighs. We -took advantage of this stoppage to rest awhile and finish some cake left -from our morning’s repast. After this, we passed through the beautiful -Val Roseg, a lovely spot, but wearisome after a long night run. - -“In the hotel, brilliant with many electric lights, we are sitting at -a table with our friend, the guide Grass, and some welcome bottles of -wine. Stäubli, the pink of neatness, is giving the guide a long account -of our trip. Around us the usual set of well-dressed people laugh and -talk. For them it is like every other evening; for myself, I find it -difficult to realise that all I have seen and felt is not a dream. A glow -of happiness fills my heart that not all these lights could surpass, -and the wish comes to shut out all around and rest once more in those -glorious solitudes. What a gulf seems to separate me from those who have -not seen the wondrous mountains, those who have not shared our vision of -the silent snows! - -“Life is made up of contrasts, and I take pleasure in recalling them to -my mind in order to perpetuate their memory.” - -Strange it is, on reading over those lines written by Marcel Kurz, -to have to add that the idea of the Piz Bernina ski circuit did not -germinate in a Pontresina mind. Forsooth it was reserved for the Swiss -to conceive and execute. But how strange is that apathy, that subjection -to routine on the part of an otherwise bold and enterprising people! And -how strange too that out of the number of foreign sportsmen congregating -every winter in the Engadine, not one could brace himself to “get up -and go” from Pontresina to the Bernina hospice, thence to the refuge -Marinelli, thence to the Tschierva hut and back to Pontresina, in three -days, if he so pleased! - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER X - -FROM AROSA TO BELLINZONA OVER THE BERNARDINO PASS - - The Arosa Information Bureau--The hospitality of sanatorium - guests--The allurements of loneliness--Whither the spirit - leads--Avalanche weather--The Spring god and King Frost--The - source of the Rhine--The post sleigh in a winter storm--The - Bernardino pass--Brissago. - - -Badenin Aargau is a flourishing watering-place, whence I was glad to make -my escape a few years ago in the last days of March. - -I had wired to the information bureau at Arosa, asking how long I might -expect to find good snow. The answer came: “Till the middle of May,” -which sounded boastful, in fact rather alarming, by promising so very -much. But why should I malign those good people? I found heaps and heaps -of snow, enough to satisfy all reasonable requirements till the middle of -June. - -My little daughter kept then a small paper box, in which she stored up -all the fine weather I might wish to apply for. On fair terms of purchase -she “let out” a certain number of fine days--as many as she thought I -might be allowed--to take me to Arosa and thence to Bellinzona, where I -was to join her and her mother on the way to Brissago on Lago Maggiore. - -There certain open-air orange and lemon groves I knew of awaited us and a -blossoming aloe near by on the way to Ascona. - -To swoop down the Bernardino pass upon Mesocco on ski and land a few -hours later on the banks of Lago Maggiore, after crossing the Rhaetic -Alps from Arosa to Hinterrhein, tickled my fancy. My line would be from -Arosa to Lenzerheide, along the Oberhalbstein valley to Stalla, otherwise -called Bivio, thence to Cresta Avers, and somehow along the Madesimo -pass to the Splügen road, and then east to Hinterrhein, and across the -Bernardino pass through the village of that name to Mesocco. The whole -thing could be done on ski. It would nowhere take me over glaciers. -I should do this alone, carrying my pack, sleeping every night in a -comfortable bed, and tramping by day on ski like any ordinary summer -vagabond wasting his shoe-leather on the hard high road. - -I could imagine nothing pleasanter. I should not take off my ski till -the last strip of snow sticking to the edge of the Mesocco road gave way -and should bring my navigation to a standstill upon the characteristic -mixture of mud and gravel found on post-roads during the spring thaw. -There is no small charm in slithering upon snow getting thinner and -thinner till it is from two to three inches deep and tapering in the end -to the bare inch, which is enough for the expert runner. - -Spring has a delightful way of creeping and sneaking up the Alpine -passes, using against King Frost every seduction that a soft, tender -heart can devise to disarm a fierce, unrelenting spirit. It threads its -way delicately from one warm, protected nook to another, and throws out -feelers that stretch forth tremblingly from the rock crannies into the -rough air. - -Flowerets peep out here and there. The eggs of frogs float about in slimy -masses upon pools of warm water banked in with snow. The released springs -and waterfalls throw off their transparent scarves of iridescent crystal -ice. The blackbirds hop about from branch to branch piping upon bare -trees that are still sunny through and through, but do not yet venture to -chill their feet by touching the ground still encumbered with deep snow. - -The hard winter god, gradually coaxed into a softer mood, relaxes his -hold upon the crust of the earth. What more delightful than this mixture -of two seasons? Under one’s feet all is winter still. Above, spring -skies, a scented air. Within one’s breast a heart yielding gently to the -suggestions of a new atmosphere. To enhance the contrast and accelerate -its phases, the spring god artfully turned the head of my ski full south -straight in the face of the sun. - -Thus it is within any one’s power to rewrite in this way for himself -Hesiod’s “Book of Days,” and he will do it best if alone. - -It was a peculiar thing to pass from Arosa, still lying under six feet of -snow, over the south brim of the cup and to swoop down upon Lenzerheide, -while the steamy fog of incipient spring hung over the moving, thawing -masses, and the man who had brought me up so far shrank back. There were -cracklings round about and dull thuds. A roar and clang came up from the -bottom of the gorge as the snowbanks crashed in upon the stream whose -reawakening had soaked and eaten away their supports. Something had gone -wrong with a ski-binding. Thus a kindly word may be spoken in time by the -mountain fiend before he strikes. He plays fair. Go away, he says, unless -you know that you have the luck of the Evil One. The brim of that snow -cup was a parting line. One pair of ski carried its man back the way he -had come. The other carried its man forward whither the spirit led. - -I left Arosa with a pang of regret. I had lived there some perfectly -happy and health-giving days in an abode reserved for so many who are -sick beyond human help. I was alone, and went from table to table as a -guest bidden to dinner. My hosts would, if I may apply this figure of -speech to a moral attitude, seek me out for my strength, and I found, in -the proximity of their illness, the shadow of our common human plight -falling across my path, bringing with it a kind of excuse for my rude -temporary immunity from physical ills in which in time we all share -alike, but which seem to create such unfair contrasts. - -Some were there, so to say, for a last throw of the dice in this Monte -Carlo of consumptives. On the return of some to health depended the -future of a home, wife, children, awaiting anxiously the physician’s -verdict upon their chief, for whose cure the last moneys of the family -were now being staked upon the double card, Arosa Davos. - -A powerfully built Englishman, among others, I got to know. On the next -day he was to be told whether he could go home or not. He was writing to -his wife in the last hour of that day, about that hour of the next which -would hail his return to life, duty, and love, or bring down upon his -head another of those blows for which there is no other remedy than the -infinite serenity of the children of God. - -Then he came up to me, spoke of the impending interview and of all that -was at stake. - -I looked at him and said, “You are as sound as a bell.” The words were -magnetic. They were posted to London that night, and the next day the -happy father and husband, released by the professional man’s verdict, -prepared to pack. - -There are two tragedies that to my mind are particularly pathetic, both -Alpine--that of the lung patient whom the Alpine sun cannot save, and -that of the Alp worshipper in bounding health for whom the Alps have -become as a car of Juggernaut. - -I have seen dead, handsome young men, for whom the avalanche had woven a -shroud of snow, and I have beheld wasted frames for whom the sun could -not weave fresh physical tissues. - -Of the Arosa scenes I carried a keen remembrance as I passed, safe and -sure, from ice-cold slope to sun-baked slope, whether the northern blast -froze my moustache, or the Ausonian breeze loosened the rigidity of the -air into balmy wafts. But Arosa was not without its moments of fun. There -was a parson there who gave me his Christian name to guess. It began -with B, and that was to be the clue. But I suggested Bradshaw, Bradlaw, -and Beelzebub before his obliging wife put me on the way to the right -spelling, Bible. - -Of all places that suggest Chaos, a poor bare beginning of things, that -place is the desolate spot in which the Hinter Rhine takes its rise. It -is called Paradise, and if ever man required to cheer himself with a -euphemism, it might be here. From Splügen to Hinterrhein extends a flat -tract of country on every inch of which nature has left an impression as -of exhausted powers. And yet, under those external marks of sterility, -lurks the beginning of a great thing, the Rhine, its fruitful valleys, -its grandeur, its world-renowned towns. You may “tail” behind a -post-horse from Splügen to Hinterrhein for an hour in the gathering dusk, -and wonder whether the next moment will not drop you over the edge of the -world. - -But a comfortable inn will open its homely rooms. You will tumble among -children learning their lessons around the stove. A place will be made -for you beside the young mother with her youngest hanging at her breast. -The father will walk in with the proud gait of him who bears himself with -grace and kindness in his sense of manly power. - -“Crossing the Bernardino,” he says, “to-morrow, alone!” - -“Why not? I am on ski; the post-sleigh does its service in all weathers.” - -“Yes, but two men go together with the sledge and the horses.” - -Indeed, I saw them the next day. I left at a reasonably late hour, and -they left still later, catching me up along the flat. Then I passed -them up the slope. They took all the windings, I cut across. It was a -terribly bleak day. The wind blew the snow in wreaths, and these laid -themselves across the old hard wreaths. Sleigh and horses cut through -them, throwing out the two men. They rose again, and got back into their -seat to cut through the next wreath. This time the sleigh was overturned. -The horses--harnessed tandem fashion--plunged, reared upon their sinking -hind-quarters, ploughing the snow with their breasts, while their hoofs -pawed about for a footing. Then they came off with a rush, once more -taking the sledge through. It was a long, narrow sleigh, just wide enough -to hold two men, with the mail bags boxed in behind them--more like a -torpedo than anything else. - -It seemed impossible to distinguish the causeway under the wreaths of -snow, in the snow dust blown up by the wind and with strips of fog flying -and curling about. Yet the horses kept to the winter track, and all -that plunging and kicking was the ordinary business of every day. The -_Cantonieri_ stationed from league to league in stone sheds all along the -pass, kept guard in the worst places, and came out with spade and shovel -to expedite the mail. - -I saw all that, hovering about like a stormy petrel, unable to make out -whether my hoverings were looked upon as of bad or good augury. I expect -the latter, for if there is a gift that mountaineers seldom lack, it is -that of jovial good humour. To talk and exchange impressions would not -be the question, till we might “foregather” in Bernardino village, where -horses would be changed and men might rest. But long before the mail -came down I was swinging through the empty village, between its deserted -hotels, leaving the storm behind me and opening my coat to the sun-rays -that brought the snow down in trickles from the roofs. - -On and on I went, staying at last my course on the edge of a wood above -Mesocco. There I sat on the corner of a stone wall, riding it as a lady’s -saddle, with one ski dangling and the other hanging down as a stirrup, -lost in contemplation. The contrast was so complete, so wonderful, -knotting together as it were in one bow the most opposite aspects of -nature. - -There I rested, snow-man and sun-man in one. - -A peasant came slowly and stolidly by, making a mess of the thin snow -with his heavy boots. He looked at me with great sympathy, stopped, and -let out that one word in the Italian tongue, “_Stanco!_” (“Tired!”) - -A few hours later my ski were stowed away in an attic room at Brissago. -Their time was up. But I would take them out again on the return of the -appointed hour. “Jamais pressé, toujours prêt.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -GLACIERS--AVALANCHES--MILITARY SKI-ING - - A legacy from the past--The formation of glaciers and - atmospheric conditions--Forests and glaciers--Our deficient - knowledge--The upper ice and snow reservoirs--What is the - annual snowfall and what becomes of it?--How glaciers - may be classed--Mechanical forces at work--Moraines and - _séracs_--Avalanches--Periodic avalanches--Accidental - avalanches--The general causes--The statics of snow--What - happens to winter snow--_Strata_--How steep slopes may be - classed--Excusable ignorance of strangers to the Alps--Those - who write glibly in home magazines--Unsafe slopes--Avalanches - when running across slopes--The probing-stick--Avalanche - runs--Military ski-ing--The St. Gothard and St. Maurice - districts--Military raids in the High Alps--The glaciers as - military highways--Riflemen on foot as against marksmen on ski. - - -On the whole the Mid-European glaciers are a legacy from a distant past. - -Their former size and extent corresponded to general meteorological -conditions which have long ceased to exist. - -They might--and no doubt did--alternately increase and decrease within -historical times. They nevertheless must be viewed as a bequest, a kind -of heirloom coming from a prehistoric ancestry. They are the survival -of a phenomenon which, in its former compass and intensity, is no longer -compatible with the meteorological _régime_ of Central Europe. - -The temperature most suitable for the formation of ice in nature is the -temperature which remains the most steadily around the freezing-point of -water. Extremes of temperature are not favourable to the formation of -snow, which is the form in which water generally passes into glacier ice. - -It stands to reason that the oftener the atmosphere can be saturated -with moisture in circumstances which allow a frequent discharge in the -shape of snow falling upon surfaces that are iced--or such as will retain -the snow, assuring the transformation of some of it, ultimately, into -ice--the more will the thermometer readings show a temperature rising and -falling only moderately above and below the freezing-point of natural -water. There is no use in further emphasising this obvious truth. - -Everybody will understand that moisture formed in hot tracts of the -atmosphere has little chance of being converted into snow, and that, -while a warm atmosphere may generate water--destructive of ice and snow -surfaces--a very cold atmosphere cannot assist in glacier formation--on -high land, at any rate--for want of vapours to condensate and -precipitate, and for want of water masses to consolidate. - -It follows that, within historical times, the Alpine glaciers have -undergone variations according to changes in the quantity of moisture -contained in the atmosphere, theirs being such altitudes and such -climatic conditions as might allow the Centigrade thermometer to swing -pretty steadily between 20 degrees above zero and 20 degrees under, all -the year round and in the course of a day. - -These conditions existed more fully in periods when the Alps were -well wooded. Such a period pre-existed the first historical epoch of -Switzerland. Under the Romans, say from 50 B.C. to 500 A.D., this first -historical epoch was marked by the wholesale destruction of forests--the -usual price to be paid for civilisation--and the glacier world retreated -in a ratio commensurate with the process of denudation. - -Then came the Early Middle Ages, which for about six or seven hundred -years show a distinct retrogression in Swiss civilisation. The glaciers -now regained some of the ground they had lost, because the wooded -surface, which is the most favourable to the condensation of moisture, -underwent a considerable increase. - -In modern times the forest area has again undergone such shrinkage that -it has reached the minimum when artificial means have to be devised for -its preservation. Glaciers have gone back again. - -We may therefore define glaciers as ice and snow reservoirs formed -under prehistoric conditions which no longer exist. They are kept alive -on a reduced scale, in a direct ratio to the moisture yielded by the -atmosphere as often as it is conveniently a little above and a little -below the freezing-point of natural water. - -[Illustration: THE SONADON GLACIER. - -To face p. 266.] - -Our knowledge of the glacier world in its formative processes is as yet -extremely deficient. What proportion of the year’s snowfall--within -the glacier region--is actually converted into ice? What proportion -melts away on the surface and passes directly into water, to be carried -away, carrying along with itself some of the ice? What proportion is, by -sublimation and evaporation, returned to the atmosphere, to become again -the toy of winds, in the shape of snow or rain-clouds, never feeding the -glacier at all on which it first fell? - -On the other hand, who can tell how much ice is formed on the glacier -surface by the direct absorption of the air moisture collecting upon such -a condensator? And would it be alien to our subject to ask what effect -may have on the present glaciers the loss of pressure consequent upon the -enormous reduction in bulk and height which they have undergone? Is the -glacier ice formed under the present rate of pressure capable of offering -anything like the same resistance to disintegration as its prehistoric -congener? What are its powers of self-preservation under the vastly -inferior pressure which it experiences in the very places in which ice -was once packed to a height and in a bulk we should not like to express -in figures, even if we possessed competent data? - -The broad fact seems to be that as much snow as falls on the glaciers -throughout the year is taken back into the atmosphere, and that the snow -congealed and fixed in the upper basins is as nothing compared with the -quantity of water that evaporates or runs away at the nether end of the -mass every summer. What is the capacity of the ice-forming _firn_ of the -Aletsch basin compared to the extent of its melting surface? And how much -snow does the _firn_ receive every year from the atmosphere? And how much -of that snow is incorporated? - -There are now so many approaches to the glacier world of Switzerland that -it should be easy to determine, at the outlet of a few typical glaciers, -the amount of water thaw conveys to the valleys below. According to the -season, it is quite easy to distinguish between rain-water, water from -springs, and glacier water. Such observations would lead to results -reciprocally verificatory. - -My provisional conclusions are that:-- - -1. The snow falling on the Swiss glaciers is a mere fraction of the -quantity wanted to assure their stability. - -2. The average snowfall of any year returns to the atmosphere. - -3. The source and means of congealation are not proportionate to the -exigencies of ice-formation, even for the maintenance of the _status quo_. - -4. The glaciers, regressing as they are now doing, are not being -replenished to any appreciable extent from the so-called everlasting snow -storage, and certainly not at all in proportion to their wastage. - -In other words:-- - -1. In a number of years X the whole glacier mass of Switzerland is -dissolved and reconstituted in proportions that are less than in the -preceding X period. - -2. The snow fallen during the period X--if present conditions are -accepted--is pumped back by the atmosphere during the same period. - -3. The quantity of water flowing from those glaciers in the time is -greater than the means of glacier recuperation. - -4. Yet the glaciers do recuperate in some proportion to their former size. - -5. Consequently the condensation and congealing of atmospheric moisture -must be much more effective an agent than hitherto suspected, for there -is no reason why, upwards of 9,000 feet, snow should be less liable to -thaw on ice than on rock surfaces. Rock and ice areas are conterminous. - -Glaciers may be classed, according to their physical conformation, under -the following headings:-- - -1. _Circular Schema._--They are then enclosed in a basin more or less -irregular in shape. The enclosed mass of ice remains concave as long -as it is lower than the rim of the basin. But it becomes convex in the -centre when it rises above the horizontal line joining the opposite rims -of the basin. - -2. _Longitudinal Schema._--A. On the flat, or approximately, those -glaciers show convex surfaces. - -B. When resting on a slope they are concave in the upper basin, which -feeds them and become convex as they reach lower and wider channels. - -This second type is the normal glacier type. - -A diagram or section of the convex portion of the glacier--an ideal -diagram of course--would show the mechanical and static forces at work -in a fan-shaped formation radiating from a point on the not geometrical, -but mechanical, centre line of the glacier, this point being situated on -its bed, where the side-pressures converge and annihilate each other’s -progress. - -From this point the bottom ice works its way up to the -melting-surface--but obliquely, being the whole time carried down by the -slope--and throws up side moraines and one or several spinal moraines in -the process. The spinal moraines always rest on pure ice. The ice seams -have been thrown up from the inside. - -Crevasses may occur in an outward, open, surface-formation, as in -_séracs_ when they are grouped together, or else they are the result of -accidental deflections or temporary oppositions in mechanical and static -forces at work in the ice. - -We said a while ago that there was no reason why, at the height of 9,000 -feet and upwards, snow accumulations should be more stable and constant -on ice surfaces than on rock. The cause for this is simply that rock and -ice are too near to each other and at altitudes too closely alike for -serious differences in temperature. - -Let us now pass to the matter of avalanches. If snow is utterly unstable -on rock, so it is on ice. Rock and ice constitute an avalanche area, -which in winter extends down so as to include all steepnesses on which -snow may lodge and whence it may be dislodged by the forces of Nature. - -Avalanches may be periodic or accidental. - -A periodic avalanche is the kind that comes down regularly at a known -spot, each time sufficient cause is brought into play. Maps of the Alps -exist on which those periodic avalanches are noted. Almost every Alpine -village has a periodic avalanche on its territory. The peasants know -when and where to expect it. It is called _the_ avalanche of so and so, -and your business is to find out, each time you propose going out on an -expedition, whether it has come down or not, and all about it. - -An accidental avalanche arises from general causes taking effect -fortuitously. - -The general causes are:-- - -1. A quick rise in the temperature. - -2. A sudden fall of the barometer. - -3. A change of wind. - -4. A fresh fall of snow. - -5. Slopes of a certain angle and conformation. - -6. Differences of density, moisture, and consistency in superposed layers -of snow. - -A study of the statics of snow is the royal road to the understanding of -avalanches. - -On a slope snow is in a state of more or less pronounced instability. - -A first fall of dry winter snow upon dry slopes is extremely avalanchy, -provided it be heavy enough. If it be a fall of wet snow on a porous -surface--that is, neither frozen ground nor hard rock--the snow will as -it were flop together in a slithering mass, but is not likely to form -itself into a dangerous compact floe. - -As soon as a second fall of snow comes to adhere to what is left of -the first, it may happen that the second layer does not get properly -welded to the first. The thoroughness of the attachment depends on the -adhesiveness of the snow and on weather conditions. A foundation is -therefore laid for the slipping of the new snow upon the surface of the -old. - -In the course of the winter the snow gets consolidated in one mass, but -the process takes each time from two to three days, during which caution -is necessary. A homogeneous layer of snow, hardened from the outside by -wind pressure, or freezing over after a slight thaw, may then break up -into slabs which slide down on the older snow, should one with ski, or in -any other fashion, cut that snow away--at any point--from its support. - -A _stratum_ of snow on a steep open slope is like a piece of cardboard -balanced on your finger. There is a limit to the inclination of the -cardboard beyond which it will slip off its pivot. So it is with snow. - -Newly fallen snow soon ceases to be an amorphous mealy mass. Its bottom -layer models itself on the surface on which it lies and, if turned over, -would show that surface _en relief_. The next _stratum_ adheres to the -first more or less, and finds points of support for itself, such as rocks -protruding through the first _stratum_, trees, shrubs, fences, dykes, &c. -Every ensuing layer is less shored up than the one beneath. Should there -be a rise in the temperature, an increase of moisture brought on by a -change in the wind, the snow becomes heavier and may start down; as a dry -sponge on an inclined board, gradually absorbing water, must slide down -when the inclination of the board and the quantity of water reach the -critical point. - -Our illustration from the cardboard balanced on a finger-tip, and from -the sponge on an inclined plane, makes it clear that it is impossible to -state at what definite angle the equipoise of a snow _stratum_ must be -lost or is sure to be kept. That angle depends on the finger-tip, on the -weight and size of the cardboard, on the sponginess of the sponge, on the -slipperiness of the plank, on your holding your breath, or mischievously -blowing upon the suspended object, &c. When about to capsize, the -cardboard may meet some external point of support, such as your raised -hand, which, in the case of the snow _stratum_, would be a pre-existing -prop and maintain an otherwise impossible stability. - -A fall in the barometer almost always means an increase of moisture which -is unfavourable to the steadiness of old snow. A dry, hot wind--such -as _foehn_--is worse, because its heat penetrates the snow to the very -bottom and sets it moving throughout its thickness. - -New snow is dangerous till it has had time to set--that is, for two or -three days. - -Runners are generally agreed to call steep the slopes on which avalanches -may occur. - -Steep slopes are either concave, convex, or straight. - -They are concave when the slopes converge towards a central dividing line -lying deeper, to the eye, than their sides; these are scooped out of the -hill. - -Concave slopes are:-- - -1. Funnel-shaped, when the funnel may be either upright or upside down. - -If it is upright, the wide opening is at the top. If the slope affect the -shape of a reversed funnel, it opens out at the bottom, but it may also -be choked up in the middle, opening up again above, like an hour-glass. - -Concave slopes are quite safe if strewn with rocks, overgrown with -shrubs, or wooded. They are untrustworthy if the sides have been planed -down, as it were, by what we may call natural wear and tear. - -The reader sees here how the indications of nature may be properly -interpreted. It is quite clear that a gorge which is a natural shrubbery, -for instance, has not been visited by avalanches for a time at least as -long as the plants took to grow to their visible size. - -The trouble here is that Londoners, for example, having to deal with -a gorge which they have not seen free from snow, cannot be expected -to tell whether it is safe or not. The local man alone--a permanent -eye-witness--possesses the information required, and failing actual -acquaintance with the place, a practised mountaineer alone can form an -opinion. - -Slopes are convex when the centre line, to the eye, rises above their -sides. These stand out from the hill, diverging from its top. - -Convex slopes should be ascended and descended along the dividing-line. -This line, as a dominating centre, will always be sought out by the good -High Alp runner. It is both the shortest and surest path from point to -point, and great is the delight to see at one’s feet the avalanche runs. -If the coping is occupied by rocks, the runner will keep to the snow near -to the rocks, but he has no business there at all if the rock ridge is -considerable enough to harbour avalanche snow. A practised eye sees at -a glance whether snow in excess of the capacity of the gullies is still -suspended above the runner’s head, or whether it lies in cakes and balls -at his feet. - -Here again the native will know. It would help you but little to say -that you have found him out to be an unconventional runner, that he is -slow and not at all the handy man you expected. However much you may -be entitled to fancy yourself or your skill as a conventional runner, -he is the better mountaineer, and should your conventional style leave -you in the lurch, he is the fellow to do the right thing for you. It is -then just as well to remember, when one writes in a home magazine, that, -on the spot, one was the incompetent person of the party. “He of the -ice-axe,” your guide, would do that second job, too, far better than you, -if the use of the pen in that periodical was not inconsistent with his -inferior social standing and extremely imperfect education. - -The straight slope is the slope on which every point is on the same plane -as another. These slopes are safe when they abut on to ground which -obviously is locally viewed as not exposed to avalanches: vineyards, -potato-fields, woods, hay-lofts, &c. - -They are unsafe when undermined by a trickle of water--springs, for -instance--and when the layer of snow next to the ground has melted -away without affecting the upper layers; or when the slope rests upon -a protruding ledge over which it bulges out; or when it is cut by -longitudinal ribs of blown-out snow which you may break open unawares, -letting out the mealy contents upon yourself. - -All slopes may be traversed--that is, you may run across them obliquely. - -When about to traverse, look to the foot of the slope, and then look to -the head of the slope. If all is right, sound the snow with your stick -and glance into the conic hole made by it. In time you will acquire -an ability to tell by the feel whether the snow is mealy, or set, or -damp, and how many layers your stick breaks through before coming to a -standstill upon frozen ground, or against rock, or before sinking into -the hollow space that may exist between the nethermost layer of snow and -the soil. - -Of course, all this you cannot do with a short, light bamboo, -conveniently fitted with an osier disk within three inches of the point! -To go forth so simply equipped means that you are leaving your brains at -home on that day--a thing I often do myself--but, I assure you, only when -out for mere play! - -A stick that cannot be used on an emergency either as an anchor or -as a sounding-line to take castings with, is a poor friend. It is -instructive to look curiously into the hole made by one’s stick. What -would be the use of a sport practised simply as an opportunity for being -scatter-brained with impunity, so long as luck lasts? - -On the hill-side, slopes--concave, convex, and straight--are joined -to one another by linking surfaces varying in shape and inclination, -but of too limited a development and too irregular a build to offer -to avalanches any opportunity of spreading over them; or else slopes -are separated from one another by breaks in the ski-ing surface, such -as ravines. In these, masses of snow gather most conveniently. The -longitudinal gaps opened up by landslips, torrent beds, or even only the -slides made by wood-cutters through forest and pasture land to launch -felled trees into the valley, are very distinctly avalanche runs. Efforts -are now being made to bar such runs by artificial plantations, fencings, -or walls. - -The centre of military ski-running in Switzerland is in the environment -of the permanent Alpine forts which defend the St. Gothard knot of -trans-Alpine and sub-Alpine (railway tunnels) lines of communication -from Italy into Switzerland, betwixt the sources of the Reuss, Ticino, -Rhine, and Rhône. Another centre is situated in the Rhône Valley, at the -point where a natural defile bars the line of communication between the -upper Rhône Valley, at St. Maurice, and the Lake of Geneva, commanding to -some extent the roads converging upon that point from Northern Savoy and -leading to it from Italy over the St. Bernard pass or through the Simplon -tunnel. - -The opening of the Loetschberg tunnel on the new short railway route -between Berne and Milan will, however, make it advisable to erect some -kind of additional works about Brigue. - -The Gothard and St. Maurice guards use ski, and ski-ing detachments are -about to be attached to the brigades of mountain infantry located all -along the range of the Alps. - -Many junior Swiss officers have made themselves proficient in the -new mountaineering by joining military ski courses. Military patrol -competitions meet with much favour at the large ski gatherings. - -For all that, the adaptability of ski to military purposes is not very -great in the High Alps. Still they are called upon to become quite a -consideration in border defence or attack. Small troops of skiers could -pass easily from one side to another of the Alps, occupying flying -posts of observation, and even raiding places where the defence would -have preferred to put its own outposts, had it not allowed itself to be -forestalled. The Alpine Club huts afford sufficient shelter for summarily -equipped detachments numbering from twenty to forty men. - -Bodies of troops crossing the Alps in winter by the passes available for -considerable military transport would enjoy a distinct advantage if the -outlet of the passes had been previously occupied by half or quarter -companies of bold ski-ing infantry pouncing, as it were, from the skies -upon small snow-bound places with summer hotels ready for occupation and -better stocked with means of subsistence than one would at first be led -to expect. In some Swiss Alpine villages particularly, large supplies -are often accumulated for the next summer season, and in others much -merchandise is stored up to accommodate the Italian smugglers whose -“exports” from Switzerland are all the year round a source of profit to -their purveyors. - -[Illustration: AT THE FOOT OF COL D’HÉRENS. - -To face p. 279.] - -Swiss ski-runners, by expeditions like my own, have proved that the -glaciers may be used, within strict limits, as highways for rapid and -unexpected military movements. Till now it was assumed that crevasses, -iced rocks, and piles upon piles of corniced snow would offer insuperable -obstacles to any military action. But the crevasses--as the reader now -knows--are most hermetically sealed. To the expert and wary runner the -snow opposes no greater barrier than to the pedestrian in summer. Does -not history teach how foot-soldiers have _en masse_, with artillery and -baggage, been moved to and fro across the Alps? Henceforth, military -runners may be trusted to scour the ranges, undetected, cutting -communications one day at the St. Bernard hospice and opening fire three -days later upon the Simplon hospice, hanging alternately on the only two -military roads joining Switzerland and Italy between the St. Gothard -forts and French Savoy. - -Those raiding parties could be followed by considerable parties of -transport men, carrying fresh ammunition and supplies. - -Such places as Bourg St. Pierre, Fionnay, Arolla, Zinal, Zermatt, Saas, -would be, from the Italian point of view, worth seizing and manning -at the outset of a winter campaign. From the point of view of a Swiss -advance aiming at laying hold of the southern outlets of the military -roads before the enemy could move up its advanced columns, those places -would be valuable bases for the auxiliary services waiting upon the -raiding detachments. - -Hitherto forces crossing the Alps in winter could expect to be safe -from attack on their flanks. Henceforth there might be a very different -story to relate. The few experiments hitherto made show that an attack -by skirmishing ski-runners upon columns on the march could not be met -by dispatching against them rifle-men on foot. Across country a man on -foot will take about an hour--on flat ground--to cover a distance which -an average runner on 2 feet of snow will overtake in one-quarter of the -time. Uphill, the advantage of the ski-man is still more marked, and he -may continue much longer. Moreover, he disposes of the whole hill-side, -and may take cover exactly as he pleases, by crossing snows over which -the pedestrian can make no progress at all, and becomes a most convenient -mark. The ski-runner may force his pursuer into any ground he chooses. -For a force developed across an expanse of snow, it is extraordinarily -difficult to carry out an attack upon ski-runners firing from behind -shelter. They occupy probably the higher position, and their field of -vision is absolutely uninterrupted. Rushes from point to point across the -zone of fire are quite out of the question in the absence of any screen -whatsoever. - -As for the rifle-men or sharpshooters on foot in charge of a village, -sallying forth to dislodge a party of runners firing into their -position and then withdrawing out of the reach of adversaries firing -from opened-up tracks, spaces, or houses, the idea is not plausible. A -dismounted horse-soldier might just as well advance sword in hand against -marksmen manning rifle-pits, or an infantry man, short of ammunition, -might just as well trust his bayonet to reach a horseman galloping away -out of sight. - -Ski-ing patrols of mountain infantry with portable machine-guns could -defend such passes as the Furka or the Grimsel against forces pushed -forward in vastly superior numbers. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE MECHANICS OF SKI-BINDINGS - - The shoe--The original bindings--The modern bindings--The - foot--The hinge in the foot--Different functions of the - toe-strap and heel-band--The parts of the binding--Faulty - fasteners--Sketches of faulty and correct leverage--A schematic - binding--_Critique_ of bindings in use--Suggestions--Cheeks and - plates--A whole blade--Cause of strained feet--Steel wire in - bindings. - - -In choosing a suitable binding for the high-level routes in the Alps--as -in thinking out or devising such a binding--the runner’s commodity is the -main consideration. There is human anatomy. There are the possibilities -of leather, metal, and wire. And footgear, and ski, and binding have to -work together. - -Runners who run for sport alone have a preference for the boots known -in the trade under the name of laupar boots. They are thick-soled, -flat-heeled, box-shaped above the toes. The Lotus boots, made on an -American shape, are a good type also. But are they good Alpine boots? - -Runners in the Alps for whom ski are a means to an end, as well as an -object in itself, generally wear an ordinary mountaineering boot of a -large size, carefully nailed on heel and sole. This for two reasons:-- - -First, there is frequently some distance to be travelled over, in order -to get across the rough, broken, or wooded ground before reaching the -high snow-fields. - -Second, it is practically impossible to dispense with nails in one’s -boots when crossing, above the snow-line, rocks and icy patches. On these -ski are useless. They have to be carried for awhile or left behind, till -called for. The runner is then thrown upon his boots and climbing-irons. -Should his boots be laupars, the climbing-irons have to be fitted on to -the bare soles. This is an inconvenient process, partly because the bands -are liable to freeze, partly because it may take more time to don and -doff the irons than the emergency will be kind enough to allow. - -Those who speak of injury done to ski-blades by boot-nails carry too -far their sympathy for an excellent servant. In point of fact, a -symmetrically and regularly nailed boot makes upon the ski-blade and -plate a harmless impression. The lodgement of each nail-head is clean. It -even affords an additional support when turning, or breaking, or swinging. - -The characteristics of a good running boot are, as one sees, few and -definite. - -With ski bindings, or fastenings, the matter is altogether different. - -The popularity of ski-running burst forth so suddenly upon the sporting -world that the invention of new bindings--of which there is no end--soon -proceeded even beyond the boundaries of common sense and reason. - -The original Scandinavian and Lap bindings, with bent twigs, twisted -cane, or long thong, were quite sufficient for their purpose and in their -place. - -Of the new bindings a large number are of a commercial character only. -Others, brought out on the score of mechanical perfection, come forward -with purely academical credentials. - -The early Scandinavian or Norse fastenings had a distinct quality. -They were not invented, but grew. They were made of one same material -throughout, showing the essential feature of a sound binding: uniformity -of texture. But the ski-blade was directly fastened to the foot, more -particularly to the toes, by the binding. - -The defect of these original bindings came to light when they were put -to more athletic uses. They then proved too weak, and not sufficiently -durable, in the hands of Germans, Austrians, and Swiss, practising the -Norse sport in their own countries. - -Iron and steel, in varying degrees of hardness, were pressed into -service. The uniformity of material was thus brought to an end. - -To make a long story short, the Huitfeldt and Ellefsen bindings are -generally admitted to be the most useful. The former is distinguished -by a clamp for bolting down the heel-strap. The latter obtains -rigidity--which is considered indispensable--by binding the heel of the -runner to the ski-blade by means of a stiff sole. - -Whatever the binding, the mechanics controlling the linking together of -limb, boot, and ski in common action, need some explaining. Even the -lay-reader may gain some benefit from a short and easy excursion in the -domain of _technique_. - -The foot consists of toes, ball, and heel. The point of play is the same, -whether one walk or use ski. It lies across the ball of the foot. It -is determined by the structure and articulations of the foot, from the -extremity of the big toe to above the ankle-joint. But the line of play -does not lie _along_ the foot; it lies athwart. On this line turns or -hinges the foot, as though a rod were run through it, whether the motion -be up and down--that is, vertical; or horizontal (right and left); or -oblique (foot sideways and edgeways), as in turns, swings, &c. - -There is thus an axis of rotation through the foot. This axis need no -more be horizontal than, for instance, the wheels of a motor-car when one -drives over an obstacle. - -The foot should sit at ease in the binding. It must not be fretted, -chafed, galled, or pressed by the material of the binding when the work -to be done puts a long and enduring strain on the boot. To that effect, -the binding should be such that the pressure will, as it were, cancel -itself by an equal application and even distribution, whatever may be the -movements and position of the foot. - -In other words, the heel-strap must have its point of attachment on the -axis of rotation across the foot, the point on which it revolves to -describe some portion of a circle in the vertical direction. - -But this attachment must be mobile throughout in the horizontal plane. -It should not be fixed on to the side of the ski-blade, or upon the ski -in front of the foot, or anywhere else. One should bear in mind that, in -mechanics, a heel-strap adhering to the ski at the centre of revolution -acts like a rigid arm. The balance of the body is upset by sudden shocks -which may react injuriously upon the foot, whenever there is a rigid -connection brought into play, if only for one instant. - -It is the business of the toe-strap to establish a connection (a close -and immobile connection) between the foot and the ski, which it is the -foot’s function to propel. To the contrary, to perform its office, -the heel-strap requires no fixed points of vertical support. In a -mechanically perfect binding, the foot of the runner would be free to -revolve, as on a pivot, in the horizontal plane, spending thus forces of -lateral origin, while the ski continued upon its course. As it is, a good -runner surmounts disturbing, incidental forces (the ordinary cause of -accidents arising from ski-structure) by passing them up along his body -and neutralising their effect by shooting himself upwards, as if to fly. - -When twigs of twisted cane were used they broke away under the strain. -The long leather thong was stronger, but it froze, or imbibed water with -too much alacrity. - -A ski-binding is essentially composed of four parts:-- - -First: A ring, or toe-strap, in which to adjust the point of the foot, -and which is the _fulcrum_. - -Second: A heel-band, which, passing round the foot, presses its fore-part -against the _fulcrum_, in the ring, or toe-strap. - -Third: A fastener, either clamp, bolt, buckle with eye and prong, sole -of appropriate length, lever, &c., wherewith to regulate and adjust the -pressure of the heel-band upon the _fulcrum_. - -Fourth: Side-supports, or cheeks, for the ball of the foot, generally -placed on each side of the _fulcrum_. - -It is under number three (clamps, buckles, and levers) that all -fastenings are at fault. They would have to be self-adjusting, so far -as quick adaptation to changing weather conditions and sudden running -strains is necessary. But such cannot be automatically obtained yet. The -best fasteners are approximate in their action. The worst are clumsy -mechanical contrivances. Most, good or bad, link the heel-band with the -ski blade. Some fasteners are placed on one or both cheeks. - -[Illustration: FAULTY LEVERAGE.] - -We have already made it plain: the heel-band, when stretched out round -the foot, should be free to revolve in the same plane as the flat of the -ski, as set forth in the following sketches:-- - -Here lateral impulses or checks are transmitted through the point of -attachment of the heel-band. - -[Illustration: CORRECT LEVERAGE. - -A. Oblique View. - -B. Front View.] - -Here none but the pressure exerted by means of the heel-band fastener -upon the _fulcrum_ (toe-straps and cheeks) controls the ski. - -If the reader will kindly remember what we said about the axis of -rotation lying across the ball of the foot, he will now understand that -the heel-band has to describe “some portion of a circle” on the apex A, -as follows:-- - -[Illustration: CORRECT LEVERAGE. - -Side View.] - -each time the foot moves up and down in the vertical line. - -Consequently the principles of a schematic binding work out in this way:-- - -First: That the heel-band be free to move in a horizontal plane, and be -made to run through the fastening lever instead of being itself attached -to the ski by an extremity. - -Second: That the heel-band run loosely through a loop or sleeve placed on -the apex of the foot axis on each side of the ball of the foot. The band -will hinge on the loop, else it would slacken and tighten as the foot -rises and falls. - -Third: That the heel-band be of the nature of a continuous rope, or -closed circuit, passing through the handle of the lever which, when -opened or shut, releases the foot, or presses it down into the toe-strap. - -Fourth: That the heel-band hang upon each apex of the rotatory axis -instead of being tied there. - -There are many reasons for accepting the above remarks. For instance, the -point of rotation works out too high in many manufactured bindings. The -heel-strap then cannot adhere as it should to the boot. Its radius and -that of the heel do not coincide. In the case of a well-known Norwegian -binding, the strap, on the contrary, starts from a point of attachment -which, on each side of the ski, is placed lower than the toe-line. Thus -the heel-strap is wrongly centred again. The boot undergoes irregular -pressure, a cause of additional fatigue and a waste of mechanical power. - -Most makers have been led into this fault by the bulk and thickness of -the material ordinarily employed--namely leather. Leather does very well -for circling the heel, a flat band being there the proper thing to be -used, but it is less useful to the front, where tension is called for. - -The fore part of the heel-band might perhaps be replaced by a rope of -fine strands of wire, with a breaking strain equal to, say, six hundred -pounds, by far exceeding the strength of the stoutest ski-thong. At the -point of rotation, the strap, in which is placed the heel, would meet -the wire. Thus the connecting-point between the heel-strap and its wire -extremities to the front would coincide with the pivots on which the heel -revolves in the axis of the foot. - -Under those conditions, when lifting from the ski the heel of the boot, -the tension of the heel-band remains uniform in every position. - -This part of the binding apparatus may be practically autonomous. Free -from any direct connection with the wood, it ceases to be a medium -through which shocks may disturb the balance of the body. The foot then -is free to exercise unhindered its own balancing power and to obey its -spontaneous “statics.” - -When cheeks are used, they generally consist of two steel plates, with -turned-up sides or ears, and frequently provided with holes at suitable -distances. Hammered into shape, the plates usually overlap each other on -the centre line of the ski. Sometimes a pin driven through any two holes -in the superposed plates (by means of a spring, to which it is attached) -maintains the plates at such a distance from each other as may fit the -boot of the runner. - -Plates need not be inserted through the wood of the ski, as is the case -with most bindings with cheeks, but they may be laid on the flat of the -blade, quite on a level with the rotatory axis of the foot. A steel -spring may then be adjusted along the middle line of the foot-rest. It -may be raised with the greatest ease, bringing the pin with it. - -To the usual practice of boring a hole through the wood of the ski should -be preferred an arrangement such as we have just described, preserving -for the runner that on which he most justly may pride himself: a whole -and uninjured ski-blade. - -The writer has always used in the High Alps a binding fulfilling the -conditions here laid down. He found his binding both safe and strong. - -Elasticity and uniformity of pressure are so well secured by the -severance of the heel-band from the body of the ski, that a fall forward -is not accompanied by an awkward strain, such strain being almost always -brought about by the reaction of the weight of the ski upon the muscles -or bones of the foot. It is now generally recognised that strains and -breaks are not caused by the firmness of a binding, but by an unequal and -jolting application of pressure to the bones and muscular tissues. - -A binding, the whole of which may be detached from the ski-blade by -taking out a pin and removing a lever, is handy to travel with, as -instruments to fit on a new binding instead of an old or broken one, are -inconvenient adjuncts. - -The weak points in steel rope bindings are:-- - -1. That the rivet connecting wire and leather may give way. The splicing -should be most carefully seen to. - -2. The metal cheeks may turn out to be brittle, if too hard or too thin, -as in any other binding with cheeks. - -3. The soft steel wire being made of strands, the very condition of its -pliancy, this also means that the strands may be too soft, or too hard, -or that they may be broken or unwound by coming into contact with hard -edges. To obviate this risk, an oiled leather sleeve through which the -wires might run, would protect them against friction and provide them -with a lubricant. - -The lubricant should be applied also on the bends of the wire. - -The leather sleeves are placed outside each cheek by means of a rivet -with the loop upwards and free. This provides a non-rigid “focus” of soft -material, through which the fine wires, though tense, run loosely. The -section of the wire thus enclosed lies at a varying angle with the foot -as it rises and falls, and adjusts itself to this in its every position. - -The lever by means of which the tightening of the wire heel-strap is -managed, is best placed across the ski-blade in front of the foot. The -wire runs freely through this lever to which, as mentioned before, it -should not be attached. Thus, in case of a wrench, or should the runner -fall, the whole of the wired heel-band may yield to the foot and shift -it just a little to one side or the other, instead of jerking it, as is -otherwise common, either against or out of the binding. - -Be this as it may, and taking things at their best, the modern -ski-runner’s desideratum--a binding of uniform material, adaptable and -elastic throughout--has yet to be met. - -An occasionally rather heated warfare was, a few years ago, waged in -words, all about ski-bindings. The shape, length, breadth, and grooving -of the ski-blades were also drawn into the field of controversy. Such -debates are a positive relish for enthusiasts and fanatics. But, though -angry words break no bones, violent talk is apt to be vapid and, save for -the sake of exercise in vituperative wit, can serve no useful purpose. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -RUDIMENTS OF WINTER MOUNTAINEERING FOR SKI-RUNNERS - - The new “Alpinism”--A re-statement of elementary - principles--Ski-runners _versus_ summer pedestrians--The - experiences of an eminent physician--How to walk in snow--Put - not your trust in sticks--Keep your rope dry--Stand up on your - feet--Ski-sticks as supports--Winter clothing. - - -Till within the last one hundred and fifty years mountaineering as a -sport was undreamt of in Europe. The high Swiss valleys were then visited -by a few scientific and geographical explorers or by people whose means -of livelihood and business occupations stood in some connection with the -valleys, their produce and inhabitants. - -During the nineteenth century, poetry and literature fostered summer -mountaineering, and commercial enterprise was not slow in following in -the wake of the intellectual and emotional admirers of mountain scenery. -The High Alps were frequented by others than mere trans-Alpine travellers. - -But it was reserved for the present generation to invent winter sports. -By them, the Alpine winter has sprung into international life. Thanks to -them, winter mountaineering is now fast adding a new branch to Alpinism. - -In the light of this new age, even the most elementary principles of the -mountaineer’s art have to be re-stated. Within the compass of the most -modest pretensions, the present chapter aims at so doing--for winter -sport lovers of either sex, whom the perusal of the foregoing chapters -may further fire with zeal. General readers--ladies particularly--we -would not rudely expect to be at pains to supplement, by incurring a -course of severe trials, their deficient opportunities and brevity of -experience. They will not regret their patience if they read these pages, -which, roughly speaking, cover a ground beyond which few of them ever are -likely to push their investigations. - -None can safely and properly use ski in the Alps but they who have become -acquainted with a mountainous country as summer pedestrians. But many now -visit the Alps in winter only. As these have no previous acquaintance -with the conditions of mountaineering, let them here take heed and be -warned. - -For want of minding these hints, you might fare like a famous physician -of our acquaintance who, coolly, in mid-January, after an early -breakfast, left his hotel, at Beatenberg, with a sandwich in his pocket, -a few drops of whisky in his flask, and accompanied by his son, lightly -clad and lightly shod like himself. - -They went merrily along in the snow, on gently sloping ground bathed -in the rays of the sun, till they found themselves by midday above a -somewhat tall and far-stretching wall of rocks. The heat of the day and -the weariness of the flesh promptly brought about the disappearance of -the whisky and sandwiches. But the sun would continue to burn above and -the snow to be deep below. Hot heads, icy feet, worn limbs. To trudge -back seemed uninviting. So the tourists at sundown took to the steep -rocks with trembling legs. Their hands were numb. They slipped on wet -snow. They got no grip on the ice. They fell into snowdrifts. Their heads -were dizzy. Their feet froze. To reach quickly the happy end of a sad -tale, it was three o’clock in the morning when they were snatched from -the edge of the grave by a party of peasants bearing lanterns and drawn -to them by their despairing cries. - -Like cases are well-nigh of daily occurrence. - -So, if you would be a mountaineer, you may learn here a few things which -probably you think you know already, but perhaps do not:-- - -1. _How to Walk in Snow._ Wear heavy socks and stockings, put on boots of -stout leather with nailed soles and broad low heels. - -To go uphill, set your feet down lightly but firmly in the snow, putting -your weight upon the ball of the foot. Then raise yourself on your -foremost leg by a forward swing of the body, to bring it well above your -bent knee. This will set your hindmost foot free to step up in its turn, -quite lightly. You must not raise yourself by means of a push away from -the ground, you would merely glide out of your step, backwards. - -To go downhill, put your foot flat in the snow, heel and all, keeping -your heel straight, to build a foundation. But do not thump your foot -down. There is frequently, under the snow, a slippery surface of stone or -ice. - -Put not your trust in sticks. As you do not know very well where the -point will rest when thrust through the snow, it will often cause you to -stumble. Your body should be well supported and well balanced on your -legs alone. - -2. If you use a rope in snow do not let it drag. Insist on your -guide keeping it dry by coiling it up in his hands when it would be -inconvenient to keep it taut. A rope that has over and over again been -frozen and wetted is slippery under any condition and may snap under -sudden stress. - -3. When climbing rocks or steep grass slopes in winter, it is safest to -assume that they are frozen over. Wear strong gloves and use them to -hold on with, but do not lay your full weight, through your hands, on -to jutting pieces of rock. Such supports are indispensable in climbing, -but likely to break away. So use them as supports only. The weight of -your body must rest on your feet and be raised by your legs to its next -resting-point. Frozen ground, frosted grass, iced rocks are always -extremely dangerous. - -When letting yourself down frozen rocks, as a rule with the help of a -rope, stand upright and in most cases with your back to the rise of the -hill. You may then let yourself down on your bent elbows while your feet -settle in their next hold. - -4. The winter mountaineer has such a preference for ski-running that -he has but little opportunity to use the instrument called _pickel_, -_piolet_, or ice-axe. However, when compelled to remove his ski and sling -them across his shoulders to pass a difficult piece of ground, he will -hold his sticks together and use them in guise of an ice-axe for support. - -When going down a sharp incline on foot, hold your sticks together, -with both hands resting on them. Let the point end rest on the high -ground well behind you, but do not lean back. You would find your feet -running away from under you. When going uphill, plant the point ends of -your sticks somewhere on the ground in the middle of your stride, but -somewhat higher on the rise of the hill than the ground you stand on. It -is a common mistake to plant one’s sticks down the slope, a sure way of -running into danger. In case of a slip, the place of hands and sticks is -on the higher ground, while it is the business of the feet to seek alone -a fresh hold lower down. They are thus partly relieved from the weight of -the body, and this is kept upright. - -5. The clothes of the winter mountaineer should be strong and warm. -When moisture-laden, the air is more trying than when it is dry, though -colder. Thaws are not unknown in winter, and rain in the valleys is -an experience to be prepared against. Boots and leggings should be -weather-proof. One should wear wind-proof knickerbockers or breeches, a -chamois leather waistcoat, a short but wide and easy coat. Rough woollen -material collects the snow. Such should be reserved for underwear. Outer -garments should present to the snow a smooth, closely woven surface. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -WINTER STATIONS--WINTER SPORTS--HOW TO USE SKI - - The awakening of the English--Switzerland the ice and - snow rink of Europe--The high winter stations and the - low--Principal sporting centres--Insular delusions--The - Continental network of winter sport associations--Winter - sports on ice--Tobogganing--The winter climate varies with - the altitude--A classification of sporting centres according - to altitude--The ski-runner is monarch of the Alps--How to - keep one’s ski in good order--How to learn the gentle art of - running on ski--Precepts and practice--The turns, breaks, and - swings--_Point final_. - - -It is strange to have to acknowledge, that while in the high-lying -valleys of the Alps the Swiss have basked for centuries in hot Christmas -sunshine, the English, till within the last twenty years, remained -ignorant of Alpine winter sports. Enlightened medical men first -recommended the tonic properties of the Alpine climate in winter. Then -came the spirited promoters of the Public Schools Winter Sports Club. Now -Sir Henry Lunn’s winter stations stud the Alpine ranges from end to end. - -These stations are typical of the best organisation hitherto devised to -connect winter games known in England, such as skating, curling, and -hockey, with the magnificent scenery and inexhaustible opportunities -afforded by the Swiss winter climate. As compared with regions -situated further north, the sporting advantages of Switzerland over, -say, Scandinavia, consist in its central situation in mid-Europe, the -closeness of its population, the immense accommodation for visitors, the -short distances from station to station, the compactness of the road and -railway system, and above all in the abundance of sunlight throughout the -winter months. We need say nothing on the benefits of altitude. If air, -sun and snow are ideal winter conditions for modern men and women, the -higher we go, the more completely will those benefits be secured. - -Be this as it may, stations under 5,000 feet are not so reliable for -steady, continuous frost, as those situated above that level. This is -a pity, because, from a social point of view, the lower stations are -largely patronised. The winter sportsman likes to rise quickly. He knows -that high peaks and deep valleys are nowhere so closely and attractively -interwoven as in Switzerland. The two highest points permanently -inhabited by a sedentary community are, in the valley of Cresta Avers, -between the Maloja and Splügen passes, and at Chandolin d’Anniviers above -Sierre, both at an altitude of about 6,000 feet. These places are above -the forest zone and should in time become the flourishing winter sport -stations which their situation entitles them to be. At the other and -lowest extremity of the scale, but in the vicinity of Mont Blanc, and -wanting but little energy to raise its potentialities to the level of the -very best, should rank Megève, above Sallanches in the valley of the -Arve. Unfortunately there has been hitherto in that part of the world but -little disposition to act in an enterprising spirit. - -The most important stations, so far, are those situated:-- - -1. In the Engadine and adjoining valleys (St. Moritz, Pontresina, -Kampfer, Silvaplana, Sils, Maloja, Fex, Davos, Arosa, Klosters, &c.). - -2. In the Bernese Oberland (Grindelwald, Beatenberg, Wengen, Mürren, -Grimmi Alp, Kandersteg, Zweisimmen, Adelboden, Gstaad, Lauenen, &c.). - -3. In the Vaudois Alps (Chateau D’Oex, Comballaz, Les Ormonts, -Leysin--this latter with many sanatoria--Caux above the lake of Geneva, -&c.). - -4. In the Rhône valley (Chesières, Villars, Gryon, Morgins and Champéry, -Montana and Vermala, Louèche les Bains, in German, Leukerbad), &c. -Zermatt is accessible and may be most comfortably lived in in winter, but -cannot be said to be as yet a properly opened up station. The same may -be said of Saas Fée, to which the new Britannia hut of the Swiss Alpine -Club, a gift of the British members of the club, should draw henceforth a -large number of English ski-runners. The Simplon and St. Bernard hospices -are open throughout the year. - -5. In the St. Gothard district (Andermatt, &c.). - -6. In the Jura range (St. Cergue sur Nyon, Les Rasses sur Ste. Croix, -Mont Soleil sur St. Imier, &c.). - -7. In the Mont Blanc district (Chamounix, St. Gervais, Le Planet, -Finhaut, &c.). - -[Illustration: THE BRITANNIA HUT. - -To face p. 302.] - -The offices of the Federal Railways at Regent Street, 11B, London, -S.W., deliver gratis an illustrated winter list of Swiss mountaineering -resorts. Many of these have been founded by local enterprise only. Such, -though quite commendable and moderately expensive, do not often afford -the first-class skating facilities found in the Engadine, at Grindelwald, -and in stations under English management. - -Stations which may boast of a large and well-kept skating rink, a curling -pond, well-laid toboggan and bob-sleigh runs, a rink for hockey, and -plenty of good ski-ing slopes, with hotel accommodation for an unlimited -number of visitors of either sex, are a modern achievement of no mean -order in primitive out-of-the-way Swiss mountain villages, buried under -anything from 3 to 9 feet of snow. - -There is a marked difference between the stations patronised by the -English--or visitors from the capitals, whatever their nationality--and -the stations frequented by the local people for sport or holiday -purposes. Those two classes avoid each other very effectually, though -unconsciously for the most part, and without any pointed intention so to -do. - -The former class depends on “central heating” for comfort. So exclusively -do they depend on this and so steadily do they flock to the best -accredited stations, that they often fondly imagine themselves to be the -only sportsmen active in winter. How often has the writer been asked, at -Villars, for instance: How is it that we English are alone seen on ski -in Switzerland? This mistake is easily accounted for, because those who -get that impression do not go far enough afield to correct it. If they -did, they would soon find out what an extremely small proportion of those -who run on ski are English. A little thought will show that this is quite -natural. - -Ski-running facilities stretch, as it were, in an unbroken line from -Scandinavia through central Europe straight down to the Maritime Alps, -and from the Vosges and Dauphiné in the west to the Carpathians in the -east. The number of ski-runners recruited over this immense area is -immeasurably larger than anything the British Isles (where there exist no -ski-ing facilities worth mentioning) can produce. - -The whole of Central Europe is, as it were, caught up in the meshes of a -huge net of Alpine associations and skiers’ clubs. These hold periodic -competitions and meet in international congresses, commanding a degree of -public attention and drawing to themselves an interest the magnitude of -which passes quite unnoticed in the United Kingdom. - -In a rather ill-considered manner, winter visitors to Switzerland like -to crowd the resorts which have become famous for their suitability in -summer. This is not quite the way to set about the thing. Winter stations -should be sought out for their own characteristics. Several low-lying -centres are not nearly so suitable in winter as in summer. Besides, many -which could be favourably reported upon by specialists, have hitherto -failed to be introduced to the public. - -Winter sports may be divided into two classes:-- - -1. Those which depend upon nature alone. - -2. Those which depend upon nature artificially aided. - -Among the latter class, skating and curling are foremost. Running on ski -ranks first among the former. - -It would be out of place here to dwell upon skating, curling, and -hockey. These are most congenial pastimes under the blue skies and -amid the magnificent scenery of the Alps, but they are distinct from -mountaineering. Scottish and Swiss curlers vie with each other in such -stations as Kandersteg. Curling stones are imported from London, and -ponds are now made in all centres favoured by players of the game. - -Skating rinks are a much more costly affair than curling ponds. Patrons -of the sport are apt to forget how valuable and extensive is the land -that has to be purchased and prepared in the vicinity of the hotels. A -staff of professional skating rink builders is in request, with an army -of sweepers under their orders. In the middle of the day the great heat -of the sun has often to be kept down by filtering the rays through huge -pieces of stretched-out sacking or canvas. As the supply of electricity -for lighting purposes is seldom scarce, night _fêtes_ are a great feature -upon the Alpine rinks. - -The social life is indeed sometimes a little excessive, and may interfere -with the steadiness of one’s nerve. When Englishmen, by way of amusement, -use the Swiss military rifle at the local range in friendly rivalry with -the peasantry, the Swiss team has hitherto been invariably victorious, no -doubt because the British marksmen are called out “for social duty on -the station” at too close intervals. - -The toboggan, or _luge_, and the sleigh are usual vehicles with the -Swiss. A sight deeply indicative of manly power and grace, is that of -Swiss woodmen steering heavily laden sleighs round jagged corners and -down precipitous ice cliffs. A run on one of these is an introduction to -a new set of sensations. - -But the “common herd” toboggan and bob on well-defined roads or tracks, -or buzz down runs purposely laid out for their use. According to the lie -or curve of the land, and with a view to accelerated speed, artificial -runs are scientifically built up in lines and bends carefully designed -beforehand. The banks are made of snow piled up with a shovel, and often -hardened into blocks by pouring water upon the snow. - -The Alpine climate, whether the Swiss, French, Italian, or Austrian Alps -are considered, varies with the altitude. It is at its worst in the -region of towns, lakes, and rivers, wherever the altitude is under 1,500 -feet. - -The winter months begin to wear their characteristic aspect in places -ranging from 3,000 feet and upwards. But climate must not be confused -with general suitability for sport, and stations between 3,000 and 4,000 -feet, however excellent in every other respect, are not yet high enough -to show a thoroughly reliable winter climate. South-west winds, recurrent -thaws, rain, and fog may affect sport seriously in such places for the -whole of any one week out of three. - -But, upwards of 4,000 feet, a steadily dry winter climate sets in early -in December, and may be relied upon to last until the end of March. There -is sure to be some thawing now and then, under the influence of mild -weather or as an effect of long exposure to the sun, but the dry, cold -air, and the torrid rays of an almost tropical sun, are the prevailing -features of the sporting season. - -As, upwards of 7,000 feet, no winter stations have as yet been thrown -open, the useful range of Alpine climate is as follows:-- - -1. Under 3,000 feet (such as Mont Pélerin, above Vevey, and Ballaigues, -above Vallorbes). - -2. From 3,000 to 4,500 feet (these stations are the most numerous and the -most frequented). - -3. Between 4,500 and 6,500 feet (at this altitude some people begin -to experience breathing and heart troubles, mental excitability, and -insomnia). - -Stations situated in this last and highest zone afford excellent sport. -Such are, for instance: Mürren, Montana-Vermala, the whole of the -upper Engadine, Arosa, Davos, &c. They are the ski-runner’s paradise. -Pontresina, particularly, is one of the very finest centres for long -excursions on ski. But, while some other parts are rather too flat, the -Pontresina district does not abound in short, easy runs. - -At from 7,000 feet and upwards, the climate is that of a glorified -North Pole; alternative spells of beautiful blazing sunshine, and of -stormy, snow-laden, piercingly cold winds. In winter the temperature of -the air is always low and, practically speaking, there is frost above -the snow-line every night even in summer. But, in the coldest January -weather, the sunbeams are poured forth in such arrays, for weeks at a -time, from cloudless, windless skies, that one’s sensation of bodily -heat, between sunrise and sunset, may be quite overpowering. - -All those allurements would perhaps, as in former days, still count for -little, but for the transportation of the ski from their dull, northern -home to that house set on high which opens its southern frontage, as a -balcony 200 miles long over the plains of Italy. - -This chapter would not be brought to a fit conclusion if its last lines -were not the means of enabling the reader to make himself proficient in -the bare rudiments of the ski-ing craft which brings the High Alps in -their winter garb within reach of human gaze. - -The beginner should purchase ski made of ash, and somewhat shorter than -the reach of his arm when extended above his head. He will find the -Huitfeldt binding most convenient, with the improved Ellefsen clamp -patented under the name of Aspor. - -Previously to using your ski, oil them repeatedly at intervals of a week, -and give the oil (if possible hot linseed) plenty of time to sink into -the wood. Then rub lightly some dry paraffin-wax into the grain of the -wood. Each time after using your ski, clean them and rub them down with -an oily cloth or sponge. - -Warm feet are the royal road to health and comfort: there must be room -enough in your boot to leave freedom of motion to each toe. - -First learn to move about on the flat, without any support of any kind. -If you have followed our advice as to oiling and waxing ski, the under -surface of yours will be perfectly smooth and very slippery. So, next, -choose the most gentle slope you can find to glide upon. Let it be an -easy slant leading on to a flat piece of snow. - -Practise going down steadily and slowly, holding in each hand, if you -like, a light bamboo or hazel-wood stick. These are to be used only to -pick yourself up. Never practise with a single stick, or a stout, heavy -stick, or a long stick. - -Put the right foot foremost, then the left. Then go down on one foot -alone, alternately using the right and the left. - -Go through these preliminary exercises with extreme patience. In nothing -so much as in ski-running is it fair to say “The more haste the less -speed.” - -The beginner who raises his ski off the snow surface falls into a serious -mistake. He should glide his ski along the surface of the snow when -moving uphill as well as on the flat. Ski were not made to be lifted, -like feet, but to be pushed along, like a drawn-out wheel. A sensible -learner never forces his way up a slope, but, as soon as he feels himself -sliding back, he eases off to the right or left. He should always keep -his ski close to each other, whether his course be upwards or downwards. -The knees, too, should be held close together when descending. The body -should not stoop from the waist but lean forward from the ankle-joint, so -as to be well balanced over the middle of the ski, the limbs remaining -loose and easy throughout. - -The whole secret of straight and easy running may be further summed up in -the following simple golden rules:-- - -1. Stand upright on your ski, keeping your body at a right angle to the -slope down which you run. - -2. Keep ski, feet, and knees together. - -3. Then practise lunging with each foot alternately, with the forward -knee bent each time as far as it can go. - -4. While lunging bring the weight of the body to rest alternately on each -ski. - -5. Practise thrusting back each leg alternately as far as it can go, with -your body resting on the forward bent knee. - -6. Then bring both ski close to each other again, and let yourself be -borne downwards along hangs of increasing steepness. - -7. Then let yourself fly down the whole length of a long slope, first on -one foot, then on the other, till you can move along on each ski, without -bringing the other into play. - -8. Practise dragging each ski alternately behind the other, setting the -hind ski free from your weight, then raise the front ski in the air and -transfer all your weight to the back ski. - -Having got so far one may begin trying swings to the right and left. - -1. To do a Telemark swing to the right, push your left ski forward, and -bring the weight of your body well above your fully bent knee. If you -then incline your body slightly within the curve you wish to describe -in the snow to your right, the forward ski, left, will begin to glide in -sideways. The inner ski (the right ski) will follow within the curve, -provided you keep your right leg well extended behind, and keep the -weight of your body off it. - -2. To do an Alpine swing to the right, turn the beak (or head) of your -left ski towards the right ski, while laying the weight of your body on -the left ski, placed lowest on the slope. The left ski will then swing -downwards and sideways, and, under the pressure of your foot, come round -the head of your right ski, accomplishing the turn. In this swing the -heels (or back of the ski) fly apart. - -3. To do a Christiania swing to the right, start with ski even and close -together. Advance slightly the right ski, get up speed sharply and then -throw your weight somewhat backwards by a side thrust inward, ranging -from the left hip to the right. The heels of the ski will slip together -away from your body, behind you, to the left, and the heads of both ski -will point to the right. - -The Christiania is reputed a difficult swing, but here is the “straight -tip”: Old ski, with edges worn down at the heel, feather round -beautifully. - -Beware of learning those turns in deep or heavy snow, lest you sprain or -wrench an ankle. Hard, ridgy snow is even more dangerous. - -This is not the place to teach how, at the altitude of 7,000 feet and -upwards, begins High Alp ski-running, in which the Swiss are past -masters, because this phase of sport is not for beginners. On the other -hand, consummate runners with good guides and inured to every kind of -hardship, might well be trusted to add to this book many a page showing, -much better than the present writer can, how the High Alps in winter have -infinite pleasure in store for the bold, cool-headed, and strong. - -[Illustration] - -UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON - - - - - BURBERRY - - WEATHERPROOF OUTRIGS FOR - - Ski-ing, Lüge-ing and Skating - - _Every genuine Burberry garment is labelled “Burberrys.”_ - - [Illustration] - - “HINTS ON ALPINE SPORTS” - - By Professor F. F. ROGET, Author of “Ski-runs in the High Alps.” - - A handbook of invaluable advice addressed to those ambitious to - excel in Winter Sports. - - Price 6d., Post Free. - - BURBERRY OUTRIGS, for men and women, designed from the - specifications of experts completely satisfy the exacting - requirements of Winter Sports. They have been tested under the - severest conditions, and pronounced infinitely superior to any - other form of equipment. - - BURBERRY MATERIALS, woven and proofed by exclusive processes, - afford healthful warmth and comfort in the coldest weather, - yet in action prevent overheating by their faultless - self-ventilation. Airylight, they minimise fatigue and conserve - physical energy. - - BURBERRYS’ system of weatherproofing, whilst it leaves the - textural ventilation of the fabrics undiminished, renders them - permanently antagonistic to every form of moisture. Burberry - Winter Sports materials are smooth surfaced and uncreasable, so - that snow cannot lodge upon them. - - LIGHTWEIGHT, yet densely woven, Burberry excludes cold wind and - is so durable that years of rough-and-tumble wear amongst snow - and ice fails to affect either its appearance or its efficiency. - - BURBERRYS - - Haymarket, S.W., LONDON; Boul. Malesherbes, PARIS. - - - - - SKI-ING - - FOR BEGINNERS AND MOUNTAINEERS - - By W. RICKMER RICKMERS - - With 72 Full-page Plates and many Diagrams in the Text. Cloth, - 4/6 net. (Inland Postage 4d.) - - There are few who can look back on so many years of strenuous - ski-ing as Mr. Rickmers, and, save one other man, nobody has - had so large and successful an experience of teaching it to - beginners. This volume is especially valuable as containing the - advice of a mountaineer. It is “short and sweet,” embodying - everything the beginner must know in order to learn as quickly - as possible. The second part gives him due warning and sound - advice, once he has mastered the elements of ski-running and - sallies forth on short tours to be followed by long expeditions - into the wintry mountains. Mr. Rickmers’ idea throughout is to - teach and tell only what has stood the test of time and what - is strictly necessary, thus saving from much indecision the - ski-tourist who is to be. - - The book will be found to be the most complete introduction to - the subject in English. - - “A fascinating book on the most delightful of Continental - winter sports. Not only is Mr. Rickmers a strenuous and - accomplished ski-runner himself, but he has had years of - experience as a teacher of the art, and his handy volume - embodies everything that it is essential for the novice to know - in order to become an efficient ski-runner in as short a time - as possible.”--_T. P.’s Weekly._ - - “He is a teacher of vast experience, who has studied every - defect in style that a beginner can possibly fall into, and has - learned how to cure them all. If the novice with the aid of - this book studies his every posture and action, practising the - right and with pains correcting what he learns is wrong, he is - on the high road to becoming a first-class runner.”--_Scottish - Ski Club Magazine._ - - _On Sale at all Booksellers._ - - T. FISHER UNWIN, 1 Adelphi Terrace, London. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS*** - - -******* This file should be named 54163-0.txt or 54163-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/4/1/6/54163 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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F. (François Frédéric) Roget</title> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> -<style type="text/css"> - -a { - text-decoration: none; -} - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -h1,h2,h3,h4 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -hr { - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - clear: both; - width: 65%; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -p { - margin-top: 0.5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -p.dropcap { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -p.dropcap:first-letter { - color: transparent; - visibility: hidden; - margin-left: -0.9em; -} - -img.dropcap { - float: left; - margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; -} - -table { - margin: 1em auto 1em auto; - max-width: 45em; - border-collapse: collapse; -} - -td { - padding-left: 2.25em; - padding-right: 0.25em; - vertical-align: top; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.ad { - border: thin solid black; - padding: 0.5em; - max-width: 40em; - margin: 1.5em auto; -} - -.ad-sub { - border: thin solid black; - padding: 0.5em; - width: 18em; -} - -.ad-pic { - float: right; - clear: right; - margin: 0.5em; - padding: 0; - width: 50%; - text-align: center; -} - -.blockquote { - margin: auto 10%; -} - -.caption { - text-align: center; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-size: 90%; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.center { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.hanging { - font-size: smaller; - margin-bottom: 1.5em; -} - -.hanging p { - padding-left: 2em; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.noindent { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.larger { - font-size: 150%; -} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - right: 4%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; -} - -.poetry-container { - text-align: center; - margin: 1em; -} - -.poetry { - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .verse { - text-indent: -3em; - padding-left: 3em; -} - -.poetry .indent1 { - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.right { - text-align: right; -} - -.smaller { - font-size: 80%; -} - -.smcap { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; -} - -.smcapuc { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; - text-transform: lowercase; -} - -.tdc { - text-align: center; - padding-top: 0.75em; - padding-bottom: 0.25em; -} - -.tdr { - text-align: right; - vertical-align: bottom; -} - -.tdsub { - padding-left: 2em; - font-size: smaller; - text-indent: 0em; - text-align: justify; -} - -.titlepage { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 3em; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -@media handheld { - -img { - max-width: 100%; - width: auto; - height: auto; -} - -img.dropcap { - display: none; -} - -.poetry { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; -} - -.blockquote { - margin: auto 5%; -} - -p.dropcap:first-letter { - color: inherit; - visibility: visible; - margin-left: 0; -} -} - - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ski-runs in the High Alps, by F. F. -(François Frédéric) Roget, Illustrated by L. M. Crisp</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world 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 <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Ski-runs in the High Alps</p> -<p>Author: F. F. (François Frédéric) Roget</p> -<p>Release Date: February 13, 2017 [eBook #54163]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Ann Jury<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/skirunsinhighalp00roge"> - https://archive.org/details/skirunsinhighalp00roge</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="700" alt="Cover image" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<div class="ad"> - -<p class="center larger">SKI-ING FOR BEGINNERS<br /> -AND MOUNTAINEERS</p> - -<p class="center">By W. RICKMER RICKMERS</p> - -<p class="center">With 72 Full-page Plates and many Diagrams in the Text</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Crown 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. net. (Post free, 4s. 9d.)</i></p> - -<p class="center">Opinions of the Press</p> - -<p>“A fascinating book on the most delightful of Continental -winter sports. Not only is Mr. Rickmers a strenuous and -accomplished ski-runner himself, but he has had years of -experience as a teacher of the art, and his handy volume -embodies everything that it is essential for the novice to know -in order to become an efficient ski-runner in as short a time as -possible”—<cite>T. P.’s Weekly.</cite></p> - -<p>“He is a teacher of vast experience, who has studied every -defect in style that a beginner can possibly fall into, and has -learned how to cure them all. If the novice with the aid -of this book studies his every posture and action, practising -the right and with pains correcting what he learns is wrong, he -is on the high road to becoming a first-class runner.”—<cite>Scottish -Ski Club Magazine.</cite></p> - -<p>“Mr Rickmers has written a lucid book which, as regards -ski-ing, is cyclopædically exhaustive.”—<cite>Illustrated Sporting and -Dramatic News.</cite></p> - -<p>“This book will be a great boon to those wishing to learn -the art of ski-ing. The illustrations are excellent and most -carefully chosen—in fact, the whole book from beginning to -end is full of useful knowledge, and is most interestingly -written. It will be enjoyed not only by the initiate, but by -the experienced ski-runner.”—<cite>Pall Mall Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p class="center">LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;" id="frontispiece"> -<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="600" height="470" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SUNSET, FROM MONT DURAND GLACIER.</p> -<p class="caption right">Frontispiece.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">SKI-RUNS IN THE<br /> -HIGH ALPS</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br /> -F. F. ROGET, S.A.C.</p> - -<p class="center smaller">HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ALPINE SKI CLUB<br /> -HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF<br /> -BRITISH MEMBERS OF THE SWISS ALPINE CLUB</p> - -<p class="titlepage">WITH 25 ILLUSTRATIONS BY<br /> -L. M. CRISP<br /> -AND 6 MAPS</p> - -<p class="titlepage">T. FISHER UNWIN<br /> -LONDON: ADELPHI TERRACE<br /> -LEIPSIC: INSELSTRASSE 20<br /> -1913</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">(<i>All rights reserved.</i>)</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="300" height="215" alt="Skiers, a mountain sunset" /> -</div> - -<p class="center">TO<br /> -MY DAUGHTER<br /> -ISMAY<br /> -HOPING SHE MAY NOT GO FORTH<br /> -AND DO LIKEWISE</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/preface.jpg" width="400" height="260" alt="Decorative -heading: the word PREFACE superimposed on a drawing of skiers making -their way across a mountain landscape" /> -</div> - -<h2>PREFACE</h2> - -<p>In 1905, when nearer fifty than forty, had I not been -the happy father of a girl of seven I should have had -no occasion to write this book. I bought, for her to -play with, a pair of small ski in deal, which I remember -cost nine francs. For myself I bought a -rough pair, on which to fetch and bring her back -to shore if the small ship foundered.</p> - -<p>No sooner had I equipped myself, standing, as a -Newfoundland dog, on the brink of the waves, ready -to rescue a child from snow peril, than I was born -again into a ski-runner.</p> - -<p>Since, I have devoted some of my spare time -to revisiting—in winter—the passes and peaks of -Switzerland.</p> - -<p>The bringing of the ski to Switzerland ushered in -the “New Mountaineering,” of which a few specimens -seek in these pages the favour of the general -public.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> - -<p>The reader may notice that I never spell “ski” -with an <i>s</i> in the plural, because it is quite unnecessary. -One may stand on one ski, and one may stand -on both ski. The <i>s</i> adds nothing to intelligibility.</p> - -<p>Nor do I ever pronounce ski otherwise than I -write it. There is in ski the <i>k</i> that appears in -skipper and in skiff. Though cultured Germans -say <i lang="de">Schiff</i> and <i lang="de">Schiffer</i>, the <i>k</i> sound of ski is quite -good Norse. It has been preserved in the French -<i lang="fr">esquif</i>, of same origin.</p> - -<p>The <i>i</i> should be pronounced long as in “tree.”</p> - -<p>So let us always say <em>s-k-ee</em> and write ski for both -numbers.</p> - -<p class="smaller right"><span class="smcap">Saas-Fee.</span><br /> -<i>August 14, 1912.</i></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> -<img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="200" height="165" alt="Drawing of a skier" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SKI-RUNNING IN THE HIGH ALPS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The different ski-ing zones—Their characteristics and dangers—The - glaciers as ski-ing grounds—The ski-running season—Inverted - temperature—The conformation of winter snow—Precautionary - measures—Glacier weather—Rock conditions—Weather - reports—Guides and porters.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>WITH SKI TO THE DIABLERETS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub"><i>First Ascent</i>—The Bear inn at Gsteig—The young Martis—Superstitions—The - rights of guides.<br /> - <i>Second Ascent</i>—The composition of the caravan—Odd symptoms—Winter - amusements on the glacier—A broken ankle—The - salvage operations—On accidents—My juvenile experience—A - broken limb on the Jaman.<br /> - <i>Third Ascent</i>—The Marti family—The Synagogue once more—An - old porter—We are off.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FROM THE COL DU PILLON TO THE GEMMI PASS (DIABLERETS, WILDHORN, WILDSTRUBEL, AND KANDERSTEG)</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The range—Ski-runners’ logic—Itinerary—The Plan des Roses—Untoward - experiences on the Rawyl pass—Death through - exposure—The <cite>Daily Mail</cite> and Mr. Arnold Lunn’s feat—House-breaking—On - the Gemmi—Perspective and levels—Relief - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>models of the Alps—My smoking den—Old Egger.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SKI-RUNNER OF VERMALA</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">Vermala—The mysterious runner—The Plain of the Dead—Popular - beliefs—The purification of the grazings—A haunted - piece of rock—An awful noose is thrown over the country-side—Supernatural - lights and events—The Babel of tongues—The - Saillon and Brigue testimonies—The curé of Lens and his sundial—The - people’s cure—The Strubel—<i lang="fr">Chauffage central</i>—Did - I meet the Ski-runner of Vermala?—My third ascent of - the Wildstrubel—A night encampment on the glacier—Meditations - on mountains, mountaineers, and the Swiss—How - to make <i lang="fr">café noir</i>—Where to sleep and when not to—Alpine - refuges—The old huts and the new—The English - Alpinists and the Swiss huts—The Britannia hut.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE BERNESE OBERLAND FROM END TO END</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The Oberland circuit—My appointment with Arnold Lunn—An - Anglo-Swiss piece of work—An unbelieving public—Switzerland - and Britain—Geographical—Practical—We start - from Beatenberg—The Jungfrau ice-slabs—New Year’s Day - at Kandersteg—In the Gasterenthal—On the Tschingelfirn—Foehn-effects - on the Petersgrat—The Telli glacier—The Kippel - bottle-race—A church door—Theodore Kalbermatten—The - Loetschen pass—Burnt socks—Roped ski-ing—The Concordia - breakfast-table—Why we did not ascend the Jungfrau—The - Concordia huts—The Grünhornlücke—On snow “lips” and - cornices—An afternoon snooze—The Finsteraarhorn hut—A - guideless party—Ascent of the Finsteraarhorn—Our next pass—A - stranded runner—The Grimsel—Home life at Guttannen—Our - sleigh ran to Meiringen—A comparison of winter and - summer work—Memories and visions—Table of levels—How - to form a caravan—The pay of the men—Side-slip and back-slip—Future - railway facilities.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE AIGUILLE DU CHARDONNET AND THE AIGUILLE DU TOUR</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The aspect of the Grand Combin—Topography—Weather - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>conditions for a successful raid—A classification of peaks—The - Orny nivometer—The small snowfall of the High Alps—The - shrinkage of snow—Its insufficiency to feed the glaciers—The - Aiguille du Tour—Ascent of Aiguille du Chardonnet—The - St. Bernard hospice—Helplessness of the dogs—The - narrow winter path—The monks’ hospitality—Their ski—The - accident on the Col de Fenêtre—<i lang="fr">Ce n’est pas le ski</i>.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE GRAND COMBIN</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The Panossière hut—Tropical winter heat—Schoolboys and - the Matterhorn—Shall it be rock or snow?—The Combin de - Valsorey—My third ascent of the Grand Combin—The track - home—Col des Avolions—Natural highways of a new character—Twenty-three - thousand feet ascended on ski.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ACROSS THE PENNINE ALPS ON SKI BY THE “HIGH-LEVEL” ROUTE</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The “high-level” route—Previous attempts—My itinerary—Marcel - Kurz—The wise old men of Bourg St. Pierre—Maurice - Crettex—Guides with bamboos and laupars!—The snow-clad - cliffs of Sonadon—The Chanrion hut—Sealed-up crevasses—The - nameless pass—Louis Theytaz—The Pigne d’Arolla—The - Bertol hut—Why the Dent Blanche could be ascended—The - lady’s maid’s easy job—The dreadful summer slabs—We push - past two “constables”!—My cane—We bash in her ladyship’s - white bonnet—The Ice-Maid presses gently my finger-tips—The - cornice crashes down—A second night in the Bertol hut—The - Col d’Hérens—An impending tragedy—A milk-pail <i lang="la">versus</i> - ski—Dr. Koenig and Captain Meade—The real tragedy of - Theytaz’s death—Ropes and crevasses—Mr. Moore’s account—My - comments—The Mischabel range and Monte Rosa.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE PIZ BERNINA SKI CIRCUIT IN ONE DAY</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">Old snow well padded with new—Christmas Eve in the Bernina - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>hospice—The alarum rings—Misgivings before battle—<i lang="fr">Crampons</i> - and sealskins—A causeway of snow—An outraged - glacier—The Disgrazia—A chess-player and a ski-man—Unroped!—In - the twilight—The Tschierva hut—Back to - Pontresina—Hotel limpets—Waiting for imitators.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FROM AROSA TO BELLINZONA OVER THE BERNARDINO PASS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The Arosa Information Bureau—The hospitality of sanatorium - guests—The allurements of loneliness—Whither the spirit - leads—Avalanche weather—The Spring god and King Frost—The - source of the Rhine—The post sleigh in a winter storm—The - Bernardino pass—Brissago.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>GLACIERS—AVALANCHES—MILITARY SKI-ING</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">A legacy from the past—The formation of glaciers and atmospheric - conditions—Forests and glaciers—Our deficient - knowledge—The upper ice and snow reservoirs—What is - the annual snowfall and what becomes of it—How glaciers - may be classed—Mechanical forces at work—Moraines and - <i lang="fr">séracs</i>—Avalanches—Periodic avalanches—Accidental avalanches—The - general causes—The statics of snow—What - happens to winter snow—<i lang="it">Strata</i>—How steep slopes may be - classed—Excusable ignorance of strangers to the Alps—Those - who write glibly in home magazines—Unsafe slopes—Avalanches - when running across slopes—The probing-stick—Avalanche - runs—Military ski-ing—The St. Gothard and St. - Maurice districts—Military raids in the High Alps—The - glaciers as military highways—Riflemen on foot as against - marksmen on ski.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE MECHANICS OF SKI-BINDINGS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_282">282</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The shoe—The original bindings—The modern bindings—The - foot—The hinge in the foot—Different functions of the toe-strap - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>and heel-band—The parts of the binding—Faulty - fasteners—Sketches of faulty and correct leverage—A - schematic binding—<i lang="fr">Critique</i> of bindings in use—Suggestions—Cheeks - and plates—A whole blade—Cause of strained feet—Steel - wire in bindings.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>RUDIMENTS OF WINTER MOUNTAINEERING FOR SKI-RUNNERS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The new “Alpinism”—A re-statement of elementary principles—Ski-runners - <i lang="la">versus</i> summer pedestrians—The experiences of - an eminent physician—How to walk in snow—Put not your - trust in sticks—Keep your rope dry—Stand up on your feet—Ski-sticks - as supports—Winter clothing.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>WINTER STATIONS—WINTER SPORTS—HOW TO USE SKI</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdsub">The awakening of the English—Switzerland the ice and snow - rink of Europe—The high winter stations and the low—Principal - sporting centres—Insular delusions—The Continental - network of winter sport associations—Winter sports on ice—Tobogganing—The - winter climate varies with the altitude—A - classification of sporting centres according to altitude—The - ski-runner is monarch of the Alps—How to keep one’s ski in - good order—How to learn the gentle art of running on ski—Precepts - and practice—The turns, breaks, and swings—<i>Point - final</i>.</td> - <td></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="300" height="100" alt="Drawing of three skiers ski-running" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> - -<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table summary="List of illustrations"> - <tr> - <td>SUNSET, FROM MONT DURAND GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr smaller">FACE PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE WILDSTRUBEL HUT</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate1">21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>OBERGABELHORN, FROM THE DENT BLANCHE</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate2">29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SPORT ON THE ZAN FLEURON GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate3">42</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FROM THE DENT BLANCHE, LOOKING WEST</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate4">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>MOVING FROM THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate5">60</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DESCENT INTO THE TELLITHAL, LOETSCHENTHAL</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate6">70</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ON THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate7">80</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ABOVE RIED, LOETSCHENTHAL</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate8">90</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>WILDSTRUBEL AND PLAINE MORTE GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate9">100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>KANDER GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate10">123</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>GASTERNTHAL</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate11">130</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CONCORDIA PLATZ</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate12">149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>BREAKFAST ON THE FINSTERAARHORN</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate13">163</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ADOLF ON THE FINSTERAARHORN ARÊTE</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate14">178</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE VALSOREY GLEN</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate15">190</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SONADON CLIFFS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate16">214</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>ON THE DENT BLANCHE, WITH MATTERHORN</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate17">230</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>TOP OF DENT BLANCHE</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate18">234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ON THE STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate19">238</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FOOT OF STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate20">243</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>UPPER SCERSCEN AND ROSEG GLACIERS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate21">253</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SONADON GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate22">266</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>AT THE FOOT OF THE COL D’HÉRENS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate23">279</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE BRITANNIA HUT</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate24">302</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">MAPS.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DIABLERETS—WILDHORN—WILDSTRUBEL—GEMMI PASS</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#map1">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>KANDERSTEG—FINSTERAARHORN—GRIMSEL</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#map2">114</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FERRET—ENTREMONT—BAGNES</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#map3">182</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE PENNINE RANGE FROM GRAND ST. BERNARD TO ZERMATT</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#map4">208</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>MISCHABEL RANGE AND MONTE ROSA</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#map5">240</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>PIZ BERNINA CIRCUIT</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#map6">248</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> -<img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="200" height="200" alt="Drawing of a skier braking" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> - -<h1>Ski-Runs in the High Alps</h1> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<span class="smaller">SKI-RUNNING IN THE HIGH ALPS</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The different ski-ing zones—Their characteristics and dangers—The -glaciers as ski-ing grounds—The ski-running season—Inverted -temperature—The conformation of winter snow—Precautionary -measures—Glacier weather—Rock conditions—Weather -reports—Guides and porters.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i-1.jpg" width="35" height="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">In a chapter like this, a writer on the High -Alps may well abstain from poetical or literary -developments. His subject is best handled -as a technical sport, and personal experience -should alone be drawn upon for its illustration.</p> - -<p>Little more than ten years have elapsed -since men with a knowledge of summer mountaineering -began to explore the Alps in winter. -Not only are the successes, which have almost -invariably attended the winter exploration of -the Swiss ice-fields, full of instruction for the -novice, but also the accidents and misfortunes -which, sad to say, ended in loss of life or limb, -have conveyed useful lessons.</p> - -<p>In this chapter the writer has nothing in -view but to be practical and pointed. His -remarks must be taken to apply exclusively to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -Alps. He has no knowledge of any other ski-ing -field, and is conversant with no other experience -but that gained in the Alps by himself and members -of the Swiss ski-ing clubs, which count in their -membership thousands of devotees.</p> - -<p>It is necessary to distinguish the zones of meadow -land and cultivated fields, forest land, cattle grazings, -and rocks.</p> - -<p>In the forest zone the snow presents no danger -except, perhaps, in sharply inclined clearings where -its solidity is not sufficiently assured either by the -nature of the underlying ground or by the presence -of trees growing closely together at the foot of the -incline.</p> - -<p>Above the forest belt the zone of pastures is a -favourite ski-ing ground. This zone is wind-swept, -sunburnt during the day, and under severe frost -at night. As a general rule, it may be laid down -that snow accumulated in winter on the grazings -frequented by cows in summer affords a safe and -reliable ski-ing ground, at any rate in all parts -where the cows are in the habit of standing. When -in doubt, the ski-runner should ask himself: Are -cows, as I know them, likely to feel comfortable -when standing on this slope in summer? If an -affirmative answer can be given in a <i lang="la">bona-fide</i> -manner, the slope is not dangerous.</p> - -<p>Alpine grazing lands being selected for the convenience -of cows, they are almost throughout -well adapted to ski-runners. It is, of course, understood -that gorges, ravines, and steep declivities will -be avoided by Swiss cows just as much as by those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -of any other nationality. The ski-runner should -leave those parts of the grazing alone on which -a herd would not be allowed to roam by its -shepherds.</p> - -<p>The deepest and heaviest Alpine snows lie on the -grazings, and the avalanches that occur there in -spring are of the heaviest type and cover the most -extensive areas. These are spring avalanches. -They are regular phenomena, and it is totally -unnecessary to expect them in midwinter.</p> - -<p>Above the grazings begin the rocks. They are -either towering rocks and walls, or else they lie -broken up on slopes in varying sizes. In the latter -case the snow that may cover them is quite safe, -provided the points of those rocks be properly -buried. As a rule, wherever there is a belt or -wall of solid rock above a grazing (which is practically -the case in every instance when it is not -a wood), the loose stones at the foot of the rocks -give complete solidity to the snow surface resting -on them. The danger arises from the rocks towering -aloft. If these are plastered over with loose -snow, the snow may come down at any moment -on the lower ground. One should not venture -under such rocks till the snow that may have -gathered in the couloirs has come down or is -melted away.</p> - -<p>Avalanches are a matter belonging more particularly -to snow conditions in the grazing areas, -but they need not to any degree be looked upon -as characteristic of this area. Their cause has -to be sought in the weather, that is in the rise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -and fall of the temperature, and in the wind. There -is quite a number of slopes at varying angles, where -it is impossible that the snow surface should be -well balanced under all weather conditions, and -these are the slopes where mishaps do occur. The -easiest method to avoid accidents is to keep on -obviously safe ground, and it is also on such ground -that the best and most steady running can be got.</p> - -<p>The glaciers of Switzerland are a magnificent and -absolutely unrivalled ski-ing ground.</p> - -<p>The months appointed by natural circumstances -for ski-running in the High Alps are the months -of January and February. This period may quite -well be taken to include the whole month of March -and the last days in December.</p> - -<p>There are reasons for excluding the first three -weeks in December, and the last three in April.</p> - -<p>In night temperature, but in night temperature -only, the passing from summer to winter, upwards -of 9,000 feet may indeed be said to have -fully taken place long before the end of the year. -This passage is marked by the regular freezing -at night of all moisture, and by the regular -freezing over of all surfaces on which moisture is -deposited by day. Still, the first fall of a general -layer of snow, which will <em>last throughout the winter</em> -on the high levels, may be much delayed. Till -that first layer has covered the high ground, the -ski-runner’s winter has not begun.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate1"> -<img src="images/plate1.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE WILDSTRUBEL HUT.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 21.</p> -</div> - -<p>The first general snowfall, if it mark the beginning -of the ski-runner’s winter, does not yet mark the -setting in of the ski-running season. For a time,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -which may extend from November to near the end -of December, moisture proceeding from the atmosphere, -that is rain and <em>vapours</em> (warm, damp winds), -is not without effect at the altitudes which we are -considering. Such a damp condition of the air -and any risk of rain are quite inconsistent with ski-running. -But everybody should know that if such -risks must be taken throughout the winter by a -ski-runner residing, for instance, at the altitude -of Grindelwald, they may practically be neglected -by a sportsman whose field of exercise is that to -which the Swiss Alpine Club huts afford access.</p> - -<p>There, from Christmas to early Easter, the only -atmospheric obstacle consists of snowstorms, in -which the wind alone is an enemy, while the snow -entails an improvement in the conditions of sport -each time it falls. The November and December -snowfalls prepare the ground for running, and running -at those heights is neither safe nor perfect as long as -the process goes on. In January and February any -snowfall simply improves the floor or keeps up its -good condition. It may be taken that during these -months the atmosphere is absolutely dry from Tyrol -to Mont Blanc above 8,000 feet, and that a so-called -wet wind will convey only dry snow. Any moisture -or water one may detect will be caused by the heat -of the sun melting the ice or the snow. It is a drying, -not a wetting, process; it leaves the rocks facing -south, south-east, and south-west beautifully dry, -and completely clears them, by rapid evaporation, of -the early winter snows or of any casual midwinter -fall accompanying a storm of wind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<p>Such are the atmospheric reasons which help to -determine the proper ski-running months in the -High Alps.</p> - -<p>There are others which are still of a meteorological -description, but which are connected mainly with -the temperature. We shall begin by giving our -thought a paradoxical expression as follows: it is a -mistake to talk of winter at all in connection with -the High Alps. According to the time of year, -the weather in the Alps is subjected to general rain -conditions or to general snow conditions. Under -snow conditions the thermometer falls under zero -Centigrade, and the temperature of the air may -range from zero to a very low reading; but the -sun is extremely powerful, its force is intensified -by the reflection from the snow surface. The -temperature of the air in the shade is therefore no -clue to the temperature of material surfaces exposed -to the rays of the sun. The human frame, under -suitable conditions of clothing and exercise, feels, -and actually is, quite warm in the sun, a violent -wind being required to approximate the subjective -sensations of the body to those usually associated -with a cold, damp, and biting winter’s day.</p> - -<p>This is a general characteristic of the Alpine -winter, to which must be added an occasional, -though perfectly regular, feature, namely, that the -Alps may offer, and do offer every winter, instances -of <em>inverted</em> temperature. This name is given to -periods which may extend over several days at a -stretch, and which are repeated several times during -the winter months. These are periods during which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -the constant temperature of the air—that is, the -average temperature by night and by day in the -shade—is higher upon the heights than in the plains -and valleys.</p> - -<p>As a general principle, the winter sportsman may be -sure that in the proportion in which he rises he also -leaves behind him the winter conditions, as defined, -in keeping with their own notions and experience by -the dwellers on plains, on the seaside, or in valleys. -When travelling upwards he reaches a dry air, a hot -and bright light, and maybe a higher temperature -than prevails in the lower regions of the earth which -lie at his feet.</p> - -<p>We said a little while ago that in January and -February any snowfall improves the floor. In the -preceding months the high regions pass gradually -from the condition in which they are practicable on -foot to those under which they are properly accessible -to the ski-runner only. Time must be allowed for -the process, and till it is completed ski-running is -premature and consequently distinctly dangerous. -The Alpine huts should not be used as ski-ing -centres before they can be reached on ski, and one -should not endeavour to reach them in that manner -as long as stones are visible among the snow.</p> - -<p>The distinctive feature of the ski-runner’s floor is -that it is free from stones and from holes. The -stones should be well buried under several feet of -snow, and the holes filled up with compressed or -frozen snow before the ski-runner makes bold to sally -forth, but when they are he may practically go anywhere -and dare anything so far as the ground is concerned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -provided he is an expert runner and a connoisseur -in the matter of avalanches. Of course, our -“anywhere” applies to ski-ing grounds only, and -our “anything” means mountaineering as restricted -to the uses to which ski may fairly be put.</p> - -<p>The floor of the ski-runner is a dimpled surface -consisting of an endless variety of planes and curves. -It is a geometrical surface upon which the ski move -like instruments of mensuration that are from two -to three yards long. Snowfalls and the winds determine -the geometrical character of the field upon -which the long rulers are to glide. This, the only -true notion of the ski-ing field, means that the <em>detail</em> -of the ground has disappeared. It presents a continuity -of differently inclined, bent, edged, or curved -surfaces, all uniformly geometric in the construction -of each. Any attempt at ski-running upon this playground -before its engineers and levellers (which are -snow and wind) have achieved their work in point of -depth, solidity, and extent, is unsporting and perilous.</p> - -<p>The continuous figure or design presented by the -upper snow-fields of the Alps in January, from end to -end of the chain, is broken by prismatic masses, such -as cones, pyramids, and peaks, on the sides of which -the laws of gravity forbid the establishment by the -concourse of natural forces of snow-surfaces accessible -with ski. The runner who has been borne by his ski -to the foot of those rock masses—such, for instance, -as the top of Monte Rosa as it rises from the Sattel—will -continue his ascent as a rock-climber. He will -probably find the state of the rocks quite as propitious -as in summer, and often considerably better.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - -<p>To sum up, the characteristics of the ski-running -season are: stability of weather, constant dryness -of the air, a uniform and continuous running surface, -windlessness, a constant body temperature -from sunrise to sunset, at times a relatively high -air temperature, solar light and solar heat, which -must not be confused with air temperature and -present an intensity, a duration most surprising to -the dweller in plains and on the seaboard; last, but -not least, accessibility of the rocky peaks with -climbing slopes turned to the sun.</p> - -<p>A real trouble is the crevasses. The ice-fields form -such wide avenues between the peaks bordering -them that a ski-runner must be quite a fool if an -avalanche finds him within striking distance. But -the crevasses are quite another matter. In summer -the protection against falling into crevasses is the -rope and careful steering between them. In winter -mountaineering the ski, properly speaking, take the -place of the rope. The longest traverses in the Alps -have been performed by unroped ski-runners. At -the same time, the usefulness of the rope, in case of -an accident actually occurring, cannot be gainsaid, -though it cannot be maintained that the rope, which -has been known to cause certain accidents in summer, -may be called absolutely free from any such -liability in winter. Of the use of the rope we therefore -say, “Adhuc sub judice lis est.”</p> - -<p>There are two golden rules for avoiding a drop -into a crevasse: firstly, keep off glaciers or of those -parts of any glacier where crevasses are known to be -numerous, deep, long, and wide; secondly, if called<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -upon to run over a glacier that is crevassed, use the -rope, but use it properly—that is, bring its full length -into use, take off your ski, and proceed exactly as you -would do in summer by sounding the snow and crossing -bridged crevasses one after another. It is absurd -to mix summer and winter craft; they are distinct. -When the rope is used under winter conditions, let -it be exactly according to the best winter practice.</p> - -<p>If going uphill you find yourself landed on ice, -take off your ski and gain a footing on the ice by -means of the heavy nails on your boots. Never -attempt glacier work with unnailed boots or short, -light bamboo sticks. If any accident happens suddenly -to your ski you are helpless and hopeless without -nails; you probably will not have time to take -your climbing irons off your rucksack and bind them -on to your feet.</p> - -<p>Accidents to ski generally happen when one is on -the move on difficult and dangerous ground. It is -absurd to expect that the difficulty or danger will abate -while you take off your rucksack, sit down, and strap -on your climbing irons. Remember that you are -on the move and that your impetus will carry you on, -if not immediately checked by nails gripping the ice. -That, too, is the reason why a short, light bamboo -will not do; it is a fine-weather weapon and quite the -thing on easy snows. On rough ground you want -something with a substantial iron point, a weapon of -some weight and strength which can support your -body and help in seeing you home should your ski be -injured. A good runner would never put his stick -to unfair uses, such as riding and leaning back.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<p>If on going downhill you find yourself landed on -ice, the essential thing is to be able to keep on your -feet first, to your course next. A stout stick with a -sharp point will then be sorely needed, and if you -have been careful to fasten on to your ski-blades an -appliance against skidding or side-slip, you will find -it much easier to steer and keep to your course. On -the whole, it is wiser on iced surfaces which are steep—and -these are generally not extensive—to carry -one’s ski.</p> - -<p>There ought to be an ice-axe in the party, but -this ice-axe should be carried by a professional and -used by him. Nobody can cut steps or carry -safely an ice-axe without some apprenticeship, and -this it is impossible to go through in severe winter -weather.</p> - -<p>The principal glacier routes of Switzerland have -been proved over and over again to be free from any -particular risk or danger arising from winter conditions. -The <em>ratio</em> of risk is the same as in summer. -Consequently, select the best known routes, which are -also the most beautiful and ski-able. Take with you, -as porters and servants rather than guides, men who -have frequently gone over those routes in winter -with some Swiss runner of experience. This is important, -because many guides, particularly the most -approved summer guides, are creatures of routine, -and will take you quite obdurately along the summer -routes, step for step and inch after inch. Now, this -is wrong and may lead to danger. The ski-runner -must dominate the snow slopes. His place is on the -brow, or rather on the coping, not at the foot of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -slopes along which the summer parties generally -crawl.</p> - -<p>When going uphill for several hours consecutively, -as it is necessary to do in order to reach the Alpine -huts, an artificial aid against slipping back is indispensable. -When going uphill the ski support the -weight of the runner and keep his feet on, or above, -the snow. But they do not distinguish between -regressive and progressive locomotion. The whole -of the work of progression falls upon the human -machinery. Under those conditions the strain put -on the muscles by continuous or repeated backsliding -is objectionable. The use of a mechanical contrivance -is made imperative by the steepness of the slopes -and their great length.</p> - -<p>Another point is that when running downhill, say, -from the Monte-Rosa Sattel to the Bétemps hut, -it is never advisable to pick out the shortest and -quickest route, which means the steepest run possible. -High Alp ski-running demands the choice of -the longest course consistent with steady progress -and with an unbroken career along a safe line of -advance. The watchword of the good runner will -always be—at those heights and distances where -so much that is ahead must remain problematical—move -onward on curves, so as to approach any -obstacle by means of a bend, admitting of an -inspection of the obstacle, if it is above the surface, -before you are upon it, and which, if it is the -running surface which presents a break, even a -concealed one, will prevent your hurling yourself -headlong into the trap.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate2"> -<img src="images/plate2.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">OBERGABELHORN, FROM DENT BLANCHE.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 29.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<p>The influence of wintry weather upon exposed and -lofty rock pinnacles is practically the same as that -of summer weather, but still more so, if such a paradoxical -way of expressing oneself can be made clear. -At the height of 10,000 feet above the sea-level and -upwards the winter weather is glacier weather. This -is not the weather that prevails in the depth of the -Swiss valleys or on the Swiss tableland. The snowfall -upon the glaciers is not so great as one might -expect. The snow that does fall there is dry, light, -powdery, and wind-driven. Those characteristics are -such that only some slight proportion of the snow -driven across the glacier actually remains there. -Most of it is carried along and accumulates -wherever it can settle down—that is, elsewhere -than on wind-swept surfaces.</p> - -<p>The winter sun is so powerful that it very soon -clears the high ridges from a kind of snow that is -in itself little suited to adhere to their steep, rocky -sides. Therefore the position is as follows: the -ski-runner can gain access to the peaks with great -ease. The so-called <i lang="de">Bergschrunde</i>, in French <i lang="fr">rimaie</i>, -are closed up, and the rocks towering above are practically -just as climbable as in summer, with the help -of the same implements too—rope, ice-axe, and if -one likes, climbing-irons.</p> - -<p>The start is made much later in the morning, but, -on the other hand, one need not be over-anxious as -to getting to one’s night quarters by sunset. Running -on ski at night over a course that has been travelled -over in the morning, and therefore perfectly recognisable -and familiar, is, in clear weather, as pleasant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -as it is easy. That is why the ascent of a rocky -peak is, to my mind, an object which a ski-runner -who does not take a one-sided view of sport will -gladly keep in view.</p> - -<p>The risk of frost-bite may be greater than in -summer, in so far as the temperature of the air is -much lower. But the air being, as a rule, extremely -dry and the heat of the sun intense, the full benefit -of this extraordinary dryness and of this heat really -puts frost-bite out of the question in fine weather, -provided rocks are attacked from the southern or -south-west aspect, or even south-east. It is quite -easy to wear thick gloves and to put one’s feet away -in thick and warm woollen material. But no attempt -whatever should be made at rock climbing under -dull skies, let alone when the weather is actually -bad. It must also be added that bad health, -exhaustion, indigestion, nervousness, and such like -are, of all things, the most conducive to frost-bite.</p> - -<p>The thermometer may mark in January, above -the tree-line, and still more among rocks, as much -as 40 degrees Centigrade at midday in the sun. -This is not the air temperature, as in the shade the -same thermometer will soon drop to zero Centigrade -or less. But anybody who has experienced the wonderful -glow of those winter suns on the highest peaks -of Switzerland will be careful that he does not bring -them into disrepute by visiting them when he himself -is not fit or when they are out of humour. In -any case, people who go about on ski with feet and -hands insufficiently clad may well be expected to -take the consequences.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p> - -<p>The foregoing lines bring us quite naturally to -consideration of the weather. The first principle -to be borne in mind is that weather in the High -Alps is quite distinct from weather anywhere else. -The only authentic information at any time about -the impending weather in the Alpine area is that -given day by day by the Swiss Central Meteorological -Office in Zürich. This report, and accompanying -forecast, is published in all the important -daily papers, such as the <cite>Journal de Genève</cite>, the -<cite>Gazette de Lausanne</cite>, the <cite>Bund</cite>, &c. The figures -are of less importance than the notes on wind, air-pressure, -and the description in ordinary language -which comments upon the more scientific data. -Those reports should be consulted, and should be -posted up by every hotel keeper.</p> - -<p>Weather is not uniform throughout Switzerland. -The driest area runs along the backbone of the Alps -from the lake of Geneva to the lake of Constance, -along the Canton du Valais and the Canton des -Grisons. Chances of steady, fine weather are consequently -greater in those valleys than elsewhere. -The driest spot in Switzerland is Sierre. The High -Alps, which are of most interest to the ski-runner, -are also the part of Switzerland which presents the -largest proportion of fine sunny days in the winter -months.</p> - -<p>The tableland, extending from the lake of Geneva -to Bâle and Constance along the Rhine, and bounded -on the south-east by the lakes of Thoune and Brienz, -Lucerne, and the Wallensee, may remain for weeks -together under a sea of fog, resting at the height<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -of about a thousand feet above the surface of the -ground. As long as those fog areas, which are -generally damp and cold, are curtained from the -rays of the sun, the canopy of fog acts as a huge -reflector for the sun rays which impinge upon it -from above. Provided there is no wind (and the -Alps may be windless for days and weeks at a -time) the rays, reflected back into space from the -fog surface, heat very considerably the layers of air -above, while the air imprisoned below remains cold. -The winter snows themselves, by a similar process -of reflection, generate a great deal of heat of the -kind which a human body perceives, and in which -the mountaineer is fond of basking.</p> - -<p>The long Jura range, extending from the lake of -Geneva to Bâle along the French border, shares -in the Alpine climate, though in a somewhat -rougher form.</p> - -<p>The conclusion is that in Switzerland the weather -conditions, to mention these alone, are extremely -favourable to the ski-runner. In the matter of -space at his disposal there are in Switzerland, on -the slopes of either the Alps or the Jura, generally -above the forest belt, three thousand grazings for -cattle, every one of which is a ski-ing area. Only -a very small number have hitherto been frequented -by the ski-runner. Yet last winter three thousand -pairs of ski were sold by one firm alone, and it is -reckoned that the number fitted and sold last winter -(1911-12) in Switzerland exceeds forty thousand.</p> - -<p>Swiss guides hitherto have been trained and -engaged only for summer work. Consequently their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -efficiency on ski is in every instance a personal -acquirement, and their knowledge of their duties -under winter conditions is simply consequent upon -their summer training or derived from their own -native knowledge of winter conditions, without the -addition of any instruction. If one wishes to engage -guides for winter work the best guarantee is that the -guide belong to a local ski club, and should have -attended, if possible, one or several ski courses -before he is considered fit to accompany <i lang="fr">amateur</i> -ski-ing parties.</p> - -<p>Another point is that guides in winter must be -prepared to act as porters. It is in the nature of -running on ski that the runner will hardly ever find -himself in a position to call for individual assistance, -and the routes he will frequent are of necessity -routes which, from the mountaineering point of -view, are easy and not suited to give great prominence -to the qualities of a guide in the strict -and recognised meaning of the term. What the -amateur ski-runner particularly wants is a hardy -and willing companion who will carry the victuals -for him and is wise enough to employ his influence -in turning the ski-runner away from any dangerous -ground, and to pick out the best and safest lines -across country. Guides holding a diploma should -not be paid more for winter work than they are -allowed to claim in summer under the established -rates of payment.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<span class="smaller">WITH SKI TO THE DIABLERETS</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p><i>First Ascent.</i>—The Bear inn at Gsteig—The young Martis—Superstitions—The -rights of guides.</p> - -<p><i>Second Ascent.</i>—The composition of the caravan—Odd symptoms—Winter -amusements on the glacier—A broken ankle—The salvage -operations—On accidents—My juvenile experience—A broken limb -on the Jaman.</p> - -<p><i>Third Ascent.</i>—The Marti family—The Synagogue once more—An old -porter—We are off.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i-2.jpg" width="40" height="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">It has been three times my lot to lay the flat -of my ski across the brow of the Diablerets. -This in itself would be of but little interest -had not a trifling incident occurred each -time which may be related with more animation -than the ascents can be described.</p> - -<p>1. In the month of January, 19—, at a -time when the ascent of the Diablerets had -not yet been attempted on ski, I marched -early in the day out of the slumbering -Bahnhof hotel at Gstaad, with a full rucksack -on my back and rattled through the village -on my ski along the ice-bound main street.</p> - -<p>The sun had not yet risen when I knocked -at the door of the Bear hotel at Gsteig and -presented to the frowsy servant who appeared -on the doorstep a face and head so hung about with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -icicles and hoar-frost that she started back as though -Father Christmas had come unbidden.</p> - -<p>When she had sufficiently recovered herself, I -inquired of her whether she knew of any man in the -village who would accompany me to the top of the -Diablerets. She looked so puzzled that I hastened -to explain that by man I did not mean a guide, but -any one who might be foolish enough to enter upon -such an expedition with a complete stranger advanced -in years. A mere boy would do, provided he could -cook soup and could produce a pair of ski with which -to follow his employer.</p> - -<p>Two lads offered themselves; the brothers Victor -and Ernest Marti, sons of an old guide. At first -they understood no more of the business than that a -gentleman had arrived with whom there was some -chance of casual employment. When I had made -my intention plain to them, they jumped at my -purpose with the eagerness of their age. They had -ski which they had made themselves, but was the -ascent possible? Anyhow, if I wanted one of them -only, he certainly would not go without the other, -and when I tackled the other to see whether he would -not come alone, they might have been Siamese -twins for aught I could do to separate them alive. -They went to their mamma, who raised her hands to -heaven and would have put them into the fire to -rescue her darlings from my dangerous clutches.</p> - -<p>In the end the boys, dare-devils much against their -wish, sallied forth loaded with ropes, ice-axes, and -other cumbersome paraphernalia, among which it -would be unfair to reckon their mother’s blessings<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -and their father’s warnings. Indeed, in their sight -I was an evil one, bent upon sundry devilries in an -ice-bound world. But for the halo thrown for them -about my undertaking by the prospect of the beautiful -gold pieces to be gained, they would rather have -committed me alone to the mercy of the ice fiends.</p> - -<p>Lusty of limb, though with quaking hearts, they -had no sooner slipped on their ski than their fears -were dispelled. They flew to and fro on the snow -like gambolling puppies. Who would have thought -they bore on their backs a pack that would have -curbed the ardour of any ordinary person? They -were already prepared in their minds to become Swiss -soldiers a few months later, when they would carry, -in equipment and arms, more than weighed their -present guides’ attire.</p> - -<p>Guides, by the way, they were not, but hoped to -be some day, when they were soldiers. I discovered -that, meanwhile, besides working at the saw-mill, -they played the part of local bandsmen. From -Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day they had shared -as fiddlers in the mummeries, revels, and dances of -the season. They had conceived thereby much -thirst, as was soon made clear by the flagging of -their spirits, and by the loving way in which they -bent down to the snow, pressed it between their -hands like a dear, long, unbeheld face and kissed it. -When they were refreshed their tongues were once -more loosened.</p> - -<p>We were drawing nearer to the Diablerets. The -overhanging rocks seemed to arch themselves -threateningly over our heads, and if the young men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -now spoke glibly, it was with a tremble in their -voices and about their renewed fears. It is not without -reason that Diablerets and devilry are cognate -sounds in languages so distant from each other as -the Romance <i lang="fr">patois</i> of the Vaudois Alps and the -gentle speech of the Thames Valley.</p> - -<p>Like the remainder of Christian Europe, those -valleys shared once upon a time in the Catholic faith, -and this had wonderfully commingled the early and -earthly beliefs of our kind with the teachings of -Divinity. Free-thinkers in the Protestant sense of -the word, those boys, creeping under the shadow of -the cliffs up to the snowy vastness above, saw welling -up from the depths of their minds, as in a mirror, the -images of the strange beings with which the rude -fancy of the peasantry peoples those upper reaches of -the Alps which they call the Evil Country. But on -that day nothing came of those forebodings.</p> - -<p>On the next morning, after a night spent in complete -freedom from haunting ghosts, my boys hesitated -a moment before rounding the shoulder of the -Oldenhorn. The Zan Fleuron glacier opened up just -beyond. This was the known Synagogue, or meeting -place of the spirits. They dreaded to see what they -might see there if they turned the corner before the -arrows of light-bearing Apollo had scattered the night -mists of Hecate.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the sun broke and poured forth in floods -upon a world springing up innocently from the folds -of sleep. My lads felt saved by glad day.</p> - -<p>But, if they went through this first expedition -without suffering injury from the spirits, they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -less fortunate in their dealings with myself. They -had allowed themselves to be drawn into a temptation -for which they were yet to undergo punishment; -namely, they had, for gold, disregarded the rules of -the Bernese corporation of guides. It is a salutary -regulation of that honourable guild that none who is -not an officially certificated guide shall accompany -alone a gentleman in the district. Now, a terrible -thing had happened. Two young men, neither of -whom was a certificated guide, had accompanied a -gentleman in the district. Indeed, the mother of the -boys must in the end be proved to be right in her -mistrust. That gentleman had induced her boys to -make light of the fundamental rule of local etiquette -as to keeping off the Zan Fleuron beat entirely -reserved for the spirits from All Souls’ Day to Easter -Sunday, and, in addition, he was getting them into -trouble with the police.</p> - -<p>One or two months later I was busily and peacefully -engaged in my study when a member of the -Geneva detective force was ushered in. I started up. -What could be the matter?</p> - -<p>The gentleman then explained politely that I was -wanted somewhere in the Canton de Berne. What -for? It could be no light matter.</p> - -<p>Now I knew—by repute, rather than by personal -experience—that justice in Berne is extremely rough -and even handed. I said I would rather appear -before a Geneva judge. On repairing to the courts, -I was informed that the brothers Marti were -summoned at Saanen for palming themselves off as -guides upon an unwary gentleman of uncertain age<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -and feeble complexion. They had preyed upon his -weak mind and enthusiasm to drag him in midwinter -up to the top of the Diablerets, exposing his body to -grave risks, and his soul to the resentment of the -fairies, and thus indirectly infringing a privilege -which certificated guides alone enjoyed, to the -exclusion of the remainder of man and womankind.</p> - -<p>Reassured on my own behalf, I at once became -“cocky” and proceeded to prick that legal bubble -and take the guiding corporation down a few pegs. -I solemnly swore before the judge—in presence of -the clerk who took my words down with forced -gravity—that I had engaged Victor Marti as lantern-bearer -to the elderly Diogenes I actually was, and his -brother Ernest to act for me as crossing-sweeper over -the Zan Fleuron glacier, because I expected there -might be some snow, and it is bad for old men to -have cold feet.</p> - -<p>I have since heard that the two boys got off that -time without a stain on their character.</p> - -<p>I say that time, because this trouble is not the last -I got them into. But this is another tale, and will -appear hereafter.</p> - -<p>2. My second ascent of the Diablerets was somewhat -tragic—this, too, in January, and in pursuit of -the magnificent ski-run which one gets down the -Zan Fleuron glacier to the Sanetsch pass, and back -to Gsteig.</p> - -<p>The brothers Marti were again with me. The -eldest was now a certificated guide, and had thus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -acquired the legal right to take his brother with him -when escorting strangers in the mountains.</p> - -<p>On that occasion there were some strangers, mostly -English, in the party. One of them was a young and -able runner on ski, another was an elderly member of -“the” Alpine Club, in whose breast a love for ski -was born late in life, probably in the same years -when I myself fell a victim to that infatuation. The -third stranger of British blood need not for the nonce -be otherwise presented to the reader than in a -spiritual garb as a vision. He—or rather she—will -appear in the flesh when a ministering angel is called -for in the disastrous scene yet to be enacted, when -the kind apparition will flutter down as unexpectedly -as the goblins pop up through the soft white carpet, -under which they have their homes in the comfortable -cracks designed for them by the glacier architect.</p> - -<p>This caravan went up the usual way, in the usual -manner, above the Pillon pass. Near the end of the -day, and at sunset, one of us was suddenly seen to curl -up and roll in the snow. The next moment he was back -at his place again, with his rucksack on his shoulder, -ice-axe in hand, and with his ski under his feet, as -if nothing had happened. Yet we had all seen him -curl up and roll down. And here he was again, -spick and span, like one of those tourists carved in -wood which are offered for sale at Interlaken or -Lucerne. The Marti brothers looked at me queerly.</p> - -<p>They were, indeed, thankful I had got them unscathed -out of the police court. In spite of parental -advice, they had come again with me on that account. -But this was beyond a joke. However, they went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -on, exchanging among themselves their own remarks, -wondering whose sticks, ski, and rucksack would next -be seen flying in opposite directions.</p> - -<p>But nothing happened during the night. The next -morning the brothers Marti, heading our column, -wended their way carefully, as before, to the corner -of the Oldenhorn, and peered cautiously round. It -was still dark. From this place it is usual before -dawn to catch a glimpse of the gnomes. They are -impervious to cold. Being of an origin infernal in -some degree, they naturally delight in the coolness -of winter nights, and their eyes being habitually -scorched by the flames that blaze in the bowels of -the glacier, they much enjoy the soothing caress of -the moonbeams.</p> - -<p>On that morning—since there is a morning even -to an evil day—the gnomes were still engaged in -their after midnight game of skittles. They plant -their mark on the edge of the glacier, above the -cliffs which drop down clear on to the Derborence -grazings. Their bowls are like enormous curling-stones -hewn out of the ice. When the gnomes miss -their aim—which in their love of mischief they like -to do—the ice blocks fly over the edge of the rock -parapet, and crash down upon the grazings. In -summer the shepherds endeavour to meet this calamity -by prayer. In winter it is of no consequence.</p> - -<p>But what was of consequence is that we had no -business on the glacier while the night sprites were -still holding Synagogue. This the brothers Marti knew, -and that woe was in store for us on that account. -But all went well with us, to all appearances.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> - -<p>We left our baggage at the foot of the Diablerets -peak, and, on our ski, pushed merrily along to the -summit. We lunched, and enjoyed the view, like -any ordinary mortals, ignorant of having challenged -Fate.</p> - -<p>Then down we went, curving and circling over the -glacier, crossing unawares the place of the Synagogue. -A gnome, crouching somewhere on the edge of a -crevasse, lay in wait for us, hiding behind a heap of -carefully hoarded curling-stones. The deadly weapons -began gliding about. The brothers Marti were proof -against them, being involuntary offenders. The -head of the party could not be struck, being of the -sceptical kind. The young Englishman jumped -about, being ever safe in the air when the gliding -missile came his way. But the member of “the” -Alpine Club suffered the fate all were courting. His -fibula was snapped.</p> - -<p>Then nothing was seen but a man lying down in -pain upon a beautifully white snow-field. The evil -spot was clad in the garb of innocence. The sky -spread above in a blue vaulted canopy, such as -Madonnas are pictured against. One of the poor -offending mortals lay low, expiating the fault of all. -Would the sacrifice be accepted?</p> - -<p>Yes. Amid the scene of temple-like beauty, -charity—it might have been the Madonna or a -simple Ice Maid—appeared in human shape amid -the effulgence of midday, in the opportune costume -of a hospital nurse.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate3"> -<img src="images/plate3.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SPORT ON THE ZAN FLEURON GLACIER.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 42.</p> -</div> - -<p>With such help, the moment to be absolutely practical -came. It was two o’clock in the afternoon.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -We were still on the glacier as high as we could be. -Whether we retraced our footsteps or glided on, the -distance was the same to Gsteig, where the Pillon and -Sanetsch passes join together. Luckily the weather -was fine, the air quite warm and still. I despatched -Victor Marti, the better runner of the two, down the -Sanetsch to Gsteig. His orders were to summon -by telegraph a medical man from Gstaad to Gsteig, -with instructions there to await our arrival, and to -come provided with splints for the crippled man.</p> - -<p>This young winged Mercury received another -message to convey. It was to send forthwith a -team of four men to the top of the Sanetsch pass. -He himself was to bring back to the pass eatables, -drinkables, and blankets. It was, indeed, impossible -to tell whether we should not be kept out in the -wilderness the whole night. In such places at that -time of the year, the wind, in rising, might be -attended by the worst consequences to human life.</p> - -<p>We had before us many, many miles to be travelled -over, across hill and dale, in deep snow, conveying -on foot a helpless man, whom immobility would -expose to serious risks while out in the open during -the night hours.</p> - -<p>Our messenger carried out his instructions with -the utmost rapidity and punctuality. His ski carried -him swiftly over many miles of snow to the wooded -confines of the Sanetsch pass. He hailed two wood-cutters, -and sent them straight up to the top of the -pass, as a forward relief party. They got there some -time after sunset, while Victor Marti continued on -his way down into the valley to complete his task.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> - -<p>As for those left behind, they had in prospect a -six-mile trudge before they could reach the pass. -No question of continuing on ski. Our sister of -mercy wanted them all to accommodate the wounded -man. On the glacier the snow was not so deep that -the hard, icy, under-surface could not support our -footsteps, but as we proceeded lower our plight got -worse. A ski-runner who, on deep snow, has to give -up the use of his ski, is very much like a sailor upon -a small craft in mid-ocean. Suppose the boat capsizes, -the sailor may swim. But for how long? -Similarly, a ski-runner bereft of his ski amid boundless, -pathless snow-fields, may walk. But for how -long? Snow is a good servant, but a bad master.</p> - -<p>Most people who have not found it out for themselves -do not know that snow gets deeper and deeper -as you descend from the glaciers into the valleys. -After we had reached the pass we would still have to -climb by night down the Sanetsch gorge. This manifold -task was about to fall to the lot of a party in -which everybody, except one, was new to winter -work. They were, besides, totally unacquainted with -night conditions. The ministering angel dropped -from heaven, too, was one who, strange to say, had -never yet been sent to Switzerland on an errand of -mercy. Besides, her task grew so upon her that the -discharge of it made her more and more human, and -in the end she experienced in herself all the inconveniences -of being the possessor of a material body.</p> - -<p>With the help of puttees we tied the inert limb to -one ski. The other ski of the same pair supported -the intact leg. We cut our ski-sticks into lengths,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -split them down the middle, and making cross-bars of -them we fixed the ski to one another. Thus was the -stretcher or shutter made. We had nails, fortunately, -and plenty of cord.</p> - -<p>A stretcher, however, cannot be carried in deep -snow up hill and down dale. We now required -a sleigh. To build one we laid down on the -snow, carefully and side by side, three pairs of ski, -binding them together with straps, and thereupon we -laid the shutter on which was tied the wounded man.</p> - -<p>Would this improvised sleigh run on the snow? -By means of his rope Ernest Marti yoked himself to -the front of it. Head down, shoulders bent, he gave -a pull. His feet broke through the crust of snow and -he sank in up to the waist. To this there was no -remedy. He would plunge at each step, and, recovering -himself, breathless and quivering, he would -start afresh.</p> - -<p>Each time he got off the victim of our accident -received a jerk that threw him back, for we had not -the wherewithal to make a support for his shoulders. -To obviate this very serious trouble, we fitted an -empty rucksack to his back, and pulled tightly the -straps over his shoulders and across his chest. The -young Englishman and myself walked then on each -side of him. Holding him by means of the shoulder -straps, we checked the back thrusts to which he was -exposed, and kept him upright from the waist.</p> - -<p>Thus our caravan proceeded on its way, our pockets -stuffed with the remaining bits of our ski, with which -we might be glad to light a fire that night in some -deserted shepherds’ hut.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<p>The charity dame walked alongside of us, cheering -with her smile the sad hero of this melancholy adventure. -What a picture it would have made if only one -of us had had the heart to photograph it!</p> - -<p>Night was creeping on. The snows turned dark -and gloomy, still we were drawing near to the pass and -had no sooner reached it than two burly figures rose -up before us. They smiled, and laid hold of the -guiding-rope which Ernest Marti, exhausted, threw -to them. They had appeared in the nick of time to -save us from spending the night up there. From -that moment, turning to the north, we were able -to continue to the top of the Sanetsch gorge without -a stop.</p> - -<p>The stars had long been glittering overhead when -we were able to look down into the gorge across to -Gsteig. The village was all agog. Lanterns were -creeping about like glow-worms. Some appeared at -time amid the woods, flitting from place to place like -fire-flies. The other two men, ordered up by Victor -Marti, now showed their lights quite near us. -And then began the last stage in our salvage -operations.</p> - -<p>The Sanetsch gorge was as a vast, curved sheet of -ice. Its northern exposure and the night air had -done their work. It would not be possible to convey -a man reclining on a stretcher down the steep windings -of the mule path. The rescuing party soon hit -upon the only practicable scheme. The patient was -removed from his splints, poles, straps, and bindings, -and set across the back of a powerful highland man. -Ernest Marti took my Lucifer lamp and placed himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -in front to light up the way. Two men stood -immediately behind the human pack-mule. The -group thus formed launched itself down into the -gorge, each man depending for security upon the rough -<i lang="fr">crampons</i> driven into his shoe leather. All’s well -that ends well. The doctor was found waiting at -Gsteig.</p> - -<p>It is now his turn to take up the cue, but we do not -vouch that he will satisfy the reader’s curiosity, -should we by any chance have left him with any -curiosity to satisfy. I hope we may, because our -third ascent of the Diablerets still awaits him.</p> - -<p>This was not the first mountaineering misadventure -I found myself mixed up with. Moreover, it was an -accident, the memory of which I do not particularly -relish. I am afraid I smarted visibly under it, -and showed my personal disappointment. This may -have conveyed to some the impression of some unfairness -on my part.</p> - -<p>Has the reader ever noticed how different is the -attitude of the public mind towards accidents on land -and on sea? Why should mountaineering accidents -be less sympathetically received than those befalling -sailors? It is, however, not unnatural that the sea -should be more congenial, and command forgiveness -by its grandeur. It teaches charity by the immensity -in which it drops the cruel dramas enacted upon its -surface.</p> - -<p>When casualties occur in mountaineering, even -those concerned appear to make efforts to single out -somebody on whom to fasten the blame. Some -people’s vanity is bent upon discerning the wisdom,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -or unwisdom, of one or another of their companions. -If a boat goes down a respectful silence is allowed to -dwell alike around the survivors and those lost. -But shall we ever, for instance, hear the end of the -merits or demerits of each concerned in the accident -that befell the Whymper party, in 1865, on the -Matterhorn?</p> - -<p>When a climbing party comes to grief, it is as an -additional course for the menu of the <i lang="fr">table d’hôtes</i>: a -dainty morsel for busybodies, quidnuncs, and experts -alike. The critical spirit grows ungenerous in that -atmosphere. The victims of the Alp were tempting -Fate; one knows exactly what mistake they made; -so-and-so was altogether foolish in ——, and so forth. -With such more or less competent remarks, the -fullest mead of admiration is blended. This, too, -be it added with the utmost appreciation of a kind -disposition, does not go without some admixture of -silliness.</p> - -<p>I should prefer, even now, to leave all accidents in -an atmosphere of romance. It is best to meet with -them when one is young. The tender spots in one’s -nature are then nearer the surface, and the -vein of chivalry more easily struck. The flutter -and excitement of a rescue are then delightful. -One would almost wish for accidents elsewhere -than in day-dreams for the sake of dramatic -emotion.</p> - -<p>The accidents, however, arranged in the flights of -my imagination were weak in one respect. They -were egotistic. The brilliant part of a quixotic -rescuer fell regularly to me. Let me give the reader<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -an instance from real life before I take him for the -third time up the Diablerets.</p> - -<p>The thing occurred in a Byronic spot. In this -place in my book it will detach itself as a spring-flower -against the snow and ice background which -all these chapters have in common.</p> - -<p>Was I in my “teens,” like “her,” or not quite -so green, or much greener? The question arouses -some vague twinges of wounded vanity. But I -consult in vain the tablets of my memory. They are -now as illegible in many places as old churchyard -stones. If I then believed I had grounds for jealousy, -I could not now trust myself to say with truth that -they were genuine.</p> - -<p>My resentment fastened upon a rival. I withdrew -proudly to the recesses of the hills, as it is recorded -by romantic lore that even males of the dumb -creation are in the habit of doing when baffled in -desire and injured in self-esteem.</p> - -<p>But as, a few days later, I lay lazily stretched out -at full length on the tender pasture grass of the Plan -de Jaman, viewing at my feet the scene of my sentimental -<i lang="fr">déconvenue</i>, I do not wish the reader to paint -for himself the picture of an angry bull pawing the -ground and snorting for revenge, though the number -of cows grazing about and the multitudinous tinkling -of the bells might well suggest such a classical -impersonation.</p> - -<p>The view over the lake was pure, crystal-like -through a moist, shiny air. Rain had fallen during -the night over Glion and the bay of Montreux. The -long grass on the steep pastures of Caux was tipped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -with fresh snow. It lay here and there in melting -patches, and every blade of grass had its trickle of -water.</p> - -<p>Seated on my knapsack for dryness, I was comfortably -munching some bread and chocolate when discordant -and husky cries burst upon me from behind. -The sound was more grotesque than pathetic.</p> - -<p>On looking round there hove in sight a suit of -fashionable clothes, which seemed to betray the -presence of a man. They were mud-bespattered and -stained green with grass. A scared and besmirched -face stood forth from above them, marked with what -looked like dried-up daubs of blood. From that -dreadfully burlesque and woebegone countenance -issued the affrighted Red Indian cries which had -startled my ears. Dear me, how un-Byronic all -this!</p> - -<p>My feelings grew more sympathetic to that -vision—and that, in a sense particularly exhilarating -to myself—when in the soiled, distracted fashion-plate -I recognised my successful rival. His language -became immediately an intelligible speech for -me, and when he blurted out a familiar name he won -a friend, if not to himself at least to his plight, which -was coming to me as a splendid opportunity. Too -dazed to be aware of the true identity of his audience, -he confessed to having lost his way with “her” that -very morning on the Jaman grazings. Their house-shoes -had literally melted away in the wet, slippery -grass and been torn to shreds on the rocks. Famished, -thirsty, exposed to the beating rays of the midday -sun, his presence of mind had deserted him. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -had fallen together over a wall of rock. “Where, oh -where?” shouted I.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate4"> -<img src="images/plate4.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">FROM THE DENT BLANCHE, LOOKING WEST.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 50.</p> -</div> - -<p>The wretch could not tell. His mind was a blank. -He had run thus far, but knew not whence, and -looked round vacantly for a clue. Exhausted, he -tumbled down upon the turf. To him it had fallen -to do the mischief. I was to repair it....</p> - -<p>But was the repairing still within human power? -My eyes travelled anxiously up and down the hangs -of the Dent de Jaman. By what end should I begin -my search? Had the accident occurred in the -wooded parts screened over by a growth through -which I could not see?</p> - -<p>I began a systematic search at one end of the -battlefield, as would have done a party of stretcher-bearers, -Red Cross men, clearing the ground of the -wounded and dead. I called out at regular intervals -the name of the object of my search. No reply. -Her companion looked on disconsolately from afar. -An hour passed, two hours. Then at last, at one end -of the wooded slope, hidden away in a gorge of -minute dimensions, I came upon an apparently lifeless -figure partly reclining on a moss bank with a -foot hanging out from a torn muslin dress over a -running stream of snow water. The faint had lasted -long. But for the tears in her dress she looked as -though she had quietly fallen asleep. When I took -her up in my arms, my touch seemed to re-animate -her, evidently because it caused her some pain. -Then she came back to life more fully, and gradually -realised how the situation accounted for my presence. -She was suffering from a broken leg. I carried her -down to Les Avants.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p> - -<p>The reader would expect to hear that this adventure -bound together again the broken threads of love. -Not so. The story did not end as in the case of a -friend of mine who happened to be at the right -moment in command of a column of artillery moving -along the Freiburg high road.</p> - -<p>A carriage and pair with several ladies in it was -being driven up from behind. The horses took -fright and bolted down a side lane. My friend -galloped up, cut the traces of the horses with his -sword, while the affrighted driver just managed to -put on the brakes. On further approaches being -made from both sides, it turned out that the carriage -contained the material appointed by Fate to make a -wife for him.</p> - -<p>I believe that in my case so much emotional force -got vent in bringing the work of rescue to a successful -issue, that none was left over to nurse the flower of -love to fruition. My personal feeling became as a -part of my obligations to humanity. Dissolved into -chivalry and quixotry, its subtle essence was lost in -so broad a river and swept away to the sea.</p> - -<p>3. It is not a far cry from the Dent de Jaman back -to the Diablerets. At the end of March, 1910, I set -out with Monsieur Kurz, of Neuchâtel, to be avenged -on the ill-luck which had marred the January trip.</p> - -<p>The name of Mr. Marcel Kurz will appear repeatedly -under my pen in this volume. I made his -acquaintance years ago on the occasion of a political -speech. I was only too glad, after a night spent in -public talk and conviviality, to throw off the fumes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -oratory and post-prandial cordiality. In this a lot of -keen young ski-runners agreed with me. Among -them was Marcel Kurz, son of Louis Kurz, the -eminent maker of the map of the Mont Blanc range. -He has since accompanied me on several expeditions, -the first of which was planned on that day, while -practising side by side Christiania and Telemark -swings in friendly emulation. Some of the photograph -reproductions which adorn these pages were -made from snapshots taken by him. Not having yet -become acquainted with the Diablerets range in -winter, he accompanied me there in 1910 with our old -friends, the brothers Marti. These were <i lang="de">dienstbereit</i>, -which, being put in English, would read: Ready for -service, which guides and soldiers ever are.</p> - -<p>But were they as free from their ancient fears as -they were willing to undergo fresh trials? I might -well have my doubts when, this time, their father -expressed a desire to see me before his boys -acquiesced. The accident which attended our last -expedition had left its mark in the minds of the -people. The man with the broken leg had unfortunately -hobbled about so long, on crutches, all over -the country side, that this sight had rudely shaken -the confidence which they were beginning to repose -in me, as bringing into the country fresh means of -earning a little money during the winter months.</p> - -<p>The old Marti lady, particularly, whose heart had -no eye—if this is not an Irish bull—for economic -advantages that ran counter to the conservative -character of her domestic affections, watched me -wickedly from her doorstep, while her husband<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -interviewed me in the village street. Here we -stood, with the villagers round us, looking a picture -truly symbolic.</p> - -<p>An old father, clothed in authority by his age and -experience, the preserver of the traditions of the past -in his house, as in the village community, and -bearing within himself the true doctrine of the -guiding corporation; his sons, with their minds in -that half-open condition which is that of so many -young peasants of the present day, when they may -be compared, without thereby losing anybody’s -esteem, to oysters opening to the sunlight the shells -out of which they cannot grow; the mother, anxious -for those nurtured at her breast, the coming -founders, as she hoped, of a domestic hearth like -unto the old; a man from the outside, dropped -maybe from a higher sphere, but disturbing the -even tenour of their lives, and presenting in a new -light to their awakening consciousness their sense of -inferiority and perhaps of misdirected adherence to -the past; lastly, the onlookers and passers-by, a -homely throng, bearing witness, after the style of -the Greek chorus in the village comedy.</p> - -<p>I proposed to the old man that his sons should -come again with me unhindered. We were a small -party, and made up of such elements that there -was but little chance of the last accident being -repeated. But it had got to his ears that I had -privately consulted with his sons as to pushing on -from the Diablerets to the east over the Sanetsch -and Rawyl passes. I had to confess that such was -the intention of myself and of Marcel Kurz. Whereupon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -the old man held up his hands and his wife -hurried to his side.</p> - -<p>In the end it was decided that Ernest Marti -should accompany me and my friend with provisions -for one day only, and that on the next day the other -brother and a porter would meet us on the Sanetsch -pass. Unwilling to inquire at once what this porter -arrangement might portend, lest the whole affair -might be stranded on that inquiry, as a ship might -do on leaving the stocks, we agreed to the suggestion. -The conference broke up, each party being -satisfied that it had gained one of its points.</p> - -<p>Our ash planks carried us up without a hitch to -the confines of the glacier. At the Oldenhorn hut, -however, another of those sights awaited us which -had made the brothers Marti feel queer. They of -the Synagogue spent the witching hours of the -next night in a drunken snowballing orgy. They -pushed an enormous bolt of snow against the door -of the hut during our peaceful slumbers therein. -Never mind. We opened the window, got out -through it into the snow, bored our way to the -outside, and slipped down on to the ice. There was -some spectral light in the air when we came out. -The Oldenhorn battlements crackled and crepitated -a little. When the sun lit them up from behind, it -looked for a moment as if they were manned with a -fringe of tittering monkeys. As I have said, there -was a strange play of light in the air. But the -snowballing might have been the work of avalanches. -There is as a rule a natural explanation to be given -of phenomena of this kind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> - -<p>While the Oldenhorn pyramid glowed in the -morning light, a veil of mist hung over the Zan -Fleuron glacier. The mist in no ways interfered -with our run. We flew like birds over the scene of -the January accident. On the pass we sat down -and waited. Victor Marti was to come up. But -who was to accompany him up the pass, in the guise -of a porter, with a further supply of provisions? -We required no such thing as a porter—nor even -guides, for the matter of that; but if I acted upon -that view, the game was up. Local men would be -slow in taking up the cry, the new cry: Winter -mountaineering! So we looked for the expected -two.</p> - -<p>The mist still hung on the pass between us and -the sun. Now and then the sun shone vaguely, as -through cotton wool. When the wind broke the -mist up in rifts a patch of blue would look down -upon us benignly. At last, low down in the north, -a black speck showed itself to our straining eyes. -Then the speck divided up. There were two men, -and something moving along close to the ground. -This turned out to be a dog, dragging along a pair -of ski. The dog got on very well on the hard frozen -snow. But when about to leave the wind-beaten -tract, he floundered and got no further. On inspection -with my binoculars, the porter turned out to be -none other than Father Marti, come to fetch his -bairns. But we never quite knew why the dog was -made to bring up an extra pair of ski.</p> - -<p>The position was peculiar; the would-be porter -could not cover the distance which separated him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -from us. We might have snapped our fingers at -him and parodied the biblical phrase: “Thus far shalt -thou come and no farther.”</p> - -<p>We preferred to push into shore on our skiffs and -to parley. The old man declared he had come up to -say the weather was bad. We looked round. Did -appearances give him the lie? Kurz was sure they -did. More cautious, because nearer the age of the -old salt, I thought they might; but both boys -promptly agreed with their father and the dog -wagged its tail approvingly.</p> - -<p>Kurz and myself began by making sure of the -provisions. Then, by a few judiciously applied -biscuits, we won the favour of the dog. Then we -said that, rather than come down at such an early -hour, we should spend the day in runs on the -glacier, whereupon Victor Marti felt it would be -his duty to do likewise. Ernest, in his turn, did -not see why he should not spend, in our agreeable -company, a day that was so young. The father -winced, but consented.</p> - -<p>Then I thought the juncture had come when I -might propose to both young men to take full -advantage of our new supplies of victuals and drink -by spending another night on the heights. The -family met again to “sit” upon the suggestion. -Meanwhile I liberally paid old Marti for his trouble -and took him apart to tell him that if the weather -was really bad on the morrow, I should send his -boys down. This arrow hit the mark. He was a -perfectly honourable old man, true to the core. -Turning to his sons, he told them that on no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -account were they to come back home without their -“gentlemen.” I hope, for his comfort, that he -realised that the “gentlemen” would not either -consent to be seen again in the valley without his -boys.</p> - -<p>Anyhow, we spent a delightful day in ski-ing in -the precincts of the Synagogue, repaired at night to -our hut, slipped through the window, and spent a -night free from molestation. I deemed that it would -be wise to let the sun rise before <em>we</em> did. When it -did, it shone with wonderful grace and power. The -mists were scattered out of the sky and the cobwebs -cleared away from our brains. We entered upon the -trip which is described in the next chapter, and -during which my excellent young friends pushed on -steadily to Kandersteg, our goal, longing all the time -for the sight of the telegraph poles on which hung -the wires which would convey to their mother the -message of their safety.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> -<img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="200" height="140" alt="Drawing of a skier pointing at something" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<span class="smaller">FROM THE COL DU PILLON TO THE GEMMI PASS -(DIABLERETS, WILDHORN, WILDSTRUBEL, AND -KANDERSTEG).</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The range—Ski-runners’ logic—Itinerary—The Plan des Roses—Untoward -experiences on the Rawyl pass—Death through -exposure—The <cite>Daily Mail</cite> and Mr. Arnold Lunn’s feat—House-breaking—On -the Gemmi—Perspective and levels—Relief -models of the Alps—My smoking den—Old Egger.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-n.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">No visitor to Switzerland requires -telling that a section of the -Bernese Alps runs up to the -Gemmi pass from the south-west. -In this secondary range, -the leading groups are the -Diablerets, the Wildhorn, and -the Wildstrubel. So far as the -Wildstrubel and Wildhorn are -concerned, the range separates -the Canton du Valais from the -Canton de Berne, but the Diablerets throw out a -shoulder into the Canton de Vaud. From their -summit the lake of Geneva can be seen.</p> - -<p>Each of these large mountain clusters is linked up -to its neighbour by a pass, running perpendicularly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -to the range. The Sanetsch pass is a dip between -the Wildhorn and the Wildstrubel. Just as—in -January, 1909—I had the pleasure of traversing -the higher Bernese Alps between the Gemmi and -Grimsel passes, it was, in March, 1910, my good -luck to carry out in one continuous expedition the -traverse of the nether Bernese Alps, beginning at -the Col du Pillon and ending at the Gemmi and -Kandersteg.</p> - -<p>The summits of the Diablerets, Wildhorn, and -Wildstrubel group do not exceed 10,705 feet in -height. Singly, they have frequently been ascended -on ski. But, to my knowledge, the ascent of all -three had not yet been achieved as a connected and -consecutive piece of winter work. My traverse having -brought me much opportunity to fully realise the -extraordinary quality and beauty of this high ski-ing -ground, I do not hesitate to give here my best information -on the route.</p> - -<p>The route now opened out presents this capital -feature, that the mountains along the top of which -it lies are uniform in height and in conformation. -Their general lineal development is straight; they -arise steeply from their south-west extremities; they -carry ski-runners down, on well-defined inclines, to -their north-east extremities, which rest on the flat -surface of high-lying passes.</p> - -<p>No wise runner will attempt to run from the -Gemmi end. By so doing he would be making -light of the best rules of ski-ing, as well as throwing -away the indications which nature herself gives him. -From all three summits the larger and lengthier<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -glaciers stretch uniformly from south-west downwards -to north-east, while on the opposite slope the -mountains are precipitous and the glaciers short.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate5"> -<img src="images/plate5.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">MOVING FROM THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 60.</p> -</div> - -<p>Not only will no wise runner attempt the trip from -the Gemmi end, but he will also follow the rules of -ski-runners’ logic. The reader will notice that while -summer tourists cross the Bernese Alps from north -to south, that is from Canton Berne to Canton -Valais, or <i lang="la">vice versâ</i>, from Canton Valais to Canton -Berne, tourists on ski follow the range in its length, -and will have nothing to do with its passes, as leading -from one valley to another.</p> - -<p>Indeed, a ski-runner must look a very paradoxical -creature. For him, passes are just convenient, -saddle-like depressions connecting the summits he -has left with the summit he next wishes to attain. -He will have no dealings with the valleys. He does -not follow the path, say from Kandersteg to Louèche. -That is all very well for mules. But he crosses, say, -the Sanetsch and Rawyl passes, in the same way as -a foot-passenger goes across a street from one pavement -to the other. By so doing he knows no more -of the actual pass-track than its width, say a matter -of one to a few yards, as the case may be. This -totally new conception of how to get about on the -Alps from point to point is of great importance with -a view to the military occupation of the High Alp -passes and their defence in winter. I call it the ski-runners’ -paradox.</p> - -<p>Gsteig is best reached from Montreux, on the lake -of Geneva, or from Spiez, on the lake of Thoune, by -availing oneself of the electric railway and getting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -out at the station of Gstaad; hence on foot or by -horse-sleigh to Gsteig.</p> - -<p>The hut, on the Tête aux Chamois, at the foot of -the Oldenhorn, where the first night had better be -spent, lies to the south-west from Gsteig, and is -approached from the Pillon route. The approach <i lang="la">viâ</i> -the Sanetsch pass necessitates the ascent of the Zan -Fleuron glacier round the Oldenhorn. It is therefore -much longer.</p> - -<p>The map to be used, and to which all references -in this book are made, is the Swiss Military Survey -Map (Siegfried Atlas), sold to the public in sheets. -A reprint covering the whole region may be bought -at Gstaad, price 4 francs.</p> - -<p>Cross the Reuschbach by a bridge, a little beyond -point 1,340 (sheet 472). The chalets of Reusch will -then be reached at Reuschalp, at the altitude marked -1,326 on the map (sheet 472 or 471). At Bödeli one -should carefully avoid taking the path leading south, -up to the Oldenhornalp. The situation of the Cabane -des Diablerets is given on the Siegfried Atlas at -point 2,487 (sheet 478). The line of access is plain -from Bödeli. But strangers should not attempt to -reach the hut in winter snow without being accompanied -on the Martisberg slopes by some person -possessing full local knowledge. The traversing of -steep slopes, such as those which here run down from -the Oldenhorn, is always dangerous.</p> - -<p>Runners start from Gsteig and will do well to take -with them one or both of the brothers Ernest and -Victor Marti, young men and fair runners. Readers -of the preceding chapter know that I have trained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -them in what little they understand about winter -mountaineering. This little is quite sufficient to -enable them to guide safely any party of able-bodied -and fair ski-runners along the new route.</p> - -<p>From Gsteig to the hut an average walker on ski -may count five hours. The hut is comfortable -enough for practical purposes, and can accommodate -a large party.</p> - -<p>On the next morning, do not leave the hut till -daylight, and then, in three hours, one may reach -the top of the Diablerets on ski, though these may -have to be removed to traverse a part of the steep -snow-fields resting on ice which run down the precipitous -cliffs to the south. Runners with whom it -is a point to run, rather than conquer hill-tops, may -leave the summit alone. Wending their way round -the Oldenhorn, they will at once face north-east and -run down the Zan Fleuron glacier to the top of the -Sanetsch pass. Use a compass, and run strictly -east. Full north, full south, or south-east are equally -pernicious. The snow may be crusted and wind-swept. -But if it is dry, powdery, and smooth, the -runner’s joy will be inexpressible.</p> - -<p>Our day—and so might yours—gave us a prospect -of a very long run. We knew that we should not -be able to make use of the Alpine Club hut on the -Wildhorn, for a notice had appeared in the <cite>Alpina</cite> -(organ of the Swiss Alpine Club) that this hut was -badly overwhelmed with snow. Under ordinary conditions, -provided one did not mind sweeping low -down out of one’s way to the north, there would -be no reason why this hut should not be taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -advantage of to spread over two days the work -which on that occasion we did in one day, to get -from the Diablerets hut along to the Wildstrubel -huts. Without any waste of time, we pushed across -the Sanetsch pass, from the point marked 2,234 -(sheet 481), on to the <i lang="fr">arête</i> which runs due east -across the point marked 2,354.</p> - -<p>If it is your intention to go as far as the Wildstrubel -hut in one day, you ought to cross the -Sanetsch by eleven o’clock—an easy thing if you -left the Diablerets hut by eight o’clock. The line -to be followed leads down to, but keeps above, the -small lakes which are marked with the name Les -Grandes Gouilles, altitude 2,456. These lakes must -be left on one’s right hand, and then make straight -for the Glacier du Brozet, above the words Luis de -Marche. Under ordinary winter circumstances, particularly -late in the season, this glacier, which is -broken up to any extent in summer, will be found -to present a steep and hard surface most convenient -to ascend. When once the point 3,166 has been -reached, it will be unnecessary to complete the -ascent of the Wildhorn, though nothing could be -easier. Leaving the summit to your left at the -point 3,172, the descent on the Glacier de Tenehet -comes next to be considered. At that altitude you -should ski onward sharply to the north-east for a -while, then great care should be taken to proceed -downward gradually by taking a curved route, below -point 3,124 (sheet 472), full north-east, then east, -along the circular tiers of the ice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map1"> -<a href="images/map1.jpg"><img src="images/map1-small.jpg" width="200" height="130" alt="Map; click for larger version" /></a> -<p class="caption">DIABLERETS—WILDHORN—WILDSTRUBEL—GEMMI PASS.</p> -<p class="caption">(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, 26.8.12)</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 64.</p> -</div> - -<p>Let me here remind the reader that the Wildhorn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -hut is away far down on the northern slope of the -Wildhorn, at the top of the Iffigenthal. Runners -who wish to break their journey and spend a night -there will beware of running down the glacier of -Tenehet. They will cross the watershed to the -north at the point 2,795, or thereabouts, and descend -to the point 2,204, in the vicinity of which they will -find the hut.</p> - -<p>The course on to the Rawyl pass presents no -difficulty to a competent runner. When under -point 2,767, turn to the south, where the slope -dips, and then again, when well under point 2,797, -and the lake, turn to the north-east, so as to reach -and keep on dotted curve 2,400. South or south-east -would be irrecoverably wrong. In fair weather -it will be unbroken pleasure, on condition that the -runner is well led or is thoroughly conversant with -map or level readings in a very difficult country. -I reached the Rawyl pass by six o’clock.</p> - -<p>The fairly level stretch along which undulates the -Rawyl mule track is called the Plan des Roses, which -sounds very poetical to cultivated minds, such as my -readers always are. The Alps, and many other -ranges in Europe, are studded with those appellations, -whose delightful ring calls forth the fragrance -and beauty of the rose at an altitude at which -gardens are not usually met. Never did a summer -rose grow or blossom naturally in most of the places -bearing that pretty name—not even the Alpen Rose -or the Alpine Anemone.</p> - -<p>The imagination of some has seen in the name an -allusion to the pink colour of the sky at dawn and at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -sunset. Alas, this too is a fallacy borne in upon us -by the literary faculty. Monte-Rosa does not mean -pink mountain.</p> - -<p>Rosa (as in Rosa Blanche, above the Val Cleuson), -roses, roxes, rousse, rossa, rasses, rosen (as in Rosenlaui), -ross, rosso (as in Cima di Rosso), rossère, all -mean rocks or rock. The Tête Rousse (above St. -Gervais) would not be in English the Ruddy Brow, -but the much more commonplace Rocky Tor, Ben, -or Fell. All forms of the word go back to a common -Celtic origin, whether they appear in Swiss nomenclature, -in a French, German, Italian, or Romance -form. This phenomenon is a good illustration of the -manner in which the association of ideas by sound -enriches and varies in time the very rudimentary -stock of primitive impressions gathered in by the -ancient Alp dwellers.</p> - -<p>If the reader will think of Rhine, Rhône, Reuse, -Reuss, Reusch, in the light of the foregoing explanations, -he will hear through all those words the rush -of water that is characteristic of Alpine streams.</p> - -<p>I have lively recollections of the Rawyl pass -dating back to the days of my boyhood. This pass -is dear to me also as having served as an introduction -to my young friend, Arnold Lunn. When he battled -with the pass, on ski, he was probably little older -than myself when I first fought my way through it -on foot.</p> - -<p>I was following the range in its length in the -early, old-fashioned style, purposing to make my -way from Sion, on the Rhône, to Grindelwald, by -dipping in and out of the valleys; namely, first to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -Lenk across the Rawyl, then to Adelboden, thence -to Kandersteg, then to Trachsellauenen, in the -Lauterbrunnen valley, hence to Grindelwald, over -the little Scheidegg—a regular switchback railway.</p> - -<p>My walk over the Rawyl was marked by an -episode. It was late in the season—late in the -sense of the word in those days, when there was -no winter season to upset people’s ideas. I reached -at night the Châlet d’Armillon, by hook or by crook, -along the precipitous Kaendle, and crossing mountain -torrents as casually as a squirrel would swing from -tree to tree, for those were the days of my <i lang="de">Sturm und -Drang Periode</i> as a mountaineer.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, when the Armillon shepherds pointed -out to me the heights of the pass shining pink in the -sunset with a fresh snow edging, my resolution -wavered for an instant. On I went, little dreaming -that thirty years later I should despise being seen -here at all, except in winter and on ski.</p> - -<p>The job proved a serious one. Heavy snow lay -over the marshes and rivulets of the Plan des -Roses. The mule track was buried under wind-blown -wreaths. The moon rose and illuminated -a desolate landscape. A little rain, then snow, -began to fall, obliterating the moonbeams and my -own footprints behind me. Floundering about, I -broke through the thin ice that lay over the patches -of water imprisoned under the snow. Still I ploughed -my way forward.</p> - -<p>Then, probably in the nick of time for my own -safety (else I might have spent the night up there, -being still young enough to show myself, in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -circumstances, obstinate unto folly), a guardian -angel, whose assistance I certainly did not deserve, -slily detached my brandy flask from around my -shoulders and dropped it well out of my reach. -When I discovered the trick, I took the hint and -retraced my footsteps to the shepherds’ huts at -Armillon.</p> - -<p>I believe they were more pleased than surprised. -They sat down round the hearth, an open fireplace, -with embers lying about on the ground. They -handed to me a bowl of milk, a lump of cheese, -a piece of rye bread as hard as a brick, and gave -me a bit of goat’s liver that was stewing in the pan -in its own broth. They said their prayers aloud, -standing reverently in the firelight; then the goats’ -skins were laid out flat on the ground. We lay on -them all in a heap together, with our feet turned -towards the fire. The last man threw the last chips -upon it, pulled warm sheeps’ skins over us, and laid -himself down beside us.</p> - -<p>The moon, high up in the sky by this time, shone -placidly upon the pastoral scene. The air got -sharper and more chilly. When we rose at dawn -every blade of grass sparkled with frost.</p> - -<p>I set out again up the pass in brilliant sunshine. -My footprints were still here and there faintly visible. -When they came to an end I made for the cross, -marking the site of a rough stone refuge, then under -snow. From here some faint footprints again -became visible, turning down the gorge to the -north. I made up my mind to follow them, for -those who had made them were certainly moving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -in the right direction. After a while I saw a stick -standing out of the snow. The footprints did not -seem to continue beyond. On approaching, I found -myself in the presence of the dead body of a mountaineer. -Rumour will have it—for the scene of this -mishap was visited shortly after, to lift the body—that -I leaped aside at the sight, leaving marks on -the snow which, graphologically interpreted, were -seen to signify my dismay.</p> - -<p>It was the first time that I had before my eyes -an instance of death through exposure in the -mountains.</p> - -<p>On reaching the Iffigen Alp I reported the matter -to the local authorities. From later information it -came to my knowledge that there were two victims, -the body of the second being covered up by the snow.</p> - -<p>My other connection with the Rawyl pass is less -gloomy, since I owe to the eccentricities of that pass -one of my best young friends in England.</p> - -<p>I was, a few years ago, standing on the platform -of the railway station at Gstaad, when an English -vicar, whom I took pleasure in instructing in ski, -brought me a copy of the <cite>Daily Mail</cite>, in which -a whole column was literally flaming with the -exploits of two English runners who had crossed -the Rawyl a few days before. That sort of description -we generally call “Journalese,” and let it pass -without correction. It would be an ungracious act -on the part of climbers, who seek out deliberately so -many hardships, to wince at the touch of the voluntary -kindness that almost kills.</p> - -<p>The true account of what then took place appeared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -in the columns of the <cite>Isis</cite>, the Oxford undergraduates’ -organ, on January 23, 1909. There -Arnold Lunn expresses himself as follows:—</p> - -<p>“I spent five winters in climbing from various -centres, before—in the winter of 1907-8—I first -tried cross-country work. With three ladies and -my brother, I visited the Great St. Bernard and -spent New Year’s Eve in the Hospice. Next day -I was thoroughly walked out by two plucky Irish -ladies, and had just enough energy left to reach -Montana on the following afternoon. I had previously -arranged with a friend to cross the mountains -to Villars, a four-day trip, but on arriving found that -he was unable to go.</p> - -<p>“I was introduced to Mr. W., who had only been -on ski three afternoons, but volunteered to come. -We left next morning at 4 a.m., climbed for eight -hours up to the glacier of the Plaine Morte, and then -separated. Mr. W. went on to the hut and I climbed -the Wildstrubel alone, from the summit of which -I saw a beautiful sunset. The solitary trudge back -over the glacier at night thoroughly exhausted me, -and I narrowly escaped frost-bite in one of my feet. -At Lenk that night, 6,000 feet lower down, they had -40 degrees of frost, and the cold in the hut was -almost unbearable. We did manage to get a fire -alight, which proved a doubtful blessing, as it thawed -the snow in the top bunk, forming a lake which -trickled down on our faces during the night in intermittent -showers. The next morning our blankets -were frozen as stiff as boards. Even the iron stove -was sticky with frost.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate6"> -<img src="images/plate6.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">DESCENT INTO THE TELLITHAL, LOETSCHENTHAL.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 70.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Our natural course led over the Wildhorn, a -delightful ski-run, but though Mr. W. throughout -displayed wonderful pluck and perseverance, his -limited experience prevented our tackling the long -but safe Wildhorn. So we took a short and -dangerous cut down to Lenk, following a track -which crossed several avalanche runs. We raced -the darkness through a long hour of unpleasant -suspense, and won our race by a head, getting off -the cliff as the last rays of light disappeared. A -night on the Rawyl would probably have ended -disastrously.</p> - -<p>“The remaining two days of the expedition were -comparatively uneventful, but we were dogged by -an avenging Providence. A telegram miscarried, -and a search party was organised to hunt for our -remains. The guests at Montana spent a very -pleasant day with ordnance maps in attempting to -locate the position of our corpses, and were not a -little disappointed when they learnt that the search -party had found nothing but our tracks. The net -result of the expedition was a bill for £20 for search -parties, plus hospital expenses, as one of the guides -had been frost-bitten.”</p> - -<p>Arnold Lunn’s performance in bringing down -safely to Lenk a companion encumbered with ski -in places fit for the use of climbing-irons only, at -that time of year, was conclusive as a proof of his -sportsmanlike qualities, as it was a bold and unexpected -line to take. For that reason I found -it necessary to reflect upon his daring in the -<cite>Gazette de Lausanne</cite>, which had quoted the English<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -press, lest it should unwittingly lead my young -countrymen into dangerous undertakings. Arnold -Lunn and myself made friends over the correspondence -which ensued between us. A better -companion and a fairer knight to joust with in -Alpine tourney it would be, I believe, difficult to -meet.</p> - -<p>Now, it might be well to return to the Plan des -Roses, whence, still north-east, and then upwards -on the Rohrbachstein glacier to the Rohrbachhaus, -whose roof was plainly visible at sunset, we strolled -peacefully and unconcernedly along.</p> - -<p>In connection with the Rohrbachhaus, the brothers -Marti, for the second time, had an encounter with -the Bernese police courts on my account. It was -my evil influence that brought them to that comfortable -but closed house. I need not say that I -carefully kept out of the mischief that was brewing -by lingering behind to admire the view by moonlight.</p> - -<p>With an ice-axe they dealt a well-directed blow -upon the lock. Before this “Open Sesame” the -door gave way. We gained admittance to a kitchen, -well stocked with fire-wood; a dining-room, with -preserves, tinned victuals, and bottles of wine in -the cupboards; a vast bedroom, furnished with -couches, mattresses, sheets, blankets, eiderdown -quilts! Quite an Eldorado, but, for my young -friends, another step on the downward path to -the prisoners’ dock!</p> - -<p>The police of Berne had a watchful eye on the -Rohrbachhaus. Though I did promptly send the -culprits to make their report in the proper quarter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -to ask for the bill and pay for the damage done -(which precluded any civil action being brought -against me), the Court at Blankenburg tried them -for house-breaking on the Procurator’s charge. But -this business was happily purely formal, as the -<i lang="la">bona-fides</i> of the house-breakers was not questioned. -The offenders were spoken free, on condition that -they paid the costs of the official prosecution. This -part of the bargain was passed on to me to keep, -which I did cheerfully. Indeed, the whole transaction -appealed to my sense of right in the -administration of law. There was no doubt in -my mind that we had broken into a private -establishment without leave, and even without -actual necessity. The establishment was, of course, -there for the use of such as ourselves, even without -consent, on an emergency. But the weather was -good, the night still and clear, our health excellent, -and there was an open refuge within short ski-ing -distance. It is true that on foot we might have -been totally unable to reach it.</p> - -<p>Those who do not wish to run the risk attending -the forcible bursting of locks in order to get shelter -at the first hut had better move on, in the quiet of -night and with an easy conscience, to the open hut, -which stands a little further on, and reach it by -lantern light. They may, however, make previously -an appointment with the caretaker at Lenk. He -will then come up, weather permitting, and open -the Rohrbachhaus.</p> - -<p>I need not dwell on the pleasant night we spent -in the beds of the Rohrbachhaus. Stolen joys are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -sweet, and even may, as in our case, be well -deserved, or at least well earned—a way of putting -it which leaves morals uninjured. Our first day -had been heavy, but had afforded two magnificent -runs on glaciers and on slopes abutting to passes, -each covering about four miles exclusive of curves, -which, of course, being purely voluntary as to their -number and scope, cannot be calculated.</p> - -<p>Ski-running parties spending a night in one or -the other of the two Wildstrubel huts will find -themselves on the next day surrounded by as fine -and as varied a country as they may wish for. -Whatever line they choose, there is but one that -should absolutely be avoided. This, they know -already, is the Rawyl pass, whether winter tourists -wish to go north to Lenk or south to Sion. The -outlet of the pass to the north is best described -as a most precipitous and ice-bound region. The -southward descent is dangerous quite as much, -owing to its great complication amid rock, ravine, -forest, and watercourse. Runners should divert -their ambitions well away from those gorges. The -best way to Montana and Vermala lies over -the Glacier de la Plaine Morte, and thence to -the south.</p> - -<p>Runners proceeding from the huts and wishing -to follow in our footsteps, in order to reach the -Lämmern glacier and the Wildstrubel, will run -down the slopes leading to the Glacier de la -Plaine Morte (map, sheet 473). They will glance -at the Raezli glacier tumbling down to the north-west, -between the Gletschhorn and the Wildstrubel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -(west-end summit). Hence they will steer a straight -course to the east, along the centre line of the -Glacier de la Plaine Morte, and then turn to the -north-east towards the Lämmernjoch, a pass to -the east of the Weststrubel, on a ridge, which is -steepish to reach, though usually well covered with -snow. From that point to the top of the Weststrubel -there is an additional rise of about 120 metres, say -400 feet. The view from this Strubel is worth the -additional labour, and it also gives one the satisfaction -of having reached the last of the highest -points on the Diablerets-Wildhorn-Wildstrubel route. -The height of the Diablerets is 3,222, of the Wildhorn -3,264, and of the Wildstrubel west 3,251 metres. -But this satisfaction, like that which may have been -got from ascending the Diablerets and the Wildhorn, -may, in point of time, be too dearly bought.</p> - -<p>It is quite sufficient to direct one’s course straight -from the Lämmernjoch on to the higher reaches of -the Lämmerngletscher, which open up beyond the -Lämmernjoch to the north.</p> - -<p>Runners should not plunge full east straight down -the glacier. Such a course would be attended with -much danger, as a line of crevasses runs across the -glacier roughly from south to north. A careful -runner will map out for himself a “circumferential” -route, which will bring him round that dangerous -part, by descending the slopes of the glacier which -are beyond that spot to the north. Then, by turning -to the east, one enters the lower reaches of the ice, -when one faces the extensive building of the Wildstrubel -Hotel on the Gemmi pass, about 3 miles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -ahead. The best way off the glacier on to the -Lämmernalp is on the north side of the gorge, in -which the glacier tails off, though I found it quite -convenient to reach the Lämmernboden (see map) -by means of the slopes which run down to it on the -southern side of the stream.</p> - -<p>Our route leaves completely out of account the -Gross-strubel (3,253 metres), which rises above -Adelboden and the Engstligenalp. This summit -does not belong to the traverse I am now describing. -There are quite distinct expeditions to be made to -either or both Strubels from Adelboden or Kandersteg. -If from Kandersteg, one should go and spend the -night at the Schwarenbach Hotel, on the Gemmi -road, go up the way we have just described for -the descent, and return <i lang="la">viâ</i> Ueschinenthal. The -Kandersteg guides know all about this run, which -is much to be recommended to the expert.</p> - -<p>There are three long, flat strips on the run from -the Wildstrubel huts to the Schwarenbach Hotel -<i lang="la">viâ</i> Gemmi. The first is the Glacier de la Plaine -Morte (about 3 miles), the second the Lämmernboden -(about a mile), the third the Daubensee (about -a mile).</p> - -<p>The run from the Daubensee to Kandersteg -requires no particular notice. It begins at the -spot where the Lämmernboden turns to the north, -within 800 yards or so of the Wildstrubel Hotel -on the Gemmi pass. The run on the Daubensee, -then to the Schwarenbach Hotel (one should not -pass to the right, east of the summer road) affords -excellent ski-ing. Then, on the rush down to -the Spitalmatten, with the Balmhorn and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -Altels towering to one’s right, will be met some -of the best ground of the whole trip, the slopes -being throughout beautifully exposed to the north. -The gorges to the east should on no account be -entered. The course runs straight north on the -west side of the valley, till the upper bends of -the summer road are met on the shoulder which -drops down to Inner Kandersteg, at the entrance -of the Gasternthal. The slopes to the west of the -woods on the shoulder are periodically swept by -avalanches. Look carefully whether the fragments -lie on the ground, and whether the rocks above, -whence they start, are bare of snow. If so, you -may proceed among the fragments. If otherwise, -take to the road and walk.</p> - -<p>The whole distance travelled over during this -expedition, starting from Gsteig, is, measured on -the map, about 40 miles to Kandersteg. We had -with us ropes and axes, but never used them. In -point of fact, I should consider that expeditions -upon which a use is foreseen for the axe and the -rope are not, strictly speaking, ski-ing expeditions. -Ski-ing, by definition, excludes the use of rope and -axe, though one should be provided with them when -having reason to fear unforeseen contingencies.</p> - -<p>The levels are as follow:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>At Gsteig: 1,192 metres (3,937 feet).</p> - -<p>On the Zan Fleuron glacier: 2,866 metres, being a rise of -1,674 metres.</p> - -<p>On the Sanetsch pass: 2,221 metres, being a fall of 645 metres.</p> - -<p>On the Wildhorn glacier: 3,172 metres, being a rise of 951 -metres.</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -<p>On the Rawyl pass: 2,400 metres, being a drop of 772 metres.</p> - -<p>On the Lämmernjoch: 3,132 metres, being a rise of 732 metres.</p> - -<p>On the Gemmi pass: 2,214 metres, being a drop of 918 metres.</p> - -<p>At Kandersteg: 1,169 metres, being a drop of 1,045 metres.</p> - -</div> - -<p>From this table of levels, the general public, if -there is any in mountaineering topics, may draw a -conclusion and a moral.</p> - -<p>Have you ever looked at a model relief map of the -Alps? As one of the general public, you may not be -aware that the relief is artificially forced. It is -intended to amaze by the steepness of the declivities -and the terribly sharp angles at which the ridges -of the peaks meet in the air and terminate into a -threatening point.</p> - -<p>The designers of those otherwise beautiful and -attractive models wish to heighten the impression -which you are accustomed to receive when you look -up to the Alpine peaks from some point below. The -laws of perspective bring then those peaks nearer the -perpendicular. By an optical delusion, which is full -of scenic effect, they tower aloft. The designers of -Alpine models run after poetical and picturesque -effects. They very naturally do not wish to show -you in plaster Alps far less formidable than those -which agreeably overawe you in nature. They -add from 10 to 20 per cent. to the angles of -declivity, deepen the valleys and pull out the -mountain tops like putty. They thus show you the -Alps in your own natural perspective, as a painter -does on his canvas. But the whole thing is -fallacious.</p> - -<p>I should feel called upon to condemn the process -as a downright black lie if there was not enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -snow on those models to paint the lie white. Look -at the Matterhorn from Zermatt and then look at -one of those paper-weight models in stone which are -sold for a few francs in the local bazaars and which -are cut according to scale. You will be surprised to -see how really flat the Matterhorn is. I advise every -one who intends to climb it to first make a careful -study of a paper-weight model. It is most reassuring.</p> - -<p>Now this is exactly what an Alpine ski-runner does -or should do.</p> - -<p>There is in the vestibule of the University -buildings at Geneva, on the first floor, a magnificent -plaster model of Switzerland, true to scale. Each -time I cast my eyes upon this model I more fully -realise how exactly the author’s execution of the -relief, based on science, corresponds with the runner’s -conception, based on experience. In its own unvarnished -language, the model says: “By me know -the Alps, and by them know thyself and be modest, -thou hast not done so much after all.”</p> - -<p>So the general public may now understand why -the runner sees the Alpine world in his own -perspective. The real reliefs are printed on his -mind. A summer tourist, who instead of fitting -foot-rules to his feet, pegs or stumps along, can with -difficulty enter into the runner’s notion.</p> - -<p>Orographic conformation and questions of exposure -are ski-running matters. The runner studies the -<i lang="it">relievo</i> in the light of two or three truisms resting -on experience, which are as conditions determining -the rational use of ski and assuring the pleasure <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>of -the runner.</p> - -<p>1. The runner aims at rising rapidly, because he -cannot draw from his ski a full measure of pleasure -except from the moment when the ski cease to be -the means of carrying his weight uphill, and become -merely a means of velocity.</p> - -<p>2. While rising as abruptly as he possibly can, the -runner seeks out—for this tiresome operation is -seldom avoidable—the declivities whose exposure -marks them out as unsuitable for a good run down. -No wonder. It is not to his interest to throw away, -as it were, good slopes by employing them for work -uphill. Now, steepnesses turned to the south, -south-west, and west, afford poor running, viewed, of -course, in their generality.</p> - -<p>Here meteorology—or, in plain English, weather—is -more important than geography, because warm -winds, whether they blow soft or wild, beat upon -those faces. When not actually dangerous, such -defective slopes are convenient for rising to the high -levels. The runner who knows how to take advantage -both of meteorology and orography shows himself -possessed of an advanced knowledge of his craft.</p> - -<p>3. The best running hills are those whose gentler -slopes are exposed north and east. The winds from -those quarters are not warm winds, though they too -have their own way of spoiling the snow. At any -rate, the sun—which has even in winter powers for -mischief—is too low on the southern horizon to -interfere with the powdery condition of snow facing -north. But there is not much gained in mapping -out one’s tour in the manner indicated if one <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>is -landed for the descent on abrupt, though northern -or eastern, slopes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate7"> -<img src="images/plate7.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ON THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 80.</p> -</div> - -<p>So now draw your moral and conclusion. Will it -not be that you should walk round and round a large -relief model of the Alps when planning your winter -excursions? This you could easily do if some kind -patron of Alpinism would provide you in London with -a copy, cast in metal for durability, of the Geneva -plaster relief.</p> - -<p>Would the reader like to know, after this long -lecture, how I take the refreshment, and smoke the -pipe—in my case it has always been a cigar—which -I should like to offer him now? He is welcome to -my den.</p> - -<p>I scoop out the snow, in the manner of dogs, to -the depth of 2 feet, or thereabouts. I lay my ski -across the cavity thus formed. Pressed close -together, they roof in about one-third of the opening. -I put my feet in the hole, wrap them up in my empty -rucksack, bend my knees and sit on the ski. Before -me, on the snow shovelled up with my hands in the -shape of a tray, I display the contents of my larder. -Then I plant my sticks behind me, one supporting -each shoulder. Thus, my armchair, dining-room, -and table are all ready. I wait upon myself, as is -usual at lunch, and when the time has come for the -blissful smoke, I lazily stretch my legs across the -empty table and lean back, looking into immensity -through the puffs. When the time comes when I -should like a nap, I find that the sticks at my back -invite me to recline by gradually giving way. I lay -them flat on the snow, spread my cloak over them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -and, thus comfortably padded, I pull my cap over my -eyes, and try hard to convince myself that it is a cold -midwinter day. The smoke ceases to rise, the cigar -end drops and—— This is all vanity no doubt, but -is mine not better than that of many a wiser man?</p> - -<p>Old Egger at Kandersteg, who received me with a -cheery handshake on completion of the trip described -in this chapter, had seen me start about a year -before on my traverse of the Bernese Oberland. He -expressed satisfaction at seeing me again, though -with another companion, and said he thought we -had been rather long. But when I told him that -another trip had been thrown in, as well as my -companion changed, he insinuated with a smile of -great intelligence that we had had time to grow -very thirsty. It was, he said, a grand thing for -Kandersteg that it had been at the beginning of the -first trip and at the end of the second. So he would -drink our healths. And we honoured him likewise.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"> -<img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="250" height="100" alt="Drawing of ski-goggles" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE SKI-RUNNER OF VERMALA</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>Vermala—The mysterious runner—The Plain of the Dead—Popular -beliefs—The purification of the grazings—A -haunted piece of rock—An awful noose is thrown over -the country-side—Supernatural lights and events—The Babel -of tongues—The Saillon and Brigue testimonies—The curé -of Lens and his sundial—The people’s cure—The Strubel—<i lang="fr">Chauffage -central</i>—Did I meet the Ski-runner of Vermala?—My -third ascent of the Wildstrubel—A night encampment -on the glacier—Meditations on mountains, mountaineers, -and the Swiss—How to make <i lang="fr">café noir</i>—Where to sleep -and when not to—Alpine refuges—The old huts and the -new—The English Alpinists and the Swiss huts—The -Britannia hut.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t-1.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">The sheet 482 of the topographical -atlas of Switzerland -assigns the name of Vermala -to the <i lang="fr">mayens</i> in Canton Valais, -situated above Sierre, at an -altitude of 4,500 feet or thereabouts. -Swiss <i lang="fr">mayens</i> are -places where grass is grown -that can be mown and on -which cattle is grazed in -autumn.</p> - -<p>About 600 feet higher there is in the forest a -clearing, with a south-west exposure, in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> the -Mont Blanc range, framed in fir-trees, presents itself -in the distance to the appreciative eye as a beautiful -background to a picture of loveliness. If the bareness -of the map is to be trusted, this spot was not -yet inhabited in 1884 when the topographical survey -was made.</p> - -<p>The map is right, and yet it is not quite right. -There were at that time no ordinary dwelling-houses -in the clearing, but people of ordinary mind held -that the Ski-runner of Vermala, whose presence -on the country-side was at that time exactly known, -had his home somewhere in those parts.</p> - -<p>From afar curious people would point out a -rocky platform planted with beautiful, well-spaced -firs amongst which it would be pleasant to bask -in the sun in winter. But others were rather taken -up with the peculiar apparitions which at night were -seen there skimming the rocks in a sinister play of -light. The map marks the place with a broken line, -between Vermala and Marolire, right above Praz-Devant.</p> - -<p>It was said that in earlier times the mowers piled -up their hay at the top of the clearing in one or -two <i lang="fr">mazots</i>, or rough barns, set on short posts, four -in number, planted in the ground and crowned with -flat stone disks. But that hay had an unwelcome -way of catching fire, consuming the <i lang="fr">mazots</i> as well. -Nothing was left but the stones. So the peasantry -gave up this unlucky storage ground.</p> - -<p>At present no other mystery hovers about this -spot than that which these recollections call back -to mind. The Forest Hotel occupies the site. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -sun holds divided sway in summer with the coolness -of the woods, in winter with King Frost. Here -conventional tourists embrace at a glance the most -marvellous piece of Alpine scenery—from Monte -Leone and beyond, to Mont Blanc—that human eye -can long for, such, that had Byron known of it, he -would have sent his world-sick Manfred to contemplate -it from Vermala.</p> - -<p>The sweetness of this name would have rung as -true to the poet’s ear as, in the Italo-Celtic tongue, -it rings to the ear of the rough mountaineer. Would -you not, for a while, when reading on the map names -of such romantic harmony, forget that they are mere -geographical terms? Let us personify those place -names. Do not Vermala and Marolire spell out as -tunefully as the classically tender and melodious -Daphnis and Chloe?</p> - -<p>But then there might be a risk of forgetting that -there is not a halfpenny worth of love in this story. -It is a homespun yarn, woven by rustics in ignorance -and fear, and would fall very flat on the ears of -civilised mankind, but for the curiosity roused by -that consummate sportsman whose humours shine -through the woof of the story.</p> - -<p>Whence did he come? Who was he? Nobody -ever knew.</p> - -<p>He had already disappeared from the country when -a more enlightened generation ceased to look upon -him as a true ghost. There arose a class of minds -which ran to the opposite extreme and held him to be -a superman of the morrow. In the end he was -described as the Ski-runner of Vermala, whe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>n some -acquaintance with the new implements called back -popular imagination within the bounds of reason. -Then the glamour that had gathered around his -memory at last faded away.</p> - -<p>The terraced plain of Crans on which there is now -a golf course was not then much frequented. The -whole district was held to be inhospitable. The -Wildstrubel mountain group, which fills up all -the space between the Rawyl and Gemmi passes, -bore a redoubtable reputation. It was still more -feared for the Plaine-Morte and the glacier of the -same name, which spread as a counterpane over his -feet. Both the plaine and the glacier were reputed -abodes of the souls of the dead. Poor souls perishing -with cold in the cracks! Dante’s idea of an -ice circle in hell harks back to the rustic belief -that souls serve their term of purgatory on the -Plaine-Morte and come down on certain sacramental -nights to visit the living and receive additional -punishment from the contemplation of the evil -deeds they have left behind them to work themselves -out.</p> - -<p>In summer, the Valaisan peasant would not -venture upon the Plain of the Dead, had he not first -sought the protection of the Holy Virgin and saints. -In winter he doubts not that the Plain of the Dead is -reserved for the evil ones by the holy Powers that -be. As soon as the first winter snow turns to white the -brown, sunburnt slopes of the upper grazings, these -are laid under the ban by the piety of the villagers, if -not by the Church.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> -<p>Who knows, say the vintners of Sierre, what is -going on there? Assuredly, nothing of worth, while -the sun draws its daily course slowly on the horizon -from the Equinox of autumn to that of spring. Thus -an alarming scientific fact has become a nursery -ground for fond popular beliefs.</p> - -<p>We should easily sympathise with the credulity of -those big children if we would but imagine our own -state of mind, did we believe we had positive reason -to fear lest the sun which had ripened the last -harvest might not return in spring to ripen the next, -after we had exhausted the garnered crops of the -former year. And in what mood would we see the -shades of night enfolding us this evening, if we did -not rest more confidently in the hope of dawn than in -the arms of sleep?</p> - -<p>It is under the influence of motives of that kind -that the inhabitants of the populous villages thrown -as a belt round the plateau of Crans Mollens, Randogne, -Montana, Chermignon, Lens, and Icogne—were -quite prepared to go into the forest to pick up -their allotment of fire-wood, and even to pilfer that -of their neighbour. But, so long as their herds and -flocks—when the sun rises again full east and sets again -full west, which is the signal for the raising of the -ban—have not been solemnly escorted to the grazings -by the priest with holy water and sprinkler, they will -not be seen ascending to the beats whence they -retreated in the autumn. And if any do visit those -desecrated spots before they have again been -hallowed, even the boldest miscreants undertake -the venture with a sense of insecurity, knowing full -well that, for the pure-minded, they are committing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -sheer blasphemy.</p> - -<p>The God of winter is still a God for heathens in -the eyes of those people. Nor should this call forth -any astonishment. “How beautiful upon the -mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good -tidings.” If so, how much more awful than elsewhere -must appear there those of the arch-fiend! -He alone is of a nature sufficiently proof to fire to -make his home in ice with impunity. His followers -alone are sufficiently witched to share in his -privilege.</p> - -<p>Therefore, when the rumour was spread that a -supernatural form haunted the Vermala woods, it -needed but little comment before it gained credence. -Everybody was pretty clear in his own mind as to what -kind of person he must be, and none needed to -question others to know that they thought exactly -the same thing.</p> - -<p>As might be expected, poachers, chamois hunters, -and wood-cutters, people with uneasy consciences—because -they steal wood or game, and because their -occupation makes them particularly liable to mistrust -each other and to meditate on the Evil One—were -among the first to believe a story so much in keeping -with the trend of their own thoughts. They -could even bear witness to its truth.</p> - -<p>They had uplifted their eyes, at night, upon a -shade so pellucid that the moonbeams shone through -it. The shade stole away among the trees like the -wind, with a slight rustling of the snow. Then, in a -hollow lane leading from the Mayens de Lens -towards Chermignon, they had come across st<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>range -marks which were not those of game, such as hares, -foxes, or badgers. They were not either the marks -of any hoofed animal, whether it be a four-footed -beast or even the dreaded biped. Those marks soon -seemed to join together into tracks that flung themselves -like huge ribbons all over the country-side. -But, of all those who would, none was able to follow -them out. Never had impressions like these been -seen on the snow, of which it was impossible to say -whether the being who made them walked backwards -or forwards. Some said he was a creature -mounted on a wheel or riding on two. Others said -he was a serpent crawling on his belly, so unbroken -was the track and so much did it keep winding -about.</p> - -<p>However much it seemed to roll away in every -direction and to stop nowhere, a few bold spirits -determined to follow its course. They forthwith -found themselves plunging and diving in such deep -snow that, breathless and shivering, they gave up the -chase, feeling numb at heart.</p> - -<p>From that moment the public mind was made up. -No creature in mortal shape, no flesh could ever -have marked the face of the snow with this -labyrinthine coil. To wind up this clue of thread -one must either fly like a bird, or blow like the wind, -or be favoured with the malediction of God. This -last explanation being of all the most clear, and the -most creditable to the piety of the largest commune -in the Canton du Valais, it was accepted by the -municipal council and the clergy.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p> -<p>In the spring—the next to the great disturbance—the -melting snow blotted out the dreadful spoor, -the alarm it had caused and, of course, the Runner, -for want of his element.</p> - -<p>As soon as they dared, people hurried up to the -Vermala rock. There they found the remains of -a new and unexpected kind of habitation. The -drooping branches of a mighty fir appeared to have -been pinned to the ground by frost, consequent upon -the piling of snow upon their extremities. Then -snow had been piled up higher and higher around -the tree, embedding other branches as it rose, -which were cut away from the trunk, except at the -top, where they stretched out in the form of a snow-covered -dome. There had thus arisen a pyramid-shaped -dwelling enclosed in walls of ice, for the snow -had clearly been brought to transparency by the -application of heat from within. And thus was -explained that wonderful effluvium of light, the -shimmer of which looked so sinister from afar. It -is even said that some children picked among the -tufts of green grass which here and there began to -grow about the floor of the abandoned hut, pieces -of a yellow amber-like substance which shot forth -sparks bathed in a soft purple radiance, when seen -by them in the darkness of their own homes.</p> - -<p>No wonder that people spoke of Vermala in fearsome -strains! What a pity the most beautiful spot -in the country was haunted!</p> - -<p>In the ensuing winters, things went from bad to -worse. People ceased visiting the plateau de Crans -for pleasure. Do you fancy, they said, that strangers -henceforth will ever set foot upon this ground, unles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>s -it be for their sins?</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate8"> -<img src="images/plate8.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ABOVE RIED, LOETSCHENTHAL.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 90.</p> -</div> - -<p>So much tribulation turned the feebler heads. -Folk no longer understood each other aright. They -got confused over names. Those who called La -Zaat by its name were rebuked by those who called -it La Chaux Sei, and those parties both fell out with -the supporters of the name Bellalui. No one was -quite clear about the identity of Petit Mont Tubang -and Grand Mont Tubang. They were in a mist as -to Petit Mont Bonvin and Grand Mont Bonvin. -Everybody confused one and all of these with the -Tonio de Merdasson. In short, the mind of the -country-side was muddled, now that all eyes saw -double when they looked in the direction of -Vermala.</p> - -<p>Old men, however, stiffened their backs and spoke -in firm voices above the new Babel of tongues. -They said it had always been known before their -time and would ever hereafter be manifest, that the -crest that is visible from Lens is the brow of Bellalui, -and they clinched the matter with the reminder that -when Bagnoud the mayor built his new house, he -called it Bellalui after the mountain.</p> - -<p>As it happens, it was at Lens that the meteoric -personage once more called attention to himself.</p> - -<p>Truth to say, though there was no one who did -not expect his return, there was nevertheless a -general shudder when Jean Perrex who had gone to -Saillon, brought back the news that “he” was -known to have brought out of the stable the horse -which had lately been bought with a new cart, to -show visitors over the country. “He” had put the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -horse to the cart without collar, traces, or bridle. -Without whip or ribbons, he had driven to St. Pierre -de Clages. He had tied the horse to the church -door. Then he had sat down on the grass at the -foot of the Norman tower, between the beehives of -the curé and the wasps’ nest that is there sunk in the -soil. Nobody could say how and when they had -seen him. It would have been useless to ask what -he was like. But it could not but be he, since the -abandoned horse and cart had been impounded, and -the church was now sinking more rapidly than -heretofore.</p> - -<p>The most convincing testimony, however, was that -of Claudine Rey. Her brother was in the habit of -walking out with a girl who had a situation in a -hotel in Brigue. One night he had clambered up the -wall to the terrace, when the moon suddenly grinned -through the clouds. Then, instead of the girl he -was to meet, whom should he see there to his right -in the arbour but “him” in the shape of a dwarfish, -wizened wiseacre, clutching in his right hand a -death’s head, and with the fingers of his left running -rapidly along the lines of a book of charms!</p> - -<p>When, on St. Martin’s eve, this account was given -to the worthy curé of Lens, who had gathered about -his hearth some of his parishioners to crack in goodly -company the arolla nuts roasting in the ashes, the -dear old man shook his head; his mind was running -on the words “Get thee behind me, Satan.”</p> - -<p>Then a gentle scratching was heard on the panes -of the closed window. The gathering looked that -way and most turned pale. The first snow of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -coming winter was swirling and whirling against the -glass, borne on the soughing wind. And the bluish -purple light poured forth from the wells of memory -into the sockets of their eyes.</p> - -<p>The curé came out with his guests on his way to -trim the church lamp. A thin layer of snow covered -the village lanes. He cast about him furtive and -mistrustful glances. The pure white carpet was as -yet unsullied by footprints. Would “he” come?</p> - -<p>Now this curé was a bit of an astronomer and a -clerical moralist. He took every care of the sundial -of his church tower and had adorned it with an -inscription, in two expressive lines:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Le temps passé n’est plus, l’éternité commence.</div> -<div class="verse">Pensez-y donc, mortels, et pensez-y d’avance.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>That night he stared at it. The piece of advice -was as good as ever. But the involutions of the -meridian mean curve, drawn with such careful exactness -on the stone and painted with such a light hand -in the gayest colours, struck him now as being the -exact counterfeit of the ribbons on the snow. Was -he not breaking away from his ordinary piety in -accusing his church dial of taking after an un-Christian -pattern? Surely, he was wronging his dial. -And the good curé kept poring over the unholy -coincidence, in so far at least as his mind could -find time to spare for meditation upon matters of -paramount importance.</p> - -<p>On the morning of St. Martin’s Day, the village -showed itself to be all in a tangle of loops. The -diabolical spoor went in and out round every hous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>e. -The figure eight of the sundial had thrown off -innumerable copies upon the ground. The bells -were tolled in vain. To no purpose did the chimes -peal. In vain did the most Christianlike of all suns -that ever poured its kindly light upon Lens, kindle -the most reassuring smile upon the wrinkled stones -of the old tower. Not a single parishioner was bold -enough to spurn with his foot the cabalistic loops -that embraced the bosom of Mother Earth in their -oppressive grasp. Not a child dare step across them, -not even to go and dip his fingers in the holy water -at the church door.</p> - -<p>The most thunder-struck was the curé. A truculent -pentagram in red chalk was displayed all over -his distich, surrounded by a double circle that -looked like a green fairies’ ring designed in moss -upon the church tower.</p> - -<p>As for the good men of the largest <i lang="fr">commune</i> in -Canton Valais, they bethought themselves of a day -of fasting, the natural remedy for their orthodox -faith to point out. But there was a sign against -that too. The pewter pots and mugs of the village -tavern appeared that morning all set up in a row -upon the railings of the churchyard gate, upside -down. They would have to be fetched and brought -back to their proper place. The hardiest commoners -were summoned. They took heart from their thirst. -The general anxiety was soothed by such an obvious -way of drowning care.</p> - -<p>The frequenters of the forests, whether they were -honest day-labourers or night-birds, knew alone, -beyond all doubt, the identity of the mischief-m<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>aker. -For them the prime mover in the big upset -was none other than the <i lang="de">Strubel</i>, about whom the -village elders would still relate, in the dim light of -the evening fires, dreadful stories of an ancient -stamp, such as suggest themselves in the woods after -dark, when the old tree stumps are phosphorescent -and glow-worms come out of their retreats to set up -their tiny lamps on the edges of the rocks.</p> - -<p>Of all creatures born of local lore the Strubel was -to them the nearest in kin. When the north wind -blows the Strubel races from crest to crest, from the -Gemmi to the Rawyl, and from the Rawyl to the -Gemmi. Up there his long white shock of hair -streaming in the wind, and upturned by the gale, -spreads as a plume across the sky. The tumbling -folds of his beard fill the precipitous ravines. A hail -of icicles rattles out of his roaring breast. The rush -of his huge body, soaring amid snowflakes and in -glacier dust, awakens the slumbering elements. At -night the Aurora Borealis gathers in streamers -around his brow. At dawn and at sunset a diadem -of snow-crystals sets a many-coloured band about -his hoary head. He flies, and his feet do but tip -the top of the peaks, and his stature rises aloft in an -immense upward sweep. In a blue-and-white transparency, -such as one sees in glacier crevasses and in -pure ice water, the spring of his sinuous limbs uplifts -him to the confines of atmosphere and firmament.</p> - -<p>Such is the poetic picture of the dread being which -the shepherds still worship secretly, far down in the -recesses of their primitive hearts. And it is he -whose image the antics of an enigmatic ski-runne<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>r -revived for several winters, as our story shows, under -the low and gloomy roofs of the white-hooded chalets.</p> - -<p>There is an evening hour, when, after cooking and -partaking of the day’s last meal, the family gathers -round the domestic hearth. Then the last embers -are fanned into a congenial flame. The dying light of -the hearth kindles anew the memories of a bygone -age. Is the time near when these will die out for -want of fuel, as the flame of that hearth when the -family goes to bed? But why should we link any -melancholy after-thought with their well-earned -rest? The thought of the reward granted to their -toil pleases one’s moral sense. Yet he who, like me -in this chapter, uses figments of the past as a page -decoration, cannot but regret that such picturesque -elements should be gradually, but surely, vanishing -for ever from the face of our modern world.</p> - -<p>The accepted idea is that things have progressed. -So they have. A nice hotel crowns the Vermala -rock. At night real electric light of industrial origin -has taken the place of the fantastic rays of old. -There is a <i lang="fr">chauffage central</i>, fed with colliers’ coal, -and stoked by porters who never could produce heat -without matter and on terms that were not commercial. -Now people dance at Vermala, they have -music at night, they lounge about in smoking-jackets, -and, when all is said and done, I am one -of those who most enjoy the new situation.</p> - -<p>Did I ever meet the Ski-runner of Vermala? I -should have a vague fear of being caught prevaricating -should I answer either Yes or No. Truth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -sometimes dwells in half-way houses.</p> - -<p>I was staying at Vermala last winter. The glacier -de la Plaine-Morte, and the ascent of the Wildstrubel, -were objects which a young man of my party -kept steadily in view. It was his second winter holiday -in Switzerland. A much-travelled man, he -had camped out in Persia, and endured thirst and -hunger in some of the most God-forsaken spots of -the globe. How would he fare in the Wildstrubel -country? A man may have done very well in sandy -deserts and yet find himself out of his depth in snow. -He had ski, but would they do as much for him on -these charmed snows as a camel’s spreading feet had -done in the desert?</p> - -<p>So we set forth late one morning, after paying -the usual penalty to the photographic fiend. So -great an honour conferred by a number of fair -women inspired us with proper pride. It was a -most strengthening draught to harden us against -the trials that might be in store, but it also worked -so insidiously as to cause us to overlook the wise -saw of the most bourgeois of French fabulists: -“Rien ne sert de courir, il faut partir à temps,” -which, topically rendered, might mean: “A man -who has started late need never hope to make -up for lost time when going uphill on ski.”</p> - -<p>The glacier de la Plaine-Morte lies at the altitude -of 9,500 feet approximately, measured at the brim, or -lip, which we had to overcome before we could dip -down to the surface of that shroud of the dead. We -were setting out for it from the altitude of 5,500 feet, -and allowing for unavoidable “downs” that would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -break the upline, we had quite 5,000 feet of vertical -displacement before us.</p> - -<p>At whatever hour of the day we might have started -we had that much to ascend by sunset, if we wished -to reach the Hildebrand hut in comfortable circumstances, -and so the true bourgeois spirit would have -us do. Had we been in military mood we should -have borne with the dictates of punctuality. Unfortunately -we had received attentions that had raised -us beyond ourselves. We chose to trust our elation -to bring us on over the ground. But the 5,000 feet -we had to ascend would not grow less. The sun -would not delay its progress. The ups and downs -would not smooth themselves out, however much -gentle pressure our planks might bring to bear upon -them. The refreshing compliments we had stored -up would not check the flight of time.</p> - -<p>All too early Night put in a punctual appearance -upon the scene. She found us, indeed, sailing gently -along the shroud of the dead, but far from the place -prepared to shelter weary Alpinists.</p> - -<p>We seemed to be in for the same adventure as a -friend of mine who spent the night wandering on the -glacier during a wind and snowstorm. The dead -then might almost have been moving under their -shrouds in every direction. He did not lose his way, -but was impressed by solitude and by the weirdness of -the shifting snows, let alone the fatigue that loosened -his limbs. He confided to me quite lately how -odd he still thought it that he did not go off his -“chump.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> -<p>Anyhow, Mr. B., my present companion, decided -that he saw something happy in the situation, the -beckoning finger of a friendly fate, that would guard -us while we spent that January night on the open -glacier. The air was still and clear. The cold -might be keen, but not sharp, though somebody -since would absolutely have it that the thermometer -marked that night at Vermala 2.2 Fahrenheit.</p> - -<p>As Mr. B. was anxious to view this escapade as a -fit counterpart to his nights in the Persian desert, -the situation could be accepted with equanimity. -He was possessed of the true romantic spirit. Poor -man! He was afflicted with much thirst. I had, -unfortunately, nothing better to offer him than the -carefully worded expression of my regret that he had -not been able to get himself fitted up, before he left -Persia, with some of the valuable water compartments -of his Bactrian camels. So by ten o’clock -we laid ourselves demurely down on the angular -glacier moraine, pretty confident that long before the -hour struck for the sun to rise, we should be anxious -to roll the shutters away from the Palace of Dawn.</p> - -<p>On the contrary, when the sun stepped out of his -car upon the glacier and, at the most reasonable -hour of eight on the clock, knocked us up, we were -still reclining in our <i lang="fr">alcôve</i>. Shall I say that we -found at our bedside shaving water and a cup of tea? -No, for this would be a really undue elongation -of truth. But we saw the “boots” busy lighting -odd scraps of paper and slipping them into our -shoes to soften the frozen leather. We thanked -him and were about to tip him when he took fright -and flew away upon a sunbeam, leaving behind a po<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>t -of blacking and an electric brush.</p> - -<p>If I ever did set eyes upon the Ski-runner of -Vermala, it was during that night, nor could it have -been in a better setting than on the Plain of the -shrouded Dead. In fact, in the supposition that he -is a person that never existed, the glacier de la -Plaine-Morte would cry out for him.</p> - -<p>Glaciers are legion, but there is only one glacier de -la Plaine-Morte.</p> - -<p>Measured with tape, its size, as our readers have -learnt in a preceding chapter, would come out at -a few miles.</p> - -<p>Sir Martin Conway, in his “Alps from End to -End,” comes nearer to conveying a correct impression, -because he measures it by the standard of his -own mind.</p> - -<p>Those who have in any weather entrusted themselves -in winter to that ice cup scooped out of the -top of lofty Alpine battlements, may alone imagine -in its true character the Alpine world as it was in -those dim and distant days, when half Europe would -have been too small to hold the glories of the Plaine-Morte -in its prehistoric stage of being.</p> - -<p>Since last year (1911), a cable railway runs -passengers up from Sierre to Montana-Vermala. -Some day, perhaps, the railway may be taken 5,000 -feet higher. It would then pass the place where we -spent the hours of our mystic night, alternately -watchful and asleep, taking in the immense charm -that flowed in upon us, and seeking in short terms of -slumber rest from our meditation.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate9"> -<img src="images/plate9.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">WILDSTRUBEL AND PLAINE MORTE GLACIER.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 100.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> - -<p>The <i lang="fr">amateurs</i> of mountain scenery whom the rail -may bring up here will not be so single-minded about -it as we were. They will look for something else -to lie upon than a gritty stone bed. They will allow -a wooden barrier to intercept the pulsation of nature -on its way to their souls. They will not catch in -full the gracious calls which pass in the stillness -between heaven and earth, and roll in harmoniously -upon the mind, as a sonorous shore echoes the beat -of the waves. My young companion, more restless -because the situation was so overmasteringly novel, -looked around for distractions which I needed not. -I have often stood, or lain, like that, looking from -the outside upon the play of life in which I otherwise -bear my faint part. I like to withdraw from the -stage of the company directed by Messrs. Time and -Space in which we are, with as much humbleness as -the master dramatists could be with pride, composers, -actors, and managers of some small theatrical contribution. -I am then doubtful whether I feel some -approach in me to the lotus eater’s frame of mind, -or whether I rejoice in the overflowing energy of the -superman.</p> - -<p>There is a deep meaning in the Gospel passage -that shows us the Son of man being led upon a hill, -and upon a temple pinnacle, that He may be -tempted by the sight of those aspects of the world -which it was His mission to forswear, combat and -finally to overcome by the spirit and succumb to in -the flesh. It is on pinnacles such as these that -we may behold ourselves.</p> - -<p>Let us see. Is he who learns his philosophy by -conversation with the mountains not at once a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>lotus -eater and a superman? He acquires from them -a firm conviction that—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Il mondo va da sè.</div> -<div class="verse">Le monde se fait lui-même;”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">which apophthegm breathes the spirit of abdication -and is a source of weakness for him.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the conscious personal power -by which he overcomes the savage forces and the -blind puttings-forth of might by Nature, does mark -him out as instancing in himself human courage, -a well-created <i lang="fr">physique</i> and some superiority.</p> - -<p>When his energy is excited, he caresses the -illusion that he could crush his fellow beings, if he -thought it worth doing. But his dignity forbids. -His fellows need have no fear, for there is some -taming effect in his haughtiness. The loftiness of -his spirit lames his hand for battle against those in -whom he hardly recognises his like.</p> - -<p>He cannot take the affairs of men so seriously that -he would whip up in himself the ambition to take -after Napoleon or Cæsar.</p> - -<p>When he is in lotus-eating mood, the Rubicon is -really too big a thing to be crossed lightly.</p> - -<p>When he is in his superman’s temper, the undertaking -is indeed so small that it is not worth while -that such as he should be bothered with it.</p> - -<p>The Swiss, as a people, have shown in a high -degree that such is the mental composition of a -true mountain race. Left for six hundred years to -their unbroken line of development, they show in -the successive layers of the formation of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -national mind the stages of the process.</p> - -<p>They first won in the Alps, by arms, sufficient -room for themselves, and set round their borders a -ring-fence of impassable pikes. Then, turning to -supermen, they fought the battles of others, for the -sake of war, despising power, and moving untempted -in the domains of kings.</p> - -<p>In the nineteenth century, the reflective mountain -spirit gained hold on them. They held war as an -immoral pursuit and ceased from being mercenaries. -But their contemptuous loftiness remained. Without -despising their former glory they, as it were, drew -into themselves and drew themselves up at the same -time.</p> - -<p>They have become the typically lotus-eating -neutral nation in Europe, supermen still in a way -and armed to the teeth, but with swords ever -sheathed and with bayonets ever resting in the -scabbard.</p> - -<p>In their national life the Swiss practice political -self-education, and would do so rather than seek the -means of making their influence felt among nations. -The Swiss are but a small and insignificant nation, -but their history shows that, disillusioned of mere -strength, they passed to the consciousness of a -moral identity.</p> - -<p>They became self-centred, and liked to keep aloof -from other people’s affairs. They formed the -conclusion that—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Le monde se fait lui-même.</div> -<div class="verse">Il mondo va da sè;”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> - -<p class="noindent">and, in the public life of Europe, assumed the part of -spectators and political moralists.</p> - -<p>For Napoleon, a mere village or two were a -sufficient stake for which to set Europe ablaze. -With material means, he built up a political society -that soon crumbled away. Had the French been by -temperament lotus-eating supermen, would they have -followed him? They too would have answered him -with the words—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Le monde se fait lui-même.</div> -<div class="verse">Il mondo va da sè.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The victories of fourteen years could not make a -Buonapartist Europe.</p> - -<p>What subsists of the Superman’s adventure? It -had been just as well for him, had he stood on the -edge of the glacier of the Plaine-Morte, withstanding -temptation, though he had thereby shorn -Elba and St. Helena of their title to fame.</p> - -<p>The bent of the mountaineer’s mind is turned -inwards, towards the education of self. As a superman -he pits himself against nature, to man he is -kind and just. He is the lotus-eater who would forget -the things, the seeking after which would turn -him away from self tuition.</p> - -<p>He is a kind of Marcus Aurelius who does the -share allotted to him in the common task, and then -withdraws into his higher self, preserving a kindly -interest in those who have built up no such upper -chambers.</p> - -<p>That sort of man is not an adept at self-sacrifice, -because sacrifice is the opposite of education. If he -entirely gave himself away, he would have no inner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -garden left to cultivate, and in which to plant his own -vine and sit under his own fig-tree. But if you need -not expect him to die for you, or live for you, neither -does he expect you to do the like on his behalf. -Mountaineers are known to help each other when -their lives are in danger in cases of Alpine peril. -In self-love they practice self-reliance. “Exercise -<em>thyself</em>” would be their motto.</p> - -<p>Why? because the mountaineer believes in his -Creator and looks upon His work as a good piece of -work, the quality of which the creature has to justify -in itself. So in the end should the mountaineer -perish at the hands of the forces of Nature which he -has, by right of spiritual conquest, transformed into -moral values for the world, with him it is a case of -<i lang="la">invicto animo vicit moles</i>.</p> - -<p>While I was thus trimming the lamp of my -thoughts Mr. B. contrived sundry little amusements -for himself. He brought out of his bag an extremely -smart dressing-gown and bedroom slippers. -He arrayed himself in the former and dressed his -feet in the latter. Then he smoked the few cigarettes -he found in his pockets. Then we shared the frozen -sandwiches that were left over for our evening meal. -When those occupations were exhausted, it might -almost be described as a fortunate factor in the situation -that his thirst would not depart from him. How -to slake it became the main concern that whiled -away the long hours of the night for the sleepless -Londoner.</p> - -<p>The problem was as follows: being given snow ad -<i lang="la">infinitum</i> and a very fair quantity of gr<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>ound coffee -beans, how to produce a refreshing and fortifying -beverage whose supreme quality consists in being -black, hot, pure, and strong:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Noir comme le diable,</div> -<div class="verse">Chaud comme l’enfer,</div> -<div class="verse">Pur comme un ange,</div> -<div class="verse">Fort comme l’amour;”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">but which, under the circumstances, would be valued -principally for its quantity.</p> - -<p>The improvised cook looked about him for a coffee-pot. -He found nothing in his bag that would do. -But there was in mine a small tin pot which had resided -there from time immemorial. It was somewhat -dented with age, and bore many signs of the -hardness of its lot, though its office was of a quite -amiable description. It carried about my smoked -glasses and sundry silk veils. I liked to have these -by me—though I personally never use them—because -they often came in conveniently to relieve from the -glare of the sun those tender-skinned representatives -of the fair sex who insist on not making sufficient -preparations to go over glaciers. The pot contained -also some cotton wadding, tintacks, pins, and such -like necessaries of hut life. With regret I poured -these forth upon a dry patch of ground, and committed -the pot to the mercies—whatever they might -be—of the would-be cook.</p> - -<p>Some time later our camping ground was wrapped -in a sheet of light. I looked round. My friend had -done wonders. He had scooped a nice square hole -in the snow and planted in it our lantern, in w<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>hich -he had stuck and lit one of our tapers. The light -from the taper had suddenly flashed upon the scene -through the transparent wall of snow. Then some -of the coffee was poured into my tin pot, and this -was placed on the top of the lantern and lumps of -snow were heaped upon the coffee.</p> - -<p>Then began the labours of Hercules. The snow -in the pot melted very properly, but that which -walled in the stove would do likewise. It either fell -in and smothered the lantern below, or else fell from -above and put out the taper.</p> - -<p>All night long the cunning of the young engineer -was kept devising means of meeting every fresh -emergency. Anyhow, at every watch in the night -I was kept supplied with a few mouthfuls of hot -coffee.</p> - -<p>So well did this suffice that, on striking our tents -at eight o’clock—<i lang="fr">façon de parler</i>, for we had between -us but one dressing-gown to take off before revealing -to an astonished world the effectiveness of our -Burberrys—we gave no thought to the Rohrbachhaus, -but made our way straight to the Wildstrubel, between -the Raezli and Lämmern glaciers.</p> - -<p>Once more the popular notion that to allow one’s -self to fall asleep on an open glacier is to court an -awakening in the other world, had been effectually -dispelled. Provided one is clad to perfection in -weather-proof material, with chamois leather underwear -over the usual woollen undergarments, one need -have no fear as long as the air is still and free from -falling snow.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> -<p>On the contrary, in a violent snowstorm and with -a heavy wind, nothing but an actual place of shelter -can afford sufficient protection. For all that some -people will push their dread to the most ridiculous -extremes. I met, not very long ago, a young German, -an otherwise doughty lad, who, rather than -spend the night in one of the extremely comfortable -Concordia huts on the Aletsch glacier, preferred, -after coming up on ski the whole way from the -Loetschenthal, to reach Rieder Alp in an exhausted -condition, at much greater risk than if he had -stopped on the way.</p> - -<p>It is reported by de Saussure that the dread with -which the men hired by him in Chamounix to ascend -Mont Blanc looked forward to the night which must -unavoidably be spent on the glacier des Bossons, was -the main difficulty he had to contend with in keeping -up their <i lang="fr">morale</i>. No sooner had they reached the -spot marked out for pitching the tents, than they -dug for themselves an underground recess and buried -themselves therein, as though they expected a hail -of bullets to pepper them all night. Yet, they had -hardly been herded together for half an hour, when -such a terrible epidemic of heat broke out among the -huddled pack that they dribbled out one after -another, saying they preferred a fair battle with the -elements to such a process of extinction.</p> - -<p>The history of the construction of Alpine huts -enables us to trace the progress which public opinion -has made since. The first huts were simply caves, -walled in on the open side with a rough stone dyke, -and on the floor of which was strewn some straw, -while a few utensils and a stove lay about, all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -higgledy-piggledy, with some logs of fir or pine -wood. They were dirty, damp dens.</p> - -<p>Now, such ill-conditioned refuges have been given -up as an absurd and rudimentary conception of our -forefathers. They sought a well hidden away nook. -We choose the most exposed spur of hill that is near -our route. We build on high, preferring places exposed -to the full fury of the blast, and we erect -wooden houses that appear too fragile to resist the -violent onset of the storm fiends. But such refuges -as these are dry and airy, the snow has but little -chance of choking them up. The light shining -through the windows when a party is gathered -therein after dark, is as a mast light on ships -anchored at sea.</p> - -<p>The stored-up wood keeps dry. The emergency -provisions that a party may leave for the next—a -party perhaps less favoured—do not rot away. And -when the sun shining upon those lofty mansions -lights up the yellow or brown pine wood, a sense of -near comfort and of coming security pervades the -weary traveller’s breast and warms the cockles of his -heart.</p> - -<p>This progress has to be paid for in the form of a -light tax levied upon the traveller to defray for the -Swiss Alpine Club some portion of the expense -incurred in keeping the huts in order and regularly -supplying them with fire-wood. The original characteristic -of the huts, which were intended to be mere -emergency refuges open gratis to all, has somewhat -suffered in this respect from the new policy. Visitors -are now requested in most of them, by an appropriate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -notice, to deposit their contribution in a receptacle -fastened to the wall. This may be the most convenient -way of collecting the money due. But it -means that sums of money—not inconsiderable in the -opinion of any one badly in want—are left for rather -long periods in uninhabited premises which are far -from being inaccessible.</p> - -<p>It has happened that cash-boxes have been rifled. -A less objectionable way of managing this little -piece of business is surely within the resources of -civilisation. It is not justifiable that any other -premium than wholesome exercise and natural -beauty, should be held up as an inducement to make -an excursion on the glaciers of Switzerland.</p> - -<p>While here on the subject of huts, the awkward -position which their great multiplication of late -years entailed upon the British clubs, may be suitably -laid before the reader. As the huts of the Swiss -Alpine Club became more and more frequented, -questions of preferential rights of admission came -to the fore. It was obvious that non-Swiss clubs, able -to grant terms of reciprocal admission to the Swiss, -must obtain for their members, in the Swiss huts, -preferential rights over Alpine clubs who were so by -genuine profession and yet had no local habitation in -the Alps or elsewhere in which they might hope to -offer hospitality in their turn, as an acknowledgement -of hospitality received.</p> - -<p>Consequently, when notices were put up in the -Swiss Alpine Club huts, which number now from -seventy-five to eighty, showing what clubs enjoyed -a right of admission on the score of reciprocity,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -the absence of any and every English club struck -the eye. English visitors were then able to realise -that they had been drawing benefit from the hospitality -provided—for all and sundry, it is true—by -a large body of private persons in Switzerland. -In spite of every desire to remedy this situation -by contributing to the expense of building and -maintaining the Swiss huts, English climbers could -not obtain a definite <i lang="la">locus standi</i>, for want of being -able to come under a reciprocity clause. Even at -present it would be idle to hope that English -clubs may be quoted by name, beside the Swiss, -French, German-Austrian, and Italian clubs. But -the following arrangement was come to, on the -initiative of English climbers, and with the concurrence -of the Swiss Alpine Club:—</p> - -<p>1. A committee was formed in London, of an -administrative character, to serve as a rallying -point for Englishmen who might wish to enter one -of the sections of the Swiss Alpine Club. The -members recruited in that fashion for the Swiss -club formed an association of British members of -the Swiss Alpine Club, which is recognised by the -Swiss club, but has no corporate existence within -that club.</p> - -<p>2. The new association, which now numbers little -less than 400 members, started a subscription with -a view to providing the Swiss club with funds -sufficient for the building of a first-class hut on the -Klein Allalin Horn above Saas Fée, at the expense -of £800. This hut was built by the care, and will -remain under the administration of the Geneva<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -section of the Swiss Alpine Club. It was completed -and inaugurated this year (1912).</p> - -<p>The Britannia hut deserves particular mention -in these pages, because it has been contributed to -by the ski-ing clubs of Great Britain, on account -of the first-rate opportunities it offers for ski tours -in the High Alps. It occupies a central position -in the Mischabel range which, from the top of -Monte Rosa to the glacier of Ried that rolls down -from the Balfrin to within 4 miles of St. Niklaus, -is one of the finest ski-ing fields of Switzerland.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="350" height="200" alt="Drawing of the Strubel" /> -<p class="caption">The Strubel.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE BERNESE OBERLAND FROM END TO END</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The Oberland circuit—My appointment with Arnold Lunn—An -Anglo-Swiss piece of work—An unbelieving public—Switzerland -and Britain—Geographical—Practical—We start from -Beatenberg—The Jungfrau ice-slabs—New Year’s Day at -Kandersteg—In the Gasterenthal—On the Tschingelfirn—Foehn-effects -on the Petersgrat—The Telli glacier—The -Kippel bottle-race—A church door—Theodore Kalbermatten—The -Loetschen pass—Burnt socks—Roped ski-ing—The -Concordia breakfast-table—Why we did not ascend the -Jungfrau—The Concordia huts—The Grünhornlücke—On -snow “lips” and cornices—An afternoon snooze—The Finsteraarhorn -hut—A guideless party—Ascent of the Finsteraarhorn—Our -next pass—A stranded runner—The Grimsel—Home -life at Guttannen—Our sleigh run to Meiringen—A -comparison of winter and summer work—Memories and -visions—Table of levels—How to form a caravan—The pay -of the men—Side-slip and back-slip—Future railway facilities.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t-2.jpg" width="100" height="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">This the Oberland “circuit.” We -left Beatenberg on December 31, 1908, -passed through Interlaken, went on to -Kandersteg, crossed the Petersgrat to -the top of the Loetschenthal, traversed -the Aletsch glacier between the Jungfrau -and the Concordia hut, ascended the -Finsteraarhorn, reached the Grimsel -hospice, and came back to Interlaken -and Beatenberg, where we were again -comfortably quartered on the night of -January 8, 1909.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> -<p>This traverse was made into an event and marks -a date in the history of Swiss mountaineering. -The telegraph and news agencies announced it far -and wide. It was the object of press articles and -flattering references in most countries in which -interest is taken in mountaineering feats. It has -been lectured on, and related in periodicals over -and over again.</p> - -<p>The reception given to a trip of this kind obeys -the laws of pictorial perspective. Maybe, however, -shorn of the benevolent element so kindly contributed -by the public, our expedition is still worth -describing in its true relief, in the light of the -impressions of the two explorers who carried it out.</p> - -<p>This expedition, the first of its length at such -altitudes at that time of the year, was an Anglo-Swiss -piece of work. It was performed in company -with Arnold Lunn.</p> - -<p>We met by appointment at Beatenberg, which -his father was then opening up for the first time -as a winter station. Arnold Lunn is as keen a mountaineer -as was ever born under the skies of Britain. -His poetic and adventurous mind is endowed with -an exceptional facility for imaging forth in words -Alpine scenery, and for communicating to others -the manly joy which overtakes him in such scenery. -He has the soul of a propagandist and missionary. -He is a striking example of how, with climbers, -performance goes before propaganda, unless one -would belong to those who are deservedly marked out -as hangers—on to the exploits of others. There are -only too many such loitering about the Alps nowadays.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map2"> -<a href="images/map2.jpg"><img src="images/map2-small.jpg" width="200" height="130" alt="Map; click for larger version" /></a> -<p class="caption">KANDERSTEG—FINSTERAARHORN—GRIMSEL.</p> -<p class="caption">(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service. 26.8.12.)</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 114.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> - -<p>Can there be a more noble spectacle than the -sight of one, who having met young with an -extremely serious accident in climbing, which to all -appearance, and according to cool reason, should -confine him to the part of an armchair propagandist -and pen-wielding missionary, yields again -to the irresistible call of the Alps, and ascends the -Dent Blanche in spite of the lameness consequent -upon the accident in North Wales in which his -right leg was broken in two places, under such -conditions that it has continued ever since to be a -source of daily suffering?</p> - -<p>Last winter, on the Eiger, battling with a terrifying -snow and wind storm, my lame friend was -three times thrown out of his steps. He had with -him Maurice Crettex, one of the most powerful -rock and snow men, I believe, of the present day -among Swiss guides. The situation would have -been frantically impossible but for him. But what -a picture! Two men, side by side, one, all physical -strength and professional devotion to duty, the -other, all spiritual energy and moral force.</p> - -<p>It is particularly gratifying that a Swiss and an -Englishman should have been united in showing -to ski-runners that the way across the Bernese -Oberland was open from end to end and that the -most magnificent mountain scenery that ever -wasted its sweetness upon the desert air was awaiting -them. These were spectacles for which I was -quite prepared, having already moved, like many -of my country men, amid the glories of High Alp -winter scenery, ever since some of the sections of -the Swiss Alpine Club (that of Geneva leading<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -the way), had instituted for their members and -friends, the expeditions known under the name of -<i lang="fr">Grandes Courses d’hiver</i>.</p> - -<p>It is, however, one thing that the Swiss should -favour such expeditions, and quite another thing that -strangers to Switzerland should entertain the idea. -I understand that when the first accounts of my -winter ascents of the Aiguille du Chardonnet and -the Grand Combin were read, in London, in the -pages of the Alpine Ski Club Annual, there came -upon the lips of many competent readers a smile -which partly betokened admiration—which I certainly -did not deserve—and, partly, incredulity—which -I certainly expected in some measure.</p> - -<p>Even in Geneva I had at first some hesitation -in making known my Bagnes-Entremonts-Ferret -circuit. When I did make up my mind to send -an extremely short and compendious notice to the -<cite>Journal de Genève</cite>, the editors let my scrap of -paper lie six weeks before they printed it. It was -unkind of me to laugh in my sleeve while this -long pause lasted. I did not fare much better -after my ascent of the Dent Blanche. I slipped a -word about it into a local but widely read halfpenny -paper, to whose information people “in the know” -are wont not to attach much importance. In fact, -some busybodies had already forestalled my note -with a few warning lines to the effect that any -attempt to cross in a consecutive trip the Pennine -Alps, in January, from Mont Blanc to the Simplon -pass, would be too hazardous to prove anything but -fatal. And here was a gentleman who not only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -had got from Bourg St. Pierre to Zermatt, but -asseverated he had ascended the Dent Blanche.</p> - -<p>Some of my colleagues in the Geneva section, -desirous of protecting the good name of their -club, and anxious to exonerate one of the older -and more respected members from any charge of -senile self-complacency, explained gravely that it -was a printer’s mistake, and that surely I had -written Tête Blanche in my hastily scribbled manuscript -note.</p> - -<p>The reader must be told at this juncture that -the Tête Blanche is an insignificant little bump of -snow on the Col d’Hérens, of which those good colleagues -of mine, with their knowledge of my -climbing powers, could well trust themselves to say -that I might have reached its summit, without -putting too great a strain on my powers. Even -now, another of my young disciples, Marcel Kurz, -whose circuits on ski in the Bernina and Mischabel -districts may be followed in two of the maps -appended to this volume, writes me that he is -pleased to hear of its approaching publication, -because it may conduce to the enlightenment of -disbelievers, across isolated specimens of whom he -still occasionally comes.</p> - -<p>Arnold Lunn, too, has met with ultra-sceptical -folks, and a boastful trait has been read by some -into his ardour.</p> - -<p>For my part, I am content to look upon our mountaineering -fellowship as a pleasant little incident in -the history of Anglo-Swiss relations. These I much -take to heart. There is every reason in the world<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -wherefore they should be frequent, numerous, and -close. Sometimes, in the flush of after-dinner -speeches, I have spoken of the Swiss as the -navigators of the Alps and of the English as the -mountaineers of the sea. There is some similarity -in the risks incurred.</p> - -<p>It would be a truism—in fact the repetition of a -truism—to say how English climbers of the middle -of the nineteenth century helped the Swiss in introducing -into mountaineering the wholesome element -of risk. “On ne fait pas d’omelettes sans casser des -œufs.”</p> - -<p>It should not be hidden from the present generation -of English climbers, however, that the -example of their forerunners has perhaps been more -thoroughly taken to heart in Switzerland than -among themselves. There is hardly a family or -friendly circle in Switzerland that does not count -one of its members in the ring of those whose life -was sacrificed for love of the Alps.</p> - -<p>The motives for associating here Swiss and -English in my mind are not solely sporting. It -has hitherto been little realised how much Swiss -neutrality and national integrity are one of the -bulwarks of the freedom of Britain’s movements in -Europe.</p> - -<p>Every effort is being made to join Switzerland -more closely to the economic system of central -Europe. In a century in which economics are -considered to offer a more effective political weapon -than the open use of military force, the tightening -of the ties of fellowship between two nations,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -neither of which can possibly aim at political -encroachments upon the other, may usefully serve -to counteract a less innocent set of tendencies. -What with military roads, tunnels, and railways, -the Alpine barrier between the Baltic and the -Mediterranean is being worn very thin.</p> - -<p>It needs, probably, no further insistence to show -that sentimental Anglo-Swiss relations may be -attended by practical consequences of some immediate -utility. In this network of associations an -important function devolves upon winter mountaineering. -The English have no sporting winter. -They have already, in large numbers, adopted the -Swiss winter as what they want to supply home -deficiencies. May this continue and an ever wider -bridge of Swiss and British ski be thrown over -the Channel. That this book, among others, might -serve this purpose was one of the motives that -impelled the writer when he put together, for publication -in England, such accounts as that which -follows.</p> - -<p>At first sight, the title I have given to this -chapter may appear exaggerated. But it will not -bear out any such unfavourable construction, if -the reader will charitably recollect that he has -already travelled with me from the western extremity -of the Bernese Alps, visiting from end to -end the Diablerets, Wildhorn, and Wildstrubel -range, as a prelude to this excursion beyond the -Gemmi to the east.</p> - -<p>Geographically and technically the euphemistic -title of this chapter is not without excuse. T<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>he -Oberland is theoretically taken to include not only -a western, but also an eastern wing, on to the -Galenstock and Dammastock. Popularly, the name -Oberland is understood to apply to the great range -which is cut off on the east by the Grimsel and -Haslithal, on the west by the Gemmi and Kanderthal. -Classical literature agrees with the popular -definition, the main point about which is, for -ski-runners, that between those two depressions -there is no pass that does not lead across glaciers.</p> - -<p>The Oberland shows, between its extreme points, -two parallel rows of peaks. The northern row overlooks -the lakes of Thun and Brienz. The southern -row overlooks the valleys of Loetsch and of Goms -(in French Conches), leading up to the Furka pass. -Of those parallel rows the northernmost, facing -somewhat to the west, comprises the Blümlisalp -and the Lauterbrunner Breithorn. The southernmost, -drawing to the east, culminates in the Bietschhorn -and Aletschhorn, and includes the summits -which, under the names of Wannehorn, Galmihorn, -&c., look down upon the glaciers of Fiesch and -Oberaar, while the northern row, curving round the -Lauterbrunnen Valley from the Breithorn, is crowned -by that magnificent cluster overlooking both Scheideggs: -the Jungfrau, Mönch, Eiger, Wetterhorn, -&c., with the Schreckhorn and Finsteraarhorn somewhat -in the rear.</p> - -<p>Between those two rows a high glacial basin takes -the form of an elongated trough. From distance -to distance this trough shows transversal lips (cross-bars -or threshholds, if one so prefers to style them),<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -which are the upper Tschingel glacier with the -Mutthorn hut (9,700 feet), the Loetschenlücke, -with the Egon von Steiger hut (10,515 feet), the -Grünhornlücke, between the Jungfraufirn and the -glacier of Fiesch (10,840 feet), and at length the -Oberaarjoch (10,800 feet), between the Oberaarhorn -to the north and the Oberaar-Rothhorn to the -south. One sees from the figures quoted that -those glacier passes all reach to an altitude exceeding -9,000 feet. The top of the arc—to speak -like Euclid—would pass over the Finsteraarhorn -at an altitude of 14,035 feet.</p> - -<p>This high level is, in the opinion of Sir Martin -Conway, who followed it in his journey through -the Alps from end to end, the very finest snow-field -in the Alps. It passes at the head of the greatest -ice stream, and is sufficiently remote from the -Italian border to escape the unfavourable influence -which the Rhaetic, Lepontine, and Pennine faces of -the Alps have to endure from the hot atmospheric -currents and inordinately violent action of the sun.</p> - -<p>“Two things were necessary for the success of -this trip,” says Arnold Lunn in one of his printed -accounts; “good weather and immunity from accidents. -We could reduce the chances of accidents -to a minimum by a careful scrutiny of our kit, -and we could reasonably expect fair play from the -weather by judiciously choosing the moment to -begin our attack, though, of course, the weather -is always the most fickle factor in determining the -success of an expedition.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> -<p>“As regards kit, I carried two pairs of gloves, -one made of reindeer skin lined with sealskin, the -other a thick pair of woollen gloves, a woollen -scarf, a silk scarf, and a woollen helmet. A spare -suit of underclothing and two pairs of stockings -completed the list of extra clothing. I wore laupar -boots and goat’s-hair socks on my feet, with a -pair of crampons in my sack for rock and ice-climbing. -And here, incidentally, let me remark -that the ordinary crampon-nails which are fixed -into the sole of the boot soon spoil laupars. The -only practical kind are those which are sold in -summer to be strapped on under the boots.</p> - -<p>“I think I have at last found the ideal ski-binding -for mountain work. It is made by a Geneva -firm, and was given me by Professor Roget. It -never gave any trouble; it was strong and tough. -It did not vary in tightness with the temperature, -and, most important of all, it could be put -on and taken off at a moment’s notice. This is -really essential, as one may meet with short -stretches on which it pays to ‘take up one’s ski -and walk.’</p> - -<p>“I tried, for the first time, a pair of sealskins, -and found them answer admirably. They reduced -the labour of climbing by 20 per cent., weighed -hardly anything, and could be taken on and off -without any trouble. An extra ski-tip, a pair of -Canadian rackets, ‘climber’s guides,’ maps, &c., -completed our kit.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate10"> -<img src="images/plate10.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">KANDER GLACIER.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 123.</p> -</div> - -<p>My intention was to use Kandersteg as a starting-point, -to land on the high level, at 9,000 -feet, by means of the Kander glacie<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>r gradient, to go -down to Kippel, in the Loetschenthal, by the Petersgrat; -to pass through the Loetschenlücke, to drop -thence into the basin formed by the Aletsch <i lang="fr">névés</i> -(the Jungfraufirn and Ewig Schneefeld of German -maps); to rise again to the Grünhornlücke, to skid -down upon the <i lang="de">firn</i> of the Fiesch glacier, to overtop -this network of ice-mountains by the ascent -of the Finsteraarhorn, to go round the Finsteraarhorn -group on its south side, to return to the north -as far as the Oberaarjoch, to descend the Oberaar -glacier to the Grimsel hospice, to follow thence -the posting road and to enter Guttannen as knights-errant, -mounted and spurred—that is, in our case, -on trusty ski and shod with nailed boots, the attire -in which we would leave Kandersteg.</p> - -<p>Thanks to the absence of any unpleasant incident, -thanks also to a most obligingly long spell -of unbroken weather, the precautions we had taken -enabled me and my companions to carry out this -programme without interruption and without inconvenience. -The “stripling,” Mr. Arnold Lunn, gave -proof of remarkable staying powers. Though our -Bernese porters seemed at first to believe that they -were being “let in” for harum-scarum adventures, -by which they discreetly hoped the party might be -brought to a standstill after a few hours’ march, -before it could run its head, beyond hope of escape, -into the dangers of this raid, they laid no visible -claim to being wiser than ourselves. They proved -themselves to be good and reliable fellows to the -end, and came out of their trials with beaming countenances, -grateful for the lessons they had received<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -in High Alp ski-running.</p> - -<p>We got into training at Beatenberg, where a snowfall -delayed our start for three days, if three days -spent on the running slopes above Beatenberg may -be looked upon as a delay. Then, one morning, the -sun, bursting through the snow clouds, showed us -the great peaks of the Oberland looking down on a -scene newly painted white. Our hopes rose high, -and making our rucksacks proportionately heavy, we -skied down to Interlaken, losing a bottle of whisky -on the way. Carefully laid on the top of my pack, -with its nozzle looking out upon the world, it flew -out, on Arnold’s calling a sudden halt, and broke -its nose against the wall by the roadside. Thus -was our expedition christened straight away, as a -launched ship that leaves the stocks.</p> - -<p>On reaching Kandersteg, the gossamer banner of -ice-dust blowing off the Blümlisalp showed plainly -enough that the gale from the north, which had -brought the fine weather, was still in full swing. -My sympathy went out to any young men who -might be then battling up there with the raging -wind, for at Christmas and New Year’s tide the -Alpine huts are much visited by holiday-makers. -Indeed, I saw later from an account published in -the Swiss periodical <cite>Ski</cite>, by Mr. Tauern, and by -Mr. Schloss in the Alpine Ski Club Annual, that -those gentlemen were actually at the time on the -Aletschfirn. They had hoped to ascend the Jungfrau. -Under the circumstances the prospect lost -its charm.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> -<p>As I write, the Jungfrau has not yet been -ascended in winter. The Swiss papers gave out -last year that my young friend Fritz Pfeiffer had -succeeded in reaching the top. It was a misapprehension. -Within two hundred yards of the ice-cap -that crowns the Jungfrau, Mr. Pfeiffer, who was -accompanying an officer of the St. Gothard troops, -was compelled to fall back before the heap of slabs -of solid ice, with which the combined action of -wind and sun had strewn the way. On these the -two distinguished mountaineers were unable to gain -footing. The slabs slipped away from under their -feet, or bore them down in such a manner that they -could not have had better toboggans. Toboggans, -however, were not the thing wanted, nor even such -trays or pieces of board as children are fond of -using, for the sake of amusement, in sliding down -grass slopes nearer home.</p> - -<p>The formation of these ice-slabs on exposed summits -of suitable shape opens up an interesting, and -as yet unsolved, question in the history of natural -phenomena. What clearly happens is this. Snow, -driven by a tearing wind, falls against an ice buttress. -Then the sun shines with all its winter -power upon the snow that sticks to the rugged ice. -Exposed to the action of two physical agents of -great force, namely, to the heat produced by the -sun and to the impetus of the wind sweeping now -with perhaps still greater violence across a clear -sky, the amorphous but plastic mass is cut up and -divided by a process which may be compared, -though the analogy is merely superficial, to what -happens to dough in an oven when a hot blast is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -driven through it. The dried-up dough breaks up -into flakes.</p> - -<p>When I first came across that winter phenomenon—I -have never met with it in summer—I was led to -compare those piled-up ice-slabs to the stone slabs -of like shape and size which lie on the bare crests of -so many mountains. The supposition lies near that -these, too, may be due to some combined action of -pre-existent heat and supervening wind impetus, in -those geological ages when we have a fancy for -imagining that the still plastic earth-crust was -blown about in huge billows by the liquid and aerial -elements.</p> - -<p>Be this as it may, I hope I may never be uncharitable -enough to desire, for ski-ing parties, an -encounter with those ice-slab pyramids.</p> - -<p>The caretaker who in winter keeps watch over the -Schwarenbach Hotel had just come down to join in -the New Year festivities. He announced that there -was on the heights a fresh layer of snow 30 -inches deep. Stoller, a guide of some reputation, -whose advice we applied for, was of opinion that -we should put off our departure till the 2nd of -January. The advice might be sound, but I did -not like it because I knew how badly the men I -might be about to engage were likely to spend their -time on New Year’s Day. As a matter of fact, -when we did enter the Gasternthal, we found -nothing like the amount of snow that we were -told would impede our way. From Stoller, who -had just returned from a week’s engagement to -teach the rudiments of ski-ing to a Swiss clu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>b, we -heard that all guides with first-class certificates -were away climbing, and that he, having only just -returned, would not be available. We engaged -three men, under his advice and under that of -Egger, for whom Arnold Lunn had a valuable -letter of introduction from his father. One of -these men had a guide’s certificate, the other two -were porters.</p> - -<p>I took three men because I wanted to carry -sufficient commissariat for six days, which the raid -was supposed to last, with a margin in case of a -check being put on our progress by a change in the -weather or some accident that could not be foreseen. -I hoped to force my way through without -touching any inhabited spot before we reached -Guttannen. We went down to Kippel, because -our progress was so smooth and easy that it would -have been a pity to sleep in a chalet at Guggi just -for the pleasure of not stopping in a decent hotel.</p> - -<p>None of our men had been beyond the Aletsch -glacier. This I did not mind, having previously -gone over the whole route in summer. Provided -those men carried their loads from hut to hut, we -should be satisfied.</p> - -<p>Arnold Lunn says in the <cite>Isis</cite> that we arrived -in Kandersteg just in time for a fancy dress ball, -and aroused considerable curiosity as to what we -were supposed to represent. At dinner he sat next -to a man who, lost to all sense of local colour, -had come dressed as a nigger minstrel. This was -on New Year’s Eve.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> -<p>Next day we pottered round Kandersteg, one of -us receiving much useful advice as to how to fix -on his ski, from a lady who was under the quite -pardonable impression that she was addressing a -novice, while the other was considered enough of -an expert to instruct another lady who had the -good taste not to be so sure of her own knowledge.</p> - -<p>We left Kandersteg on the morning of January -2nd. As usual in those early starts, we had plenty of -time, the five of us, to try and find out of what stuff -each and every member of the party was made. It -was my first expedition with Arnold Lunn. I was -entitled to think he would take my measure as -curiously as I was about to take his. Two of our -men turned out to be quite satisfactory, but the -third was destined to become the butt of our satire. -I am not prepared to say that he had spent New -Year’s Day in those excesses which I dreaded, -because I have since been told by old Egger that -Adolf—as we shall agree to call him—was in bad -health when he undertook to serve us. Whatever -might be the cause, whether excusable or not, he -showed himself throughout in the colours in which -he is painted—maybe somewhat to the amusement -of our readers—by Arnold Lunn and myself.</p> - -<p>Those who mountaineer for sport are very much -like schoolboys, or they become schoolboys for the -nonce. The printed records of mountaineering are -to a great extent records of the kind of humour -that overgrown and elderly boys—if I may so -describe those of us who have gone through public -school-life and wish to preserve some of its characteristics -in a sphere where these may be as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -harmless to others as comforting to themselves—would -be expected to cultivate.</p> - -<p>For us, in the course of a constant fellowship of -seven days, Adolf soon represented quite a definite -and rather objectionable specimen of the human -kind. We found him lazy, slow, clumsy, ever -ready to take undue advantage. Some one, who -had evidently made a close study of political types, -dubbed him the Socialist, and the title stuck. For -my part, anxious to secure for him a place among -types ranking in a higher class, I placed him, -under the name of Thersites, in a gallery of -classical portraits in which I allotted to Arnold -the part of fiery Achilles, and to myself that of -the worldly-wise and cunningly cautious Ulysses.</p> - -<p>Our course lay up the Gasternthal, one of the -wildest and most impressive valleys in the Alps, -utterly desolate in summer. From its rugged floor -rise some of the sternest precipices in Switzerland. -On our way we had plenty of time to examine the -superstructure of the shafts which were then being -driven through the floor of the valley to ascertain -the depth of the gravel-bed that formed it. Our -readers may remember that, in 1908, the Italian -workmen engaged in excavations on the north -front of the Loetschberg tunnel were suddenly -overwhelmed by an inrush of water, gravel, and -mud. The progress of the boring was stopped till -it could be known to what extent it would be -necessary to divert the tunnel, in order to keep in -hard rock.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> -<p>It is a bit of a reflection upon the forethought of -engineers—and geologists—that, before working their -way from beneath across Gasternthal, they had not -sunk that shaft which was now to supply them with -an information that would still be opportune from -the engineer’s point of view, but which was belated -in regard to safeguarding human life.</p> - -<p>Three hours after starting, we reached a rustic -<i lang="fr">café</i>, or summer restaurant, which we discovered it -was Adolf’s summer occupation to preside over. It -was a pretty place with a fenced orchard about -it, whose trees now stood out barely from amid -the coverlet of snow which contributed to enhance -the attractiveness of the spot. But a dreadful doubt -crossed our mind. Was Adolf a <i lang="fr">bona-fide</i> mountaineer -or was he a professional tavern keeper?</p> - -<p>On reaching the doorstep of his property, he -angrily dropped to the ground his burden, produced -the key of his cellar, and contrived to give us the -impression that he expected us to call a halt of some -duration and indulge in the delights of his Capua. -We were suddenly confronted with the thought of -the temptation put by Circe before wary Ulysses -and his simple-hearted companions. Thersites, as -a mental picture, was outdone. The vision conjured -up before us was that of five days to be -spent in plenty in this winter-bound Abbey of -Thelema. We would empty the larders. We would -clear the bottle shelves. We would rifle the cigar -boxes, under the watchful, but encouraging eye of -this male Circe, who would fill his pockets with -sweet-scented coin, instead of bruising his shoulders -any longer with that dreadful pack. We commend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -the trick to those who may have the face to play -it on the public. Nothing is easier. Switzerland -is full of those concealed Canaans flowing with milk -and honey.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate11"> -<img src="images/plate11.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">GASTERNTHAL.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 130.</p> -</div> - -<p>Shortly after leaving Adolf’s pavilion, a bend in -the valley disclosed the ice-fall of the Tschingel -glacier. The moraine up which we had to pass -came into sight. It was three in the afternoon—and -we had distributed some of Adolf’s packages -amongst the other two guides—before we caught -our first glimpse of the sun, which flashed out -triumphantly behind the Hockenhorn, only to disappear -in a few minutes past the Balmhorn. A -steep slope of snow led from the moraine to the -glacier.</p> - -<p>Out of laziness, we did not fix up our ski with -carrying straps. We might have paid dearly for the -mistake, as a sharp wind caught us half-way across, -and a dropped ski would have taken hours to recover. -It is always wise to have at hand in one’s pockets -the short straps which serve to tie together the ski -at each extremity, and to make use of them whenever -one has to carry ski across an unskiable piece -of ground. It is also better to be provided with ski-slings -wherewith to carry them across both shoulders. -The wind is the ski-runner’s treacherous enemy. -When you are on your ski it may drive you out -of your direction, and when you carry your ski it -may try to wrench them from you and blow you off -your balance by weighing upon them.</p> - -<p>The last three hours of our walk lay along the -<i lang="fr">névé</i> of the Tschingel glacier, a snow v<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>alley bounded -on the north by the cliffs of the Blümlisalp, on the -south by the gently rising Petersgrat.</p> - -<p>“The last lingering rays,” writes Arnold Lunn, -“faded from the snows, but the sunset was soon -followed by the rise of the full moon, a moon undreamt -of in our English skies, so bright that I -read with ease a page of my note-book. Those who -have only seen her ‘hurrying with unhandsome -thrift of silver’ over English landscapes have little -idea of her real beauty. Before we reached the hut -we had been climbing fourteen hours uphill, loaded -with heavy sacks. Yet such was the mysterious -fascination of the moonlit snows that we made no -attempt to hurry. Again and again we stopped, lost -in silent wonder.</p> - -<p>“Straight ahead, the Jungfrau, backed by the -slender cone of the Eiger, rose above a sea of -shadows. The moonlight slept on her snowy -terraces, steeping in silentness her cliffs and -glaciers, and revealed the whole as a living monument -of incarnate light. A hut stood in a <i lang="fr">cirque</i> -of snow. Here the wind had played strange havoc, -torturing the billows and cornices into fantastic -shapes. Anything more weirdly beautiful than the -glancing sheen of this hollow I cannot conceive. -Its colour could only be compared, if at all, to the -fiery blue of Capri’s grotto.”</p> - -<p>The writer of the above lines, whom we shall not -tire of quoting in this chapter, does not overpaint -the picture. What could be more beautiful, more -entrancing, than the Tschingel terrace, by moonlight, -in the middle of winter? Standing on a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -balcony little less than 10,000 feet high, we were -able to read our maps, after ten o’clock at night, as -plainly as at noonday.</p> - -<p>To the furrowed and broken ribs of the Blümlisalp -clung several small glaciers, suspended in the couloirs -like swallows’ nests in the eaves of a ruined castle. -The sharp pyramid of the Eiger shone beyond the -white cupolas of the airy Jungfrau, as though they -had been the distant walls and minarets of an -Oriental city. The snows about us were alive with -a smooth and soft radiance. The sky was transparent, -and as yet hung about with light veils. -Silver clouds fluttered about the peaks, and when -they floated into the moonlight from behind them, -they flashed forth like fishes when the sun plays -upon their scales. Layers of purple and crimson -haze rested upon one another along the horizon. -The play of light and shade upon the black patches -and white spots of the visible world showed them, -according to whither you looked, wreathed in smiles -or puckered up in frowns. Buttresses, cliffs, abysses -swam in a bluish mist, in which the twinkling rays -of a million stars danced as sparkling dust.</p> - -<p>It is a law of this world that what is unbecoming—τα -ου δεοντα of Greek comedy—must ever come -to underline and show off the most beautiful sights -by giving them a contradictory background. For -Arnold and myself, the last three hours of that day -were spent on one of the most beautiful walks we -can remember. But Adolf had been completely -knocked up long before. During the self-same last -three hours he experienced a great desire for sle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>ep, -and the burden of his refrain was not, “How grand! -How beautiful!” but “Very, very tired!” Sometimes -he dozed; sometimes he half uttered swear-words, -which issued from his throat like stones -rattling down a mountain gully. I had to send one -of the other men to his help. Whether we shouted -to him Thersites or Circe, or the Socialist, he -cared not. What went to his heart, and as it -were broke his wind, was that we had left his tea-house -far behind and would not take him back across -the beloved threshold. A miserable Alpine hut -awaited his tottering footsteps. He staggered -through the doorway and collapsed on the mattresses, -sleeping at last when to sleep was decent. -What was it to him that every curve in the swelling -snows, every crag and buttress of the Blümlisalp -cliffs was lit up by the mellow rays of the mountain -moon?</p> - -<p>Of the night spent in the Mutthorn hut nothing -need be said, except that it seemed to us a perfect -night. At 5.30 the alarum went off, and, if Arnold -Lunn’s story be trusted—and it must be, in the -absence of any other accountable person, as I was -asleep at that moment—the ring of the bell was -accompanied by an ill-sounding German epithet. -A guide stumbled to the door, threw it open, and -muttered in more parliamentary language: “Abscheuliches -Wetter.” Arnold says—and I must trust him -in this again, for I was still asleep—that a sense -of sickening disappointment, such as climbers know -so well, fell upon the waking inmates of the hut, -a definition which must be taken to exclude Adolf<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -and myself. Arnold stepped outside and discovered -heavy grey clouds blowing up from behind the Eiger, -sniffed a gust of south-westerly wind, laid his finger -on sticky snow, and, in thus feeling the pulse of the -weather, became aware of a high temperature.</p> - -<p>He says: “We sulkily despatched our breakfast -and started up the slope leading towards the Petersgrat. -Suddenly Professor Roget caught sight, -through a gap beyond the Blümlisalp, of the still -lake of fog hanging quite undisturbed over the plain -of Switzerland and above lake Thun. I should like -to say that he gave a cry of surprise, but, alas! the -professor has his emotions under strict control, and -was content to rapidly communicate to us his -analysis of the apparent bad weather. These unauspicious -phenomena were merely local disturbances, -which would vanish after dawn. The westerly -breeze was only a glacier wind, the grey clouds only -the effect of the intense solar heat collected the day -before and blending throughout the night with the -cold air from the snows. As long as the <i lang="de">Nebelmeer</i> -remained undisturbed, no bad weather need be -feared. Every sign of evil actually vanished an -hour after sunrise.”</p> - -<p>On the Petersgrat we could fancy ourselves on the -top of the globe. We were standing on the highest -point of a curved surface, shaped like a balloon, and -on all sides it seemed to fall away into immensity. -Beyond, rose in gigantic outline the summits of the -Alps and, still further, in long sinuous lines curving -in and out of sight, the Jura, the Vosges, and all -that distant girdle that hangs loosely about the o<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>utskirts -of Switzerland. The winter fog filled up the -intervals. Afar, there was not a breath of wind, -not a whirl in the air.</p> - -<p>The phenomenon that alarmed my party was that -which is well known under the name of <i lang="de">Foehn</i>, a -phenomenon which may assume almost any dimensions, -sometimes general enough to embrace the -whole of the Alps, and sometimes so closely circumscribed -that you might almost compare it to the -motion in the air produced by a small top spinning -round on the palm of your hand.</p> - -<p>The phenomenon is as follows: Masses of air of -varying density and temperature are pushed up the -Alps and are dropped down, as it were, upon the -other side. Or else, as this morning on the Petersgrat, -it is a layer of hot dry air formed aloft that -forces its way down, in corkscrew fashion, on a given -spot, through the nether air.</p> - -<p>With us the phenomenon lasted an hour and was -as a water spout in the middle of a still ocean. The -universal quietude of the elements impressed itself -again upon the spot on which we stood, doubting, -like Thomas, but ready to believe, if a sign would but -be given. By 8.30 the sun gilded gloriously the -whole Pennine range, towards which our eyes were -eagerly turned.</p> - -<p>As we reached the sky-line, that distant host of -old friends greeted us beyond the morning shadows, -but what held us most was the wonderful pyramid -of the Bietschhorn. The sharp-shouldered giant, -sprinkled with snow from head to foot, through -which showed his jet-black armour, stood forth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -before us, as within reach of the hand, strangely -resembling the view of the Weisshorn from above -Randa, but how much grander in his winter cloak -with jewel-like crystals!</p> - -<p>This second day was to be a day spent in idling -down glacier slopes and in lounging above the forest -zone of the Loetschenthal. We knew now that we -could count on the sun till its proper time for setting -in the evening. We knew that on his decline and -fall the moon would take his place, as the night -policeman succeeds the day policeman upon the -common beat. The winter God was full of gentleman-like -consideration. The rules of meteorology -might have been purely astronomical and mathematical -for any chances we might see of their being -upset by the weather fiend.</p> - -<p>The snow was hard and crusted as we entered upon -the southern slopes of the Petersgrat. After forty -minutes running, or thereabouts, the guides advised -us to take off our ski while we descended the steep -bits on the Telli glacier. The fact is that those men -were not quite sure of their ground. I asked the -party to proceed in close formation and to move with -studied care till we should reach the bottom of the -Telli glacier, considering that it would be wiser to -cope with any difficulties it might put in our way -than to ski down the Faffleralp, as to whose condition -in winter I had not the faintest indication. The -ordinary summer route might prove dangerous from -avalanches. On the Telli glacier, the hardness and -comparative thinness of the snow layer cemented to -the ice, allowed of crevasses and depressions bein<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>g -easily recognised. It would be a piece of summer -mountaineering in midwinter, and to this, for safety’s -sake, there would be no valid objection.</p> - -<p>I kept my people close in, to the eastern edge of -the glacier, so as to pass under the buttress on which -were supported the masses of snow over which I -would not ski. The descent of the deep gully proved -the right solution to our difficulty and procured for -us for some twenty minutes the distinct pleasure of -being thoroughly occupied with a serious job.</p> - -<p>A run over some extremely broken ground, then -some cuts and capers in a wood led us to a chalet, -where we decided to have a feed and a rest.</p> - -<p>“This confession,” says Arnold Lunn, “lays us -open to the scorn of those who imagine that -mountaineering is a kind of game, the object of which -is to spend the minimum of time on a peak consistent -with reaching its summit. Our party fortunately -belonged to the leisurely school that combines a -fondness for wise passiveness with a strong dislike to -reach one’s destination before sunset.</p> - -<p>“Thus understood, mountaineering on ski is the -purest of all sports. The competitive and record-breaking -elements are entirely eliminated. Those -who go up to the hills on ski are then actuated by -the most elemental motives, the desire to explore the -mountains in the most beautiful of all their aspects, -and to enjoy the most inspired motion known to man.</p> - -<p>“To me the ideal form of ski-ing is cross-country -mountaineering. One thus approaches nearest to the -methods of the pioneers to whom mountaineering -meant the exploration of great ranges, not the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -exhausting of all possible climbs from one small -centre. Nothing is more delightful than to penetrate -into the remote Alpine valleys in the winter months. -The parasite population that thrives in summer on -the tourist industry has disappeared. One meets -the genuine peasant, ‘the rough athletic labourer -wrestling with nature for his immediate wants.’</p> - -<p>“Those who travel first class and stop in the best -hotels do not know the real Switzerland. It is in -the third-class carriages and small inns that one sees -the most characteristic types. Nothing is more -enjoyable than to escape for ten days from conventionality -and dress clothes, wandering, kit on -one’s back, from club hut to club hut, and descending -at rare intervals to remote recesses in winter-bound -valleys.”</p> - -<p>The conclusion of this is that neither of us could -describe in strenuous language the lazy afternoon we -spent on the upper fringe of the woods above Blatten -and Ried. We had a quiet repast, smoked our pipes, -or cigars—and watched the shadows creeping up the -Loetschenlücke. Having heaps of time, we sailed -down to Kippel, as merry as finches, piping like -blackbirds, and as fresh as new-laid eggs. Would we -have been in such a happy predicament if we had not -been on narrow boards about six and a half feet long -and half as many inches broad, of Norwegian origin, -which were used primarily as a means of crossing -deep snow, and have lately been adopted as an aid -to winter mountaineering?</p> - -<p>The hotel we landed at was quite an ordinary eating -and sleeping house of the ugly type which too often<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -disfigures Swiss villages. How is it that dwellers in -the Alps who, when left to themselves, show such -good taste in the plainness of their dwellings and in -their primitive church architecture, are, when they -build for townspeople, such utter strangers to the -most spontaneous suggestions of the artistic instinct?</p> - -<p>At table we chanced to have as neighbours three -members of the Swiss Alpine Club, whose native -language was the Germanic. They were on their way -from the Grimsel and had just completed that section -of our route upon which we were to enter on the -morrow. We sat with them after dinner, and here -fiery Achilles behaved most wisely. With high hopes -he went quietly to bed at a reasonable hour. Then -Ulysses, seeing his opportunity, thought he would -like to unbend for a while. He sat up with the Swiss -party and sacrificed to good fellowship a few hours -of rest and the contents of a few fragile flagons.</p> - -<p>As midnight came on, the moon suddenly peeped -indiscreetly upon the carouse, showing through the -casement a seductive vista of most beautifully -slanting slopes round the foot of which roared the -river Lonza. Cunning Ulysses, beside himself with -a naughty idea, sent the empty bottles flying through -the window. Immediately the blood of the young -Swiss was up. They rose, strapped on their ski in a -trice, and down they went along the slope to the bank -of the Lonza. The bottles were by then floating on -the swirl of the stream. But, in the case of each -pursuer, a timely Christiania swing brought him -round up the bank again. There was a swish, a spray -of snow, and three young men were saved to fight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -again for their country.</p> - -<p>On returning to the hotel, they and I found a jolly -old villain in possession of the tap-room. He was in -the early stages of inebriation. Seeing from the -costumes of the party that he had to do with town-bred -mountaineers only, he drew from the depths of -his imagination the longest bow that was ever -harboured by a genuine mountaineer in his armoury. -With him the humour was transparent. But it is -not always so, unfortunately. Some of the Swiss -peasantry, brought into contact with the foreign -<i lang="fr">clientèle</i>, are in the habit of being so pampered by -sentimental, gullible people that they quite overstep -the bounds of any liberty that may be permissible in -resenting such treatment.</p> - -<p>On the whole, the winter life led in the high Swiss -valleys is not altogether wholesome. When they are -visited in summer, the people are seen in the busiest -time and appear in the most favourable light. The -domestic establishments of the hotels, and the few -individuals who benefit from the presence of strangers, -such as mule drivers, casual dealers in cut flowers, -in carved bears and rock crystals, are merely parasitic -and as temporary features in the landscape as -those whose passage called them into being.</p> - -<p>The evils inherent to winter seclusion are more -serious. This old man was an example, for he could -be seen there day after day, spending his time in idle -talk and throwing into the till his earnings of last -season.</p> - -<p>But stop: is Ulysses acting up to his reputation -for wariness in moralising at the present moment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> to -a weaker brother’s detriment? Has he forgotten -that on the next day, Monday, January 4th, the -little company turned out into the night at six -o’clock without him? Was it a fair excuse, that, on -the eve, he had engaged Theodore Kalbermatten to -carry his kit for him to the next hut?</p> - -<p>Having once more sworn allegiance to his usual -beverage, milk, the best friend of the young and the -old, he marched out last, but in good order, to join -the troop over which he held command. As the -dawn broke he found them waiting for him before a -church in the Upper Loetschenthal, built six hundred -years ago. Arnold had time to examine it. He says:—</p> - -<p>“The church door was carved by the hand of some -long-forgotten genius, carved with a delicacy of -execution surprising in this remote corner of the -Alps. We stopped for breakfast in some cheese-making -chalets high up in the valley. Here we exchanged -some remarks on cows and kindred subjects -and gently chaffed the cheese-makers on the proverbially -high stature of the men of Ried. But one -realised throughout the barrier which one could never -pass. We could form little or no conception of the -world as seen through their eyes. To them these -mountains must seem a waste by-product, an inexplicable -freak on the part of the Creator. They regarded -us and our ski with that amused tolerance that everyone -extends to those idiosyncrasies which are not -personally annoying.</p> - -<p>“This rugged conservatism is nowhere so accentuated -as among those who are shut off by mountain -barriers from the ‘sick, hurry, and divided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> aims’ of -modern life. Theirs is the spirit so gently satirised -in Utopia. These things they say pleased our forefathers -and ancestors: would God we might be as -witty and wise!</p> - -<p>“For six hundred years their forefathers had -worshipped in the little church we had passed, -sheltered by the hills from all breath of modern -scepticism, apparently undisturbed by the thought -that beyond them existed spirits who recklessly -doubted the priest’s control over the economy of -nature in such modest details as harvest rains. The -Loetschenthal still possesses the strange pathetic -beauty of those secluded Catholic valleys whose inhabitants -seem to live a life as old as the hills themselves, -and in which one poor priest and one little -church stand forth as the only help, the only symbol -of the world outside, and of ages not absolutely -prehistoric.”</p> - -<p>Arnold Lunn relates that after leaving the chalets -he had an amusing talk with Theodore Kalbermatten, -whom I had engaged to carry my sack up to the club -hut. A fine-looking fellow, he showed a touch of -that not ungraceful swagger which one notices in -many guides and in which Lunn rightly sees nothing -more than the unsophisticated pride that humble and -well-meaning men take in the achievement of good -work. But business is business. Lunn says very -wittily that the conversation concluded with the -inevitable production of a card, coupled with the -caution that, though there were many Kalbermattens, -there was but one Theodore Kalbermatten.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> -<p>Anyhow, we were soon great friends with Theodore. -The day was indeed long enough—like the -glacier on which we were wandering—to make and -undo friendships several times over. Circumstances -lent themselves so well to mere strolling—think what -it is to be able to cross the Bernese Oberland without -once having one’s foot brought up against a stone—that -we pressed our pace no more on this third day -than on the preceding. We might have been -Egyptian sages walking up and down in conversation -outside the porticoes of Thebes with the hundred -gates. Had we been told that what we stirred up -with our ski were the burning sands of Africa which -we mistook for Alpine snow, because our eyes were -under the spell of <i lang="fr">mirage</i>, it would have been ungracious -on our part to pretend to know better, so -much did we long for the coolness of the evening, -for sea breezes and the dew at dusk, as Arabs might, -returning upon their tired steeds to the secrecy of -the oasis, after a raid in the desert.</p> - -<p>All said and done, we found that we had spent -twelve hours in reaching the summit of the Loetschenlücke -pass. Arnold’s poetic gift found at every -step fresh sustenance. He had discovered the <i lang="fr">beau -ideal</i> of a pass. “It was,” he says, “the only opening -at the head of the valley, visible, with the whole -length of the glacier, during the entire day. For -twelve hours a little gap backed by blue sky told of a -wonderful new world that we should see from the -summit. Above us we caught sight of our goal, the -Egon von Steiger hut, bearing the name of a Swiss -climber who perished on the Doldenhorn, and built -in his memory. This is the real ungrudging spirit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> of -mountain lovers, the attitude which Mummery sums -up so well. ‘The great mountains,’ he writes, ‘sometimes -demand a sacrifice, but the true mountaineer -would not forego their worship even though he knew -himself to be the destined victim.’</p> - -<p>“We had the whole day,” says Lunn, “to reach the -hut, and without being lazy, were wise enough not to -hurry, and, indeed, there was no temptation to rush -on. The time was all too short to take in the -wonders of the Anen glacier on our left, the stern -beauty of the Sattelhorn cliffs on our right. Slowly -the distant ranges climbed higher into the sky. -Peacefully the morning merged into the afternoon, -and the afternoon into the evening. We paused -below the final slope to watch the glow creeping -down the snows of Mont Blanc. Even the guides -were impressed by the strange stillness, as—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">‘Light and sound ebbed from the earth,</div> -<div class="verse">Like the tide of the full and weary sea,</div> -<div class="verse">To the depths of its own tranquillity.’</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“I shall never forget the tantalising suspense of -that last slope. For twelve hours a little strip of blue -behind the sky-line had been an earnest of the revelation -that was awaiting us. For some six hours -we had been faced by this same long slope in front -and above. Now only a few yards remained. We -took them at a rush. At sunset exactly, the sky-line -was beneath our feet and in one moment were -set forth before us, backed by the Finsteraarhorn, -the ‘urns of the silent snow’ from which the -greatest of all the Alpine glaciers draws it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>s strength. -The rays of the risen moon mingled with the ebbing -twilight and lent an atmosphere of mystery to our -surroundings. For the moment we were no longer -of the earth earthly, for the moment the Loetschenlücke -became a magic casement opening into perilous -snows ’mid faery lands forlorn.’</p> - -<p>“Thus what, seen from a distance, was obtrusively—almost -offensively—a pass, wore a peculiar fascination -for that very reason. It grew upon the -imagination with the magic of those corners one -has only turned in one’s dreams.”</p> - -<p>Like the historic gap between the Mönch and -Jungfrau, it led to the solitudes of the Aletsch, -which Lunn had never seen save as a white streak -from distant ranges. Like all good mountaineers, -who have usefully wasted hours over a map in keen -and eager anticipation, he now could dwell with -gladness upon the reality of the mental picture -elaborated long ago, while contemplating certain -white spaces on an old copy of the Siegfried map.</p> - -<p>But the inevitable anti-climax that dogs the flight -of all poets was awaiting us. “On this occasion it -took the form of the club hut stove, and a more -effective bathos has never been devised. Amongst -the torments of the damned I am sure the smoking -stove holds a proud place.” Some of last summer’s -moisture had remained in the pipe. Our fire might -have been of green wood and wrung from us copious -tears.</p> - -<p>“The guides for the space of some half-hour, -wrestled and fought and prayed, Kalbermatten -meanwhile keeping up a running conversation <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>with -his favourite saint. Adolf, with a wonderful sense -of the fitness of things, chose the moment when -supper was on the table to put in a belated appearance. -His contribution to the evening’s work was -a successful attempt to burn my thick socks,” writes -Lunn, righteously indignant.</p> - -<p>The temperature outside the hut was 8° Centigrade -under zero on arriving and, very naturally, somewhat -colder inside. At the Mutthorn hut we had -noted 9° Centigrade under zero in the evening and -10° in the morning.</p> - -<p>Our expedition unfolded itself from day to day -with the monotony and exactitude of a scroll. On -the 5th, by seven o’clock, an hour before sunrise, we -were again on the slide eastwards. The lie of the -land was nasty. Most of us turned a somersault or -two, a performance at which those will not be -astonished who have come down in summer from -the Egon von Steiger hut to the Gross-Aletsch-Firn. -Then badly conducted parties are daily watched from -the Concordia huts, with no little curiosity. They -flounder about till they are often heard calling for -help, or seen disappearing in a crevasse, from which -moment they are entitled, under the rules of the -game, to a search party.</p> - -<p>In his diary Lunn says that the Aletschhorn had -shoved its head in front of the moon. The solitude -was almost oppressive. “Never have I so realised -the weakness of the cry that the Alps are played out -and overcrowded. True, some thousands of climbers -have explored their inmost recesses; but substantially -they are little changed from the peaks that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -looked down on Hannibal:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘Die unbegreiflich hohen Werke</div> -<div class="verse">Sind herrlich wie am ersten Tag.’</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">And on a winter night one feels more than ever the -insignificance of such trifling excrescences as club -huts and mountain inns. The parting <i lang="la">genius -loci</i> has, perhaps, been sent with sighing ‘from -haunted hill and dale’; but I strongly suspect that -these white solitudes of eternal snow are still visited -by the court of the Ice Queen.”</p> - -<p>To tell the truth, I rather hope that the feminine -section of that court leave the Aletsch severely alone, -for our remarks that morning would have stood trimming. -Why? Because, fearing concealed crevasses -on the Aletsch-Firn, we roped. It was a miserable -experiment. At rapid intervals Adolf sat down, in -the rear, of course, as he never could do anything -else but tail. Four sudden jerks, and four more bold -ski-runners bit the dust. At times, somebody in the -front of the train followed suit, an inspiration which -necessitated a rapid swing on the part of those -behind. We swung, of course, in opposite directions, -and the tangled skein that ensued was enveloped -in a mist of snow with a few oaths darting -about. No wonder, for such evolutions “excyte -beastlie and exstreme vyolence,” as Lunn found it -expressed in his mind, so elegantly stored up with -classical quotations, and we rapidly came to the -conclusion that there was “a good deal to be said -for being dead,” oh, much more than for roped ski<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>-ing -with Adolf.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate12"> -<img src="images/plate12.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CONCORDIA PLATZ.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 149.</p> -</div> - -<p>Ski-running on a rope is only possible if every -member of a party is a steady runner. I, for one, -have always found its utility limited to providing -a merry, rough-and-tumble entertainment, such as -the Wiggle-Woggle, the Whirling Pool, and such-like -helter-skelter performances in which ’Arry delights -to jostle ’Arriet.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the quotation runs that:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“The hunter of the East had caught</div> -<div class="verse">The mountain turrets in a noose of light.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">But its author was in far too sulky a condition to -appreciate a sunrise.</p> - -<p>By nine o’clock, with our troubles well ended, we -were all comfortably seated on the rounded edges of -the famous breakfast-table, an erratic stone in the -centre of that wonderful ice <i lang="la">quadrivium</i> marked on -the maps as Concordia Platz, in which the stone -in question expresses the altitude in four figures -(2,780 metres). Carpeted in the purest white, surrounded -by pyramids in the best assorted white -marble architecture, set out with flying buttresses -and domes in jasper, jade, and sapphire, the Concordia -Platz did not betoken the symmetrical -designing power of man, but perfect harmony in -the work of Nature’s agents—sun, snow, rock, -and ice.</p> - -<p>What a perfectly beautiful city for the dead, these -precincts and temple whence the handiwork of man -was absent! And what a number of graves were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -laid under the pavement of this cathedral! Think -of the tears shed for the many who came here, impelled -by the desire to behold in this world a -habitation pure enough for angels, and whose -human strength gave way before the resistance -opposed by the cruel guardians of this blissful -abode!</p> - -<p>During breakfast we discussed our plans. Our -eyes were fixed upon the Jungfrau, partly because -we had vaguely talked of the tempting ascent, but -still more because, having come up here with ice-axes, -regulation ropes, and ten-pronged climbing-irons, -it was quite plain that a serious ascent entered -into our programme. If I may put it frankly, pure -adventure was not the purpose that brought me on -the Concordia Platz. I wished to put to the test of -reality, in the highest mountain rink of the Bernese -range, the theory forced upon my mind by observations -and experiences elsewhere.</p> - -<p>I had learnt conclusively much that was new and -interesting about winter conditions in the forest -zone and on the denuded grazings that rise above -them. The comparatively easy slanting and horizontal -expanses of the ice-covered parts of the Alps -had yielded some positive information to the winter -pioneers now visiting them for the first time. Now -I wanted to know, with ever-increasing accuracy, -how those huge spurs of rock and ice that are -thrown up into the sky from the glacier region behaved -in winter. Hitherto they had been looked at -and their condition judged from a distance. Conclusions -come to in that manner were extremely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -unfavourable to their accessibility. One might, -moreover, safely say that no scientific men had -subjected the winter Alps to the same scrutiny as, -in the years following the middle of the nineteenth -century, made Agassiz, Desor, the Englishmen -Tyndall and Sir John Lubbock, famous, and so -many more whose hard and shrewd thinking about -the physical complexion of the Alps has met with -general acceptance.</p> - -<p>In a humbler sphere, too, among men in daily -contact with the Alps, such as guides and chamois -hunters, there was till lately an absolutely ineradicable -belief that the Alp peaks would oppose almost -insuperable obstacles to those bold enough to grapple -with them under winter conditions.</p> - -<p>But neither scientific scholars nor practical men -could exactly say why this should be the case. It -was one of those vague impressions or beliefs which -are more imperative in proportion as actual first-hand -knowledge is scantier.</p> - -<p>Most would tell you, when pressed, that in January -the High Alps could not but be found smothered -in the most stupendous quantities of snow that the -frightened imagination could body forth, and that -in those masses rock peaks and ice domes would be -buried alike.</p> - -<p>Once more, on the Concordia Platz, the notion I -had formed as to the comparative scarcity of snow -on the flanks of the leading summits of our Alps—those -exceeding 10,000 feet—was about to be reported -upon and tested by impartial eyes.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> -<p>Our three Bernese guides could barely trust the -testimony of their own eyes. They expected to see -a Jungfrau embedded in snow from head to foot, -stuffed out to a shapeless mass, bolstered out as with -the seven petticoats of a Dutch <i lang="fr">belle</i>. On the contrary, -the Bernese Maid was more slim than they -had ever seen her in summer. Almost entirely free -from snow, she turned towards us a shoulder as -smooth, bright, and pure as that of a Greek goddess -that might have been clad in a close-fitting suit of -silver armour. One of my men who saw her again -last summer (1911), one of the two hottest recorded -since 1830, found her less free from snow than she -appeared on that January day, when she was actually -melting away under the perfect downpour of solar -rays towards which her face was turned.</p> - -<p>Thus was an important doubt set at rest by the -testimony of practical men. It would have taken -us half the day to cut steps in the sheer ice that -stretched from the Roththal Sattel to the very top. -The near completion of the railway from Grindelwald -to Jungfraujoch will make it quite easy to institute -a series of regular scientific observations on this -interesting subject.</p> - -<p>So far as we were concerned, after five days of sun -and inverted temperature it was out of the question -for us to attempt the top slopes of the Jungfrau at -that hour of the day. It was tacitly agreed to abandon -it for the Finsteraarhorn. The same causes -which turned the snow slopes of the Jungfrau to -ice and rendered them impracticable would dry the -rocks of the Finsteraarhorn, clearing them from the -excess of snow which the winter winds might have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -piled up there. So we pressed on towards the Grünhornlücke, -past the Concordia huts, ski-ing leisurely -downwards on the Aletsch glacier.</p> - -<p>The reader may easily picture to himself how -much our ski were in tune with the wonderful -surface over which we were passing.</p> - -<p>“These rollings of <i lang="fr">névé</i>,” relates Lunn, “are -almost unique in the Alps. On other glaciers one’s -attention is diverted to the surrounding peaks. -But, as some one says, on the Aletsch the boundary -mountains form an insignificant cup-lip to the glacier -itself, which, to my knowledge, may be compared to -the same on the Plaine-Morte only. The Oberland -peaks, which from Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen -exhibit such a wonderful wealth of design, are -comparatively tame from the basin of the Aletsch. -When we think of the Jungfrau we always think of -her as seen from the pastures of the Wengern Alp. -Seen from the Aletsch she is not particularly striking. -One’s whole attention is focussed on the broad, silent -reaches of snow. From the Loetschenlücke, from -the Jungfraujoch, from the Grünhornlücke, three -vast ice streams flow down towards the Concordia, -rightly so named, for, there, irresistible forces blend -silently in perfect harmony and move downwards -without a break.”</p> - -<p>By three o’clock in the afternoon we passed by the -huts which now form quite a township on the rocky -spur which supports them. There is the Cathrein -Pavilion, a regular little mountain hostelry, the new -Swiss Alpine Club hut, and the old hut. Stowed -away under the rock the ancestral hut of all m<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>ight -betray its site to curious Alpine antiquaries.</p> - -<p>We could have walked straight into the township -on that day, the rocks being dry and swept clean of -snow, the effect of the sun only, as I can easily prove -by the testimony of Mr. Schloss who, with his party, -had to take refuge in the Swiss Club hut during the -storm that had raged in the last days of December. -He says: “We rammed the ski into the snow at the -foot of these rocks, expecting to reach the hut, some -50 metres above us, in a few minutes. But the -storm made the passage up the narrow path hewn -out of the rock wall very unpleasant. It was covered -with ice and snow, and the wind, blowing in furious -gusts from the Jungfrau snow-fields, threatened every -moment to hurl one or the other of us down on to -the glacier below.” Let the reader take warning.</p> - -<p>From the Concordia Platz we started up steep -slopes to our next pass. But were they so steep? -and did we climb at all? There is in words a forceful -though conventional mendacity. In language -the most honest catch themselves playing the part -of gay deceivers. Did we have any occasion during -that week to draw one laboured breath from our -tranquil breasts? Restful and vigorous, we led the -æsthetic life.</p> - -<p>As on the previous evening, there was a tantalising -interest, the same eagerness to look beyond the sky-line -into the new world of snow. This time the pass -revealed the Fiesch glacier and the great pyramid of -the Finsteraarhorn. “Professor Roget,” writes my -young friend, whose fancy I like to tickle by -appearing before him in the <i lang="fr">rôle</i> of an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> old cynic, -“having been here before, exhibited no indecent -haste, and so I had some time to myself in the -pass. The guides—to them also the country was -new—were moved to unwonted enthusiasm on seeing -the Finsteraarhorn. They said, ‘Eine schöne Spitze, -die müssen wir morgen machen.’”</p> - -<p>Indeed they might on the morrow. There it -stood before us such as three times already I had -climbed it in summer. A photograph would hardly -show the difference in the seasons. The Finsteraarhorn -could be ranked in the same category as the -Combin de Valsorey and many others 12,000 feet -high and upwards with rocky sides falling away to -the south and west. Whenever they had a northern -slope whereby they were accessible in summer, I had -found that by that flank their top could be reached -in winter with the help of ski and ice-axe judiciously -blended, and that, on the other side, they would -regale the tourist with the gymnastics of a scramble -as diverting as in summer.</p> - -<p>It was about two in the afternoon when our party -assembled on the lip of the Grünhornlücke. This -substantive, which has before now enjoyed our -favour, I do not employ as a mere literary phrase. -Let me say why.</p> - -<p>High Alpine passes are like funnels up which the -wind sweeps the snow. Most passes I describe in -this book being parallel to the main range of the -Alps, are most susceptible to winds blowing from -the south-west and to north-easters. When the -wind blows from the south-west the snow driven -up the inclined funnel overlaps to the north-e<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>ast -and forms an overhanging lip in that direction. -After a time intervenes a gale from the north-east. -It drives up snow under the curve of the lip and -fills the bend as with plaster. A time comes when, -that space being filled up, the new snow is rolled -up over the lip and then bulges out in a hanging -cornice towards the south-west. That in its turn -gets reversed, and so forth throughout the winter. -On passes, therefore, cornices are not fixed. They -shift from one side to another of the sky-line.</p> - -<p>This may constitute a serious danger, either -because the lip is curled over above you, and then -you may have to break through it or even bore a -tunnel, as when a waterpipe, in order to be carried -up through the projection of a roof, is led straight -up a wall and an opening pierced to take it above -the roof. At other times it is easy enough to get on -to the lip, because the outside edge of it bends down -away from you. But then the difficulty is how to -get off the lip on to the chin below. Here again, -if you go carelessly forward your weight may break -off the edge of the lip. You will fall with it, through -the open space underneath, on to the lower level. -Or else you may have to jump, or let yourself down -by means of a rope if the distance is too great or -the landing surface too steep or too slippery or too -near an abyss for you to be sure of getting a safe -foothold. It is sometimes the wisest course to dig -one’s way down, as on other occasions you may have -dug your way up. These are the minor incidents -that attend every kind of mountaineering. But they -are much more frequent, and sometimes a cause of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -real peril in winter, because overhanging hems of -snow may be met with, even in the zone of the -grazings, where the snow is usually very deep and -much tossed about by the contrary currents of wind -resulting from the extremely broken character of the -country.</p> - -<p>High glacier passes are, on the whole, pretty free -from cornices because the wind has free play so near -the altitude where all land ceases. Geography is -very much simplified from 9,000 feet upwards. You -would be easily convinced of it if, on a relief -model, you sliced off all the pieces rising above -9,000 feet and separated them from the remainder -of the model by slipping in a tray under them at -that altitude. That is why the High Alp ski-runner -is much less concerned with avalanches than his -less ambitious brother who confines himself to lower -and more complicated regions. The reader will now -understand better why Lunn and myself are so perpetually -“lounging, strolling, idling” in this raid.</p> - -<p>It was actually only two in the afternoon—let us -say it again in the light of these observations—when -our party assembled on the lip of the Grünhornlücke. -We looked back towards the Loetschenlücke, once -more a mere dent against the sky, and contrasted our -easy journey with the long, laborious tramp which is -there the lot of summer trippers over slushy, soft -sticky snow. How often had I worked my way -toilsomely, with wet feet and perspiring brow, over -these extensive fields when they were mud-coloured -and a vast network of puddles! Yet the temperature -throughout had been delightfully mild! Our party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -lay down on the summit of the pass as comfortably -as on a hot Sunday afternoon, the members of a -boating party on the Upper Thames might choose to -land on a dry and elevated part of the bank—but, -alas! in our case quite shadeless—to boil the kettle -and lay the table for afternoon tea.</p> - -<p>At 11,000 feet above sea-level we lay about on the -white dry floor and enjoyed a prolonged siesta, and -thought how unlikely all this would seem when we -should relate it. But when the sun had set behind -the Aletschhorn, the change was instantaneous. We -had now to go down slopes facing east, whose surface -glazed immediately. Our ski seemed alive, and -skimmed over the glaze like swallows skimming the -surface of a lake. We had plenty of room in which -to break our speed by curving in uphill and bending -down and round again. I could indulge to my heart’s -content in my favourite amusement on such slopes, -which, when you present the broadside of your ski -somewhat upwards and sideways to the concavity of -the surface, let you down at varying rates of speed -while you describe a spiral line to the bottom.</p> - -<p>In this case the foot of the pass was indeed the -bottom, but it was also the top of the Walliser -Fiescher Firn. Like arrows from a hidden bow, we -shot along the path of the moonbeams and came -to a standstill at the foot of a dreadful black rock, on -the top of which the rays of the sun, before parting, -had lit up as a beacon the windows and chimney-pots -of the Finsteraarhorn hut. We left our ski -well planted in the snow and scrambled up with -our packs. This hut once stood on the Oberaarj<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>och, -till it was removed thence and rebuilt in -its present position. The trials of transport may -account for its being somewhat loose in the joints. -It is not weather-tight, and the snow on the roof—in -summer I have known it to be rain—trickles -through in large drops, sometimes on the clothes set -out to dry on strings all round the stove pipe and -sometimes on the noses of the sleepers in their berths. -I understand that the trickle of water on one’s -cranium is one of the most terrible tortures a man -can be subjected to.</p> - -<p>Anyhow we had climbed a thousand feet, taken -perhaps the wrong way up, the whole in very good -time to allow Adolf his usual extra hour for joining -us round the flowing bowl of hot soup.</p> - -<p>“As we were sitting down to supper,” says Lunn, -“a party of some six or seven Swiss came in.” They -had just completed the ascent of the Finsteraarhorn, -and were not a little pleased to find the stove lit and -water on the boil. We had noticed on arrival that the -hut had the appearance of being inhabited, and on -looking round had soon caught sight of its denizens -slipping and stumbling merrily down the shoulder of -the Finsteraarhorn. A look at the hut guest-book -also told us that it had been lately visited by two -Norwegians.</p> - -<p>“That night in the hut we were a merry party. -The Swiss belonged to the class that in England -divide most of their time between watching football -matches and playing billiards. They made one realise -how much the higher life of a nation was stimulated -by a prevailing love of mountains. For mountaineeri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>ng -is essentially the people’s sport. Climbing tends -more than any other sport to break down artificial -barriers between classes. Snobbery is seen in its -true proportion against a background of mountains. -The wealth of enthusiasm which mountaineering -inspires among the artisan classes of Switzerland is a -permanent asset to the nation, lifting all those who -come into contact with the hills out of their narrow -ambitions. Shelley felt this truth. The great -peaks, he writes, have a voice to repeal large codes -of fraud and woe. One had only to look at these -Swiss to feel how their lives were coloured, their ideals -raised, their views broadened, by their love of their -native mountains.”</p> - -<p>Lunn likes to speak of the Swiss parties he meets -as being “guideless.” I do not know to what extent -this epithet may convey a clear meaning to others. -It hardly does to me. What is a guideless party? -Unless it means a party who undertakes, without the -assistance of a professional guide, one of the ascents -for which such a guide is authorised by a binding -tariff to claim payment, the expression is wanting in -point. There is nothing particularly noteworthy in -this, that the natives of Switzerland should explore -and climb the mountains of their country without -the assistance of professional fellow-citizens. These -form a class which has been instituted to serve two -purposes: (1) To provide them with an additional -economic asset; (2) to give strangers confidence in -exploring the Alps.</p> - -<p>Guides seek from their employers certificates of -good conduct and utility. Many of the latter hav<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>e -acquired a taste, in those documents, for sitting, as -it were, at the feet of their guides as though the -positions were reversed. Indeed, it would be more -natural that the guides should give certificates of -ability, daring, and endurance to the amateur mountaineers -whom they have in their charge. Under -such altered circumstances a guideless party would -be a party in possession of a certificate to the effect -that they had gained sufficient proficiency in mountaineering -to hold a licence as guideless parties. -Till things are so arranged, the epithet is bootless.</p> - -<p>Many young Swiss solve the difficulty by going -through the official course of training laid down for -professional guides, in the persuasion that should they, -or the party they are with, meet with an accident, it -would not be possible for either the guiding corporation -or public opinion to fairly lay any blame at their -door. There was assuredly no reason why the young -men whom we saw on that day should have been expected -to meet with an accident because they had no -paid bystander.</p> - -<p>“Luxuries had long been devoured, but even soup -has a delightful flavour in a club hut. And no one can -really understand the charms of tobacco who has never -smoked in a club hut at the end of a good day’s work. -The mountain pipe has a flavour undreamt of in the -plains. Even some horrible hay-like production purchased -in Adolf’s inn seemed inspired with ambrosial -flavour.”</p> - -<p>On this 6th day of January it was to be our turn -to ascend the Finsteraarhorn. For the first time in -our trip this verb is an apposite term. It meant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -work, and our Socialist undertook to prove it. He -first of all swallowed up on the sly the last contents -of our pot of honey. If I wished to be nasty, I should -say that he got himself tied at the end of the rope -because he had calculated selfishly that he would be -dragged up and, being first and lowest on the rope -when descending, he would be held up by us.</p> - -<p>This little piece of reckoning did not miscarry. Wise -Ulysses was too good natured to let it be seen that he -“saw through” this little plot; fiery Achilles was of too -powerful a build to mind a little extra weight, and the -other two Bernese guides were such excellent fellows -that they gave no sign of how much they suffered in -their pride on account of their colleague.</p> - -<p>“For once in a way,” says Lunn, “the guides were -punctual. I think Professor Roget was the only one -in the party who did justice to the breakfast. A -seasoned mountaineer of thirty years’ standing, he -can eat stale bread and tinned meat at 6.30 in the -morning with the calm persistency of the man who -realises that food is a sound insurance against cold -and fatigue. But we were all glad to turn out of the -hut, which we left at 7.15 a.m. The first signs of dawn -appeared before the moon had set, a somewhat unusual -phenomenon. Such a sunrise—though one -misses the more dramatic change from the darkest -night to the day—is accompanied by an almost -unique depth of colouring. Two hours above the hut -the sun shot out from behind the Oberaarhorn, I -should like to add, like a stone flung out of a sling.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate13"> -<img src="images/plate13.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">BREAKFAST ON THE FINSTERAARHORN.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 163.</p> -</div> - -<p>The simultaneous presence, morning and evening, -of sun and moon at opposite ends of the sky, wa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>s -one of the most interesting pictorial features displayed -before our eyes. I am not aware that painters -are ever likely to succeed in reproducing the cross -light effects we witnessed, silvery and cold at one -extremity, golden and warm at the opposite extremity, -meeting on that endless expanse of neutral white, -and shot throughout with the azure of the sky.</p> - -<p>The Finsteraarhorn proved itself as accommodating -as the Jungfrau was rebellious: for one and -the same cause, as already hinted. The rocky <i lang="fr">arête</i> -stood up like a lace ruff above its shoulder, as fine as -if it were wrought in muslin, and offering everywhere -an easy hold for our hands. It was free from snow -and from ice, owing to the constant action of the -sun’s rays percolating through the superimposed -layers of dry air. Where there was any snow there -was so little that we could hardly have expected less -in summer. The <i lang="fr">arête</i> was warm to our touch.</p> - -<p>On reaching the breakfast place, we looked -anxiously at the sweep of the uppermost span into -space. Not a suspicion of any wind blowing up -there. The last two hours of the six afforded a -delightful scramble along the edge of that very -impressive cock’s comb. For an hour and a half -more we climbed up alongside steep snow slopes, -down which we saw the most alarming ski tracks I -have ever beheld.</p> - -<p>By one o’clock our ropes were thrown as a noose -all about the top of the Finsteraarhorn, the giant of -the Oberland. The Socialist hung on to the end of -the rope like a scorpion’s sting; Achilles led, presenting -his naked torso to the bite of the sun; in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -the middle bulged the robust frame of venerable -Ulysses, with his grey hair blown about by the wind, -and, filling the gaps between those three important -personages, came Gyger and Schmidt, betraying on -their honest, grave countenances their naive satisfaction -at seeing themselves on such a lofty platform. -We spent a wonderful hour on the summit.</p> - -<p>The view was perfect, as only a winter view can be, -over all the great ranges mellowed by the winter -atmosphere. Beyond them a vast sea of cloud -covered the plains of Switzerland and Italy. We -lay about hatless, coatless, and gloveless. Not a -breath of wind even to make the inviolable quiet -audible. Quoth Lunn:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘It seemed as if the hour were one</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sent from beyond the skies,</div> -<div class="verse">Which scattered from above the sun</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The light of Paradise.’</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Time stood still, or rather the time we passed on -that aerial summit, seemed stolen from the rest of -eternity. At such moments the mind becomes a -passive instrument for recording external impressions. -Old memories arose unbidden; old associations lived -again. Familiar ridges, the hills of Grindelwald, the -little chalet, just visible, where I had spent so many -happy summers, all lent an element of personal -romance to the view, all helped to awaken memories -of ‘far-off things and battles long ago.’</p> - -<p>“The view from the Finsteraarhorn is of its kind -almost unique. It is the very hub of vast spaces of -eternal winter. Below, the ice-bound cliffs of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -Oberland, scored with the passage of ages, rise from -a waste of glaciers. The Finsteraarhorn is the -culminating point of this rugged chain, and looks -defiantly over a host of lesser peaks towards its -great brethren of the Swiss Alps. From the Dolomites -to Dauphiny, from the Vosges to the Apennines, -scarcely a peak of any importance was hid. -The winter atmosphere toned down the harsh features -whilst rendering the whole flawless panorama -strangely distinct. The mountains were clad in -those wonderful bluish tints peculiar to the winter -months, their crudities had been softened, their -barren places made smooth. The keynote in the -panorama was a dreamy, languorous atmosphere.”</p> - -<p>The boundless canopy of clouds dragged itself out -lazily, like a huge soft beast, to fill up all the interstices -in this rock-bound and rock-studded vista, -shot through with waves of light. There was a -superb suggestion of indolence on the far horizon, -turning pale against a sky of unfathomable blue. -Below us the small wooden hut, perched on its rock, -added a touch of human interest to the view.</p> - -<p>The guides went to sleep in the snow, while the -two educated men of the party contemplated and -smoked, smoked and contemplated.</p> - -<p>“Nine long summers I had spent as a small boy -in getting to know the remote bye-ways of the -Faulhorn chain. For nine summers we had looked -longingly up to the great cliffs of the Oberland, the -peaks of storm and of dread, the dark Aar peak, the -Maiden, the Monk, and the Giant. Vaguely we -wondered if it would ever be ours to penetr<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>ate into -their recesses. By the peculiar cussedness of things, -I had climbed in other ranges, but till then had -never returned to my first love.</p> - -<p>“The force of associations formed in childhood -has been insisted on <i lang="la">ad nauseam</i> by Wordsworth -and his imitators, but the sentiment is none the less -powerful for being somewhat trite. And even now, -as this early ambition had at last reached the point -of realisation, I could scarce restrain a feeling of -regret. Though, in later years, calm reason convinced -me that the terrors in which my childish -imagination had clad the Oberland peaks were almost -non-existent, yet the ease with which we had conquered -their monarch had its element of sadness.</p> - -<p>“The hour passed like ten minutes. The professor -gave the word to return. We roused Adolf and -sadly turned down the <i lang="fr">arête</i>. The weaker brother -led with great deliberation. On this occasion we -lacked not æsthetic compensations for his slowness. -It was a unique sensation, sitting astride that vast -cliff, watching the afternoon lights spreading tinges -of an infinite gradation of tones over the boundless -canopy of mist.”</p> - -<p>We reached again the fantastic little gap of the -Hugi-Sattel, overlooking a sheer cliff that drops down -to the Finsteraarhorn glacier. We now rested in -the afternoon where we had breakfasted in the forenoon. -We looked back up the way we had come -down. Owing to the ice, we had been forced off the -summer route—which keeps some distance below the -ridge—on to the very <i lang="fr">arête</i>. There is nothing on the -Matterhorn finer than that sheer cliff that falls away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -to the glacier 3,000 feet below. Drop a stone, and -it falls the entire distance without a bound. The -climbing, however, both up and down, had been easy -enough. Good sound hand and foot-holds—no shadow -of an excuse for a slip, not even for Adolf, who -had come up wailing in the forenoon, contributing -to the gaiety of the party by his monotonous: “Ich -komme schon, aber nur nicht so schnell.” With a -shudder he beheld the track of the two Norwegians, -who had taken their ski to within a thousand feet of -the summit, and, on their return, appeared to have -gaily descended a slope of soft snow lying on streaks -of ice, at an angle of 45 degrees, bridging several -yawning cracks.</p> - -<p>Having rested on the Hugi-Sattel—this part of -Switzerland recalls everywhere the names of its -explorers and scientific investigators—we slowly -retraced our steps to the hut, reaching it at 5.45.</p> - -<p>The merry Swiss boys had left everything in -beautiful order. We had all the room—and all -the raindrops—to ourselves. Heated through and -through, the roof was letting the water from the -melting snow pass through the shingles.</p> - -<p>Once more a perfect sunset gave promise of yet -another day of cloudless beauty. Our anxieties—we -had none others than those which might come from -eagerness to succeed—were at an end. We had -done what we had set out to do. Had we planned -to go to the North Pole—or to discover the Antarctic—and -succeeded likewise (as mountaineers would have -done long ago if they had troubled to) our feelings -could have differed but little from those that now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -passed in our minds. There is a likeness in all -achievements in this. When the past is just putting -forward its forefinger in warning of its readiness to -withdraw our deed gently from our grasp and from -the sight of men, we feel a pang that to have done -something means parting with it soon after. Some -may have been so ambitious to reach the North Pole -that they set about it in a dishonest spirit. Some -returning from another voyage of joint and mutual -discovery—that generally goes under the name of a -wedding tour—carry home with them a melancholy -tinge of regret upon their happiness. So did we.</p> - -<p>Yet there is in simple achievements a satisfaction -which nothing else in the world can give. Most -other successes leave something to be desired. The -instability of wealth and health is a platitude. But -Lunn rightly says that every successful expedition is -a permanent asset, bringing in year by year a high -rate of interest, an incorruptible treasure in the -memories of the past which nothing can destroy.</p> - -<p>“Next day we got away by 7, stumbled down the -steep rocks below the hut, picked up our ski, our -faithful boards, standing all bespattered with snow, -and by the light of the moon skied merrily down the -Fiesch glacier. As dawn broke we pushed up the -long slopes leading to our next pass, the Oberaarjoch. -Suddenly an expression of pleasure escaped Professor -Roget. Such an unprecedented phenomenon—on the -part of the old Cynic—aroused my attention. I turned -and saw what, for an æsthetic mind, was probably -the most striking view of the whole tour—namely, -softened and subdued by the magic of the winter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -atmosphere, the perfect pyramid of the Weisshorn -flanked by the daring spire of the Matterhorn.</p> - -<p>“A little later it was my turn to give vent to some -satisfaction, and the professor looked up to see -Adolf walking well at the head of the party with his -pack trim and neat on his shoulders, like those people -who, when approaching the end of their trials, stride -forth as if they had conquered the world.”</p> - -<p>We almost reluctantly took our stand upon this -the fifth and last sky-line we were to cut through -with the flat of our ski. The last of our five passes -disclosed the long arm of the Oberaar glacier, backed -by the mountains that overshadow the birthplace of -the Rhône. Now the Finsteraarhorn showed us his -back view, his shoulder blades, terrace upon terrace -of sheer rock.</p> - -<p>Indeed, the force that was impelling Adolf back -towards civilisation was not of the sort that could -make the pace for us. We were going onwards and -onwards, but rather drawn by the sun towards his -haunt in the east, the common goal of so many -pilgrims. But our mood was not devout except -that we were nature worshippers who, while marching -to Canterbury, were diverting one another with -appropriate tales. You might have had pleasure in -seeing us advance in very open order up the wrinkled -back of the Fiesch glacier. I believe one of us -was holding a pipe between his teeth, another -strolled with his hands in his pockets, a fourth -darted about kodak in hand.</p> - -<p>Adolf thought we were slow, and grew impatient at -our tarrying on this astonishing veranda. It has,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -perhaps, no like in the world in this, that it is a -suspended ice-garden of an extent and altitude well -proportioned to the physical faculties of man, showing -as much of natural beauty under one of its most -prodigious aspects as does not exceed the understanding -of a well-balanced mind.</p> - -<p>I shall never forget the ever renewed delight which -I found in skirting the southern buttresses of the -Finsteraarhorn range. We did not take a step -forward without stopping to look backward through -the wide gap formed by the valley down which the -Fiesch glacier pours its waters in the Rhône. The -whole of the Pennine Alps displayed themselves -within this gap.</p> - -<p>There they loomed as lifted off the earth, a -gossamer, a sea of soft light, a row of pearls looking -as frail as a dream, and yet a real world, the key to -which is love of the beautiful.</p> - -<p>Softly—the ski have a way of caressing the snow—slowly, -chatting, then wrapped in silence, we went -forward, as on wings. Immersed in light, we might -have been borne aloft by an expansive force within -ourselves, so much did we rise without any effort. -It was barely midday when we stood on the Oberaarjoch. -Before us bent and curved the sides of the -last glacier which we had yet to follow—the Oberaar -Gletscher. Our eyes embraced a new horizon which, -surging beyond the Galenstock and the Dammastock, -extended further than the Toedi in the north and -enclosed the Bernina in the east.</p> - -<p>We were not alone on this Belvedere. The -Oberaarjoch hut, high above us on our le<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>ft, looked -like one of those boxes which in a theatre allow the -eyes of the occupants to plunge down upon the stage -unseen. The platform in front of the hut was -occupied by some fellow-runners, whose voices reached -our ears almost as soon as we saw them. They -were watching us, and we exchanged with them such -greetings as ships may send to one another when -crossing on the high seas. To-morrow they would -resume their course towards the skies we had left -behind us, while we pushed our way towards those -they had hitherto travelled under.</p> - -<p>It would be idle to attempt to reckon up our -widely sweeping curves as we came down the Oberaar -glacier. The surface, concave at the top, becomes -convex at the bottom, with a regularity which is a -good example of an unfailing law in glacier phenomena. -I think we turned to the right, and spun -round to the left, and then turned to the left and -spun round to the right for about twenty minutes on -that sheet of snow without a stop. Our men bowled -themselves down anyhow. But the spiral line we -looked back upon from the foot of the glacier would -have won respect from the most exacting teacher in -draughtsmanship.</p> - -<p>Lunn says that the top slope was unskiable. So -we set our lunch upon it. “Thence some straight -running took us over an uninterrupted stretch of -snow about five miles in length. The surface was -hard and wind-swept, but the gradient was so gentle -that we could let ourselves go without thought of -possible falls. We turned off beyond the snout of -the glacier and bore away down a gully to our lef<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>t. -Here the professor supplied an interesting <i lang="fr">entre-acte</i>.</p> - -<p>“The guides had, for once in a way, got ahead. -Suddenly Professor Roget fell down at the top of a -steep and trying slope. He did not rise, so I sent -the guides back to help him. Adolf saw his opportunity: -a little bit of a tragedy coming in the nick -of time when the perils of the route were over. He -puffed and panted up the slope, leading the search -party with a rush. When at last three hot and -perspiring guides reached the piece of wreckage -stranded on the chilly shore they were not a little -annoyed to see the boat right itself without their -help, and, recovering the use of human speech, the -Professor remarked that he hoped this lesson would -teach them to keep together. It did!”</p> - -<p>By four o’clock in the afternoon we had wandered -over the long, flat basin at the end of the Unteraar -glacier, whence we said goodbye to the Finsteraarhorn. -Arnold, in high spirits, was bent on making -the most of his last chances. We were on the last -spur abutting on to the flat land in the middle of -which stands the Grimsel hospice, when I saw him -dash to the left over the brow of the last wave of the -hill, exclaiming, “I see a cheeky thing to do!” The -next moment he was sailing along safely on the flats. -We had no thought of entering into the hospice. -Why should we? We had not a scratch, we did not -feel an ache, our equipment was as complete as when -we had started. We therefore took immediately to -the road.</p> - -<p>“Here we at last discovered genuine winter. -Above, on the glaciers, all had been warmth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>, colour, -and light. Here in this grim gorge all was sombre, -grey, and chill. The hospice seemed to breathe a -feeble defiance to the genius of this abode of frost. -Never have I seen anything more desolate than the -deserted post-road, gagged with old avalanche tracks -and overhung with icicles. Below, the angry gash -of the torrent peered out between cakes of ice, whilst -above the waning light revealed sombre bosses of -grey rock smothered in snow.</p> - -<p>“We were anxious to telephone, so I took one of -the guides and made all speed down the road. Some -one had conveniently made tracks, which had iced -during the night and afforded some furious running. -At last, at 6 p.m., twelve hours after leaving the hut, -we pulled up at Guttannen. Here we telephoned to -Beatenberg and Kandersteg and then went in search -of night quarters. The hotel was, of course, closed, -but we found rooms for the night in an adjoining -chalet and were afforded one of those sidelights on -real Swiss life which the summer visitor so rarely -sees.</p> - -<p>“We supped in the one room which was warmed, -and here the family were pursuing their various -occupations. The patriarch was mumbling in the -corner over his pipe, attracting, like the majority of -patriarchs, little attention. The father, a guide in -summer, chatted on the winter’s work. He appeared -to think that cutting the wood and bearing it towards -the valley left a man little time to grow fat. At the -table a young girl was plying—alas!—not the spinning-wheel -of a previous generation, but an unromantic -‘Singer.’ In front of her stood some dressm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>aker’s -model, a hideous, headless monstrosity on a wire -cage. On the stove a small youth slept contentedly. -To him entered a bustling little damsel with the -maternal instinct precociously developed. With unsuspected -tenderness she gently lifted him up, still -sleeping, bore him out of the room, and attacked -‘with an undaunted tread the long black passage up -to bed.’</p> - -<p>“Supper over, we lit our pipes with pardonable -satisfaction. Our long journey had been carried -through without a hitch. Perfect weather, thorough -arrangements, every precaution. Seriously, one can -scarcely be too careful in winter mountaineering. -With every precaution, the entire complexion of -things may be altered in one moment. A broken -ski, a wrenched ankle, the work of a minute, and the -situation becomes charged with painful anxiety. -With superb indifference the mountains suffer us for -ninety-nine days, and, perhaps on the hundredth—with -equal indifference—they strike.</p> - -<p>“<i>Friday, January 8th.</i>—Up once more before the -dawn, to discover signs of bad weather, which had -thoughtfully postponed its arrival till we had left the -upper snows. One day earlier and we should have -been cooped up in the Finsteraarhorn hut for four days, -living on stale bread and tinned meat. A sleigh was -hired to drive us to Meiringen, but I was anxious to -finish the journey on ski, so, with unpardonable -sophistry, I ‘tailed’ behind the sleigh. This proved -far from easy on the icy, winding road.</p> - -<p>“At last, six days and six hours after leaving Kandersteg, -five happy men stepped on to the Meiringen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -platform. On lake Brienz the sky was veiled in dark, -lowering clouds, and snow fell as we drove up to -Beatenberg. On arriving, we were plied with those -questions which a certain type of people offer as well-meant -flattery: ‘Was it not too cold?’ ‘Wasn’t it -too, too awfully dangerous?’ We could have accepted -the heroic <i lang="fr">rôle</i> with greater equanimity, had we failed -to realise that any one with decent endurance and a -fair knowledge of ski-ing could have accompanied us -without risk.”</p> - -<p>To give satisfaction to so many kind inquiries, I -gave two days later my first lecture before a more -than crowded audience, and Arnold Lunn supplemented -it. The joint address is the common foundation -of anything we have since written on the -subject.</p> - -<p>Let me now wind up with a few final remarks.</p> - -<p>1. Winter mountaineering may be more difficult -and more dangerous than summer climbing. One -often has to face the most intense cold; but with -first-class conditions such as we enjoyed, it is scarcely -more arduous, and certainly much more enjoyable, -than summer work. Our journey in summer would -have involved hours of walking through damp, slushy -snow. There would have been wearisome tramps up -and down <i lang="fr">moraines</i>, tedious stretches of mule paths, -dull grinds over grass slopes, and I shudder to think—consider -the mileage!—what the last day would -have meant in July. As it was, we at no time suffered -from the cold, and, strangely enough, though our -days were long and mostly uphill, in point of time at -least, we neither of us ever felt tired. This was, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -be sure, owing to good ski technique. “The professor -would never allow us to raise our ski off the surface -of the snow. In that way they were absolutely no -weight, and even the raising of the foot and leg was -replaced by the glide upwards of the ski blade which -provided a resting-point and support, reducing the -muscular action to the same amount of forward -movement as is necessary on level ground, without -any additional force being employed in vertical -action.”</p> - -<p>Given good weather and normal conditions, a six-day -traverse can be accomplished with very little -fatigue and still less privation. I have done four -such and have never been any the worse. One may -weary somewhat of soup, bread and cheese, but -barring these and similar drawbacks, there is no -reason why any one of moderate physique and fair -ski-ing powers should not follow in our steps.</p> - -<p>Somehow the memories of those six days have the -power to impart something of the magical colourings -of a winter sunset to the drab dullness of lowland -evenings. On the mountains we all have moments -when life assumes unsuspected values, helping us to -realise on our return to civilisation, that the things -that are seen are temporal, whereas the things which -for the time are not seen are for all practical purposes -eternal. “The winter Alps are but a vision, a faint -memory intruding itself at intervals when the roar of -the commonplace is for a moment hushed in silence. -If visions were not at times the most solid of realities -this world would be intolerable.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> -<p>“Just for a moment I have had a fleeting vision,” -wrote Lunn, when he had once more settled down to -the round of daily life, “of the silent snows of the -Aletsch, as you and I saw them that glad evening -on the Loetschenlücke, lit in all the splendour of the -January moon. It faded all too soon, and the winter -Alps again seem very far away.”</p> - -<p>2. I append a table of levels, in feet, similar to the -table of my vertical displacements, in metres, which -the reader has found at the end of the Diablerets to -Kandersteg chapter:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p><i>January 2nd.</i>—Kandersteg to Mutthorn hut: 5,700 feet -(Tschingel pass).</p> - -<p><i>January 3rd.</i>—Mutthorn hut to Petersgrat (our second pass): -1,000 feet.</p> - -<p><i>January 4th.</i>—From Kippel to Egon von Steiger hut (Loetschen -pass): 6,000 feet.</p> - -<p><i>January 5th.</i>—From Concordia Platz to Grünhornlücke (our -fourth pass): 2,000 feet.</p> - -<p><i>January 6th.</i>—From Fieschfirn to Finsteraarhorn: 5,000 feet.</p> - -<p><i>January 7th.</i>—From Fieschfirn to Oberaarjoch (fifth pass): -2,000 feet.</p> - -<p>Add 2,000 feet for unconsidered trifles. The total vertical displacement -is thus brought out at a little under 24,000 feet.</p> - -</div> - -<p>We paid each of our men a pound a day. Other -expenses brought the cost to thirty pounds. It is -better to have plenty of men and plenty of food. -Plenty of food because one is always liable to be -detained some days in the huts by the bad weather—plenty -of men, which does not necessarily mean -guides, because a party that can be broken up into -sections is infinitely safer and handier. A party of -six may be expressed by 2 + 2 + 2, or by 3 + 3, or -by 4 + 2, dispositions which may fit into almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -every emergency.</p> - -<p>There is no doubt that sealskins are extremely convenient -and a great saving of labour in going uphill, -because they annihilate back-slip, the bugbear of -beginners and of loaded men. Serious trouble may -be caused by wrinkled and puckered-up hard snow, or -by those extremely slippery patches, either snow or -ice, which now and then upset the balance of the -High Alp runner.</p> - -<p>The remedy to this I have found in a contrivance -against side-slip which figures as a permanent fixture -on the powerful pair of military ski which I used on -all my big traverses. It consists of two blades of -hardish steel, about 5 inches long, sharpened and -shaped in the fashion of skates. Linked to each -other across the upper surface of my ski, they -adhere to the sides by lateral pressure only, which is -applied by means of a top screw. The edge of each -blade stands out beyond the flat of the ski by the -merest fraction of an inch, in front of one, and behind -the other, foot. This secures straight running on -hard snow and ice by biting into it, preventing side-slip -when the broadside of the ski slew’s round to the -drop of the slope. The laws of mechanics teach that -this contrivance, maintained against the ski by side-pressure -only, should get pushed out of place when, -the ski being edged, an unduly large portion of the -weight of the runner falls to be borne by the ski edge. -But, in practice, it is not so, provided you are careful -to obtain the maximum of side-pressure that the -horizontal binding screw can produce.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate14"> -<img src="images/plate14.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ADOLF ON THE FINSTERAARHORN ARÊTE.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 178.</p> -</div> - -<p>Studs on the inside of the blade, making impressions -upon the wood of the ski, without injuring it in -any way, increase the resistance of this contrivance -to the vertical pressure caused by the weight of the -runner.</p> - -<p>3. Within a few years from the date of writing, -this part of the Alps will be girdled by a network of -mountain railways. The Grindelwald-Jungfrau railway, -already completed to the Jungfraujoch (11,000 -feet), will deposit the ski-runner within a stone’s -throw of the Concordia Platz. There he will, as the -phrase goes, have it all his own way, with the -resources of civilisation and a railway station to fall -back upon.</p> - -<p>The line of the Loetschberg, on the international railway, -now being built to join Berne to Brigue, should -be open to traffic by the end of 1913. It will then -take but a few moments to run there and back, -underground, between Kandersteg and Goppenstein -in the Loetschenthal, joining together both ends -of the ski route Kandersteg—Gastern—Mutthorn—Petersgrat -(or Loetschberg)—Kippel—Goppenstein.</p> - -<p>To the east, a line now under construction from -Brigue, with a tunnel under the Furka pass to -Andermatt, will connect the St. Gothard ski-ing -grounds with those we have just described.</p> - -<p>Skiers running down the Aletsch will be able to -take train at Moerel or Fiesch. These coming -facilities are not altogether pleasant to contemplate -for those who hold the traditional ideas about the -virginity and sanctity of the Alpine Holy of Holies; -but to the extent in which it may be possible to work -those lines in winter—and to this there is no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -insuperable physical obstacle—they will greatly contribute -to the generalising of ski, and thereby confer -inestimable benefits upon young people in Europe, -while reducing to the minimum consistent with the -zest of manly enjoyment those risks which are the -haunting terror of the parents, sisters, and wives of -the adventurous winter sportsman.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 130px;"> -<img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="130" height="200" alt="Drawing of a skier" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE AIGUILLE DU CHARDONNET AND THE -AIGUILLE DU TOUR</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The aspect of the Grand Combin—Topography—Weather conditions -for a successful raid—A classification of peaks—The -Orny nivometer—The small snowfall of the High Alps—The -shrinkage of snow—Its insufficiency to feed the glaciers—The -Aiguille du Tour—Ascent of Aiguille du Chardonnet—The -St. Bernard hospice—Helplessness of the dogs—The -narrow winter path—The monks’ hospitality—Their ski—The -accident on the Col de Fenêtre—“Ce n’est pas le ski.”</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t-1.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">The Val de Bagnes, the Val -d’Entremont, which leads up -to the pass of the great St. -Bernard, and the Val Ferret -are comparatively little frequented -by Englishmen, even -in the height of the summer -season. Why it should be so -is not quite clear. There is -no finer group in the Alps, -from Tyrol to Dauphiné, than -the Grand Combin and Mont Velan group. As -seen from Lake Champex, or from almost any -point of vantage in the Val de Bagnes, the group -of the Combins and abutting snow-clad tops forms -one of the grandest pieces of mountain architect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>ure -that can be imagined, one of a character that is somewhat -uncommon, for the breadth and width of the -lines are more striking here than in the usual type of -mountains tapering up to a peak. The snow-fields -and icefalls are magnificent, while the altitude of this -group (Grand Combin 4,317 metres, or 14,164 feet) -enables it to rank beside Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, -and the Mischabel range, eclipsing the Finsteraarhorn -and Piz Bernina.</p> - -<p>If the Englishman is not so often seen in summer -in that region as he might be, I am sure that in -winter none have yet visited on ski the valleys of -Bagnes, Entremont and Ferret, with the exception -of a party about which I may have something to say -in another chapter. The writer of these lines has, -therefore, an excellent chance of introducing a novel -field to the British ski-runner. He spent an eight-days’ -week in March, 1907, upon a raid in the -valleys above named, ranging from one to another on -ski, with two friends, one of whom was a youth of -eighteen, and the other a well-known Valaisan ski-runner, -Maurice Crettex, from Champex.</p> - -<p>A knowledge of topography being absolutely essential -to one’s safety in High Alp ski-running, even the -most expert runner will take care that at least one of -his party possesses that knowledge to perfection. -The runner who takes the risk of wasting some of his -strength—or time on short winter days—upon errors -in direction, is little short of a fool. Owing to -steep slopes and complicated ground, the slightest -topographical mistake may cause a fatal waste of -precious time—and of a man’s useful energy, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> fund -of which is limited in a town or plain dweller, who -only occasionally tries his physical endurance in -winter at a high altitude.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map3"> -<a href="images/map3.jpg"><img src="images/map3-small.jpg" width="200" height="165" alt="Map; click for larger version" /></a> -<p class="caption">FERRET—ENTREMONT—BAGNES.</p> -<p class="caption">(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, 26.8.12.)</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 182.</p> -</div> - -<p>A raid on ski is not a raid if it is interrupted by -stress of weather. It is then best described as a -commonplace misadventure. The intending raider -must trust to chance, assisted by a careful reading of -the daily reports of the weather issued from Zürich. -These reports now very usually distinguish between -High Alp weather and the conditions prevailing -during the same periods in the lake and river region. -When there is a scientific prospect of fog over the -lakes and rivers, this means that the air is still, and -that the sun shines upon every mountain rising above -four, five, or six thousand feet, as the case may be. -A wind arising from north or east will not interfere -with the raid (except in the matter of cold), but a -gale from west or south will bring it to an abrupt -end, and be attended with the utmost danger if -the warning of a falling glass is not immediately -acted upon.</p> - -<p>During the eight days that this raid lasted, the -weather was absolutely steady, fine, and windless, the -sun and moon vying uninterruptedly with each other -to extinguish darkness. We suffered at no time from -the cold after sunset or in club huts, and basked all -day long in the sun’s direct heat and in the rays -reflected from the snows. The temperature fell at -night to 10 or 15 degrees under zero Centigrade, and -rose to most extraordinary readings during the day. -We were dressed in the warm, tough material used -by all competent mountain climbers even in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -height of summer, with strong thick boots, and -never for a moment suffered from cold feet.</p> - -<p>Thanks to the above circumstances and to a happy -concourse of every advantage, my two companions -and myself were the first human beings who ever -smoked their pipes and cigars in winter, and sat -in their shirt-sleeves on the top of the Aiguille du -Tour, Aiguille du Chardonnet, and Grand Combin. -The latter summit was attempted by one of my -colleagues at Bâle (Mr. O. D. Tauern, the German -gentleman mentioned in another chapter). But the -most gallant efforts failed to bring him and his friends -to the very top, though the tour was a complete -vindication of winter mountaineering on ski. An -account of their expedition appeared in the Annual -(1908) of the <cite>Schweizer Ski-Verband</cite>.</p> - -<p>A ski-raid upon the giants of the Alpine world does -not necessarily mean that the raider sets his ski -upon the brow of the conquered adversary. Such a -pretension would be pedantic. The summits of the -Alps may, for the ski-runner, be divided into three -classes, strictly according to their conformation, -whether they be small or great, Alpine or only -sub-Alpine.</p> - -<p>There is the class which is inaccessible under -winter conditions, because those summits are then -led up to by slopes so sharp or insecure that neither -ski nor boot can reasonably be used upon them. -That class we reject altogether. Another class consists -of mountains, such as the Diablerets, Wildhorn, -Wildstrubel, the tops of which are led up to by slopes -eminently fitted for ski, both upwards and downwards.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -A third class consists of summits which -cannot be reached on ski, because they are rock-pinnacles, -but which can be <em>only</em> conveniently -approached on ski. This class, to my mind, is the -best, as it combines ski-running with rock-climbing. -The Dufour Spitze of Monte Rosa would be the -grandest example in this category.</p> - -<p>Grand Combin, approached on the north side from -the Plateau des Maisons Blanches, belongs to the same -class as Diablerets, Wildhorn, and Wildstrubel. But -if the ascent be varied by climbing the rocks <i lang="la">viâ</i> -Combin de Valsorey, a course which I found as easy -and comfortable in winter as in summer, the Grand -Combin passes into a—to my mind—higher class. -The Aiguille du Chardonnet and the Aiguille du Tour, -to the tops of which there is from no side a continuous -way on snow, are other typical instances.</p> - -<p>Any one who would follow in our footsteps and -perform, like us, an eight or ten days’ ski-running and -rock-climbing raid, will find every useful indication -as to programme and distribution of time in the -following description:—</p> - -<p>The raid comprises three parts: First, Aiguille du -Tour and Aiguille du Chardonnet; second, Great -St. Bernard, and Val Ferret back to Orsières; third, -Grand Combin, and back to Martigny.</p> - -<p>The ski-runners will leave Orsières at about -7 o’clock a.m., and proceed on their first day to the -Cabane d’Orny, or to the Cabane Dupuys, which lies -still higher. The Cabane d’Orny being quite comfortable, -the vertical displacement from Orsières -(890 metres) to the site of that hut (2<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>,692 metres) -will probably be found a sufficient effort to justify one -in leaving the higher hut severely alone that day. -The Cabane d’Orny may be reached either by following -the bed of the Combe d’Orny from Orsières, or <i lang="la">viâ</i> -Chalets de Saleinaz, from Praz de Fort. We found -both lines of access equally good, but information as -to the best at any given time of the winter season -should always be obtained from those locally -acquainted with snowcraft. The ascent to the hut -being continuous, the ski-runner will save much time, -and save up much energy, in using a contrivance -against back-slip, whichever may be the one he -favours.</p> - -<p>There is near the Cabane d’Orny, against a flight -of rocks, a nivometer. This is an apparatus for -recording the height at which the snow may rise -against a rock face. Persons of an observant turn of -mind are requested to read the nivometer (which consists -of horizontal bars of red paint, bearing each -a number at regular intervals) and to enter in the -hut-book the date of the observation. This is one -of the many lame devices which have been contrived -to measure the snowfall at a given spot during the -year. It is supposed that interesting data, and -points of comparison from year to year, may thus be -collected. And these, with observations made at -other places in the glacier zone, are digested and -published from time to time.</p> - -<p>There is no doubt that the nivometer will show -every day in the year—though it will not be so often -noticed—the height at which the snow stands against -the face of that rock. But how much information<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -can it give about the snowfall? Snow cannot find -its true level on the face of a rock against which it is -blown about by the wind and where it is interfered -with by the temperature of the stone, sometimes -heated by the sun and sometimes colder than the air -surrounding it.</p> - -<p>Snow is not like water or air. It is not an elastic -consistent substance or a uniform fluid, like gas, -seeking its own level or settling down upon a surface. -It falls unevenly upon an uneven ground. It -melts or accumulates, shrinks or flies about according -to its local situation, and, within a given time, the -nivometer will give very contradictory readings. A -snow gauge is no easy thing to establish. When rain -falls it is easily measured, because, in the course of -nature, it is mere water. Not so with snow.</p> - -<p>What is measured by the Alpine nivometers is the -height of the snow lying at a certain place on a given -day. Density cannot be checked. Yet it operates -immediately after the snowfall. This mode of -mensuration gives no reliable clue. Some of the -snow was carried away by the wind that would -have remained on a windless day. Some has been -blown from elsewhere, in what proportion it is -impossible to tell. How much has melted depends -on the sun heat, and the amount of this deficiency -no instrument is there to record. A storm may have -intervened. Another may have blown the snow flat, -concentrating the total mass within a smaller -compass. Another may have piled it up in abnormal -wreaths.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> -<p>The science of snow measurement is quite in its -infancy. When it is developed it will probably be -on lines very different from those at present followed, -and the results cannot be foretold.</p> - -<p>Natural nivometers should be raised above the -surface like dovecots and set up in wide-open -spaces, in situations exposed to the four winds of -heaven. They should be able to receive on all sides -the snow moving in the air. They should be in the -shape of a cone with long, gently sloping sides. And -even then they would not prove much, unless the -snow they had collected was gauged after every fall -and the apparatus swept clean and prepared to -receive the next fall on a smooth surface.</p> - -<p>It would then probably be found that the amount -of snow falling on the glaciers of the Alps is much -smaller than we are apt to imagine. In any case, -the depth of the snow that finds a permanent station -upon the rock and ice surface of the Alps, till spring, -is only a fraction of the depth of snow that would be -obtained by adding together each volume of snow -that might be gauged after each separate snowfall. -Snowflakes form an aggregate which gradually -passes into a conglomerate. They lie at first like -the pieces of a game of spillikins, at different angles -with one another. By degrees the crystals lose -their shape. The edges of the prisms die out. The -air that circulated between them is expelled. A -hard texture takes the place of the flimsy structure -of the first moment. In this process of reduction in -volume and of increase in density, cracks are generated -in the mass. They are at first potential and -remain latent till wind-pressure, or the foo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>tfall of -man, determines the bursting open of the surface, -accompanied by a report which sometimes unnecessarily -alarms the unwary, and at other times is a -sure sign of a dangerous snow-quake.</p> - -<p>The depth of the snow is also modified by a -process of sublimation which causes it to shrink -rapidly. The atmosphere while re-absorbing the -air expired by the snow, also re-assimilates some of -its moisture, even without the suggestion of a thaw.</p> - -<p>The outcome of so many efficient causes may be -summed up in one word: shrinkage. But, as snow -almost always is wind-driven when it falls, a large -portion of the quantity follows in the air a course -parallel to the wind, and (when it strikes obliquely -the smooth and slippery surfaces—old snow, ice, -rock surfaces—over which it travels instead of -locating itself upon them) it is impelled forward, -and sweeps along till it can find a lodgement against -a solid protuberance, or is dropped over the edge of -some break in the surface, out of the reach of the -wind, when it finds a resting-place and gets piled up. -This is another reason why one meets with less snow -on the wind-swept, high-lying surfaces than in the -middle zone of the Alps.</p> - -<p>A third effective cause is to be found in the -clouds. Snow-laden clouds do not generally unload -themselves at a very high altitude. They form -themselves in belts on the lower flanks of each -range and pour forth their contents nearer the -grazing and forest zone than one would be led to -expect when one looks up towards them from the -bottom of a valley. We then see the basement a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>nd -sides of the cloud masses. We project their vertical -lines almost infinitely into space. This is the kind -of delusion to which we are subject when we look at -a house from the street-level or, <i lang="la">vice versâ</i>, when we -look down from a roof on to the pavement. The -actual volume of snow whirling above our heads is -considerably thinner than we assume. This is the -case particularly during the winter season in -Switzerland, as winter balloonists may testify.</p> - -<p>So, without entering any further into the scientific -aspects of this question, we wish here to note provisionally -that a properly conducted nivometric -survey of the Alps might show that the winter snow -storage is quite out of proportion with the quantities -required to replenish the upper ice-forming reservoirs -to whose function so much importance is attached in -the current theories about glaciers.</p> - -<p>From the hut try the ascent of the Aiguille du -Tour the following morning. On ski, along the easy -slant of the Glacier d’Orny, and then by an easy -climb, lasting one hour at the most, on good dry -rock (3,531 metres = 11,615 feet); this undertaking -will be a great delight. The upper reaches of the -Glacier du Trient and of the Glacier d’Orny are one -of the most magnificent ski-grounds that man can -imagine. They can be taken advantage of both -before sunset on the day of one’s arrival at the hut, -which should be reached by two o’clock, and on the -next day, for a departure at eight from the hut -should enable you to be on the Aiguille du Tour -by eleven, which leaves the whole afternoon for runs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate15"> -<img src="images/plate15.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE VALSOREY GLEN.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face page 190.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> - -<p>Your third day can be employed in ascending the -Aiguille du Chardonnet (12,585 feet) as follows: ski -up to the Col du Tour; ski down the pass facing -west, and leaning a bit to your left; then up the -slope from right to left (that is facing full south) at -first, and then full west, along the foot of Aiguille -Forbes. From the moment you have passed that -point the ski-runner becomes a climber. You may -have to cut a few steps to reach the eastern arête, -which runs from the dip on the west flank of Aiguille -Forbes to the top. The <i lang="fr">arête</i>, of course, requires -rope and much skill in manipulating it.</p> - -<p>In splendid weather, the rock being free from -snow or ice, and, into the bargain, well known to one -of the three of us, we did the climb without experiencing -anywhere a moment’s delay. Time-table: -Started from Cabane d’Orny, 5.50 a.m.; reached Col -d’Orny, 7.15 a.m.; crossed Plateau du Trient to Col -du Tour by 8.15 a.m.; passed foot of Aiguille Forbes -by 10.20 a.m.; set foot on <i lang="fr">arête</i> by 12 a.m.; reached -top at 1.25 p.m.; completed descent of <i lang="fr">arête</i> by -3.20 p.m.; resumed our ski at 4.20 p.m.; skied back -to Col du Tour by 5.40 p.m.; got home by 7 o’clock.</p> - -<p>Our rests were: Twenty minutes at 8.15 a.m., -twenty minutes at 10.20 a.m., thirty-five minutes -at 1.25 p.m., twenty-five minutes at 4.20 p.m., -twenty minutes at 5.40 p.m.</p> - -<p>For ski tours in the Mont Blanc range, consult the -maps by Barbey, Imfeld, and Kurz.</p> - -<p>The fourth day of this raid was employed in an -easy and very fast run down to Orsières, then on a -vehicle to Bourg St. Pierre, whence four hours on -ski bring the runner to the Hospice du Grand St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -Bernard, the gates of which are open night and day -to all-comers. A long night in a most comfortable -bed, after a most substantial meal, and followed by a -plentiful breakfast next day, made sufficient amends -for the nights spent in the Cabane d’Orny.</p> - -<p>In summer the hospitality extended by the St. -Bernard monks to passing tourists—one may not -spend more than two nights under their roof—is -somewhat perfunctory, because they are oppressed -by numbers. In winter, on the contrary, they are -left to themselves. Time and solitude are somewhat -heavy and passers-by of some education are the more -welcome.</p> - -<p>Within a lap of the hospice we were spied by the -famous dogs. They barked and made but a poor -pretence at coming towards us. They were terribly -handicapped in the snow, which we lightly brushed -with the flat of our ski. No wonder they floundered: -the floury snow was about 6 feet deep. Their fore -and hind quarters went under, and then hove again -into sight, while they swung out of one hole into the -next, as nutshells rising and falling with the waves.</p> - -<p>This situation threw some fresh light upon their -legendary life-saving occupation. The tables were -turned. We were much better prepared to save -them from suffocation than they to lend us a helping -paw. In fact, one huge beast’s efforts to get on -board my ski somewhat perplexed me.</p> - -<p>We had struck out our own line, in coming up, -across the surges of the snow. The farther from any -path, the happier the ski-runner. But we saw -enough of the winter track to understand the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -usefulness of the dogs. The track is about 2 feet -wide. It cuts in and out of the summer road, -and consists simply of the narrow footpath which -pedestrians and the monks have trodden hard. They -manage to keep it open from summer to spring by -directing upon it the little traffic there is. The -snow hardens after each fall when walked on and -raises the pathway by so much, building up by -degrees a kind of elevated viaduct on which to -remain is the condition of safe progress. Step out -to the right or to the left by one inch, you drop -down several feet into the drifts.</p> - -<p>What this might mean, in the fog or during a -blizzard, to those weary, ill-shod, ill-clad, under-fed -Italian labourers who still choose that mode of -transit to save their railway fare under the Simplon, -we could easily imagine. The dogs, on the other -hand, would keep upon the track and scent in what -snow-covered spot the poor trespasser had missed -his footing and strayed. The remainder would be -spade and shovel work for the charitable monks.</p> - -<p>Easter being early that year, Lent was drawing to -an end. The house was wrapped in silence. The -bells being hushed, a rattle croaked along the -passages instead. But Lenten hospitality may be -lavish and fishes must swim at all times, as the -capital trout from the Dora Baltea experienced, that -was floated on the best of wines down to a worthy -home of rest. On the next morning we met a -procession; they were calves being driven up from -Italy. They looked sickly against the pure sunlit -snow, but they capered and frolicked, and booed w<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>ith -joy. Well might they do so as long as the bells -were silent. But after!</p> - -<p>Years before this, the monks had been driven to -the use of boards for getting about. They invented -a rude ski wanting in the essential feature of modern -planks, free action for the heel. With them the -heel was fastened down to the boards. They sprinted -and punted about with the help of a long stout pole, -achieving quite a style of their own. With their -long robes waving, and swinging their gaffs from -side to side, now to steer, and now to propel their -unsteady craft, with arms alternately raised and -lowered, they cut very picturesque figures against -a terribly bleak background, with their dogs pounding -after them, till we lost sight of them behind the -corner like a flock of mountain choughs.</p> - -<p>My next day saw me across the Col de Fenêtre -(2,773 metres = 8,855 feet), along the whole Val -Ferret, back to Orsières, a most magnificent, -perfectly easy and reposeful trip. From point to -point, that is, from Orsières up the Val d’Entremont -to the Col du Grand St. Bernard, and through the -Col de Fenêtre, down the Val Ferret, back to -Orsières, the ski-ing is first-rate, these valleys -running on parallel lines, downwards, from south to -north. The crossing from one col to the other, upon -south-facing slopes, is the only unpleasant piece of -ski-ing, though quite safe and easy.</p> - -<p>A fatal accident befell here a party of runners a -few years after. They intended running up the Val -Ferret to the hospice when they committed a serious -mistake. As the map shows, the summer path<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -winds corkscrew fashion from the bed of the valley -to the lakes of Ferret. Now, when a ski-runner is -seen upon a steep winding path, or ploughing his -way up the sides of it, it often means that he has not -reconnoitred the skiers’ route on his map. Those -young men cut into a snow bulge, the snow ran out -through the slit and overwhelmed one of them.</p> - -<p>Those bulges are a most treacherous invention of -the snow-fiend. They are best likened to an egg-shell -full of sand, with some compressed air imprisoned -between the shell and the sand. Break the -crust, the air runs out with a puffing sound, and the -snow, freed from pressure, begins to trickle through -the hole, enlarging it. Then the whole mass, -blowing itself out and thrown out of balance, comes -down.</p> - -<p>The study of the map would have shown to the -victims of this phenomenon of nature that however -much the corkscrew might be the right way up or -down for loaded men and cows (the pack and the -cow between them determine the lie of every -mountain path), such a path was not for men -mounted on skiffs that could choose their course -upon the country-side with the same liberty of -choice as a ship steering upon the open sea.</p> - -<p>This brings back to my mind a regulation supposed -to have been issued by a certain War Office on the -Continent. Some zealous officers had been coaching -their men in the use of ski upon open fields, and -some trifling injuries had been entered by the army -medico in his report sheet.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p> -<p>Next autumn a circular was received in every -army corps recommending officers to teach ski-ing -on roads only!</p> - -<p>Last winter I was trotted up a steepish and -narrow winding path by some well-meaning friends -who had acquired their ski-ing from a “big” man. -Some patches of the road under wood were sunk in -deep snow; others, in the open, were ice; others -bare earth and stones, and the whole was so well -banked in that side-stepping was impossible.</p> - -<p>When I mildly remonstrated—after, not before, -discipline would forbid—I was politely told that -so-and-so always took his parties up that way. No -doubt, and quite heroic of him, <i lang="fr">mais ce n’est pas le ski</i>.</p> - -<p>In the evening of this day, which I reckon as the -fifth, a conveyance carried the three runners, in -whom the readers of this chapter may by now have -become interested, to Châble, in the Val de Bagnes, -and then to Lourtier, a convenient starting-point for -an attempt upon the Combin region.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="300" height="250" alt="Drawing of a hut in the mountains" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE GRAND COMBIN</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The Panossière hut—Tropical winter heat—Schoolboys and the -Matterhorn—Shall it be rock or snow?—The Combin de -Valsorey—My third ascent of the Grand Combin—The track -home—Col des Avolions—Natural highways of a new -character—Twenty-three thousand feet ascended on ski.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-o.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">On the sixth day of my expedition -we left Lourtier shortly before -10 o’clock a.m., knowing full -well that we were in no hurry, -that we meant to thoroughly -enjoy our day’s work, and that -the hospitable door of the Cabane -de Panossière would be no more -difficult to open after sunset -than before.</p> - -<p>As soon as we had passed the -last houses of Lourtier, we put on our ski, and, -practically, did not remove them from our feet till -eight o’clock that evening, allowing for two hours’ -rest in the heat of the day, from two to four. We -branched off from the Fionnay direction to turn to -the right at Granges Neuves, crossing the bridge to -Mayens du Revers, and hence rising towards the -path that leads in summer from Fionnay to the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>Alpe -de Corbassière. We thus reached, by two o’clock, -after passing the wooden cross at the point 1,967, -and just beyond the chalets of the Alpe de Corbassière, -the point 2,227 of the map. We spent -there two hours, under a tropical sun. Then we -plunged down a gully to the west, on our right, so -as to advance on ground which the sun had not -softened, and rose again along the side moraine to -the point 2,644, whence there lay before us a most -romantic moonlit landscape.</p> - -<p>The hut was still in darkness when I reached it, -the last of the party, in order to enjoy the sensation -of seeing the windows dimly lit by the candlelight -within, and the smoke curling up out of the chimney. -The impression was one of charming “cosiness,” in -the middle of a more than Arctic landscape, and -there was that sublimity above and around which -beggars the art of description. A snow and wind-tight -Alpine hut, well stocked with fuel and blankets, -well supplied with plain food and wholesome drink -from the provision bag of its guests, is, in midwinter, -one of the snuggest “ingle-nooks” a natural -epicure may wish for, and, strange to say, what he -may therein find most pleasurable is the shade and -coolness of the shelter, so fairly could I compare our -tramp of that day to a trip in the “scrub” under the -equator. Forsooth, the prejudice which still prevails -against roaming in winter at high altitudes is a -remnant of that state of mind which kept early -explorers of the High Alps tramping round and -round the foot of such hills as the Matterhorn, which -Macaulay’s healthy “schoolboy” would now think<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -nothing of rushing at, with his sisters trailing behind.</p> - -<p>If it is possible, in sporting circles, to speak of -the <i lang="de">Zeit Geist</i> without pedantry, we should say that -the spirit of the time, in matters mountaineering, has -undergone a remarkable change since the advent of -Macaulay’s proverbial schoolboy.</p> - -<p>Or is the change not rather a return to a healthier -frame of mind?</p> - -<p>It is quite true that in few sports is the extreme -penalty, death, so constantly near at hand as in -mountaineering. But is it not quite apparent, too, -that the early lovers of the Alps were full-grown, -leisured, and cultured men, whose training, occupation, -or temper, had not properly prepared them -to see the risk in its true proportions? From -them a whole generation took the cue. Then came -another, for which the taking of risks exceeding the -<i lang="la">modicum</i> attached to a passive existence was the -touchstone of manliness. They sought in the Alps -opportunities for strenuous displays, as well as -haunts where the harassed soul could take holiday. -They are the generation which made of Switzerland -the playground of Europe. It is they who brought -mountaineering to the present period, when first -ascents have become a hackneyed amusement, and -schoolboys marvel at the facility of undertakings -which, when attempted for the first time in bygone -days, rightly called forth the admiration of the -civilised world. Is it in the modern spirit that, on -the morning of my seventh day, with the grand -unconcern of an ever-victorious squad, hitherto -scratchless, bruiseless, and unwearied, we took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> the -route, well known to all of us, which leads up the -Glacier de Corbassière to the Col des Maisons -Blanches? On reaching the plateau which precedes -the col, we made up our minds as to the choice -between the two routes to the top of Grand Combin.</p> - -<p>The choice lay between rock and snow. Rock won -the toss. From the Plateau des Maisons Blanches -we turned full south, and left our ski at the foot of -the steep snow and ice slope which leads to the Col -de Meiten. The track over this col, dotted upon the -map (Siegfried Atlas, Swiss military survey), crosses -the Combin rocks upon a snow belt from north to -south, where it ends upon the so-called Plateau du -Couloir. The ascent to the col—we were roped—presented -no difficulty. The crusted snow was easily -kicked into foot-holds.</p> - -<p>The rocks of the Combin de Valsorey, which we -ascended from the col, now looking east, were -absolutely free from snow or ice, the only discomfort -being exposure to a hot sun in an excessively dry -atmosphere—just the thing, I should say, for salamanders, -which, unfortunately, we were not. In -this respect our experience totally differed from that, -already alluded to, of Mr. Tauern and his friends. -Not only did they take to the peak further east, from -the corridor, <i lang="la">viâ</i> Grand Combin de Zessetta (this -summit is immediately south of the figures 3,600 on -the Siegfried), using climbing-irons on the steep ice, -but they experienced a cold so intense that they -were driven back.</p> - -<p>For my part, being no longer a young man at all, -I felt so overcome with the dry heat on Combin d<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>e -Valsorey, that I remembered with complacency how -fully acquainted I was with the top of Grand -Combin, and how useless it would be to bore such -an old friend with another visit at an unusual time -of year. I went, nevertheless, and spent some -minutes of that triumphant afternoon in amicable -nods to Mont Viso, which somehow I had missed on -my previous visits.</p> - -<p>The reader will gather from the late hours noted -in the following time-table what confidence a rock-climber -may gain from the knowledge that his ski -are waiting for him below, firmly planted in the -snow, and that a secure track marked on the friendly -element runs uninterruptedly from the spot where -they stand to a trustworthy refuge hut. We cheerfully -cut through the loops of our ascending track, -by a perpendicular course, and, as the reader will -see, returned to the hut in an incredibly short time, -enjoying with untroubled mind the afterglow of a -magnificent sunset gradually whitening into mellow -moonlight.</p> - -<p><i>Time-table</i>: Left Panossière hut at 7.15 a.m.; -reached first plateau by 8.20 a.m.; reached Maisons -Blanches, 10 a.m.; reached foot of Col de Meiten, -10.55 a.m.; lunch, thirty-five minutes; reached top -of Meiten pass, 12.20 p.m.; reached top of Combin -de Valsorey, 2.30 p.m.; reached top of Grand Combin, -3.30 p.m. (14,164 feet); afternoon tea on top of -Combin de Valsorey, thirty minutes; left Combin de -Valsorey, 5 p.m., resumed our ski, 7.15 p.m.; back -to hut, 7.45 p.m.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p> -<p>Remember that in runs like this, extending over -8 kilometres (5 miles), the runners must keep -together from beginning to end.</p> - -<p>The eighth day of this fascinating circular tour was -an easy one. It is worth noting, as an instance of -many of the same kind, which moderately trained -ski-runners would find extremely remunerative. Our -eight days’ work would form the third and last portion -of a typical ski trip, such as the Val de Bagnes -enables the intelligent amateur to compose in various -ways, in this instance as follows: First day, from -Lourtier (where night lodging can be had at the -telegraph office), to Cabane de Panossière, <i lang="la">viâ</i> -Fionnay; second day, Col des Maisons Blanches, -and back to the hut; third day, back to Lourtier <i lang="la">viâ</i> -Col des Avolions, leaving plenty of time to reach -Martigny by sledge, and catch the evening trains to -Lausanne, Geneva, Milan, or Berne.</p> - -<p>The Col des Avolions is an insignificant incision -in the range of rocky heights which run along the -tongue of the Glacier de Corbassière on its west side, -from north to south. From the hut you cross the -glacier very much to the north, though slightly -inclining to the west. In an hour’s time you will be -on the col, the vertical displacement from the hut -down to the foot of the pass being about 190 yards -(the difference between 2,713 metres and 2,523 -metres is the amount “dipped”), while the rise from -the foot of the pass is 125 yards, approximately. -These 125 yards were practically all the climbing we -got that day. You will ascend with your ski slung -over your shoulders, the most convenient way when -the gullies are steep, short, and full of compact<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -snow.</p> - -<p>No man in his senses will attempt High Alp ski-running -without strong, heavily soled and nailed -mountain boots to his feet. The big nails round the -toe of the boot are most valuable for lodging one’s -feet into steep snow slopes or couloirs, and a broad, -flat, nail-fringed heel need never interfere with -the running, unless the heads of the nails are -uneven. Nails on the sides of the boots are less -necessary.</p> - -<p>From the Col des Avolions there is a delightful run -down, full north-west, to the stream which the path -crosses (see map) to lead up to the Chalets de Sery. -Keep well to the right (east) of the point marked -2,419. We found the bed of the stream quite -practicable on ski, as far as we required it to get -round the point 2,419. Then we made for point -2,243, so as to keep on the level (about 2,190 metres), -while leaving that point on our left, slightly above -us. Then we proceeded down to the Alpe de la Lys, -keeping above the tree-line, till we could ski down -to Tougne on fairly open ground. Thence, to the -bridge that crosses the Dranse to Lourtier, the -ground is not complicated, or you may ski down to -Champsec. We left the hut at 8 o’clock a.m., sat -astride the Avolions saddle at nine, and entered -Lourtier at twelve, having in nowise hurried ourselves.</p> - -<p>It is a distinctive feature of mountaineering on ski -that its votaries look for natural highways of a new -character.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> -<p>The winter snow opens up quite unexpected -routes, and it will soon be the business of ski-ing -clubs to issue maps revised from that point of view. -A well-filled-up steep gully becomes an opportunity -for building up a stairway that summer is unaware -of. A gorge in which a dangerous stream brawls in -summer on slippery rocks may now appear in the -guise of an open and straight line of communication -between upper and lower reaches separated by impassable -shelves of rock. Glacier tails, at other -times bristling with spiky <i lang="fr">séracs</i> and riddled with -gaping blue pits, turn into smooth bridges -thrown over blanks in nature that were a torture -to contemplate. Torrents are reduced to the size -of tiny transparent rivulets closely hemmed in -between narrow banks of solid snow and easily -spanned by the long, pliable boards. A frozen-over -and snow-wadded Alpine lake, toilsomely skirted in -summer by winding up and down its rocky, broken -shores, may be crossed from point to point by a -smiling navigator. The word snowcraft acquires a -new meaning. The runner eyes the country in its -broad, general aspect, determines, map in hand, the -bee-line leading to his destination, fixes upon the -stretches of unbroken snow that will bring him -round any unskiable places, and in the end gets -home more after the style of birds borne through the -air than after the fashion of the clod-hopping kind. -Here is, to wind up with, a note of the total vertical -displacement which we have shown may be attained, -with ski, in the course of eight days. From Orsières -to Cabane d’Orny, 1,802 metres; to Aiguille du Tour, -839; to Aiguille Chardonnet, 1,131; from Bourg St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -Pierre to Grand St. Bernard hospice, 839; thence to -Col de Fenêtre, 228; from Lourtier to Panossière -hut, 1,613; thence to Grand Combin, 1,617; Col -des Avolions, 125; metres, 8,194. Of course, the -measurement on the ground would show a still more -significant total, but I do not really believe that -more than 600 yards need be added on that score. -On the other side the following items may be -deducted, as done on foot, climbing: Tour, 270; -Chardonnet, 500; Combin, 1,000—metres, 1,770. -This leaves, as actually ascended on ski, a minimum -of 7,000 metres, a trifle under 23,000 feet.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 180px;"> -<img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="180" height="300" alt="Drawing of skiers climbing up a mountain ridge" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">ACROSS THE PENNINE ALPS ON SKI BY THE -“HIGH-LEVEL” ROUTE.</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The “high-level” route—Previous attempts—My itinerary—Marcel -Kurz—The wise old men of Bourg St. Pierre—Maurice -Crettex—Guides with bamboos and laupars!—The -snow-clad cliffs of Sonadon—The Chanrion hut—Sealed-up -crevasses—The nameless pass—Louis Theytaz—The Pigne -d’Arolla—The Bertol hut—Why the Dent Blanche could be -ascended—The ladies’ maids’ easy job—The dreadful -summer slabs—We push past two “constables”—My cane—We -bash in her ladyship’s white bonnet—The Ice-Maid -presses gently my finger-tips—The cornice crashes down—A -second night in the Bertol hut—The Col d’Hérens—An -impending tragedy—A milk-pail versus ski—Dr. Koenig and -Captain Meade—The real tragedy of Theytaz’s death—Ropes -and crevasses—Mr. Moore’s account—My comments—The -Mischabel range and Monte Rosa.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-f.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">From the St. Bernard -hospice to Bourg St. -Pierre the run down -presents no particular -interest. It is at -Bourg St. Pierre the -“high-level” road to -Zermatt is entered -upon.</p> - -<p>For about fifty years -it has been customary -to give the name “high-level -route” to the glacier passes which connect -Chamonix and Zermatt—Col d’Argentière, Co<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>l des -Planards, Col de Sonadon, Col de l’Evêque, Col de -Collon, Col du Mt. Brûlé, and Col de Valpelline. -All these passes, except the second (Col des Planards), -are above 10,000 feet and linked to each other by -means of glaciers. This is the high-level route -properly so-called, and as followed in summer.</p> - -<p>The first attempt to cross the Pennine Alps in -winter on ski, from west to east, was made by a -party of four from Chamonix, namely, Dr. Payot, -Joseph Couttet, Alfred Simond, and the guide, -Joseph Ravanel, nicknamed “le Rouge.” They -started from Chamonix in the middle of January, -1903, and appear to have outlined for themselves the -following route, which was intended to bring them in -three days from the “Pavillon de Lognan,” above -Argentière to Zermatt:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p><i>First Day</i>.—Col du Chardonnet, Fenêtre de Saleinaz, Orsières, -Châble (in Vallée de Bagnes).</p> - -<p><i>Second Day</i>.—Châble, Cabane de Chanrion.</p> - -<p><i>Third Day</i>.—Chanrion, Glacier d’Otemma, Col de l’Evêque, Col -du Mt. Brûlé, Col de Valpelline, Glacier de Zmutt, Zermatt.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Obviously, this plan could not be carried into -practice as it was laid down on paper. Into the -bargain, the runners were stopped on the Col de -l’Evêque by bad weather, and, being short of -provisions, they backed down the Vallée de Bagnes, -the whole way to Martigny. Thence they went to -Evolena, and crossing the Col d’Hérens, they -reached Zermatt. From Evolena to Zermatt the -day was a long one, and they came down the -Glacier de Zmutt at night (see <cite>Revue Alpine</cite>, 1903, -pp. 269-284). This first attempt, over ground<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -as yet unknown to the ski-runner, was broken -up into three sections.</p> - -<p>One month later (in February, 1903), two pioneers, -who probably had no knowledge of this first feat, -started in their turn upon the high-level route on ski.</p> - -<p>They were Dr. R. Helbling and Dr. F. Reichert. -Starting from the Vallée de Bagnes, they reached -with much difficulty the Cabane de Panossière, on -the right bank of the Glacier de Corbassière.</p> - -<p>After attempting the Col des Maisons Blanches in -order to reach the Cabane de Valsorey, they found -themselves compelled to return to the Cabane de -Panossière, and thence crossed the ridge at Mulets de -la Liaz. The descent on the face looking towards -Chanrion was extremely trying. They had to carry -their ski. Anatole Pellaud, of Martigny, who -accompanied them, actually lost his pair, and came -home along the Vallée de Bagnes, while the others -spent the night in the wretched huts of la Petite -Chermontane. The following day was spent in -lounging about the Cabane de Chanrion. Then they -went on to Arolla by the Mont Rouge, Seilon, and -Riedmatten passes. At Arolla they slept in a barn, -and next day ascended to the Cabane de Bertol. The -last day in this uncomfortable pilgrimage was taken -up in crossing the Col d’Hérens, ascending the Tête -de Valpelline, and descending to Zermatt (see Alpina -1903, p. 207, and following: Erste Durchquerung der -Walliseralpen). This is, beyond doubt, one of the -finest expeditions on ski that had yet been attempted -in the Alps.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map4"> -<a href="images/map4.jpg"><img src="images/map4-small.jpg" width="200" height="110" alt="Map; click for larger version" /></a> -<p class="caption">THE PENNINE RANGE FROM GRAND ST. BERNARD TO ZERMATT.</p> -<p class="caption">(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, 26.8.12.)</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 208.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> - -<p>In January, 1908, the third attempt took place. -Like the first, this caravan started from Chamonix. -It consisted of M. Baujard (from Paris), with Joseph -Ravanel, “le Rouge,” and E. D. Ravanel. Already -on the first day this party got off the bee-line. They -went down to Châble along the Col des Montets and -the Col de Forclaz, then to Chanrion. On the third -day they left Chanrion at midnight, and got to -Zermatt at 6.30 in the evening, having crossed the -Col de l’Evêque, Col du Mt. Brûlé, and the Col de -Valpelline (see <cite>Revue Alpine</cite>, 1908, p. 80).</p> - -<p>As one sees, these three expeditions partly -followed, or cut across, the high-level route. So far -as the first three passes are concerned (those of -Argentière, of Planards, and of Sonadon), they left -them completely on one side. They were right in -leaving the first. The best and only rational course -is to traverse this part of the Mont Blanc range by the -Col du Chardonnet, or the Col du Tour and Orny. -Indeed, the Col d’Argentière, on the Swiss side, lands -one in a wall of rock, where nobody should think of -venturing on ski. The Col du Géant cannot either -be used to any advantage.</p> - -<p>The Col des Planards (2,736 m.), leading from the -Val Ferret to Bourg St. Pierre, is quite ski-able, but -does not present the same interest as a run on a -glacier. Thus if you start from Chamonix, you -must, at least once, descend into the valleys. This -necessity makes of the “high level” from Chamonix -an empty word for the Alpine runner.</p> - -<p>If you start from Bourg St. Pierre and proceed to -Zermatt from pass to pass, you will travel along an -almost unbroken ice route, which may be compared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -to that which leads across the Bernese Oberland from -the Lötschenthal to the Grimsel. Chanrion, at the -altitude of 2,400 m., is the only downward bend of -some depth on this road, the only place where one is -not surrounded by ice.</p> - -<p>“Mr. F. F. Roget, of Geneva,” says a newspaper, -“who in January, 1909, with Mr. Arnold Lunn, -explored the high-level route from Kandersteg to -Meiringen, planned out as follows his exploration of -the Pennine high level in January, 1911:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>First Day.</i>—From Bourg St. Pierre to the Cabane de Valsorey -on the Sex du Meiten (3,100 m.).</p> - -<p>“<i>Second Day.</i>—Col du Sonadon (3,389 m.), Glacier du Mt. -Durand, Cabane de Chanrion (2,460 m.).</p> - -<p>“<i>Third Day.</i>—Col de l’Evêque (3,393 m.), Col de Collon (3,130 -m.), Col and Cabane de Bertol (3,421 m.).</p> - -<p>“<i>Fourth Day.</i>—Ascent of Dent Blanche and a second night in -the Cabane de Bertol.</p> - -<p>“<i>Fifth Day.</i>—Col d’Hérens (3,380 m.), Glacier de Zmutt, -Zermatt.</p> - -</div> - -<p>“Mr. Roget was lucky in being able to carry out -this programme from point to point, with the -exception of a delay of one day in the Valsorey hut, -where the atmospheric conditions compelled him to -spend two nights. This disturbance in the weather -was in itself an additional piece of luck, as a fall of -snow, driven by a violent north wind, laid a fresh -carpet of dry stuff over the old, making the run, -the whole way to Zermatt, a perpetual delight.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Roget had asked Mr. Marcel Kurz, of -Neuchâtel, to be his companion, and had engaged four -guides, all of whom did duty as porters, namely:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> -Maurice Crettex, Jules Crettex, Louis Theytaz (of -Zinal), Léonce Murisier (of Praz de Fort). The two -Crettex are natives of Orsières, and form probably -the strongest pair of ski-ing guides that the Canton -du Valais can now produce.”</p> - -<p>Marcel Kurz had been my companion on the -Aiguille du Chardonnet and on the Grand Combin. -He is the youth of eighteen alluded to in a -preceding chapter. He began his career as an -Alpinist in 1898 and, since, he spent every -summer in improving himself, Praz de Fort being -the usual summer quarters of his family. In 1906 -he became acquainted with the Grisons ranges and -particularly with the Bernina peaks. The following -summer finds him in the Mont Blanc range, in 1908 -he was in the Pennines. His first Alpine expedition -on ski was when I took him up the Chardonnet.</p> - -<p>From that time he fell into my way of preferring -winter tours to summer climbing, and intends, in the -end, to publish the skiers’ way up and down every -mountain in Switzerland to the top of which he may -be able to get on ski. For two years he presided -over that extremely distinguished society of young -climbers, the Akademischer Alpen Club, at Zürich. -Next spring, on leaving the Polytechnic University -of Switzerland, he will enter the Federal Topographic -Bureau in Berne as surveying engineer.</p> - -<p>As a soldier, he was first a private—like every -able-bodied young Swiss—in the corps of machine -gunners attached to our mountain infantry. He -served his term as non-commissioned officer and is -now doing his officers’ training course at Lausann<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>e. -I would not in this way offend Kurz’s modesty and -tax my reader’s patience by giving here so many -particulars about a life career which after all is only -at its inception, and is not so very different from that -of many young fellows of the same age, did I think -it out of place that a sample should appear here of -the manner in which mountaineering sport, professional -studies or occupations, and military obligations -are crowded together in the Switzer’s youth.</p> - -<p>The journey from Bourg St. Pierre to Zermatt -was performed from Monday, January 9, 1911, to -Saturday night, the 14th. It might have been -done in half the time, but such was not the purpose -of the expedition.</p> - -<p>At Bourg St. Pierre we met with one of those -quite trifling but somewhat unpleasant incidents -with which mountaineers may be harried in those -remote Swiss villages where winter sportsmen are -quite a novel apparition. We fell upon a nest of -those obsolete and retired guides who fill the emptiness -of their lives with nothing and find in the -idle habits they have acquired an excuse for passing -adverse comments upon the new mountaineering. -We could not but go about collecting victuals from -the village shops, and did our packing in the public -rooms of the hostelry known under the name of -Déjeuner de Napoléon. This started the tongues -of those who would talk. Buonaparte, indeed, seems -to have bequeathed to those big-mouthed villagers, -whom he astonished by breakfasting like any other -mortal, a distinct capacity for bluff.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p> -<p>Three old guides sat, hours before midday, with a -glass of kirsch huddled between their thumbs, eyeing -our goings and comings and scanning all our doings. -Then they consulted each other and began bragging -of the wonderful exploits they had performed in their -day. Having thus employed half an hour in impressing -us, they proceeded to call our attention—simply -by making much of it within our hearing—to the -enormous risk we were about to incur by entrusting -ourselves to such inexperienced men as those young -madcaps whom we had brought along with us, and -who had no share in the vast knowledge and weight -of authority that had by degrees been amassed in -Bourg St. Pierre.</p> - -<p>When they thought they had successfully filled us -with suspicion towards our men, they asked Maurice -Crettex, in my presence, whether he had fully recovered -from an accident he had met in the summer -when running a cart-load of hay into a barn. The -hay was toppling over and he had been badly -squeezed between the wall and the cart while holding -up the unsteady mass with his pitchfork. Little -did they know that I was fully aware of that and had -purposely wished to be Crettex’ first employer since -the accident.</p> - -<p>All their sly dodges having failed, their vindictive -jealousy and self-conceit, when we had left, ran into -another channel, and of this a few words will be -heard at the end of our chapter. The jolly old -villain of Kippel was sterling gold as compared with -that ugly crew.</p> - -<p><i>First Day.</i>—Fine warm weather, foehn wind. -From Bourg St. Pierre to the Chalets d’Amont<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -(2,192 m.), the ski-runner’s track falls in with the -summer route; but instead of climbing the chimney -over which stands a cross, the ski-runner keeps on -to the south, and enters on the left the gorge through -which escapes the water of the Valsorey glacier. -This glacier is thus reached, then the Grand Plan, -whence one discovers the hut standing on the Sex -du Meiten. Starting from Bourg St. Pierre at 11 -o’clock, it was quite easy to reach the hut by -sunset.</p> - -<p>I noticed that the guides were provided with -sealskins, light bamboos, and laupars. There can -be no question about the utility of sealskins on -long Alpine expeditions; but a light, short bamboo -is certainly not the right weapon for a guide, and -laupars, with a few nails driven in, certainly are -most unsuited for glacier work. In other respects -the men were perfectly equipped. There were three -ice-axes in the party, two ropes, and everybody was -provided with climbing-irons.</p> - -<p><i>Second Day.</i>—A violent wind during the night, -then snow till midday, when the north wind gained -the upper hand, clearing the sky after 2 o’clock. -Beautiful sunset, clear night, 18 degrees Centigrade -under zero.</p> - -<p><i>Third Day.</i>—Weather beautiful; quite half a foot -of fresh dry snow on the old wind-driven snow.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate16"> -<img src="images/plate16.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE SONADON CLIFFS.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 214.</p> -</div> - -<p>There is on the way from Bourg St. Pierre to -Chanrion over the Col du Sonadon a difficulty -which may have turned the earlier runners away, -and no doubt induced them to go round that range -from the north rather than go across. This obsta<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>cle -is the wall of rock which runs as an unbroken, -fortified line from the shoulder of the Combin on -the north to the Aiguilles Vertes in the south, and -divides the Glacier de Sonadon into two basins—the -upper and the lower. The old editions of the -Siegfried Atlas show a dotted line which passes -close to the Aiguille du Déjeuner (3,009 m.), but -it has been recognised that this route is exposed -to falling stones. Caravans now prefer to ascend -to the Plateau du Couloir under the shoulder of the -Combin, and to descend upon the Glacier de Sonadon, -and thus reach the pass of that name.</p> - -<p>We were quite successful in traversing the snow-covered -rocks, along which ran in former days the -usual route. In case any runners should feel called -upon to prefer the new route, owing to the state of -the rocks and of the snow, here are some indications -as to how to strike upon the right course. From -the Valsorey hut one should climb straight up, on ski -or on foot, till one is on a level with the Plateau du -Couloir. If the snow is good it will generally be -found to be hard; if it is powdery, avalanches are -likely. From the Plateau du Couloir one may slide -down to the glacier and put one’s ski on again, -getting gradually on a level with the Col du Sonadon. -I do not say that this track is better than the old -one which we took. The conditions of snow and -rock should each time be considered in the choice, -because open snow slopes on hard ice-worn rock are -the happy hunting ground of the avalanche fiend.</p> - -<p>At 10 o’clock, having crossed the small Glacier du -Meiten, my party was standing on the edge of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -high wall which overlooks the lower basin of the -Glacier de Sonadon. For ski-runners the situation -was somewhat ludicrous, and was not one in which -to remain for any length of time. The party removed -their ski, put on their climbing-irons, and -the Crettex brothers, carefully roped, went forward -as scouts. The snow was in capital condition (newly -fallen powdery snow, very light and dry on the bare -rocks, and in the couloirs old snow of great consistency). -Progress was possible along a kind of -ledge, which dropped slantingly along slopes whose -angle of declivity was about 45 degrees. One’s foot -rested occasionally in the compact snow, and sometimes -on the rock itself. This ledge presented an -extremely narrow surface, and if one did not know -that it is in use in summer one might question in -winter whether it existed at all. It is very irregular, -zigzagging across the couloirs and hanging on to the -spurs which separate them, but extremely interesting.</p> - -<p>When once the Col de l’Aiguille du Déjeuner had -been reached, the snow showed a continuous surface -on to the Glacier du Sonadon. The ski were once -more put on, and the party “tacked” its way, first -down, and then up, on slopes on which the sun -brought trifling avalanches into motion. At about -3 o’clock in the afternoon the caravan was seated -in the full glow of the sun on the Col du Sonadon -(3,389 m.). An hour later began a rapid descent on -the Glacier du Mont Durand—one of the many of -that name—with one’s face turned towards the -sunset on the mountains above Chanrion (Ruinette, -Glacier de Breney, &c.). One should avoid running<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -too low down on the glacier. The thing to do is -to cross over to the north-east <i lang="fr">arête</i> on Mont Avril, -and to descend full speed, pushing on to the Glacier -de Fenêtre, describing thus a vast semicircle on to -the tip of the tongue of the Glacier d’Otemma. -Hence by moonlight to Chanrion on the opposite -slope. The hut was reached at 6 o’clock. There -was but little snow in front of the door, and no snow -at all inside. By that time the moon shone through -a damper atmosphere; the glass was somewhat -lower, though comparatively high (it remained so -throughout the expedition), but the cold had considerably -abated since the morning. This meant -the gathering up of mists during the night.</p> - -<p>There is a serious drawback to the Chanrion hut. -Its situation marks it out as a most convenient resort -for Italian smugglers in the dull autumn and winter -months when the tourist traffic has ceased. Those -smugglers cross over from Italy in large numbers, -bringing in farm and dairy produce, and then return -to their homes laden with heavy packages of tobacco, -sugar, and every kind of grocery that is heavily taxed -in their own country. They are not above lifting -such things as spoons, forks, tin plates, and sundry -useful kitchen utensils, nay, even the blankets with -which the club huts are furnished. Such movables -are therefore almost entirely removed from Chanrion -at the close of the summer season when the caretaker -comes down. The six of us had to be content with the -barest necessaries out of the always very scanty club -furniture: six spoons, six forks, six plates, six knives, -six blankets: quite enough, you see, whether smugglers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -or no smugglers.</p> - -<p><i>Fourth Day (January 12th).</i>—As foreseen, the -weather was dull. Departure at 8.30. Considerable -masses of snow had filled up, or at least completely -closed, the huge crevasses, which in summer are open -at the junction of the Glacier d’Otemma with the -Glacier of Crête Sèche. Not the slightest fissure -could be detected.</p> - -<p>There are at the outlet of the Crête Sèche glacier -some interesting engineering works to regulate the -outflow and obviate floods which have repeatedly -visited the Dranse valley, owing to the collection of -water in glacier pockets and their bursting when the -weight is too great for the ice walls to bear. Of -these not a sign could be seen.</p> - -<p>As a long and wide avenue, the glacier stretched -itself out before the runners, and out of sight. Grey -mists, rising from Italy, hung loosely over the -southern rim of the glacier. But when near the -upper end, at an altitude of 3,000 m. or thereabouts, -the mist melted away and the sun reappeared. Three -passes had to be crossed on that day in order to reach -the Bertol hut by night. At that time of year those -passes were nothing more than slightly marked elevations -in the snow-fields. The first opens between -Petit Mt. Collon and Becca d’Oren. This pass, as -yet nameless, and which it will be convenient to call -here Pass 3,300 m., affords a much more direct route -than the Col de Chermontane, or any other. Messrs. -Helbling and Reichert had swerved away from the -continuous snow-highway to the north. Messrs. -Baujard and Ravanel had taken refuge from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -crevasses upon the rock passes south of the Bouquetins -range. In our case the choice was determined -by the requirements of ski technique. From -Pass 3,300, gentle downward and upward slopes led -us on to the Col de l’Evêque (3,393 m.), which was -reached at 2.30 in the afternoon.</p> - -<p>In the direction of Italy the sky had remained dull. -To the north the mountains shone (including the -Bernese Oberland) in a blue sky, in which floated a -few clouds. The glass on that day, as before, gave -very fair readings. There was but little wind, and -the cold was not sharp.</p> - -<p>On that day I conversed much with Louis Theytaz. -It was with me a set purpose that he should accompany -us on this expedition, since I had read in the -Alpine Ski Club Annual, and otherwise heard, of his -High Alp runs with Mr. W. A. M. Moore and some -of that gentleman’s friends. I wrote to Theytaz -from Les Basses above Ste. Croix. He joined me -at Martigny. He was what one would call “a nice, -jolly chap.”</p> - -<p>But was he in for bad luck? He had hardly placed -his things in the net of our railway carriage, going to -Orsières, when his climbing irons fell from the top of -his rucksack upon his head, badly bruising his forehead -with the prongs. I had engaged him to carry -my own pack, as I had made up my mind that I was -now old enough to have a personal attendant all to -myself. My luggage was particularly valuable to the -whole party, as it contained all the spirits I allowed -them, namely, in two large flasks, the contents of -four bottles of whisky, the proper allowance for s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>ix -men during six days in January weather at a minimum -altitude of 10,000 feet. Theytaz surprised me -when, on arrival at the Valsorey hut, he violently -threw my pack upside down upon the bed planks. -The stopper of one of the flasks flew out, and then I -had the pleasure of seeing the floor streaming with -whisky. We got through to Zermatt very well on -the contents of the other flask. But the head of an -expedition so serious as this, when he has forbidden -wine and limited spirits to the supply which is known -to be in his possession only, does not like to see half -of it spilt on the first stage of the journey by an act -of sheer carelessness.</p> - -<p>Anyhow, I viewed Louis Theytaz in the light of -what I had read and heard in his favour. Knowing -that he was again to accompany, within a fortnight -of leaving me, Mr. Moore and friends to the Pigne -d’Arolla, that mountain gained much interest in our -sight, as, with the searching eyes of ski-runners, we -examined its slopes dipping into the higher reaches -of the Glacier d’Otemma. We photographed it a -little later in the day in its eastern aspect. Seen -from the south and west it presented the most attractive -appearance. From the east, it would have been -out of the question. What it might be from the -north we could suspect from its ominous hang -that way.</p> - -<p>Recollecting that Messrs. Helbling and Reichert -had struck the Glacier de Seilon from the west, I -advised Theytaz either to lead his party down south -to the Col de Chermontane, or to take them back the -way they had come, and reach Arolla in the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -manner as the eminent gentlemen whose route was -on record. But I did not at the time attach any -particular value to my opinion, having learnt from -experience how much better things generally turn -out in practice than they appear likely to do when -considered by an over-prudent man in a pessimistic -mood. Louis Theytaz was swallowed up by a crevasse -on the Glacier de Seilon.</p> - -<p>From the Col de l’Evêque to the Col de Collon the -snow was hard for half a mile or so; but as soon as -the northern slope of the latter was reached the snow -resumed its excellent quality. Thus the three passes -were crossed. Wide curves brought the party down -the gentle slopes of the Glacier d’Arolla to the level -marked 2,670 in the map. From that point we made -towards the right bank of the glacier, and landed on -the very steep slopes which rise between it and the -Plan de Bertol. Some of the party removed their -ski rather than run along the top of this ridge. -When we were well above the Plan de Bertol we -were careful not to dip into it, but turned in to the -right, and this move brought us to the foot of the -Glacier de Bertol, in which the six runners opened a -fairly deep track while tacking with geometrical regularity -in the direction of the Bertol hut. They -gained about 25 metres in each tack. The moon lit -up their march. In the higher reaches of the glacier -the slope stiffened, but the snow remained excellent.</p> - -<p>Let it be noted here that from one end to the -other of the trip we were entirely spared hard and -wind-beaten snows, except at the Col de Collon, as -above specified, this being the result of the day’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>s -delay in the Valsorey hut, during which it snowed so -nicely. Moreover, the high-level route presents on -its whole length a belt of comparatively low summits -on the south side—low because the route is situated -so high. This almost continuous parapet considerably -interferes with the view upon Italy, but it is a -protection from sun and wind, and no doubt assists -in keeping the snow in good condition.</p> - -<p>At seven o’clock in the evening the foot of the -Rocher de Bertol was reached. The ski were hidden -in a niche for the night. We climbed on foot, like -dismounted dragoons, up the wall, the rocks of which -form a kind of ladder. The rope which is permanently -fixed there was available, though partly buried -in snow. This hut, perched as an eagle’s nest above -the glacier, looks as if the Neuchâtel section of the -Swiss Alpine Club (to whom it belongs) had wished -to underline with a stroke of humour the Swiss Alpine -Club regulations, which say that, in the first instance, -huts are intended for the accommodation of the sick -and wounded. The door was blocked up with snow, -but the windows gave quite comfortable access to the -kitchen.</p> - -<p>“On that evening,” says the newspaper already -quoted, “the party became more confirmed than ever -in Mr. Roget’s resolve to attempt the ascent of the -Dent Blanche. The condition of the mountains and -the weather seemed to justify his anticipations. In -forming that bold plan Mr. Roget had taken his -stand upon the successful experiences he had had -before in his winter ascents of the Aiguille du Tour, -the Aiguille du Chardonnet, the Grand Combin, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -Finsteraarhorn, the Diablerets, the Wildhorn, the -Wildstrubel, &c. It could not but be, he thought, -that the Dent Blanche, like all the foregoing peaks, -would present itself in January in such a good condition -that its ascent by the south <i lang="fr">arête</i> would be quite -possible. It was Mr. Roget’s belief that the <i lang="fr">arête</i> -would show in its fissures but a thin layer of dry and -powdery snow. He was convinced that the cornices -would show a full development, with their faces to -the east and south-east, but without any hem of snow -on the west side of the <i lang="fr">arête</i>, where the ascent is -practically made. The slabs, he thought, would be -entirely covered with ice, but this ice, in its turn, -could not but be covered with an adhesive layer of -old snow, with fresh snow on the top of it, and this, -having fallen in comparatively mild weather, must -have cemented itself on to the old snow, so as to -form with it a reliable surface, at whatever angle a -footing might have to be gained. After a spell of -fine weather, the Dent Blanche could not be more -difficult in winter than in summer. In fact, he -thought the rocks had been shone upon by the sun -till they were dry and free of snow, the couloirs had -been swept clean by the wind or clothed in a firm -crust. That the cornices might come down with a -crash was evident, but this would be into the abysses -on the east slope, which was immaterial. On the -western slope the snow would be firmly enough -attached to the ice to leave but little opportunity for -the ice-axe to come into play.”</p> - -<p>Those forecasts, brought to the proof, were borne -out by reality. The snow, which had fallen three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -days before (a light, powdery snow, coming down in -whirls), had gained no footing, nor could it, upon -such an <i lang="fr">arête</i> as that of the Dent Blanche. The -little of it which the sun had not had time to melt -we swept away with our gloved hands. It was an -easy job, as that of ladies’ maids brushing away the -dust on their mistress’s sleeves, and we certainly -did not complain of having some little tidying-up -to do.</p> - -<p><i>Fifth Day.</i>—At six in the morning some early -mists were trailing slowly on the ice and snow-fields -between the Dent de Bertol and the Dent Blanche. -The light of the setting moon broke occasionally -through the clouds. The weather might be uncertain—and -it might not, for the glass was at fair. The -mists turned out to be, as on the preceding days, -such as herald a beautiful autumn sunrise. A start -was made in the direction of the Col d’Hérens. -Slowly the day dawned, and found the party on the -Glacier de Ferpècle. By that time we could make -out which was the real direction of the wind in the -middle of those mists which seemed to drift about -aimlessly. It actually blew from the north-east, then -from the north, with a steady but moderate strength, -which abated entirely only at sunset. The <i lang="la">impedimenta</i> -were, for the most part, left on the northern -side of Col d’Hérens, keeping but a few victuals, the -three ice-axes, the climbing-irons, and two ropes. -We turned the heads of our ski against the north -wind, skirting the foot of the big southern <i lang="fr">arête</i>, so -as to reach a small terrace situated above the spot -marked Roc Noir on the map. On this terrace the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -ski were firmly planted in the snow. Dismounting, -we fastened on our climbing-irons. Three ski sticks -were kept along with the three ice-axes.</p> - -<p>Among the first rocks the party halted in order -to take some food. It was 9.15. By means of the -ropes two caravans were formed, and these soon -started, exchanging a cheerful <i lang="fr">au revoir</i> in case some -incident should separate them.</p> - -<p>The brothers Crettex and Marcel Kurz were on the -first rope; on another myself, Louis Theytaz, and -Léonce Murisier, this last carrying the bag of -eatables.</p> - -<p>The fairness of the weather, the capital condition -of snow and rock, and the fitness of the party would -have made it quite possible to reach the top of the -Dent Blanche at one o’clock in the afternoon. But -there was no good reason for any hurry. A quick -march might bring on some fatigue, or at least some -totally unnecessary tension of mind and physical -effort. This would entail some slight additional risk -to no purpose whatever. The climbers had the whole -day before them, and need not make any allowance -for difficulties when returning to the Bertol hut, for -they would follow their own tracks (which they knew -to be safe) back across the glacier, whatever time of -night it might be. Consequently this ascent of the -Dent Blanche was deliberately carried out, and -almost without any effort. It was accomplished in -such leisure as not to need any quickening of the -pulse.</p> - -<p>Maurice Crettex and Louis Theytaz were fully -acquainted with every peculiarity of the Den<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>t -Blanche, and treated her with as much familiarity as -though they had been babes sitting on the lap of -their own grandmother. The Crettex section of the -caravan got on to the <i lang="fr">arête</i> at a trot, and began to -ride it (the expression is false, but picturesque) at the -point 3,729. Lunch was relished at point 3,912. -Thence the two sections kept about 50 yards apart. -Up to the first Grand Gendarme the <i lang="fr">arête</i> is -undulated rather than broken up, and quite comfortable -to follow. There are fine glimpses on the -Obergabelhorn to the right and on the Matterhorn; -the cornices of the <i lang="fr">arête</i> formed round those pictures -magnificent frames with an ice fringe.</p> - -<p>I had long been curious to ascertain what might -be in winter the condition of the famous “plaques” -or “dalles” (slabs), which have acquired such an evil -reputation in summer. No such thing was to be -seen. They were pasted over with excellent snow, -in which Maurice Crettex dug a few steps when the -ice came near to the surface. He seemed to do it as -a matter of form: assuredly it would have been an -irregular practice to do otherwise. It is true that -without our excellent climbing-irons we might have -been much less at ease. In point of fact, it was -enough to dig out the snow with one’s boot-tips and -to stand firmly in the holes on one’s climbing-irons -in order to skip over those formidable slabs.</p> - -<p>The <i lang="fr">arête</i> offered the best means of progress -immediately after passing the Grand Gendarme. -This appellation is bestowed upon the turrets, which, -constable-like, bar one’s progress along a ridge. On -the rock of the <i lang="fr">arête</i> there was the merest sp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>rinkling -of fresh snow, so dry and light that it could easily be -brushed aside, and nowhere prevented one’s gloved -hands from securely grasping the rock. The -scramble was quite interesting, and the hours passed -by so agreeably while proceeding up this magnificent -staircase, that nobody felt in a hurry to shorten the -pleasure of the climb. There was occasionally a bit -of a competition between Louis Theytaz, leader of -the second rope, and Maurice Crettex, leader of the -first, as to who should lead the van, but Crettex -would not yield his place, and stormed on.</p> - -<p>Here I left my stick planted in a mound of snow -on the <i lang="fr">arête</i>. We might, or might not, pick it up -on the way back, and I took my chance. This stick -was worthy of being planted and left there. It was -a beautiful bit of cane, smooth and white as ivory, -which I had picked up from a heap of drifted wreckage -on the Cornish coast, in the preceding summer, -while bathing. What scenes it might have witnessed -upon the deep I did not like to picture. Yet, but for -its suggestive power, I should not have brought it -the whole way from Watergate bay.</p> - -<p>It has always been my fancy to unite in one sweep -of vision the ocean and the mountains, the deepest -with the highest. My Dent Blanche might be one of -a school of whales stranded on high when the waters -withdrew, and my harpoon was well placed, sticking -in one of the vertebræ of her petrified spine.</p> - -<p>At the time of writing, I understand that it is -there still, respected of the eagles and of the gales. -The summer thaw has left untouched the fleecy -patch of snow. The lightning has drawn in its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> forks -before the unaccustomed wand. Now and then a -guide writes me that he has seen it, that so-and-so -could not believe his eyes when he led up the first -party of the summer season and found an ivory staff -shining on the ridge. In wonderment, he reported -the matter to some colleague of mine who had heard -in our club-room my first account of this ascent.</p> - -<p>For my part, I am content to look upon this -incident as confirming my views. A frail stick, -planted in the middle of a patch of snow on the -most exposed and weather-beaten <i lang="fr">arête</i> in the Alps, -appears here as the needle showing how nicely -balanced are the scales of Nature.</p> - -<p>In due course the rock came to an end, and the -<i lang="fr">arête</i> showed itself under the appearance of a white-hooded -crest. It was the final pyramid. On that -day, Friday January 13, 1911, the small, conic -snow-cap which surmounted the brow of the peak -was brought down by a blow from an ice-axe, at -3.30 p.m. A short time was spent on the summit. -The view was now and then obscured by a cloud -sailing rapidly down from the north and skirting the -watch-tower on which stood the onlookers.</p> - -<p>On the way down, each section, in its turn, with -feet deeply embedded in the snow, reached again the -bare rocks of the <i lang="fr">arête</i>, having resumed the footprints -made on the way up. But when leaving the snow -that covered the terminal pyramid, the party did not -continue on the <i lang="fr">arête</i> the way it had come up, but -wheeled to the right—that is, westward—and began -ploughing in a downward course the slopes of the -Dent Blanche facing Bertol, which had the appear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>ance -of being all snow. In spite of the extreme -steepness of the slope, the party, with heels and -climbing-irons well wedged into the snow, advanced -with great security and speed, though the irons did -occasionally impinge upon the ice. The slope -getting sharper and the layer of snow thinner, it -became necessary to substitute a lateral or horizontal -course for the vertically downward course. A few -steps had to be cut before a footing could again be -gained on the <i lang="fr">arête</i>. But, by that time, the caravan -had proceeded beyond both Gendarmes, and, though -it was night, we could hop along quite nicely.</p> - -<p>During this bit of traverse, being without a stick I -rested my left hand upon the snow each time I -moved forward, digging in my bent fingers to relieve -the foothold from some of my weight. The Ice -Maid then kissed my finger-tips very gently. The bite -was so timid that the kind attention escaped my -notice at the moment. But late that night, before -the stove, in the hut, I struck a match upon the hot -iron plates with my right hand, to light my cigar, -while holding up some garment to the fire with my -left. The heat made the mischief apparent. It -caused almost no pain, only giving an earnest of -what the Ice Maid could do if pressed too hard.</p> - -<p>Through the mists of this January dusk the moon -threw a gentle light, which made it easy to discern -the footprints made in the morning on the snow. The -few steps which had been cut here and there on the -ice were quite visible, and the rope made it a simple -matter to descend the rocky parts. So, from that -moment, the descent consisted simply in repeatin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>g in -the opposite direction the moves of the morning.</p> - -<p>The cornices on the left hand were made more -beautiful than ever by the play of the moonbeams -through the icicles. Now and then some fragment -of the cornice came down with a crash, and a cloud -of dust arose from the abyss and sent minute crystals -across the faces of the men. It was 8.30 when the -party stood again beside their ski. An hour later we -picked up our heavier luggage. Sitting on our -rucksacks, we took an evening meal. Then, ropes -and all being packed, the six strolled back across the -Glacier de Ferpècle at pleasure, and, as fancy bade, -each chose his own way. The night sped on, and -half its course was almost run when we reached -for the second time the hospitable nest on the Bertol -rock. We might have been shades moving in a -dream rather than men. Our task being successfully -accomplished, we might claim a right to vanish -away, like dissolving views thrown for a moment -upon a screen.</p> - -<p><i>Sixth Day.</i>—The morning was long and lazy. At -eleven o’clock, after a good rest and full of good -cheer, we entered upon our last day’s work. The -sun shone brilliantly, and, thanks to his kindness, -and thanks also to the smooth and sparkling snow, -this last day, more than any of the foregoing, if -possible, gave rise to one of those rambles on ski -which are the delight of the Alpine explorer. On -approaching the Col d’Hérens, the track of the -preceding day was departed from where it had bent -away towards the Dent Blanche, and the party -turned their backs upon their conquest. The <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>rocks, -which on the Col d’Hérens divide the Glacier de -Ferpècle, on the north, from the Stock glacier to the -south of the Wandfluh, could just be seen emerging -from the snow. The ski were removed for about -ten minutes while descending those rocks.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate17"> -<img src="images/plate17.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ON THE DENT BLANCHE, WITH MATTERHORN.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 230.</p> -</div> - -<p>It may be said that from that point to Zermatt -the run was practically continuous. No obstacle of -any sort ever came to interfere with the downward -flight. Whenever the party came to a stop, -it did so for its own pleasure and convenience. -After the rush down the sides of the Stockjé came -the run down the Glacier de Zmutt, with the icefalls -of the Matterhorn glacier on the right. -Fragments of ice studded the snow surface, and -the ski occasionally grated against them. On the -moraine, where in summer the surface is stony and -the climber’s brow wet with perspiration, we slid -along as borne on by wings, rushing through the air. -When we reached the Staffelalp the sun was beginning -to set. Over the tops of the arolla pines stood -forth in a mighty blaze many friends visited of old—the -Rimpfischhorn, the Strahlhorn, the Allalinhorn, -the Alphubel; the beautiful mouldings of the -Findelen glacier were bathed in rays of purple fire. -On approaching Zermatt the snow proved heavy -and deep. The ski got buried in it and shovelled -along masses of it, somewhat delaying the running. -Zermatt was reached by five o’clock at night.</p> - -<p>The village was in a hubbub, and we arrived in -the nick of time to ring the necks of I do not know -how many birds of ill omen ready to take their flight. -The Bourg St. Pierre dunderheads had had six days<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> -in which to rouse the journalists. They had stuffed -them with fusty words of ignorant wisdom. -Reporters had telegraphed and telephoned, to make -sure of their quarry. A column of guides had been -warned by the head of the Zermatt relief station to -be in readiness. They were to leave on the next -morning for the scene of the expected disaster.</p> - -<p>They might do so yet, for all we cared. By -looking about carefully they might detect the tip -of one of Mr. Kurz’s ski, which had snapped off -against a stone, at the moment when, entering the -village at a quick pace, he had suddenly come upon -a milkmaid with her pail balanced on her head. -There was nothing for it but to go gallantly to the -wall. This was more courtesy than the ski could -stand. Its point came off, and this the rescue party -might bring back as a trophy.</p> - -<p>Joking apart, Zermatt gave us a grand reception, -seasoned with steaming bowls of hot red wine and -cinnamon.</p> - -<p>Thus was accomplished the first successful ski-run -from Bourg St. Pierre to Zermatt. Luck was -good throughout; indeed, if an attempt to ascend -the Dent Blanche on a Friday and on the thirteenth -day of the month could not break the weather, -nothing would.</p> - -<p>The Crettex brothers went back by rail to Orsières. -Louis Theytaz got out of the train at Sierre. He -returned to his avocations at Zinal, looking with -well-founded confidence to his next engagement, a -few days hence, with Mr. Moore.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></p> -<p>The Crettex’ had no sooner reached home than a -telegram reached them from my friend Dr. König of -Geneva, one of the pioneers of the new mountaineering -school, enjoining Maurice to expect him at once -for a repetition of the successful expedition, news of -which had meanwhile been carried to Geneva.</p> - -<p>Dr. König and Maurice found our ski track -generally undisturbed, but the wind and sun had -done their work upon the fresh snow, hardening it -and covering it with the usual icy film. The running -was fast and uncertain, for want of side -support for the ski blades. On the way they -climbed the Grand Combin, as I had done in 1907. -Imitation by such a distinguished mountaineer was -the most flattering form of appreciation I could look -for. I met him some time after at our Geneva Ski -Club, when he observed that he wondered not so -much at what my party had accomplished—in which -he was quite right, as I proved by producing the -table of our very easy hours—as at the bold -practical thought that had inspired and helped us.</p> - -<p>Like me, Dr. König had noticed from the Zmutt -glacier how practicable the Matterhorn would be. -In fact, Maurice would have tackled the Zmutt -<i lang="fr">arête</i> on the slightest provocation. Meeting at -Zermatt Captain Meade, who had just achieved the -Zinal Rothhorn, Dr. König communicated to him -his observation concerning the Matterhorn. As -was soon made public, Captain Meade succeeded in -making a January ascent of the Matterhorn. -Unfortunately he suffered very severely from -exposure.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> -<p>I had returned to my ordinary occupations in -Geneva, when I was startled one morning by a note -in the local papers. On the very day on which -Captain Meade was “doing” the Matterhorn—January -31st—Louis Theytaz was perishing on the -glacier de Seilon, an occurrence which changed an -otherwise successful trip into a dreadful ordeal. -The cold may be gauged from Captain Meade’s notes -in the <cite>Alpine Journal</cite>. The thermometer down at -Zermatt at 7 a.m. showed 27 degrees of frost -Fahrenheit.</p> - -<p>The fatal accidents to ski-ing parties that I so -far know of in the Alps have proceeded from one -or another of three causes: avalanches, exhaustion -ensuing upon stress of weather or losing one’s way, -and crevasses. For no accident yet can ski be -made responsible, a rather remarkable exception, -when one reflects how easily a ski blade may -break or a fastening get out of order.</p> - -<p>Theytaz’s accident was caused by a crevasse. -He was one of four able and well-known guides -accompanying a party of three gentlemen who put -implicit faith in their leadership and in whom -they had every confidence.</p> - -<p>The third on a rope of three, Louis Theytaz -followed the two leading over a crevasse which, -after the event, showed itself about 7 feet wide, -and of which the party had become aware before -launching themselves across it. It was unfortunate -that the leading guide “took” the crevasse obliquely -to its width. The moving rope, too, compelled each -man in succession to bring his weight to bear on -the same spot. The rope could not be of much use<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -for want of stable supporting points. A man advancing -carefully on foot breaks his speed at every step. -Not so a runner on ski.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate18"> -<img src="images/plate18.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">TOP OF DENT BLANCHE.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 234.</p> -</div> - -<p>The gentleman preceding Theytaz made a stopping -turn on the further side of the crevasse, and -waited to see him over. By that time Theytaz’s -brother Benoît, who was leader on the rope, might -have been ready. Anyhow, the snow broke. -Theytaz was hurled down and the rope snapped.</p> - -<p>I was on the very rope when ascending the Dent -Blanche. It was an old rope, but perfectly satisfactory. -Why are the best of ropes liable to snap? -After this accident, which roused his personal interest -as it did mine, my friend Kurz instituted experiments -on all kinds of rope material on the market. The -results showed conclusively what rope material, -under tension, was the best, but no light was -thrown upon the supposed greater liability to snap -when frozen, either when dry or after absorbing -moisture. All we know so far about the breaking-point -of mountaineering ropes, is that they may -break under a shock which will leave a man unmoved -in his steps though, on trial, they may resist a -tension far greater than can be put upon them by -the dropping suddenly into space of a man’s -weight.</p> - -<p>An athlete may burst a taut chain by muscular -effort. A horse may burst his girths by a little -inflation. What about a slack rope?</p> - -<p>Popular imagination, baffled by such obvious but -unexplained contingencies, at once suspects foul -play. The strangest stories may be heard in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -Val d’Anniviers about Theytaz’s broken rope.</p> - -<p>Mr. Moore’s own account appeared in the Alpine -Ski Club Annual for 1911, and runs as follows:—</p> - -<p>“On January 28th last, a party assembled at -Martigny, A. V. Fitzherbert, A. D. Parkin, and -myself, with four guides: Félix Abbet and the -three Theytaz brothers, Louis, Benoît, and -Basile, all of Zinal. Next morning we walked -up to Fionnay, where a small hotel had been -opened for us. The snow was in perfect condition, -and as we had an hour or so of daylight to spare, -we enjoyed some practice runs on an excellent -slope just outside the village. Here we made the -acquaintance of three ex-presidents of the Geneva -section of the Swiss Alpine Club, who were -learning to ski in this deserted retreat. They -had a comfortable chalet, where we spent a most -pleasant evening, surrounded by Alpine paintings -and old Swiss wood-carved furniture.</p> - -<p>“At 8 a.m. on the 30th we got off, provisioned -and equipped for a hard two days, and started up -the valley to Chanrion. It was easy-going as far -as Mauvoisin, but beyond that the summer path -was quite impassable in places, owing to the overflowing -and freezing of streams. We lost much -time over these, and finally had to descend to the -bottom of the gorge, which afforded much better -going.”</p> - -<p>May I break here the thread of the narrative -to insert an observation. Louis Theytaz had got -information from us as to this passage, and had -been told that the summer path was known in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -Bagnes valley to be impassable in the winter, -particularly with ski. The gorge is the right ski-ing -route.</p> - -<p>“A steep and trying couloir brought us up to -Chanrion. We left next morning at 6.30, and -made for the Glacier de Breney, where we were -able to put out the lamp. It was pretty cold. -Near the top there must have been nearly 50 -degrees of frost. The glacier presented no difficulties, -the only obstacle being an ice-fall, up -which we had a little step-cutting.</p> - -<p>“The trouble began about an hour below the -Col de Breney, where we were met by a piercing -north-east wind, which struck us in gusts, sweeping -up clouds of powdery snow, through which one -could hardly see. The snow was quite hard under -foot, and all, except Louis, took their ski off on -reaching the col. Half an hour’s walking brought -us to the top of the Pigne (12,470 feet), where we -got the full benefit of the gale. The view, however, -was magnificent, and fully justified the struggles -of the last few hours.</p> - -<p>“We stopped on the top about five minutes, and -then returned to our ski and began the descent to -the Glacier de Seilon. For half an hour we -descended on foot over wind-swept slopes, at -first gentle, and then steep and crevassed, till we -at last got out of the wind and into the sun, when -a short halt was made. At this point I became -painfully aware that three fingers had been temporarily -frost-bitten. Parkin also had lost all feeling -in his toes, but did not realise how bad they <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>were -till later on. We were soon off again on ski, and -on perfect running snow, in the following order: -Benoît, Fitzherbert, and Louis on the first rope, -myself and Parkin on the second, followed by -Félix Abbet and Basile unroped.</p> - -<p>“As we approached the ice-fall which gives access -to the Glacier de Seilon, there occurred the sad -accident which cost Louis his life, depriving us of -an old and tried companion, and the Valais of one -of its best guides. We were running down and -across the glacier when the leading three came to -a small depression and ridge running straight down -the slope parallel to the sides of the glacier, evidently -a crevasse bridged over by snow. The first -two crossed safely, but apparently loosened the -snow, which gave way under Louis. He fell back -into the crevasse which was about 8 feet across, -and as the rope tightened, it snapped, and he was -gone. Basile was running on to the bridged -crevasse a little higher up, at the same moment, -but although it gave under him, his pace carried -him over, and he fell clear. Abbet was just behind -Louis and saved himself by throwing himself -down.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate19"> -<img src="images/plate19.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ON THE STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 238.</p> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Moore next gives a sketch of the crevasse -and of the position of each in relation to it. Then -he continues: “This journal is no place to describe -the half-hour which followed, the memory of which -is only too fresh for those who were present. It -is enough to say that we could not reach Louis -with 130 feet of rope, and had to tear ourselves -away. It was a great relief to know from subsequ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>ent -examination that, although we had heard -him answer for about five minutes, he could not -have lived longer, and in all probability felt nothing. -The search party of guides that went up next day -found the body 160 feet down, and as we had only -80 feet of reliable rope, we could have done -nothing.”</p> - -<p>The sketch shows—and its accuracy cannot be -doubted—that Messrs. Moore and Parkin were keeping -a course that led them past the crevasse without -touching it; that Basile Theytaz showed less discretion, -and escaped because, being unroped, he -came singly on the bridge, in a place where the -crevasse was narrower and when he was sufficiently -under weigh. Abbet escaped simply because he -approached the crevasse in the wake of Louis -Theytaz, and took warning in time, for he was -about to cross the gulf at its widest.</p> - -<p>One may say—in all kindness and with every -sympathy—that the roped party which met with -the accident was badly led, and one may say so -the more confidently, as the leader seems to have -been fully aware that he was heading for a formidable -crevasse.</p> - -<p>When planning my traverse from Bourg St. -Pierre to Zermatt, I had it in my mind that an -expedition across the Pennine Alps from end to -end would not be complete, unless I pushed on -over the Mischabel and Weissmies ranges to the -Simplon pass, beyond which begin the Lepontine -Alps.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span></p> -<p>The weather was so fine and our powers of endurance -had been so slightly taxed that we might -easily have pushed on. In fact, in respect of -weather, circumstances remained so favourable that -we might have continued till the end of February -without experiencing a check. The weather report -was so perpetually: Still and warm in the High -Alps.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately Marcel Kurz had broken his ski, -and it might be just as wise to go home and nurse -my frozen finger-tips. There are other things in -life than ski-running. So we came to the conclusion -that we had done enough for glory.</p> - -<p>However, Marcel Kurz took this spring (1912) -his revenge over the misadventure to his ski and, -with some friends, completed our interrupted programme.</p> - -<p>I append here his notes, as the Mischabel range -is about to be an object of great interest for British -runners who will find that Saas Fée has become a -nursery of excellent ski-running guides.</p> - -<p>At the moment of writing (August, 1912), the -Britannia hut on the Hinter Allalin, as already -pointed out in this volume, is about to be formally -inaugurated. It opens up to the ski-runner a -magnificent field for exploration on account of which -the English ski clubs liberally contributed to the -erection of this ski-runner’s hut <i lang="fr">par excellence</i>.</p> - -<p>The map entitled Mischabel-Monte Rosa shows -one of the numerous zigzag tracks for which the -district will become famous.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map5"> -<a href="images/map5.jpg"><img src="images/map5-small.jpg" width="165" height="200" alt="Map; click for larger version" /></a> -<p class="caption">MISCHABEL RANGE AND MONTE ROSA.</p> -<p class="caption">(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, 26.8.12.)</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 240.</p> -</div> - -<p>Mr Kurz’s notes show also what an incredible -amount of stiff mountaineering can be crowde<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>d -easily into a short time by ski-runners, including -the ascent of Monte Rosa, the highest peak in the -Alps next to Mont Blanc.</p> - -<p>The latter is not a ski-runner’s mountain. The -gradients are too sharp and exposed. Monte Rosa, -on the contrary, is an ideal runner’s mountain. -I lay no stress on the fact that Mr. Kurz’s raid was -guideless. I have endeavoured elsewhere to show -how much this term is a misnomer when applied to -perfectly competent mountaineering parties that -dispense with professional guides.</p> - -<p><i>March 27th.</i>—We started three from St. Nicolas -for the Mischabel hut up the glacier of Ried and -over the Windjoch pass. The weather was very -fine, extremely warm at about three o’clock in the -afternoon. The glacier was extremely broken up, -presenting the same appearance as in autumn. -Would do very well for ski in a normal year, -particularly on the higher <i lang="fr">névé</i>. The last 300 feet -of the Windjoch should be done on foot. On the -top of the pass there rose an unpleasant west wind, -and the snow being most unpleasantly hard, we -elected to leave our ski on the spot, intending to -come back for them on the next day and to ascend -the Nadelhorn by the way. We spent the night at -the Mischabel hut.</p> - -<p><i>March 28th.</i>—Very uncertain weather; too much -wind to attempt the Nadelhorn. We walked down -to Saas Fée in two hours on very firm and very -reliable snow.</p> - -<p><i>March 29th.</i>—On hard snow and dry rocks we -walked up to the Gemshorn and thence along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -snow <i lang="fr">arête</i> to the Ulrichshorn, coming down on to -the Windjoch to pick up our ski. We then ran -down the Riedgletscher till within a few hundred -feet of Gassenried, and thence walked to St. Nicolas, -first on hard snow and then on wet snow.</p> - -<p><i>March 30th.</i>—We walked from St. Nicolas and -then skied to a fairly hospitable hut on the Untere -Taesch Alp.</p> - -<p><i>March 31st.</i>—Along the Untere Taesch Alp and the -Langefluh glacier, our ski carried us up to the <i lang="fr">arête</i> -rising above the Rimpfisch Waenge and along that -<i lang="fr">arête</i> to the altitude of 3,600 metres. Then on foot -along the ordinary route we reached the top of -the Rimpfischhorn (13,790 feet). The ascent took -seven hours, the descent four hours. The rocks -were absolutely dry, as “summery” as possible. -This is a very interesting ski tour and had not yet -been attempted.</p> - -<p><i>April 1st.</i>—The weather is bad; we come down -to Taesch and go to Zermatt to get fresh supplies.</p> - -<p><i>April 2nd.</i>—Weather splendid with a furious -north wind. We return to our cabin on the -Taesch Alp. One of us returns to the lowlands and -two only are left to continue the campaign.</p> - -<p><i>April 3rd.</i>—The weather is very cold and we -make too early a start. We cross the Alphubeljoch -to Saas Fée, leaving the Alphubel unascended on -account of the fury of the wind. A pass somewhat -steep from the Taesch side and somewhat crevassed -on the Saas side, from the runner’s point of view, -but magnificent with respect to scenery.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate20"> -<img src="images/plate20.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">FOOT OF STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 243.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> - -<p><i>April 4th.</i>—Weather magnificent. North wind -not so strong. We ramble most delightfully on our -ski from Saas Fée to Mattmark, which is a deadly -place in other respects.</p> - -<p><i>April 5th.</i>—From Mattmark to Zermatt by the -Schwarzberg Weissthor. Weather mild, foehn, -rather cold on the top, magnificent outlook over -Zermatt. The snow hard throughout allowed us -to ski up very quickly (four hours from Mattmark -to the summit, 3,612 metres). At Findelen we -enjoyed an afternoon nap under the arolla pines. -Amid regular flower-beds we descended to Zermatt, -where we met two other friends.</p> - -<p><i>April 6th.</i>—From Zermatt to the Bétemps hut -on Monte Rosa, following the Gorner glacier from -the beginning and employing half an hour in crossing -the <i lang="fr">sérac</i> zone on foot. The heat on the upper -reaches of the glacier was most overpowering.</p> - -<p><i>April 7th.</i>—Monte Rosa. Snow quite hard here, -and everywhere else, throughout this fortnight. -Weather beautiful, slight north wind. We left the -hut at six o’clock, reaching the top at 12.35.</p> - -<p><i>April 8th.</i>—Not a cloud in the sky all day long. -We take sun baths all day about the hut.</p> - -<p><i>April 9th.</i>—We intended to ascend the Lyskamm, -but bad weather came and punished us for our -idleness on the preceding day. Foehn and fog. -There was nothing to do. We ran down to Zermatt -in two hours along the whole of the Gorner glacier.</p> - -<p>This laconic record is extremely instructive. It -bears out the contentions already formulated in -other parts of this book. The snow surface was -hard, reduced in volume, and as cemented by th<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>e -wind. The <i lang="fr">arêtes</i> were bare of snow, free from ice, -and perfectly dry. The crevasses were either plainly -visible or firmly crusted over. Ski were throughout -useful in preventing the surface from breaking underfoot, -perhaps still more in going uphill than when -rapidity of movement lightens one’s weight flying -downhill. The summer of 1911, as one knows, -was one of the two driest on record in the preceding -half-century. The glacier snow was therefore worn -down to its thinnest when the winter snows began -to pile themselves in layers above them. These -too remained comparatively thin, affording admirable -running surfaces when sprinkled over with -fresh snow.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> -<img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="200" height="125" alt="Drawing of a St. Bernard dog" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE PIZ BERNINA SKI CIRCUIT IN ONE DAY</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>Old snow well padded with new—Christmas Eve in the Bernina -hospice—The alarum rings—Misgivings before battle—Crampons -and sealskins—A causeway of snow—An outraged -glacier—The Disgrazia—A chess-player and a ski-man—Unroped!—In -the twilight—The Tschierva hut—Back to -Pontresina—Hotel limpets—Waiting for imitators.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-a.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">At the close of 1910 Marcel Kurz -was at Pontresina. I had -occasion to draw up certain -reports upon the winter aspect -of the district, and he kindly -undertook the inspection of -the glacier routes for me. A -few glorious days seemed about -to efface the memory of many -previous gloomy ones. On the -day on which this account -begins, a little snow had fallen in the morning, the -skier’s welcome <i lang="la">quotum</i>. Nothing affords such -excellent sport as old snow well padded out with -about a foot of new floury stuff. The ski blades -sink nicely through the top layer of rustling crystals. -The ski-points pop out of the snow like the periscope -of a submarine. The sparkling prismatic flakes -stream past each side of the lithe, curled-up <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>blade, -like silvery waves parted by the prow of a fast -motor canoe.</p> - -<p>“The north wind,” writes Mr. Kurz, “was now -clearing the sky of every cloud, leaving the dazzling -snowy heights and the forests below steeped in -sunshine and brightness. It was our last chance, -and, in a few minutes, our minds were made up to -accept it. Half an hour later we were in the train -on our way to the Bernina pass.</p> - -<p>“The exact itinerary of this expedition I published -in the <cite>Alpina</cite> (Mitteilungen des Schweizer -Alpenclubs) number of February 1st, 1911, p. 22. -The following only being intended as a short sketch, -I will not describe the route too minutely. The -principal landmarks are: Pontresina, Bernina pass, -Alp Palü, Palü glacier, Fellaria glacier, Upper -Scerscen glacier, Fuorcla Sella, Sella glacier, Roseg -glacier, and back to Pontresina.</p> - -<p>“‘Grützi Herr Stäub! Grützi Herr Kurz!’ -These first words of greeting, uttered on our arrival -by our little friend at the hospice, showed her -evident pleasure on seeing us so soon back again. -It was, in fact, our second visit to the hospice -within the week, but this time we came firmly -intending at last to carry out our plan.</p> - -<p>“Here was the same low-ceiled, comfortable room -in which we had sat before, while the landlord and -his friends talked the whole evening away, with a -big dog snoozing by the stove. We had taken -supper at this very table with Casper Grass, the -Pontresina guide, on Christmas Eve. Here had -huddled together an Italian couple, busily w<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>riting -endless cards of Christmas greetings. The landlord, -ever to be remembered, his bead-like eyes looking -out from behind his spectacles with a malicious -twinkle, stood up at times, munching a long -‘Brissago,’ to see that all was right, while talking -volubly in Italian. A maidservant sat at the corner -table, pen in hand and with vacant look, evidently -stuck fast in the midst of her literary endeavours. -Not a star was to be seen outside, and the howling -wind, rattling the shutters with every gust, made us -feel how rash it was to have come at all. To drown -the sound of the storm we set the phonograph going, -which cheered but little our drooping spirits. Still, -we started on the morrow, but on arriving at the -Alp Grüm, the violence of the wind made it -impossible to go further—a disappointment we -had anticipated.</p> - -<p>“But now we were out on our second attempt, -and would not go back. This time our friend Grass -had unfortunately been obliged to remain behind at -Pontresina, in spite of his longing to join our expedition. -The weather was fine and cold, intensely cold. -Our chances of success were great; the reconnoitring -done on Christmas Eve had sharpened our appetite -for the unknown beyond.</p> - -<p>“The alarum had rung long since, and our candle -had been alight some time. The window-panes, -white with frost, shut out the black night and the -piercing cold; never had one’s bed felt so comfortable. -If our bodies remained motionless, our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -thoughts wandered forth, trying to pry into the -secrets still lying concealed in the lap of the coming -day, just as the watchman’s lamp pierces the darkness -of the night.</p> - -<p>“There is a delightful thrill of impending battle -hazards in being the first to break upon new ground, -as when a troop nearing the line of fire eagerly -questions the dissolving morning mists and doubtingly -greets the light that will expose it to the -enemy’s strokes. What unkind shafts might Fate -have in store? What bolts might the glacier be -preparing to fire off, when we should pass under the -portcullisses of its castellated strongholds? With -what pitfalls might the snow desert not be strewn -under the winning aspect of its rustling silken gown?</p> - -<p>“If we wished to reach the Roseg glacier before -nightfall, we must cross the Fuorcla Sella between -four and five o’clock that afternoon. This, supposing -that we should have passed the Palü glacier by -midday. All that, and back to Pontresina, in one -day! Would it be very hard work? That was the -question, for nobody had yet ventured there in -winter, and on ski.</p> - -<p>“Thus did our thoughts travel till we finally dropped -off to sleep again, only to wake a few minutes later -with a start, and leap from our beds to make up for -lost time.</p> - -<p>“At 6.30 we left the hospice. It was pitch dark, -though numberless were the stars shining overhead, -so the lantern was lighted which had already guided -many travellers. A cheery voice, from one of the -windows above, wished us good luck, and with thi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>s -pleasant sound in our ears we started on our way.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map6"> -<a href="images/map6.jpg"><img src="images/map6-small.jpg" width="130" height="200" alt="Map; click for larger version" /></a> -<p class="caption">PIZ BERNINA CIRCUIT.</p> -<p class="caption">(Reproduction made with authorisation of the Swiss Topographic Service, 26.8.12.)</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 248.</p> -</div> - -<p>“Having reached Lago Bianco, we went due south, -the wind at our backs. Looking down, we saw the -valley of Poschiavo sunk in the mist. We rapidly -crossed the lake and the level ground beyond, when -dawn began to break. By the time we had passed -Pozzo del Drago it was already broad daylight. At -the steep wooded slope above Alp Palü we took off -our ski and put on crampons. The ten- or eight-pronged -crampons fit very well on to ski. They are -wide enough—being calculated to enclose the heavy-nailed -sole of mountain shoes—to embrace the blade -of the ski, and the bands are long enough to be -buckled conveniently over one’s boots.</p> - -<p>“To the left appeared Le Prese, with its lovely lake -among forests of chestnuts, while to the right began -to tower the threatening mass of the Palü glacier, -which formed part of our route. We were again -running on our ski when, at this point, the snow -proving very slippery, we attached our sealskins.</p> - -<p>“These should be fitted with a ring to throw over -the point of the ski, and should stretch down to the -middle of the ski, where they should terminate. -Here they are fastened to the ski binding by a proper -mechanical contrivance. They may be taken on to -the back end of the ski, but then they are difficult to -stretch and fix over the heel of the ski. It is quite -unnecessary to carry the sealskin so far back. The -clamp under the beak of the ski completes the -arrangement and tightens or loosens the skin <i lang="la">ad -libitum</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> - -<p>“We continued thus till our arrival at the first fall -of the glacier, when, to reach the opposite side, we -passed along a narrow strip of snow we had noticed -and marked to that effect some time before. The -slope became so steep that our sealskins failed to -adhere, and we were beginning to skate about on the -hard crust of snow. Above our heads hung the -<i lang="fr">séracs</i>, which forbade our venting our wrath in loud -vociferations. We strengthened ourselves, therefore, -with the additional safeguard of our crampons, and -proceeded comfortably, taking care to have a firm -grip of the hard snow. On arrival at the first table -of the glacier we stopped for breakfast and enjoyed -the sun. Before us stretched a long causeway of -snow to the top of the glacier; near us Pizzo di -Verona, its ice cascades resembling a shower of -glittering emeralds, cast a shadow on all around. -The weather was glorious. Stäubli introduced me to -several of his old friends towering on the opposite -side. Far beyond appeared the majestic Ortler -group.</p> - -<p>“We continued our ascent round the western side -of the glacier, roped this time. At the foot of Piz -Cambrena we took the direction of the col opening to -the west of Pizzo di Verona, and from thence an easy -way opened up through wonderful <i lang="fr">séracs</i> all aglow -with the morning sun. <i lang="it">Va piano, va sano.</i> A few -more gaping crevasses had to be carefully avoided, -then the <i lang="fr">névé</i> became even, and we finally reached -the col, leaving behind us the Palü glacier, moping -over its mysteries now unveiled. It was midday.</p> - -<p>“We could not restrain an outburst of admiration -at the new world before us, with the Disgrazia a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>s the -culminating point. Stäubli, mad with delight, -began a wild dance on the edge of the precipice. -One of the many slabs of stone which surrounded us -served well for a table. While the kettle was boiling -we could have had time to ascend Pizzo di Verona, -but we preferred to remain where we were and enjoy -the wonders before us, taking an occasional photograph. -A great stillness reigned everywhere. We -did not talk. We understood each other just as well, -perhaps better. But why should there not have been -more than the two of us to enjoy that glorious sight? -Would that I could have transported all you city -people to magic scenes like these!</p> - -<p>“I cannot help thinking of one who, regularly every -day, at Zürich, comes to the restaurant where I dine -to play his game of chess at a table near me. He -salutes his partner, the small glass of cognac is -brought, the cigars are lighted, and then the game -begins and continues to the end, without a single -word being uttered, and this each day of his life. -Poor wretch, how I pity you! How shall we repay -our fathers for showing us the mountains and their -glory?</p> - -<p>“We were roused from our motionless ecstasy by a -sensation of cold, and upwards still, continued our -way along the Italian frontier towards the Piz Zupo, -and lazily skid over the frozen ice-waves of the -Fellaria glacier. How shall I describe the fairy-like -scenes met at every step? We came to the foot of -the huge buttresses of the Piz Zupo and Piz Argient. -What a contrast between those awful, dark, jagged -arêtes and the snowy robes flowing round their fe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>et? -Further on we came into a fresh region of glaciers, -dazzling in their brightness, with the mass of the -Disgrazia in the background, sunk in shadow.</p> - -<p>“‘Man wird verrückt!’ exclaimed Stäubli, my dear -little friend Stäub.</p> - -<p>“Having unroped and relieved our ski both of -crampons and sealskins, we once more glided softly -over those lovely snow deserts which run along the -border on Italian territory. A cry of ‘Youhéé’ fills -the air. Stäubli was flying over an enchanting lake -of ice, and though the snow was not of the best, we -enjoyed our run to the full. Soon we were half-way -across the Fellaria glacier, directing our steps towards -the western side, where a new region was about to -open before us; a black <i lang="fr">arête</i>, however, hid the other -side still from view. It was a solemn moment. We -began to descend and fly over the ground, when, -turning the cornice of rock, we suddenly stopped to -gaze on the wonderful sight before us. The two -Scerscen glaciers stood out bathed in light at the -foot of the Gümels and Piz Roseg, the whole suffused -with the soft mauve tints of the ebbing twilight.</p> - -<p>“We soon reached the Upper Scerscen glacier, in -the midst of a formidable amphitheatre of mountains. -The king of them all, Piz Bernina, was at last -revealed to us, towering above Piz Argient, Crast -Agüzza, and Monte Rosso di Scerscen. The Italians -showed their good taste in erecting the Rifugio -Marinelli in this very Eden. We could stop at this -little stone hut for the night. We preferred, however, -continuing our run. From here to the Fuorcla -Sella we roped, and made a large circuit to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>avoid the -region of crevasses as much as possible. Soft clouds -of snow were raised by the wind, and sparkled like -diamonds in the sun.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate21"> -<img src="images/plate21.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">UPPER SCERSCEN AND ROSEG GLACIERS.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 253.</p> -</div> - -<p>“By twilight we began ascending the last slopes to -the Fuorcla Sella. We reached the col, and, leaving -the sunny Italian slopes behind us, entered into the -shadow of the Sella basin. It was 4.30 p.m.; we -still had three-quarters of an hour of daylight left, -which would exactly allow us to reach the flat of the -Roseg glacier. We enjoyed a lovely run over the -soft, powdery snow tinted with mauve, the reflection -from the rocks of Piz Roseg all on fire in the -setting sun. We knew our way here by heart, and -skimmed over the snow without fear, ‘yodling’ -frantically.</p> - -<p>“By the last ray of the setting sun we left the Sella -glacier, and passed on to the Roseg glacier. There -were still a few traces left of our expedition three -days before on our way to the Piz Glüschaint. Far -in the distance we could see the lights of Pontresina -brightly shining. We seemed quite near already. -We stepped over the back of the glacier in long -strides, and on nearing the Tschierva hut, where -two friends were to meet us, we began to yodle. -However, our calls remained unanswered, and no -lights could we see. We were not astonished on -learning later that those two distinguished mountaineers -had been enjoying luxurious couches at -Samaden all the time!</p> - -<p>“One difficulty remained, in the shape of the -Tschierva moraine. I asked Stäubli for some light. -He tied an electric lamp on to his belt, leaving m<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>e in -complete darkness!</p> - -<p>“A little later we started on a splendid run, descending -from the Tschierva hut, where we flew over the -ground like phantoms. This run was cut short on -arrival at the bridge of the Roseg Restaurant, where -the road is completely spoiled with the deep ruts -made by the sleighs. We took advantage of this -stoppage to rest awhile and finish some cake left -from our morning’s repast. After this, we passed -through the beautiful Val Roseg, a lovely spot, but -wearisome after a long night run.</p> - -<p>“In the hotel, brilliant with many electric lights, -we are sitting at a table with our friend, the guide -Grass, and some welcome bottles of wine. Stäubli, -the pink of neatness, is giving the guide a long -account of our trip. Around us the usual set of well-dressed -people laugh and talk. For them it is like -every other evening; for myself, I find it difficult to -realise that all I have seen and felt is not a dream. -A glow of happiness fills my heart that not all these -lights could surpass, and the wish comes to shut out -all around and rest once more in those glorious -solitudes. What a gulf seems to separate me from -those who have not seen the wondrous mountains, -those who have not shared our vision of the silent -snows!</p> - -<p>“Life is made up of contrasts, and I take pleasure -in recalling them to my mind in order to perpetuate -their memory.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> -<p>Strange it is, on reading over those lines written -by Marcel Kurz, to have to add that the idea of the -Piz Bernina ski circuit did not germinate in a Pontresina -mind. Forsooth it was reserved for the -Swiss to conceive and execute. But how strange is -that apathy, that subjection to routine on the part -of an otherwise bold and enterprising people! And -how strange too that out of the number of foreign -sportsmen congregating every winter in the Engadine, -not one could brace himself to “get up and go” -from Pontresina to the Bernina hospice, thence to -the refuge Marinelli, thence to the Tschierva hut and -back to Pontresina, in three days, if he so pleased!</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="300" height="230" alt="Drawing of two skiers surveying a mountain pass" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<span class="smaller">FROM AROSA TO BELLINZONA OVER THE -BERNARDINO PASS</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The Arosa Information Bureau—The hospitality of sanatorium -guests—The allurements of loneliness—Whither the spirit -leads—Avalanche weather—The Spring god and King Frost—The -source of the Rhine—The post sleigh in a winter -storm—The Bernardino pass—Brissago.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-b.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">Badenin Aargau is a flourishing -watering-place, whence I -was glad to make my escape -a few years ago in the last -days of March.</p> - -<p>I had wired to the information -bureau at Arosa, asking -how long I might expect to -find good snow. The answer -came: “Till the middle of -May,” which sounded boastful, -in fact rather alarming, by promising so very -much. But why should I malign those good people? -I found heaps and heaps of snow, enough to satisfy -all reasonable requirements till the middle of June.</p> - -<p>My little daughter kept then a small paper box, in -which she stored up all the fine weather I might -wish to apply for. On fair terms of purchase she -“let out” a certain number of fine days—as many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> -as she thought I might be allowed—to take me to -Arosa and thence to Bellinzona, where I was to join -her and her mother on the way to Brissago on Lago -Maggiore.</p> - -<p>There certain open-air orange and lemon groves I -knew of awaited us and a blossoming aloe near by on -the way to Ascona.</p> - -<p>To swoop down the Bernardino pass upon -Mesocco on ski and land a few hours later on -the banks of Lago Maggiore, after crossing the -Rhaetic Alps from Arosa to Hinterrhein, tickled -my fancy. My line would be from Arosa to Lenzerheide, -along the Oberhalbstein valley to Stalla, -otherwise called Bivio, thence to Cresta Avers, -and somehow along the Madesimo pass to the -Splügen road, and then east to Hinterrhein, and -across the Bernardino pass through the village of -that name to Mesocco. The whole thing could be -done on ski. It would nowhere take me over -glaciers. I should do this alone, carrying my pack, -sleeping every night in a comfortable bed, and tramping -by day on ski like any ordinary summer vagabond -wasting his shoe-leather on the hard high road.</p> - -<p>I could imagine nothing pleasanter. I should not -take off my ski till the last strip of snow sticking to -the edge of the Mesocco road gave way and should -bring my navigation to a standstill upon the characteristic -mixture of mud and gravel found on post-roads -during the spring thaw. There is no small -charm in slithering upon snow getting thinner and -thinner till it is from two to three inches deep and -tapering in the end to the bare inch, which is enoug<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>h -for the expert runner.</p> - -<p>Spring has a delightful way of creeping and sneaking -up the Alpine passes, using against King Frost -every seduction that a soft, tender heart can devise -to disarm a fierce, unrelenting spirit. It threads its -way delicately from one warm, protected nook to -another, and throws out feelers that stretch forth -tremblingly from the rock crannies into the rough -air.</p> - -<p>Flowerets peep out here and there. The eggs of -frogs float about in slimy masses upon pools of warm -water banked in with snow. The released springs -and waterfalls throw off their transparent scarves of -iridescent crystal ice. The blackbirds hop about -from branch to branch piping upon bare trees that -are still sunny through and through, but do not yet -venture to chill their feet by touching the ground -still encumbered with deep snow.</p> - -<p>The hard winter god, gradually coaxed into a -softer mood, relaxes his hold upon the crust of the -earth. What more delightful than this mixture of -two seasons? Under one’s feet all is winter still. -Above, spring skies, a scented air. Within one’s -breast a heart yielding gently to the suggestions of -a new atmosphere. To enhance the contrast and -accelerate its phases, the spring god artfully turned -the head of my ski full south straight in the face -of the sun.</p> - -<p>Thus it is within any one’s power to rewrite in this -way for himself Hesiod’s “Book of Days,” and he -will do it best if alone.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p> -<p>It was a peculiar thing to pass from Arosa, still lying -under six feet of snow, over the south brim of the -cup and to swoop down upon Lenzerheide, while the -steamy fog of incipient spring hung over the moving, -thawing masses, and the man who had brought me up -so far shrank back. There were cracklings round about -and dull thuds. A roar and clang came up from the -bottom of the gorge as the snowbanks crashed in -upon the stream whose reawakening had soaked and -eaten away their supports. Something had gone -wrong with a ski-binding. Thus a kindly word -may be spoken in time by the mountain fiend before -he strikes. He plays fair. Go away, he says, unless -you know that you have the luck of the Evil One. -The brim of that snow cup was a parting line. One -pair of ski carried its man back the way he had -come. The other carried its man forward whither -the spirit led.</p> - -<p>I left Arosa with a pang of regret. I had lived -there some perfectly happy and health-giving days in -an abode reserved for so many who are sick beyond -human help. I was alone, and went from table to -table as a guest bidden to dinner. My hosts would, if -I may apply this figure of speech to a moral attitude, -seek me out for my strength, and I found, in the -proximity of their illness, the shadow of our common -human plight falling across my path, bringing with -it a kind of excuse for my rude temporary immunity -from physical ills in which in time we all share alike, -but which seem to create such unfair contrasts.</p> - -<p>Some were there, so to say, for a last throw of the -dice in this Monte Carlo of consumptives. On the -return of some to health depended the future of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -a home, wife, children, awaiting anxiously the -physician’s verdict upon their chief, for whose cure -the last moneys of the family were now being staked -upon the double card, Arosa Davos.</p> - -<p>A powerfully built Englishman, among others, I got -to know. On the next day he was to be told whether -he could go home or not. He was writing to his wife -in the last hour of that day, about that hour of the -next which would hail his return to life, duty, and -love, or bring down upon his head another of those -blows for which there is no other remedy than the -infinite serenity of the children of God.</p> - -<p>Then he came up to me, spoke of the impending -interview and of all that was at stake.</p> - -<p>I looked at him and said, “You are as sound as a -bell.” The words were magnetic. They were posted -to London that night, and the next day the happy -father and husband, released by the professional -man’s verdict, prepared to pack.</p> - -<p>There are two tragedies that to my mind are -particularly pathetic, both Alpine—that of the lung -patient whom the Alpine sun cannot save, and that -of the Alp worshipper in bounding health for whom -the Alps have become as a car of Juggernaut.</p> - -<p>I have seen dead, handsome young men, for whom -the avalanche had woven a shroud of snow, and I -have beheld wasted frames for whom the sun could -not weave fresh physical tissues.</p> - -<p>Of the Arosa scenes I carried a keen remembrance -as I passed, safe and sure, from ice-cold slope to sun-baked -slope, whether the northern blast froze my -moustache, or the Ausonian breeze loosened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> the -rigidity of the air into balmy wafts. But Arosa -was not without its moments of fun. There was a -parson there who gave me his Christian name to -guess. It began with B, and that was to be the -clue. But I suggested Bradshaw, Bradlaw, and -Beelzebub before his obliging wife put me on the -way to the right spelling, Bible.</p> - -<p>Of all places that suggest Chaos, a poor bare -beginning of things, that place is the desolate spot -in which the Hinter Rhine takes its rise. It is -called Paradise, and if ever man required to cheer -himself with a euphemism, it might be here. From -Splügen to Hinterrhein extends a flat tract of -country on every inch of which nature has left an -impression as of exhausted powers. And yet, under -those external marks of sterility, lurks the beginning -of a great thing, the Rhine, its fruitful valleys, its -grandeur, its world-renowned towns. You may “tail” -behind a post-horse from Splügen to Hinterrhein for -an hour in the gathering dusk, and wonder whether -the next moment will not drop you over the edge of -the world.</p> - -<p>But a comfortable inn will open its homely rooms. -You will tumble among children learning their -lessons around the stove. A place will be made -for you beside the young mother with her youngest -hanging at her breast. The father will walk in with -the proud gait of him who bears himself with grace -and kindness in his sense of manly power.</p> - -<p>“Crossing the Bernardino,” he says, “to-morrow, -alone!”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span></p> -<p>“Why not? I am on ski; the post-sleigh does its -service in all weathers.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but two men go together with the sledge -and the horses.”</p> - -<p>Indeed, I saw them the next day. I left at a -reasonably late hour, and they left still later, catching -me up along the flat. Then I passed them up -the slope. They took all the windings, I cut across. -It was a terribly bleak day. The wind blew the -snow in wreaths, and these laid themselves across -the old hard wreaths. Sleigh and horses cut through -them, throwing out the two men. They rose again, -and got back into their seat to cut through the next -wreath. This time the sleigh was overturned. The -horses—harnessed tandem fashion—plunged, reared -upon their sinking hind-quarters, ploughing the -snow with their breasts, while their hoofs pawed -about for a footing. Then they came off with a -rush, once more taking the sledge through. It was -a long, narrow sleigh, just wide enough to hold two -men, with the mail bags boxed in behind them—more -like a torpedo than anything else.</p> - -<p>It seemed impossible to distinguish the causeway -under the wreaths of snow, in the snow dust blown -up by the wind and with strips of fog flying and -curling about. Yet the horses kept to the winter -track, and all that plunging and kicking was the -ordinary business of every day. The <i lang="it">Cantonieri</i> -stationed from league to league in stone sheds all -along the pass, kept guard in the worst places, and -came out with spade and shovel to expedite the mail.</p> - -<p>I saw all that, hovering about like a stormy petrel, -unable to make out whether my hoverings were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -looked upon as of bad or good augury. I expect -the latter, for if there is a gift that mountaineers -seldom lack, it is that of jovial good humour. To -talk and exchange impressions would not be the -question, till we might “foregather” in Bernardino -village, where horses would be changed and men -might rest. But long before the mail came down -I was swinging through the empty village, between -its deserted hotels, leaving the storm behind me and -opening my coat to the sun-rays that brought the -snow down in trickles from the roofs.</p> - -<p>On and on I went, staying at last my course on -the edge of a wood above Mesocco. There I sat -on the corner of a stone wall, riding it as a lady’s -saddle, with one ski dangling and the other hanging -down as a stirrup, lost in contemplation. The contrast -was so complete, so wonderful, knotting together -as it were in one bow the most opposite aspects of -nature.</p> - -<p>There I rested, snow-man and sun-man in one.</p> - -<p>A peasant came slowly and stolidly by, making a -mess of the thin snow with his heavy boots. He -looked at me with great sympathy, stopped, and let -out that one word in the Italian tongue, “<i lang="it">Stanco!</i>” -(“Tired!”)</p> - -<p>A few hours later my ski were stowed away in an -attic room at Brissago. Their time was up. But -I would take them out again on the return of the -appointed hour. “Jamais pressé, toujours prêt.”</p> -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /> -<span class="smaller">GLACIERS—AVALANCHES—MILITARY SKI-ING</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>A legacy from the past—The formation of glaciers and atmospheric -conditions—Forests and glaciers—Our deficient -knowledge—The upper ice and snow reservoirs—What is -the annual snowfall and what becomes of it?—How glaciers -may be classed—Mechanical forces at work—Moraines and -<i lang="fr">séracs</i>—Avalanches—Periodic avalanches—Accidental avalanches—The -general causes—The statics of snow—What -happens to winter snow—<i lang="it">Strata</i>—How steep slopes may be -classed—Excusable ignorance of strangers to the Alps—Those -who write glibly in home magazines—Unsafe slopes—Avalanches -when running across slopes—The probing-stick—Avalanche -runs—Military ski-ing—The St. Gothard -and St. Maurice districts—Military raids in the High Alps—The -glaciers as military highways—Riflemen on foot as -against marksmen on ski.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-o.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">On the whole the Mid-European -glaciers are a legacy from a -distant past.</p> - -<p>Their former size and extent -corresponded to general meteorological -conditions which have -long ceased to exist.</p> - -<p>They might—and no doubt -did—alternately increase and -decrease within historical times. -They nevertheless must be -viewed as a bequest, a kind of heirloom coming -from a prehistoric ancestry. They are the surv<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>ival -of a phenomenon which, in its former compass and -intensity, is no longer compatible with the meteorological -<i lang="fr">régime</i> of Central Europe.</p> - -<p>The temperature most suitable for the formation -of ice in nature is the temperature which remains -the most steadily around the freezing-point of water. -Extremes of temperature are not favourable to the -formation of snow, which is the form in which water -generally passes into glacier ice.</p> - -<p>It stands to reason that the oftener the atmosphere -can be saturated with moisture in circumstances -which allow a frequent discharge in the -shape of snow falling upon surfaces that are iced—or -such as will retain the snow, assuring the transformation -of some of it, ultimately, into ice—the -more will the thermometer readings show a temperature -rising and falling only moderately above and -below the freezing-point of natural water. There -is no use in further emphasising this obvious truth.</p> - -<p>Everybody will understand that moisture formed -in hot tracts of the atmosphere has little chance -of being converted into snow, and that, while a warm -atmosphere may generate water—destructive of ice -and snow surfaces—a very cold atmosphere cannot -assist in glacier formation—on high land, at any -rate—for want of vapours to condensate and precipitate, -and for want of water masses to consolidate.</p> - -<p>It follows that, within historical times, the Alpine -glaciers have undergone variations according to -changes in the quantity of moisture contained in -the atmosphere, theirs being such altitudes and such -climatic conditions as might allow the Centigrade<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -thermometer to swing pretty steadily between 20 -degrees above zero and 20 degrees under, all the -year round and in the course of a day.</p> - -<p>These conditions existed more fully in periods -when the Alps were well wooded. Such a period -pre-existed the first historical epoch of Switzerland. -Under the Romans, say from 50 <span class="smcapuc">B.C.</span> to 500 <span class="smcapuc">A.D.</span>, this -first historical epoch was marked by the wholesale -destruction of forests—the usual price to be paid for -civilisation—and the glacier world retreated in a -ratio commensurate with the process of denudation.</p> - -<p>Then came the Early Middle Ages, which for -about six or seven hundred years show a distinct -retrogression in Swiss civilisation. The glaciers now -regained some of the ground they had lost, because -the wooded surface, which is the most favourable -to the condensation of moisture, underwent a considerable -increase.</p> - -<p>In modern times the forest area has again undergone -such shrinkage that it has reached the minimum -when artificial means have to be devised for -its preservation. Glaciers have gone back again.</p> - -<p>We may therefore define glaciers as ice and snow -reservoirs formed under prehistoric conditions which -no longer exist. They are kept alive on a reduced -scale, in a direct ratio to the moisture yielded by the -atmosphere as often as it is conveniently a little -above and a little below the freezing-point of natural -water.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate22"> -<img src="images/plate22.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE SONADON GLACIER.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 266.</p> -</div> - -<p>Our knowledge of the glacier world in its formative -processes is as yet extremely deficient. What -proportion of the year’s snowfall—within the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> glacier -region—is actually converted into ice? What proportion -melts away on the surface and passes -directly into water, to be carried away, carrying -along with itself some of the ice? What proportion -is, by sublimation and evaporation, returned to the -atmosphere, to become again the toy of winds, in -the shape of snow or rain-clouds, never feeding the -glacier at all on which it first fell?</p> - -<p>On the other hand, who can tell how much ice is -formed on the glacier surface by the direct absorption -of the air moisture collecting upon such a condensator? -And would it be alien to our subject to -ask what effect may have on the present glaciers -the loss of pressure consequent upon the enormous -reduction in bulk and height which they have undergone? -Is the glacier ice formed under the present -rate of pressure capable of offering anything like the -same resistance to disintegration as its prehistoric -congener? What are its powers of self-preservation -under the vastly inferior pressure which it experiences -in the very places in which ice was once -packed to a height and in a bulk we should not like -to express in figures, even if we possessed competent -data?</p> - -<p>The broad fact seems to be that as much snow as -falls on the glaciers throughout the year is taken -back into the atmosphere, and that the snow congealed -and fixed in the upper basins is as nothing -compared with the quantity of water that evaporates -or runs away at the nether end of the mass every -summer. What is the capacity of the ice-forming -<i lang="de">firn</i> of the Aletsch basin compared to th<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>e extent of -its melting surface? And how much snow does the -<i lang="de">firn</i> receive every year from the atmosphere? And -how much of that snow is incorporated?</p> - -<p>There are now so many approaches to the glacier -world of Switzerland that it should be easy to determine, -at the outlet of a few typical glaciers, the -amount of water thaw conveys to the valleys below. -According to the season, it is quite easy to distinguish -between rain-water, water from springs, and -glacier water. Such observations would lead to -results reciprocally verificatory.</p> - -<p>My provisional conclusions are that:—</p> - -<p>1. The snow falling on the Swiss glaciers is a -mere fraction of the quantity wanted to assure their -stability.</p> - -<p>2. The average snowfall of any year returns to -the atmosphere.</p> - -<p>3. The source and means of congealation are not -proportionate to the exigencies of ice-formation, -even for the maintenance of the <i lang="la">status quo</i>.</p> - -<p>4. The glaciers, regressing as they are now doing, -are not being replenished to any appreciable extent -from the so-called everlasting snow storage, and -certainly not at all in proportion to their wastage.</p> - -<p>In other words:—</p> - -<p>1. In a number of years X the whole glacier mass -of Switzerland is dissolved and reconstituted in proportions -that are less than in the preceding X period.</p> - -<p>2. The snow fallen during the period X—if -present conditions are accepted—is pumped back -by the atmosphere during the same period.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span></p> -<p>3. The quantity of water flowing from those -glaciers in the time is greater than the means of -glacier recuperation.</p> - -<p>4. Yet the glaciers do recuperate in some proportion -to their former size.</p> - -<p>5. Consequently the condensation and congealing -of atmospheric moisture must be much more effective -an agent than hitherto suspected, for there is -no reason why, upwards of 9,000 feet, snow should -be less liable to thaw on ice than on rock surfaces. -Rock and ice areas are conterminous.</p> - -<p>Glaciers may be classed, according to their -physical conformation, under the following headings:—</p> - -<p>1. <i>Circular Schema.</i>—They are then enclosed in -a basin more or less irregular in shape. The enclosed -mass of ice remains concave as long as it is lower -than the rim of the basin. But it becomes convex -in the centre when it rises above the horizontal line -joining the opposite rims of the basin.</p> - -<p>2. <i>Longitudinal Schema.</i>—A. On the flat, or approximately, -those glaciers show convex surfaces.</p> - -<p>B. When resting on a slope they are concave in -the upper basin, which feeds them and become -convex as they reach lower and wider channels.</p> - -<p>This second type is the normal glacier type.</p> - -<p>A diagram or section of the convex portion of -the glacier—an ideal diagram of course—would -show the mechanical and static forces at work in -a fan-shaped formation radiating from a point on -the not geometrical, but mechanical, centre line -of the glacier, this point being situated on its bed, -where the side-pressures converge and annihilate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -each other’s progress.</p> - -<p>From this point the bottom ice works its way -up to the melting-surface—but obliquely, being the -whole time carried down by the slope—and throws -up side moraines and one or several spinal moraines -in the process. The spinal moraines always rest on -pure ice. The ice seams have been thrown up -from the inside.</p> - -<p>Crevasses may occur in an outward, open, surface-formation, -as in <i lang="fr">séracs</i> when they are grouped -together, or else they are the result of accidental -deflections or temporary oppositions in mechanical -and static forces at work in the ice.</p> - -<p>We said a while ago that there was no reason -why, at the height of 9,000 feet and upwards, -snow accumulations should be more stable and -constant on ice surfaces than on rock. The cause -for this is simply that rock and ice are too near -to each other and at altitudes too closely alike -for serious differences in temperature.</p> - -<p>Let us now pass to the matter of avalanches. -If snow is utterly unstable on rock, so it is on ice. -Rock and ice constitute an avalanche area, which -in winter extends down so as to include all steepnesses -on which snow may lodge and whence it -may be dislodged by the forces of Nature.</p> - -<p>Avalanches may be periodic or accidental.</p> - -<p>A periodic avalanche is the kind that comes down -regularly at a known spot, each time sufficient -cause is brought into play. Maps of the Alps exist -on which those periodic avalanches are noted. -Almost every Alpine village has a periodic av<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>alanche -on its territory. The peasants know when and -where to expect it. It is called <em>the</em> avalanche of -so and so, and your business is to find out, each -time you propose going out on an expedition, -whether it has come down or not, and all -about it.</p> - -<p>An accidental avalanche arises from general causes -taking effect fortuitously.</p> - -<p>The general causes are:—</p> - -<p>1. A quick rise in the temperature.</p> - -<p>2. A sudden fall of the barometer.</p> - -<p>3. A change of wind.</p> - -<p>4. A fresh fall of snow.</p> - -<p>5. Slopes of a certain angle and conformation.</p> - -<p>6. Differences of density, moisture, and consistency -in superposed layers of snow.</p> - -<p>A study of the statics of snow is the royal road -to the understanding of avalanches.</p> - -<p>On a slope snow is in a state of more or less -pronounced instability.</p> - -<p>A first fall of dry winter snow upon dry slopes is -extremely avalanchy, provided it be heavy enough. -If it be a fall of wet snow on a porous surface—that -is, neither frozen ground nor hard rock—the snow -will as it were flop together in a slithering mass, -but is not likely to form itself into a dangerous -compact floe.</p> - -<p>As soon as a second fall of snow comes to adhere -to what is left of the first, it may happen that the -second layer does not get properly welded to the first. -The thoroughness of the attachment depends on the -adhesiveness of the snow and on weather condition<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>s. -A foundation is therefore laid for the slipping of the -new snow upon the surface of the old.</p> - -<p>In the course of the winter the snow gets consolidated -in one mass, but the process takes each -time from two to three days, during which caution is -necessary. A homogeneous layer of snow, hardened -from the outside by wind pressure, or freezing over -after a slight thaw, may then break up into slabs -which slide down on the older snow, should one with -ski, or in any other fashion, cut that snow away—at -any point—from its support.</p> - -<p>A <i lang="la">stratum</i> of snow on a steep open slope is like a -piece of cardboard balanced on your finger. There is -a limit to the inclination of the cardboard beyond -which it will slip off its pivot. So it is with snow.</p> - -<p>Newly fallen snow soon ceases to be an amorphous -mealy mass. Its bottom layer models itself on the -surface on which it lies and, if turned over, would -show that surface <i lang="fr">en relief</i>. The next <i lang="la">stratum</i> -adheres to the first more or less, and finds points of -support for itself, such as rocks protruding through -the first <i lang="la">stratum</i>, trees, shrubs, fences, dykes, &c. -Every ensuing layer is less shored up than the one -beneath. Should there be a rise in the temperature, -an increase of moisture brought on by a change in -the wind, the snow becomes heavier and may start -down; as a dry sponge on an inclined board, -gradually absorbing water, must slide down when the -inclination of the board and the quantity of water -reach the critical point.</p> - -<p>Our illustration from the cardboard balanced on a -finger-tip, and from the sponge on an inclined pl<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>ane, -makes it clear that it is impossible to state at what -definite angle the equipoise of a snow <i lang="la">stratum</i> must -be lost or is sure to be kept. That angle depends on -the finger-tip, on the weight and size of the cardboard, -on the sponginess of the sponge, on the -slipperiness of the plank, on your holding your -breath, or mischievously blowing upon the suspended -object, &c. When about to capsize, the cardboard -may meet some external point of support, such as -your raised hand, which, in the case of the snow -<i lang="la">stratum</i>, would be a pre-existing prop and maintain -an otherwise impossible stability.</p> - -<p>A fall in the barometer almost always means an -increase of moisture which is unfavourable to the -steadiness of old snow. A dry, hot wind—such as -<i lang="de">foehn</i>—is worse, because its heat penetrates the snow -to the very bottom and sets it moving throughout its -thickness.</p> - -<p>New snow is dangerous till it has had time to set—that -is, for two or three days.</p> - -<p>Runners are generally agreed to call steep the -slopes on which avalanches may occur.</p> - -<p>Steep slopes are either concave, convex, or straight.</p> - -<p>They are concave when the slopes converge towards -a central dividing line lying deeper, to the eye, than -their sides; these are scooped out of the hill.</p> - -<p>Concave slopes are:—</p> - -<p>1. Funnel-shaped, when the funnel may be either -upright or upside down.</p> - -<p>If it is upright, the wide opening is at the top. If -the slope affect the shape of a reversed funnel, it -opens out at the bottom, but it may also be choked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> -up in the middle, opening up again above, like an -hour-glass.</p> - -<p>Concave slopes are quite safe if strewn with rocks, -overgrown with shrubs, or wooded. They are untrustworthy -if the sides have been planed down, as it -were, by what we may call natural wear and tear.</p> - -<p>The reader sees here how the indications of nature -may be properly interpreted. It is quite clear that a -gorge which is a natural shrubbery, for instance, has -not been visited by avalanches for a time at least as -long as the plants took to grow to their visible size.</p> - -<p>The trouble here is that Londoners, for example, -having to deal with a gorge which they have not -seen free from snow, cannot be expected to tell -whether it is safe or not. The local man alone—a -permanent eye-witness—possesses the information -required, and failing actual acquaintance with the -place, a practised mountaineer alone can form an -opinion.</p> - -<p>Slopes are convex when the centre line, to the -eye, rises above their sides. These stand out from -the hill, diverging from its top.</p> - -<p>Convex slopes should be ascended and descended -along the dividing-line. This line, as a dominating -centre, will always be sought out by the -good High Alp runner. It is both the shortest -and surest path from point to point, and great -is the delight to see at one’s feet the avalanche -runs. If the coping is occupied by rocks, the runner -will keep to the snow near to the rocks, but he -has no business there at all if the rock ridge is -considerable enough to harbour avalanche snow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> -A practised eye sees at a glance whether snow in -excess of the capacity of the gullies is still suspended -above the runner’s head, or whether it lies -in cakes and balls at his feet.</p> - -<p>Here again the native will know. It would -help you but little to say that you have found -him out to be an unconventional runner, that he -is slow and not at all the handy man you expected. -However much you may be entitled to fancy yourself -or your skill as a conventional runner, he is -the better mountaineer, and should your conventional -style leave you in the lurch, he is the fellow -to do the right thing for you. It is then just -as well to remember, when one writes in a home -magazine, that, on the spot, one was the incompetent -person of the party. “He of the ice-axe,” -your guide, would do that second job, too, far better -than you, if the use of the pen in that periodical -was not inconsistent with his inferior social standing -and extremely imperfect education.</p> - -<p>The straight slope is the slope on which every -point is on the same plane as another. These -slopes are safe when they abut on to ground -which obviously is locally viewed as not exposed to -avalanches: vineyards, potato-fields, woods, hay-lofts, -&c.</p> - -<p>They are unsafe when undermined by a trickle -of water—springs, for instance—and when the layer -of snow next to the ground has melted away -without affecting the upper layers; or when the -slope rests upon a protruding ledge over which -it bulges out; or when it is cut by longitudin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>al -ribs of blown-out snow which you may break -open unawares, letting out the mealy contents upon -yourself.</p> - -<p>All slopes may be traversed—that is, you may -run across them obliquely.</p> - -<p>When about to traverse, look to the foot of -the slope, and then look to the head of the slope. -If all is right, sound the snow with your stick -and glance into the conic hole made by it. In -time you will acquire an ability to tell by the -feel whether the snow is mealy, or set, or damp, -and how many layers your stick breaks through -before coming to a standstill upon frozen ground, -or against rock, or before sinking into the hollow -space that may exist between the nethermost -layer of snow and the soil.</p> - -<p>Of course, all this you cannot do with a short, -light bamboo, conveniently fitted with an osier -disk within three inches of the point! To go forth -so simply equipped means that you are leaving -your brains at home on that day—a thing I often -do myself—but, I assure you, only when out for -mere play!</p> - -<p>A stick that cannot be used on an emergency -either as an anchor or as a sounding-line to take -castings with, is a poor friend. It is instructive -to look curiously into the hole made by one’s -stick. What would be the use of a sport practised -simply as an opportunity for being scatter-brained -with impunity, so long as luck lasts?</p> - -<p>On the hill-side, slopes—concave, convex, and -straight—are joined to one another by linking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -surfaces varying in shape and inclination, but of -too limited a development and too irregular a -build to offer to avalanches any opportunity of -spreading over them; or else slopes are separated -from one another by breaks in the ski-ing surface, -such as ravines. In these, masses of snow gather -most conveniently. The longitudinal gaps opened -up by landslips, torrent beds, or even only the -slides made by wood-cutters through forest and -pasture land to launch felled trees into the valley, -are very distinctly avalanche runs. Efforts are -now being made to bar such runs by artificial -plantations, fencings, or walls.</p> - -<p>The centre of military ski-running in Switzerland -is in the environment of the permanent Alpine -forts which defend the St. Gothard knot of trans-Alpine -and sub-Alpine (railway tunnels) lines of -communication from Italy into Switzerland, betwixt -the sources of the Reuss, Ticino, Rhine, and -Rhône. Another centre is situated in the Rhône -Valley, at the point where a natural defile bars -the line of communication between the upper Rhône -Valley, at St. Maurice, and the Lake of Geneva, -commanding to some extent the roads converging -upon that point from Northern Savoy and leading -to it from Italy over the St. Bernard pass or -through the Simplon tunnel.</p> - -<p>The opening of the Loetschberg tunnel on the -new short railway route between Berne and Milan -will, however, make it advisable to erect some kind -of additional works about Brigue.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p> -<p>The Gothard and St. Maurice guards use ski, -and ski-ing detachments are about to be attached -to the brigades of mountain infantry located all -along the range of the Alps.</p> - -<p>Many junior Swiss officers have made themselves -proficient in the new mountaineering by joining -military ski courses. Military patrol competitions -meet with much favour at the large ski gatherings.</p> - -<p>For all that, the adaptability of ski to military -purposes is not very great in the High Alps. Still -they are called upon to become quite a consideration -in border defence or attack. Small troops of -skiers could pass easily from one side to another -of the Alps, occupying flying posts of observation, -and even raiding places where the defence would -have preferred to put its own outposts, had it not -allowed itself to be forestalled. The Alpine Club -huts afford sufficient shelter for summarily equipped -detachments numbering from twenty to forty men.</p> - -<p>Bodies of troops crossing the Alps in winter by -the passes available for considerable military transport -would enjoy a distinct advantage if the outlet -of the passes had been previously occupied by half -or quarter companies of bold ski-ing infantry -pouncing, as it were, from the skies upon small -snow-bound places with summer hotels ready for -occupation and better stocked with means of -subsistence than one would at first be led to -expect. In some Swiss Alpine villages particularly, -large supplies are often accumulated for the next -summer season, and in others much merchandise -is stored up to accommodate the Italian smugglers -whose “exports” from Switzerland are all the year<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -round a source of profit to their purveyors.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;" id="plate23"> -<img src="images/plate23.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">AT THE FOOT OF COL D’HÉRENS.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 279.</p> -</div> - -<p>Swiss ski-runners, by expeditions like my own, -have proved that the glaciers may be used, within -strict limits, as highways for rapid and unexpected -military movements. Till now it was assumed -that crevasses, iced rocks, and piles upon piles of -corniced snow would offer insuperable obstacles -to any military action. But the crevasses—as the -reader now knows—are most hermetically sealed. -To the expert and wary runner the snow opposes -no greater barrier than to the pedestrian in summer. -Does not history teach how foot-soldiers have -<i lang="fr">en masse</i>, with artillery and baggage, been moved -to and fro across the Alps? Henceforth, military -runners may be trusted to scour the ranges, undetected, -cutting communications one day at the -St. Bernard hospice and opening fire three days -later upon the Simplon hospice, hanging alternately -on the only two military roads joining -Switzerland and Italy between the St. Gothard -forts and French Savoy.</p> - -<p>Those raiding parties could be followed by considerable -parties of transport men, carrying fresh -ammunition and supplies.</p> - -<p>Such places as Bourg St. Pierre, Fionnay, Arolla, -Zinal, Zermatt, Saas, would be, from the Italian -point of view, worth seizing and manning at the -outset of a winter campaign. From the point -of view of a Swiss advance aiming at laying hold -of the southern outlets of the military roads before -the enemy could move up its advanced columns, -those places would be valuable bases for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> -auxiliary services waiting upon the raiding detachments.</p> - -<p>Hitherto forces crossing the Alps in winter could -expect to be safe from attack on their flanks. -Henceforth there might be a very different story -to relate. The few experiments hitherto made -show that an attack by skirmishing ski-runners -upon columns on the march could not be met by -dispatching against them rifle-men on foot. Across -country a man on foot will take about an hour—on -flat ground—to cover a distance which an -average runner on 2 feet of snow will overtake in -one-quarter of the time. Uphill, the advantage -of the ski-man is still more marked, and he may -continue much longer. Moreover, he disposes of -the whole hill-side, and may take cover exactly as -he pleases, by crossing snows over which the -pedestrian can make no progress at all, and becomes -a most convenient mark. The ski-runner may -force his pursuer into any ground he chooses. For -a force developed across an expanse of snow, it is -extraordinarily difficult to carry out an attack -upon ski-runners firing from behind shelter. They -occupy probably the higher position, and their field -of vision is absolutely uninterrupted. Rushes from -point to point across the zone of fire are quite out -of the question in the absence of any screen whatsoever.</p> - -<p>As for the rifle-men or sharpshooters on foot in -charge of a village, sallying forth to dislodge a -party of runners firing into their position and then -withdrawing out of the reach of adversaries firing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -from opened-up tracks, spaces, or houses, the idea is -not plausible. A dismounted horse-soldier might just -as well advance sword in hand against marksmen -manning rifle-pits, or an infantry man, short of -ammunition, might just as well trust his bayonet -to reach a horseman galloping away out of sight.</p> - -<p>Ski-ing patrols of mountain infantry with portable -machine-guns could defend such passes as -the Furka or the Grimsel against forces pushed -forward in vastly superior numbers.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="300" height="150" alt="Drawing of skiers having a rest, poles stuck upright in the snow" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MECHANICS OF SKI-BINDINGS</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The shoe—The original bindings—The modern bindings—The -foot—The hinge in the foot—Different functions of the -toe-strap and heel-band—The parts of the binding—Faulty -fasteners—Sketches of faulty and correct leverage—A -schematic binding—<i lang="fr">Critique</i> of bindings in use—Suggestions—Cheeks -and plates—A whole blade—Cause -of strained feet—Steel wire in bindings.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i-3.jpg" width="30" height="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">In choosing a suitable binding for the high-level -routes in the Alps—as in thinking out -or devising such a binding—the runner’s commodity -is the main consideration. There is -human anatomy. There are the possibilities -of leather, metal, and wire. And footgear, -and ski, and binding have to work together.</p> - -<p>Runners who run for sport alone have a -preference for the boots known in the trade -under the name of laupar boots. They are -thick-soled, flat-heeled, box-shaped above the -toes. The Lotus boots, made on an American -shape, are a good type also. But are they -good Alpine boots?</p> - -<p>Runners in the Alps for whom ski are a -means to an end, as well as an object in itself, -generally wear an ordinary mountaineering boot of -a large size, carefully nailed on heel and sole.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> -This for two reasons:—</p> - -<p>First, there is frequently some distance to be -travelled over, in order to get across the rough, -broken, or wooded ground before reaching the high -snow-fields.</p> - -<p>Second, it is practically impossible to dispense -with nails in one’s boots when crossing, above the -snow-line, rocks and icy patches. On these ski are -useless. They have to be carried for awhile or left -behind, till called for. The runner is then thrown -upon his boots and climbing-irons. Should his boots -be laupars, the climbing-irons have to be fitted on -to the bare soles. This is an inconvenient process, -partly because the bands are liable to freeze, partly -because it may take more time to don and doff the -irons than the emergency will be kind enough -to allow.</p> - -<p>Those who speak of injury done to ski-blades by -boot-nails carry too far their sympathy for an -excellent servant. In point of fact, a symmetrically -and regularly nailed boot makes upon the ski-blade -and plate a harmless impression. The lodgement of -each nail-head is clean. It even affords an additional -support when turning, or breaking, or -swinging.</p> - -<p>The characteristics of a good running boot are, as -one sees, few and definite.</p> - -<p>With ski bindings, or fastenings, the matter is -altogether different.</p> - -<p>The popularity of ski-running burst forth so suddenly -upon the sporting world that the invention of -new bindings—of which there is no end—soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -proceeded even beyond the boundaries of common -sense and reason.</p> - -<p>The original Scandinavian and Lap bindings, with -bent twigs, twisted cane, or long thong, were quite -sufficient for their purpose and in their place.</p> - -<p>Of the new bindings a large number are of a -commercial character only. Others, brought out on -the score of mechanical perfection, come forward -with purely academical credentials.</p> - -<p>The early Scandinavian or Norse fastenings had -a distinct quality. They were not invented, but -grew. They were made of one same material -throughout, showing the essential feature of a -sound binding: uniformity of texture. But the ski-blade -was directly fastened to the foot, more -particularly to the toes, by the binding.</p> - -<p>The defect of these original bindings came to light -when they were put to more athletic uses. They -then proved too weak, and not sufficiently durable, -in the hands of Germans, Austrians, and Swiss, -practising the Norse sport in their own countries.</p> - -<p>Iron and steel, in varying degrees of hardness, -were pressed into service. The uniformity of -material was thus brought to an end.</p> - -<p>To make a long story short, the Huitfeldt and -Ellefsen bindings are generally admitted to be the -most useful. The former is distinguished by a clamp -for bolting down the heel-strap. The latter obtains -rigidity—which is considered indispensable—by binding -the heel of the runner to the ski-blade by means -of a stiff sole.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span></p> - -<p>Whatever the binding, the mechanics controlling -the linking together of limb, boot, and ski in common -action, need some explaining. Even the lay-reader -may gain some benefit from a short and easy -excursion in the domain of <em>technique</em>.</p> - -<p>The foot consists of toes, ball, and heel. The -point of play is the same, whether one walk or use -ski. It lies across the ball of the foot. It is determined -by the structure and articulations of the foot, -from the extremity of the big toe to above the ankle-joint. -But the line of play does not lie <em>along</em> the -foot; it lies athwart. On this line turns or hinges -the foot, as though a rod were run through it, -whether the motion be up and down—that is, -vertical; or horizontal (right and left); or oblique -(foot sideways and edgeways), as in turns, -swings, &c.</p> - -<p>There is thus an axis of rotation through the foot. -This axis need no more be horizontal than, for -instance, the wheels of a motor-car when one drives -over an obstacle.</p> - -<p>The foot should sit at ease in the binding. It -must not be fretted, chafed, galled, or pressed by the -material of the binding when the work to be done -puts a long and enduring strain on the boot. To -that effect, the binding should be such that the -pressure will, as it were, cancel itself by an equal -application and even distribution, whatever may be -the movements and position of the foot.</p> - -<p>In other words, the heel-strap must have its -point of attachment on the axis of rotation -across the foot, the point on which it revolves -to describe some portion of a circle in the ver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>tical -direction.</p> - -<p>But this attachment must be mobile throughout -in the horizontal plane. It should not be fixed on to -the side of the ski-blade, or upon the ski in front of -the foot, or anywhere else. One should bear in -mind that, in mechanics, a heel-strap adhering to -the ski at the centre of revolution acts like a rigid -arm. The balance of the body is upset by sudden -shocks which may react injuriously upon the foot, -whenever there is a rigid connection brought into -play, if only for one instant.</p> - -<p>It is the business of the toe-strap to establish a -connection (a close and immobile connection) -between the foot and the ski, which it is the foot’s -function to propel. To the contrary, to perform its -office, the heel-strap requires no fixed points of -vertical support. In a mechanically perfect binding, -the foot of the runner would be free to revolve, as -on a pivot, in the horizontal plane, spending thus -forces of lateral origin, while the ski continued upon -its course. As it is, a good runner surmounts -disturbing, incidental forces (the ordinary cause -of accidents arising from ski-structure) by passing -them up along his body and neutralising their effect -by shooting himself upwards, as if to fly.</p> - -<p>When twigs of twisted cane were used they broke -away under the strain. The long leather thong was -stronger, but it froze, or imbibed water with too -much alacrity.</p> - -<p>A ski-binding is essentially composed of four -parts:—</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span></p> -<p>First: A ring, or toe-strap, in which to adjust the -point of the foot, and which is the <i lang="la">fulcrum</i>.</p> - -<p>Second: A heel-band, which, passing round the -foot, presses its fore-part against the <i lang="la">fulcrum</i>, in -the ring, or toe-strap.</p> - -<p>Third: A fastener, either clamp, bolt, buckle with -eye and prong, sole of appropriate length, lever, &c., -wherewith to regulate and adjust the pressure of the -heel-band upon the <i lang="la">fulcrum</i>.</p> - -<p>Fourth: Side-supports, or cheeks, for the ball of -the foot, generally placed on each side of the -<i lang="la">fulcrum</i>.</p> - -<p>It is under number three (clamps, buckles, and -levers) that all fastenings are at fault. They would -have to be self-adjusting, so far as quick adaptation -to changing weather conditions and sudden running -strains is necessary. But such cannot be automatically -obtained yet. The best fasteners are -approximate in their action. The worst are clumsy -mechanical contrivances. Most, good or bad, link -the heel-band with the ski blade. Some fasteners -are placed on one or both cheeks.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<p class="caption">FAULTY LEVERAGE.</p> -<img src="images/sketch1.jpg" width="400" height="100" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>We have already made it plain: the heel-band, -when stretched out round the foot, should be free -to revolve in the same plane as the flat of the ski, -as set forth in the following sketches:—</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p> -<p>Here lateral impulses or checks are transmitted -through the point of attachment of the heel-band.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<p class="caption">CORRECT LEVERAGE.</p> -<img src="images/sketch2a.jpg" width="400" height="125" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A. Oblique View.</p> -<img src="images/sketch2b.jpg" width="200" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">B. Front View.</p> -</div> - -<p>Here none but the pressure exerted by means of -the heel-band fastener upon the <i lang="la">fulcrum</i> (toe-straps -and cheeks) controls the ski.</p> - -<p>If the reader will kindly remember what we said -about the axis of rotation lying across the ball of -the foot, he will now understand that the heel-band -has to describe “some portion of a circle” on the -apex A, as follows:—</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<p class="caption">CORRECT LEVERAGE.</p> -<img src="images/sketch2c.jpg" width="400" height="150" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Side View.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span></p> - -<p class="noindent">each time the foot moves up and down in the -vertical line.</p> - -<p>Consequently the principles of a schematic binding -work out in this way:—</p> - -<p>First: That the heel-band be free to move in a -horizontal plane, and be made to run through the -fastening lever instead of being itself attached to -the ski by an extremity.</p> - -<p>Second: That the heel-band run loosely through -a loop or sleeve placed on the apex of the foot axis -on each side of the ball of the foot. The band will -hinge on the loop, else it would slacken and -tighten as the foot rises and falls.</p> - -<p>Third: That the heel-band be of the nature of a -continuous rope, or closed circuit, passing through -the handle of the lever which, when opened or -shut, releases the foot, or presses it down into the -toe-strap.</p> - -<p>Fourth: That the heel-band hang upon each apex -of the rotatory axis instead of being tied there.</p> - -<p>There are many reasons for accepting the above -remarks. For instance, the point of rotation works -out too high in many manufactured bindings. The -heel-strap then cannot adhere as it should to the -boot. Its radius and that of the heel do not -coincide. In the case of a well-known Norwegian -binding, the strap, on the contrary, starts from a -point of attachment which, on each side of the -ski, is placed lower than the toe-line. Thus the -heel-strap is wrongly centred again. The boot -undergoes irregular pressure, a cause of additional -fatigue and a waste of mechanical power.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span></p> -<p>Most makers have been led into this fault by -the bulk and thickness of the material ordinarily -employed—namely leather. Leather does very well -for circling the heel, a flat band being there the -proper thing to be used, but it is less useful to -the front, where tension is called for.</p> - -<p>The fore part of the heel-band might perhaps be -replaced by a rope of fine strands of wire, with a -breaking strain equal to, say, six hundred pounds, by -far exceeding the strength of the stoutest ski-thong. -At the point of rotation, the strap, in which is -placed the heel, would meet the wire. Thus the -connecting-point between the heel-strap and its -wire extremities to the front would coincide with -the pivots on which the heel revolves in the axis -of the foot.</p> - -<p>Under those conditions, when lifting from the -ski the heel of the boot, the tension of the heel-band -remains uniform in every position.</p> - -<p>This part of the binding apparatus may be practically -autonomous. Free from any direct connection -with the wood, it ceases to be a medium through -which shocks may disturb the balance of the body. -The foot then is free to exercise unhindered its -own balancing power and to obey its spontaneous -“statics.”</p> - -<p>When cheeks are used, they generally consist of -two steel plates, with turned-up sides or ears, and -frequently provided with holes at suitable distances. -Hammered into shape, the plates usually overlap -each other on the centre line of the ski. Sometimes -a pin driven through any two holes in the -superposed plates (by means of a spring, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>to which -it is attached) maintains the plates at such a -distance from each other as may fit the boot of -the runner.</p> - -<p>Plates need not be inserted through the wood -of the ski, as is the case with most bindings with -cheeks, but they may be laid on the flat of the -blade, quite on a level with the rotatory axis of the -foot. A steel spring may then be adjusted along -the middle line of the foot-rest. It may be raised -with the greatest ease, bringing the pin with it.</p> - -<p>To the usual practice of boring a hole through -the wood of the ski should be preferred an arrangement -such as we have just described, preserving -for the runner that on which he most justly may -pride himself: a whole and uninjured ski-blade.</p> - -<p>The writer has always used in the High Alps a -binding fulfilling the conditions here laid down. -He found his binding both safe and strong.</p> - -<p>Elasticity and uniformity of pressure are so well -secured by the severance of the heel-band from the -body of the ski, that a fall forward is not accompanied -by an awkward strain, such strain being -almost always brought about by the reaction of -the weight of the ski upon the muscles or bones -of the foot. It is now generally recognised that -strains and breaks are not caused by the firmness -of a binding, but by an unequal and jolting application -of pressure to the bones and muscular -tissues.</p> - -<p>A binding, the whole of which may be detached -from the ski-blade by taking out a pin and removing -a lever, is handy to travel with, as instruments to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -fit on a new binding instead of an old or broken -one, are inconvenient adjuncts.</p> - -<p>The weak points in steel rope bindings are:—</p> - -<p>1. That the rivet connecting wire and leather may -give way. The splicing should be most carefully -seen to.</p> - -<p>2. The metal cheeks may turn out to be brittle, -if too hard or too thin, as in any other binding -with cheeks.</p> - -<p>3. The soft steel wire being made of strands, the -very condition of its pliancy, this also means that -the strands may be too soft, or too hard, or that -they may be broken or unwound by coming into -contact with hard edges. To obviate this risk, an -oiled leather sleeve through which the wires might -run, would protect them against friction and provide -them with a lubricant.</p> - -<p>The lubricant should be applied also on the -bends of the wire.</p> - -<p>The leather sleeves are placed outside each cheek -by means of a rivet with the loop upwards and free. -This provides a non-rigid “focus” of soft material, -through which the fine wires, though tense, run -loosely. The section of the wire thus enclosed lies -at a varying angle with the foot as it rises and -falls, and adjusts itself to this in its every position.</p> - -<p>The lever by means of which the tightening of -the wire heel-strap is managed, is best placed across -the ski-blade in front of the foot. The wire runs -freely through this lever to which, as mentioned -before, it should not be attached. Thus, in case -of a wrench, or should the runner fall, the whol<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>e -of the wired heel-band may yield to the foot and -shift it just a little to one side or the other, -instead of jerking it, as is otherwise common, -either against or out of the binding.</p> - -<p>Be this as it may, and taking things at their -best, the modern ski-runner’s desideratum—a binding -of uniform material, adaptable and elastic -throughout—has yet to be met.</p> - -<p>An occasionally rather heated warfare was, a few -years ago, waged in words, all about ski-bindings. -The shape, length, breadth, and grooving of the -ski-blades were also drawn into the field of controversy. -Such debates are a positive relish for -enthusiasts and fanatics. But, though angry words -break no bones, violent talk is apt to be vapid -and, save for the sake of exercise in vituperative -wit, can serve no useful purpose.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="Drawing of two ski-jumpers" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">RUDIMENTS OF WINTER MOUNTAINEERING FOR -SKI-RUNNERS</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The new “Alpinism”—A re-statement of elementary principles—Ski-runners -<i lang="la">versus</i> summer pedestrians—The experiences of -an eminent physician—How to walk in snow—Put not your -trust in sticks—Keep your rope dry—Stand up on your feet—Ski-sticks -as supports—Winter clothing.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t-2.jpg" width="100" height="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">Till within the last one hundred and -fifty years mountaineering as a sport -was undreamt of in Europe. The high -Swiss valleys were then visited by a few -scientific and geographical explorers or -by people whose means of livelihood -and business occupations stood in some -connection with the valleys, their produce -and inhabitants.</p> - -<p>During the nineteenth century, poetry -and literature fostered summer mountaineering, -and commercial enterprise was not slow -in following in the wake of the intellectual and -emotional admirers of mountain scenery. The High -Alps were frequented by others than mere trans-Alpine -travellers.</p> - -<p>But it was reserved for the present generation to -invent winter sports. By them, the Alpine winter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> -has sprung into international life. Thanks to them, -winter mountaineering is now fast adding a new -branch to Alpinism.</p> - -<p>In the light of this new age, even the most elementary -principles of the mountaineer’s art have to -be re-stated. Within the compass of the most -modest pretensions, the present chapter aims at so -doing—for winter sport lovers of either sex, whom -the perusal of the foregoing chapters may further fire -with zeal. General readers—ladies particularly—we -would not rudely expect to be at pains to supplement, -by incurring a course of severe trials, their deficient -opportunities and brevity of experience. They will -not regret their patience if they read these pages, -which, roughly speaking, cover a ground beyond -which few of them ever are likely to push their -investigations.</p> - -<p>None can safely and properly use ski in the Alps -but they who have become acquainted with a -mountainous country as summer pedestrians. But -many now visit the Alps in winter only. As these -have no previous acquaintance with the conditions of -mountaineering, let them here take heed and be -warned.</p> - -<p>For want of minding these hints, you might fare -like a famous physician of our acquaintance who, -coolly, in mid-January, after an early breakfast, left -his hotel, at Beatenberg, with a sandwich in his -pocket, a few drops of whisky in his flask, and -accompanied by his son, lightly clad and lightly shod -like himself.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span></p> -<p>They went merrily along in the snow, on gently -sloping ground bathed in the rays of the sun, till -they found themselves by midday above a somewhat -tall and far-stretching wall of rocks. The heat of -the day and the weariness of the flesh promptly -brought about the disappearance of the whisky and -sandwiches. But the sun would continue to burn -above and the snow to be deep below. Hot heads, -icy feet, worn limbs. To trudge back seemed uninviting. -So the tourists at sundown took to the steep -rocks with trembling legs. Their hands were numb. -They slipped on wet snow. They got no grip on the -ice. They fell into snowdrifts. Their heads were -dizzy. Their feet froze. To reach quickly the -happy end of a sad tale, it was three o’clock in the -morning when they were snatched from the edge of -the grave by a party of peasants bearing lanterns and -drawn to them by their despairing cries.</p> - -<p>Like cases are well-nigh of daily occurrence.</p> - -<p>So, if you would be a mountaineer, you may learn -here a few things which probably you think you -know already, but perhaps do not:—</p> - -<p>1. <i>How to Walk in Snow.</i> Wear heavy socks and -stockings, put on boots of stout leather with nailed -soles and broad low heels.</p> - -<p>To go uphill, set your feet down lightly but -firmly in the snow, putting your weight upon the ball -of the foot. Then raise yourself on your foremost -leg by a forward swing of the body, to bring it well -above your bent knee. This will set your hindmost -foot free to step up in its turn, quite lightly. You -must not raise yourself by means of a push away from -the ground, you would merely glide out of your step,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -backwards.</p> - -<p>To go downhill, put your foot flat in the snow, -heel and all, keeping your heel straight, to build a -foundation. But do not thump your foot down. -There is frequently, under the snow, a slippery surface -of stone or ice.</p> - -<p>Put not your trust in sticks. As you do not know -very well where the point will rest when thrust -through the snow, it will often cause you to stumble. -Your body should be well supported and well -balanced on your legs alone.</p> - -<p>2. If you use a rope in snow do not let it drag. -Insist on your guide keeping it dry by coiling it up in -his hands when it would be inconvenient to keep it -taut. A rope that has over and over again been -frozen and wetted is slippery under any condition -and may snap under sudden stress.</p> - -<p>3. When climbing rocks or steep grass slopes in -winter, it is safest to assume that they are frozen -over. Wear strong gloves and use them to hold on -with, but do not lay your full weight, through your -hands, on to jutting pieces of rock. Such supports -are indispensable in climbing, but likely to break -away. So use them as supports only. The weight -of your body must rest on your feet and be raised -by your legs to its next resting-point. Frozen -ground, frosted grass, iced rocks are always extremely -dangerous.</p> - -<p>When letting yourself down frozen rocks, as a rule -with the help of a rope, stand upright and in most -cases with your back to the rise of the hill. You -may then let yourself down on your bent elbows<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -while your feet settle in their next hold.</p> - -<p>4. The winter mountaineer has such a preference -for ski-running that he has but little opportunity to -use the instrument called <i>pickel</i>, <i>piolet</i>, or ice-axe. -However, when compelled to remove his ski and sling -them across his shoulders to pass a difficult piece of -ground, he will hold his sticks together and use them -in guise of an ice-axe for support.</p> - -<p>When going down a sharp incline on foot, hold -your sticks together, with both hands resting on -them. Let the point end rest on the high ground -well behind you, but do not lean back. You would -find your feet running away from under you. When -going uphill, plant the point ends of your sticks -somewhere on the ground in the middle of your -stride, but somewhat higher on the rise of the hill -than the ground you stand on. It is a common -mistake to plant one’s sticks down the slope, a sure -way of running into danger. In case of a slip, the -place of hands and sticks is on the higher ground, -while it is the business of the feet to seek alone -a fresh hold lower down. They are thus partly -relieved from the weight of the body, and this is -kept upright.</p> - -<p>5. The clothes of the winter mountaineer should be -strong and warm. When moisture-laden, the air is -more trying than when it is dry, though colder. -Thaws are not unknown in winter, and rain in the -valleys is an experience to be prepared against. -Boots and leggings should be weather-proof. One -should wear wind-proof knickerbockers or breeches, a -chamois leather waistcoat, a short but wide and easy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> -coat. Rough woollen material collects the snow. -Such should be reserved for underwear. Outer garments -should present to the snow a smooth, closely -woven surface.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="100" height="250" alt="Drawing of a skier carrying his ski and poles" /> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<span class="smaller">WINTER STATIONS—WINTER SPORTS—HOW TO -USE SKI</span></h2> - -<div class="hanging"> - -<p>The awakening of the English—Switzerland the ice and snow -rink of Europe—The high winter stations and the low—Principal -sporting centres—Insular delusions—The -Continental network of winter sport associations—Winter -sports on ice—Tobogganing—The winter climate varies -with the altitude—A classification of sporting centres according -to altitude—The ski-runner is monarch of the Alps—How -to keep one’s ski in good order—How to learn the -gentle art of running on ski—Precepts and practice—The -turns, breaks, and swings—<i>Point final</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div> -<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i-4.jpg" width="25" height="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">It is strange to have to acknowledge, that while -in the high-lying valleys of the Alps the Swiss -have basked for centuries in hot Christmas -sunshine, the English, till within the last twenty -years, remained ignorant of Alpine winter -sports. Enlightened medical men first recommended -the tonic properties of the Alpine -climate in winter. Then came the spirited -promoters of the Public Schools Winter Sports -Club. Now Sir Henry Lunn’s winter stations -stud the Alpine ranges from end to end.</p> - -<p>These stations are typical of the best organisation -hitherto devised to connect winter games -known in England, such as skating, curling, -and hockey, with the magnificent scenery and -inexhaustible opportunities afforded by the Swiss -winter climate. As compared with regions situated -further north, the sporting advantages of Switzer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>land -over, say, Scandinavia, consist in its central situation -in mid-Europe, the closeness of its population, -the immense accommodation for visitors, the short -distances from station to station, the compactness -of the road and railway system, and above all in -the abundance of sunlight throughout the winter -months. We need say nothing on the benefits of -altitude. If air, sun and snow are ideal winter -conditions for modern men and women, the higher -we go, the more completely will those benefits be -secured.</p> - -<p>Be this as it may, stations under 5,000 feet -are not so reliable for steady, continuous frost, -as those situated above that level. This is a pity, -because, from a social point of view, the lower -stations are largely patronised. The winter sportsman -likes to rise quickly. He knows that high -peaks and deep valleys are nowhere so closely and -attractively interwoven as in Switzerland. The -two highest points permanently inhabited by a -sedentary community are, in the valley of Cresta -Avers, between the Maloja and Splügen passes, and -at Chandolin d’Anniviers above Sierre, both at an -altitude of about 6,000 feet. These places are -above the forest zone and should in time become -the flourishing winter sport stations which their -situation entitles them to be. At the other and -lowest extremity of the scale, but in the vicinity -of Mont Blanc, and wanting but little energy to -raise its potentialities to the level of the very best, -should rank Megève, above Sallanches in the valley -of the Arve. Unfortunately there has been hitherto<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> -in that part of the world but little disposition to -act in an enterprising spirit.</p> - -<p>The most important stations, so far, are those -situated:—</p> - -<p>1. In the Engadine and adjoining valleys (St. -Moritz, Pontresina, Kampfer, Silvaplana, Sils, -Maloja, Fex, Davos, Arosa, Klosters, &c.).</p> - -<p>2. In the Bernese Oberland (Grindelwald, Beatenberg, -Wengen, Mürren, Grimmi Alp, Kandersteg, -Zweisimmen, Adelboden, Gstaad, Lauenen, &c.).</p> - -<p>3. In the Vaudois Alps (Chateau D’Oex, Comballaz, -Les Ormonts, Leysin—this latter with many -sanatoria—Caux above the lake of Geneva, &c.).</p> - -<p>4. In the Rhône valley (Chesières, Villars, Gryon, -Morgins and Champéry, Montana and Vermala, -Louèche les Bains, in German, Leukerbad), &c. -Zermatt is accessible and may be most comfortably -lived in in winter, but cannot be said to be as yet -a properly opened up station. The same may be -said of Saas Fée, to which the new Britannia hut -of the Swiss Alpine Club, a gift of the British -members of the club, should draw henceforth a -large number of English ski-runners. The Simplon -and St. Bernard hospices are open throughout the -year.</p> - -<p>5. In the St. Gothard district (Andermatt, &c.).</p> - -<p>6. In the Jura range (St. Cergue sur Nyon, Les -Rasses sur Ste. Croix, Mont Soleil sur St. Imier, &c.).</p> - -<p>7. In the Mont Blanc district (Chamounix, St. -Gervais, Le Planet, Finhaut, &c.).</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate24"> -<img src="images/plate24.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE BRITANNIA HUT.</p> -<p class="caption right">To face p. 302.</p> -</div> - -<p>The offices of the Federal Railways at Regent -Street, 11<span class="smcapuc">B</span>, London, S.W., deliver g<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span>ratis an illustrated -winter list of Swiss mountaineering resorts. Many -of these have been founded by local enterprise only. -Such, though quite commendable and moderately -expensive, do not often afford the first-class skating -facilities found in the Engadine, at Grindelwald, -and in stations under English management.</p> - -<p>Stations which may boast of a large and well-kept -skating rink, a curling pond, well-laid toboggan -and bob-sleigh runs, a rink for hockey, and plenty -of good ski-ing slopes, with hotel accommodation -for an unlimited number of visitors of either sex, -are a modern achievement of no mean order in -primitive out-of-the-way Swiss mountain villages, -buried under anything from 3 to 9 feet of snow.</p> - -<p>There is a marked difference between the stations -patronised by the English—or visitors from the -capitals, whatever their nationality—and the stations -frequented by the local people for sport or holiday -purposes. Those two classes avoid each other very -effectually, though unconsciously for the most part, -and without any pointed intention so to do.</p> - -<p>The former class depends on “central heating” -for comfort. So exclusively do they depend on this -and so steadily do they flock to the best accredited -stations, that they often fondly imagine themselves -to be the only sportsmen active in winter. How -often has the writer been asked, at Villars, for -instance: How is it that we English are alone -seen on ski in Switzerland? This mistake is easily -accounted for, because those who get that impression -do not go far enough afield to correct it. If they -did, they would soon find out what an extremely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -small proportion of those who run on ski are -English. A little thought will show that this is -quite natural.</p> - -<p>Ski-running facilities stretch, as it were, in an -unbroken line from Scandinavia through central -Europe straight down to the Maritime Alps, and -from the Vosges and Dauphiné in the west to the -Carpathians in the east. The number of ski-runners -recruited over this immense area is immeasurably -larger than anything the British Isles (where there -exist no ski-ing facilities worth mentioning) can -produce.</p> - -<p>The whole of Central Europe is, as it were, -caught up in the meshes of a huge net of Alpine -associations and skiers’ clubs. These hold periodic -competitions and meet in international congresses, -commanding a degree of public attention and drawing -to themselves an interest the magnitude of which -passes quite unnoticed in the United Kingdom.</p> - -<p>In a rather ill-considered manner, winter visitors -to Switzerland like to crowd the resorts which have -become famous for their suitability in summer. -This is not quite the way to set about the thing. -Winter stations should be sought out for their own -characteristics. Several low-lying centres are not -nearly so suitable in winter as in summer. Besides, -many which could be favourably reported upon by -specialists, have hitherto failed to be introduced -to the public.</p> - -<p>Winter sports may be divided into two classes:—</p> - -<p>1. Those which depend upon nature alone.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p> -<p>2. Those which depend upon nature artificially -aided.</p> - -<p>Among the latter class, skating and curling are -foremost. Running on ski ranks first among the -former.</p> - -<p>It would be out of place here to dwell upon -skating, curling, and hockey. These are most congenial -pastimes under the blue skies and amid the -magnificent scenery of the Alps, but they are distinct -from mountaineering. Scottish and Swiss curlers -vie with each other in such stations as Kandersteg. -Curling stones are imported from London, and ponds -are now made in all centres favoured by players of -the game.</p> - -<p>Skating rinks are a much more costly affair than -curling ponds. Patrons of the sport are apt to forget -how valuable and extensive is the land that has to -be purchased and prepared in the vicinity of the -hotels. A staff of professional skating rink builders -is in request, with an army of sweepers under their -orders. In the middle of the day the great heat of -the sun has often to be kept down by filtering the -rays through huge pieces of stretched-out sacking or -canvas. As the supply of electricity for lighting -purposes is seldom scarce, night <i lang="fr">fêtes</i> are a great -feature upon the Alpine rinks.</p> - -<p>The social life is indeed sometimes a little excessive, -and may interfere with the steadiness of one’s nerve. -When Englishmen, by way of amusement, use the -Swiss military rifle at the local range in friendly -rivalry with the peasantry, the Swiss team has -hitherto been invariably victorious, no doubt because -the British marksmen are called out “for social duty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -on the station” at too close intervals.</p> - -<p>The toboggan, or <i lang="fr">luge</i>, and the sleigh are usual -vehicles with the Swiss. A sight deeply indicative -of manly power and grace, is that of Swiss woodmen -steering heavily laden sleighs round jagged corners -and down precipitous ice cliffs. A run on one of -these is an introduction to a new set of sensations.</p> - -<p>But the “common herd” toboggan and bob on -well-defined roads or tracks, or buzz down runs -purposely laid out for their use. According to the -lie or curve of the land, and with a view to -accelerated speed, artificial runs are scientifically -built up in lines and bends carefully designed -beforehand. The banks are made of snow piled up -with a shovel, and often hardened into blocks by -pouring water upon the snow.</p> - -<p>The Alpine climate, whether the Swiss, French, -Italian, or Austrian Alps are considered, varies with -the altitude. It is at its worst in the region of -towns, lakes, and rivers, wherever the altitude is -under 1,500 feet.</p> - -<p>The winter months begin to wear their characteristic -aspect in places ranging from 3,000 feet and -upwards. But climate must not be confused with -general suitability for sport, and stations between -3,000 and 4,000 feet, however excellent in every -other respect, are not yet high enough to show -a thoroughly reliable winter climate. South-west -winds, recurrent thaws, rain, and fog may affect -sport seriously in such places for the whole of -any one week out of three.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span></p> -<p>But, upwards of 4,000 feet, a steadily dry winter -climate sets in early in December, and may be relied -upon to last until the end of March. There is -sure to be some thawing now and then, under -the influence of mild weather or as an effect of -long exposure to the sun, but the dry, cold air, -and the torrid rays of an almost tropical sun, are -the prevailing features of the sporting season.</p> - -<p>As, upwards of 7,000 feet, no winter stations have -as yet been thrown open, the useful range of Alpine -climate is as follows:—</p> - -<p>1. Under 3,000 feet (such as Mont Pélerin, above -Vevey, and Ballaigues, above Vallorbes).</p> - -<p>2. From 3,000 to 4,500 feet (these stations are the -most numerous and the most frequented).</p> - -<p>3. Between 4,500 and 6,500 feet (at this altitude -some people begin to experience breathing and heart -troubles, mental excitability, and insomnia).</p> - -<p>Stations situated in this last and highest zone afford -excellent sport. Such are, for instance: Mürren, -Montana-Vermala, the whole of the upper Engadine, -Arosa, Davos, &c. They are the ski-runner’s paradise. -Pontresina, particularly, is one of the very -finest centres for long excursions on ski. But, while -some other parts are rather too flat, the Pontresina -district does not abound in short, easy runs.</p> - -<p>At from 7,000 feet and upwards, the climate is -that of a glorified North Pole; alternative spells -of beautiful blazing sunshine, and of stormy, snow-laden, -piercingly cold winds. In winter the temperature -of the air is always low and, practically -speaking, there is frost above the snow-line every -night even in summer. But, in the coldest January<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> -weather, the sunbeams are poured forth in such -arrays, for weeks at a time, from cloudless, windless -skies, that one’s sensation of bodily heat, between -sunrise and sunset, may be quite overpowering.</p> - -<p>All those allurements would perhaps, as in former -days, still count for little, but for the transportation -of the ski from their dull, northern home to that -house set on high which opens its southern frontage, -as a balcony 200 miles long over the plains of -Italy.</p> - -<p>This chapter would not be brought to a fit conclusion -if its last lines were not the means of -enabling the reader to make himself proficient in -the bare rudiments of the ski-ing craft which brings -the High Alps in their winter garb within reach of -human gaze.</p> - -<p>The beginner should purchase ski made of ash, and -somewhat shorter than the reach of his arm when -extended above his head. He will find the Huitfeldt -binding most convenient, with the improved Ellefsen -clamp patented under the name of Aspor.</p> - -<p>Previously to using your ski, oil them repeatedly -at intervals of a week, and give the oil (if possible -hot linseed) plenty of time to sink into the wood. -Then rub lightly some dry paraffin-wax into the grain -of the wood. Each time after using your ski, clean -them and rub them down with an oily cloth or -sponge.</p> - -<p>Warm feet are the royal road to health and comfort: -there must be room enough in your boot to -leave freedom of motion to each toe.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span></p> -<p>First learn to move about on the flat, without any -support of any kind. If you have followed our advice -as to oiling and waxing ski, the under surface of -yours will be perfectly smooth and very slippery. So, -next, choose the most gentle slope you can find to -glide upon. Let it be an easy slant leading on to -a flat piece of snow.</p> - -<p>Practise going down steadily and slowly, holding -in each hand, if you like, a light bamboo or hazel-wood -stick. These are to be used only to pick -yourself up. Never practise with a single stick, -or a stout, heavy stick, or a long stick.</p> - -<p>Put the right foot foremost, then the left. Then -go down on one foot alone, alternately using the -right and the left.</p> - -<p>Go through these preliminary exercises with -extreme patience. In nothing so much as in ski-running -is it fair to say “The more haste the less -speed.”</p> - -<p>The beginner who raises his ski off the snow -surface falls into a serious mistake. He should glide -his ski along the surface of the snow when moving -uphill as well as on the flat. Ski were not made to -be lifted, like feet, but to be pushed along, like a -drawn-out wheel. A sensible learner never forces -his way up a slope, but, as soon as he feels himself -sliding back, he eases off to the right or left. He -should always keep his ski close to each other, -whether his course be upwards or downwards. The -knees, too, should be held close together when -descending. The body should not stoop from the -waist but lean forward from the ankle-joint, so as -to be well balanced over the middle of the ski, th<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>e -limbs remaining loose and easy throughout.</p> - -<p>The whole secret of straight and easy running -may be further summed up in the following simple -golden rules:—</p> - -<p>1. Stand upright on your ski, keeping your body -at a right angle to the slope down which you run.</p> - -<p>2. Keep ski, feet, and knees together.</p> - -<p>3. Then practise lunging with each foot alternately, -with the forward knee bent each time as -far as it can go.</p> - -<p>4. While lunging bring the weight of the body -to rest alternately on each ski.</p> - -<p>5. Practise thrusting back each leg alternately -as far as it can go, with your body resting on the -forward bent knee.</p> - -<p>6. Then bring both ski close to each other again, -and let yourself be borne downwards along hangs of -increasing steepness.</p> - -<p>7. Then let yourself fly down the whole length of -a long slope, first on one foot, then on the other, till -you can move along on each ski, without bringing -the other into play.</p> - -<p>8. Practise dragging each ski alternately behind -the other, setting the hind ski free from your weight, -then raise the front ski in the air and transfer all -your weight to the back ski.</p> - -<p>Having got so far one may begin trying swings to -the right and left.</p> - -<p>1. To do a Telemark swing to the right, push -your left ski forward, and bring the weight of your -body well above your fully bent knee. If you then -incline your body slightly within the curve you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> -wish to describe in the snow to your right, the -forward ski, left, will begin to glide in sideways. -The inner ski (the right ski) will follow within the -curve, provided you keep your right leg well extended -behind, and keep the weight of your body off it.</p> - -<p>2. To do an Alpine swing to the right, turn the -beak (or head) of your left ski towards the right ski, -while laying the weight of your body on the left ski, -placed lowest on the slope. The left ski will then -swing downwards and sideways, and, under the -pressure of your foot, come round the head of -your right ski, accomplishing the turn. In this -swing the heels (or back of the ski) fly apart.</p> - -<p>3. To do a Christiania swing to the right, start -with ski even and close together. Advance slightly -the right ski, get up speed sharply and then throw -your weight somewhat backwards by a side thrust -inward, ranging from the left hip to the right. The -heels of the ski will slip together away from your -body, behind you, to the left, and the heads of both -ski will point to the right.</p> - -<p>The Christiania is reputed a difficult swing, but -here is the “straight tip”: Old ski, with edges worn -down at the heel, feather round beautifully.</p> - -<p>Beware of learning those turns in deep or heavy -snow, lest you sprain or wrench an ankle. Hard, -ridgy snow is even more dangerous.</p> - -<p>This is not the place to teach how, at the altitude -of 7,000 feet and upwards, begins High Alp ski-running, -in which the Swiss are past masters, -because this phase of sport is not for beginners. -On the other hand, consummate runners with good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> -guides and inured to every kind of hardship, might -well be trusted to add to this book many a page -showing, much better than the present writer can, -how the High Alps in winter have infinite pleasure -in store for the bold, cool-headed, and strong.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 230px;"> -<img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="230" height="300" alt="Drawing of a skier standing on his hands, captioned THE END" /> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage">UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="ad"> - -<p class="center larger">BURBERRY</p> - -<div class="ad-pic"> -<img src="images/ad.jpg" width="180" height="325" alt="A skier" /> -</div> - -<p class="center">WEATHERPROOF -OUTRIGS FOR</p> - -<p class="center"><b>Ski-ing, Lüge-ing and Skating</b></p> - -<p><i>Every -genuine -Burberry -garment -is labelled -“Burberrys.”</i></p> - -<div class="ad-sub"> - -<p class="center">“HINTS ON<br /> -ALPINE SPORTS”</p> - -<p class="center">By Professor F. F. ROGET,<br /> -Author of<br /> -“Ski-runs in the High Alps.”</p> - -<p>A handbook of invaluable -advice addressed to -those ambitious to excel -in Winter Sports.</p> - -<p class="center">Price 6d., Post Free.</p> - -</div> - -<p><b>BURBERRY OUTRIGS</b>, for men and women, designed from the specifications -of experts completely satisfy the exacting requirements of Winter Sports. They -have been tested under the severest conditions, and pronounced infinitely superior -to any other form of equipment.</p> - -<p><b>BURBERRY MATERIALS</b>, woven and proofed by exclusive processes, afford -healthful warmth and comfort in the coldest weather, yet in action prevent -overheating by their faultless self-ventilation. Airylight, they minimise fatigue and -conserve physical energy.</p> - -<p><b>BURBERRYS’</b> system of weatherproofing, whilst it leaves the textural ventilation -of the fabrics undiminished, renders them permanently antagonistic to every form -of moisture. Burberry Winter Sports materials are smooth surfaced and uncreasable, -so that snow cannot lodge upon them.</p> - -<p><b>LIGHTWEIGHT</b>, yet densely woven, Burberry excludes cold wind and is so -durable that years of rough-and-tumble wear amongst snow and ice fails to affect -either its appearance or its efficiency.</p> - -<p class="center larger">BURBERRYS</p> - -<p class="center">Haymarket, S.W., LONDON;<br /> -Boul. Malesherbes, PARIS.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="ad"> - -<p class="center larger">SKI-ING<br /> -FOR BEGINNERS AND MOUNTAINEERS</p> - -<p class="center">By W. RICKMER RICKMERS</p> - -<p class="center">With 72 Full-page Plates and many Diagrams in the Text. -Cloth, 4/6 net. (Inland Postage 4d.)</p> - -<p>There are few who can look back on so many years of -strenuous ski-ing as Mr. Rickmers, and, save one other -man, nobody has had so large and successful an experience -of teaching it to beginners. This volume is especially valuable -as containing the advice of a mountaineer. It is “short and -sweet,” embodying everything the beginner must know in order -to learn as quickly as possible. The second part gives him due -warning and sound advice, once he has mastered the elements -of ski-running and sallies forth on short tours to be followed by -long expeditions into the wintry mountains. Mr. Rickmers’ idea -throughout is to teach and tell only what has stood the test of -time and what is strictly necessary, thus saving from much indecision -the ski-tourist who is to be.</p> - -<p>The book will be found to be the most complete introduction to -the subject in English.</p> - -<p>“A fascinating book on the most delightful of Continental winter -sports. Not only is Mr. Rickmers a strenuous and accomplished ski-runner -himself, but he has had years of experience as a teacher of the -art, and his handy volume embodies everything that it is essential for -the novice to know in order to become an efficient ski-runner in as -short a time as possible.”—<cite>T. P.’s Weekly.</cite></p> - -<p>“He is a teacher of vast experience, who has studied every defect in -style that a beginner can possibly fall into, and has learned how to cure -them all. If the novice with the aid of this book studies his every -posture and action, practising the right and with pains correcting what -he learns is wrong, he is on the high road to becoming a first-class -runner.”—<cite>Scottish Ski Club Magazine.</cite></p> - -<p class="center"><i>On Sale at all Booksellers.</i></p> - -<p class="center">T. FISHER UNWIN, 1 Adelphi Terrace, London.</p> - -</div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 54163-h.htm or 54163-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/4/1/6/54163">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/1/6/54163</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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