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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF
THE WORLD

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME.

Large Crown Svo, Cloth^ 5s.

True Tales of Mountain Adventure. By Mrs

Aubrey Le Blond (Mrs Main). With many Illus-
trations from Pliotographs by the Author. Cheap
Edition.

"The book should be read by all who think of Alpine climbing,
and by all who love stories of adventure and feats of daring." —
Daily News.

" The tales told are far more thrilling than the most sensational
of novels." — Westminster Gazette.

In Search of El Dorado. A Wanderer's

Experiences. By Alexander Macdonald,
F.R.G.S. With an Introduction by Admiral
Moresby. With 32 Illustrations. Cheap Edition.

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digging for gold, silver, opals, and gems. The wonderful characters
are vividly drawn, and his two companions, Mac and Stewart, are
men one would like to shake hands with. . . . We can conscien-
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Present Day Japan By A. M. Campbell David-
son. With 32 Illustrations. Cheap Edition.

"A lively and sympathetic account of the manners, customs, and
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John Chinaman at Home. By the Rev. E. J.

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" The author of ' How to be Happy though Married' could hardly
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describing China from its social side ; to this Mr Hardy adds a power
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recommend it strongly to the general reader." — Saturday Review.

Thk finding of the last isivouac of Messrs. Donkin and Fox in the Caucasls. (P. ii6.)

From a drawing by Mr. Willink after a sketch by Captain Powell. Taken, by kind permission of
Mr. Douglas Freshfield, from " The Exploration of the Caucasus."

Frontispiece.

ADVENTURES ON THE
ROOF OF THE WORLD

MRS AUBREY LE BLOND

(Mrs MAIN)

AUTHOR OF
■MY HOME IN THE ALPS," "TRUE TALES OF MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED
SECOND IMPRESSION

LONDON

T. FISHER UNWIN

PATERNOSTER SQUARE

1907

First Edition . . 1904
Second Impression . 1907

R^^^K

b ■

■^.

'^'SITY OF TO'^SS^*^

794774

(A/i rights reserved.)

ro
JOSEPH IMBODEN

MY GUIDE AND FRIEND FOR TWENTY YEARS,

3- C)eMcate

THESE RECORDS OF A PASTIME IN WHICH I OWE

MY SHARE TO HIS SKILL, COURAGE, AND

HELPFUL COMPANIONSHIP.

PREFACE

"FJEAR HEART," said Tommy, when
Mr Barlow had finished his narrative,
" what a number of accidents people are subject
to in this world ! "

** It is very true," answered Mr Barlow,
"but as that is the case, it is necessary to
improve ourselves in every possible manner,
so that we may be able to struggle against
them."

Thus quoted, from Sandford and Merton,
a president of the Alpine Club. The follow-
ing True Tales from the Hills, if they serve
to emphasise not only the perils of mountain-
eering but the means by which they can be
lessened, will have accomplished the aim of
their editor.

This book is not intended for the climber.

To him most of the tales will be familiar in

vii

PREFACE

the volumes on the shelves of his library or
on the lips of his companions during restful
hours in the Alps. But the non-climber
rarely sees The Alpine Journal and the less
popular books on mountaineering, nor would
he probably care to search in their pages for
narratives likely to interest him.

To seek out tales of adventure easily in-
telligible to the non-climber, to edit them in
popular form, to point out the lessons which
most adventures can teach to those who may
climb themselves one day, has occupied many
pleasant hours, rendered doubly so by the
feeling that I shall again come into touch
with the readers who gave so kindly a greet-
ing to my True Tales of Mountain Adventure.
In that work I tried to explain the principles
of mountaineering and something of the
nature of glaciers and avalanches. Those
chapters will, I think, be found helpful by
non-climbers who read the present volume.

For much kindly advice and help in com-
viii

PREFACE

piling this work I am indebted to Mr Henry
Mayhew, of the British Museum, and to Mr
Clinton Dent. Mrs Maund has enabled me
to quote from a striking article by her late
husband. Sir W. Martin Conway, Sir H.
Seymour King, Messrs Tuckett, G. E. Foster,
Cecil Slingsby, Harold Spender, and Edward
Fitzgerald have been good enough to allow
me to make long extracts from their writings.
Messrs Newnes have generously permitted
me to quote from articles which appeared in
their publications, and the editor of The
Cornhill has sanctioned my reprinting portions
of a paper from his magazine. I am also
indebted to the editor of M'Clure's Magazine
for a similar courtesy.

Mons. A. Campagne, Inspector of Water
and Forests (France), allows me to make use
of two very interesting photographs from his
work on the Valley of Barege. Several
friends have lent me photographs for repro-
duction in this work, and their names appear

PREFACE

under each of the illustrations I owe to
them. Messrs Spooner have kindly allowed
me to use several by the late Mr W. F.
Donkin. When not otherwise stated, the
photographs are from my own negatives.

I take this opportunity of heartily thanking
those climbers, some of them personally un-
known to me, whose assistance has rendered
this work possible.

E. LE BLOND.

67 The Drive,
Brighton, December 1903.

CONTENTS

CNAP.

PREFACE ,

I. SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES .
II. TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

III. SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES .

IV. A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE .
V. A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE {continued)

VI. AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

VII. A MELANCHOLY QUEST

VIII. SOME NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS
IX. A NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE
X. ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE .
XI. A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA .
XII. THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY
XIIL BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK .
XIV. THE STORY OF A BIG JUMP ....

XV. A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT .

PASB

ix
I

23
51

99
116

124
152
167
182

195
208
222
235

CONTENTS

CHAP.

XVI. THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS .
XVII. LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS .
XVIII. SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES .
XIX. FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

GLOSSARY

INDEX .1

257
275
291
310

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The last bivouac of Messrs Donkin and Fox

in the Caucasus Frontispiece

Christian Aimer, Joseph Imboden, Jean

Antoine Carrel, Alexander Burgener . To face page 3

The last steep bit near the top— At the end
of a hot day — An instant's halt to choose
the best way up a steep wall of rock —
The ice-axes are stowed away in a crack,
to be brought up by the last man . . ,» >» 6

Auguste Gentinetta — Auguste Gentinetta
on the way to the Matterhorn — The
beginning of the climb up the Matter-
horn — The spot where was the berg-
schrund into which Mr Sloggett's party
fell „ „ 8

Auguste Gentinetta on a mountain-top — The
ice-cliffs over which Mr Sloggett's party
would have fallen had they not been
dashed into the bergschrund — The
ruined chapel by the Schwarzsee — The
last resting-place at Zermatt of some

English climbers » >» i'

xiii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

On a snow ridge — A halt for lunch above

the snow-line — Mrs Aubrey Le Blond . To face page 51

A cutting through an avalanche — The
remains of an avalanche — An avalanche
of stones — A mountain chapel. . . » »> 59

A mountain path — Peasants of the mountains
— A village buried beneath an avalanche
— Terraces planted to prevent avalanches „ „ 65

A typical Caucasian landscape ... » ■>■> loS

Melchior Anderegg, his son and grandchild . „ „ 124

Crevasses and s^racs — On the border of a
crevasse — A snow bridge — Soft snow in
the afternoon „ ,, I33

The Betemps Hut — Ski-ing — A fall on Skis —

A great crevasse „ » I37

The baloon " Stella " getting ready to start
(p. 301) — A bivouac in the olden days —
Boulder practice — The last rocks
descending » m ^48

Provisions for a mountain hotel — An out-
look over rock and snow — Dent Blanche
from Schwarzsee (winter) — Dent Blanche
from Theodule Glacier (summer) . . „ ,,152

Hut on Col de Bertol — Ascending the
Aiguilles Rouges — Summit of the Dent
Blanche — Cornice on the Dent Blanche „ „ 156

Ambrose Supersax (p. 209) — View from the

Rosetta „ „ 182

Climbing party leaving Zermatt — The
Gandegg Hut— The Trift Hotel— Zinal
Rothhom from Trift Valley . . . „ » i95

xiv

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Zinal Rothhorn — Top of a Chamonix Aiguille
— A steep face of rock — " Leading
strings" To face page 202

A dergsc/trund—Uomtwards over the snow-
slopes „ „ 230

The Ecrins— Clouds breaking over a ridge-
Summit of the Jungfrau— Wind-blown
snow » » 235

The Ecrins from the Glacier Blanc . „ „ 247

Slab climbing — A rock ridge — On the Dent

du Geant— The top at last ... » >. 252

The second largest glacier in the Alps— On

a ridge in the Oberland .... » » 259

Thirteen thousand feet above the sea— On
the Furggen Grat — A " personally
conducted" party on the Breithorn —
Packing the knapsack .... » » -69

Monte Rosa from the Furggen Grat— The

Matterhom from the Wellenkuppe . „ „ 272

A glacier lake — Amongst the seracs—

Taking off the rope— Water at last ! . ,. » 297

The balloon " Stella " starting from Zermatt —

A moment after . . . ' . » » 298

The Matterhom from the Hornli Ridge —
The Matterhom from the Furgg Glacier
—Joseph Biner— The Matterhom Hut . „ „ 302

A hot day on a mountain-top — A summit
near Saas — Luncheon en route (winter)- -
Luncheon on a glacier pass (summer) . „ „ 310

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A tedious snow-slope— A sitting glissade—
A glacier-capped summit — On the
frontier To face page 312

Unpleasant going— On the crest of an old

moraine ...•••• m » 2>^1

An awkward bit of climbing — Guides at

Zermatt— The Boval Hut— -<4«r^7/tf/r/. „ „ 322

XVI

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF
OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER I

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

TN a former work, I have given some details of
'*' the training of an Alpine guide, so I will not
repeat them here.

The mountain guides of Switzerland form a class
unlike any other, yet in the high standard of honour
and devotion they display towards those in their
charge, one is reminded of two bodies of men
especially deserving of respect and confidence,
namely, the Civil Guards of Spain and the Royal
Irish Constabulary. Like these, the Alpine guide
oftentimes risks his health, strength — even his life
— for persons who are sometimes in themselves the
cause of the peril encountered. Like these, mere
bodily strength and the best will in the world

A I

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

need to be associated with intelligence and fore-
sight. Like these, also, keen, fully - developed
powers of observation are essential. A certain
climber of early days has wittily related in The
Alpine Journal a little anecdote which bears on
this point. "Some years ago," writes the late Mr
F. Craufurd Grove, "a member of this Club was
ascending a small and easy peak in company with
a famous Oberland guide. Part of their course
lay over a snow-field sinking gradually on one side,
sharply ended by a precipice on the other. The
two were walking along, not far from the edge of
this precipice, when the Englishman, thinking that
an easier path might be made by going still nearer
the edge, diverged a little from his companion's
track. To his considerable surprise, the guide im-
mediately caught hold of him, and pulled him back
with a great deal more vigour than ceremony,
well-nigh throwing him down in the operation.
Wrathful, and not disinclined to return the compli-
ment, the Englishman remonstrated. The guide's
only answer was to point to a small crack, appar-
ently like scores of other cracks in the nevi^ which
ran for some distance parallel to the edge of the
precipice, and about 1 5 feet from it.

"The traveller was not satisfied, but he was too
wise a man to spend time in arguing and disputing,

while a desired summit was still some distance

Christian Almer of Grindet.wald.

Jean Antoine Carrel of Valournanche.
By Signor Vittorio Sella.

Alexander Burgener of Eisten (Saasthal).
To face p. 3.

JosEi'H I.mboden of St. Nicholas.

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

above him. They went on their way, gained the
top, and the traveller's equanimity was restored
by a splendid view. When, on the descent, the
scene of the morning's incident was reached, the
guide pointed to the little crack in the neve,
which had grown perceptibly wider. 'This marks,'
he said, 'the place where the true snow-field ends.
I feel certain that the ice from here to the edge
is nothing but an unsupported cornice hanging
over the tremendous precipice beneath. It might
possibly have borne your weight in the early
morning, though I don't think it would. As to
what it will bear now that a powerful sun has
been on it for some time — why, let us see.' There-
with he struck the neve on the further side of
the ice sharply with his axe. A huge mass, some
20 or 30 feet long, immediately broke away, and
went roaring down the cliff in angry avalanche.
Whereat the traveller was full of amazement and
admiration, and thought how there, on an easy
mountain and in smiling weather, he had not been
very far from making himself into an avalanche,
to his own great discomfort and to the infinite tribu-
lation of the Alpine Club."

A fatal accident was only narrowly averted by
the skill of the famous guide Zurbriggen when
making an ascent in the New Zealand Alps with
Mr Edward Fitzgerald. I am indebted to this

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

gentleman for permission to quote the account
from his article in The Alpine Journal.

The party were making the ascent of Mount
Sefton, and were much troubled by the looseness
of the rock on the almost vertical face which they
had to climb. However, at last they reached a
ridge, " along which," writes Mr Fitzgerald, " we
proceeded between two precipices, descending to
the Copland and to the Mueller valleys — some
6000 feet sheer drop on either hand.

" We had next to climb about 300 feet of almost
perpendicular cliff. The rocks were peculiarly in-
secure, and we were obliged to move by turns,
wherever possible throwing down such rocks as
seemed most dangerous. At times even this
resource was denied us, so dangerous was the
violent concussion with which these falling masses
would shake the ridge to which we clung. I
carried both the ice axes, so as to leave Zurbriggen
both hands free to test each rock as he slowly
worked his way upwards, while I did my utmost
to avoid being in a position vertically beneath him.

"Suddenly, as I was coming up a steep bit, while
Zurbriggen waited for me a few steps above, a large
boulder, which I touched with my right hand, gave
way with a crash and fell, striking my chest. I
had been just on the point of passing up the two
ice axes to Zurbriggen, that he might place them

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

in a cleft of rock a little higher up, and thus leave
me both hands free for my climb. He was in the
act of stooping and stretching out his arms to take
them from my uplifted left hand, and the slack
rope between us lay coiled at his feet. The falling
boulder hurled me down head foremost, and I fell
about 8 feet, turning a complete somersault in the
air. Suddenly I felt the rope jerk, and I struck
against the side of the mountain with great force.
I feared I should be stunned and drop the two ice
axes, and I knew that on these our lives depended.
Without them we should never have succeeded in
getting down the glacier, through all the intricate
ice-fall.

" After the rope had jerked me up I felt it again
slip and give way, and I came down slowly for a
couple of yards. I took this to mean that Zurbriggen
was being wrenched from his foot-hold, and I was
just contemplating how I should feel dashing down
the 6000 feet below, and wondering vaguely how
many times I should strike the rocks on the way.
I saw the block that I had dislodged going down
in huge bounds ; it struck the side three or four
times, and then, taking an enormous plunge of about
2000 feet, embedded itself in the glacier now called
the Tuckett Glacier.

" I felt the rope stop and pull me up short. I called
to Zurbriggen and asked him if he were solidly placed,

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

I was now swinging in the air like a pendulum, with
my back to the mountain, scarcely touching the
rock face. It would have required a great effort
to turn round and grasp the rock, and I was afraid
the strain which would thus necessarily be placed
on the rope might dislodge Zurbriggen.

" His first fear was that I had been half killed, for
he saw the rock fall almost on top of me ; but, as
a matter of fact, after striking my chest it had
glanced off to the right and passed under my right
arm ; it had started from a point so very near to me
that it had not time to gain sufficient impetus to
strike me with great force, Zurbriggen's first words
were, ' Are you very much hurt ? ' I answered, ' No,'
and again I asked him whether he were firmly placed.
' No,' he replied, ' I am very badly situated here.
Turn round as soon as you can ; I cannot hold you
much longer.' I gave a kick at the rocks with one
foot, and with a great effort managed to swing myself
round.

" Luckily there was a ledge near me, and so,
getting some hand-hold, I was soon able to ease the
strain on the rope. A few moments later I struggled
a little way up, and at last handed to Zurbriggen the
ice axes, which I had managed to keep hold of
throughout my fall. In fact, my thoughts had been
centred on them during the whole of the time. We
were in too bad a place to stop to speak to one

The last steep bit near the top.

At the end of a hot day.

i^i:f^r /'l^

An instant's halt to choose the best way up a steep

wall of rock,
'o face p. 6.

The ice-axes are stowed away in a crack, to be
brought up by the last man.

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

another ; but Zurbriggen, climbing up a bit further,
got himself into a firm position, and I scrambled
up after him, so that in about ten minutes we had
passed this steep bit.

" We now sat for a moment to recover ourselves,
for our nerves had been badly shaken by what had
so nearly proved a fatal accident. At the time
everything happened so rapidly that we had not
thought much of it, more especially as we knew that
we needed to keep our nerve and take immediate
action ; but once it was all over we both felt the
effects, and sat for about half an hour before we
could even move again. I learned that Zurbriggen,
the moment I fell, had snatched up the coil of rope
which lay at his feet, and had luckily succeeded
in getting hold of the right end first, so that he
was soon able to bring me nearly to rest ; but the
pull upon him was so great, and he was so badly
placed, that he had to let the rope slip through his
fingers, removing all the skin, in order to ease the
strain while he braced himself in a better position,
from which he was able finally to stop me. He
told me that had I not been able to turn and grasp
the rocks he must inevitably have been dragged
from his foot-hold, as the ledge upon which he
stood- was literally crumbling away beneath his
feet. We discovered that two strands of the rope
had been cut through by the falling rock, so that

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

I had been suspended in mid-air by a single
strand."

The remainder of the way was far from easy, but
without further mishap the party eventually gained
the summit.

That there are many grades of Alpine guides
was amusingly exemplified once upon a time at the
Montanvert, where in front of the hotel stood the
famous Courmazeur guide, Emil Rey (afterwards
killed on the Dent du G^ant), talking to the Duke
of Abruzzi and other first-rate climbers, while a
little way off lounged some extremely indifferent
specimens of the Chamonix Societe des Guides.
Presently a tourist, got up with much elegance, and
leaning on a tall stick surmounted by a chamois
horn, appeared upon the scene, and addressed him-
self to Emil Rey. " Combien pour traverser la Mer
de Glace ? " he enquired.

" Monsieur," replied Rey, removing his hat with
one hand and with the other indicating the group
hard by, " voila les guides pour la Mer de Glace !
Moi, je suis pour la grande montagne ! "

One of the most wonderful escapes in the whole
annals of mountaineering was that of a young
Englishman, Mr Sloggett, and the well - known
guide, Auguste Gentinetta, the second guide, Alphons
Fiirrer, being killed on the spot. They had made a
successful ascent of the Matterhorn on 27th July

Augiiste Gentinetta. of Zermatt, 1903.

Auguste Gentinetta on the way to the Matterhorn.

climb up the Matterhorn by the ordinary Swiss
t te begins at the rocky corner to the left of the
picture,]
face p. 8.

The BER(;f;cnKL'ND, open when the accident to

Mr. Sloggett's party took place, was above the ice

cliff below which the man is standing.

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

1900, and were the first of three parties on the
descent. When nearly down the mountain, not far
from the Hornli ridge, an avalanche of stones and
rocks swept them off their feet. Fiirrer's skull was
smashed, and he was killed immediately, and the
three, roped together, were precipitated down a wall
of ice. Their axes were v^renched firom their grasp,
and they could do nothing to check themselves.
Gentinetta retained full consciousness during the
whole of that a^.'i-ful descent, and while without the
slightest hope that they could escape vnth their lives,
he in no way lost his presence of mind. About 800
feet belcAv the spot where their fall commenced was
a small Ecrgschrund^ or crack across the ice. This
was full of stones and sand, and into it the helpless
climbers were flung; had they shot over it n: thing
in this vrorld could have saved them. Gentinetta,
though much bruised aitd knocked abcut, had no
bones broken., and he at cnce tcck means to prevent
an even vrcrse disaster than that which had already
happened, for Mr Sloggett had fallen head dov.n-
v/ards, with his face buried in sand, and vras> on the
point of suffocatioiL Well wai it for him that his
g^ide was a man of promptness and courage. With-
out losing an instant Gentinetta pulled up his traveller
and got his face free, clearing the sand out of his
mouth, and doing all that mortal could for him.
Mr Sloggetfs jaw and tv.o of his teeth were broken,

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

but his other injuries were far less than might have
been expected. Nevertheless, the position of the
two survivors was still a most perilous one. They
were exactly at the spot on to which almost every
stone which detasched itself from that side of the
mountain was sure to fall, and their ice axes were
lost, rendering it almost impossible for them to
work their way to a place of safety. Still, to his
infinite credit, the guide did not lose heart. By
some means, which he now declares he is unable to
understand, he contrived to climb, and to assist his
gentleman, up that glassy, blood-stained wall, which
even for a party uninjured, and properly equipped,
it would have been no light task to surmount. This
desperate achievement was rendered doubly trying
by Gentinetta's being perfectly aware that if any
more stones fell the two mountaineers must in-
evitably be swept away for the second time. At
last they gained their tracks and sought a sheltered
spot, where they could safely rest a little. Here
they were joined by the other parties, who rendered
invaluable help during the rest of the descent. The
two sufferers finally arrived at the Schwarzsee Hotel,
whence they were carried down the same evening to
Zermatt.

The next day a strong party started for the scene of
the accident to recover the body of the dead guide,
Fiirrer. It was a difficult and a dangerous task,

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

and those who examined the wall down which the
fall took place expressed their amazement that two
wounded men, without axes, should have performed
what seemed the incredible feat of getting up it.

Both Mr Sloggett and Gentinetta made an
excellent recovery, though they were laid up for
many weeks after their memorable descent of the
Matterhorn.

The qualities found in a first-class guide include
not only skill in climbing, but the ability to form a
sound conclusion when overtaken by storm and
mist. The following experience which took place
in 1874, and which I am permitted by Mrs Maund
to quote from her late husband's article in The
Alpine Journal^ proves, by its happy termination,
that Maurer's judgment in a critical position was
thoroughly to be relied on. Mr Maund had just
arrived at La B^rarde, in Dauphin6, and he writes : —

" The morning of the 29th broke wet and stormy,
and Rodier strongly advised me not to start ; this,
however, was out of the question, as I was due at
La Grave on that day to keep my appointment with
Mr Middlemore. After waiting an hour, to give the
weather a chance, we started in drizzling rain at
5 A.M. Desolate as the Val des Etancons must
always look, it appeared doubly gloomy that morn-
ing, with its never-ending monotony of rock and
moraine unrelieved by a single patch of green.

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

As we neared the glacier, the weather fortunately
cleared, and the clouds, which till then had
enveloped everything, began to mount with that
marvellous rapidity only noticeable in mountain
districts, leaving half revealed the mighty cliffs of
the Meije towering 5000 feet almost sheer above
us. As the wind caught and carried into the air
the frozen sheets of snow on his summit, the old
mountain looked like some giant bill distributer
throwing his advertisements about. Entirely pro-
tected from the wind, we whiled away an hour and a
half, searching with our telescope for any feasible
line of attack. Having satisfied ourselves that on
this side the mountain presented enormous, if not
insurmountable, difficulties, we shouldered our packs
and made tracks for the Breche, which we reached
at 11.45.

" Meanwhile the weather had become worse
again, and during the last part of the ascent it
was snowing heavily ; the wind too, from which
we had been protected on the south side of the
col, was so strong that we were absolutely obliged to
crawl over to the north side. Our position was
by no means a pleasant one ; neither Martin nor
I knew anything of the pass, and Rodier, who
had told us overnight that he had crossed it more
than once, seemed to know no more, and although

sure of the exact bearing of La Grave, we could

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

not, owing to the fast falling snow, see further
than 300 or 400 yards in advance ; added to this,
it was intensely cold. Having paid Rodier 20 francs
(a perfect waste of money, as it is impossible to
mistake the way to the Breche from the Val des
Etancons, and, as I have said, he could not give
us the least clue to the descent on the La Grave
side), we dismissed him, hoping devoutly that he
might break his — well, his ice axe, we'll say — on
the way down. By keeping away to the right
of the Breche and down a steep slope, we crossed
the crevasses which lay at its base without difficulty.
We then bore to the left across a plateau, on which
the snow lay very deep ; floundering through
this sometimes waist deep, we reached the upper
ice-fall of the glacier, and after crossing several
crevasses became involved in a perfect net-work
of them. After a consultation, we determined to
try to the right, but met with no better success,
as again we were checked by an absolute labyrinth.
At last, about five o'clock, we took to some rocks
which divide the glacier into two branches. Mean-
while the snow was falling thicker and thicker,
and, driven by the strong N.W. wind which
caught up and eddied about what had already
fallen, it appeared to come from every quarter at
once. It was impossible to see more than a few
yards in advance, and the rocks which under

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

ordinary circumstances would have been easy,
were, with their coating of at least 4 inches of
snow, much the reverse, as it was quite impossible
to see where to put hand or foot. Our only trust
was in our compass, which assured us that while
keeping to the backbone of this ridge we were
descending in an almost direct line towards La
Grave.

"We had at most two hours of daylight before
us, but there was still a hope that by following
our present line we should get off the glacier
before dark. How 1 regretted now the time
lost in the morning. A little before seven we
were brought to a standstill ; our further direct
descent was cut off by a precipice, while the rocks
on either side fell almost sheer to the glaciers
beneath. It was too late to think of looking for
another road, so nothing now remained but to
find the best shelter we could and bivouac for
the night. We re-ascended to a small platform
we had passed a short time before, and selecting
the biggest and most sheltered bit of rock on it,
we piled up the few movable stones there were
about, to form the outside wall to our shelter, and
having cleared away as much of the snow as we
could from the inside, laid our ice axes across the
top as rafters, with a sodden mackintosh — ironically
called a waterproof by Mr Carter — over all for

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

a roof. Despite this garment, I was wet to the
skin. Luckily, we had each of us a spare flannel
shirt and stockings in our knapsacks, but as the
meagre dimensions of our shelter would not
admit of the struggles attendant on a change,
we were obliged to go through the operation
outside. I tried to be cheerful, and Martin tried
to be facetious as we wrung out our wet shirts
while the snow beat on our bare backs, but both
attempts were lamentable failures. If up to the
present time my readers have not stripped in a
snow-storm, let me strongly advise them never
to attempt it. Having got through the per-
formance as quickly as possible, we crawled into
our shelter, but here again my ill luck followed
me, for in entering I managed to tread on the tin
wine-flask which Martin had thrown aside, and,
my weight forcing out the cork, every drop of wine
escaped. After packing myself away as well as I
could in the shape of a pot-hook, Martin followed,
and pot-hooked himself alongside me. We were
obliged to assume this elementary shape, as the size
of our shelter would not admit of our lying straight.
All the provisions that remained were then pro-
duced. They consisted of a bit of bread about the
size of a breakfast-roll, one-third of a small pot of
preserved meat, about two ounces of raw bacon
with the hide on, and half a small flask of a filthy

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

compound called Genepie, a sort of liqueur ; besides
this, we mustered between us barely a pipe-full of
tobacco, and eight matches in a metal-box. The
provisions I divided into three equal parts — one-
third for that night's supper, and the remaining
two-thirds for the next day. I need not enlarge
on the miseries of that night. The wind blew
through the chinks between the stones, bringing
the snow with it, until the place seemed all chinks ;
then the mackintosh with its weight of snow would
come in upon us, and we had with infinite difficulty
to prop it up again, only to go through the same
operation an hour later ; at last, in sheer despair,
we let it lie where it fell, and found to our relief
it kept us warmer in that position. The snow
never ceased one moment although the wind had
fallen, and when morning broke there must have
been nearly a foot of it around and over us. A
more desolate picture than that dawn I have never
seen. Snow everywhere. The rocks buried in it,
and not a point peeping out to relieve the un-
broken monotony. The sky full of it, without a
break to relieve its leaden sameness, and the heavy
flakes falling with that persistent silence which
adds so much to the desolation of such a scene.
" I was all for starting ; for making some attempt
either to get down, or to recross the col. Martin
was dead against it — and I think now he was

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

right. First of all, we could not have seen more
than a few yards ahead ; the rocks would have
been considerably worse than they were the evening
before, and if we had once got involved amongst
the crevasses it was on the cards that we shouldn't
get clear of them again ; added to this, even if we
could hit off the col, what with want of sleep and
food, and the fatigue consequent on several hours'
floundering in deep snow, we might not have
strength to reach it. At any rate, we decided not
to start until it cleared sufficiently to let us see
where we were going. Our meagre stock of
provisions was redivided into three parts, one of
which we ate for breakfast. I then produced the
pipe, but to our horror we found the matches were
still damp. Martin, who is a man of resource,
immediately opened his shirt and put the box
containing them under his arm to dry. Meanwhile
the snow never ceased, and the day wore on
without a sign of the weather breaking. If it
had not been for the excitement of those matches,
I do not know how we should have got through
that day ; at last, however, after about six hours
of Martin's fond embrace, one consented to burn,
and I succeeded in lighting the pipe. We took
turns at twelve whiffs each, and no smoke, I can
conscientiously say, have I ever enjoyed like that
one. During this never-ending day we got a few
B 17

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

snatches of sleep, but the cold consequent on our
wet clothes was so great, our position so cramped,
and the rocks on which we lay so abominably
sharp, that these naps were of the shortest dura-
tion. '

" A little before six the snow ceased, and for a
moment the sun tried to wink at us through a
chink in his snow-charged blanket, before he went
to bed — long enough, however, for us to see La
Grave far below, with every alp almost down to
the village itself covered with its white mantle.

"And then, as our second night closes in, the
snow recommences, and we draw closer together
even than before ; for we feel that during the long
hours to come we must economise to the fullest
the little animal heat left in us.

"That night I learnt to shiver, not the ordinary
shivers, but fits lasting a quarter of an hour, during
which no amount of moral persuasion could keep
your limbs under control ; and it was so catching !
If either of us began a solo, the other was sure
to join in, and we shivered a duet until quite
exhausted. As we had nothing to drink, I had
swallowed a considerable quantity of snow to
quench my thirst, and this, acting on an almost
empty stomach, produced burning heat within,
while the cold, which was now intense, acting
externally, induced fever and light-headedness, and

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

once or twice I caught myself rambling. Martin,
too, was affected in the same way. The long
hours wore on, and still there was no sign of
better weather. Towards midnight things looked
very serious. Martin, who had behaved like a
brick, thought *it was very hard to perish like this
in the flower of his age,' and I, too, thought of
writing a line as well as I was able in my pocket-
book, bequeathing its contents to my finder, then
of sleeping if I could and waking up with the
Houris ; but I had the laugh of him afterwards,
because he thought aloud and I to myself. How-
ever, this mood did not last long, and after shaking
hands, I do not quite know why, because we had
not quarrelled, we cuddled up again, and determined,
whatever the weather, to start at daybreak. In
half an hour the snow ceased, the wind backed to
the S., and the temperature rose as if by magic ;
while the snow melting above trickled down in
little streams upon us. We cleared the snow off
the mackintosh, and putting it over us again, slept
like logs in comparative warmth. When I awoke
the sun was well up, and on looking round I could
hardly realise the scene. Not a cloud in the sky !
Not a breath of wind ! The rocks around us,
which yesterday were absolutely buried, were
showing their black heads everywhere, and only a
few inches of snow remained, so rapid had been

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the thaw ; while far away to the N. the snow-
capped summits of the Pennine Alps stood out in
bold relief against the cloudless sky.

" I woke Martin, and at a quarter to six, after
thirty-five hours' burial, we crawled out of our
shelter. At first neither of us could stand, so
chilled were we by long exposure, and so cramped
by our enforced position, but after a good thaw in
the hot sun we managed to hobble about, and pack
the knapsacks. After eating the few scraps that
remained, we started at seven o'clock up the ridge
that we had descended two days before,

" We were very shaky on our legs at first, but at
each step the stiffness seemed to wear off, and
after half an hour we quite recovered their use;
but there remained an all-pervading sense of
emptiness inside that was not exhilarating. After
ascending a short distance, and with my telescope
carefully examining the rocks, we determined to
descend to the glacier below us (the western
branch), and crossing this get on to some more
rocks beneath the lower ice-fall. If we could get
down these our way seemed clear.

" I won't trouble you with the details of the
descent : suffice it to say that, without encountering
any difficulty, we stepped on to grass about twelve
o'clock, and descending green slopes, still patched
here and there with snow (which would have provided

SOME TALES OF ALPINE GUIDES

sufficient Edelweiss for all the hats of the S.A.C.),
we arrived safely at La Grave, after a pleasant
little^ outing of fifty-six hours. Mr Middlemore,
despairing of my coming, had started for England
the night before, and had left Jaun to await my
arrival.

" After a hot bath, and some bread-crumbs soaked
in warm wine, I went to bed, and the next morning
I awoke as well as I am now, with the exception
of stiffness in the knees, and a slight frost-bite on
one hand. Martin, however, who, I suspect, had
eaten a good deal on his arrival, was seized with
severe cramp, and for some hours was very ill.
"Two days' rest put us all to rights again."
Though rivalry may be keen between first-class
guides, and bitter things be said now and then in
the heat of the struggle for first place, yet when
a great guide has passed away, it is seldom that
one hears anything but good of him. A pretty
story is told — and I believe it is true — of the son
of old Maquignaz of Valtournanche, which ex-
emplifies this chivalrous trait. Maquignaz and
Jean Antoine Carrel were often in competition in
the early days of systematic climbing, and if not
enemies, they were at any rate hardly bosom
friends. Carrel's tragic and noble death on the
Matterhorn will be recalled by readers of my True
Tales of Mountain Adventure. Not very long ago

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

a French climber was making an ascent of the
Italian side of the Matterhorn, with "young"
Maquignaz as guide. "Where did Carrel fall?'
he innocently enquired, as they ascended the pre-
cipitous cliffs on the Breuil side of the mountain.
Young Maquignaz turned sharply to him and ex-
claimed: "Carrel n'est pas tombe ! II est inortr'

CHAPTER II

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

' I ""HERE are few instances so striking of the
capacity of a party of thoroughly experienced
mountaineers to get out of a really tight place, as
was the outcome of the two days spent by Messrs
Mummery, Slingsby, and Ellis Carr, on an ice
slope in the Mont Blanc district. The party in-
tended trying to ascend the Aiguille du Plan direct
from the Chamonix valley. Mr Ellis Carr has
generously given me permission to make use of
his account, which I quote from The Alpine Journal.
He relates the adventures of himself and his two
friends, whose names are household words to climbers,
as follows : —

" Mummery, Slingsby, and I started at 4 P.M.,
with a porter carrying the material for our camp.
This comprised a silk tent of Mummery's pattern,
only weighing 1 1 to 2 lbs. ; three eider-down sleep-
ing-bags, 9 lbs. ; cooking apparatus of thin tin,
\\ lbs. ; or, with ropes, rucksacks, and sundries,
about 25 lbs., in addition to the weight of the

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

provisions. Though not unduly burdened, the porter
found the valley of boulders exceedingly trouble-
some, and in spite of three distinct varieties of
advice as to the easiest route across them, made
such miserably slow progress, often totally disap-
pearing amongst the rocks like a water-logged ship
in a trough of the sea, that we were forced to pitch
our tents on the right moraine of the Nantillons
Glacier, instead of near the base of our peak, as
intended. The gtte, built up with stones on the
slope of the moraine, with earth raked into the
interstices, was sufficiently comfortable to afford
Mummery and myself some sleep. A stone, how-
ever, far surpassing the traditional gite lump in
aggressive activity, seemed, most undeservedly, to
have singled out Slingsby as its innocent victim,
and, judging by the convulsions of his sleeping-bag,
and the sighs and thumps which were in full swing
every time I woke up, it must have kept him pretty
busy all night dodging its attacks from side to side.
His account of his sufferings next morning, when
Mummery and I were admittedly awake, fully con-
firmed and explained these phenomena, but on
going for the enemy by daylight, he had the
satisfaction of finding that he had suffered quite
needlessly, the stone being loose and easily removed
We used Mummery's silk tent for the first time,

and found that it afforded ample room for three

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

men to lie at full length without crowding. The
night, however, was too fine and still to test the
weather-resisting power of the material, and as this
was thin enough to admit suf^cient moonlight to
illuminate the interior of the tent, and make candle
or lamp superfluous, we inferred that it might possibly
prove to be equally accommodating in the case of
rain and wind. It was necessary, moreover, on
entering or leaving the tent, to adopt that form of
locomotion to which the serpent was condemned
to avoid the risk of unconsciously carrying away
the whole structure on one's back. We started
next morning about three o'clock, leaving the camp
kit ready packed for the porter, whom we had
instructed to fetch it during the day, and pushed
on to the glacier at the foot of our mountain at
a steady pace, maintained in my case with much
greater ease than would have otherwise been possible
by virtue of some long, single-pointed screw spikes
inserted overnight in my boot soles ; and I may
here venture to remark that a few of these spikes,
screwed into the boots before starting on an ex-
pedition where much ice-work is expected, appear
to offer a welcome compromise between ponderous
crampons and ordinary nails. They do not, I
think, if not too numerous, interfere with rock-
climbing, and can be repeatedly renewed when
worn down. A slight modification in the shape

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

would further facilitate their being screwed in with
a box key made to fit.^

" Leaving the rock buttress, the scene of our recon-
naissance on the nth, on the right, we struck straight
up the glacier basin between it and the Aiguille de
Blaitidre, which glacier appeared to me to be largely
composed of broken fragments of ice mixed with
avalanche snow from the hanging glaciers and slopes
above. Keeping somewhat to the left, we reached
the bergschrund, which proved to be of considerable
size, extending along the whole base of the couloir,
and crossed it at a point immediately adjoining the
rocks on the left. The axe at once came into re-
quisition, and we cut steadily in hard ice up and
across the couloir towards the small rib or island of
rock before-mentioned as dividing it higher up into
two portions. The rocks at the base of this rib,
though steep, gritty, and loose, offered more rapid
going than the ice, and we climbed then to a gap
on the ridge above, commanding a near view of the
perpendicular country in front of us. Far above us,
and immediately over the top of the right-hand
section of the couloir, towered the ice cliffs of the
hanging glacier we had tried to reach on the nth,
and beyond these again, in the grey morning light,
we caught the glimpse of a second and even a third

1 These are now known as Mummery nails, and are often
used by climbers.

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

rank of seracs in lofty vista higher up the mountain.
As before observed, this section of the couloir seemed
admirably placed for receiving ice-falls, and we now
saw that it formed part of the natural channel for
snow and debris from each and all of these glaciers.
We therefore directed our attention to our friend on
the left, and after a halt for breakfast, traversed the
still remaining portion of the dividing ridge, turning
a small rock pinnacle on its right, and recommenced
cutting steps in the hard ice which faced us. As
has been before remarked, it is difficult to avoid
over-estimating the steepness of ice - slopes, but,
allowing for any tendency towards exaggeration,
I do not think I am wrong in fixing the angle of
the couloir from this point as not less than 50°. We
kept the axe steadily going, and with an occasional
change of leader, after some hours' unceasing work,
found ourselves approaching the base of the upper
portion of the couloir, which from below had appeared
perpendicular. We paused to consider the situation.
For at least 80 to 100 feet the ice rose at an angle
of 60' to 70', cutting off all view of the face above,
with no flanking wall of rock on the right, but
bounded on the left by an overhanging cliff, which
dripped slightly with water from melting snow
above. The morning was well advanced, and we kept
a sharp look-out aloft for any stray stones which
might fancy a descent in our direction. None came,

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

and we felt gratified at this confirmation of our
judgment as to the safety of this part of the couloir.
However, the time for chuckling had not yet come.
As I stated, we had halted to inspect the problem
before us. Look as we might we could discover
no possibility of turning the ice wall either to the
right or left, and though, as we fondly believed and
hoped, it formed the only barrier to easier going
above, the terrible straightness and narrowness of
the way was sufficient to make the very boldest
pause to consider the strength of his resources.

" How long / should have paused before beating
a retreat, if asked to lead the way up such a place,
I will not stop to enquire, but I clearly remember
that my efforts to form some estimate of the prob-
able demand on my powers such a feat would
involve were cut short by Mummery's quiet an-
nouncement that he was ready to make the attempt.
Let me here state that amongst Mummery's other
mountaineering qualifications not the least remark-
able is his power of inspiring confidence in those
who are climbing with him, and that both Slingsby
and I experienced this is proved by the fact that we
at once proceeded, without misgiving or hesitation,
to follow his lead. We had hitherto used an 8o-feet
rope, but now, by attaching a spare lOO-feet length of
thin rope, used double, we afforded the leader an

additional 50 feet. Mummery commenced cutting,

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

and we soon approached the lower portion of the
actual ice wall, where the angle of the slope cannot
have been less than 60°.

" I am not aware that any authority has fixed the
exact degree of steepness at which it becomes im-
possible to use the ice axe with both hands, but,
whatever portion of a right angle the limit may be,
Mummery very soon reached it, and commenced
excavating with his right hand caves in the ice, each
with an internal lateral recess by which to support
his weight with his left. Slingsby and I, meanwhile
possessing our souls in patience, stood in our re-
spective steps, as on a ladder, and watched his steady
progress with admiration, so far as permitted us by
the falling ice dislodged by the axe.

" Above our heads the top of the wall was crowned
by a single projecting stone towards which the leader
cut, and which, when reached, just afforded sufficient
standing-room for both feet. The ice immediately
below this stone, for a height of 12 or 14 feet,
was practically perpendicular, and Slingsby's de-
finition of it as a ' frozen waterfall ' is the most
appropriate I can find. Here and there Mummery
found it necessary to cut through its entire thickness,
exposing the face of the rock behind.

" On reaching the projecting stone the leader was
again able to use the axe with both hands, and
slowly disappeared from view ; thus completing,

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

without pause or hitch of any kind, the most
extraordinary feat of mountaineering skill and
nerve it has ever been my privilege to witness.

"The top of the wall surmounted, Slingsby and
I expected every moment to hear the welcome
summons to follow to easier realms above. None
came. Time passed, the only sounds besides the
occasional drip of water from the rocks on our
left, or the growl of a distant avalanche, being that
of the axe and the falling chips of ice, as they
whizzed by or struck our heads or arms with in-
creasing force. The sounds of the axe strokes
gradually became inaudible, but the shower con-
tinued to pound us without mercy for more than
an hour of inaction, perhaps more trying to the
nerves, in such a position, than the task of leading.
The monotony was to some extent varied by efforts
to ward off from our heads the blows of the falling
ice, and by the excitement, at intervals, of seeing
the slack rope hauled up a foot or so at a time.
It had almost become taut, and we were preparing
to follow, when a shout from above, which sounded
from where we stood muffled and far away, for
more rope, kept us in our places. It was all
very well to demand more rope, but not so
easy to comply. The only possible way to give
extra length was to employ the lOO feet of thin
rope single, instead of double, at which we hesi-

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

tated at first, but, as Mummery shouted that it
was absolutely necessary, we managed to make the
change, though it involved SHngsby's getting out
of the rope entirely during the operation. To
any one who has not tried It I should hardly
venture to recommend, as an enjoyable diversion,
the process, which must necessarily occupy both
hands, of removing and re-adjusting i8o feet of rope
on an ice slope exceeding 60° at the top of a steep
couloir some 1000 feet high. The task accomplished,
we had not much longer to wait before the shout
to come on announced the termination of our
martyrdom. We went on, but, on passing in turn
the projecting stone, and catching sight of the
slope above, we saw at a glance that our hopes
of easy going must, for the present, be postponed.
Mummery, who had halted at the full extent of
his tether of about 120 feet of rope, was standing
in his steps on an ice slope quite as steep as that
below the foot of the wall we had just surmounted.
He had been cutting without intermission for two
hours, and suggested a change. Being last on the
rope, I therefore went ahead, cutting steps to pass,
and took up the work with the axe. The ice here
was occasionally in double layer, the outer one
some 3 or 4 inches in thickness, which, when cut
through, revealed a space of about equal depth
behind, an arrangement at times very convenient,

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

as affording good hand-holes without extra labour.
I went on for some time cutting pigeon-holes on
the right side of the couloir, and, at the risk of
being unorthodox, I would venture to point out
what appears to me the advantages of this kind of
step on very steep ice. Cut in two perpendicular
rows, alternately for each foot, the time lost in
zigzags is saved, and no turning steps are neces-
sary ; they do not require the ice to be cut away
so much for the leg as in the case of lateral steps,
and are therefore less easily filled up by falling
chips and snow. Being on account of their shape
more protected from the sun's heat, they are less
liable to be spoiled by melting, and have the further
advantage of keeping the members of the party in
the same perpendicular line, and consequently in
a safer position. They also may serve as hand-
holds. To cut such steps satisfactorily it is neces-
sary that the axe be provided with a point long
enough to penetrate to the full depth required for
the accommodation of the foot up to the instep,
without risk of injury to the shaft by repeated
contact with the ice.

" As we had now been going for several hours
without food, and since leaving the rock rib, where
we had breakfasted, had come across no ledge or
irregularity of any kind affording a resting-place,
it was with no little satisfaction that I descried,

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

on the opposite side of the couloir, at a spot about
30 or 40 feet above, where the cliff on our left
somewhat receded, several broken fragments of rock
cropping out of the ice, of size and shape to provide
seats for the whole party. We cut up and across
to them, and sat down, or rather hooked ourselves
on, for a second breakfast. We were here approxi-
mately on a level with the summit of our rock
buttress of the nth, and saw that it was only
connected with the mountain by a broken and
dangerous-looking ridge of ice and n^v4 running
up to an ice-slope at the foot of the glacier
cliffs. The gap in the latter was not visible from
our position. The tower we had tried to turn
appeared far below, and the intervening rocks of
the buttress, though not jagged, were steep and
smooth like a roof The first gleams of sunshine
now arrived to cheer us, and, getting under way
once more, we pushed on hopefully, as the couloir
was rapidly widening and the face of the mountain
almost in full view. We had also surmounted the
rock wall which had so long shut out the prospect
on our left, and it was at this point that, happening
to glance across the slabs, we caught sight of a
large flat rock rapidly descending. It did not
bound nor roll, but slid quietly down with a kind
of stealthy haste, as if it thought, though rather late,
it might still catch us, and was anxious not to alarm
c 33

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

us prematurely. It fell harmlessly into the couloir,
striking the ice near the rock rib within a few feet
of our tracks, and we saw no other falling stones
while we were on the mountain.

" Leaving the welcome resting-place, Mummery
again took the lead, and cut up and across the
couloir, now becoming less steep, to a rib or
patch of rocks higher up on the right, which we
climbed to its upper extremity, a distance of some
70 or 80 feet.

" Here, taking to the ice once more, we soon
approached the foot of the first great snow-slope
on the face, and rejoiced in the near prospect of
easier going. At the top of this slope, several
hundred feet straight before us, was a low cliff
or band of rocks, for which we decided to aim,
there being throughout the entire length of the
intervening slope no suspicious grey patches to
indicate ice. The angle was, moreover, much less
severe, and it being once more my turn to lead,
I went at it with the zealous intention of making
up time. My ardour was, however, considerably
checked at finding, when but a short distance up
the slope, that the coating of ndve was so exceedingly
thin as to be insufficient for good footing without
cutting through the hard ice below. Instead,
therefore, of continuing in a straight line for
the rocks, we took an oblique course to the right,

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

towards one of the hanging glaciers before referred
to, and crossing a longitudinal crevasse, climbed
without much difficulty up its sloping bank of
nev^. Hurrah ! here was good snow at last, only
requiring at most a couple of slashes with the adze
end of the axe for each step. If this continued
we had a comparatively easy task before us, as
the rocks above, though smooth and steep, were
broken up here and there by bands and streaks
of snow. Taking full advantage of this our first
opportunity for making speed, we cut as fast as
possible and made height rapidly. We still aimed
to strike the band of rocks before described, though
at a point much more to the right, and nearer
to where its extremity was bounded by the ice-
cliffs of another hanging glacier ; but, alas ! as we
approached nearer and nearer to the base of the
cliffs, looming apparently higher and higher over
our heads, the favouring neve^ over which we had
been making such rapid progress, again began to
fail, and before we could reach the top of the once
more steepening slope the necessity of again
resorting to the pick end of the axe brought
home the unwelcome conviction that our temporary
respite had come to an end, and that, instead of
snow above, and apart from what help the smooth
rocks might afford, nothing was to be expected
but hard, unmitigated ice.

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

"We immediately felt that, as it was already
past noon, the establishment of this fact would
put a totally different complexion on our prospects
of success, and, instead of reaching the summit,
we might have to content ourselves with merely
crossing the ridge. We continued cutting, however,
and reached the rocks, the last part of the slope
having once more become exceedingly steep. To
turn the cliff, here uncHmbable, we first spent
over half an hour in prospecting to the right,
where a steep ice-gully appeared between the rocks
and the hanging glacier ; but, abandoning this,
we struck off to the left, cutting a long traverse,
during which we were able to hitch the rope to
rocks cropping out through the ice. The traverse
landed us in a kind of gully, where, taking to
the rocks whenever practicable, though climbing
chiefly by the ice, we reached a broken stony
ledge, large and flat enough to serve as a luncheon
place, the only spot we had come across since
leaving the rock rib, where it was possible really
to rest sitting. Luncheon over, we proceeded as
before, choosing the rocks as far as possible by
way of change, though continually obliged to
take to the ice -streaks by which they were
everywhere intersected. This went on all the
rest of the afternoon, till, when daylight began to
wane, we had attained an elevation considerably

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

above the gap between our mountain and the
Aiguille de Blaitiere, or more than 10,900 feet
above the sea.

" The persistent steepness and difficulty of the
mountain had already put our reaching the ridge
before dark entirely out of the question, though we
decided to keep going as long as daylight lasted,
so as to leave as little work as possible for the
morrow.

"The day had been gloriously fine, practically
cloudless throughout, and I shall never forget the
weird look of the ice -slopes beneath, turning
yellow in the evening light, and plunging down
and disappearing far below in the mists which
were gathering at the base of the mountain ; also,
far, far away, we caught a glimpse of the Lake
of Geneva, somewhere near Lausanne. I had
turned away from the retrospect, when an exclama-
tion from Slingsby called me to look once more.
A gap had appeared in the mists, and there, some
2700 feet below us, as it were on an inferior stage
of the world, we caught a glimpse of the snow-
field at the very foot of the mountain, dusky
yellow in the last rays of the sun. Mummery was
in the meantime continuing the everlasting chopping,
in the intervals of crawling up disobliging slabs
of rock, till twilight began to deepen into darkness,
and we had to look about for a perch on which

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

to roost for the night. The only spot we could
find, sufficiently large for all three of us to sit,
was a small patch of lumps of rocks, more or less
loose, some 20 or 30 feet below where we stood,
and we succeeded, just as the light failed, or
about 8.30 P.M., and after some engineering, in
seating ourselves side by side upon it. Our boots
were wet through by long standing in ice-steps,
and we took them off and wrung the water out
of our stockings. The others put theirs on again,
but, as a precaution against frost-bite, having
pocketed my stockings, I put my feet, wrapped
in a woollen cap, inside the rucksack, with the
result that they remained warm through the night.
The half hour which it took me next morning to
pull on the frozen boots proved, however, an
adequate price for the privilege of having warm
feet. As a precaution against falling off our shelf
we hitched the rope over a rock above and passed
it round us, and to make sure of not losing my
boots (awful thought !), I tied them to it by the
laces.

"After dinner we settled down to spend the evening.
The weather fortunately remained perfect, and the
moon had risen, though hidden from us by our
mountain. Immediately below lay Chamonix, like
a cheap illumination, gradually growing more
patchy as the night advanced and the candles

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

went out one by one, while above the stars looked
down as if silently wondering why in the world we
were sitting there. The first two hours were passed
without very much discomfort, but having left behind
our extra wraps to save weight, as time wore on the
cold began to make itself felt, and though fortu-
nately never severe enough to be dangerous, made
us sufficiently miserable. Packed as we were, we
were unable to indulge in those exercises generally
adopted to induce warmth, and we shivered so
vigorously at intervals that, when all vibrating in
unison, we wondered how it might affect the stability
of our perch. Sudden cramp in a leg, too, could
only be relieved by concerted action, it being
necessary for the whole party to rise solemnly
together like a bench of judges, while the limb
was stretched out over the valley of Chamonix till
the pain abated, and it could be folded up and
packed away once more. We sang songs, told
anecdotes, and watched the ghostly effect of the
moonlight on a subsidiary pinnacle of the mountain,
the illuminated point of which, in reality but a
short distance away, looked like a phantom Matter-
horn seen afar off over an inky black arete formed
by the shadow thrown across its base by the adjoin-
ing ridge. We had all solemnly vowed not to drop
asleep, and for me this was essential, as my centre
of gravity was only just within the base of support ;

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

but while endeavouring to give effect to another
chorus, in spite of the very troublesome vibrato
before referred to, I was grieved and startled at the
sudden superfluous interpolation of two sustained
melancholy bass notes, each in a different key and
ominously suggestive of snoring. The pensive
attitude of my companions' heads being in keeping
with their song, in accordance with a previous
understanding, I imparted to Mummery, who sat
next to me, a judicious shock, but, as in the case
of a row of billiard balls in contact, the effect was
most noticeable at the far end, and Slingsby awoke,
heartily agreeing with me how weak it was of
Mummery to give way thus. The frequent necessity
for repeating this operation, with strengthening varia-
tions as the effect wore off, soon stopped the chorus
which, like Sullivan's ' Lost Chord,' trembled away
into silence.

" The lights of Chamonix had by this time shrunk
to a mere moth-eaten skeleton of their earlier glory,
and I became weakly conscious of a sort of resent-
ment at the callous selfishness of those who could
thus sneak into their undeserved beds, without a
thought of the three devoted explorers gazing
down at them from their eyrie on the icy
rocks.

" From 2 to 4 o'clock the cold became more intense,

aggravated by a slight ' breeze of morning,' and

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

while waiting for dawn we noticed that it was light
enough to see.

" Daylight, however, did not help Mummery to find
his hat, and we concluded it had retired into the
bergschrund under cover of darkness.

" We helped each other into a standing position,
and decided to start for the next patch of rocks
above, from there to determine what chance of
success there might be in making a dash for the
summit, or, failing this, of simply crossing the ridge
and descending to the Col du Geant There was
very little food left, and, as we had brought no wine,
breakfast was reduced to a slight sketch, executed
with little taste and in a few very dry touches.
Owing to the time required to disentangle virulently
kinked and frozen ropes, etc., the sun was well above
the horizon when we once more started upwards,
though unfortunately, just at this time, when his life-
giving rays would have been most acceptable, they
were entirely intercepted by the ridge of the Blaiti6re.
We started on the line of steps cut the night before,
but soon after Mummery had recommenced cutting,
the cold, or rather the impossibility, owing to the
enforced inaction, to get warm, produced such an
overpowering feeling of drowsiness that Slingsby
and I, at Mummery's suggestion, returned to the
perch, and jamming ourselves into the space which
had before accommodated our six legs, endeavoured

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

to have it out in forty winks. Mummery meanwhile
continued step-cutting, and at the end of about half
an hour, during which Slingsby and I were somewhat
restored by a fitful dose, returned, and we tied on
again for another attempt.

" Surmounting the patches of rock immediately
above our dormitory, we arrived at the foot of
another slope of terribly steep, hard ice, some 200
feet in height. At the top of this again was a vertical
crag 14 or 15 feet high, forming the outworks of
the next superior band of rocks, which was inter-
spersed with ice-streaks as before. A few feet from
the base of this crag was a narrow ledge about i foot
in width, where we were able to sit after scraping
it clear of snow. Slingsby gave Mummery a leg
up round a very nasty corner, and he climbed to a
point above the crag, whence he was able to assist
us with the rope up a still higher and narrower ledge.
Beyond was another steep slope of hard ice, topped
by a belt of rocks, as before.

"Before reaching this point the cold had again
begun to tell upon me, and I bitterly regretted the
mistaken policy of leaving behind our extra wraps,
especially as the coat I was wearing was not lined.
As there was no probability of a change for the
better in the nature of the going before the ridge
was reached, I began to doubt the wisdom of pro-
ceeding, affected as I was, where a false step might

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

send the whole party into the bergschrund 3000 feet
below ; but it was very hard, with the summit in
view and the most laborious part of the ascent
already accomplished, to be the first to cry * Hold ! '
I hesitated for some time before doing so, and the
others meanwhile had proceeded up the slope. The
rope was almost taut when I shouted to them the
state of the case, and called a council of war. They
returned to me, and we discussed what was practi-
cally something of the nature of a dilemma. To go
on at the same slow rate of progress and without
the sun's warmth meant, on the one hand, the
possible collapse of at least one of the party from
cold, while, on the other hand, to turn back involved
the descent of nearly 3000 feet of ice, and the passage,
if we could not turn it, of the couloir and its ghastly
ice- wall. Partly, I think, to delay for a time the
adoption of the latter formidable alternative, partly
to set at rest any doubt which might still remain
as to the nature of the going above. Mummery
volunteered to ascend alone to the rocks at the
summit of the ice -slope, though the chance of their
offering any improved conditions was generally felt
to be a forlorn hope. He untied the rope, threw the
end down to us, and retraced his steps up the slope,
in due time reaching the rocks some 100 or 130 feet
above, but, after prospecting in more than one
direction, returned to us with the report that they

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

offered no improvement, and that the intersecting
streaks were nothing but hard ice. He, however,
was prepared to continue the attempt if we felt
equal to the task. If we could at that moment have
commanded a cup of hot soup or tea, or the woollen
jackets which in our confidence in being able to
reach the ridge we had left behind, I am convinced
I should have been quite able to proceed, and that the
day and the mountain would have been ours ; but
in the absence of these reviving influences and that
of the sun, I was conscious that in my own case, at
any rate, it would be folly to persist, so gave my
vote for descending. As the food was practically
exhausted, the others agreed that it would be wiser
to face the terrible ordeal which retracing our steps
involved (we did not then know that it meant re-
cutting them), rather than continue the ascent with
weakened resources and without absolute certainty
of the accessibility of the summit ridge.

"As Slingsby on the previous day had insisted
on being regarded merely as a passenger, and had
therefore not shared in the step-cutting, it was now
arranged that he should lead, while Mummery, as a
tower of strength, brought up the rear. Though it
was past five o'clock, and of course broad daylight, a
bright star could be seen just over the ridge of our
mountain, not far from the summit — alas ! the only
one anywhere near it on that day. We started

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

downwards at a steady pace, and soon were re-
joicing in the returning warmth induced by the
more continuous movement. Before we had gone
far, however, we found that most of the steps were
partially filled up with ice, water having flowed
into them during the previous afternoon, and the
work of trimming or practically recutting these was
at times exceedingly trying, owing to their distance
apart, and the consequent necessity of working in a
stooping and cramped position.

" But if the work was tough the worker, fortunately,
was tougher still, and Mummery and I congratulated
ourselves on being able to send such powerful reserves
to the front.

"The morning was well advanced before the sun
surmounted the cold screen of the Blaiti^re, but
having once got to work he certainly made up by
intensity for his tardy appearance.

" The provisions, with the exception of a scrap or two
of cheese and a morsel of chocolate, being exhausted,
and having, as before stated, nothing with us in the
form of drink, nothing was to be gained by a halt,
though, as we descended with as much speed as
possible, we kept a sharp look-out for any signs of
trickling water with which to quench the thirst,
which was becoming distressing.

" Since finally deciding to return, we had cherished
the hope that it might still be possible to turn the

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

of the ice where it adjoined the rocky slab under
which we stood. This weariness, however, must
have been quite as much mental as physical from
the long-continued monotony of the work, for when
Mummery at last reappeared we felt perfectly equal
to the task of descending. The rope was passed
behind a boss of nivi ingeniously worked by
Mummery as a hitch to keep it perpendicular, and I
descended first, but had no occasion to rely upon it
for more than its moral support, as the steps and
hand-holds had been so carefully cut I climbed
cautiously down the icy cataract till I reached a
point where hand-holds were not essential to
maintain the balance, and waited with my face
almost against the ice till Slingsby joined me.
Mummery soon followed, and rather than leave the
spare rope behind detached it from the stone and
descended without its aid, his nerve being to all
appearance unimpaired by the fatigues he had gone
through. I had before had evidence of his indiffer-
ence while on the mountains to all forms of food
or drink, with the single exception, by the way, of
strawberry jam, on the production of which he
generally capitulates.

" Rejoicing at having successfully passed the steepest
portion of the ice-wall without the smallest hitch of
the wrong sort, we steadily descended the face of

the couloir.

TWO DAYS ON AN ICE-SLOPE

" Here and there, where a few of the steps had been
hewn unusually far apart, I was fain to cut a notch
or two for the fingers before lowering myself into
the next one below. At last the rock rib was
reached, and we indulged in a rest for the first time
since turning to descend.

"Time, however, was precious, and we were soon
under way again, retracing our steps over the steep
loose rocks at the base of the rib till forced again
on to the ice.

" Oh, that everlasting hard ice-slope, so trustworthy
yet so relentlessly exacting !

" Before we could clear the rocks, and as if by way
of hint that the mountain had had enough of us, and
of me in particular (I could have assured it the feel-
ing was mutual), a flick of the rope sent my hat
and goggles flying down to keep company with
Mu'nmery's in the bergsckrund, and a sharp rolling
stone, which I foolishly extended my hand to check,
gashed me so severely as to put climbing out of the
question for more than a week. As small pieces of
ice had been whizzing down for some time from
above, though we saw no stones, it was satisfactory
to find our steps across the lower part of the couloir
in sufficiently good order to allow of our putting on
a good pace, and we soon reached the sheltering
rock on the opposite side and the slopes below the

bergsckrund wherein our hats, after losing their heads,
D 49

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

had found a grave. The intense feeling of relief on
regaining, at 5.55 P.M., safe and easy ground, where
the lives of the party were not staked on every step,
is difficult to describe, and was such as I had never
before experienced. I think the others felt some-
thing like the same sensation. Fatigue, kept at bay
so long as the stern necessity for caution lasted,
seemed to come upon us with a rush, though
tempered with the sense of freedom from care afore-
said, and I fancy our progress down the glacier snow
was for a time rather staggery. Though tired, we
were by no means exhausted, and after a short rest
on a flat rock and a drink from a glacier runnel, found
ourselves sufficiently vigorous to make good use of
the remaining daylight to cross the intervening
glaciers, moraines, and valley of boulders, before
commencing to skirt the tedious and, in the dark,
exasperating stony wastes of the Charmoz ridge.
Sternly disregarding the allurements of numerous
stonemen, which here seem to grow wild, to the
confusion of those weak enough to trust them, we
stumbled along amongst the stones to the brow of
the hill overlooking the hotel, where shouts from
friends greeted the appearance of our lantern, and,
descending by the footpath, we arrived among them
at 10,30 P.M., more than fifty-four hours after our
departure on the 12th."

CHAPTER III

SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES

TT /"E should never have got into such a position,
but vi^hen definite orders are not carried out
the General must not be blamed. The adventure
might easily have cost all three of us our lives.

This is how we came to be imperilling our necks
on an incoherent snow-ridge 13,000 feet above the
sea. It was the end of September, and my two
guides and I were waiting at Zermatt to try the
Dent Blanche, a proceeding which, later on, was
amply justified by success. Much fresh snow had
recently fallen, and the slopes of the mountains
were running down towards the valleys faster than
the most active chamois could have galloped up
them. Idleness is an abomination to the keen
climber, and doubly so if he be an enthusiastic
photographer, and the sun shone each day from a
cloudless sky. Something had to be done, but
what could we choose? All the safe second-class
ascents up which one might wade through fresh

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

snow without risk, we had accomphshed over and
over again. Something new to us was what we
wanted, and what eventually we found in the stately
Hohberghorn. Now this peak is seldom ascended.
It is overtopped by two big neighbours, and until
these have been done, no one is likely to climb
the less imposing peak. Furthermore, the Hohberg-
horn is a grind, and though we got enough excite-
ment and to spare out of it, yet in our case the
circumstances were peculiar. The view was certain
to be grand, and, faute de mieux, we decided to start
for it.

On this occasion, in addition to my guide of
many years' standing, the famous Joseph Imboden
of St Nicholas, I had a second man, who had a
great local reputation in his native valley at the
other end of Switzerland (and deservedly so, as far
as his actual climbing ability was concerned), but
who had never been on a rope with Imboden before.
This was the cause of the appalling risk we ran
during our expedition. We arrived in good time
at the hut, and found another party, who proposed
going up the Dom, the highest mountain entirely
in Switzerland (14,900 feet) next day. Our way
lay together for a couple of hours over the great
glacier, and we proceeded the following morning
in magnificent weather towards our respective peaks.

It was heavy work ploughing our way through
52

SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES

the soft new snow, and we could not advance except
very slowly. As a result, it was already mid-day
when we gained the ridge of the Hohberghorn, not
far below the summit. The sun streamed pitilessly
down, the snow cracked and slipped at every step.
To understand what followed, our position must now
be made clear. Imboden, who led, was on the very
crest of the ridge. Next to him on the rope, at
a distance of about 20 feet, was my place, also on
the ridge. At an equal distance behind me was
the second guide. He was a trifle below the ridge,
on the side to our left. We stood still for a
moment, and then Imboden distinctly but very
quietly remarked to the other man, " Be on your
guard. At any moment now we may expect an
avalanche." I never to this day can understand
how he failed to grasp what this meant. It should
have been obvious that it was a warning to look
out, and at the first sign of approaching danger to
step down on to the other side of the ridge. Had
not this been a perfectly simple thing to do, we
should not have continued the ascent, but the
second guide failed us hopelessly when the critical
moment came. Imboden, to avoid a small cornice
or overhanging eave of snow to our right, now
took a few steps along and below the ridge to
the left, while the man behind me came in the
tracks to the crest, and I followed the leader. From

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

this position tiie last man could in an instant have
been down the slope to his right, and have held
us with the greatest ease.

We advanced a yard or two further, and then
the entire surface upon which we stood commenced
to move ! A moment more and we were struggling
for our lives, dashing our axes through the rush-
ing snow, and endeavouring to arrest our wild
career, which, unless checked at once, would cause
us to be precipitated down the entire face of the
mountain, to the glacier below. Then it was that
the firm bed of snow beneath the newer layer
stood us in good stead. Our axes held, and,
breathless, bruised and startled, we found our-
selves clinging to the slope, while the avalanche,
momentarily increasing in volume, thundered down
towards the snow-fields below, where at length,
heaped high against the mountain-side, it came to
rest.

We now took stock of the position. We were
practically unhurt, but so confused and rapid had
been the slip that the rope was entangled round
us in a manner wonderful to behold. There was
nothing to prevent us reaching the summit, for
every atom of fresh snow had been swept away
from the slope, so we continued our climb, and
soon were able to rest on the top. To this day,
Imboden and I always look back to our adventure

SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES

on the Hohberghorn as the greatest peril either
of us has ever faced.

More than one instance has been recorded where,
owing to the prompt action of the last man on
the rope, fatal accidents on snow-ridges have
been avoided. The two most famous occasions
in Alpine annals^ were when Hans Grass saved
his party on Piz Palii, and when Ulrich Aimer
performed his marvellous feat on the Gabelhorn.
It is true that in both these cases the risk was
due to the breaking away of a snow-cornice, but
the remedy was exactly the same as it ought to
have been when our avalanche was started.

I have only to add that we found the other
party at the hut, much exhausted by their un-
successful attempt on the Dom, and very anxious
on our account, as they both heard and saw the
avalanche which had so nearly ended our moun-
taineering career.

The famous climber, Mr Tuckett, has very
kindly allowed me to quote from Peaks, Passes,
and Glaciers, the following description of a narrow
escape from an avalanche while descending the
Aletschhorn :

"We had accomplished in safety a distance of

scarcely more than 150 yards when, as I was

looking at the Jungfrau, my attention was

^ True Tales of Mountain Adventure, pp. 42 and 43.

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

attracted by a sudden exclamation from Victor,
who appeared to stagger and all but lose his
balance. At first, the idea of some sort of seizure
or an attack of giddiness presented itself, but,
without stopping to enquire, I at once turned
round, drove my good 8-foot ash-pole as deeply
as possible through the surface layer of fresh
snow into the firmer stratum beneath, tightened
the rope to give Victor support, and shouted to
Peter to do the same. All this was the work of
an instant, and a glance at once showed me
what had happened. Victor was safe for the
moment, but a layer or couche of snow, lO inches
to a foot in thickness, had given way exactly
beneath his feet, and first gently, and then fleet as
an arrow, went gliding down, with that unpleasant
sound somewhat resembling the escape of steam,
which is so trying to the nerves of the bravest man,
when he knows its full and true significance. At
first a mass 80 to 100 yards in breadth and 10
or 15 in length alone gave way, but the contagion
spread, and ere another minute had elapsed the
slopes right and left of us for an extent of at
least half a mile, were in movement, and, like a
frozen Niagara, went crashing down the ice-
precipices and seracs that still lay between us
and the Aletsch glacier, 1800 to 2000 feet below.
The spectacle was indescribably sublime, and the

SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES

suspense for a moment rather awful, as we were
clinging to an incline at least as steep as that on
the Grindelwald side of the Strahleck — to name a
familiar example — and it was questionable whether
escape would be possible, if the layer of snow
on the portion of the slope we had just been
traversing should give way before we could retrace
our steps.

" Not a moment was to be lost ; no word was
spoken after the first exclamation, and hastily
uttered, ' Au col ! et vite ! ' and then in dead
silence, with batons held aloft like harpoons, ready
to be plunged into the lower and older layers of
snow, we stole quietly but rapidly up towards the
now friendly-looking corniche, and in a few minutes
stood once more in safety on the ridge, with
feelings of gratitude for our great deliverance,
which, though they did not find utterance in
words, were, I believe, none the less sincerely
felt by all of us. 'II n'a manqu6 que peu a un grand
malheur,' quietly remarked Victor, who looked
exhausted, as well he might be after what he
had gone through ; but a goutte of cognac all
round soon set us right again, and shouting to
Bennen, who was still in sight, though dwindled
in size to a mere point, we were soon beside him,
running down the nev^ of our old friend, the Aren
Glacier. The snow was now soft and the heat

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

tremendous, and both Bennen and Bohren showed
signs of fatigue ; but a rapid pace was still main-
tained in spite of the frequent crevasses. Some
were cleared in a series of flying leaps, whilst into
others which the snow concealed, one and another
would occasionally sink, amid shouts of laughter
from his companions, who, in their turn, under-
went a similar fate. To the carefully secured
rope, which, with the alpenstock and ice axe, are
the mountaineer's best friends, we owed it that
these sudden immersions were a mere matter of
joke ; but even the sense of security which it
confers does not altogether prevent a ' creepy '
sensation from being experienced, as the legs
dangle in vacancy, and the sharp metallic ring
of the icy fragments is heard as they clatter
down into the dark blue depths below."

The higher and more snow-laden the mountain
chain, the more risk is there from avalanches. It
seems practically certain that Mr Mummery met
his death in the Himalayas from an avalanche,
and that Messrs Donkin and Fox and their two
Swiss guides perished in the Caucasus from a like
cause. Sir W. Martin Conway, in his book on the
Himalayas, makes several allusions to avalanches,
and on at least one occasion, some members of
his party had a narrow escape. He relates the

adventure as follows :

SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES

"Zurbriggen and I had no more than set foot
upon the grass, when we beheld a huge avalanche-
cloud descending over the whole width of the
ice-fall, utterly enveloping both it and a small rock-
rib and couloir beside it. Bruce and the Gurkhas
were below the rib, and could only see up the
couloir. They thought the avalanche was a small
one confined to it, and so they turned back and
ran towards the foot of the ice-fall. This was no
improvement in position, and there was nothing
for them to do then but to run straight away from
it, and get as far out to the flat glacier as they
could. The fall started from the very top of the
Lower Burchi peak, and tumbled on to the plateau
above the ice-fall ; it flowed over this, and came
down the ice-fall itself. We saw the cloud before
we heard the noise, and then it only reached us
as a distant rumble. We had no means of guessing
the amount of solid snow and ice that there might
be in the heart of the cloud. The rumble increased
in loudness, and was soon a thunder that swallowed
up our puny shouts, so that Bruce could not hear
our warning. Had he heard he could easily have
reached the sheltered position we gained before
the cloud came on him. Zurbriggen and I cast
ourselves upon our faces, but only the edge of the
cloud and an ordinary strong wind reached us.
Our companions were entirely enveloped in it

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

They afterwards described to us how they raced
away like wild men, jumping crevasses which they
could not have cleared in cold blood. When the
snow just enveloped them, the wind raised by it
cast them headlong on the ice. This, however,
was the worst that happened. The snow peppered
them all over, and soaked them to the skin, but
the solid part of the avalanche was happily arrested
in the midst of the ice-fall, and never came in sight.
When the fog cleared they were all so out of
breath that for some minutes they could only
stand and regard one another in panting silence.
They presently rejoined us, and we halted for a
time on the pleasant grass."

In the olden days, before the great Alpine lines
had tunnelled beneath the mountains and made a
journey from one side of the range to the other
in midwinter as safe and as comfortable as a run
from London to Brighton, passengers obliged to
cross the Alps in winter or spring were exposed
to very real peril from avalanches. Messrs Newnes
have courteously allowed me to make a short
extract from an article which appeared in one of
their publications, and in which is described the
adventures of two English ladies who were obliged
to return home suddenly from Innsbruck on
account of the illness of a near relative. Their
shortest route was by diligence to Constance, over

SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES

the Arlberg Pass, and although it was considered
extremely dangerous at that time of year — the
beginning of May 1880 — they resolved to make the
attempt. Much anxiety with regard to avalanches
was felt in neighbouring villages, as the sun had
lately been very hot, and the snow had become
rotten and undermined. Owing to heavy falls
during the previous winter, the accumulation of
snow was enormous, and thus the two travellers
set out under the worst possible auspices. The
conductor of the diligence warned them of the
danger, and told them on no account to open a
window or to make any movement which could
shake the coach. He got in with them and sat
opposite, looking very worried and anxious. They
reached the critical part of their journey, and, to
quote Mrs Brewer's words :

" Suddenly a low, booming sound, like that of
a cannon on a battlefield or a tremendous peal
of thunder, broke on our ears, swelling into a
deafening crash ; and in a moment we were
buried in a vast mass of snow. One of the
immense piles from the mountain above had
crashed down upon us, carrying everything with
it. At the same moment we felt a violent jerk
of the coach, and heard a kind of sound which
expressed terror ; but, happily, our vehicle did
not turn over, as it seemed likely to do for a

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

minute or so. There we sat — for how long I
know not — scarcely able to breathe, the snow
pressing heavily against the windows, and utterly
blocking out light and air, so that breathing was
a painful effort. And now came a curious sensa-
tion. It was an utter suspension of thought, and
of every mental and physical faculty,

"True, in a sort of unconscious way I became
aware that the guard was sobbing out a prayer
for his wife and children ; but it had not the
slightest effect on me.

"We might have been buried days and nights
for all I knew, for I kept no count of time. In
reality, I believe it was but a couple of hours
between the fall of the avalanche and the first
moment of hope, which came in the form of men
striking with pickaxes. The sound seemed to
come from a long distance — almost, as it were,
from another world.

" The guard, roused by the noise, said earnestly :
' Ach Gott ! I thank Thee.' And then, speaking
to us, he said : ' Ladies, help is near ! '

"Gradually the sound of the digging and the
voices of the men grew nearer, till at length one
window was open — the one overlooking the valley ;
and the life-giving air stole softly in upon us.
Even now, however, we were told not to move ;
not that we had any inclination to do so, for we

SOME AVALANCHE ADVENTURES

were in a dazed, half-conscious condition. When
at length we used our eyes, it was to note that the
valley did not seem so deep, and that the villages
with their church spires had disappeared ; the
meaning of it was not far to seek.

" We were both good German scholars, and
knew several of the dialects, so that we were
able to learn a good deal of what had happened
by listening to the men's talk. The school inspector
in his terror had lost all self-control, and forgetful
of the warnings given him, threw himself off the
seat and leaped into space, thereby endangering
the safety of all. He mercifully fell into one of
the clumps of trees some distance down the slope,
and so escaped without very much damage to
himself, except shock to the system and bruises.
The poor horses, however, fared infinitely worse.
The weight of the snow lifted the rings from
the hooks on the carriage, and at the same
time carried the poor brutes down with it
into the valley — never again to do a day's
work.

" The difficulties still before us were very serious.
We could neither go backward nor forward, and
there was danger of more avalanches falling. The
next posting village was still far ahead, and there
was no chance of our advancing a step until the
brave body of men could cut a way through or

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

make a clearance, and even then time would be
required to bring back horses,"

The ladies were at last extricated from their still
dangerous position, and amid a scene of the greatest
excitement, arrived at a little Tyrolese village. The
people could not do enough to welcome them, and
every kindness was shown to them. Thus ended
a wonderfully narrow escape for all who were con-
cerned in the adventure.

A mountain path.

A \411age completely buried beneath an
avalanche.
To face p. 65.

Terraces cut on the hill sides and planted with trees
to prevent the fall of avalanches.

CHAPTER IV

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

/^NE of the treasures of collectors of Alpine
^^^ books is a small volume in Italian by
Ignazio Somis. The British Museum has not
only a copy of the original, but also a couple of
translations, from one of which, published in 1768,
I take the following account. I have left the
quaint old spelling and punctuation just as they
were ; they accentuate the v'ividness and evident
truth of this " True and Particular Account of the
most Surprising preservation and happy deliverance
of three women," who were buried for a month
under an avalanche. The occurrence was fully
investigated by Ignazio Somis, who visited the
village of Bergemoletto, and obtained his narrative
from the lips of one of the survivors.

" In the month of February and March of the
year 1755, we had in Turin, a great fall of rain,
the sky having been almost constantly overcast
from the ninth of February' till the twenty-fourth of
March. During this inter\'al, it rained almost every
E . 65

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

day, but snowed only on the morning of the twenty-
first of February, when the hquor of Reaumur's ther-
mometer stood but one degree above the freezing
point. Now, as it often snows in the mountains,
when it only rains in the plain ; it cannot appear
surprising that during this interval, there fell vast
quantities of snow in the mountains that surround
us, and in course, several valancas^ were formed.
In fact, there happened so many in different places
on the side of Aosta, Lanzo, Susa, Savoy, and the
county of Nice, that by the end of March, no less
than two hundred persons had the misfortune of
losing their lives by them. Of these overwhelmed
by these valancas, three persons, however, Mary
Anne Roccia Bruno, Anne Roccia, and Margaret
Roccia, had reason to think themselves in other
respects, extremely happy, having been dug alive
on the twenty-fifth of April, out of a stable, under the
ruins of which, they had been buried, the nineteenth
of March, about nine in the morning, by a valanca
of snow, forty-two feet higher than the roof, to
the incredible surprise of all those who saw them,
and afterwards heard them relate how they lived
all this while, with death, as we may say, continu-
ally staring them in the face.

" The road from Demonte to the higher valley
of Stura, runs amidst many mountains, which, join-

^ Or, in modern phraseology, " avalanches."
66

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

ing one another, and sometimes rising to a great
height, form a part of those Alps, by historians
and geographers, called maritime Alps, separating
the valley of Stura and Piedmont, from Dauphiny
and the county of Nice. Towards the middle of
the road leading to the top of these mountains, and
on the left of the river Stura, we meet with a
village called Bergemolo, passing through which
village, and still keeping the road through the
said valley, we, at about a mile distance, arrive
at a little hamlet called Bergemoletto, containing
about one hundred and fifty souls. From this place
there run two narrow lanes, both to the right and
left, one less steep and fatiguing than the other,
and in some measure along two valleys, to the
mountains. The summit of the mountain makes
the horizon an angle much greater than 45°, and
so much greater in some places, as to be in a
manner perpendicular, so that it is a very difficult
matter to climb it, even by a winding path. Now
it was from the summit of the aforesaid mountains
that fell the valancas of snow, which did so much
mischief, and almost entirely destroyed the hamlet
of Bergemoletto.

"The bad weather which prevailed in so many
other places, prevailed likewise in the Foresta of
Bergemoletto, By this word Foresta, the Alpineers
understand the villages dispersed over the vallies

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

covered with small trees and bushes, and sur-
rounded with high mountains ; for it began to
snow early in March, and the fall increased so
much on the i6, 17, 18 and 19, that many of the
inhabitants began to apprehend, and not without
reason, that the weight of that which was already
fallen, and still continued to fall, might crush their
houses, built with stones peculiar to the country,
cemented by nothing but mud, and a very small
portion of lime, and covered with thatch laid on
a roof of shingles and large thin stones, supported
by thick beams. They, therefore, got upon their
roofs to lighten them of the snow. At a little
distance from the church, stood the house of Joseph
Roccia, a man of about fifty, husband of Mary
Anne, born in Demonte, of the family of Bruno ;
who, with his son James, a lad of fifteen, had, like
his neighbours, got upon the roof of his house on the
19th in the morning in order to lessen the weight
on it, and thereby prevent its destruction. In the
meantime the clergyman who lived in the neighbour-
hood, and was about leaving home, in order to
repair to the church, and gather his people together
to hear mass ; perceiving a noise towards the top
of the mountains, and turning his trembling eyes
towards the quarter from whence he thought it
came, discovered two valancas driving headlong
towards the village. Wherefore raising his voice

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

he gave Joseph notice, instantly to come down
from the roof, to avoid the impending danger, and
then immediately retreated himself into his own
house.

"These two valancas met and united, so as to
form but one valanca which continued to descend
towards the valley, where, on account of the increase
of its bulk, the diminution of its velocity and the
insensible declivity of the plane it stopped and
arrested by the neighbouring mountain, though it
covered a large tract of land, did no damage either
to the houses or the inhabitants. Joseph Roccia,
who had formerly observed that the fall of one
valanca was often attended with that of others,
immediately came off the roof at the priest's notice,
and with his son fled as hard as lie could towards
the church, without well knowing, however, which
way he went; as is usually the case with the
Alpineers, when they guess by the report in the
air, that some valanca is falling or seeing it fall
with their own eyes. The poor man had scarce
advanced forty steps, when hearing his son fall
just at his heels, he turned about to assist him,
and taking him up, saw the spot on which his
house, his stable, and those of some of his neigh-
bours stood, converted into a huge heap of snow,
without the least sign of either walls or roofs.
Such was his agony at this sight, and at the

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

thoughts of having lost in an instant, his wife, his
sister, his family, and all the little he had saved,
with many years increasing labour and economy,
that hale and hearty, as he was, he immediately,
as if heaven and earth were come together, lost
his senses, swooned away, and tumbled upon the
snow. His son now helped him, and he came to
himself little by little ; till at last, by leaning upon
him, he found himself in a condition to get on the
valanca, and, in order to re - establish his health
there, set out for the house of his friend, Spirito
Roccia, about one hundred feet distant from the
spot, where he fell. Mary Anne, his wife, who was
standing with her sister-in-law Anne, her daughter
Margaret, and her son Anthony, a little boy two
years old, at the door of the stable, looking at the
people throwing the snow from off the houses, and
waiting for the ringing of the bell that was to call
them to prayers, was about taking a turn to the
house, in order to light a fire, and air a shirt for
her husband, who could not but want that refresh-
ment after his hard labour. But before she could
set out, she heard the priest cry out to them to
come down quickly, and raising her trembling eyes,
saw the foresaid valancas set off, and roll down the
side of the mountain, and at the same instant heard
a horrible report from another quarter, which made
her retreat back quickly with her family, and shut

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

the door of the stable. Happy it was for her, that
she had time to do so ; this noise being occasioned
by another immense valanca, the whole cause of all
the misery and distress, she had to suffer for so long
a time. And it was this very valanca, over which
Joseph, her husband was obliged to pass after his
fit, in his way to the house of Spirito Roccia.

" Some minutes after the fall of the valanca
another huge one broke off driving along the
valley and beat down the houses which it met
in its course. This valanca increased greatly, by
the snow over which it passed, in its headlong
course, and soon reached with so much impetuosity,
the first fallen valanca, it carried away great part
of it ; then returning back with this reinforcement,
it demolished the houses, stopping in the valley
which it had already overwhelmed in its first pro-
gress. So that the height of the snow, Paris
measure, amounted to more than seventy - seven
feet; the length of it to more than four hundred
and twenty -seven and the breadth above ninety-
four. Some people affirm that the concussion of
the air occasioned by this valanca, was so great,
that it was heard at Bergemolo, and even burst
open some doors and windows at that place. This
I know that nothing escaped it in Bergemoletto,
but a few houses, the church, and the house of John
Arnaud.

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

"Being therefore gathered together, in order to
sum up their misfortunes, the inhabitants first
counted thirty houses overwhelmed ; and then
every one calling over those he knew, twenty-two
souls were missing, of which number, was D. Giulio
Caesare Emanuel, their parish priest, who had lived
among them forty years. The news of this terrible
disaster, soon spread itself over the neighbourhood,
striking all those who heard it, with grief and
compassion. All the friends and relations of the
sufferers, and many others, flocked of their own
accord, from Bergemolo and Demonte ; and many
were dispatched by the magistrates of these places,
to try if they could give any relief to so many poor
creatures, who, perhaps, were already suffocated by
the vast heap of snow that lay upon them ; so that
by the day following, the number assembled on this
melancholy occasion amounted to three hundred.
Joseph Roccia, notwithstanding his great love for
his wife and family, and his desire to recover part of
what he had lost, was in no condition to assist them
for five days, owing to the great fright and grief,
occasioned by so shocking an event, and the swoon
which overtook him at the first sight of it. In the
meantime, the rest were trying, if, by driving iron-
rods through the hardened snow, they could dis-
cover any roofs ; but they tried in vain. The great
solidity and compactness of the valanca, the vast

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

extent of it in length, breadth and heighth, together
with the snow, that still continued to fall in great
quantities, eluded all their efforts ; so that after
some days' labour, they thought proper to desist from
their trials, finding that it was throwing away their
time and trouble to no purpose. The husband of
poor Mary Anne, no sooner recovered his strength,
than in company with his son, and Anthony and
Joseph Bruno, his brothers-in-law who had come to
his assistance from Demonte, where they lived, did
all that lay in his power to discover the spot, under
which his house, and the stable belonging to it, were
situated. But neither himself, nor his relations,
could make any discovery capable of affording them
the smallest ray of comfort ; though they worked
hard for many days, now in one place, and now in
another, unable to give up the thoughts of knowing
for certain, whether any of their family was still alive,
or if they had under the snow and the ruins of the
stable, found, at once, both death and a grave. But
it was all labour lost, so that, at length, he thought
proper to return to the house of Spirito Roccia, and
there wait, till, the weather growing milder, the
melting of the snow should give him an opportunity
of paying the last duty to his family, and recovering
what little of his substance might have escaped this
terrible calamity.

" Towards the end of March, the weather, through
73

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the lengthening of the days, and the setting in of the
warm winds, which continued to blow till about the
twentieth of April, began to grow mild and warm ;
and, of course, the great valanca to fall away by the
melting of the snow and ice that composed it ;
so that little by little, the valley began to assume
its pristine form. This change was very sensible,
especially by the eighteenth of April, so that the time
seemed to be at hand for the surviving inhabitants
of Bergemoletto to resume their interrupted labours,
with some certainty of recovering a good part of
what they had lost on the unfortunately memorable
morning of the nineteenth of March. Accordingly,
they dispersed themselves over the valanca, some
trying in one place, and some in another, now with
long spades, and another time with thick rods of iron,
and other instruments proper to break the indurated
snow. One of the first houses they discovered by
this means, was that of Louisa Roccia, in which they
found her dead body, and that of one of her sons.
Next day, in the house called the confreria, that had
two rooms on the ground floor, and one above them,
they found the body of D. Giulio Caesare Emanuel,
with his beads in his hand. Joseph Roccia, animated
by these discoveries, set himself with new spirits
about discovering the situation of his house, and the
stable belonging to it ; and with spades and iron
crows, made several and deep holes in the snow,

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

throwing great quantities of earth into them ; earth
mixed with water, being very powerful in destroying
the strong cohesion of snow and ice. On the twenty-
fourth, having made himself an opening two feet
deep into the valanca, he began to find the snow
softer and less difficult to penetrate ; wherefore,
driving down a long stick, he had the good fortune
of touching the ground with it.

" It was no small addition to Joseph's strength
and spirit, to be thus able to reach the bottom ;
so that he would have joyfully continued his
labour, and might perhaps on that very day, had it
not been too far advanced, have recovered some part
of what he was looking for, and found that which,
assuredly, he by no means expected to meet with.
When, therefore, he desisted for that time, it was
with much greater reluctance than he had done
any of the preceding days. The anxiety of Joseph,
during the following night, may well be compared
to that of the weather-beaten mariner, who finding
himself, after a long voyage, at the mouth of his
desired port, is yet, by the coming on of night
obliged to remain on the inconstant waves till next
morning. Wherefore, at the first gleam of light,
he, with his son, hastened back to the spot, where
the preceding day he had reached the ground with
the stick, and began to work upon it again ; but
he had not worked long, when lo, to his great

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

surprise, who should he see coming to his assist-
ance but his two brothers-in-law Joseph and
Anthony Bruno.

" Anthony, it seems, the night between the pre-
ceding Thursday and Friday, being then in
Delmonte, dreamed that there appeared to him,
with a pale and troubled countenance, his sister
Mary Anne Roccia, who, with an earnestness in-
termixed with grief and hope, called upon him for
assistance in the following words :

" ' Anthony, though you all look upon me as
' dead in the stable where the valanca of snow over-
whelmed me on the nineteenth of March, God has
' kept me alive. Hasten therefore to my assistance,
' and to relieve me from my present wretched condi-
' tion ; in you, my brother, have I placed all my
' hopes, dont abandon me ; help, help I beseech you.'
Anthony's imagination, was so affected by the
thoughts of thus seeing his sister, and hearing her
utter these piteous words, that he immediately
started up, and calling out to his brother Joseph,
he acquainted him with what he had seen and
heard. They both, therefore, as soon as it was
day, set out for Bergemoletto, where they arrived
a little before eight, tired and out of breath, for
they seemed to have their sister continually before
their eyes, pressing them for help and assistance.

Having therefore taken a little rest and refresh-

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

ment, they set out again for the place, where
Joseph Roccia, and many others, were hard at
work in looking for the wrecks of their houses.
Joseph had left the spot> where, the day before
he thought he had reached the ground, and was
trying to reach it in other places. His brothers-
in-law immediately fell to work with him, and
making many new holes in the snow, the interior
parts of which were not so very hard, with the
same iron rods, with earth and with long poles,
they at last, about ten, discovered the so long
sought for house, but found no dead bodies in it.
Knowing that the stable did not lie one hundred
feet from the house, they immediately directed
their search towards it, and proceeding in the
same manner, about noon, they got a long pole
through a hole, from whence issued a hoarse and
languid voice, which seemed to say : ' help, my
' dear husband, help, my dear brother, help.' The
husband and brother thunderstruck, and at the
same time encouraged by these words, fell to their
work with redoubled ardour, in order to clear
away the snow, and open a sufficient way for
themselves, to the place from whence the voice
came, and which grew more and more distinct as
the work advanced. It was not long, therefore,
before they had made a pretty large opening,
through which (none minding the danger he

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

exposed himself to) Anthony descended, as into a
dark pit, asking who it was, that could be alive
in such a place. Mary Anne knew him by his
voice, and answered with a trembling and broken
accent, intermixed with tears of joy. ' Tis I, my
'dear brother, who am still alive in company with
* my daughter and my sister-in-law, who are at my
'elbow. God, in whom I have always trusted, still
' hoping that he would inspire you with the thought
'of coming to our assistance, has been graciously
' pleased to keep us alive.' God, who had preserved
them to this moment, and was willing they should
live, inspired Anthony with such strength and spirits,
that, notwithstanding the surprise and tenderness
with which so joyful and at the same time so sad
a sight must have affected him, had presence of
mind enough to acquaint his fellow-labourers, all
anxiously waiting for the report of his success,
that Mary Anne, Margaret, and Anne Roccia were
still alive. Whereupon Joseph Roccia, and Joseph
Bruno, enlarging the passage as well as they could,
immediately followed him into the ruins ; whilst
the other Alpineers, scattered over the valanca in
quest of their lost substance, and the dead bodies
of their relations, on the son's calling out to them,
flocked round the mouth of the pit, to behold
so extraordinary a sight ; not a little heightened
by that of two live goats scampering out of

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

the opening. In the meantime, those who had
descended into the hole, were contriving how to
take out of it the poor and more than half dead
prisoners, and convey them to some place, where
they might recover themselves. The first thing
they did was to raise them up, and take them
out of the manger in which they had been so
long stowed. They then placed them one by one
on their shoulders, and lifted them up to those
who stood round the mouth of the pit, who with
very great difficulty took hold of them by the
arms, and drew them out of their dark habitation,
Mary Anne, on being exposed to the open air,
and seeing the light, was attacked by a very acute
pain in the eyes, which greatly weakened her
sight, and was attended with so violent a fainting
fit, that she had almost like to have lost, in the
first moment of her deliverance, that life, which
she had so long and with such difficulty preserved.
But this was a consequence that might be easily
foreseen. She had been thirty-seven days, secluded,
in a manner entirely, from the open air ; nor had
the least ray of light, in all that time, penetrated
her pupils.

" Her son found means to bring her to herself with
a little melted snow, there being nothing else at hand
fit for the purpose, and the accident that happened
her was improved into a rule for treating the com-

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

panions of her misfortune. The}-, therefore, covered
all their faces, and wrapped them up so well, as to
leave them but just room to breathe, and in this
condition took them to the house of John Arnaud,
where Mary Anne was entirely recovered from her
fit, b}' a little generous wine. They then directly
placed them in some little beds put up in the stable,
which was moderately warm, and almost entirely
without light, and prepared for them a mess of r}'e
meal gruel, mixed with a little butter ; but they
could swallow but very little of it."

CHAPTER V

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE — {continued)

" TT is now proper I should say something of the
most marvellous circumstance, attending this
very singular and surprising accident, I mean their
manner of supporting life, during so long and close
a confinement. I shall relate what I have heard of
it from their own mouths, being the same, in
substance, with what Count Nicholas de Brandizzo,
intendant of the city and province of Cuneo, heard
from them on the sixteenth of May, when, by
order of our most benevolent sovereign, he repaired
to Bergemoletto, effectually to relieve these poor
women, and the rest of the inhabitants, who had
suffered by the valanca.

" To begin then ; on the morning of the twenty-
ninth of March, our three poor women, expecting every
minute to hear the bell toll for prayers, had in the mean
time, taken shelter from the rigour of the weather,
in a stable built with stones, such as are usually
found in these quarters, with a roof composed of

large thin stones, not unlike slate, laid on a beam ten
F 8i

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

inches square, and covered with a small quantity of
straw, and with a pitch sufficient to carry of the
rain, hail or snow, that might fall upon it. In the
same stable were six goats, (four of which I heard
nothing of) an ass and some hens. Adjoining to
this stable, was a little room, in which they had fixed
a bed, and used to lay up some provisions, in order
to sleep in it in bad weather without being obliged
to go for anything to the dwelling-house, which lay
about one hundred feet from it. I have already taken
notice, that Mary Anne was looking from the door
of the stable at her husband and son, who were clear-
ing the roof of its snow, when warned by a horrible
noise, the signal by which the Alpineer knows the
tumbling of the valancas, she immediately took her-
self in with her sister-in-law, her daughter, and her
little boy of two years old, and shut the door, telling
them the reason for doing it in such a hurry. Soon
after they heard a great part of the roof give way,
and some stones fall on the ground, and found them-
selves involved on all sides with a pitchy darkness ; all
which they attributed, and with good reason, to the
fall of some valanca. Upon this, they for some time
thought proper to keep a profound silence, to try if
they could hear any noise, and by that means have
the comfort of knowing that help was at hand, but
they could hear nothing. They therefore set them-
selves to grope about the stable, but without being

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

able to meet with anything but solid snow. Anne
light upon the door, and opened it, hoping she had
found out the way to escape the imminent danger
they thought they were in of the buildings
tumbling about th-^ir ears ; but she could not dis-
tinguish the least ray of light, nor feel any thing but
a hard and impenetrable wall of snow, with which
she acquainted her fellow prisoners. They, therefore,
immediately began to bawl out with all their might ;
* help, help, we are still alive ' ; repeating it several
times ; but not hearing any answer, Anne put the
door to again. They continued to grope about the
stable, and Mary Anne having light upon the
manger, it occurred to her, that, as it was full of
hay, they might take up their quarters there, and
enjoy some repose, till it should please the Almighty
to send them assistance. The manger was about
twenty inches broad, and lay along a wall, which, by
being on one side supported by an arch, was enabled
to withstand the shock, and upheld the chief beam of
the roof, in such a manner, as to prevent the poor
women from being crushed to pieces by the ruins.
Mary Anne placed herself in the manger, putting her
son by her, and then advised her daughter and her
sister-in-law to do so too. Upon this, the ass which
was tied to the manger, frightened by the noise, began
to bray and prance at a great rate ; so that, fearing
lest he should bring the parapet of the manger, or

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

even the wall itself about their ears ; they immediately
untied the halter, and turned him adrift. In going
from the manger, he stumbled upon a kettle that
happened to lie in the middle of the stable, which
put Mary Anne upon picking it up, and laying it by
her, as it might serve to melt the snow in for their
drink, in case they should happen to be confined long
enough to want that resource. Anne, approving this
thought, got down, and groping on the floor till she
had found it, came back to the manger.

" In this situation the good women continued many
hours, every moment expecting to be relieved from
it ; but, at last, being too well convinced, that they
had no immediate relief to expect, they began to
consider how they might support life, and what
provisions they had with them for that purpose.
Anne recollected that the day before she had put
some chestnuts into her pocket, but, on counting
them, found they amounted only to fifteen. Their
chief hopes, therefore, and with great reason now
rested on thirty or forty cakes, which two days
before had been laid up in the adjoining room.
The reader may well imagine, though Anne had
never told me a word of it, with what speed and
alertness she must, on recollecting these cakes, have
got out of the manger, to see and find out the
door of the room where they lay ; but it was to
no purpose ; she roved and roved about the stable

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

to find out what she wanted, so that she was
obliged to come as she went, and take up her seat
again amongst her fellow - sufferers, who still com-
forted themselves with the hopes of being speedily-
delivered from that dark and narrow prison. In
the mean while, finding their appetite return, they
had recourse to their chestnuts. The rest of the
chestnuts they reserved for a future occasion. They
then addressed themselves to God, humbly beseech-
ing him to take compassion on them, and vouchsafe
in his great mercy to rescue them from their dark
grave, and from the great miseries they must
unavoidably suffer, in case it did not please him
to send them immediate assistance. They spent
many hours in ejaculations of this kind, and then
thinking it must be night, they endeavoured to
compose themselves. Margaret and the little boy,
whose tender years prevented their having any
idea of what they had to suffer in their wretched
situation, or any thought of death, and of what
they must suffer, before they could be relieved, fell
asleep. But it was otherwise with Mary Anne and
Anne, who could not get the least rest, and spent
the whole night in prayer, or in speaking of their
wretched condition, and comforting one another
with the hopes of being speedily delivered from it.
As it seemed to them, after many hours, that it
was day again, they endeavoured to keep up their

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

spirits with the thoughts, that Joseph with the
rest of their friends and relations not getting any
intelh'gence of their situation, would not fail of doing
all that lay in their power to come at them. The
sensation of hunger was earliest felt by the two
youngest ; and the little boy crying out for some-
thing to eat, and there being nothing for him but
the chestnuts, Anne gave him three.

" I said, that these women seemed to have some
notion of the approach of day and night, but I
should never have dreamed in what manner this
idea could be excited in them, shut up as they
were in a body of ice, impervious to the least ray
of light, had not they themselves related it to me.
The hens shut up in the same prison, were it seems
the clocks, which by their clucking all together,
made them think the first day that it was night,
and then again after some interval that it was day
again. This is all the notion they had of day and
night for two weeks together ; after which, not
hearing the hens make any more noise, they no
longer knew when it was day or night.

" This day the poor women and the boy supported
themselves with their chestnuts ; and at the return
of the usual signal of night, the boy and Margaret
went to sleep ; while the mother and aunt spent
it in conversation and prayer. On the next day
the ass by his braying, gave now and then, for the

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

last time, some signs of life. On the other hand,
the poor prisoners had something to comfort them-
selves with ; for they discovered two goats making
up to the manger. This, therefore, was a joyful
event, and they gave the goats some of the hay
they sat upon in the manger, shrunk up with their
knees to their noses. It then came into Anne's
head to try if she could not get some milk from
the milch goat ; and recollecting that they used to
keep a porringer under the manger for that
purpose, she immediately got down to look for it,
and happily found it. The goat suffered herself to
be milked, and yielded almost enough to fill the
cup which contained above a pint. On this they
lived the third day. The night following the boy
and the girl slept as usual, while neither of the two
others closed their eyes. Who can imagine how
long the time must have appeared to them, and
how impatient they must have been to see an
end to their sufferings ? This, after offering their
prayers to the Almighty, was the constant subject
of their conversation. ' O, my husband,' Mary
Anne used to cry out, ' if you two are not buried
' under some of the valancas and dead ; why do
' not you make haste to give me, your sister, and
' children, that assistance which we so much stand
*in need of? We are thank God, still alive, but
'cannot hold out much longer, so it will soon be too

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

'late to think of us.' 'Ah, my dear brother,' added
Anne, ' in you next to God, have we placed all
' our trust. We are alive, indeed, and it depends
'upon you to preserve our lives, by digging us out
' of the snow and the ruins, in which we lie buried.'
'But let us still hope,' both of them added, 'that
'as God has been pleased to spare our lives, and
' provide us with the means of prolonging it, he will
' still in his great mercy put it into the hearts of
' our friends and relations to use all their endeavours
'to save us.' To this discourse succeeded new
prayers, after which they composed themselves as
well as they could, in order to get, if possible, a
little sleep.

" The hens having given the usual signal of the re-
turn of day, they began again to think on the means
of spinning out their lives. Mary Anne bethought
herself anew of the cakes put up in the adjacent room ;
and upon which, could they but get at them, they
might subsist a great while without any other nourish-
ment. On the first day of their confinement, they
had found in the manger a pitch fork, which they
knew used to be employed in cleaning out the stable,
and drawing down hay through a large hole in the
hay-loft, which lay over the vault. Anne observed,
that such an instrument might be of service in break-
ing the snow, and getting at the cakes, could they
but recover the door leading into the little room.

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

She, therefore, immediately got out of the manger,
from which she had not stirred since the first day,
and groping about, sometimes meeting with nothing
but snow, sometimes with the wall, and sometimes
loose stones, she, at length, light upon a door, which
she took for the stable door, and endeavoured to open
it as she had done the first day, but without success ;
an evident sign that the superincumbent snow had
acquired a greater degree of density, and pressed more
forcibly against it. She, therefore, made step by
step, the best of her way back to the manger, all the
time conversing with her fellow-sufferers ; and taking
the fork with her, continued to rove and grope about,
till at last she light upon a smooth and broad piece
of wood, which to the touch had so much the appear-
ance of the little door, as to make her hope she had
at last found what she had been so earnestly looking
for. She then endeavoured to open it with her hand^
but finding it impossible, told the rest that she had
a mind to employ the pitch fork ; but Mary Anne
dissuaded her from doing so. ' Let us,' said she,
'leave the cakes where they are a little longer, and
' not endanger our lives any further, by endeavouring
«to preserve them. Who knows but with the fork,
' you might make such destruction, as to bring down
' upon our heads, that part of the stable that still con-
' tinues together, and which, in its fall, could not fail
' of crushing us to pieces. No, God keep us from that

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

' misfortune. Lay down your fork Anne, and come
' back to us, submitting yourself to the holy will of
'the Almighty, and patiently accept at his hands
* whatever he may please to send us.' Anne, moved
by such sound and affecting arguments and reasons,
immediately let the fork fall out of her hands, and
returned to the manger. 'Let us,' continued Mary
Anne, ' let us make as much as we can of our nursing
' goats, and endeavour to keep them alive by supplying
'them with hay. Here is a good deal in the manger,
' and it occurs to me, that when that is gone, we may
' supply them from another quarter, for by putting up
' my hand, trying what was above me, I have discovered
' that there is hay in the loft, and that the hole to it
' is open, and just over our heads ; so that we have
' nothing to do, but to pull it down for the goats,
' whose milk we may subsist upon, till it shall please
' God to dispose otherwise of us."

This reasoning was not only sound in itself, but
supported by facts ; for ever since their confinement.
they had heard stones fall from time to time upon the
ground, and these stones could be no others than
those of the building, which the shock of the valanca
had first loosened, and which the weight it every day
acquired by encreasing in density, afterwards enabled
it to displace. Wherefore, had she happened to
disturb with the pitch-fork, as there was the greatest
reason to fear she might, any of those parts, which,

A MONTH liENEATH AN AVALANCHE

united together, served to keep up the beam that
supported the great body of snow, under which they
lay buried, the fall of the stable, and their own
destruction, must have infallibly been the conse-
quence of it.

" This day the sensation of hunger was more and
more lively and troublesome, without their having
anything to allay it with but snow, and the milk
yielded them by one of the goats their fellow
prisoners. I say one of the goats for as yet they
had milked but one of them, thinking it would be
useless, or rather hurtful, even if they could, to take
any milk from that in kid. Anne had recourse to
the other, and in the whole day, got from her about
two pints of milk, on which, with the addition of a
little snow, they subsisted."

The little boy, unable to struggle against the
terrible conditions, grew rapidly weaker and weaker,
and the time had now come when he passed painlessly
away.

" The death of this poor child proved the severest
trial that the three women, the two eldest especially,
had to suffer during their long confinement ; and
from this unfortunate day, the fear of death, which
they considered as at no great distance, began to
haunt them more and more. The little nourishment,
which the goat yielded the poor women, had made
them suffer greatly on the preceding days ; they

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

were, besides, benumbed, or rather frozen with the
intense cold. Add to this the necessary, but
inconvenient and tormenting posture of their feet,
knees, and every other part of their bodies ; the
snow, which melting over their heads, perpetually
trickled down their backs, so that their clothes,
and their whole bodies were perfectly drenched
with it : they were often on the point of swooning
away, and obliged to keep themselves from fainting,
by handling the snow, and putting some of it into
their mouths ; the thirst with which their mouths were
constantly burnt up ; the thoughts, that in all this
time no one had been at the pains to look for and
relieve them ; the consideration, that all they had
hitherto suffered, was nothing in comparison of
what they had still to suffer before they could
recover their liberty, or sink under the weight of
all the evils which encompassed them ; all these,
certainly, were circumstances sufficient to render
them to the last degree, wretched and miserable.
Add to this, that the milk of their fond and loving
nurse, fell away little by little, till at length, instead
of about two pints, which she, in the beginning
used to yield, they could not now get so much
as a pint from her. The hay that lay in the
manger was all out, and it was but little the poor
women could draw out of the hole which lay
above them ; so that as the goats had but little

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

fodder, little sustenance could be expected from
that which they thought proper to milk. These
animals were become so tame and familiar, in
consequence of the fondness shewn them, that
they always came on the first call to the person
that was to milk them, affectionately licking her
face and hands. Anne, encouraged by this tameness
of theirs, bethought herself of accustoming them
to leap upon the manger, and from thence upon
her shoulders, so as to reach the hole of the hay-
loft, and feed themselves ; so apt is hard necessity
to inspire strength and ingenuity. She began by
the goat that yielded them milk, helping her up
into the manger, and then putting her upon her
shoulders. This had the desired effect, the animal
being thereby enabled to reach much further with
its head, than they could with their hands. They
did then the same by the other goat, from whom,
as soon as she should drop her kid, they expected
new relief She, too, in the same manner, found
means to get at the hay, which afforded the poor
women some relief in the midst of their pressing
necessity. After this day, the goats required no
further assistance, they so soon learned to leap
of themselves on the manger, and from thence on
the women's shoulders. But we must not conclude
that hunger was the chief of the poor women's
sufferings ; far from it. After the first days, during

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

which it proved a sore torment to them, they
through necessity, grew so accustomed to very
little and very light nourishment, that they no
longer felt any sensation of that kind, but lived
contentedly on the small quantity of milk they
could get from their goat, mixed with a little snow.
Their breath was what gave them most uneasiness ;
for it began to be very difficult on the fifth or
sixth day, every inspiration being attended with
the sensation of a very heavy and almost insupport-
able load upon them.

" They now had lost all means of guessing at the
returns of night and day, and their only employ-
ment was to recommend themselves fervently to
God, beseeching him to take compassion of them,
and at length, put an end to their miseries, which
increased from day to day. At last, their nurse
growing dry, they found themselves without any
milk, and obliged to live upon snow alone for
two or three days, Mary Anne not approving an
expedient proposed by her sister. This was to
endeavour to find the carcasses of the hens ; for
as they had not heard them for some days past,
they had sufficient reason to think they were
dead ; and then eat them, as the only thing with
which they could prolong life. But Mary Anne,
rightly judging that it would be almost impossible
to strip them clean of their feathers, and that

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

besides, the flesh might be so far putrified, as to
do them more harm than good, thought proper
to dissuade her sister from having recourse to
this expedient. But the unspeakable providence
of God, whose will it was that they should live,
provided them with new means of subsistence,
when least they expected it, by the kidding of the
other goat By this event, they judged themselves
to be about the middle of April ; wherefore, after
offering God their most humble thanks, for having
preserved them so long, in the midst of so many,
and such great difficulties they again beseeched
him to assist them effectually, till they could find
an opportunity of escaping their doleful prison,
and see an end to their great sufferings. Their
hopes of this their humble supplication being
heard, were raised on the appearance of this new
supply, and on their reflecting that the snow begins
to thaw in April, in consequence of which that
about the stable would soon dissolve enough to
let some ray of light break in upon them. Mary
Anne told me, that, though she was thoroughly
sensible of the badness of her condition, in which
it was impossible for her to hold out much longer,
and saw it every day grow worse and worse ; she
never, however, despaired of her living to be
delivered. For my part, I cannot sufficiently
admire the courage and intrepidity of Anne, who

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

told me, that in all this time she never let a tear
escape her but once. This was on its occurring to
her, that, as they must at length perish for want, it
might fall to her lot to die last. For the thought
of finding herself amidst the dead bodies of her
sister and her niece, herself too in a dying condition,
terrified and afflicted her to such a degree, that she
could no longer command her tears, but wept bitterly.
" I observed, that the goat had kidded. This event
afforded the poor women a new supply of milk,
Anne for a while getting two porringers at a time
from her, with which they recruited themselves a
little. But as the goats began to fall short of hay,
the milk of the only one that gave them any, began
to lessen in proportion, so that at length they saw
themselves reduced to a single, and even half a
porringer. It was, therefore, happy for them, that
the time drew nigh, in which God had purposed to
rescue them from their horrible prison and confine-
ment, and put an end to their sufferings. One
time they thought they could hear a noise of some
continuance at no great distance from them. This
was probably the 20th, when the parish priest's
body was found. And, upon it, they all together
raised their weak and hoarse voices, crying out,
* Help, help ! ' but the noise ceased, and they this
time neither saw nor heard anything else that might
serve as a token of their deliverance being at hand,

A MONTH BENEATH AN AVALANCHE

However, this noise alone was sufficient to make
them address God with greater fervour than ever,
beseeching him to have compassion on them, and
to confirm them still more and more in their warm
hopes, that the end of their long misery was not
far off. In fact, they again heard another noise,
and that nearer them, as though something had
fallen to the ground. On this they again raised
their voices, and again cried out, ' Help, help ' : but
no one answered, and soon after the noise itself
entirely ceased. Their opinion concerning this noise,
and in this they certainly were not mistaken, was
that it came from the people, who were at work
to find them, and who left off at the approach of
night, and went home with a design to return to
their labour the next morning. After the noise of
the body fallen to the ground in their neighbour-
hood, they seemed for the first time to perceive
some glimpse of light. The appearance of it scared
Anne and Margaret to the last degree, as they took
it for a sure fore-runner of death, and thought it was
occasioned by the dead bodies ; for it is a common
opinion with the peasants that those wandering
wild-fires, which one frequently sees in the open
country, are a sure presage of death to the persons
constantly attended by them, which ever way they
turn themselves; and they accordingly call them
death fires. But Mary Anne, was very far from
G 97

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

giving in to so silly a notion. On the contrary the
light inspired her with new courage, and she did
all that lay in her power to dissipate the fears of
her sister and daughter, revive their hopes in God,
and persuade them that their deliverance and the
end of all their sufferings was at hand ; insisting
that this light could be no other than the light of
heaven, which had, at last, reached the stable, in
consequence of the valanca's melting, and still more
in consequence of the constant boring and digging
into it by their relations, in order to come at their
dead bodies. Mary Anne guessed right for it was
the next day that Anthony descended into the
ruins of the stable, and to his unspeakable surprise
found the poor women alive, blessing and exalting
the most high, and restored them from darkness
to light, from danger to security, from death to
life, by drawing them out of the manger, and re-
moving them to the house of Joseph Arnaud, where
they continued to the end of July.

" Thirty-seven entire days did these poor women
live in the most horrible sufferings occasioned no
less by filth and the disagreeable posture they were
confined to, than by cold and hunger ; but the Lord
was with them. He kept them alive, and they are
still living, in a new cottage built the same year in
the Foresta of Bergemoletto, at no great distance

from their former habitation."

CHAPTER VI

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

^TT^HE following account of the ascent of Gestola,
in the Central Caucasus, is taken from The
Alpine Journal, and the author, Mr C. T. Dent, has
most kindly revised it for this work, and has added
a note as follows :

"At the time (1886) when this expedition was
made, the topography of the district was very im-
perfectly understood. The mountain climbed was
originally described as Tetnuld Tau — Tau = Mountain.
Since the publication of the original paper a new
survey of the whole district has been carried out
by the Russian Government and the nomenclature
much altered. The peak of Tetnuld is really to
the south of Gestola. The nomenclature has in the
following extract been altered so as to correspond
with that at present in use and officially sanctioned."

The party consisted of Mr Dent, the late Mr
W. F. Donkin, and two Swiss guides. They had
safely accomplished the first part of their ascent of
a hitherto unclimbed peak, and were on the ridge

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

and face to face with the problem of how to reach
the highest point. After describing the glorious
scenery which lay around them, Mr Dent writes :

" Woven in between all these peaks lay a wilder-
ness of crevassed slopes, jagged rock ridges, and
stretching glaciers, bewildering in their beauty and
complexity. To see the wondrous sights that were
crowded into those few minutes while we remained
on the ridge, we would willingly have gone five times
further and fared ten times worse. In high spirits
we turned to the left (S.S.E.), and began our journey
along the ridge which was to lead us to Gestola, ever
keeping an eye on the snowy form of Tetnuld, and
marvelling whether it would overtop our peak or not.
For a few steps, and for a few only, all went well.
The snow was in good order on the ridge, but we
had to leave this almost immediately and make S.W.
in order to skirt the heights which still intervened
between l s and our peak. The ice began to change
its character. Two or three steps were cut with a few
strokes of the axe, and then all went well again for
a time. Then more steps, and a more ringing sound
as the axe fell. We seemed, too, however we might
press on, to make no impression on this first slope.
Our doubt returned ; the leader paused, drew up
the rope, and bit at a fragment of ice as he gazed
anxiously upwards over the face. No ! we were on
the right track, and must stick to it if we would

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

succeed. For an hour and a quarter we kept at it
in silence, save for the constant ringing blows of the
axe. Our courage gradually oozed out, for when
we had worked back to the ridge again, we seemed
to have made no progress at all. The top of the
mountain far above was already swathed in cloud,
and a distant storm on the south side was only too
obvious. Another little peak was won before we
looked about again, but the summit seemed no
nearer. The exertion had begun to tell and the
pace became slower. Some one remarked that he
felt hungry, and we all thereupon realised our empty
state, so we fortified ourselves for further efforts on a
dainty repast of steinbock, black bread a week old, and
water — invigorating victuals and exhilarating drink,
rather appropriate to the treadmill kind of exercise
demanded. It is under conditions such as these
that strange diet tells on the climber ; but even
more trying and more weakening than the poor
quality of the food was the want of sleep from which
we had suffered for a good many nights. In the
language of science, our vital force and nervous
energy were becoming rather rapidly exhausted, or,
to put it more colloquially and briefly, we were
awfully done. Three hours more at least was the
estimate, and meanwhile the weather was growing
worse and worse. Reflecting that all points fall to
him who knows how to wait and stick to it, we

lOI

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

pressed on harder to escape from the dispiriting
thoughts that suggested themselves, and almost of
a sudden recognised that the last of the deceptive
little tops had been left behind us, and that we were
fighting our way up the final peak. Better still,
Tetnuld, which for so long had seemed to tower
above us, was fast sinking in importance, and there
really seemed now, as we measured the peak with
the clinometer between the intervals of step-cutting,
to be little difference between the two points. The
air was so warm and oppressive that we were able
to dispense with gloves. One of the guides suffered
from intense headache, but the rest of us, I fancy,
felt only in much the same condition as a man does
at the finish of a hard-run mile race. The clouds
parted above us for a while, mysteriously, as it
seemed, for there was no wind to move them ; but
we could only see the slope stretching upwards, and
still upwards. Yet we could not be far off now.
Again we halted for a few seconds, and as we
glanced above, we mentally took stock of our
strength, for there was no question the pleasure had
been laborious. Some one moved, and we were all
ready on the instant. To it once more, and to the
very last victory was doubtful. True, the summit
had seemed close enough when the last break in the
swirling clouds had enabled us to catch a glimpse
of what still towered above; but our experience of

102

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

Swiss snow mountains was long enough to make us
sceptical as to apparent tops, and possibly the Cauca-
sian giants were as prone to deceive as the human
pigmies that crawled and burrowed at their bases.

" Still anxious, still questioning success, we stepped
on, and the pace increased as the doubt persisted.
It is often said to be impossible, by those who don't
try, to explain why the second ascent of a mountain
always appears so much easier than the first ; some
explanation may be found in the fact that on a
virgin peak the uncertainty is really increasing
during the whole time, and the climax comes in the
last few seconds. Every step upwards make success
more probable, and at the same time, would make
failure more disappointing. In fact, the only periods
when we are morally certain of success on a new
expedition are before the start and when victory
is actually won. Still, we could hardly believe that
any insuperable obstacle would now turn us back ;
yet all was new and uncertain, and the conditions
of weather intensified the anxiety. The heavy
stillness of the air seemed unnatural, and made
the mind work quicker. The sensibility became so
acute that if we ceased working and moving for a
moment the silence around was unendurable, and
seemed to seize hold of us. A distant roll of
thunder came almost as a relief. A step or two

had to be cut, and the delay appeared interminable.

103

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

Suddenly, a glimpse of a dark patch of rocks
appeared above looming through the mist. The
slope of the ridge became more gentle for a few
yards. Our attention was all fixed above, and we
ascended some distance without noticing the change.
Another short rise, and we were walking quickly
along the ridge. We stopped suddenly ; the rocks
we had seen so recently, had sunk below us on our
left, while in front the arete could be followed with
the eye, sloping away gradually for a few yards,
and then plunging sharply down to a great depth.
It was all over ; through fair weather and through
foul we had succeeded ; and there was yet another
peak to the credit of the Alpine Club.

" It was not a time for words. Burgener turned to
us and touched the snow with his hand, and we sat
down in silence. Almost on the instant as we took
our places a great burst of thunder rolled and echoed
around — a grim salvo of Nature's artillery. The
sudden sense of rest heightened the effect of the
oppressive stillness that followed. Never have I
felt the sense of isolation so complete. Gazing in
front into the thin mists, the very presence of
my companions seemed an unreality. The veil of
wreathing vapour screened the huge panorama of
the ice-world from our sight. The black thunder-
clouds drifting sullenly shut out the world below.

No man knew where we were ; we had reached our

104

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

furthest point in a strange land. We were alone
with Nature, far from home, and far from all that
we were familiar with. Strange emotions thrilled
the frame and quickened the pulse. Weird thoughts
crowded through the mind — it was not a time for
words. Believe me, under such conditions a man
will see further across the threshold of the un-
known than all the book-reading or psychological
speculation in the world will ever reveal to him.

" Coming back to considerations more prosaic and
practical, we found that it was 1.15 p.m. We realised,
too, that the ascent had been very laborious and
exhausting, while there was no doubt that evil
times were in store for us. There were no rocks
at hand to build a cairn, but we reflected that the
snow was soft, and that our footsteps would easily
be seen on the morrow. The aneroid marked the
height we had attained as 16,550 feet.^ A momen-
tary break in the mist gave us a view of Dych Tau,
and we had just time to get a compass observation.
After a stay of fifteen minutes we rose and girded
ourselves for the descent. I think we all felt that
the chief difficulty was yet to come, but we had
little idea of what was actually to follow. Directly
after we had left the summit a few puffs of wind

1 Mountain aneroids generally overstate the heights. The
height of Gestola is now computed at 15,932 feet, and that of
Tetnuld at 15,918 fefet.

105

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

began to play around and some light snow fell.
Still, it was not very cold, and if the storm would
only keep its distance all might be well. Down
the first slope we made our way rapidly enough,
and could have gone faster had we not deemed it
wise to husband our strength as much as possible.
In an hour and twenty minutes we reached the
place where we had left the provisions and the
camera. The feast was spread, but did not find
favour. Never did food look so revolting. The
bread seemed to have turned absolutely black, while
the steinbock meat looked unfit to keep company
with garbage in a gutter ; so we packed it up again
at once, more from a desire to hide it from our eyes
than from any idea that it might look more appetis-
ing later on. Andenmatten's headache had become
much worse, and he could scarcely at starting stand
steady in his steps. Possibly his suffering was due
to an hour or two of intensely hot sun, which had
struck straight down on us during the ascent. I
could not at the moment awaken much professional
interest in his case, but the symptoms, so far as I
could judge, were more like those experienced by
people in diving-bells — were pressure effects in short
— for the pain was chiefly in the skull cavities. I
may not here enter into technical details, and can
only remark now that though Andenmatten suffered
the most it by no means followed on that account

io6

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

that his head was emptier than anybody else's. In
due course we came to the ice-slope up and across
which we had cut our way so laboriously in the
morning ; here, at least, we thought we should make
good progress with little trouble ; but the sun had
struck full on this part of the mountain, and all the
steps were flattened out and useless. Every single
step ought to have been worked at with as much
labour as in the morning, but it was impossible to
do more than just scratch out a slight foothold, as
we made our way round again to the ridge. Below,
on the west side, the slope plunged down into the
Ewigkeit, and our very best attention had to be
given in order to avoid doing the same. It was one
of the worst snow faces I ever found myself on,
perhaps, under the conditions, the worst. The direc-
tion in which we were travelling and the angle of
the slope made the rope utterly useless. Close
attention is very exhausting : much more exertion
is required to walk ten steps, bestowing the utmost
possible care on each movement, than to walk a
hundred up or down a much steeper incline when
the angle demands a more accustomed balance.
Not for an instant might we relax our vigilance
till, at 5.30 P.M., we reached once more the ridge
close to the place where we had forced our way
through the cornice in the morning.

" We had little time to spare, and hurrying up to
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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the point, looked anxiously down the snow wall. A
glance was sufficient to show that the whole aspect
of the snow had entirely altered since the morning.
Burgener's expression changed suddenly, and a
startled exclamation, which I trust was allowed to
pass unrecorded, escaped from him. Andenmatten
brought up some stones and rolled them down
over the edge ; each missile carried down a broad
hissing band of the encrusting snow which had
given us foot-hold in the morning, and swept the
ice-slope beneath as black and bare as a frozen
pond ; here and there near rocks the stones stopped
and sank deeply and gently into the soft, treacherous
compound. The light had begun to fail, and snow
was falling more heavily as we pressed on to try
for some other line of descent. A hundred yards
further along the ridge we looked over again; the
condition of the snow was almost the same, but
the wall was steeper, and looked at its very worst
as seen through the mist. Some one now suggested
that we might work to the north-west end of the
ridge and make our way down to the pass by the
ice-fall. We tramped on as hard as possible, only
to find at the end of our journey that the whole
mass seemed abruptly cut away far above the Adine
Col, and no line of descent whatever was visible.
We doubled back on our tracks till we came within
a few yards of the summit of a small peak on the

io8

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

ridge, the height of which was probably not less
than 15,000 feet. Already the cold was numbing
and our wet clothes began to stiffen ; again we
peered over the wall, but the rocks were glazed,
snow-covered, and impossible. The leader stopped,
looked right and left along the ridge, and said, ' I
don't know what to do ! ' For the moment we
seemed hopelessly entrapped ; the only conceivable
place of shelter for the night was a patch of rocks
close to the summit of the peak near at hand, and
for these we made. It was an utter waste of time.
Apart from sleeping, we could not have remained
there an hour, for we met the full force of the wind,
which by this time had risen considerably, and was
whirling the driving snow into every crack and
cranny. What might have begun as a temporary
rest would infallibly have ended in a permanent
occupation. Indeed, the cold would have been far
too intense that night for us to have lived on any
part of the bleak ridge. The situation was becoming
desperate. 'We must get down off the ridge and
out of the wind.' 'Ay,' said Burgener, 'we must,
I know ; but where ? ' The circumstances did not
call for reasonable answers, and so we said, * Any-
where! To stay up here now means that we shall
never get down at all.' Burgener looked up quickly
as if to say no, but hesitated, and then muttered,
'That is true. Then what will you do? There is

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

no way down anywhere along the wall with the
snow as it is now. There are great ice-slopes a
little way down.' As he spoke he leant over and
looked along the wall for confirmation of his
opinions. A little way off a rib of rock, blacker
than the rest, showed through the mist. We both
saw it at the same time ; Burgener hesitated, looked
at it again, and then facing round glanced at the
prospect above. The wind was stronger and colder
and the snow was driving more heavily. There
was no room for doubt. We must put it to the
touch and take the risk. We turned again, and in
a few minutes had squeezed ourselves through the
cornice, and were fairly launched on the descent.

" We were now at a much higher level on the
ridge than at the point we had struck in ascending.
It was only possible to see a few yards down ;
the rocks looked appallingly steep, glazed, and
o-rizzly, and we knew not what we were coming
to. But at any rate we were moving, and in a
stiller atmosphere soon forgot the cold. We went
fast, but only by means of doing all we knew, for
the climbing was really difficult. It was a case of
every man for himself, and every man for the rest
of the party. Now was the time to utilise all that
we had ever learned of mountain craft. Never
before, speaking for myself only, have I felt so
keenly the pleasure of being united to thoroughly

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

trustworthy and good mountaineers ; it was like
the rush of an eight-oar, where the sense of
motion and the swish through the water alone are
sufficient to make every member of the crew
put all his strength into each stroke. The
mind was too active to appreciate the pain of
fatigue, and so we seemed strong again. Now on
the rocks, which were loose and crumbly in parts,
elsewhere big and glazed, now in deep snow, now
on hard crusts, we fought our way down. So rapid
was the descent that, when the opportunity offered,
we looked anxiously through the mist in the hope
of seeing the glacier beneath. Surely we had hit
on a possible line of descent to the very bottom.
But there was not a moment for the grateful repose
so often engendered by enquiring minds on the
mountains. We were racing against time, or at
least against the malevolent powers of darkness.
Down a narrow flat couloir of rock of no slight
difficulty we seemed to go with perfect ease, but
the rocks suddenly ceased and gave way to an ill-
favoured snow-slope. The leader stopped abruptly
and turned sharp to the right. A smooth ice-gully
some 30 feet wide separated us from the next ridge
of rock. The reason for the change of direction was
evident enough when Burgener pointed it out. As
long as the line of descent kept to the side that
was more sheltered during the day from the sun,

III

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

so long was the snow fairly good. Our leader
judged quickly, and with the soundest reasoning, as
it proved directly afterwards, that the line we had
been following would infallibly lead, if pursued
further, to snow as treacherous as that with which
we were now so familiar. Across the ice-slope
then we must cut, perhaps a dozen or fifteen steps.
" The first two or three Burgener made vigorously
enough, but when within lo or 15 feet of the
rocks the extra effort told. He faltered suddenly ;
his blow fell listlessly, and he leant against the
slope, resting hands and head on his axe. ' I am
almost exhausted,' he said faintly, as he turned
round to us, while his quivering hands and white
lips bore evidence to the severity of the exertion.
So for a minute or two we stood in our tracks.
A word of encouragement called up what seemed
almost a last effort, some little notches were cut,
and we gained the rocks again. A trickling stream
of water was coursing down a slab of rock, and at
this we gulped as eagerly as a fevered patient.
Standing on the projecting buttress, we looked
anxiously down, and caught sight at last of the
glacier. It seemed close to us ; the first few steps
showed that Burgener's judgment was right ; he
had changed the line of descent at exactly the right
moment, and at the best possible place. Down

the last few hundred feet we were able to go as

112

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

fast as before. The level glacier beneath seemed
in the darkness to rise up suddenly and meet us.
We tumbled over the bergschrund, ran down a
short slope on the farther side of it, and stood in
safety on the glacier, saved by as fine a piece of
guiding as I have ever seen in the mountains. We
looked up at the slope. To our astonishment all
was clear, and I daresay had been so for long.
Above, in a blue-black frosty sky, the stars were
winking merrily ; the mists had all vanished as by
magic. No doubt the cold, which would have settled
us had we stayed on the ridge, assisted us materially
in the descent by improving the snow.

" There seemed still just light enough to search
for our tracks of the morning across the glacier, and
we bore well to the right in the hope of crossing
them. I fancy that the marks would have been
really of little use, but, anyhow, we could not find
them, and so made a wide sweep across the upper
part of the snow basin. As a result we were soon
in difficulty with the crevasses, and often enough
it seemed probable that we should spend the rest
of the night in wandering up and down searching
for snow bridges. But we reached at last a patch
of shale and rock, which we took to be the right
bank of the little glacier we had crossed in
the morning. Our clothes were wet, and the
cold was becoming so sharp that it was wisely
decided, against my advice, to push on if possible

H 113

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

to the tent at once. For some three or four hours
did we blunder and stumble over the moraine,
experiencing not a few tolerably severe falls as we
did so. Andenmatten selected his own line of
descent, and in a few minutes we had entirely
lost sight of him. It was too dark to find our
way across the glacier, and we could only hope
by following the loose stone ridge to make our
way to the right place. So we stuck to the rocks,
occasionally falling and nearly sticking on their detest-
ably sharp points. Even a Caucasian moraine leads
somewhere if you keep to it long enough, and as
we turned a corner, the huge glimmering mass of
Dych Tau, towering up in front, showed that the end
of our journey was not far off. Presently the little
white outline of the tent appeared, but we regarded
it with apathy, and made no effort to quicken our
movements, although the goal was in sight ; it
seemed to require, in our semi-comatose condition,
almost an effort to stop. As we threw open the
door of the tent the welcome sight of divers packets,
neatly arranged in a corner, met our gaze. The
head policeman had proved himself an honour to
his sex, an exception to his compatriots, and a
credit to the force. There were bread, sugar, rice,
meat, and firewood — yet we neither spoke nor were
moved. Andenmatten spurned the parcels with his
foot and revealed the lowermost. A scream of
delight went up, for they had found a packet of

114

AN EXCITING CAUCASIAN ASCENT

tobacco. The spell was broken, and once more all
were radiant. Such is man. A strange compound
— I refer to the tobacco — it proved to be, that would
neither light nor smoke, and possessed as its sole
property the power of violently disagreeing with the
men. It was past midnight before the expedition was
over. There were few preliminaries observed before
going to bed. I don't think that even Donkin took
more than a quarter of an hour in arranging a couch
to his satisfaction, and placing a very diminutive
air-cushion on anatomical principles in exactly the
right place, while Andenmatten was fast asleep in
two minutes, his head pillowed gently on some cold
mutton, and his boots reposing under the small of
his back. Something weighed on our minds as we
too lay down and tried to sleep. The towering cone
of Tetnuld, the distant view of Uschba, Elbruz, and
the giant Dych Tau, the rock and snow-slopes,
pictured themselves one after another as dissolving
views on the white walls of the tent. The expedi-
tion was over, but the pleasure and the impressions
it had evoked were not. Faster and faster followed
the visions as in delirium. I sat up, and in the
excitement of the moment dealt a great blow at
the nearest object, which, as it chanced, was Anden-
matten's ribs. I shouted out to my companion. A
muffled ' hulloa ' was the response, and he too rose
up. 'What is it?' 'By Heavens! it is the finest
climb we have ever made.' And so it was."

CHAPTER VII

A MELANCHOLY QUEST

THE accident in the Caucasus in 1888, by which
Messrs Donkin and Fox and their two Swiss
guides lost their lives, was one of the saddest that
has ever happened in the annals of mountaineering.
I will not dwell on it, but will rather pass on to
the search expedition, a short account of whose
operations will serve to illustrate how a thorough
knowledge of mountaineering may be utilised in
finding a conjectured spot in an unmapped region
in the snow world.

The year after the accident — for the season when
it occurred was too advanced for a thorough search
to be then undertaken — a party of four Englishmen,
Messrs Douglas Freshfield, Clinton Dent, Hermann
Woolley, and Captain Powell, with Maurer of the
Bernese Oberland as leading guide, set out from
England to try and ascertain how the accident
happened, and, if possible, recover the remains.
They succeeded, in the course of a profoundly inter-
esting journey, in finding the last camp of their

116

A MELANCHOLY QUEST

friends, and from Mr Clinton Dent's fine description
in The Alpine Journal I make, with his kind consent,
the following extracts. They show how well the
old school of climbers learnt all the routine of their
art, and how superior is the trained mountaineer of
any nationality to the inexperienced dweller amongst
mountains, who is utterly unable to advance a single
step upon them.

Having journeyed to the district and got over all
the easier ground at first met with, the party was
now fairly embarked in the region of ice and snow.

" The day was well advanced," writes Mr Dent,
"and it is only on rare occasions in the Central
Caucasus that the valleys and sky are free from
cloud at such an hour. But not a vestige of mist
was to be seen. The conditions were not merely of
good omen, but were also in the hightest degree
fortunate, for the object of our search seemed very
minute in the presence of such gigantic surroundings.
The air was clear and soft, and the snow in perfect
order for walking. We worked our way due west,
and gradually, as we turned the buttress of rock, a
steep and broad ice -gully came into view, leading
up to the pass. This consisted of a broad snow-
topped depression, from 1500 to 1800 feet above the
snow-field. On the right or east of the pass the
ridge ran sharply up to the pinnacle already
mentioned, while on the left the ridge, broken up

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

on its crest by great towers of rock, stretched away
to the summit of Dych Tau, the peak of which from
our point of view was not visible. A careful inspec-
tion of the rocks with the telescope revealed nothing.
A possible place for a bivouac might have been
found at any point on the rocks below the pass,
but no particularly likely spot was evident. It was
conceivable too, of course, that the travellers had
discovered a more suitable place on the UUu Auz
side, close to the summit of the pass. In any case
our plan of action was clear, and we set forth without
delay to ascend the wall. Two long ribs of rock
lying on the right of the ice-gully offered the best
means of access. Both looked feasible, but it was
only after a moment's hesitation that the left-hand
one was selected, as it seemed more broken, was
broader, and ran up higher. If the right-hand rib
had been chosen, we might conceivably have missed
the object of our search altogether. We made our
way up the rocks without any great difficulty.
Half-melted masses of snow constantly hissed down
the ice-gully as we ascended, and the great chasm
that extends along the base of the cliff was choked
for the most part with avalanche snow. The rocks
were steep, but so broken as to offer good hand- and
foot-hold. Still, the mind was sufficiently occupied
in attending to the details of climbing to prevent
the thoughts from wandering. Insensibly, we began

ii8

A MELANCHOLY QUEST

to think little save of the view that would be revealed
from the top of the pass. From time to time an
opportunity would be found of gazing to the right
or left, but progress was tolerably continuous.
Maurer, who was leading, looked upwards now and
again, as he worked out the best line of ascent, but
the rocks were so steep that he could only see a
very few feet. Just about mid-day, as he stopped
for a moment to look upwards, I saw his expression
suddenly change. ' Herr Gott ! ' he gasped out,
' der Schlafplatz ! ' ^ I think I shall never forget
the thrill the words sent through me. We sprang
up, scrambling over the few feet that still intervened,
and in a moment were grouped on a little ledge just
outside the bivouac. There was little enough to be
seen at the first glance save a low horse-shoe shaped
wall of stones, measuring some 6 feet by 8, and
carefully built against an overhanging rock. The
enclosure was full of drifted snow, raised up into a
hump at the back, where it covered a large rucksack.
On a ledge formed by one of the stones, a little tin
snow spectacle-box caught the eye as it reflected
the rays of the sun. For a few moments all was
excitement as the presence of one object after
another was revealed. 'See here,' cried Maurer, as
he scooped away the snow with his hands, 'the
sleeping - bags ! ' ' And here a riicksack,' said
1 " Good God 1 The Sleeping-place ! "
119

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

another. ' Look, they made a fire there,' called
out a third, ' and here is the cooking kettle and the
revolver.' Then came somewhat of a reaction, and
for a few minutes we could but gaze silently at the
place that told so clear a tale, and endeavour to realise
to the full the evidence that had come upon us with
such overwhelming suddenness.

" It is most probable that the accident occurred on
the south side of the cliffs forming the eastern ridge
of Dych Tau. The party must have been roped at
the moment, and it is very reasonable to suppose
that they were engaged in traversing one of the
many ice and snow covered slopes that exist on
this side. What the exact nature of the accident
was matters little ; but it may be remembered that
the snow on such slopes and ledges often binds
very lightly, and that there are no mountains,
perhaps, where these places are more numerous or
more treacherous than in the Caucasus. It was
possibly one of those rare instances in which the
rope was a source of danger and not of security to
the party as a whole. Yet the rule is clear, and it
amounts to this : if a place is too dangerous to cross
with a party roped, lest the slip of one drag down
all, then it is too dangerous to cross at all. So
steep are the cliffs that a fall must have meant in-
stantaneous death. As an example, a torn sleeping-

A MELANCHOLY QUEST

bag which was thrown over the bivouac wall fell to
the very bottom of the slope, and we saw it just
above the bergschrund as we descended. It was
necessary to take down some of the articles dis-
covered, for we might otherwise have found difficulty
in convincing the natives of the success of the ex-
pedition, and this was an important point. The
height of the pass is 14,350 feet, and of the bivouac
about 14,000 feet. We left the bivouac at 3.30 P.M.,
the day being still perfectly cloudless. The ice-fall
offered some little difficulty, one or two of the
bridges by which we had crossed in the morning
having broken down. Still we were able to keep to
almost the same line as that adopted in ascending.

"No one familiar with the Caucasus would be
willing to believe that any native could have reached
the bivouac. The people are still very timorous on
ice, and are wholly incapable of facing an ice-fall,
much less of making any way through one. No
native could have been got to the place even if in
the train of competent mountaineers ; alone, he would
not have set foot on the glacier at all.

"A day or two later we made our way down to the

collection of villages known as Balkar, a good three

and a half hours' walk from Karaoul. The place is

not well spoken of, but we were hospitably received

and entertained. In this, as in many other villages

121

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

subsequently, the story of our search excited much
interest. On every occasion the proceedings were
almost exactly identical. As usual in the Caucasus,
the natives all crowded into our apartment soon
after arrival. Powell would then select some
Russian - speaking man in authority, and announce
through him that the results of our expedition
would be made known to all who cared to hear
them. The whole story was then told, and admir-
ably Powell used to narrate it, winding up by
pointing out how the people of the district were
now exonerated from any suspicion that may have
lain on them. Such suspicion, he used to add, had
never been entertained by any English people. The
account was always listened to in breathless silence.
At the conclusion it was repeated by the chief to
the natives in their own language. Then the
rucksack was brought in and the articles found
shown. These were always instantly accepted as
absolute proof; the rusty revolver especially excited
attention. Expressions of sorrow and brief inter-
jections were always heard on all sides. Then the
chief spoke to some such effect as follows : ' We
are indeed rejoiced that you have found these traces.
It relieves our people from an irksome and unjust
suspicion. It is well that Englishmen came to our
country for this search, for we believe that no others
could have accomplished what you have done. We

A MELANCHOLY QUEST

are all very grateful to you. Englishmen are always
most welcome in our country. We are glad to
receive them. Our houses are theirs, and the best
we can do shall always be done for your country-
men.' In several places — at Chegem, for instance
— words were added to this effect : ' We remember
well Donkin and Fox ; they were brave and good
men, and we loved them. It is very sad to us to
think that they are lost.'"

A more detailed account of this melancholy quest
will be found in Messrs Douglas Freshfield's and
Vittorio Sella's v.'ork. The Exploration of the Caucasus.
It is from this, the most beautifully illustrated of any
book on mountaineering, that, with Mr Freshfield's
kind permission and that of Mr Willink, I take the
picture of the sleeping-place. The finished drawing
was made by Mr Willink from a sketch by Captain
Powell.

123

CHAPTER VIII

SOME NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

P ROB ABLY not half the narrow escapes experi-
enced by climbers are ever described, even in
the pages of the various publications of English and
foreign Alpine Clubs, though when an accident by
the breaking of a snow-cornice is just avoided, the
incident is so terribly impressive that several accounts
have found their way into print. Scarcely anything
more startling than a certain occurrence on a ridge
of the Monch, which happened to the late Mr Moore
and his two guides, Melchior and Jacob Anderegg,
has ever been related. The party had succeeded in
making the ascent of the Monch from the Wengern
Alp, it being only the third occasion when this long
and difficult climb was accomplished, each of their
predecessors spending three days and three flights on
the expedition.

Having gained the summit, the party proceeded
to go down by the usual route towards the Trugberg.
This follows a very narrow arete. " On the left hand,"

says Mr Moore in The Alpine Journal, " is an absolute

124

Melchior Anueregg, ok Meiringen.

A SON AND A GRANDCHILD OF MeLCHIOK AnDEREGG, I903

To face i,. 124.

NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

precipice ; on the right a slope, which might be called
precipitous, falls to the Aletsch Glacier, The quantity
of snow on the ridge was enormous, and the sun had
begun to tell upon it. We knew too much to attempt
to approach the upper edge, and kept at a distance
of some 12 feet below it on the Aletsch side;
lower down we dared not go, owing to the steepness
of the slope and the danger of starting an avalanche.
With Melchior in front it is unnecessary to say that
we moved with the greatest caution. No man is
more alive than he to the danger arising from a snow-
cornice. He sounded with his axe at every step, and
we went steadily along, anxious, but with every
reason to believe that we were giving the cornice a
wide berth. Suddenly came a startling cry from
Melchior. At the same instant I felt myself stagger,
and, instinctively swinging ever so slightly to the
right, found myself the next moment sitting astride
on the ridge. With a thundering roar the cornice on
our left for a distance of some 200 yards went
crashing down to the depths below, sending up
clouds of snow-dust which completely concealed my
companions from me. It was only by the absence
of all strain on the rope that I knew — though at the
moment I scarcely realised the fact — that they were,
like myself, safe. As the dust cleared off, Melchior,
also sitting astride of the ridge, turned towards me,
his face white as the snow which covered us. That

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

it was no personal fear which had blanched our
leader's sunburnt cheeks his first words, when he
could find utterance, showed. * God be thanked ! '
said he ; ' I never thought to see either of you there.'
We had, in fact, escaped destruction by a hand's-
breadth. As I believe, our right feet had been on
the ridge, our left on the cornice ; we had thus just
sufficient firm standing-ground to enable us to make
that instinctive movement to the right which had
landed us a cheval, for Jacob had fallen in the same
position as Melchior and myself. Few words were
said ; but words poorly express the emotions at such
a moment. Melchior's axe had been carried down
with the cornice as it fell, but had fortunately lodged
on the face of the precipice 50 feet below. It was
too precious to leave behind, so we let him down by
the rope, and descending in a cat-like way peculiar
to first-class guides when not hampered by Herrshaft,
he regained it without difficulty.

" Our further descent was uneventful."
One of the greatest dangers of mountaineering is
from falling stones, yet the number of fatal accidents
from this cause is as few as the narrow escapes are
many. As exciting an experience as can well be
imagined took place on the Aiguille du Midi at
Chamonix in 1871. The party consisted of Messrs
Horace Walker and G. E. Foster. The latter wrote
a graphic account in The Alpine Journal, and kindly

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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

allows me to make the following extracts. The

guides were Jacob Anderegg and Hans Baumann,

and the climbers wished to ascend from the

Montanvert and be the first to go down the steep

face of the mountain on the Chamonix side.

After some difficulty in finding the route, for both

the guides were unacquainted with the district, and

Mr Walker alone knew in a vague sort of way that

the peak was somewhere in the neighbourhood of

the G^ant ice-fall, they eventually stood on the top.

It had taken them ten hours, and they sat for some

time on the more sheltered Chamonix side, debating

by what route they should descend. The slopes

below were very steep, so they decided to retrace

their steps to the foot of the rocks, and then, turning

over on to the Chamonix side of the mountain,

make their way as best they could down ice-filled

gullies and precipitous rocks. All at first went

well, and soon they commenced to cross the face

of the cliff to gain a rocky buttress that offered a

likely route some hundred feet below the top of

the wall. "Jacob was leading," writes Mr Foster,

"Walker next, I followed, and Baumann brought

up the rear. Only one was moving at a time, and

every one had the rope as taut as possible between

himself and his neighbour. Jacob was crossing a

narrow gully, when suddenly, without any warning,

as though he had trod on the keystone of the wall,

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the whole face for some 30 or 40 feet above him

peeled off, and with a crash like thunder, hundreds

of tons of rocks precipitated themselves on him.

In an instant he was torn from his hold, and hurled

down the precipice with them. Fortunately, Walker

was able to hold on, though the strain on him was

something awful. As the uproar ceased, and silence

even more impressive succeeded, we looked in one

another's faces with blank dismay. From our

position it was impossible to see what had become

of Jacob, and only the tight rope told us that his

body at least, living or dead, was still fastened to us.

In a voice singularly unlike his own, Walker at

length cried out, ' Jacob,' and our hearts sank within

us as it passed without response. ' Jacob ! Ach

Jacob ! ' V^alker repeated ; and I trust none of my

readers may ever know the relief we felt when the

reply came back, ' Ich lebe noch.' ^

" From where I was I could not see him, but Walker

craned over a rock, and then turned round. ' I see

him. He is awfully hurt, and bleeding frightfully.'

I then contrived to shift my position, and saw that

he was indeed hurt. His face was black with blood

and dirt, the skin torn from his bleeding hands, while

his clothes in ribands threatened worse injuries still

unseen. After a moment, he managed to recover his

footing, and then untied the rope with trembling

^ " I am still living."
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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

fingers, and crawled along the face of the cliff to
the other side of the gully, where some snow offered
means to stanch his wounds.

" As soon as he was safe, Baumann called on us
to stand still, and clambered carefully over the spot
where the rocks had given way, our only road lying
there. I followed, and then Walker, knotting up
the rope to which Jacob had hung, crossed last
With Jacob below us, care was necessary in climbing
so as to send no more loose fragments on his head,
but we at last reached the spot where he was stand-
ing. Thanks to the snow, the bleeding had already
stopped to a great extent, and with the aid of some
sticking-plaster Walker had with him, and some torn
strips from a pocket-handkerchief, we bound up
his wounds as well as we could. He had had a
marvellous escape ; no fragment had struck him
fully, the rock that had grazed his face having
missed knocking out his brains from his presence
of mind in throwing back his head. Fortunately,
no bones were broken, though he was badly bruised
all over, and after a quarter of an hour's rest and a
good pull at the brandy-flask, he said he was ready
to start again.

" On taking hold of the rope to tie him on again,

we were awestruck to find all its strands but one

had been severed, so that his w^hole weight had hung

literally on a thread. Strange as it may appear, the

I 129

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

rock that had done this had probably saved his life
by jerking him out of the line of fire. Still, all
honour to Messrs Buckingham for their good work-
manship, to which, and Walker's holding powers,
we owe our escape from a miserable ending of our
day's work. As it was, poor Walker's ribs had
suffered sadly, and with two wounded men we re-
commenced our descent.

" Naturally, our trust in the rocks was gone, and
we took as soon as possible to the steep snow of the
couloir. This, however, lay so thin on the ice, that
we found we had only exchanged one danger for
another. Baumann led and we followed, driving in
our axe-heads at every step, but were soon forced to
descend into a narrow gully, cut by avalanches, where
the snow was deep enough to give better footing.
The sides of this were above our heads, and the
bottom not more than a foot wide, so that the danger
from avalanches was very great, but for a time we
descended safely. Then a startled shout from
Walker warned me that something was wrong, and
driving my axe desperately into the side, I found
myself up to the neck in a snow avalanche. For a
moment I thought all was up, but held on to the
best of my powers. Then finding the stream did
not stop, I looked back, and found Walker and Jacob
had contrived to get out of the gully. With a shout

to Baumann, I gave a desperate struggle, and followed

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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

their example, and instantly saw the snow I had
held up surge over Baumann's head. For a moment
he held on, then climbed out on my side. We waited
till the avalanche had passed, two of us on one side of
the gully and two on the other, and then Walker
and Jacob jumped into it with a groan, as it shook
their bruised bones, and climbed up to our side, and
with an occasional look for Baumann's hat, which
the avalanche had carried off with it, pursued our
way.

"So long and steep was the couloir, so thin and
treacherous the snow layer on the ice, that a good
hour elapsed before we reached the bottom, where
a formidable bergschrund cut off access to the
glacier. Only at one point could we find a bridge,
and that was where our old enemy, the avalanche
gully, terminated, choking the crevasse with its
snows, and spreading in a fan-like mass below.
With some hesitation, as our recollection of it was
not pleasant, and it was here all hard ice, Baumann
cut his way down into it. We were scarcely all
fairly in it, when we heard a tremendous crash
above. Clearly, another avalanche was descending,
this time composed of rocks. As it was 2000 feet
above us, and would take some time to clear the
distance, a short race for life ensued. Baumann cut
steps with amazing rapidity. Fortunately, some
half dozen only were necessary. With one eye on

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

him and one keeping a sharp look-out for the advent
of the unwelcome stranger, we hastened down,
crossed the bridge, scampered down a slope, and
merely stooping down to pick up Baumann's hat,
which turned up here, got out of the way just in
time, as an enormous mass of snow and rocks dashed
over where we had stood not a minute before."

This was the last adventure the party had that
day from avalanches, but their troubles were as yet
by no means over. Some formidable glacier work
had to be accomplished before all was plain sailing.
"Though we were now tolerably reckless, the diffi-
culties in our way nearly beat us," Mr Foster
goes on to say. " Three times we tried, and thrice
in vain, though knife edges of the most revolting
description were passed, and crevasses of fabulous
width and depth jumped or got over as seemed
best. Again and again we were forced to return.
At length, when we were almost in despair, a way
was found, and at 6.30, drenched by the storm
which by this time had burst upon us, we reached
the little hotel at the Pierrepointue."

There are no climbing dangers which skill and
care can more surely avert than those which are
ever present on a crevassed, but snow-covered
glacier.

Should a party fail to arrest the fall of one of
its members, and have difficulty in pulling him

NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

above ground, however, the position may become
most serious. If another party is within hail,
matters are generally simple enough, yet even for
four or five people it is not always the easiest
thing in the world to haul up a companion who
has disappeared into the bowels of the earth, especi-
ally if the folly of walking unroped has been in-
dulged in.

A good description of what might have been a
serious business but for the skill and resource of a
member of the party is given in the course of a
description of some climbs in the Rocky Mountains.
The writer, Mr Harold B. Dixon, says in The Alpine
Journal: " A snow-covered crevasse crossed our route
at right angles. The party in front, who were with-
out ropes, saw the crevasse, and proceeded to leap
it. All crossed in safety but the last man, who
broke through the snow and disappeared. Through
the hole the wide mouth of the crevasse was revealed,
showing the danger of trusting to the frail bridge.
It was obviously dangerous to recross without a
rope, so his companions signalled to us for help,
but for some time we failed to observe their signals.

"Though stunned by the fall our friend was not
materially damaged, but he was in a sufficiently
awkward fix. Jammed between the narrowing
walls of ice, he was unable to move a limb except
his right arm. The crevasse did not drop perpendi-

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

cularly, but the ice-wall bulged out from the side
we stood on, and then curved over out of sight;
we could not see down more than i8 feet. We stood
in a little semicircle at the hole, and one short
sentence was spoken : ' Some one must go down.'
We looked at each other. Sahrbach and Baker are
large and heavy men : it was obvious they must
' pass,' I am of lighter build ; I proclaimed my
II stone and readiness to go. But Collie went
better. ' I am 9 stone 6,' was his deliberate state-
ment. There was no means of seeing if this was a
bluff, so we threw up our hands — the trick was his.
Tying a stirrup loop for one foot and a noose round
his waist, Collie attached himself to one rope, which
was then joined to a second. Meanwhile the
Americans were brought across the crevasse by the
aid of another rope, and axes were fixed deep in
the snow in suitable positions to fasten the rope to.
Then we let Collie down as far as he would go.
An anxious moment followed. ' I can't reach him,'
came Collie's voice from below. Then, after a few
minutes, ' Send down a slip knot on the other rope.'
We made the knot and lowered the rope. How
Collie managed it I don't know, for he could not
reach his man, but he threw the loop round the
prisoner's right arm, and then called on us to pull.
At the second haul we felt something give, and our
friend was pulled into an upright position, when

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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

Collie could just reach him with his left hand, and
with this he tied a knot above the elbow of his right
arm. By this knot we hauled him out of the narrow
crevasse and on to the bulge of ice without difficulty.
But as we pulled the rope cut into the snow, and
we could not raise our burden within 6 feet of the
surface. Then, while the rope was held taut, one
of us worked the handle of an axe along under the
rope by sitting on the snow and pushing it forward
with his feet. In this way the rope was loosened,
and we could haul up another 3 feet, and then
Sahrbach, leaning over, reached his collar, and our
half-frozen friend was deposited on the snow with
an assortment of flasks, while we fished out Collie
from his uncomfortable position. They were both
very wet and cold, but no bones were broken."

Here we see that even with a large party of
competent people, it was no easy matter to rescue
a comrade from his icy prison. The details are well
given, and may be useful to any one so unfortunate
as to require by personal experience a knowledge
of what should be done under similar circum-
stances.

The danger of crossing snow-covered glaciers when
the party does not number more than two was
brought home to those who heard of it by one of
the most tragical events which has ever been
recorded in the annals of mountaineering. A

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

German, Dr Schafifer, had been celebrating his
golden wedding at a small place on the Brenner
on 22nd August 1900. He engaged a guide, by
name Johann Offerer, and, sleeping at a hut, started
early next morning. They reached the Wildlahner
Glacier in an hour and a half from their sleeping
quarters, and after traversing it for some distance
came to a large crevasse. This the guide crossed
safely on a snow bridge, but the tourist, a much
heavier man, broke through, and pulled his com-
panion down with him. They fell about 100 feet,
with the result that the guide had a broken thigh
and arm, while Dr Schaffer only bruised his knee.
He put his coat round Offerer and left food beside
him, and then tried to get out of the crevasse. After
hours of toil and pain he managed to reach a ledge not
very far below the mouth of the crevasse, but further
he could not get. At last he gave up all hope, and
sat down to die, first, however, writing a full account
of the accident, and leaving a sum of money for the
widow of his guide. It is to this pathetic last effort
of his life that we owe our knowledge of what
happened. The only other instance at all like it is
the terrible accident on Mont Blanc in 1870, when
eleven persons perished in a snow-storm, one of their
number, Mr Bean, leaving details in his diary of the
events immediately preceding the catastrophe.

It was only on 5th September, after a long search,
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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

that the remains of the two unfortunate men were
discovered.

The following is of special interest, because, of late
years, the Norwegian sport of ski-ing has become
exceedingly popular in Alpine winter resorts. It is
impossible, however, owing to the great length of the
ski, to go in difficult places on them, and therefore
mountaineers have only used them when intending to
ascend to points accessible entirely over snow-slopes,
not much broken up by crevasses. The first fatal
accident to a climbing party on ski took place in
1902, and may serve as a warning to those intending
to traverse glaciers in winter on skis, or indeed even
without them. I take my account from a translation
from the Italian, which appeared in The Alpine
Journal. The comments by the editor should be laid
to heart.

" A party of five gentlemen and four Zermatt guides
left Zermatt on 24th February for the Betemps Hut,
with the intention of ascending the Signalkuppe and
the Zumstein, via the Grenz Glacier and the Capanna
Margherita.

"The 25th was spent in ski practice in the neigh-
bourhood of the hut. On the 26th the whole party,
with the exception of one guide who had brought
a defective pair of skis, left the hut at 3.30 A.M. in
weather marked by no adverse conditions of any
kind. The Grenz Glacier was reached somewhat

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

west of the point marked 3344 metres on the
Siegfried map. The party unroped, proceeded
upwards on their skis towards the point marked
3496 metres, the surface of the glacier, covered
with deep snow, showing no crevasses nor the
indications of any. About midway between 3300
metres and the point 3344 metres the caravan found
itself on a gentle slope, when a muffled crack was
heard, and Herr Koenig, Herr Flender, and one of
the guides, Hermann Perren, were seen to sink almost
simultaneously into a concealed crevasse about 6
feet in width, which ran in a direction parallel with
the glacier, carrying with them a mass of snow about
65 feet in length and over 14 feet in thickness.
Obviously, no amount of probing would have indicated
the presence of the crevasse, and thus by an un-
fortunate coincidence the three men were standing at
the same time over the hidden abyss without knowing
it. One of the other guides was instantly lowered into
the crevasse by the only available rope (the other being
on Herr Flender's back), which proved to be just too
short to reach Hermann Perren, who had fallen about
90 feet, and was standing upright against the side of
the crevasse, held fast in a mass of snow which had
left his head and one arm free. Two of the party
hurried down to fetch another rope, from the B^temps
Hut. In the meanwhile Perren had managed, after a
struggle of two and a half hours, almost to set himself

138

NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

free, and was eventually drawn out safely, practically
uninjured, save a slightly frost-bitten hand. The
dead body of Herr Flender, found with his neck
broken, partially covered with some 2 feet of hard
snow, was then extricated, but in spite of persistent
efforts the body of Herr Koenig was not recovered
until the next day, when he was found lying face
downwards under a mass of compact snow over lo
feet thick. Death in his case was instantaneous,
caused by suffocation, the body bearing no signs
whatever of external injury. Herr Koenig was laid
to rest in the English cemetery at Zermatt, while the
body of Herr Flender was conveyed by his relatives to
its last resting-place at Diisseldorf This is, we think,
the first fatal accident which has occurred to a party
of climbers on skis bound on a serious climbing
expedition. The party on this occasion cannot with
justice be accused of recklessness, for the apparent
neglect of the usual precaution of putting on the
rope on a snow-covered glacier will not be mis-
understood by those accustomed to the use of
skis, who will readily understand that the rope is
practically impossible, and even dangerous, for a
party on skis.

" A remarkable feature of the accident was the
thickness of the mass of snow which gave way
under the three men, and demonstrates the extreme
insecurity of winter snow on a crevassed glacier. It

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

is possible that the three men were perhaps too
close to each other at the time of the accident.

" It is evident that winter climbers who wish to use
skis must carry their lives in their own hands, and
perhaps the safer plan for future expeditions of this
kind will be to make the ascent roped in the usual
way on snow racquettes carrying the skis on the
back. On the descent the risk of breaking through
the snow covering during the rapid progress on
skis would of course be very much less than on the
ascent."

One of the most fruitful causes of accidents on
mountains is the underrating of difficulties by
ignorant persons who, having been hauled up and
let down precipices by a couple of sturdy guides in
fine weather, proceed to inform their friends and
acquaintances that " Nowadays the Matterhorn is
mere child's play, don't cher know."

A sorry tale is told by the famous climber, Mr
Cecil Slingsby, who, himself accustomed to under-
take the hardest climbs without guides, would be
the first to discourage imitation in any unfit to
follow in his steps.

Writing of Skagastoldstind, in Norway, of which
he made the first ascent, and which is still considered
the most difficult of the fashionable climbs in that
country, he says in The Alpine Journal :

"In i8So a young tourist, son of a rich banker,
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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

whom I will call Nils, desirous of emulating our
exploits, attempted the mountain, and with the
assistance of two good climbers, who shoved and
hauled him up the rocks, succeeded in reaching
the summit. Unfortunately, he afte/wards wrote a
pamphlet of sixty-six pages about the mountain, in
which he underrated its difficulties. This pamphlet,
I unhesitatingly assert, has been the main cause of a
terrible tragedy which took place on Skagastoldstind.
It was in this manner. At one of the series of huts
built by the tourist club a young man, named
Tonsberg, who had been partially deranged, was
staying with his wife, and was deriving much benefit
from the mountain air. Here he read this pamphlet,
and inferred that though Skagastoldstind was un-
doubtedly a very fine mountain, yet the difficulties
of its ascent had been much exaggerated, and that
any one might make it. Upon this he set off with
a lad seventeen years of age, at 9.30 P.M., in vile
weather ; walked through the night (in the middle
of summer it is never dark), and reached a saetor
(or chalet) at 3 A.M. ; here they found Peter, one of
Nils' guides, who refused to have anything more to
do with the mountain. At last, by means of bribes,
and by promising to turn back at once if the
mountain should prove impracticable, Peter was
persuaded to go forward ; and at 6 o'clock they
sallied out into the wet. Wind and snow soon

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

assailed them, but Tonsberg would persist in his
rash work. At ii they reached the actual base of
the peak, 4100 feet below the top. The lad was
frost-bitten and could go no further ; neither could
Peter. They tried to tie the man with ropes, but
he was too strong for them, and used his alpenstock
against them, and it was no good. Soon afterwards
he left them in the mist, and in twenty strides was
out of sight. A month or five weeks after this his
remains were found in a deep chasm between a
glacier and the rocks, amidst crags at least 2000
feet higher up on the mountain. I may add that the
valley Midt Maradal, out of which Skagastoldstind
rises, is so difficult to approach, that though it
contains rich pasturage at its lower end — a mine
of wealth in Norway — its owner, a man of forty-five
years, who has overlooked it hundreds of times and
lives within three miles of it as the crow flies, had
never been in it when I saw him last, and has asked
me several times to guide him into it."

Referring to an expedition from Mouvoison,
which began, as do most climbs, over grass slopes,
Mr Clinton Dent remarks in Above the Snow Line :

" One ascent over a grass slope is very much
like another, and description in detail would be as
wearisome as the slopes themselves often prove.
Yet it is worthy of notice that there is an art to
be acquired even in climbing grass slopes. We

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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

had more than one opportunity on the present
occasion of seeing that persons look supremely
ridiculous if they stumble about, and we noticed
also that, like a bowler when he has delivered a
long hop to the off for the third time in one over,
the stumbler invariably inspects the nails in his
boots, a proceeding which deceives no one. It is
quite easy to judge of a man's real mountaineer-
ing capacity by the way in which he attacks a
steep grass slope. The unskilful person, who
fancies himself perfectly at home among the in-
tricacies of an ice-fall, wall often candidly admit
that he never can walk with well-balanced equi-
librium on grass, a form of vegetable which it
might be thought in many instances of self-sufficient
mountaineers, would naturally suit them. There is
often real danger in such places, and not in-
frequently the wise man will demand the use of
the rope, especially when there are any tired
members among the party. There is no better
way of learning how to preserve a proper balance
on a slope than by practising on declivities of
moderate steepness, and it is astonishing to find
how often those who think they have little to learn,
or, still worse, that there is nothing to learn, will
find themselves in difficulties on a mountain-side,
and forced to realise that they have got them-
selves into a rather humiliating position. We may

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

have seen, before now, all of us, distinguished
cragsmen to whom an ascent of the Weisshorn or
Matterhorn was but a mere stroll, utterly pounded
in botanical expeditions after Edelweiss, and com-
pelled to regain a position of security by very
ungraceful sprawls, or, worse still, have to resort
to the unpardonable alternative of asking for
assistance,"

The following accounts of adventures on grass
slopes, taken from The Alpine Journal, may serve
to bear out the truth of Mr Dent's remarks :

"On Monday, 31st August, Mr J. F. C. Devas,
aged 26, accompanied by a friend, Mr A. G.
Ferard, proceeded after lunch to take a stroll from
the Riffel-Haus towards the Corner Glacier by
the Theodule path. Before reaching the glacier
they returned, Mr Ferard by the ordinary route.
Mr Devas, leaving the path to the left, attempted
a short cut by climbing some wet and slippery
rocks leading to a grass slope above. He reached
a difficult place, immediately below the slope,
beyond which he was unable to go. Mr Ferard
made his way as speedily as possible to the grass
slope and to within a few yards of his friend.
While Mr Ferard was endeavouring to render
assistance, Mr Devas, in trying to pull himself up,
lost his footing and slid down about 70 feet to a
ledge covered with turf, which it might have been

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NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

hoped would have arrested his fall. Unfortunately,
the impetus was sufficient to carry him over the
ledge to a further distance of about 70 feet below.
His friend hastened to the Riffel-Haus for assist-
ance, and a number of guides and porters, accom-
panied by Mr Ferard and a French gentleman,
hurried to the scene of the accident. Mr Devas,
who had sustained a severe fracture of the skull,
was brought back to the Riffel-Haus about 5 P.M.,
where he received the most unremitting care from
M. Seiler's staff of servants. He was unconscious
from the moment of the accident till he died at
noon of the following day."

Another writer gives an account of an adventure
on a grass slope which, happily, had a less serious
ending. He also attempted to make a short cut.

" I entangled myself in an adventure which, as
nearly as possible, ended in a catastrophe. Not
caring to turn back, I followed a track past the
chalets of Cavrera, in hope of being able to find a
direct ascent over the steep lower ground that en-
closed the head of the valley. It seemed as I advanced
that among the ledges of rock and grass at the left-
hand corner there would be access to the path
above. A dubious and attenuated track which led
me up in this direction after giving evidence of
design in a few steps notched in the great gneiss
slabs, vanished, leaving me to choose between the

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

slabs which sloped up in front and a line of juniper
bushes on the left of them. As the slabs at this
spot could be walked upon, and higher up seemed
to ease off again, I kept to the rocks without
investigating the juniper belt. But walking ex-
changed itself for climbing, and I continued to
ascend under the impression that I should shortly
gain the inclination above. I came to a spot where
I had to raise myself on to a small rounded knob of
rock with a slight effort, there being no hand-hold
above. From this vantage-ground I was able to
repeat the process, still buoyed up with the belief
that the easy part would be reached above, and to
hoist myself on to the only remaining hold in the
neighbourhood— a strong tuft of grass in a sort of
half corner in the slabs — which supported one foot
well, but one foot only, I now found I could go
no further. The strata inclined downwards, so that
the smooth and crackless slabs overlay one another
like the slates on a house-roof, and there was no
more hold for hand or foot apparent, while the slabs
were far too steep for unsupported progression.
The next discovery was a much more alarming one ;
I looked below, wondered why on earth I had come
up such a place, and saw at a glance that I could
not get down again. If I fell, moreover, it would
not be by the line of my ascent, but down steeper
rocks and to a lower depth. Generally in a dilemma

146

NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

in climbing there is a sort of instinctive feeling that
an escape will be made at last, but now, for the first
time, I was seized with a sentiment akin to despair.
One chance only remained, and that was to take off
my boots and stockings and try the slabs above.

" The stories of extraordinary predicaments in the
Alps one is apt to receive with some incredulity. I
never altogether accepted the tale of the chamois-
hunter's gashing his feet, and, needless to say, it did
not occur to me to imitate him in this particular.
For the rest, I can only promise the literal narration
of circumstances as they presented themselves to vie
at the time. It is, indeed, sufficiently sensational
without exaggeration. Well, it appeared at first
impossible to take my boots off; I was facing the
rocks with one toe on the turf, and the necessary
manipulation could not be accomplished. What was
to be done? This was, perhaps, the worst moment
of the whole, as far as sensation went. However,
by turning round, and planting my heel on the tuft
and my back on the rock, I found myself in a secure
and tolerably comfortable position. I now set to
work and slung my boots separately round my neck
as I took them off, pocketing the socks. All was
done with deliberation ; the laces were as usual
untied with the button-hook in my cherished knife,
and the latter was carefully returned to my pocket
with the thought that if it went down it should be

147

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

in my company. Meantime the necessary rigidity
of position had to be preserved ; there was only room
in the turf for one heel, and for the point of my
ice-axe, for which there was no other possible
resting-place. Its preservation, indeed, that day
was wonderful ; at one time I felt a momentary
temptation to throw it down in order to better the
hold with the hand, but this would not bear a second
thought.

" I now lost no time in placing myself on the
slabs. I found that I dare not move on them in an
upright position, and had to seek support with both
hands. My condition was not an enviable one, and
in no direction could an effort to proceed be made
without danger. The situation was as follows : If
I could manage to advance in front, I should,
eventually, reach the more easily inclined slabs, on
which I could walk ; but then it was some way.
If I could cross the much shorter interval (some
15 feet) to the right, I should reach a grass
band below the rocks at the side ; but then there
intervened a broad, black, glistening streak, where
waters oozed down and where to tread was fatal.
Suddenly, without any warning, I found myself
going down. I remember no slip, but rather that
it was as if all hold gave way at once under the
too potent force of gravity. Anyhow I was sliding
down the rocks, and that helplessly I made, I

148

'I'lie balloon '' Stella " getting ready to start from

Zermatt for the first balloon passage of the Alps,

September, 1903.

(P. 301.)

A bivouac in the Alps in the olden days.
By the late .Mr. \V. F. Donkin.

Boulder practice on an off day.
To face p. US.

The last rocks on the descent.

NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

believe, little or no attempt to obtain fresh hold ;
I simply remained rigid in the position in which I
was, waiting for the fatal momentum to come which
should dash me below. The instants passed, and
at each I expected the momentum to begin. I felt
quite a surprise when, instead, the sliding mass
slowly pulled up and came to a stoppage. The
scales of fate had been most delicately balanced,
and a hair's weight in the right one decided that
this paper should be written. Had I floundered, like
a non-swimmer out of his depth, I must have gone
down ; but the first moments of despondency past
the opening for action had once for all brought with
it that species of mechanical coolness which is the
happy concomitant of so many forms of habitual
physical occupation.

"If it be asked, what were my thoughts when I
was going down, I can only reply that they chiefly
amounted to a sort of dull feeling that I was
actually in for a fall, being concentrated on waiting
for its inevitable commencement ; and that there
was no such terror or disagreeable realisation of
the situation as people are apt to assign to such
moments. Such realisations exist most deeply in
the imaginations of the non-combatants outside the
fray. During the whole affair my attention was
mainly directed to the physical combating with

difficulties, and the passing reflections were partly

149

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

indifferent, partly frivolous. A sort of acceptance
of the position, indeed, possessed me, which almost
amounted to a melancholy complacency, and, at
most, perhaps, the customary ' When I get out of
this' was changed as fast as it rose up in my
imagination into a sadder ' If even' It was the
feeling of the gamester or the soldier surprised at
last by adverse odds, intent on his craft as at other
times, but with a new and melancholy consciousness.
" My first thought when I came to a standstill — I
cannot have gone more than a couple of feet at
most — was what I could do even then, with no
more hold than before? But I placed myself again
in my old position on the tuft ; and reflecting that
if I had been intended to go down I should have
gone then, and almost feeling as if, having escaped
that extremity of risk, I had a sort of security for
the rest, I resolved without further hesitation to
make a determined effort. I once more raised
myself on my feet and decided to make a push
across the slabs to the grass belt at all hazards ;
possibly, in case of slipping on the way, I might
be able to make a desperate sort of rush for it.
I now found two unevennesses in succession, which
would allow the side of the foot to rest in them
with some chance of staying, while I moved my
body along, there being at no time hold for the
hand. The second of these slight hollows was

ISO

NARROW ESCAPES AND FATAL ACCIDENTS

fortunately in the dread bank of moisture itself.
Below, the rocks shelved away to a steep fall ; in
front, the grass tufts smiled on me nearer and
nearer. While I was feeling along the slabs with
the hand that held my ice-axe, the latter by chance
fixed itself in a cavity that would otherwise have
escaped my notice. It was just about the size and
depth of a half-crown, and could not have been
caught by the fingers, but the rigid iron stuck in
it. This was perhaps the first bit of direct hold I
had. A yard further on was another of the same
size. But now I had passed the wet rock and was
nearing the grass, and carefully launching my ice-
axe, so as not to disturb my balance, I hooked it
in the grass, and in another moment had reached
its hospitable tufts. Creeping up the side, I at last
found terra firma!*

iSi

CHAPTER IX

A NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

lyrR CECIL SLINGSBY has kindly allowed me
to extract the following admirable account
of a guideless ascent with two friends of the Dent
Blanche. It will be noticed that during a very cold
night they "avoided" their "brandy-flask like
poison." When a climber is exhausted and help is
near a flask of brandy is invaluable, but when a party
has to spend a bitterly cold night in the open, it is
madness to touch spirits at all. The effect of a
stimulant is to quicken the action of the heart and
drive the blood with increased rapidity to the surface.
Here it is continually cooled, and before long the
heart finds it has to work double hard to keep up the
circulation. Therefore to take brandy in order to
resist the cold for hours together is like stirring up a
cup of hot fluid, whereby fresh surfaces are continually
brought in contact with the air and cooled with far
greater rapidity than if left quiet. The best com-
panion a climber can have during a night out above
the snow-line is a small spirit-lamp. With this he

i5«

w§

NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

can amuse and fortify himself at intervals, melting
snow and making tea or soup, which will be of real
help in enabling the party to pass without injury
through the ordeal. Doctors and climbers of ex-
perience will, I know, bear out what I say. The
truth of it was once more shown not very long ago
under the following circumstances :

In August 1902 two French tourists with a guide
and a porter set out to ascend Mont Blanc. The
weather became very bad, nevertheless they pressed
on, hoping to reach that veritable death-trap, the
Vallot Hut. In this they failed, and as the hour was
late they took the fatal course of digging a hole in
the snow in which to pass the night. They were
provided with brandy, and, doubtless in ignorance of
the results it was sure to cause, they shared all they
had. Both travellers died before morning, and the
guides then attempted to descend to Chamonix.
They seem to have been dazed, and to have lost their
heads, and within a few minutes of each other each
fell into a crevasse. The porter was killed on the
spot, the guide was rescued, but little injured, after
six hours' imprisonment.

Will people ever realise that Mont Blanc, by reason
of the very facility by which it may be ascended, is
the most dangerous mountain a beginner can ascend ?
He is almost certain to chance on incompetent guides,
and these, if the weather becomes bad, have not the

153

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

moral force — indeed a first-class man would have
something even more compelling — to insist on an
immediate return. The size of the mountain is so
great that to be lost on it is a risk a really good guide
would simply refuse to face.

To turn now to Mr Slingsby's narrative. His
party had reached the arete of the Dent Blanche
without incident, and he writes :

" The rocks on the crest of the ridge were in
perfect order. The day was magnificent, and there
was not the remotest sign of a storm. Climbers
who were on neighbouring mountains on this day
all speak of the fine weather. My friend, Mr Eric
Greenwood, who was on the Rothhorn, told me
that that peak was in capital condition, but that
there was a strong N.W. wind blowing at the top.
We had perfect calm. Mr Greenwood stopped on
the snow arete till a late hour in the afternoon,
taking photographs, and neither his guides nor
he had the slightest expectation of a thunder-
storm.

"We stuck faithfully to the ridge, and climbed
up, and as nearly as possible over, each point as
we reached it, because of the ice which shrouded
the rocks almost everywhere on the west face.

"We were forced on to the face of one little
pinnacle, and had to use the greatest care.

' Nowhere did we come to any place where we
154

NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

felt that our powers were overtaxed ; still, the
work was difficult, though not supremely so.

" A few days later I met Mr Conway at Breuil,
and I asked him what he meant in this case by
the term, ' following the arete! His interpretation,
which is rather an elastic one, is this : * Climb over
the pinnacles if it is convenient to do so. If not
convenient, shirk them by passing below their
western bases.' This latter method was most prob-
ably impracticable on the occasion of our ascent,
which fully accounts for the great difference between
Mr Conway's ' times ' and our own, as we certainly
climbed at least as quickly as an average party on
the Dent Blanche during the whole of our ascent.

" The time sped merrily and quickly by, and
the difficulties decreased as we hastened onward.
Just as we left the last rocks a light filmy
cloud, sailing up from the north, hovered for an
instant over the top of the mountain, and then
settled upon it ; otherwise, though it had then
become exceedingly cold, the sky was clear and
the day perfect, and we could not help comparing
our good fortune with that of those early climbers
who fought their way upwards, step by step,
against most ferocious gales.

" After some tiring step-cutting on the gentler
slopes above the rocks, which, like the west face,
were sheathed in ice, we reached at last the south

155

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

end of the little flat ridge which forms the summit of
the Dent Blanche, where a small flagstaff is usually
to be seen. Here there was an enormous snow cornice
which overhung the eastern side. The little cloud
merely clung to the cornice on the ridge, and evidently
had no malice in it at all. None of us put down the
time at which we reached the top. One of us thinks
that it was just after four o'clock, but the memory of the
two others is clear that it was between three and four ;
at any rate, of this we are all agreed, that it was
not so late as 4.12, the hour when the author of
Scrambles in the Alps reached the summit in bad
weather. My watch, being out of order, was left at
Zermatt.

" We left directly, and in less than a minute were
out of the little cloud, which was uncommonly
cold, and again we revelled in bright sunshine. We
were under no apprehension of danger, nor had
we any reason whatever to be anxious, as our way
was clear enough : there was no doubt about that.
We were in capital training, and we had, most
certainly, a sufficiency of daylight still left to allow us
to get well beyond every difficulty upon the mountain.
Moreover, Solly, with his usual instinctive thoughtful-
ness, carried a lantern in his pocket, and we had left
another lower down. Thus we had a most reasonable
expectation of reaching the Stockje that evening, and

Zermatt early the next morning.

156

It on the Col de Bertol, where climbers now often
5;leep for the ascent of the Dent Blanche.

Bv Mr. Leonard Rawlence.

.\ party ascending the Aiguilles Rouges (Aijolla). The

people can be seen on the sky-line to the left, at the

top of the white streak.

By Mr. Leonard Rawlence.

f>^-,4kV*^f

'I he Miiiimit of the Dent Blanclie.

By Mr. Leonard Rawlence.

'I'l fice }'. 156.

Cornice on the .•juninlit of the Dent Blanche.

By Mr. Leonard Rawlence.

NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

" When we had come down for about an hour,
we saw an occasional flash of lightning playing
about the Aiguilles Rouges d'Arolla. This was
the first indication that we had of foul weather.
Soon afterwards a dark cloud crept up ominously
over the shoulder of Mont Collon, and on to the
Pigne d'Arolla. Still no cloud seemed to threaten
us, but we hurried on very quickly.

" On arriving at the col, just above the great
rock tower, we turned down a little gully on the
west face. Here, though the work was exceedingly
difficult, we lost no time whatever, and undoubtedly
we chose the best route. The storm, meanwhile, had
crossed over the east Arolla ridge, and we saw
the lightning flashing about the Aiguille de la Za
and Dent Perroc, and the clouds, as they advanced,
grew more and more angry looking.

"We were advancing as quickly as the nature of
the ground would allow on a buttress which supports
the great tower on the west. It was then about six
o'clock. We had, at the most, only 150 feet of
difficult ground to get over, when a dark and dense
cloiid fell upon us, and it became, suddenly and
almost without any warning, prematurely dark.
Our axes emitted electric sparks, or rather faint
but steady little flames, on both the adze and pick
part ; so also did our gloves, the hair of which stood
out quite straight. A handkerchief, which I had

157

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

tied over my hat, was like a tiara of light. This
was very uncanny, but still deeply interesting. The
sparks, when touched by the bare hand or the cheek,
gave out no heat. There was no hissing to be heard
on our axes or on the rocks, but Solly felt a sort of
vibration about the spectacles which were on his
forehead that he did not at all like, so he put them
under his hat,

" Under ordinary circumstances we should have put
away our axes until the storm should had passed away.
Of course we did not do this, nor indeed would any
other member of the Alpine Club have done so if
he had had the good fortune to be with us. We
wished to get across the 150 feet which was the only
difficulty yet remaining before us. Each one of us
was quite capable of undertaking the work, and, in
spite of the unusual darkness, we had sufficient light
for the purpose.

" Solly was leading across a difficult bit of rock,
and clearing away the ice ; Haskett-Smith was pay-
ing out the rope as required ; I was perched firmly
at the bottom end of a narrow and steep ledge round
the corner of a crag above them with the rope firmly
hitched. We were all working steadily and most
carefully, and hoped in a few minutes to clear our
last difficulty. All at once the whole mountain
side seemed to be ablaze, and at the same time there
was a muzzled, muffled, or suppressed peal of thunder,

158

NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

apparently coming out of the interior of the mountain
— so much so that, if a great crevice had been opened
in the rocks and fire had burst out from it, we should
hardly have been more surprised than we were.
Solly and Haskett-Smith each exclaimed, ' My axe
was struck,' and each of them, naturally enough,
let his axe go. Where to none knev/. Solly, de-
scribing this, says, * At the moment I was standing
with my face towards the mountain, with my right
arm stretched out, feeling for a firm foothold with
my axe, which I held just under its head. For
perhaps a minute the lightning was coming very
fast ; then came the noise, and I saw a curve of
flame on the head of my axe. I involuntarily let it
go. The whole place seemed one blaze of light,
and I could distinguish nothing. The thought that
rushed through my mind was — Am I blinded? the
intensity of the light was so terrible. It is difficult
to put such events in any order of time; but I
think the noise or explosion came first, before the
blaze of light, and the light seemed to flicker as if
a series of flashes were coming. I hardly know
whether my body or any part of my clothing was
actually struck. My axe certainly was, and I think
the rocks just by me were.'

" Haskett-Smith said that his neck was burnt, and
we saw later that a dark-brown band, an inch and
a quarter wide, had been burnt exactly half way

^59

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

round his neck. I was untouched. All the sparks
disappeared with the flash.

" Now the matter was serious enough, as we had
only one axe, and we felt that we had had a most
providential escape. There is little doubt that, if
this had occurred upon the crest of the ridge above
us, the electric current would have been much
stronger, and the consequences much worse.

" My two companions then climbed up to the little
ledge where I was sitting, to wait at least until the
storm should pass away. Whilst Solly was doing
this, a tremendous gust of wind swept up from the
N.W., and nearly carried him off his feet.

" The storm lasted much longer than we expected it
to do, and by the time it had vanished it was quite
dark. All climbers will readily agree with me when
I say that the storm, seen from such a point of view,
where the mountain forms are so wild, and their
guardian glaciers so vast and glittering, was inde-
scribably grand — so much so that, even under our
circumstances, there was a kind of grim enjoyment
which we could not help feeling.

" I put my axe upon a higher ledge for safety's sake.
When the storm had gone by we took stock of our
goods. Solly had a lantern. We each had two shirts,
scarfs, and unusually warm clothing. We had plenty
of food, some cold tea, and a flask of brandy. We
knew well that we must stop where we were until

i6o

NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

morning. It was hard luck :ertainly, as there was
only one narrow prison moat between us and freedom.
Once over these 1 50 feet, we could have reached the
Stockje by lantern light. Of this I am certain. But
no man living could cross the moat except in day-
light.

" Haskett - Smith, who is a marvellous man for
making all sort of hitches, knots, and nooses, managed
to get a capital hitch for our rope, and lashed us to the
rock most skilfully. The ledge was steep, and varied
from 1 1 to 2 feet wide. As we could not sit back to
back, which is the best plan when possible, we did
the next best thing, and sat, squatted, or leaned, face
to back. Solly, who sat at the bottom, had a loose
piece of friable rock which supported one foot. I
was in the middle, with my knees up to my chin,
on a steep slope, but was supported by Solly's back
and by a singularly sharp little stone on which I
squatted. Haskett-Smith leaned with his back
against a corner, and with his knees against my back.
Each of us had a rucksack, which helped to keep out
the cold. We made a good meal of potted meat,
bread, chocolate, and an orange, and left a box of
sardines and other food for the morning.

" Several short but heavy snow and hail showers

fell after the thunderstorm had subsided, but we were

thankful that there was no rain. The wind got up

too, and whistled wildly through the crags above us.
L 161

ADVENTURES ON THE "ROOF OF THE WORLD

Fortunately, a screen of rock above our ledge partly
sheltered us. We faced a grim and grisly little
pinnacle on the west face of the mountain, which
became, hour after hour, if possible, more ghostly.
How we did hate it, to be sure. A light in a chalet
near Ferpecle shone like a beacon for some hours,
which was a pleasant contrast to the near view of the
ghost, but it seemed to be a terribly long way off.
We kept up our spirits capitally, and from previous
experience I, at least, knew how thankful we ought
to be that no member of our party was of a
pessimistic turn of mind. At the same time, we
were fully aware how serious the matter was, but we
were determined to get well through it, helped, we
trusted, by a power not our own.

" Our greatest trouble during the night arose from
the consciousness that Mr Schuster, Herr Seller, and
other friends at Zermatt would be very anxious about
us, and we often spoke of it with regret.

" We were most careful to keep moving our hands
and feet all the night, and, though the temptation to
indulge in sleep was very great, we denied ourselves
this luxury. After two o'clock an increased vigilance
was necessary, as the sky became clearer, and the
cold much more intense. Mr Aitkin's guides, who
were then bivouacking above the Stockje, 'com-
plained much of the cold.' We probably suffered

less than they did, as, at our great altitude, the air

162

NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

was doubtless much drier than below. At the same
time, gentlemen who were occupying comfortable
beds in luxurious hotels in the Vispthal thought the
night was unusually warm. Haskett-Smith imagined
the whole night that Solly was another member of
the A.C., and invariably addressed him by the wrong
name. This hallucination was, no doubt, the result
of the electric shock.

" Shortly before 5 A.M. we opened our sardine-
box, which was no easy task, as our outer gloves
were like iron gauntlets. We made a good meal
of petrified fish, frozen oranges, and bread. We
avoided our brandy-flask like poison on the whole
expedition.

"We soon discovered the lost axes below us, half
embedded in hard snow. Then we began to move.
Solly took my axe, and with much difficulty, and
at the expense of a good deal of time, cut down to
and recovered one of the missing ones. We found,
however, that it was then far too cold, and we were
too benumbed to work safely, so we returned to
our ledge again until eight o'clock. Long before this
hour the ghostly pinnacle was gilded by the morning
sun, and, if possible, we hated it more than ever,
as no warm rays could reach the place where we
were for hours to come. On telling several of the
leading guides in Zermatt about waiting until eight
o'clock on the ledge, they all said that it was quite

163

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

early enough for us to move after spending a night
out in the cold, and that they had done exactly the
same under similar circumstances. We were sure
we were right ; still their testimony is valuable.
Messrs Kennedy and Hardy, when they had their
' Night Adventure on the Bristenstock,' say they
were ' obliged to stamp about for some twenty
minutes in order to restore circulation, or we should
not have had sufficient steadiness to have continued
our descent in safety.' Well, these gentlemen
had neither waistcoats nor neckties, and had only
a lump of bread and one bottle of wine. We were
at least well fed and warmly clad, but we had no
room to stamp about. Having now two axes, we
were able to work again with renewed confidence
in our powers. We saw the third axe lying half
imbedded in the snow a long way below us, and
about a rope's length from some firm rocks. The
hail and snow, which had partly covered the rocks,
increased the difficulty, and the ice in which we had
to cut steps was unusually hard. In fact, our 150
feet were gained with much difficulty, and, by the
exercise of great caution and severe labour, at last,
after much time and manoeuvring, we recovered the
third axe, and were indeed happy.

" Two minutes later we stood in bright sunshine,
and such was its invigorating power that in ten
minutes all our stiffness had vanished. My hat

164

NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

blew off here, and rolled on its stiffened brim at a
tremendous pace down a couloir of ice. Fortunately,
I had a woollen helmet which Miss Richardson had
knitted for me. We hastened on very quickly in
order to relieve, as soon as possible, the anxiety which
we well knew our friends at Zermatt were enduring.

"When on the snow ridge between points 3912
metres and 3729 metres we heard voices far below
us on the west, and soon saw what we knew after-
wards to be Mr Aitkin, Imboden, and a porter.
They had abandoned their intention of climbing
the Dent Blanche 'on account of bad weather.'
Indeed, Miss Richardson, who had spent the night
at the Stockje, was told by Imboden that 'in such
weather it would be impossible, and probably would
remain so for a day or two ; therefore, they might as
well go to Ferpecle and do another col the next day.'

" Seeing that the party were above the route to
Ferpecle, we knew at once that they were looking
for us. Imboden shouted out to us, ' Where do you
come from?' We pointed to the Dent Blanche,
and they immediately turned towards Zermatt, and
we only missed them by about five minutes at the
usual breakfast place.

" Now, as we knew that there was no need for us to
hurry, we rested, and made a most hearty breakfast,
as we had left on the rocks a whole chicken, some
ham, bread, plums, and a bottle of white wine.

16s

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

" On crossing the glacier to the Wandfluh rocks
our axes and rucksacks hissed Hke serpents for a
long time, while we saw in the distance the storm
which overtook Mr Macdonald on the Lyskamm
that very morning ; and none of us liked the renewal
of electric energy, which may well be believed. A
heavy mist also threatened us. Mr Aitkin had a
similar experience to ours.

" We descended by way of the Wandfluh, and above
the Stockje untied the rope which we had had on
for thirty-eight hours ; and such is the virtue of the
Alpine knot that we were as firmly tied at the end
of this time as we were when we first put on the
rope.

" On the Zmutt Glacier we bathed our hands
repeatedly in the glacier pools as a safeguard against
possible frost-bites with entirely satisfactory results.
On the glacier we were delighted to meet Mr E. T.
Hartley, who welcomed us most warmly, and told us
of the anxiety of our friends ; he, however, and one
good lady in Zermatt said all the time that we
should return safe and sound again. Just off the
glacier we met three porters provided with blankets
and provisions sent by the kind thoughtfulness of
Mr Schuster and Herr Seller.

" We rested at the Staffel Alp, where we had some

most refreshing tea, and reached Zermatt in the

evening."

i66

CHAPTER X

ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

T AM indebted to Mr Harold Spender, the author
-*" of a fine description of the accident in 1899
on the Dent Blanche, for permission to reprint the
greater portion of it, and also to the proprietors of
McClure's Magazine and of The Strand Magazine,
in which publications it first appeared. The safe
return of one of the party is alluded to in The
Alpine Journal 2,s one of the most wonderful escapes
in the whole annals of mountaineering.

"Mr F. W. Hill, whose narrative in The Alpine
Journal necessarily forms the best evidence as to
the incidents, says that it was Glynne Jones who
wanted to climb the Dent Blanche by its western
arete — a notably difficult undertaking, and one that
has probably only twice been achieved.

" Glynne Jones had discussed the possibilities of the
undertaking with his own guide, Elias Furrer, of
Stalden, and they had come to the conclusion that
the conditions were never likely to be more favour-
able than in this August of 1899. Glynne Jones,

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therefore, asked Mr Hill to accompany them, and
to bring along with him his own guide, Jean
Vuignier, of Evolena. Both guides knew their
climbers very well ; for Furrer had been with
Glynne Jones on and off for five years, and Vuignier
had climbed at Zermatt with Hill the year before.
But Mr Hill, who had promised to take his wife
to Zermatt over the Col d'Herens, refused to go.
Glynne Jones accordingly secured a second guide in
Clemens Zurbriggen, of Saas-F6e, a young member
of a great climbing clan. Vuignier, however, was
so disappointed at his employer's refusal, that Mr
Hill, finding that his wife made no objection, finally
consented to join the party. Thus, with the addition
of Mr Hill and his guide, the expedition numbered
five members. They left Arolla on Sunday morning,
27th August, with a porter carrying blankets. They
intended to sleep on the rocks below the arete.
Arriving at the Bricolla chalets, a few shepherds'
huts high up the mountain, at four in the afternoon,
they changed their minds, sent the blankets down to
Arolla, and slept in the huts.

" They started at three o'clock in the morning in
two parties, the first consisting of Furrer, Zurbriggen,
and Jones, roped in that order, and the second of
Vuignier and Hill. They crossed the glacier and
reached the ridge in good time. ' It was soon very

evident,' says Mr Hill in his narrative, 'that the

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ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

climbing was going to be difficult, as the rocks were
steep slabs, broken and easy occasionally, but, on
the whole, far too smooth.' Rock-climbers do not
particularly care how steep a rock may be so long
as it is broken up into fissures which will give hold
to the feet and hands. In the steepest mountains
of the Dolomite region, for instance, the rocks are
thus broken, and therefore mountains can be climbed
easily which, from their bases, look absolutely in-
accessible.

" As they progressed up and along the ridge the
climbing became more and more difficult. They
had to go slowly and with extreme caution, and
often they were in doubt as to the best way to
proceed. Sometimes, indeed, there seemed no
possible route. In these places Furrer, who seems
to have been accepted as the leader of the party,
would detach himself from the rope and go forward
to find a passage.

" On entering upon this part of the climb the two
parties had joined ropes, and were now advancing
as one, and roped in this order — Furrer, Zurbriggen,
Glynne Jones, Vuignier, and Hill.

" It is evident that between nine o'clock and ten
climbing had become exceedingly arduous. ' In two
or three places,' says Mr Hill, 'the only possible
way was over an overhanging rock up which the
leader had to be pushed and the others helped from

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above and below.' This gives us a graphic picture
of the nature of the climb. Nothing is more fatigu-
ing than to climb over a rock which is in the least
degree overhanging. Mr Hill tells me that Furrer
showed him his finger-tips at breakfast-time — 9 A.M.
— and that they were severely cut.

" Yet no one must imagine for an instant that the
party was in the least degree puzzled or vexed.
There is nothing so exhilarating as the conflict with
danger, and it generally happens in climbing a
mountain that the party is merriest at the most
difficult places. Mr Hill, indeed, tells us that they
were in the ' highest spirits.' ' Climbing carefully,'
he says, ' but in the highest spirits, we made good
progress, for at ten o'clock it was agreed we were
within an hour of the summit' It was at this point
and time that the accident occurred.

" They had been forced below the ridge by the

difficulty of the rocks, and had come to a place

where their obvious route lay up a narrow gully,

or sloping chimney. On an ordinary day it is

possible that they would have found no difficulty

in going forward, but a few days before there had

been rain, and probably snow, on these high rock

summits. At any rate, the rocks were ' glazed ' ;

covered, that is, with a film of ice, probably snow

melted and re - frozen, just sufficiently thick to

adhere, and sufficiently slippery to make the fingers

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ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

'slither' over the rocks. If the cHmber cannot clear
away the ice with his ice-axe, he must go round
another way, and if the rocks are steep the first
course becomes obviously impossible. That was
the condition of affairs at ten o'clock on the morning
of 28th August 1899.

" In a party of five roped together, with 30 feet
of rope between each member, the amount of space
covered by the party will obviously be 40 yards ;
and it frequently happens that those who are roped
last cannot see the leaders. Mr Hill, as we have
seen, was roped last, and by the time he reached the
level of the other climbers Furrer had already
turned away from the gully and was attempting to
climb to the ridge by another route. To the left of
the gully in front of them was a vertical rock face
stretching for about 30 feet. Beyond this was a
smooth-looking buttress some 10 feet high, by
climbing which the party could regain the ridge.
When Hill came up with the rest, Furrer was already
attempting to climb this buttress.

" But the buttress was quite smooth, and Furrer
was at a loss to find a hold. Unable to support
himself, he called to Zurbriggen to place an axe
under his feet for him to stand on. In this way he
might be able to reach with his hands to the top of
the buttress. There was nothing unusual in this
method of procedure. In climbing difficult rocks,

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

when the hand-holds are far up, it is frequently the
custom to help the climber by placing an ice-axe
under his feet. But in this case Furrer discovered
that he could not climb the buttress with the help
of Zurbriggen alone, and he would probably have
done more wisely if he had abandoned the attempt.
But, instead of that, he called Glynne Jones to help
Zurbriggen in holding him up.

" ' Apparently,' says Mr Hill, ' he did not feel safe,
for he turned his head and spoke to Glynne Jones,
who then went to hold the axe steady.'

" From Mr Hill's own explanations the situation
was as follows : The leading climber, Furrer, was
grasping the rock face, standing on an ice-axe held
vertically by Zurbriggen and Glynne Jones. These
two were forced, in order to hold the ice-axe securely,
to crouch down with their faces to the ground, and
were, therefore oblivious of what was going on above
them. But the important point is, that their four
hands were occupied in holding the ice-axe, and
that as they were standing on a narrow ledge, with
a very sharp slope immediately below, these two
men were in a helpless position. They were unready
to stand a shock. Thus, at the critical moment, out
of a party of five climbers, three had virtually cast
everything on a single die !

" Mr Hill, standing level with the rest of the party,

could see quite clearly what was happening. He

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ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

was about 60 feet distant from them, the guide
Vuignier being roped between them at an equal
distance of some 30 feet from each. Furrer
could now stand upright on the axe, which was
firmly held by four strong hands, and could reach
with his own fingers to the top of the buttress. It
was a perilous moment. It is the rule with skilled
climbers that you should never leave your foot-hold
until you have secured your hand-hold. The natural
issue would have been that Furrer, finding it im-
possible to secure on the smooth rock a steady grip
with his hands, should have declined to trust himself.
But the science of the study is one thing and the
art of the mountain another. There are moments
when a man does not know whether he has secured
a steady grip or an unsteady, and the question can
only be answered by making the attempt. If the
party blundered at all, it was in allowing the second
and third men to be so completely occupied with
holding the axe that there was no reserve of power to
hold up Furrer in case of a slip. But it is easy to
speak after the event.

" What Hill now saw was this : He saw Furrer
reach his hands to the top of the buttress, take a grip,
and attempt to pull himself up. But his feet never
left the ice-axe beneath, for in the process of gripping
his hands slipped. And then, as Hill looked, Furrer's
body slowly fell back. It seemed, he has told him-

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

self, to take quite a long time falling. Furrer fell
backwards, right on to the two oblivious men beneath
him, causing them to collapse instantly, knocking
them off their standing-place, and carrying them
with him in his fall from the ridge. ' All three,' says
Mr Hill in his narrative, ' fell together.' Instinctively
he turned to the wall to get a better hold of the
rock, and therefore did not see the next incident in
the fatal sequence. Vuignier, as we have seen, was
standing 30 feet from the first three, and the
weight of three human bodies swinging at the end
of the rope must have come directly on him. He
was, apparently, taken by surprise, and immediately
pulled off the rock. Hill heard that terrible sound
— the scuffle and rattle of stones that meant the
dragging of a helpless human being into space —
and he knew, or thought he knew, that his own
turn would come in a moment ; but as he clung there
to the rock, waiting for the inevitable end, there was
a pause. Nothing happened.

" After a few endless seconds of time he faced round
and found himself alone. Looking down, he saw
his four companions sliding down the precipitous
slopes at a terrific rate, without a cry, but with
arms outstretched, helplessly falling into the abyss.
Between him and them, and from his waist, there
hung 30 feet of rope swinging slowly to and fro.
The faithful Vuignier had probably fastened the

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ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

rope securely round some point of rock to protect
his master. The full weight of the four bodies had
probably expended itself on the rock-fastening of
the rope, and thereby saved the life of the fifth
climber. Dazed and astonished to find himself still
in the land of the living, Mr Hill stood for some
time watching his comrades fall, until, sickened, he
turned away to face his own situation.

" It was not very promising. He was without
food, drink, or warm clothing. No man alone could
climb down by the ridge up which those five experts
had climbed in the morning. And in front lay a
difficulty which had already destroyed his friends
when attempting to overcome ;t by mutual help.
It seemed impossible.

" Perhaps it was fortunate that Hill was not only
a mathematician, but a man of characteristic mathe-
matical temperament — cool, unemotional, long-headed.
Most men in his situation would have gone mad.
Some would have waited right there till starvation
overcame them or a rescue party arrived. But there
was little or no chance of a rescue party, and Mr
Hill was certainly not the man to wait for starvation.
It was a curious irony that probably at that very
moment there was a party on the summit of the
Dent Blanche. Mr Hill's party had seen two
climbers on the south arete at half-past eight o'clock,
and again about an hour later. At this moment

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

they were probably at the summit. But Mr Hill
had no means of communicating with them, and
the hour's climb which lay between him and them
might as well have been the length of Europe. An
hour later he himself heard a faint ' cooey ' (the party
were probably on the way down) — a jovial, generous
hail from men unconscious of any catastrophe.

" Mr Hill's immediate task was to regain the
ridge and reach the summit. At the moment of
the accident he was some 60 feet from the fatal
buttress, and now wisely made no attempt to get
near it. Instead, he moved to circumvent the
glazed gully from its other side. After long
and tedious efforts, lasting for a period of time
which he cannot now even approximately estimate,
he succeeded in his flanking movement, and finally,
with great labour and peril, climbed back to the
ridge by a slope of frozen snow and ice broken with
rocks. It would be difficult to imagine anything
more terrible than this lonely climb over ice-covered
rocks, the painful cutting of steps up an almost
precipitous wall, with a precipice many thousand
feet deep at his back, down which the smallest slip
would send him to certain death. But at last he
regained the ridge, and the difficulties of ascent were
now mainly overcome. In about another hour he
found himself on the summit — a solitary, mournful
victor. It was there he heard the shout from the

176

ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

other party. But he could not see them or
make them hear, and so he made his way down
with all reasonable speed, hoping to overtake
them.

" Hill had climbed the Dent Blanche in the previous
year with a guided party, and therefore, to some
extent, knew the route. Without much difficulty
he was able to follow the ridge as far as possible
down to the lowest gendarme, a pile of rock with
a deep, narrow fissure. Then a sudden mist hid
everything from view, and it was impossible to see
the way off the gendarme. He tried several routes
downward in the mist, but at last wisely resolved
to wait till it lifted. While he was searching, a
snow-storm and a cold wind came up. ' They
drove me,' says Mr Hill in his plam way, ' to seek
shelter in the lee of the rocks.' There he tied
himself with his rope, and, to avoid the danger of
falling off in a moment of sleep, still further secured
himself by an ice-axe wedged firmly in front of
him — poor protections to a man absolutely without
food or wraps, clinging to the side of an abyss in
the searching cold and stormy darkness of mist
and snow, wedged under the eave of an over-
hanging rock, and only able to sit in a cramped
posture. But Mr Hill was no ordinary man. If
the Fates were asking for his life he determined

to sell it dearly, sustained in his resolve by the
M 177

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

thought of that waiting wife, unconscious of ill,
below in Zermatt.

" It must have been, at this time, past mid-day on
Monday, 28th August

" The storm lasted all that Monday, and Monday
night, and Tuesday morning. All through those
dreadful hours of darkness Hill sat in the cleft of
rock, sleeping most of the time, but always half-
frozen with the cold, and whenever he awoke obliged
to beat himself to regain his natural warmth.
Happily, he was well protected against the falling
snow by the eave of the overhanging rock, but
it covered his knees and boots, causing him intense
cold in the feet.

" At last, at mid-day on Tuesday, the mist cleared
and the sun shone again in a sky of perfect blue.
He could now resume his descent. To climb
over snow-covered rocks in a roped party is difficult
enough, but to do it alone is to risk your life many
times over. But there was no alternative.

"At last the rocks ended and the worst of the
peril was over. He had reached the snow arete,
where not even the heavy fall of snow had quite
obliterated the tracks of those who had gone in
front of him. These helped him to find his way.
But the steps had mostly to be recut, and that must
have been very fatiguing after his previous ex-
periences. The next difficulty was the lower part

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ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

of the Wandfluh, a bold wall of rock which leads
down first to the Schonbuhl and then to the Zmutt
Glaciers, and which, at its base, ends in a steep
precipice that can be descended only by one gully.
Here Mr Hill's memory failed him. He could not
remember which was the right gully. This was,
perhaps, the most terrible trial of all. If he could
find that gully his task was almost accomplished.
The rest of the descent to Zermatt is little more
than a walk. But hour after hour passed ; he
descended gully after gully, only to find himself
blocked below by one precipice after another. In
one of these attempts he dropped his ice-axe, without
which he could never hope to return alive. Unless
he could recover it he was a dead man. But, no, it
was not quite lost. There it lay, far below him, on
the rocks. Slowly and painfully he descended
the gully to fetch it. At last he reached it. In
this quest he wasted a whole hour!

" At last he discovered a series of chimneys to the
extreme right of the Wandfluh and leading down to
the glacier. Letting himself down these steep
chimneys, he found himself at last, on Tuesday
evening, on the high moraines of the Zmutt Glacier.
He must have reached the glacier about six o'clock,
but he had only the sun to reckon by. Here the
steep descent ends, and there is but a stony walk

of two and a half hours down the glacier by a path

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

which leads to the Staffel Alp Inn. The sun set
while he was still on the moraine, and he has a
vivid recollection of seeing the red 'Alpengluh' on
Monte Rosa. But as the darkness grew it became
more and more difficult to keep to the path.

" Here at last his marvellous strength began to
fail him. He had no snow-glasses, and his eyes were
suffering from the prolonged glare of the snow. A
sort of waking trance fell on him. As he stumbled
forward, over the stones of that horrible moraine,
he imagined that his companions were still alive and
with him. He kept calling to them to 'come
along.' ' It is getting late, you fellows,' he shouted ;
come along.'

"At last he was brought up by a great rock. In
the darkness he had wandered below the path.
The rock entirely barred his way. He had a
vague illusion that it was a chalet, and wandered
round it searching for a door. At last he settled
down by it in a semi-conscious condition. Then
he must have fallen asleep, probably about ten
o'clock. The sleep lasted about twelve hours, and
was better than meat and drink. To most men
it would have ended in death.

"When he woke up at ten o'clock on Wednesday
morning, in broad daylight, he soon saw that he
had been sleeping quite near the path. A few
minutes' scramble brought him back to it, and he

1 80

ALONE ON THE DENT BLANCHE

soon came to a little wooden refreshment-house,
about an hour below the Staffel Inn, which he
had passed in the darkness. He went up to the
woman at the hut and asked for some beer ! He
had only fifty centimes in his pocket ; one of
his dead companions had held the purse. He
volunteered no complaint; but the woman was
sympathetic, and soon found out whence he came.
She then gave him a little milk and some dry
bread — all she had. After a short rest he resumed
his way to Zermatt, distant about half an hour,
and reached the village at 11.30. As he was
walking down the main street past the church he
met his wife.

" He told her simply what had happened. Then
he had lunch. ' I was now ravenous,' he says,
' and devoured a beefsteak, with the help of a glass
of whisky and soda, and a bottle of champagne.'
Within an hour or two he was entirely recovered."

181

CHAPTER XI

A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA

A MONGST the many rock scrambles in the
neighbourhood of St Martino in the
Dolomites of Tyrol, the Rosetta when ascended
by the western face can be counted on to awaken
an interest in the most stolid of climbers. I am
indebted to the courtesy of a girl friend for the
loan of her mountaineering diary, and permission
to make extracts from its very interesting contents,
of which her account of an ascent of the Rosetta
will, I feel sure, be read with keen enjoyment by
climbers and non-climbers alike. That a young
English girl on her first visit to the mountains
should carry out with such success so difficult an
expedition, is much to the credit of both herself
and her guides. Her brother accompanied her,
and the climb took place on loth August 1898.

" A cautious bang at my door, a faint ' Si ! '
from me, and steps departing. Then I lit a
candle and dressed. But it was the critical
moment when the dawn comes jquickly, and I

182

A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA

blew it out in five minutes and watched the blue
light brighten on the dusky outlines of the white
church and houses. The Cimone was growing
pink as I got on my heavy hob-nailed boots, and,
taking my tennis shoes also, I tramped softly
down to breakfast. Bettega, our leading guide, was
there, with his cordial smile and hand-shake, and

G and Tavernaro soon appeared. We were off

before long, taking with us a porter in addition

to the two guides, and G and I let Bettega see

plainly that we thought this a little superfluous,
but later on we were glad we had him. I must
admit that I never met such good-natured and
thoughtful guides, nor such excellent ones. After
passing through forest, we had to ascend up steep
shingle, and as this steepened I reeled a little, my
feet being not as yet well used to this sort of
work. Bettega, however, put his hand behind him,
I crooked my fingers into his, and that gave me
all the balance I needed. Finally we crossed some
snow, and sitting on a little platform under a
towering rock, we perceived that the way we were
to ascend the Rosetta would be a very different
experience to the climb by the ordinary route.

" At this point I took off my skirt, and removed
my boots, putting on tennis shoes instead. The
rubber soles of these are far safer than nails on
the smooth and slabby Dolomite rock.

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

" The guides jabbered between themselves ;
Bettega smiled sublimely and looked utterly in his
element, but Tavernaro seemed rather subdued ;
he is under the moral influence of Bettega, for
though Tavernaro may have more education and
cleverness he rounds upon his comrade at times
owing to his excitable disposition. But on the
mountains he slinks at Bettega's elbow, as the two
roll along with the peculiar mountaineer's bending
stride on level ground, and Tavernaro never asks
a price or arranges for an excursion without con-
sulting Bettega. But, on the other hand, Bettega
lives in fear of Tavernaro's lively tongue, so it is
about balanced !

" Having finished our meal, we set off. I was roped
to Bettega, who led. After about five minutes
Bettega, who till then had held in his hand all the
rope we were not using, dropped it in a big coil, and
told me to ' Remain firm ' where I was. He then
climbed upwards for a few minutes, but I did not
watch, for though my head had not swum at all as
yet, I wasn't too sure of it, and the rock face was
very sheer, so I neither looked up nor down, but
sat with my cheek against the rock and held on !
But all went merrily. Tavernaro occasionally placed
one of my feet, which was placeless, and we got
up the first camino, or rocky chimney, fairly well.
'Wait a moment, signorina,' said Bettega, and then

184

A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA

he disappeared overhead — literally disappeared, for
he was quite hidden when he cried cheerily, ' Come !
Come!' I got up, and found a very small posto
or tiny platform on which to wait, with a disagreeably
obtrusive precipice below it. Above was a second
camino, which looked smooth and gloomy. I leant
affectionately against the rock, pondering deeply
of anything except ' empty space.' * The signorina
is all right there?' enquired Bettega solicitously.
' To be sure she is ! ' cried Tavernaro gaily, as he
leant over me against the rock. Then up clomb

Bettega, and G advanced slowly and surely

from below. As the minutes went by I shut my
eyes, and was gloomily thankful when the summons
came from above. Looking up, I could just see
Bettega's bushy black head and flannel cap couched
amongst the rocks. Fifteen feet up the camino a big
stone was wedged, and between this and the back of
the chimney one had to pass, emerging above at the

top of the wall. G having now reached \ki&posto^

I began to go up, with Tavernaro closely following
me. Bit by bit I climbed ; a grab, a hoist, a foot
tucked into a crevice on either side of the camino, a
long reach with my arm, a steady pull — and like-
wise, it must be confessed, a pull from the rope! —
and so up, up again. The rock wall was abominably
straight and holeless. Under the stone, with the
three members placed on ledges or in cracks, I in

i8s

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

vain sought a point of rest for the fourth before
hauling. ' Good heavens ! ' I exclaimed in melan-
choly undertones, and a gurgling chuckle from below-
showed that Tavernaro sympathised. ' Here you are,
signorina,' he said, giving me his shoulder for a
momentary foot-hold. With that instant of support
I swung up on to the stone, and so to the next posto

sicuro, or safe spot. G came up without help,

but he assured me that it was a really hard place.

"Of course I don't pretend I did it all myself.
Quite half a dozen times I doubt if I could have
got up without material aid from the cord, or from
Tavernaro below. Once, in a camino, the latter gave
me a butt with his head, which made me reflect how
great a man was lost to the game of football, while
the way he placed my feet was a great help to one
who, as a novice, had not yet learnt to study the
foot-holds in advance.

" We now reached a place where a third camino

ran up above us, while an awkward traverse led

to another on the right. Here I heard Tavernaro

remonstrate with Bettega on the route he had taken,

but the latter said, very decidedly, that he intended

going straight on, so Tavernaro, as usual, subsided, but

became very quiet. He had never before ascended

this camino, which was a discovery of Bettega's, but

no doubt he had heard about it.

" We began to climb it, Bettega first and I following
i86

A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA

him closely. It had rained heavily the previous day,
and all the loose stones had been washed to the
very edge of the ledges. Not having been cautioned
about these, and intent on getting up, I let several fall.
' Hi ! Gently with the stones ! ' gasped Tavernaro
from below, and when he reached my side I saw
that his knuckles were bleeding. ' Have you hurt
yourself? ' I enquired. ' No, it is you who have done
it, and you've twice nearly killed your brother,' he

replied, but G told me to tell Tavernaro he had

sent down a much worse stone than any of mine,
whereat he looked resigned, and remarked, ' Oh, yes,
these things can't always be avoided.'

" ' Stay quietly where you are, and wait till I tell
you to come on,' Bettega now remarked. I crouched
in a very narrow chimney for a little, watched not —
a hundred pities— and heard Bettega go up beyond.
Not more than three minutes elapsed before his deep
voice sang out : ' Now, come up ! ' and though I
replied : ' I'm coming,' I wondered how I was to do
it. We were near the top of the chimney. Further
up, it became too narrow for any human form to
squeeze into. One had therefore to come out of it
to the right and climb up and over a huge bulging
mass of rock about 15 feet high, which overhung
the precipice. This mass of gently bulging rock
was worn smooth by rain and stones. There was

no proper foot-hold, hardly the tiniest crack. How

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

had Bettega managed it? I got up the cold, damp
chimney as far as I could, leant gasping against
the rock, and felt near the end of my courage.

Tavernaro was stowed away yards below, G also

out of sight, Bettega invisible above. There was
just the cord, pulling me away from the inhospitable
rocks, and at my very heels an abyss of 2000 feet,
I made one bold grab on the smooth wall, but
speedily retired to the end of the camino, and feebly
yelled, 'Wait! Ah, I can't do it!' 'All right!
Catch hold of this cord ! ' came the answer, and a
loop of rope was let slowly down. I seized it,
contrived to get one foot on to a tiny, weeny point,
came out of the chimney, and heard Bettega call,
' To the right, signorina ! ' 'To the right ; that's
all very well ! ' I muttered fiercely, and felt my
hand slipping ; my foot gave, my fingers ran down
the rope, the cord round my waist tightened, I
pushed my arm through the loop of the free rope
with one last effort, and then finding no support
of any kind for my feet, was ignominiously pulled,
kicking, up the precipice by Bettega, who, firmly
fixed with both feet against rocks, hauled me up
most joyously hand over hand.

" ' But, Michele, how did you manage to get up ? '
I panted, as I sank on a ledge, and gazed in awed
admiration at him. ' Well, not like that, signorina ! '
he said, with his honest laugh ; ' I really came up

188

A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA

by pressure. There are no hand-grips, so you have
to do without.' 'It's marvellous! It's stupendous!'
murmured I, really awed by the man's power. Then
we both listened for Tavernaro's coming, and a
proper little comedy, for us two at least, ensued.
Of course one could see nothing, the rock bulged
too much, but one could hear Tavernaro's voice
some 20 feet below, as he groped about, swearing
softly. Five minutes went by and all was still, so
Bettega began haranguing him. ' More to the right,
Tony ; you must come out, don't go too high in
the chimney ! ' Then — ' Look out, Tony, I'll send
you the rope-end ! ' But an ominous ' Nol quickly
answered this proposal. A guide's honour is very
sensitive on this point. Another three or four
minutes passed. ' How is Tavemaro getting on ? '
I whispered, and Bettega replied, smiling broadly,
* He wishes to try,'

" Some gasps from the direction of the chimney
were now heard, and Bettega again expostulated
gently. ' Look here, Tony, we are old friends ; take
the rope ! ' * Nol in gloomy defiance. ' Oh, if we
were alone it would be different, but we must not
keep the rest of the party waiting, and the signorina
may take cold.' This was all in patois, but I caught
some of it, and here struck in quickly, ' Oh, not at
all ! ' Bettega looked surprised, and resumed more
energetically his exhortations to Tony to pocket

189

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

his pride and accept the loop of rope. At last
Tony, who must have been within lo feet of the
top and so at the worst spot, suddenly jerked
on to the proffered cord, and was up the next
moment, hatless, with huge beads of sweat on his
forehead and his black hair as straight as matches.
There was a great rent in the side of one of his
hands, which bled profusely. What struck me
most, however, was the expression of suffering and
shaken confidence on his face. Tavernaro ranks
only second to Bettega and Zecchini, and was
asked to go to the Caucasus and other distant
mountains. He just stumbled to a safe spot, wrung
his left hand, and panted out, ' Jesu Maria ! it was
cruel ! ' I fear that Bettega's smile was more
triumphant than sympathetic. Nevertheless, he
enquired kindly for Tavernaro's hand, but for fully
two minutes the latter's loquaciousness was lost.
The look of anguish on his face meant, I think,
that he had seen death pretty near to him. He
told us that he went far too much into the crack
on the left, and had remained sticking in it till his
hands got so cold he feared he would lose his

grip. If he had, he was lost, and probably G

also, so he had actually held on with his head and

left his cap jammed in the crack. I called to G

to hook the rope over a point of rock in case
Tavernaro fell, and this he had done, but even

190

A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA

so the frightful jerk might have torn him down,
and in any case Tavernaro must have been either
killed or frightfully hurt, as he had, I should think,
about 30 feet of rope out.

" While I was in the throes of the difficult part,
Papa's cap fell off my head, but Tavernaro caught
it and brought it up. He was in an awful state of
mind about his own cap, which had his guide's
badge, etc., on it, and begged me to call down to

my brother about it. I did so, but G replied

several times with some asperity that he had
enough to do to get himself up. 'Why can't he
bring it up in his mouth ? ' cried Tavernaro ex-
citedly, and, in the end, G brought it in his belt.

" My opinion is that both G and Tavernaro

ran a great risk, and that Tavernaro was fully aware
of it, and, for a few minutes after, was not a little
shaken.

" After half an hour at this notable spot Bettega
resumed the ascent. * I hope we shall have nothing
more so difficult,' I said eagerly, and Bettega replied
soothingly that it became ' much less arduous,' but
the chimney we were now in was gloomy and
slippery, at best very sheer. The guides had resumed
their coats, which they had taken off for the bad bit.
At the end of the chimney we came to a high
overhanging wall, at the foot of which Tavernaro
and I reposed, while Bettega climbed over it and

191

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

disappeared. ' Come ! ' and I rose wearily. Bettega
kept that cord very tight on me, and it certainly,
as Tavernaro afterwards said, inclined to pull me
to the right, away from the best holds, for the wall
was comparatively easy, though perpendicular, and
I ought not to have swung out quite free from it !
But that is what I did. As I rose from the second
grip with the right hand, my muscles suddenly
relaxed, I lost hold, gave a sigh to signify ' It's no
good ! ' and swung clear out, dangling over 2000
feet of precipice on a single cord which nearly

cut me in two. G and Tavernaro were much

excited below, suddenly seeing me appear hurtling
overhead. Of course, in a moment, I swung in
again, grabbed afresh, and with terrific tightening
of the rope from Bettega, got up in no time. As

I swung in the air, I remember G , in a curiously

calm voice, asking, 'Are you all right?' and Tavernaro
crying, ' Don't be afraid, signorina, it's all right ! '

" Five minutes later we left the huge iron walls of
rock, and emerged suddenly on to the flat. Here
one realised what breadth and width meant, as
opposed to height and profundity. In two seconds
Bettega and I romped to the top, where the cairn
of stones marking the highest point rose, and shak-
ing hands heartily I gasped with intense feeling,
' O Michele, how grateful I am to you ! Twice
to-day I owe you my life ! ' a debt he utterly

192

A STIRRING DAY ON THE ROSETTA

disclaimed, remarking that whatever he had done
was merely in the day's work, and that on him
rested the responsibility of bringing us up that way ;
as of course it did. Our porter was waiting for us
on the summit, and we sat down there, while
Bettega and Tavernaro, still looking impressed, knelt
attentively to take off our light shoes and put on
our nailed boots instead."

The party descended by the ordinary route, a
pleasant change after all the difficult work they
had accomplished during the upward climb.

The foregoing account gives what is rare amongst
the descriptions beginners usually furnish of any-
thing particularly hard they may have undertaken,
for the writer has obviously jotted down, within a few
hours of her return, an exact impression of how
things struck her during the day. It is refreshing
to find some one who admits that at certain points
her courage nearly gave out, and at others that her
guide had to assist her with the rope, for we know
that while the very best climbers have had to train
their nerves and muscles before they became what
they are, some of the very worst are most ready to
exclaim that they never felt fear or accepted
assistance, and that a certain mountain up which they
were heaved like sacks of corn and let down like
buckets in a well is "a perfect swindle; any fool
could go up it ! " Unluckily, every fool does, and
N 193

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

each one prepares the way for an appallingly increas-
ing death-roll.

The ascent of the Rosetta by the western face
must not be condemned as an imprudent expedition
on the occasion just mentioned. True, there was a
novice in the party, but she was the only inexperi-
enced member of it. They had ample guiding power,
they were properly equipped, and they had good
weather. Tavernaro had an offer of help at the
critical moment, and availed himself of it when he
saw there was real danger. It will be noticed that
the four climbers were on two separate ropes. This
is usual in the Dolomites, but the majority of ex-
perienced mountaineers condemn the practice even
on rocks, while on snow it is positive madness. It
was owing to this, that, as related in the foregoing
narrative, the lady's brother and Tavernaro ran a
greater risk than was at all necessary.

194

CHAPTER XII

THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY

TGXORAXCE of what the future has in store is
often not a bad thing. Had I realised that at
the hour when we ought to have been at Zinal we
should be sitting — and for the second time in one
day — on the top of the Rothhorn, we should hardly
have set out in so light-hearted a fashion from the
little inn in the Trift Valley, above Zermatt, at
4 A.M. on 14th September 1895.

The party consisted of my two guides, Joseph and
Roman Imboden, father and son, and myself, and
our idea was to cross the fine peak of the Rothhorn,
13,855 feet high, from Zermatt to Zinal. I had been
up that mountain before, and so, on many previous
occasions, had Imboden, but, oddly enough, he had
never been down the other side. Roman, however,
had once or twice made the traverse, and, in any case,
we knew quite enough about the route from hear-
say to feel sure we could hit it off even without
Roman's experience.

Some fresh snow had fallen a few days previously,
195

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

and the slabby part of the Rothhorn on the north

side was unpleasantly white, besides which there was

a strong and bitterly cold wind. We pretty well

abandoned all idea of getting down on the other side

when we saw how unfavourably things were turning

out, and though I felt greatly disappointed I never

have and never would urge a guide in whom I have

confidence to undertake what he considers imprudent.

We left the matter open till the last minute, however,

and took both the knapsacks to the top, where we

arrived at 9.15.

Warming ourselves in a sunny and sheltered corner

of the by no means inhospitable summit, we had

some food and a pleasant rest. I cannot say if the

meal and the cheering effects of the sunshine made

things look different, but it is a fact that after,

perhaps, an hour's halt, Imboden shouldered his

knapsack and remarked to me, " Come along, ma'am,

as far as the end of the ridge ; we will just have a

look." Hope awakened in me, and scrambling to

my feet I followed him. The wind was certainly

high ; I had difficulty even on those easy rocks in

keeping my footing ; how, I wondered, should we

manage when the real climbing began ? I had read

of an arite of rock, little broader than one of the

blunt knives we had used at breakfast, and the idea

of passing along it with a shrieking gale trying to

tear us from our perch was not alluring. Presently

196

THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY

we reached the spot where one quits the gentle slope
and comparatively broad ridge, and embarks on the
profile of a slender and precipitous face of rock, with
nearly vertical forehead and small and infrequent
cracks for hands and feet. We were going to do
more than look at it, apparently ; we were about to
descend it, for without any further remark Imboden
began to get ready, letting Roman pass ahead.
Taking hold of the rope between his son and himself
he told me to stand aside while he gradually paid it
out as Roman went down. The first yard or two
consisted of slabs, set at a high angle. Then the
ridge abruptly curved over and one saw nothing but
air till the eye rested on the glacier thousands of feet
below. In a few minutes Roman had disappeared,
and the steady paying out of the rope alone indicated
that he was climbing downwards. After a time he
reached almost the end of his tether of about 30 feet
— for we were on a very long rope — and his father
called out, " Rope up ! " " Let the lady come to the
edge and give me a little more," came a voice from
far down. Putting the final loop into my hand and
bidding me sit down, Imboden held me hard by the
cord behind until the tautness of the piece between
Roman and me showed it was time to be moving
I then advanced very cautiously to what seemed
like the edge of the world. Turning round with
my face to the rock I had my first glance below.

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

Far down was the top of Roman's hat, and as he
saw the advancing soles of my boots he grinned
with appreciation, feeling that now we really were
embarked on the enterprise. " There's a good place
down here, ma'am, come along ! " he called up, with
one toe on a ledge 3 inches wide, two fingers
thrust into a crack, and the rope held out of his
way by being put, the remark concluded, between
his teeth. I had no doubt it was a nice place when
one got there, but meanwhile I had to make the
best use I could of my eyes to find a suitable assort-
ment of hand- and foot - holes. Soon I, too, was
clinging to the face of the precipice, and Imboden
was left above out of sight and before long almost
out of hearing. The wind here was far less trying
as we were sheltered by the topmost pinnacle of
the mountain. To me the feeling of danger from
a gale on a rock peak is due even more to the
difficulty of hearing what one's companions are
saying than to the risk of one's balance being
upset. It is extremely disconcerting, when a
climber, descending steep rocks and anxious to
make a long but perhaps an easy step downwards to
good foot-hold, calls for more rope, and is promptly
swung clear out into space by an invisible guide
above, who has misunderstood his orders. When a
party is accustomed to work together, this sort of

thing seldom happens, still it makes all the difference

198

THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY

in the pleasure of negotiating difficult rocks if the
air is calm.

Our only trouble now was owing to the fresh snow,
but this had partially consolidated, and we got down
steadily and safely, gradually leaving behind the
cold wind which whistled amongst the crags above.

It was early in the day, and we went slowly,
stopping once or twice to photograph where warm
and sheltered resting-places of comfortable propor-
tions tempted us to linger. The rocky knife edge
was unpleasantly sharp for the arms bent over it,
but useful ledges down the side helped to distribute
the weight and amuse and occupy the mind. When
finally we reached the end of the rocks, and had
nothing but snow between us and the Mountet Hut,
we considered ourselves as good as there, and made
a long halt on the last stones.

We were wrong, however. " My boy, I will go
ahead now," remarked Imboden, stepping off into
the snow. He went a few paces, and then looked
first all round him and lastly at us. " Blue ice ! " he
muttered, with intense disgust. " Blue ice right
down to the bottom ! " We shrugged our shoulders ;
Imboden was ahead doing the work ; we could
afford to be philosophical. I should not like to say
how many strokes of the axe each step required, but
the slope was steep, a slip could not be risked, and

Imboden hewed out great foot-holds in the slippery

199

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

wall. After this had gone on for some time he
paused, " Upon my word," remarked he, " it will take
us the rest of the day to get down at this rate ! I
shall try another way." So we turned and re-
mounted the slope, and sitting down once more on
the stones, Imboden traced out a possible route down
the face of the mountain, bearing diagonally across
it. It looked dullish ; besides, thought I, after all,
we don't particularly want to go to Zinal, Roman
put into words what, I think, sprung simultaneously
into both our minds, " Let us go back to Zermatt
over the top of the Rothhorn again ! " " Yes, let
us do that!" I exclaimed. Imboden gazed from
one to the other of us in amazement, "Go back
over the top of the Rothhorn ? " he repeated. " Why,
we should simply be out all night ! " Roman didn't
answer, but his eyes wandered persistently up the
arete. His father now began to calculate, and by
some strange process of arithmetic he came to the
conclusion that if we hurried very much it was just
possible that we might get off the difficult part of
the peak before night overtook us. Still, he was
far from reconciled to the idea, while every moment
Roman and I liked it better. Imboden saw how
keen we were, and presently exclaimed : " Well, I'll
go if you both want it, but we must be quick ; if we
spend the night on the top of the Rothhorn and a

storm comes on, we may simply lose our lives ! "

200

THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY

There was no need however, to tell Roman to be
quick. He was told off to lead, and I followed, with
Imboden last. The memory of that ascent has
remained in my mind as a confused dream. Every
scrap of my attention was given to holding on and
pulling myself upwards, never pausing, except in the
very worst places, to see what either of the guides
was doing, and, with every foot- and hand-hold fresh
in my memory, I was full of a delightful sense of
security which muscles in first-class condition and
complete absence of any sensation of fatigue fully
justified. We rose at an incredible pace, and after
an hour and twenty-five minutes of splendid exercise,
we threw ourselves once more on the flat little top
of the Rothhorn. We had now only the descent
by the ordinary route between us and Zermatt, and
this seemed a small matter compared to what we
had accomplished that day.

We did not remain long on the summit, and the
first part of the descent was quickly ended. We had
now reached that point on the mountain where it is
necessary to leave the ridge and go down for some
distance on the precipitous north face. This bit of
the climb, always requiring great care on account of
the smoothness and steepness of the rock, was on this
occasion particularly difficult because of the powdery
snow which covered everything, and the bitterly
cold wind to which here, and, luckily for us, here

20I

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

only, we were exposed. The associations of these
slabs are not of a nature to reassure the timid climber.
Many years ago, in fact on the very first occasion
when the Rothhorn was ascended from the Zermatt
side, a startling incident took place near this spot
The party consisted of Messrs Dent and Passingham,
with Alexander Burgener, Ferdinand Imseng, and
Franz Andermatten as guides, and they were descend-
ing the mountain when the exciting occurrence de-
scribed by Mr Dent happened.^ He has kindly
allowed me to reprint his account.

" Down the first portion of the steep rock slope we
passed with great caution, some of the blocks of stone
being treacherously loose, or only lightly frozen to the
face. We had arrived at the most difficult part of the
whole climb, and at a rock passage which at that time
we considered was the nastiest we had ever encoun-
tered. The smooth, almost unbroken face of the slope
scarcely afforded any foot-hold, and our security almost
entirely depended on the rope we had laid down
in our ascent. Had not the rope been in position we
should have varied our route, and no doubt found a
line of descent over this part much easier than the
one we actually made for, even without any help from
the fixed cord. Imseng was far below, working his
way back to the arete, while the rest of the party
were holding on, moving but slowly, with their faces
Above the Snow Line, by Clinton Dent.

202

The Zinal Rothhorn from the breakfast

I'LACE ON THE WeLLENKUI'PE.

The top of a Cha.monix Aiguille.

By Signor Cajrati Crivelli Mesmer.

A STEEl' FACE OF ROCK.

> face )■>. 202,

' Leading strings.'

THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY

to the mountain. Suddenly I heard a shout from
above ; those below glanced up at once : a large flat
slab of rock, that had afforded us good hold in ascend-
ing, but proved now to have been only frozen in to
a shallow basin of ice, had been dislodged by the
slightest touch from one of the party above, and was
sliding down straight at us. It seemed an age,
though the stone could not have had to fall more
than lo feet or so, before it reached us. Just above
me it turned its course slightly ; Franz, who was just
below, more in its direct line of descent, attempted to
stop the mass, but it ground his hands against the rock
and swept by straight at Imseng. A yell from us
hardly awoke him to the danger ; the slab slid on
faster and faster, but just as we expected to see our
guide swept away, the rock gave a bound for the first
time, and as, with a startled expression, he flung him-
self against the rock face, it leapt up, and, flying by
within a few inches of his head, thundered down
below. A moment or two of silence followed, and
then a modified cheer from Imseng, as subdued as that
of a * super ' welcoming a theatrical king, announced
his safety, and he looked up at us with a serious ex-
pression on his face. Franz's escape had been a
remarkably lucky one, but his hands were badly cut
about and bruised. In fact, it was a near thing for all
of us, and the mere recollection will still call up that odd
sort of thrill a man experiences on suddenly recollect-

203

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

ing at II P.M. that he ought to have dined out that
evening with some very particular people. Had not
the rock turned its course just before it reached Franz,
and bounded from the face of the mountain over
Imseng's head, one or more of the party must un-
questionably have been swept away. The place was
rather an exceptional one, and the rock glided a re-
markably long distance without a bound, but still the
incident may serve to show that falling stones are not
a wholly imaginary danger."

A far more serious occurrence, however, took place
on the north side of the Rothhorn in 1894, involving
the loss of a life, the rest of the party escaping in
a miraculous manner.

I take my account of the disaster from The Alpine
Journal.

" On 20th September an accident occurred on the
Zinal Rothhorn, in which Joseph Marie Biner, a well-
known Zermatt guide, lost his life. The other
members of the party were Dr Peter Horrocks and
Peter Perren, both of whom are to be congratulated
on their very narrow escape. The party had already
effected the ascent of the mountain, and were de-
scending towards Zermatt. On reaching the well-
known Blatte overlooking the Durand Glacier, the
usual precautions were observed. Biner, who was
leading, crossed the awkward slab, and planted him-
self firmly on the opposite side. Perren, who was

204

THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY

last, was standing behind and holding on to a fair-
sized rock, round which he was paying out the
rope ; while Dr Horrocks crossed the slab, and
Biner gradually pulled in the slack. Suddenly, the
rock in which Perren placed such confidence came
out, and bounded down the mountain side. Perren
slid rapidly down the steep rocks ; Dr Horrocks,
who had no foot-hold and very little hand-hold, was
jerked from his position, turning a somersault, and
becoming momentarily stunned from his head strik-
ing against the rock. The strain on the rope was
too great for Biner to withstand, and he was dragged
down too. The whole party half tumbled, half slid,
down the very steep smooth rocks for 30 feet or
40 feet, when the rope between Dr Horrocks and
Perren caught behind a projecting reck, and brought
them both to a standstill. Perren found himself
landed in a small patch of soft snow some 15 feet
below the rock, which had so fortunately engaged
the rope, while Dr Horrocks, some 7 feet higher
up, though at first suspended with his back to the
steep rocks, was very soon able to get more or less
foot-hold. Poor Biner had the extra length of his
own rope still to fall, and, when the strain came,
the rope broke, according to one account, half-way
between him and Dr Horrocks ; according to another,
rather nearer to the latter. Biner fell down on to

the Durand Glacier, some 2000 feet below, whence

205

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

his mutilated body was recovered by a search party
which crossed the Trift Pass, carried the body down
to Zinal, and so by road and train brought it to
Zermatt, where the funeral took place. Dr Horrocks
and Perren were rescued from their dangerous posi-
tion some ten or twelve minutes after the accident
occurred, by the guides Emile Gentinetta and Edouard
Julen, who were following down the mountain with
another party."

To return to ourselves. We steadily progressed
down the cold and snowy face, with rope kept taut
and paid out slowly as, one by one, we moved
lower. I need not follow our climb, which was
tvithout incident, and while it was still daylight,
we reached the snow ridge, on the stones just below,
which in ascending it is usual to pause for break-
fast. We were particularly anxious to be off the
stony rocks below and to gain the little glacier and
pass over the moraine before dark, but this we
could not manage, so in spite of our lantern we
wandered about on those odious rocks for hours
before we found the gully by which alone it is
possible to get off them. Our various attempts en-
tailed the descent of slippery chimneys leading to
the top of black precipices, with nothing to be done
but scramble up again, merely to embark in other
chimneys with precisely similar consequences. I got
so sick of the whole thing that I would gladly have

2 06

THE ZINAL ROTHHORN TWICE IN ONE DAY

dozed under a rock and awaited daylight. The
guides, however, stuck to the business, and after
a positive nightmare of gulHes they at last hit off
the right and only one. I have seldom felt greater
satisfaction than when I stepped off those detestable
rocks on to the snow, shimmering beneath our feet
in the starlight. We had now only to cross the
glacier and make our way down an exceedingly
steep but well-defined foot-path over the sharply-
crested moraine. Once we had left this behind us
we had nothing more than grass-slopes between us
and the Trift Inn. As soon as we reached this
final stage in our day's work, we selected the most
comfortable-looking hollow, and hanging the lantern
to an axe stuck upright in the ground, we prepared,
at a somewhat unorthodox hour and within only
thirty minutes of the hotel, to enjoy a well-earned
meal.

207

CHAPTER XIII

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

TX a most interesting account of a mountain
adventure which, by the courtesy of the writer,
Sir H. Seymour King, I am enabled to reprint from
The Alpine Journal^ we are once more reminded
that a party of thoroughly competent and robust
mountaineers can come without evil after-effects out
of a night of great hardship which would have un-
doubtedly proved fatal to ill-equipped and inex-
perienced amateurs and guides, such as those
accompanying Mr Burckhardt, who perished from
exposure on the ?>Iatterhorn.^

After describing a previous ascent, Sir H. Seymour
King goes on to say :

" A few days later we went to Miirren, with the

intention of carrying out a long-cherished plan of

mine and testing the possibility of ascending the

Silberhorn from the Roththal. Previous ascents had

proved so lengthy, necessitating, I think, in nearly

every case, the passing of a night on the rocks or

^ True Tales of Mountain Adventure^ p. 269.
208

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

the glacier, that I thought it would be highly desirable
if some shorter route could be discovered. I had an
idea that the route by the western arete would prove
to be the one sought for. Unfortunately, we were
delayed in making an attempt by bad weather until
the 23rd of September, which is undoubtedly too late
in the year for so difficult an expedition.

" I left the Hotel Silberhorn with Ambrose Supersax
and Louis Zurbriicken as guides, and a porter, at ten
o'clock on the morning of the 23rd of September,
and followed for some distance the usual path to the
Jungfrau Hut ; at length, leaving the Roththal path
on the right, we struck off into a goat track, which
leads by narrow ledges round the shoulder of the
great bluffs forming the northern boundary of the
Roththal. In this way gaining the face of the alp
fronting Miirren, we made our way to the base of
the ' Strahlplatten,' where we had determined to
encamp for the night.

" The nights were already lengthening out, and
where we were it was not light before six, and it was
not possible to move earlier than five ; punctually at
that hour we started. We took only one knapsack
with us, leaving the rest of the things with the porter,
whom we instructed to stay where he was until he
saw whether we were going to return the same way
or not, as we thought it was quite possible we might
have to pass another night at the same place. We
o 209

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

therefore arranged with him that when we got
to a certain point on the ridge, if we intended to
return, we would wave our hats ; but if we made no
sign, he might pack up his things and go home, as
in that case he might understand that we had
determined either to descend from the Silberhorn
across the glacier to the Wengern Alp, or else make
our way over the Jungfrau, and pass the night in the
Bergli Hut.

" Now let me try for a moment to describe the
appearance of the rock face up which we purposed
making our way on to the arete. From where we
were the arete appeared to run nearly due east and
west. At the west it terminated in the precipices
which face Miirren, and at the east with the peak
whence we had arranged to signal to our porter.
From this peak a ridge descended towards the
valley bounding the side facing us. On that side the
rock face itself was divided into two compartments
by a well-marked ridge running down the middle,
giving the appearance of two couloirs leading to the
arete; the whole side was composed of extremely
smooth rocks, with very little foot-hold or hand-
hold which would be extremely dangerous, if
not impossible, to attempt, if they were not dry.
Fortunately, we found them perfectly free from
either water or ice, and, with the exception of one
difficult piece, which it took us some little time to

210

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

surmount, we found nothing to check us until we
were just under the arete. We ascended by the
right-hand couloir, if I may so term it, and then
made for the gap on the ridge at the extreme
westerly end. Just below this gap we experienced
some difficulty, owing to the excessive smoothness
of the rocks, but finally reached the gap I have
mentioned a little before nine.

" I need not say that our hopes rose high, and
that we were in the very best of spirits, and when
we finally stood in the gap itself we began to
think the worst part of the work was over. We
soon found, however, that it had hardly begun ;
it was all very well being in the gap, but the
problem was how to get from there on to the
arete itself; for, though the latter was not more
than 20 feet above us, the peculiar formation
of the rocks rendered every attempt to get on to
it fruitless. The rocks hung over on every side.
We exhausted ourselves in vain attempts to sur-
mount them. An hour soon passed away, and
after each of us in turn had failed, we sat down
disconsolately to consider the situation under the
lee of the ridge, so as to be out of the way of
the biting north wind which was blowing. Looking
round as we sat mournfully consuming some
breakfast, I spied a bottle in a crevice, and found
it contained the names of Mr C. E. Matthews and

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

Herr E. von Fellenberg, with Melchior Anderegg
and two other guides ; it was undated, but re-
counted how they had reached this spot and had
been obliged to return without achieving their
object, which apparently was identical with our
own. This was the last straw, and exasperated
Ambrose to the highest degree. That we should
have gone through so much only to have gained
the same spot where another party several years
before had arrived was too much for his equanimity.
He vowed he would never go back, and nothing
under heaven should turn him back, he would get
on to the ridge. We might do as we liked, he
meant to stay there until he had. All of which
I pointed out to him was very fine talk, but, as
men were at present constructed, it did not appear
to me possible to climb an acute angle. Ambrose,
however, persisted that he would make another
attempt to get on to the ridge, and, as it was quite
hopeless anywhere on the side by which we had
ascended, he roped himself, and insisted on being
let down the northern face of the mountain.

"With great skill he managed to work himself
along the face for the full length of the rope, and
the first lOO feet being exhausted, a second of
80 feet was tied to it, and this again paid out
to its utmost length ; still he could find no way
up to the ridge. He thereupon demanded that the

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

rope should be let go, and, in spite of our remon-
strances at the danger he was running, he pulled it
in, slung it on his back, and proceeded, while we
sat down and waited with no little anxiety lest
some accident should befall him.

" For half an hour we neither saw nor heard
anything of him, and our shouts remained un-
answered. Zurbriicken muttered at intervals some-
thing about ' Dummheit,' and was evidently very
uneasy. Suddenly we heard a shout from above,
which told us he had succeeded in ascending the
wall above him, and getting on to the ridge, down
which he was actually coming at the moment, and
the next minute he was peering over the point
where we had been stuck.

" It was really a magnificent exhibition both of
pluck and skill, and Ambrose deserves the highest
credit for his success. Letting the rope over, and
fastening it well to a piece of rock, he first hauled
up the ice axes and knapsacks, and then we each
in turn were half hauled, and half climbed to the
place where he stood. I know when I arrived at
the top I was nearly speechless from the terrible
exertion it was necessary to make, and the pressure
of the rope on my ribs ; I could only lie on my
back and gasp feebly for brandy !

" However, it was imperative to proceed ; more
than two hours had been wasted here, and it was

213

AD\^NTURES OX THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

nearly eleven o'clock. The way in front of us
looked fairly plain and easy, and our hopes once
again began to rise ; but soon, as we proceeded
along the ridge, it became narrower and narrower,
until from walking we were reduced to kneeling,
and at last could only proceed h cheval ; in this
elegant position we struggled along for some little
distance, until the arete widening out again per-
mitted us once more to stand up ; but here we
found the rocks much more difficult, and finally
absolutely impossible, At the foot of the peak at
the easterly end of the ridge which I have before
mentioned we were forced off the arete on to a
wall of ice which led to the summit ; the slope
was at a very sharp angle, the ice very hard and
blue, and at last became so steep that we were
forced back on to the rocks, and with some con-
siderable difficulty reached the summit ; from there
we could see the Silberhorn in front of us jutting
out like a great white promontory' into a frozen
sea, It being then one o'clock, we saw there was
no possibility of our getting back the same way
that evening, so we made no sign to our porter,
whom we could see watching us far down below.

" The formation of the ridge here is somewhat
curious. After a slight descent it broadens out into
a small and much crevassed glacier, shut in on the

further side by a level snow wall, the promontory

214

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

which I have mentioned above. The arete of this
wall appears to run level from the rock ridge to its
northern termination ; indeed, I am of opinion that
the highest point is on the rock ridge itself, and that
the extreme end of the ridge facing the Wengern
Alp is a few feet lower than the rocks overlooking the
Roththal.

" We speedily crossed the little intervening glacier,
or snow-field, and commenced to ascend diagonally
the snow wall, but found the snow in such a
dangerous condition, lying as it was loosely on the
surface of ice, that from the fear of starting an
avalanche we once more made our way back to the
ridg-e which formed the continuation of the arete
along which we had been climbing. Here the rocks
were extremely difficult, being inter-^persed with ice
and very rotten. I think this was one of the most
difficult parts of the expedition. It was half-past
three when we reached the final summit, and then
made our way along the snow ridge nearly to its
extremity. The snow arete was very narrow, and in
its then condition not very pleasant to traverse ; the
day too was far advanced, and we had no time to
spend in much exploration, so we returned as quickly
as we could to the ridge which leads down to the
Silberlucke ; we were already getting very doubtful
as to whether we should get any shelter for the night.
We had reached the narrow rock arete joining the

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

Silberhorn with the precipices of the Jungfrau ; in
the middle was the narrow gap called the Silberliicke,
and to that we crawled down and halted a moment
to consider whether it would not be better to descend
on to the glacier and strike across to the Wengern
Alp ; but we knew from the results of previous expedi-
tions that crossing the glacier would probably take
four, if not five hours. None of us had ever been
across it ; it was then four o'clock, and it would be
dark at six. Our only hope lay in getting across the
Jungfrau before the daylight finally died out. In the
gap we found a ladder left by some previous explorer,
and two or three pieces of wood ; and after debating
whether we had not better pass the night there,
finally decided to push on for the Jungfrau.

" Our chance of escaping a night in the open air
depended mainly on two points : first, whether the
snow leading to the Jungfrau was in fairly good con-
dition ; and, secondly, whether anybody whose steps
we could make use of for descending had been on
the mountain that day. A few minutes settled the
first question ; we found that the slopes leading up to
the upper snow-field which circles round the base of
the Jungfrau were hard as ice, and we were soon
laboriously cutting steps upwards. We pushed on
with all speed, but step-cutting is at the best a slow
operation, and before we got into the Roththal track

the lengthening shadows had almost overtaken us.

216

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

We hurried on and managed to get across the
bergscJirund before the last rays of sunlight left the
summit of the Jungfrau. As we surmounted the
final rocks I turned for a minute to look across
Switzerland, and was rewarded by one of the most
beautiful spectacles it has ever been my good fortune
to witness. The valleys were filled with mist, but
the setting sun tinged their surface with a deep
crimson glow ; the last rays were still lingering round
Mont Blanc and one or two of the higher mountains ;
where we stood was still filled with golden light from
the last rays of the sinking sun. The sky was
perfectly clear, and the panorama which unrolled
itself before our eyes with its mingled light and
shadow was one of the most wonderful that lover
of mountain scenery could desire to gaze on. A
justification for the erection of a hut on the summit
of the Jungfrau might almost be found in the
possibility of obtaining such a view.

" But we had no time for indulging in rhapsodies ;
a bitter north wind was still blowing so keenly, that
the upper leather of our boots had frozen stiff as
boards while we walked. The moon was well up,
and if only our second hope were realised, and some
one had been on the mountain that day, we might
find a refuge from the wind in the Bergli or Con-
cordia Huts. We tumbled rather than scrambled

down the rocks by the flickering moonlight, until

217

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

we reached the well-known point where it is
necessary to strike across the face just above the
Roththal Sattel. Our last hope was dashed to the
ground. No one had been there that day, and if
we were to get down it must be by our own efforts.
So Ambrose at once set to work to cut steps across
the face. We had been there a fortnight before,
and gone up and down the Jungfrau without cutting
hardly a step ; now the face was all blue ice, and
in five minutes I made up my mind that the risk
of such a descent was too much to take.

" The wall above the great bergschrund was in
shadow, the bergschrund last year was especially
formidable, and we were all too exhausted safely
to face the freezing wind on such a steep ice-slope
in the dark. We returned, therefore, to the rocks,
and, after a brief consultation, decided to pass the
night there as best we could. We managed to find
a corner shut in on two sides by rock about 5
feet high, from the floor of which we set to work
to rake out the snow with our axes. The snow had
drifted to a considerable depth, and its excavation
gave us a good quantity of heat to start the night
with, but our boots refused to thaw, and do what
we would our feet would not get warm.

" Our provisions being nearly exhausted, we agreed

only to take a mouthful of brandy and a little bread

that night, and keep the bulk of the provisions until

218

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

next morning, when we expected to be in a more
or less exhausted condition, as the cold was very
great, and it was obvious that we had a pretty
severe ordeal before us. It was by this time half-
past seven o'clock. We put on our gloves and
gaiters, buttoned up our coats, and after making a
seat apiece out of three smooth stones, sat down as
close together as we could, and commenced to smoke.

" The night was beautifully clear, but far away to
the south we could see a great thunderstorm raging
over the Italian hills, and were in no little trepida-
tion lest it should be coming up in our direction, as
indeed a storm had done in exactly a similar way
a week before ; but the north wind kept it at bay,
and we luckily had not a snow-storm to face in
addition to the other discomforts.

" The night passed slowly enough ; it was neces-
sary to keep shuffling our feet and beating our arms
together the whole night long without cessation, in
order to prevent being frost-bitten, and it was even
more difficult to keep awake. The hours, however,
passed somehow, and at half-past four the first
primrose streaks in the sky heralded the coming
day. By five o'clock the welcome face of the sun
peeped over the Trugberg, and we began to prepare
for a start.

" Our first thought was breakfast, but this solace
was denied us ; the wine and brandy had frozen

219

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

during the night, and were solid lumps of ice; the
bread required nothing less than an ice-axe to cut
it, and then probably would have flown into chips
like a log of wood ; the three remaining eggs we
possessed had been converted during the night into
icicles ; there was nothing for it, therefore, but to
start hungry and thirsty. Ambrose proposed that
he and Zurbriicken should first cut the steps, and
then come back for me, but after a very few minutes'
exposure to the wind they were obliged to return
and wait until the sun had warmed them a little,
the biting cold of the night and exhaustion from
tvant of sleep rendered it impossible to face the
work of step-cutting in such a bitter wind. We
resumed our seats, therefore, and waited another
hour, and then commenced our descent to the
bergschrund. We had to cut steps the whole way
down, and very glad I was we had not attempted
it in the dark, as I think it would have been almost
impossible to get over without an accident.

" We pushed on steadily, but the night had taken
all the spurt out of us, and our progress across the
Jungfrau Firn was not very rapid. We hoped to
find water under the Monch Joch, where we had
found a good supply a fortnight previously, but the
wind had prevented the snow melting at the time
we reached the spot, and there was nothing for it
but to press on to Grindelwald, and it was not until

BENIGHTED ON A SNOW PEAK

we reached the end of the Viescher Glacier that we
found any water to drink. At the Baregg we got
some ginger nuts to eat, and by three o'clock in
the afternoon were being hospitably welcomed by
the Bosses at the ' Bar,' whose welcome was never
more appreciated. These estimable hosts soon had
an excellent dinner ready, and by half-past four I
was driving to Interlaken to rejoin the rest of my
party."

231

CHAPTER XIV

THE STORY OF A BIG JUMP

nr^HROUGH the kindness of Dr Kennedy, I am
enabled to reprint from his new edition of
The Alps in i86^, by the late Mr A. W. Moore, an
admirable account of the first passage of the Col
de la Pilatte in Dauphind This expedition has
become classical, thanks to Mr Whymper's fine
description of it,^ so it is interesting to read what
impression the adventures of the day made on
another member of the party. The first part of the
expedition was easy, but, wrote Mr Moore, " before
fretting near the foot of the couloir, we had some-
thing to do in threading a way up and through the
huge chasms into which the glacier was broken.
Croz was here thoroughly in his element, and led
the way with great skill and determination, passing
one obstacle after another, and bearing gradually
to the left towards the enemy. At every step we
took, it became more apparent that nature had never
intended any one to pass this way, and had accord-

^ True Tales of Mountain Adventure, p. 134.

222

THE STORY OF A BIG JUMP

ingly taken more than usual pains to render the

approach to the couloir difficult and dangerous.

Below the highest bergscJiriind were a series of

smaller ones, arranged systematically one above the

other, stretching completely across a very steep slope,

so that they could not be turned, but must each in

succession be attacked en face. Fortunately at this

early period of the season, and with so much snow,

the difficulty was less considerable than it would

have been under other circumstances, and, exercising

every precaution, we finally passed the last of the

outer lines of defence, and had nothing but a short

steep slope between us and the final schrund, above

which the couloir rose more unfriendly than ever,

as we approached it nearer. I had been sorely

puzzled in my mind how we wure going to get

across this chasm, as from below it appeared to

have a uniform width of about lo feet, the upper

edge, as usual, much higher than the lower, and no

visible bridge at any point. On getting up to it,

however, we found that on the extreme right it had

been choked by a considerable mass of snow, the

small remains of which at one point formed a narrow,

rotten, and most insecure bridge, over which Croz

cautiously passed, and made himself firm in the

soft snow above. Walker, Whymper, Mons. Renaud,

myself, and Aimer, then followed, as if we were

treading on eggs, and all got safely over, much

223

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

to our relief, as there really appeared no small chance
of the bridge going to grief before we were all across,
which would have been awkward for those on the
wrong side.

" It was just 9.30 when we fairly took to this extra-
ordinary gully, which, above the bergschrund was
certainly not more than 12 feet wide, and gradually
narrowed in its upward course. For the first few
steps we trod in a sufficiency of soft snow in good
condition, but, to our dismay, this soon sensibly
diminished both in quantity and quality, until at
last there was nothing but the old, disgusting,
powdery snow resting on hard ice. The axe accord-
ingly came into play ; but if steps were cut of the
ordinary size, we should never get to the top till
night, so Croz just hacked out sufficient space for
the feet to cling to, and worked away as fast as
possible, cautioning us emphatically to look out, and
to hold on well with our axes while each step was
being cut. Another argument in favour of rapid
progress arose from the palpable danger in which we
were. The centre of the couloir was occupied by
a deeply-scored trough, evidently a channel for stones
and avalanches, while the space on either side was
so narrow that in case of a large fall we could scarcely
expect to escape unharmed. Looking up to see what
was likely to come down, we discovered at the very

head of the couloir a perpendicular or slightly over-

224

THE STORY OF A BIG JUMP

hanging wall of neve, some 30 feet in height, and
lower down, projecting over the rocks on our left,
an enormous mass of icicles, on which the sun was
playing, and, of course, momentarily loosening their
tenure to the rocks. At the moment we were exactly
in the line which they must follow, if they fell, as
they evidently would before long, so we lost no
time in crossing the stone channel to the other side,
where the great mass was scarcely likely to come,
and we might probably ward off any stray fragments.
I received a lively hint as to the effect of a large mass
of ice coming suddenly down on one's head, by the
effect of a blow from a comparatively small piece,
which Croz hewed out from one of the steps.
Being so far down in the line, it had time to gain
momentum before it struck me, which it did on
the head with such violence that for a few
moments I felt quite sick and stupid. The in-
cident will give a very good idea of the steepness
of the slope on which we were. I had too much to
think of to measure it with a clinometer, but it was
certainly steeper than any part of the couloir leading
to the Col des Ecrins, the greatest inclination of
which was 54°. At one point a little water trickled
over the rocks, which the two front men managed to
get a suck at, but those behind were out of reach,
and the footing was too precarious for more than a
minute's halt, not to mention occasional volleys of
p . 225

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

small stones which shot by us, and might be the
precursors of large ones. I don't think that I ever
experienced a greater feeling of insecurity than
during the whole of this ascent, which was unavoid-
ably long. What with the extreme steepness of the
slope, and the necessary vagueness of the steps,
which were made additionally unsafe by the powdery
snow which filled them up as soon as they were
cut, I felt that a slip was a by no means unlikely
contingency, and was glad enough upon occasions
to find Aimer's hand behind, giving me a friendly
push whenever a particularly long stride had to be
made. When we were nearing the top, our attention
was attracted by a tremendous uproar behind us,
and, looking round, we were just in time to see a
prodigious avalanche falling over the cliffs of the
Pic de Bonvoisin, on the other side of the valley.
It was at least a quarter of a mile in length, and
many minutes elapsed before the last echoes of its
fall died away. We were now so near the great
snow-wall that it was time to begin to circumvent
it ; so, crossing the couloir again, we clambered up
the rocks on that side in order to get out of it,
hoping to be able from them to get on to the
main ridge to the left of the wall, which itself was
quite impassable. As Aimer had expected, the snow
was here very thin over the rocks, and what little
there was, was converted into ice, so that the climb-

226

THE STORY OF A BIG JUMP

ing was most diTficult and perilous, and we had no
small trouble to get on at all. However, we
managed to scramble up, and found ourselves over-
looking a gully running parallel, and of a similar
character, to the one we had been ascending, but free
from snow and ice, and much more precipitous. On
our side it was quite impossible to get on to the
main ridge as an impracticable rock rose above our
heads, and it was, therefore, necessary to step across
this second couloir. I never made a nastier step ;
the stride was exceedingly long, there was nothing
in particular to stand on, and nothing at all but a
smooth face of rock to hold on by, so that we had
literally to trust to the natural adhesiveness of our
hands. Fortunately, there was sufficient rope to
allow the man in front to cross and get on to the
main ridge, and make himself fast before his
successor followed, so we attacked the difficulty in
turn. I got over somehow, but did not like it at
all ; lifted myself on to the ridge. Aimer followed,
and at 10.45 A.M., the Col was gained.

" During our ascent of the couloir, the weather,
though doubtful, had not been unfavourable, but,
just as we got on to the ridge, a cloud swooped
down, and enveloped us in its dense folds, and at
the same moment it began to snow violently.
Luckily Croz, who was first on the top, had been
able to satisfy himself that we were above the

227

AD^^:NTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

Glacier de la Pilatte. and got a glimpse of what
lay between us and it ; but the state of the
atmosphere was, nevertheless, sufficiently disappoint-
ing, as we were unable to fix with accuracy the
exact position of our gap with reference to the peak
of Les Bans, and the highest point of the Boeufs
Rouges, or to determine its height From the
Breche de la ]^Ieije, we had seen clearly that we
were then considerably lower than any point on
the ridge south of the Glacier de la Pilatte, and,
taking this into consideration, together with the
apparer.t l:e:~ht of our gap, seen from the valley
below, we estimated the height of the Col, which
we proposed to call Col de la Pilatte, at about
11,500 feet I« is certainly not much below this,
and is, therefore, probably the highest pass yet
effected in the Dauphine Alps.

" It was no less provoking to have missed the view
of the Ecrins and Ailefroide, which we had expected
to be particularly fine. But there was no help for it,
and no prospect of immediate im.provement ; so,
without halting for a minute, v.e commenced the
descent in the same order as before. All we could
see was a steep ice-wall, stretching downwards from
our feet, the actual ridge not being more than a
couple of feet wide. What was the length of the
wall, or what lay below it, we could not discover, but

had a shrewd suspicion that we should anyhow find

228

THE STORY OF A EIG JUMP

a considerable bergschrund. Croz steered to the left,
and began cutting steps diagonally downwards. The
snow was in a much worse condition than it had been
in the couloir ; there was more of it, but it was so
exceedingly soft, that our feet pressed through it to
the hard ice, as though it had been water, and we
were ver\' rarely able to trust to it without cutting a
step. We should have been better pleased had there
been no snow at all, as the whole slope, the angle of
which was about 50', was in just the proper condition
for an avalanche. I never saw Aimer so ner\-ous,
and with reason ; for, as he himself said, while he
implored us not to move from one step into another
before we felt that one foot at least v.-as secured, this
was just one of those places where no amount of skill
on the part of Croz or himself could entirely prevent
the chance of a serious accident It was a wonder
how we did manage to stick to some of the steps, the
objectionable character of which was increased from
their being cut along the side of the slope, a position
in which it is always more difficult to get from one
to the other than when they are cut straight up or
down. As we got lower down there was more snow,
which, though softer than ever, was so steep that we
could tread tolerably secure steps on it, by help of
which we worked down, until we found ourselves
brought up short on the upper edge of the expected
bergschrund. Croz had hoped to hit this at a point

229

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

where it was partially choked, but he was dis-
appointed, as the chasm yawned below us, entirely
unbridged. A glance right and left showed that
there was no more assailable point within reach, so
Croz gave out the unwelcome intelligence that if we
wished to get over we must jump and take our chance.
The obstacle appeared to be about lo feet wide, of
uncomfortable depth, and the drop from the upper
to the lower edge about 15 feet. From the lower
edge the glacier sloped away, only less steep than the
wall on which we were, of which it was a continua-
tion, but cut off by this sudden break. There was,
however, so much soft snow that we should fall easy,
and the only difficulty, therefore, was to take a
sufficiently fair spring to clear the chasm ; for, good
as I believed my rope to be, I should have been sorry
to see any one suspended by it, with a sudden jerk,
over such a gulf as that we had beneath us. Walker
was untied, so as to give rope enough to Croz, who
then boldly sprung over, and landed heavily on the
lower edge in the snow, where he stood to receive the
rest of the party. Walker followed, and then
Whymper, leaving Mons. Renaud, myself, and
Aimer above. Mons. Renaud advanced to the
edge, looked, hesitated, drew back, and finally
declared that he could not jump it ; he felt perfectly
convinced that he should be unable to clear the
distance, and should jump in instead of over. We

230

A VEKY TAME BeRGSCHRUND.

By Mr. Leonard Rawlence.

Homeward over the snow-sloi'Es.

To face j), 230.

THE STORY OF A BIG JUMP

encouraged him, but without effect, and at last
proposed to lower him down, when the others would
hook hold of his legs somehow and pull him across.
Aimer and I, therefore, made our footing as secure as
possible, anchored ourselves with our axes, and made
all ready to lower our friend, but his courage failed
him at the last moment, and he refused to go. We
were now obliged to use stronger arguments, as it was
snowing fast, and time was passing, so we pointed out
that, if we wished to return ever so much, we could
not get the others back across the sckrund, and that,
in point of fact, there was no chance — over he must
go. Again did he advance to the edge, again draw
back, but finally, with a despairing groan, leaped, and
just landed clear of the chasm, but, instead of letting
his rope hang loose, he held it in one hand, and
thereby nearly pulled me over head foremost. Then
came my turn, and I must confess that, when I stood
in the last step from which I had to spring, I did not
like the look of the place at all, and, in fact, felt un-
deniably nervous. But I had not been one of the least
backward in objurgating Mons. Renaud, so felt con-
strained to manifest no hesitation myself, whatever
might be my private feelings. I, therefore, threw
over my axe and spectacles, gathered myself up,
and took the leap. The sensation was most peculiar.
I had not the faintest idea whether I should or should
not clear the chasm, but the doubt was soon solved

231

ADATXTURES OX THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

by my landing heavily on the further side, rather to
the right of the rest of the party. The hea%y load
on my back sent me forwards on my face, and I
shot down the slope with tremendous velocit}-, head
foremost, until I was suddenly stopped by the
tightening round my waist of the rope, the other
end of which was held by Aimer above. My first
impression was, that half my ribs were crushed in ;
as it was, my wind was so completely bagged by the
severity- of the jerk that I could not speak, but
laughed hysterically, until nature's bellows had
replenished my unlucky carcass. The incident
was so far satisfactor}' that it showed the enormous
strength of the rope, and also hov/ severe a shock
a man like Aimer, standing in a most insecure
position, can bear unmoved when he is prepared
for it. My vreight, unloaded, is loi stone, and the
strain on the rope was certainly nearly as great
as though I had jumped into the crevasse. Aimer
now followed us over, and at 11.35 v."e v.'ere all
together without accident below the schrund, which,
with the v.-all above it, was as ugly-looking a place
as I would v."ish to see.

" We now floundered down the slope of soft snow,
without taking much care, as we imagined that hence-
forward it was all plain sailing, but v,-ere abruptly
checked in our pace by coming upon a huge crevasse,
of great length and breadth, but covered over in

2.^2

THE STORY OF A BIG JUMP

places. Several attempts were made to cross at one
of these points, but without success, as the breadth
was too great, and the snow unsubstantial in the
extreme, and a long detour was necessary before
we were able to get over near its eastern extremity.
This proved to be the beginning of a new series of
troubles, as the chasms became more and more
numerous and complicated, until the slope which
we had imagined would be so easy, resolved itself
into a wall of gigantic seracs, the passage of which
tasked our energies to the utmost The difficulty of
the position was increased by our still being enveloped
in a mist so thick that we could not see a distance
of 20 feet belov,- us, and were in a happy state of
ignorance as to whether we were steering properly,
or were only plunging deeper into the mire. Nothing,
however, could exceed the energ}' and skill with
which Croz threaded his way through the labyrinth
which surrounded us. He never once had to retrace
his steps, but, cutting along the sides of some
crevasses and underneath others, he steadily gained
ground. In spite of the generally deep snow, a good
deal of step-cutting was necessarj- here and there,
and we had nearly an hour of most exciting work
before the inclination of the glacier diminished, and
at 12.30 P.M., for the first time since leaving the Col,
we stood at ease upon a flat plain of snow. But how
long would it last? A fog on an unknown glacier

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

always suggests to my desponding mind the proba-
bility of marching round and round in a circle, and
finally having to pass the night in a crevasse, so that
I, personally, was particularly relieved when, just as
we emerged from the seracs, the mist suddenly lifted
sufficiently to let us see a long way over the glacier
in front, which displayed itself to our admiring eyes
perfectly level and uncrevassed."

234

to,.

CHAPTER XV

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

TtyTR WHYMPER has also immortalised the
■*■-*■ first ascent of the Ecrins. Here is the
account Mr Moore wrote in his diary of that
eventful day :

" It must be confessed that the higher we climbed,
the greater became our contempt for our peak. It
certainly seemed that, once over the bergschrund,
we ought very soon to be on the top, and so per-
suaded was I of this, that I hazarded the opinion
that by 9.30 we should be seated on the highest
point. Whymper alone was less sanguine; and,
probably encouraged by the result of his former
bet, on hearing my opinion, offered to bet Walker
and myself two francs that we should not get up
at all, an offer which we promptly accepted. We
were now sufficiently near to the bergschrund to be
able to form some idea of its nature and difficulty.
It certainly was a formidable -looking obstacle
running completely along the base of the final
peak, or rather ridge from which the peak itself

235

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

rose. For a long distance the chasm was of great
width, and, with its upper edge rising in a wall
of ice, fringed with icicles, to a height of, perhaps,
30 feet above the lower edge, was obviously
quite impassable. But on the extreme right
(looking up), the two lips so nearly met that we
thought we might be able to get over, and on the
extreme left, it seemed possible, by a considerable
detour, to circumvent the enemy, and get round
his flank. We finally determined on the latter
course, as, to the right, the slope above the chasm
seemed to be steeper than at any other point.
After the first start, we had been steering tolerably
straight forwards up the centre of the glacier, and
were now approaching the bergschrundy just under
the highest peak of the mountain, at about its
most impracticable point. The more direct course
would have been to attack it on the right, but,
for the reason above stated, we chose the opposite
end, so had to strike well away to the left diagon-
ally up the slope. We here first began to suspect
that our progress would not be quite so easy and
rapid as we had hoped, as the snow became less
abundant, and the use of the axe necessary. Still
we worked away steadily, until, at 8.10 A.M., in
one hour and forty minutes from the Col, we
turned the bergschrimd, and were fairly on its

upper edge, clinging to an ice-step which promised

236

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

to be only the first of an unpleasantly long
series.

"Above us the slope stretched up to some rocks,
which continued without interruption to the main
ridge, a prominent point on which was just above
our heads. The rocks looked quite easy, and it
seemed that, by making for them just under the
small peak, we should be able to work round the
latter, and get on to the main ridge to the right
of it without serious difficulty. Aimer led, and
wielded his axe with his usual vigour, but the ice
was fearfully hard, and he found the work very
severe, as the steps had to be cut sufficiently
large and good to serve for our retreat, if need be.
After each blow, he showered down storms of
fragments which came upon the hands and legs
of his followers with a violence that rendered their
position the reverse of pleasant. Still the rocks
kept their distance, and it was a long time before
we scrambled on to the lowest of them, only to
find that, although from below they had appeared
quite easy, they were in reality very steep, and
so smooth that it was scarcely possible to get
along them at all, the hold for hands and feet
being almost nil. The rocky peak, too, above us
turned out to be much further off than we had
supposed, and, to reach the point on the main
ridge to the right of it, we had before us a long

237

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

and difficult climb up and along the face of the
rocks. The prospect was not pleasant, but we
scrambled along the lower part of the rocks for
a short time, and then Aimer started off alone to
reconnoitre, leaving us rather disconsolate, and
Walker and myself beginning to think that there
was a considerable probability of our francs, after
all, finding their way into Whymper's pocket.
Croz did not approve of the rocks at all, and
strongly urged the propriety of getting down on to
the ice-slope again, and cutting along it above the
bergschrund until we should be immediately under
the peak, and then strike straight up towards it.
He accordingly cast loose the rope, and crawling
cautiously down, began cutting. I am not very
nervous, but, as I saw him creeping alone over the
ice-covered rocks, I felt an unpleasant qualm, which
I was doomed to experience several times before
the end of the day. Just as Croz had begun to
work Aimer returned, and reported that things ahead
were decidedly bad, but that he thought we could
get on to the arete by k3eping up the rocks. We
passed his opinion down to Croz, and, while he was
digesting it, we communicated to Aimer what Croz
had been saying to us. Now, up to the present
time no two men could have got on better, nor
more thoroughly agreed with each other, than Croz

and Aimer. We had been slightly afraid that the

238

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

natural antipathy between an Oberlander and a
Chamouniard would break out upon every occasion,
and that a constant series of squabbles would be our
daily entertainment. We were, however, agreeably
disappointed, as Aimer displayed such an utter
abnegation of self, and such deference to Croz's
opinion, that had the latter been the worst-tempered
fellow in the world, instead of the really good fellow
that he was, he could not have found a cause of
quarrel. Upon this occasion, although Aimer ad-
hered to his own opinion that it would be better to
keep to the rocks, he begged us to follow the advice
of Croz, who was equally strong in favour of the ice,
should he, on further consideration, prefer that course.
Croz protested emphatically against the rocks, but
left it to us to decide, but in such a manner that it
was plain that a decision adverse to his wishes would
produce a rumpus. The position was an awkward
one. The idea of cutting along a formidably-steep
slope of hard ice immediately above a prodigious
bcrgschrimd was most revolting to us, not only on
account of the inevitable danger of the proceeding,
but also because of the frightful labour which such
a course must entail on the two men. On the other
hand, a serious difference with Croz would probably
destroy all chance of success in our attempt. So
convinced, however, were we that the rocks offered the
most advisable route that we determined to try the

239

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

experiment on Croz's temper, and announced our
decision accordingly. The effect was electric ; Croz
came back again in the steps which he had cut, anger
depicted on his countenance, giving free vent to the
ejaculations of his native land, and requesting us to
understand that, as we had so chosen, we might do
the work ourselves, that he would do no more.
Affairs were evidently serious, so each of us cried
peccavi, and, to calm his irritation, agreed, it must
be confessed against our better judgment, to adopt
his route. Aimer was more amused than annoyed,
and concurred without a word, so the storm blew
over ; the sky was again clear, and we resumed our
labours, which, during the discussion, had been
suspended for a few minutes.

" The half-dozen steps that led us to the ice were
about the most unpleasant I ever took. The rocks
were glazed with ice ; there was nothing in particular
to hold on by, and without the trusty rope I should
have looked a long time before trusting myself to
move. As it was, I was very considerably relieved
when we were all standing in the steps, and Crozi
again roped on to us, began at 9.35 to cut in front.
I must do him the justice to say that, so soon as
we were committed to his line of march, he worked
splendidly, bringing the whole force of his arm to
bear in the blows with which he hewed the steps.
Never halting for a moment nor hesitating, he

240

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

hacked away, occasionally takinc^ a glance behind
to see that all was iic,rht. We could not but admire
the determination with which he laboured, but the
exertion was fearful, and we became momentarily
more of opinion that our original decision was the
wisest. The slope on which we were was inclined
at an angle of 50°, never less, sometimes more, for
the most part of hard blue ice, bare of snow. This
was bad enough ; but far worse were places which
we occasionally came to, where there was a layer
of soft, dry, powdery snow, without cohesion, so that
it gave no footing, and steps had to be cut through
it into the ice below, steps which were filled up
almost as soon as cut, and which each man had to
clear out with his hands before trusting his feet in
them. All the time the great bergschrund yawned
about 100 feet below us, and the knowledge of this
fact kept us well on the alert, although, from the
steepness of the slope below, the chasm itself was not
visible. One hears people talk occasionally of places
where the rope should not be used, because one
person slipping might entail the loss of the whole
party ; but I never heard a guide give vent to any
such idea, and certain I am that had any one of us
now proposed to take off the rope and go alone on
that account, Aimer and Croz would never have
allowed it, and, indeed, would not have advanced
another step. It must be admitted, however, that
Q . 241

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

all along this slope, had one of us unfortunately
slipped, the chance of the others being able to hold
him up would have been very small, and the prob-
ability of the party in their fall being shot over,
instead of into, the bergschrund, still smaller. But, in
my opinion, the use of the rope on such places gives
so much more confidence, if it is no real protection,
that the chances of a slip are much diminished, and
certainly a party can progress more rapidly. For an
hour Croz kept on his way unwearied, cutting the
steps for the most part beautifully, but occasionally
giving us rather a long stride, where every one held
on like grim death, while each man in succession
passed. But at last even his powerful frame required
rest ; so Aimer relieved him, and went to the front.
" All this time we had risen but little, but we were
now very nearly under the highest peak, and it was
necessary to think of getting on to the ridge ; so we
at last fairly turned our faces to the slope, and began
cutting straight up what appeared to be a great
central couloir. Unlike most couloirs, this one did
not run without interruption to the ridge above, but
came to an abrupt termination at a considerable
distance below it, leaving an intervening space of
rock, which promised some trouble. But we were
yet far from the lowest point of these rocks, and
every step towards them cost no small amount of

time and labour. I have rarely been on harder ice,

242

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

and, as blow after blow fell with so little apparent
result in raising us towards our goal, an inexpres-
sible weariness of spirit and a feeling of despair
took possession of me. Nevertheless we did mount,
and at 11.30, after two hours of terribly hard work
(for the guides), we grasped with our hands the
lowest of the crags. To get on them, however, was
no easy task, as they were exceedingly smooth, and
coated with ice. Aimer scrambled up, how I know
not, and, taking as much rope as possible, crawled on
until he was fest, when, by a combined operation of
pulling from above and pushing from below, each of
us in turn was raised a few steps. We hoped that
this might be an exceptional bit, and that higher up
matters would improve. But it was a vain hope ;
the first few steps were but a foretaste of what was to
follow, and every foot of height was gained with the
greatest difficulty and exertion. As we climbed with
the tips of our fingers in some small crevice, and the
tips of our toes just resting on some painfully minute
ledge, probably covered with ice or snow, one question
gradually forced itself upon us, almost to the exclusion
of the previously absorbing one, whether we should
get to the top of the mountain, and this was, how
on earth we should ever get down again — get down,
that is to say, in any other state than that of debris.
The idea that it would be possible to descend these
rocks again, except with a rush in the shape of an

243

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

avalanche, seemed rather absurd ; and at last, some
one propounded the question to Aimer and Croz,
but those worthies shirked the answer, and gave us
one of those oracular replies which a good guide
always has at the tip of his tongue when he is asked a
question to which he does not wish to give a straight-
forward response, to the effect that we should prob-
ably get down somehow. They were, perhaps, of
opinion that one thing at a time was sufficient, and
that they had work enough to settle the question of
how we were to get up. Our progress was unavoid-
ably slow, and the positions in which one was
detained, while the man in front was going the full
length of his tether, were far from agreeable 4 while
hanging on by my eyelids, the view, seen between my
legs, of the smooth wall of rock and ice on which we
had been so long engaged, struck me as being
singularly impressive, and gave me some occupation
in discussing mentally where I should stop, if in an
oblivious moment I chanced to let go. But to all
things must come an end, and, at 12,30 P.M., with
a great sigh of relief, we lifted ourselves by a final
effort on to the main ridge, which had so long
mocked at our efforts to reach it, and, to our huge
delight, saw the summit of the mountain on our right,
led up to by a very steep arete of rocks, but evidently
within our reach.

"The work of the last four hours and a half had
244

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

been so exciting that we had forgotten to eat, and,
indeed, had not felt the want of food ; but now the
voice of nature made itself heard, and we disposed
ourselves in various positions on the ridge, which in
many places we might have straddled, and turned
our attention to the provisions. As we sat facing the
final peak of the Ecrins, we had on our left the
precipice which falls to the head of the Glacier
Noir. Without any exaggeration, I never saw so
sheer a wall ; it was so smooth and regular that it
might have been cut with a knife, as a cheese is cut
in two. Looking over, we saw at once that, as we
had thought probable, had we been able to get from
La Berarde on to the ridge at the head of the Glacier
du Vallon, it would have been impossible to get
down on to the Glacier Noir, as the cliffs are almost
as precipitous as those down which we were looking.
On the right bank of the Glacier Noir towered the
dark crags of the Pelvoux, Crete du Pelvoux, and
Ailefroide, a most glorious sight, presenting a com-
bination of, perhaps, the finest rock-forms in the
Alps ; I certainly never saw so long and steep a line
of cliffs, rising so abruptly from a glacier.

"At 12.50 we started again. Aimer leading. We
had first to cross a very short but very narrow neck
of snow, and Aimer had scarcely set foot on this,
when a great mass of snow, which had appeared
quite firm and part of the ridge, suddenly gave way,

245

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

and fell with a roar to the Glacier Noir below.
Aimer's left foot was actually on this snow when it
gave way. He staggered, and we all thought he was
over, but he recovered himself and managed to
keep steady on the firm ridge. It is true he was
roped ; but the idea of a man being dropped with a
sudden jerk, and then allowed to hang suspended,
over that fearful abyss, was almost too much for my
equanimity, and for the second time a shudder ran
through my veins. This little isthmus crossed, we
tackled the rocks which rose very steeply above our
heads, and climbed steadily up along the arete,
generally rather below the edge on the side of the
Glacier de I'Encula. The work was hard enough,
but easier than what we had gone through below,
as the rocks were free from ice, and the hold for
hands and feet was much better, so that there was
no fear of slipping. I don't think a word was said
from the time we quitted our halting-place until we
were close to the top, when the guides tried to
persuade us to go in front, so as to be the first
to set foot on the summit. But this we declined ;
they had done the work, let them be the first
to reap the reward. It was finally settled that we
should all go on together as much as possible, as
neither party would give way in this amicable
contest. A sharp scramble in breathless excitement
ensued, until, at 1.25 p.m., the last step was taken,

246

The EcRiNS (in the centre) from the Glacier Blanc. _

By Signer Vittorio Sella.

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

and we stood on the top of the Ecrnis, the worthy
monarch of the Dauphine Alps.

" In that supreme moment all our toils and dangers
were forgotten in the blissful consciousness of success,
and the thrill of exultation that ran through mc,
as I stood, in my turn, on the very highest point
of the higher pinnacle — a little peak of rock with
a cap of snow — was cheaply purchased by what we
had gone through. Close to us was a precisely
similar point, of much the same height, which
scarcely came up to the rank of a second summit.
It could have been reached in a few seconds from
our position, but, as our point was actually the
higher of the two, and was also more convenient
for sitting down, we remained where we were. I
must confess to a total inability to describe the
wonderful panorama that lay extended before us.
I am not one of those happily constituted in-
dividuals who, after many hours of excitement, can
calmly sit on the apex of a mountain, and discuss
simultaneously cold chicken and points of topo-
graphy. I am not ashamed to confess that I was
far too excited to study, as I ought to have done,
the details of a view which, for extent and variety,
is altogether without a parallel in my Alpine ex-
perience. Suffice it to say that over the whole sky
there was not one single cloud, and that we were
sitting on the most elevated summit south of Mont

247

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

Blanc, and it may fairly be left to the imagination
to conceive what we saw, as, at an elevation of
13,462 feet, we basked in the sun, without the cold
wind usually attendant at these heights. There was
not a breath of air, and the flame of a candle would
have burnt steadily without a flicker. In our im-
mediate neighbourhood, after the range of the
Pelvoux, before described, the most striking object
was the great wall of the Meije, the western summit
of which, from here, came out distinctly the highest.
The Aiguilles d'Arves stood out exceedingly well,
and, although 2Cxx) feet lower than our position,
looked amazingly high. Almost the only trace of
civilisation we could distinctly make out was the
Lautaret road, a portion of which, probably near
the entrance of the valley leading to the Glacier
d'Arsines, was plainly visible. On the side of the
mountain towards La Bdrarde, what principally
struck us was a very great and extensive glacier,
apparently not marked on the map, which appeared
to be an arm of the Glacier du Vallon, but far more
considerable itself than the whole glacier is depicted
on the French map. Of the extent of the view,
and the wonderfully favourable condition of the
atmosphere, a fair idea may be gained from the
fact that we clearly identified the forms and ridges
of the Matterhorn and Weisshorn, the latter at a

distance of 120 miles, as the crow flies, and that

248

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

those were by no means the most distant objects
visible.

"So soon as the first excitement consequent on
success had subsided, we began seriously to meditate
upon what during the ascent had frequently troubled
us, viz. the descent. With one consent we agreed
that unless no other route could be found, it would
be most unadvisable to attempt to go down the
way we had mounted. The idea of the rocks, to
be followed by the ice-slope below — in a doubly
dangerous state after being exposed all day to the
scorching sun — was not to be entertained without a
shudder. The only alternative route lay along the
opposite arete to that which had led us to the top,
and, although we could not see far in this direction,
we determined, after very little discussion, to try it.
Accordingly, after twenty minutes' halt, we each
pocketed a small fragment of the stone that was
lying on the snow, and, regretting that we had no
bottle to leave, and no materials with which to
construct a cairn, took our departure at 1.45 from
the lofty perch which, I fancy, is not likely to
receive many subsequent visitors. Passing im-
mediately below the second point before mentioned,
so that our hands almost rested on it, and also
several similar pinnacles, our work commenced. I
never, before or since, was on so narrow an arctc of
rock, and really from step to step I was at a loss

249

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

to imagine how we were to get on any further. We
kept, as a rule, just below the edge, as before, on
the side of the Glacier de I'Encula, along a series
of ledges of tlie narrowest and most insecure
character ; but we were always sufficiently near the
top to be able to look over the ridge, down the
appalling precipices which overhang, first the Glacier
Xoir, and later, the Glacier du Vallon. Of course,
ever}' single step had to be taken with the greatest
care, only one person moving in turn, and the rest
holding on for dear life, Croz coming last to hold
all up. In spite of the great difficult}^ of the route,
the obstacles were only such as required more or
less time to surmount, and although the slightest
nervousness on the part of any one of us would
have endangered the whole party and delayed us
indefinitely, in the absence of that drawback we got
on pretty v,-ell. We were beginning to hope that
the worst was over, vrhen Aimer suddenly stopped
short, and looked about him uneasily. On our
asking him what was the matter, he answered
vaguely that things ahead looked bad, and that
he was not sure that we could pass. Croz accord-
ingly undid the rope, as also did Aimer, and the
two went forward a little, telling us to remain where
we were. We could not see what was the nature
of the difficulty, but vre cauld see the countenances
of the men, which sufficiently showed us that the

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

hitch was serious. Under any other circumstances
we should have been amused at Aimer's endeavours
to communicate his views to Croz in an amazing
mixture of pantomime, bad German, and worse
French. He evidently was trying to persuade Croz
of something, which Croz was not inclined to agree
to, and we soon made out that the point at issue
was, whether we could get over this particular place,
or whether we must return to the summit, and go
down the way we had come. Croz was of the
latter opinion, while Aimer obstinately maintained
that, bad as the place was, we could get over it, and
proceeded to perform some manoeuvres, which we
could not clearly see, by way of showing the
correctness of his opinion. Croz, however, was un-
convinced, and came back to us, declaring plainly
that we should have to return. We shouted to
Aimer, who was still below, but he evidently had
not the slightest intention of returning, and in a
few moments called upon us to come on, an in-
junction which we cheerfully obeyed as, in our
opinion, an}i:hing would be preferable to a retreat,
and Croz perforce followed. A very few steps
showed us the nature of the difficulty. The arete
suddenly narrowed to a mere knife-edge of rock,
while on one side a smooth wall, some ^ooo feet
in height, fell sheer towards the Glacier du Vallon,
and on the other side, above the Glacier de I'Encula,

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the slope was not much less steep and equally
smooth. To pass below the ridge on either side
was obviously quite impossible ; to walk along the
ridge, which was by no means level, was equally
so, and the only way of getting over the difficulty,
therefore, was to straddle it, an operation which the
sharpness of the ridge, putting aside all other con-
siderations, would render the reverse of agreeable.
However, there, perched in the middle of this fiendish
place, sat Aimer, with one leg over Glacier du Vallon
and the other over the Glacier de I'Encula, calm and
unmoved, as if the position was quite an everyday
one. He had not got the rope on, and as he began
moving along the ridge we shrieked at him to take
care, to which he responded with a ^ja, gewiss ! ' and
a chuckle of satisfaction. We threw him the end of
the rope, and then cautiously moved, one at a time,
towards him. I must confess that when I found
myself actually astride on this dizzy height I felt
more inclined to remain there for ever, contemplating
the Glacier du Vallon, on to which I might have
dropped a stone, than to make my way along it. The
encouraging voice of Aimer, however, urged me on,
and I gradually worked myself along with my hands
until I was close up to him and Walker, with no
damage save to the seat of my trousers. Whymper
and Croz followed. From this point forwards we
had for half-an-hour,' without exception, the most

252

Slab climhing.

Hv A[r, Leonard Kawlence.

O.N iHh Deni- du Geant.

By ihe late Mr. \V. F. Donkin
'o ftici- ji. 2o.i.

A NARROW ROCK RIDGE.

By Mr. Leonard Rawlence.

The TOl' AT LAST I

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

perilous climbing, I ever did. We crept along the
cliffs, sometimes on one side of the ridge, sometimes
on the other, frequently passing our arms over the
summit, with our feet resting on rather less than
nothing. Aimer led with wonderful skill and courage,
and gradually brought us over the worst portion of
the arite, below which the climbing was bad enough,
but not quite such nervous work as before, and we
were able to get along rather quicker. At length, at
345, in two hours from the top, we were not far above
the well-marked gap in the ridge, between the highest
peak and the one marked on the French map 3980
metres, or 13,058 feet. There we thankfully left the
arete, and, turning to the right, struck straight down
the ice-slope towards the bergschrund. Almost every
step had to be cut, but, in spite of all he had done.
Aimer's vigour seemed unimpaired, and resolutely
declining Croz's offers to come to the front, he
hacked away, so that we descended steadily, if
slowly. We could not see the bergschrund, and were
therefore uncertain for what exact point to steer,
for we knew that at only one place would it be pos-
sible to get over it at all, where from below we had
seen that the two edges nearly met — at all others the
breadth and height would be far too great for a jump.
For some distance we kept straight down, but after a
time bore rather to the left, cutting diagonally along

the slope, which was inclined at an angle of 52°, and,

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

below us, curled over so rapidly, that we could see
the glacier on to which we wished to descend, but
could not see what lay between us and it. Passing
over a patch of ice-covered rocks which projected
very slightly from the general level of the slope, we
were certain that we could not be far above the
schrund, but did not quite see how we were to get
down any further without knowing whether we were
above a practicable point or not. It was suggested
that one of the party should be let down with a rope,
but, while we were discussing who should be the one.
Aimer cut a few steps more, and then, stooping down
and craning over, gave a yell of exultation, and
exclaimed that it was all right, and that we might
jump over. By a marvellous bit of intuition, or good
luck, he had led us to the only point where the two
edges of the chasm so nearly met that we could get
across. He cut down as low as possible, and then,
from the last step, each man, in turn, sprang without
difficulty on to the lower edge of the crevasse, and at
4.45 the problem of getting off the mountain was
solved.

" The return from this point was uneventful."
A few days later Mr Moore had an amusing con-
versation with a chance acquaintance, who made a
remark that has since been often quoted. Mr Moore
relates it as follows : —

" At the door of the hotel was standing a young
254

A PERILOUS FIRST ASCENT

Frenchman, with whom we got into conversation,
observing that wc had just made the ascent of the
highest mountain in the country. 'Oh,' replied he,
* sans doute, le Pic de Belledonne ' ; a rather elevated
Rigi in the neighbourhood. We informed him that
our conquest was not the Pic de Belladonne, but the
Pic des Ecrins, on hearing which he smiled blandly,
never having heard the name before, and, evidently
meditating how he might avoid showing his ignorance,
finally contented himself with a spasmodic 'Ah!'
After a short pause, he inquired whether we had
been up Mont Blanc, and, on viy replying in the
negative, went on to say that he had, about ten days
before. We were astonished, as, without wishing to
reflect on the appearance of the worthy Gaul, I must
say that he did not give us the idea of a man capable
of such a performance. However, we, in our turn,
smiled blandly, and inquired whether, so early in the
season, he had found the ascent difficult, and whether
he had had a good view from the summit. 'From
the summit ! ' said he ; * I did not go to the summit.'
We ventured to inquire how high his wanderings
had reached. ' Mon Dieu!' replied he, 'jusqu'au
Montanvert ! ' Our politeness was not proof against
this, so we broke off the conversation abruptly, and
retired to indulge our merriment unchecked."

The Ecrins is now frequently climbed. A new
way up the rocky south side was discovered by a

255

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

Frenchman, and is now usually taken for the ascent,
the descent being accomplished by the north face which
the party that included Mr Moore went up by and
which has just been described. The route is now well
known, and thus it is possible to hit off the easiest
passages, but the traverse of what is known to the
guides as ' the Couloir Whymper ' always requires
the greatest care.

256

CHAPTER XVI

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

'nr^HE fatal accident caused by lightning on the
Wetterhorn in 1902 has emphasized the
curious fact that, except on that occasion, and once
before, many years ago, when Mrs Arbuthnot was
killed on the Schildthorn, no lives ^ have been lost
in a thunderstorm on the Alps. This is the more
remarkable when we glance through books on
mountaineering, and notice how often climbers have
been exposed to the full fury of summer storms, and
what narrow escapes they have had. In July 1863,
Mr and Mrs Spence Watson, with two friends and
two guides, made an excursion from the ^ggisch-
horn to the high glacier pass of the Jungfraujoch, an
admirable account of the day's adventures having
been contributed by Mr Watson to The Alpine
Journal^ from which I extract the following details.
After starting on a lovely morning, the weather
changed, and when they got to the pass they en-
countered a severe storm of wind, snow, and hail.
They quickly turned to descend, the snow falling so

' At the moment of going to press, I must note a fatal accident
on the mountains due to lightning, namely, the death of the
guide, Joseph Simond, on the Dent du G^ant. This I had
overlooked.

•R 257

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

heavily that they could not for a time see their old
tracks. Suddenly a loud peal of thunder was heard,
" and shortly after," writes Mr Watson, " I observed
that a strange singing sound like that of a kettle was
issuing from my alpenstock. We halted, and finding
that all the axes and stocks emitted the same sound,
stuck them into the snow. The guide from the hotel
now pulled off his cap, shouting that his head burned,
and his hair seemed to have a similar appearance
to that which it would have presented had he been
on an insulated stool under a powerful electrical
machine. We all of us experienced the sensation of
pricking or burning in some part of the body, more
especially in the head and face, my hair also standing
on end in an uncomfortable but very amusing manner.
The snow gave out a hissing sound, as though a
shower of hail were falling ; the veil in the wide-
awake of one of the party stood upright in the air ;
and on waving our hands, the singing sound issued
loudly from the fingers. Whenever a peal of thunder
was heard the phenomenon ceased, to be resumed
before its echoes had died away. At these times we
felt shocks, more or less violent, in those portions of
the body which were most affected. By one of these
shocks my right arm was paralysed so completely
that I could neither use nor raise it for several minutes,
nor, indeed, till it had been severely rubbed by Claret,
and I suffered much pain in it at the shoulder joint

258

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

for some hours. At half-past twelve the clouds began
to pass away, and the phenomenon finally ceased,
having lasted twenty-five minutes. We saw no
lightning, and were puzzled at first as to whether we
should be afraid or amused. The young guide was
very much alarmed, but Claret, who had twice
previously heard the singing (unaccompanied by the
other symptoms), laughed so heartily at the whole
affair that he kept up our spirits."

The position of the party, was, however, by no
means safe, yet though I have often heard the buzzing
of ice-axes and rocks when in a thunderstorm on the
mountains, I have never seen any ill effects from it.

A little later another description appears in The
Alpine Journal, by Mr C. Packe, who, during the
descent of a peak in the Pyrenees, was astonished
to hear a curious creaking sound proceeding from
behind him. He was carrying various heavy articles
at the time, and imagined that the noise was due to
the straining of the straps of his knapsack. He
presently unslung his load, and was amazed to find
a strange buzzing noise proceeding from his rifle,
" as though it had been an air gun trying to discharge
itself. As I held it away from me, pointed upwards,"
he continues, "the noise became stronger, and as I
in vain sought to account for it, I thought it possible
that some large insect — a bee or beetle — might have
got down the barrel, and be trying to escape. I held

259

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the barrel downwards, with a view to shake it out ;
but on lowering the gun the sound at once ceased,
but was renewed as often as I raised it." It then
began to occur to Mr Packe that the sound was
electrical, and he felt sure this was so when he found
that his alpenstock had joined in the buzzing. He
therefore made a hasty retreat out of the highly-
charged upper regions. Several peals of thunder had
previously been heard but no lightning was seen.
A violent storm had, however, been experienced in a
neighbouring district. That similar conditions may
seem delightful to one man and entirely odious to
another will strike whoever reads the following short
extract from an account of a climb in the Pyrenees
made by Mons. Henri Brulle. It was translated
by Count Russell for The Alpine Journal^ and runs as
ollows :

"Another time I crossed the Vignemale alone,
en col, under conditions which made this expedi-
tion the pleasantest of my souvenirs. A furious
storm was raging. Enveloped in the morning in a
dense fog, annoyed in the steep couloirs of the
Cerbillonas by vultures which swept over me like
avalanches, just grazing me with their long wings,
assailed during three hours by hailstones of such size
that they bruised and stunned me, deafened by
thunder, and so electrified that I was hissing and
crepitating, I notwithstanding reached the summit at

260

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

half-past four in the evening, amidst incessant de-
tonations. In descending the glacier I got lost in
a labyrinth of crevasses, and while balancing myself
on an ice-wave I nearly dropped my ice-axe. As a
climax, night came on as black as ink, and I had to
grope and feel my way down the endless valley of
Ossoue. It was eleven o'clock at night when I
reached Gavarnie, almost starved and quite exhausted,
but having lived the crowning day of my life."

Here is indeed Mark Tapley in the flesh !

Captain E. Clayton relates in The Alpine Journal
an adventure that nearly cost him his life,

"On 17th August last I left the Hochjoch Haus
with Gabriel Spechtenhauser with the intention of
ascending the Weisskugel at the head of the
Oetzthal. The weather for the past week had
been very changeable, but when wc started at
3 A.M. it was fine and starlight. A German gentle-
man with two guides and two others with two
guides started at the same time. As long as the
aid of a lantern was desirable we kept together,
but as it grew light Gabriel and I gradually drew
ahead. As day broke clouds began to gather,
and when we halted for breakfast at 6.10 A.M.
they hung so heavy on the Weisskugel that after
breakfast, instead of going straight on, we diverged
to the top of the rocks leading down towards
Kurzras, with the intention of waiting a short t«qie

a6z

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

to see what the weather would do, and if it did
not mend, of going down to Kurzras, where a
friend was awaiting me.

" At these rocks we were overtaken by the single
German gentleman with his guides, who had out-
stripped the other party. Before long the weather
seemed to improve, the clouds on the Weisskugel
got lighter, the sky seemed bright to the north,
and we thought that very soon everything would
be quite clear. The German quickly made a fresh
start, but Gabriel and I waited to finish our pipes.
However, we soon passed the other party, and,
passing over a minor summit, where we left the
rope, reached the real summit at 8.30 A.M. We
had heard one or two peals of thunder on the
way, but none appeared very close, and they
seemed to be getting more distant. The summit
was still in cloud, but it did not seem thick, and
I thought it would soon blow away. But almost
directly we reached the top it began to hail, and
we went down a few steps on the rocky ridge
that falls towards the Langtauferer Glacier, to be
somewhat sheltered.

" Here I remember handing Gabriel my map to
put in his pocket to keep dry, and knew nothing
more till I woke to the consciousness that he was
lifting me up from where I was lying on the rocks,
some 20 feet, I suppose, lower than the point

262

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

where we had been standing. I was bleeding from
a cut on the head, and my riglit arm was very
painful, and turned out afterwards to be broken.
Gabriel said that he had been knocked down also,
but not rendered insensible, and, falling on his
hands towards the upward slope, was not hurt.
He also said that he was to a certain extent
conscious of there having been a sudden glare
and explosion, but I knew nothing of it. The
German and his two guides, who at the time were
just below the first summit, but not within sight
of us, were so alarmed at the lightning and
thunder, that they turned at once and never
stopped till they reached Kurzras. The other
party, who had not got beyond the rocks where
we halted during the ascent, waited there for us,
and Joseph Spechtenhauser, one of their guides,
came to meet us and see if we wanted assistance.
However, I was quite myself when I came to,
which was directly Gabriel lifted me up, and the
mountain is so easy that my disabled arm was of
little consequence. I did not notice any more
thunder or lightning after the flash that knocked
us down, and the day cleared up to a lovely one.
I have every reason to be pleased with Gabriel's
kindness and attention to me without regard to
himself, and very much regret that my accident
prevented me from carrying out any of the other

263

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

expeditions which I had promised myself the
pleasure of making in his company."

One of the most exciting accounts of an adven-
ture in the Alps is Mr Tuckett's description of " A
Race for Life," ^ on the Eiger. Hardly less stirring
is a paper in The Alpine Journal by the same famous
climber, from which he most kindly allows me to
give a long quotation, telling of a narrow escape
during one of the most appalling thunderstorms that
could be experienced. The party were making the
ascent of the Roche Melon, a peak 11,593 ^^^t high
not far from the Mont Cenis. The weather was
unsettled, and grew worse as they mounted,

" Proceeding very cautiously through the whirling

wreaths of vapour lest we should suddenly drop over

upon Italy and hurt it — or ourselves — we struck up the

' final incline ' — as an American companion of mine

once dubbed the cone of Vesuvius as we looked down

upon it from its rim — and at 11.15 stood beside the

ruins of the signal and enjoyed a very magnificent

view of nothing in particular. As we had plenty of

time at our disposal — three and a half hours sufficing

for the descent to Susa — and the wind was keen and

damp, our first proceeding was to search for the chapel,

which we knew must be quite close to the summit

of the peak ; and, about 30 feet lower down, on the

southern side, which was entirely free from snow, we

^ See True Tales of Mountain Adventure.
264

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

came upon a tight little wooden building, some 6 or
7 feet long and high by 5 broad, very carefully con-
structed, with flat bands of thin iron on the outside
covering the lines of junction of the planks, so as
effectually to keep out both wind and moisture.
Opposite the door, which we found carefully bolted,
was a wooden shelf against the wall serving as an
altar, on which stood a small bronze statuette of the
Virgin, whilst on either hand hung the usual curious
medley of votive paintings, engravings, crosses, tapers
etc., not to mention certain pious scribblings. Taking
great care to disturb nothing, we arranged a loose
board and our packs on the rather damp floor so as
to form a seat, and waited for the clouds to disperse
and disclose the superb panorama that we knew
should here be visible.

" Here I may be allowed to mention that a chapel,
said to have been originally excavated in the rock,
and subsequently buried under ice or snow, was here
dedicated to the Virgin by a crusader of Asti,
Boniface by name, of the house of Rovero, in fulfil-
ment of a vow made whilst a captive in the hands
of the Saracens. More recently the present wooden
structure has taken its place, and every year, on 5th
August, pilgrims resort to it in considerable numbers.
Lower down on the Susa side is a much more
substantial structure, at a height of 9396 feet, called
the Ca d'Asti, in allusion to the circumstances of

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

its foundation. The last is a solidly, not to say
massively, constructed circular edifice of stone and
mortar, some 15 or 16 feet in diameter, and perhaps
rather more in height, with a vaulted roof of solid
masonry covered externally with tiles, and sur-
mounted by an iron cross. Seen from below, it
stands out boldly on a mass of crags which conceal
the actual summit of the Roche INIelon, and close by
are some low sheds, which appear ordinarily to serve
as shelter for flocks of sheep browsing on the grassy
slopes around, but on the night preceding the festa
of 5th August, furnish sleeping quarters for the
assembled pilgrims, who attend mass in the adjoining
chapel, if the weather, as frequently happens, does
not permit of its being celebrated on the summit of
the mountain, in what is probably the most elevated
shrine in Europe.

" The Roche Melon stands just in the track of
the great storms which, brewed in the heated plains
of Lombardy and Piedmont, come surging up
through the valley of the Dora Riparia, and burst,
hurling and crashing over the depression of Mont
Cenis, to find or make a watery grave in the valley
of the Arc. Of their combined fierceness and
grandeur we were soon to have only too favourable
an opportunity of judging, for scarcely more than
five minutes after we had comfortably established

266

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

ourselves under shelter, suddenly, without a moment's
warning, a perfect viitraille of hail smote the roof
above us, tore through the mist like grape-shot
through battle-smoke, and whitened the ground like
snow. We closed the door carefully, for now came
flash after flash of brilliant lightning, with sharp,
angry, snapping thunder, which, if we had been a
quarter of an hour later, would have made our
position on the exposed northern side anything but
pleasant We congratulated ourselves on our good
fortune, but were glad to pitch our axes amongst
the debris of rock above us and await patiently the
hoped-for dispersal of the fog. In a few minutes
the hail ceased, the mist became somewhat brighter,
rifts appeared in all directions, and, issuing forth,
we were amply rewarded by such glimpses of the
wonderful view as, if not fully satisfactory for topo-
graphical purposes, were, in a picturesque and artistic
point of view, indescribably grand and interesting.
The extent of level country visible is a remarkable
feature in the view from the Roche Melon, as also
in that from the summit of the Pourri, where Imseng
not a little amused me on first catching sight of
the plains of France stretching away till lost in
the haze, by shouting in a fit of uncontrollable
enthusiasm, * Ach ! Das ist wunderschon ! — ganz
ebenl'i

* " Ah ! That is really wonderfully beautiful I "
267

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

"We had not had more than time enough to
seize the general features of the panorama and
admire the special effects with their ever-changing
and kaleidoscopic combinations, when the mist once
more swooped upon us, again to be followed by
hail, lightning, and thunder, and a fresh clearance.
But this second visitation left behind it a further
souvenir in the shape of a phenomenon with which
most mountaineers are probably more or less familiar,
but which I never met with to the same extent
before — I allude to an electrified condition of the
summit of the mountain and all objects on its
surface by conduction. As the clouds swept by,
every rock, every loose stone, the uprights of the
rude railing outside the chapel, the ruined signal,
our axes, my lorgnette and flask, and even my
fingers and elbows, set up

" ' a dismal universal hiss.'
It was as though we were in a vast nest of excited
snakes, or a battery of frying-pans, or listening at
a short distance to the sustained note of a band
of cigali in a chestnut wood — a mixture of com-
parisons which ma^' serve sufficiently to convey the
impression that the general effect was indescribable.
I listened and looked and tried experiments for
some time, but suddenly it burst out with an energy
that suggested a coming explosion, or some equally

unpleasant denouements and, dropping my axe, to

268

" •-i--'?

■-. :1

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

whose performance I had been listening, I fairly
bolted for the chapel.

"We had now spent a couple of hours on the
summit, and had succeeded in getting, bit by bit,
a sight of most of the principal features of the very
remarkable view, with the exception of Monte Viso,
which persistently sulked ; so at 1.15, as there seemed
a probability of the weather becoming worse before
it improved, we quitted our excellent shelter, and,
after putting everything in order and carefully
closing and bolting the door, sallied forth into the
mist, which was again enshrouding the mountain,
apparently as the advance guard of the fiercest
storm in the neighbourhood, which we had for some
time been watching as it swept solemnly towards
us down the valley of the Dora.

" There is a sort of track, rather than well-defined
path, down the bare, rocky, and dSris-covQVQd
southern face of the mountain, but in the fog and
momentarily increasing gloom of the coming tempest
it was not always very easy to distinguish it. Still,
we descended rapidly, and in less than half an hour
had dropped down some 2000 feet to a point where,
during an instant's lift, we descried the outline of
the Ck d'Asti five minutes below us, just as the
edge of the coming hail smote us with a fury which
it was hard at times to face. We dashed on — it
was a regular sauve qui peut — blinded and stagger-

269

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

ing under the pitiless pelting and the fury of the
blast, gained the door of the chapel, which faced
the storm, deposited our axes outside, and darted
in, thankful again to find ourselves under so good
a roof just when it was most needed.

" For, if there had been at times wild goings on
upon the summit during the morning, they were
merely a faint prelude to the elemental strife which
now raged around. The wind roared and the hail
hissed in fiendish rivalry, and yet both seemed
silenced when the awful crashes of thunder burst
above and about us. We were in the very central
track and focus of the storm, and, as we sat crouched
upon the floor, the ground and the building seemed
to reel beneath the roar of the detonations, and our
heads almost to swim with the fierce glare of the
lightning. I had carefully closed the door, not only
to keep the wind and hail out, but also because
lightning is apt to follow a current of air, and, to the
right on entering, at about the height of a man,
was a small unglazed window some 2 feet square.
Opposite the door was the altar, on the step of which
I seated myself. Imseng took a place by my side,
between me and the window, whilst Christian perched
himself on the coil of rope with his back to the wall,
not far from the door, and between it and the window.
A quarter of a hour may have gone by when a flash
of intense vividness seemed almost to dart through

270

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

the window, and so affected Imseng's nerves that he
hastily quitted his seat by me and coiled himself up
near Christian, remarking that 'that was rather too
close to be pleasant' Then came four more really
awful flashes, followed all but instantaneously by
sharp, crackling thunder, which sounded like a volley
of bullets against a metal target, and then a fifth with
a slightly increased interval between it and the report.
I was just remarking to Christian that I thought the
worst was past, and that we should soon be liberated,
adding, ' How fortunate we are for the second time
to-day to get such shelter just in the nick of time,'
when — crash ! went everything, it seemed, all at once :

'* * No warning of the approach of flame,
Swiftly like sudden death it came.'

If some one had struck me from behind on the
bump of firmness with a sledge-hammer, or if we
had been in the interior of a gigantic percussion shell
which an external blow had suddenly exploded, I
fancy the sensation might have resembled that which
I for the first instant experienced. We were blinded,
deafened, smothered, and struck, all in a breath.
The place seemed filled with fire, our ears rang with
the report, fragments of what looked like incan-
descent matter rained down upon us as though a
meteorite had burst, and a suffocating sulphurous
odour — probably due to the sudden production of
ozone in large quantities — almost choked us. For

27 1

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

an instant we reeled as though stunned, but each
sprang to his feet and instinctively made for the door.
What my companions' ideas were I cannot tell ;
mine were few and simple — I had been struck, or
was being struck, or both ; the roof would be down
upon us in another moment ; inside was death, outside
our only safety. The door opened inwards, and our
simultaneous rush delayed our escape ; but it was
speedily thrown back, and, dashing out into the
blinding hail, we plunged, dazed and almost stupefied,
into the nearest shed. For the next few minutes the
lightning continued to play about us in so awful a
manner that we were in no mood calmly to investigate
the nature or extent of our injuries. It was enough
that we were still among the living, though I must
own that, at first, I had a fearful suspicion that poor
Imseng was seriously wounded. He held his head
between his hands, and rolled it about in so daft a
manner, and was so odd and unnatural in his move-
ments generally, that it struck me his brain might
have received some injury. I, for my part, was
painfully conscious of a good deal of pain in the
region of the right instep, and I saw that one of
Christian's hands was bleeding, and that he was
holding both his thighs as if in suffering.

" Gradually the storm drew off towards the Mont
Cenis, and, with minds free from the tension of
imminent peril, we had time to take stock of our

272

Monte Rosa from the Fukggen Grat.

Tllli ISIaTTEKHOR.V IRO.M the \VeLLEN1vI,1'1'E.

To face j-. 272.

THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ALPS

condition. It was a relief to see Imseng let go his
head and observe that it remained erect ; to hear
Christian say that his thighs were getting better ; and
to find, on examining my foot, that the mischief was
nothing more than a flesh wound, which was bleeding
but slightly. My hat, indeed, was knocked in, my
pockets filled with stones and plaster, and my heart,
it may be, somewhat nearer my mouth than usual,
but otherwise we could congratulate ourselves, with
deep thankfulness on a most marvellous escape
from serious harm.

"On comparing our impressions, Imseng declared
that the lightning had entered through the window,
struck the altar, glanced off from it to the wall, and
then vanished, whilst Christian and I agreed in the
belief that the roof had been the part struck, and
the flash had descended almost vertically upon us.
Quitting our place of refuge and repairing to the
chapel, we encountered a scene of ruin which at once
confirmed the correctness of our views. The lightning
had evidently first struck the iron cross outside and
smashed in the roof, dashing fragments of stone and
plaster upon us which, brilliantly illuminated, looked
to our dazed and confused vision like flakes of fiery
matter. It had then encountered the altar, over-
turning the iron cross and wooden candlesticks only
3 feet from the back of my head as I sat on the

step, tearing the wreath of artificial flowers or worsted
$ 273

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

rosettes strung on copper wire which surrounded the
figure of the Virgin, and scattering the fragments in
all directions. Next it glanced against the wall, tore
down, or otherwise damaged, some of the votive
pictures (engravings), and splintered portions of their
frames into ' matchwood.' The odour of ozone was
still strong, the water from the melting hail was
coming freely through the roof, and the walls were in
two places cracked to within 5 feet of the ground.
In fact, as a chapel, the building was ruined, though
showing little traces, externally, of the damage done,
so that it is possible — unless a stray shepherd
happened to look in — that its condition would for the
first time become known upon the arrival of the
pilgrims on the eve of 5th August.

"We stood long watching our departing foe, and
then three very sobered men dropped down silently
and quickly that afternoon upon Susa, thinking of
what might have been our fate."

?74

CHAPTER XVII

LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS

OIR W. MARTIN CONWAY has been good
enough to allow me to extract from The Alps
from End to End the following account of the destruc-
tion of Elm. Mountain falls have a special interest
for all who travel in Switzerland, where the remains
of so many are visible.

" The Himalayas are, from a geological point of
view, a young set of mountain ranges ; they still
tumble about on an embarrassingly large scale. The
fall, which recently made such a stir, began on
6th September 1893. That day the Maithana Hill
(11, 000 feet), a spur of a large mountain mass, pitched
bodily rather than slid, into the valley.

" * Little could be seen of the terrible occurrence, for
clouds of dust instantly arose, which darkened the
neighbourhood and fell for miles around, whitening
the ground and the trees until all seemed to be snow
covered. The foot of the hill had been undermined
by springs until there was no longer an adequate base,
and in the twinkling of an eye a large part of the

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mountain slid down, pushed forward, and shot across
the valley, presenting to the little river a lofty and
impervious wall, against which its waters afterwards
gathered. Masses of rocks were hurled a mile away,
and knocked down trees on the slopes across the
valley. Many blocks of dolomitic limestone, weigh-
ing from 30 to 50 tons, were sent like cannon-shots
through the air. The noise was terrific, and the
frightened natives heard the din repeated at intervals
for several days, for the first catastrophe was
succeeded by a number of smaller slides. Even five
months after the mountain gave wa}-, every rainy day
was succeeded by falls of rocks. A careful computa-
tion gives the weight of the enormous pile of rubbish
at Soo,cxx),ooo tons.'

" The Himalayas are indeed passing through their
dramatic geological period, when they give rise to
such landslips as this at relatively frequent intervals.
Plenty of landslips quite as big have been recorded in
the last half-century, and, amongst the remote and
uninhabited regions of the great ranges, numbers more
of which no record is made constantly happen. The
catastrophic period has ended for the Alps. Land-
slips on a great scale seldom occur there now ; when
they do occur, the cause of them is oftener the
activity of man than of natural forces. But of a great
landslip in the Alps details are sure to be observed,

and we are enabled to form a picture of the occurrence.

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LANDSLIPS L\ THE MOUNTAINS

When the Alps tremble the nations quake ; the
Himalayas may shudder in their solitudes, but the
busy occidental world pays scant attention, unless
gathering waters threaten to spread ruin afar. Of the
Gohna Lake we have been told much, but little of the
fall that caused it. E\-e-witnesses appear not to
have been articulate. We can, however, form some
idea of what it was like from the minute and accurate
account we possess of a great and famous Alpine
landslip. I refer to that which buried part of the
\-illage of Elm, in Canton Glarus, on nth September
1881.1

" Elm is the highest village in the Sernf Valley.
Its position is fixed by the proximity of a meadow-
flat of considerable extent. Above this three minor
valleys radiate, two of which are separated from one
another by a mountain mass, whose last buttress was
the Plattenbergkopf, a hill with a precipitous side and
a flat and wooded summit, which used to face the
traveller coming up the main valley. It was this
hill that fell.

" The cause of the fall was simple, and reflects little
credit on Swiss communal government. About half-
way up the hill there dips into it a bed of fine slate,
excellent for school-slates. In the year 1868 con-
cessions were given by the commune for working

^ All details connected with this avalanche were collected on
the spot, and shortly afterwards published in a volume, Der
Bergstnrz von El/n, by E. Buss and A. Heim. Zurich, 1881.

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this slate for ten years without any stipulation as to
the method to be employed. Immense masses of
the rock were removed. A hole was made i8o
metres wide, and no supports were left for the roof
It was pushed into the mountain to a depth of 65
metres! In 1878, when the concessions lapsed, the
commune, by a small majority, decided to work the
quarry itself Every burgher considered that he had
a right to work in the quarry when the weather was
unsuitable for farm labour. The place was therefore
overcrowded on wet days, and burdened with unskil-
ful hands. The quarry, of course, did not pay,
and became a charge on the rates, but between
eighty and one hundred men drew wages from it
intermittently.

" The roof by degrees became visibly rotten.
Lumps of rock used to fall from it, and many fatal
accidents occurred. The mass of the mountain above
the quarry showed a tendency to grow unstable, yet
blasting went forward merrily, and no precautions
were taken. Cracks opened overhead in all direc-
tions ; water and earth used to ooze down through
them. Fifteen hundred feet higher up, above the
top of the Plattenbergkopf, the ground began to be
rifted. In 1876 a large crack split the rock across
above the quarry roof, and four years later the mass
thus outlined fell away. In 1879 serious signs were
detected of coming ruin on a large scale. A great

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LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS

crack split the mountain across behind the top of the
hill. The existence of this crack was well known to
the villagers, who had a special name for it. It
steadily lengthened and widened. By August 1881
it was over four metres wide, and swallowed up all
the surface drainage. Every one seems then to have
agreed that the mountain would ultimately fall, but
no one was anxious. The last part of August and
the first days of September were very wet. On 7th
September masses of rock began to fall from the
hill ; more fell on the 8th, and strange sounds were
heard in the body of the rock ; work was at last
suspended in the quarry. On the loth a commission
of incompetent people investigated the hill, and pro-
nounced that there was no immediate danger. They,
however, ordered that work should cease in the
quarry till the following spring, whereat the work-
men murmured. All through the loth and the
morning of the nth falls of rock occurred every
quarter of an hour or so. Some were large. They
kept coming from new places. The mountain
groaned and rumbled incessantly, and there was no
longer any doubt that it was rotten through and
through.

" The I ith of September was a wet Sunday. Rocks
and rock-masses kept falling from the Plattenberg.
The boys of the village were all agog with excite-
ment, and could hardly be prevented by their parents

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from going too near the hill. In the afternoon a
number of men gathered at an inn in the upper
village, just at the foot of the labouring rocks, to
watch the falls. They called to Meinrad Rhyner, as
he passed, carrying a cheese from an alp, to join them,
but he refused, ' not fearing for himself, but for the
cheese.' Another group of persons assembled in a
relative's house to celebrate a christening. A few
houses immediately below the quarry were emptied,
but the people from them did not move far. At
four o'clock Schoolmaster Wyss was standing at his
window, watch in hand, registering the falls and the
time of their occurrence. Huntsman Elmer was on
his doorstep looking at the quarry through a telescope.
Every one was more or less on the qui vive, but none
foresaw danger to himself

" Many of the people in the lower village, called
Miisli, which was the best part of a mile distant from
the quarry, and separated from it by a large flat area,
were quite uninterested. They were making coffee,
milking cows, and doing the like small domestic
business,

" Suddenly, at a quarter past five, a mass of the

mountain broke away from the Plattenbergkopf

The ground bent and broke up, the trees upon it

nodded, and folded together, and the rock engulfed

them in its bosom as it crashed down over the

quarry, shot across the streams, dashing their water

280

LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS

in the air, and spread itself out upon the flat. A
greyish-black cloud hovered for a while over the
ruin, and slowly passed away. No one was killed
by this fall, though the debris reached within a
dozen yards of the inn where the sightseers were
gathered. The inhabitants of the upper village
now began to be a little frightened. They made
preparations for moving the aged and sick persons,
and some of their effects. People also came up
from the lower villages to help, and to see the
extent of the calamity. Others came together to
talk, and the visitors who had quitted the inn
returned to it. Some went into their houses to
shut the windows and keep out the dust. No one
was in any hurry.

"This first fall came from the east side of the
Plattenbergkopf ; seventeen minutes later a second
and larger fall descended from the west side. The
gashes made by the two united below the peak,
and left its enormous mass isolated and without
support. The second fall must have been of a
startling character, for Schoolmaster Wyss forgot
his watch after it. It overwhelmed the inn and
four other houses, killed a score of persons, and
drove terror into all beholders, so that they started
running up the opposite hill. Oswald Kubli, one
of the last to leave the inn, saw this fall from
close at hand. He was standing outside the inn

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

when he heard some one cry out : ' My God, here
comes the whole thing down ! ' Every one fled,
most making for the Diiniberg. * I made four or
five strides, and then a stone struck Geiger and
he fell without a word. Pieces from the ruined
inn flew over my head. My brother Jacob was
knocked down by them.' Again a dark cloud
of dust enveloped the ruin. As it cleared off.
Huntsman Elmer could see, through his glass, the
people racing up the hill (the Diiniberg) 'like a
herd of terrified chamois.' When they had reached
a certain height most of them stood still and
looked back. Some halted to help their friends,
others to take breath.

" ' Of those who were before me,' relates Meinrad
Rhyner, 'some were for turning back to the valley
to render help, but I called to them to fly.
Heinrich Elmer was carrying boxes, and was only
twenty paces behind me when he was killed.
There were also an old man and woman, who were
helping along their brother, eighty years old ; they
might have been saved if they had left him. I
ran by them, and urged them to hasten.'

"Of all who took refuge on the Diiniberg, only

six escaped destruction by the third fall, and they

held on their way, and went empty-handed. Ruin

overtook the kind and the covetous together.

" At this time, before the third fall, fear came
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LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS

also upon the cattle. A cow, grazing far down
the valley, bellowed aloud and started running for
the hillside with tail out-straightened. She reached
a place of safety before her meadow was over-
whelmed. Cats and chickens likewise saved them-
selves, and two goats sought and found salvation
on the steps of the parsonage.

"During the four minutes that followed the
second fall every one seems to have been running
about, with a tendency, as the moments passed, to
conclude that the worst was over. Then those who
were watching the mountain from a distance be-
held the whole upper portion of the Plattenbergkopf,
io,cxx),ooo cubic metres of rock, suddenly shoot
from the hillside. The forest upon it bent 'like a
field of corn in the wind,' before being swallowed
up. ' The trees became mingled together like a
flock of sheep.' The hillside was all in movement,
and 'all its parts were playing together.' The
mass slid, or rather shot down, with extraordinary
velocity, till its foot reached the quarry. Then the
upper part pitched forward horizontally, straight
across the valley and on to the Diiniberg. People
in suitable positions could at this moment clearly
see through beneath it to the hillside beyond.
They also saw the people in the upper village, and
on the Diiniberg, racing about wildly. No individual
masses of rock could be seen in the avalanche,

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

except from near at hand ; it was a dense cloud of
stone, sharply outlined below, rounded above. The
falling mass looked so vast that Schoolmaster Wyss
thought it was going to fill up the whole valley.
A cloud of dust accompanied it, and a great wind
was flung before it. This wind swept across the
valley and overthrew the houses in its path ' like
haycocks.' The roofs were lifted first, and carried
far, then the wooden portions of the houses were
borne bodily through the air, 'just as an autumn
storm first drives off the leaves and then the dead
branches themselves from the trees.' In many
cases wooden ruins were dropped from the air on
to the top of the stone debris when the fall was at
an end. Eye-witnesses say that trees were blown
about ' like matches,' that houses were ' lifted through
the air like feathers,' and ' thrown like cards against
the hillside,' 'that they bent, trembled, and then
broke up like little toys ' before the avalanche came
to them. Hay, furniture, and the bodies of men
were mixed with the house-ruins in the air. Some
persons were cast down by the blast and raised
again. Others were carried through the air and
deposited in safe positions ; others, again, were
hurled upward to destruction and dropped in a
shattered state as much as a hundred metres away.
Huntsman Elmer relates as follows :

" ' My son Peter was in Miisli (nearly a mile from
284

LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS

the quarry) with his wife and child. He sought
to escape with them by running. On coming to
a wall, he took the child from his wife and leaped
over. Turning round, he saw the woman reach out
her hand to another child. At that moment the
wind lifted him, and he was borne up the hillside.
My married daughter, also in Miisli, fled with two
children. She held the younger in her arms and led
the other. This one was snatched away from her,
but she found herself, not knowing how, some
distance up the hillside, lying on the ground face
downwards, with the baby beneath her, both
uninjured.'

"The avalanche, as has been said, shot with in-
credible swiftness horizontally across the valley. It
pitched on to the Diiniberg, struck it obliquely, and
was thus deflected down the level and fertile valley-
floor, which it covered in a few seconds, to the
distance of nearly a mile and over its whole width,
with a mass of rock debris more than 30 feet
thick. Most of the people on the hillside were
instantly killed, the avalanche falling on to them
and crushing them flat, ' as an insect is crushed into
a red streak under a man's foot.' Only six persons
here escaped. Two of them were almost reached
by the rocks, the others were whirled aloft through
the air and deposited in different directions. One
survivor describes how the dust-cloud overtook him,

28s

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

' and came between him and his breath ! ' He sank
face downwards on the ground, feeling powerless to
go further. Looking back, he saw 'stones flying
above the dust-cloud. In a moment all seemed to
be over. I stood up and climbed a few yards to a
spring of water to wash out the dust, which filled
my mouth and nose' (all survivors on the Diiniberg
had the same experience). 'All round was dark
and buried in dust.'

"It was only when the avalanche had struck the
Diiniberg and began to turn aside from it — the
work of a second or two — that the people in the
lower village, far down along the level plain, had
any suspicion that they were in danger. Twenty
seconds later all was over. Some of them who
were on a bridge had just time to run aside, not a
hundred yards, and were saved, but most were killed
where they stood. The avalanche swept away half
the village. Its sharply defined edge cut one house
in two. All within the edge were destroyed, all
without were saved. Almost the only persons
wounded were those in the bisected house.
Huntsman Elmer with his telescope, and School-
master Wyss with his watch, whose houses were
just beyond the area of ruin, beheld the dust-
cloud come rolling along, ' like smoke from a
cannon's mouth, but black,' filling the whole width
of the flat valley to about twice the height of a

286

LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS

house. The din seemed to them not very great,
and the wind, which, in front of the cloud, carried
the houses away Hke matchwood, did not reach
them. Others describe the crash and thunder of
the fall as terrific ; it affected people differently.
All agree that it swallowed up every other sound,
so that shrieks of persons near at hand were in-
audible. The mass seemed to slide or shoot along
the ground rather than to roll. One or two men
had a race for life and won it, but most failed to
escape who were not already in a place of safety.
Fridolin Rhyner, an eleven-year-old boy, kept
his head better than any one else in the village,
and succeeded in eluding the fall. He saw, too,
'how Kaspar Zentner reached the bridge as the fall
took place, and how he started running as fast as he
could, but was caught by the flood of rocks near
Rhyner's house ; he jumped aside, however, into a
field, limped across it, got over the wall into the
road, and so just escaped.'

" The last phase of the catastrophe is the hardest
to imagine, and was the most difficult to foresee.
The actual facts are these. Ten million cubic metres
of rock fell down a depth (on an average) of about
450 metres, shot across the valley and up the
opposite (Diiniberg) slope to a height of 100 metres,
where they were bent 25° out of their first direction,
and poured, almost like a liquid, over a horizontal

287

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

plane, covering it, uniformly, throughout a distance
of 1500 metres and over an area of about 900,000
square metres to a depth of from 10 to 20 metres.
The internal friction of the mass and the friction
between it and the ground were insignificant forces
compared with the tremendous momentum that was
generated by the fall. The stuff flowed like a liquid.
No wonder the parson, seeing the dust-cloud rolling
down the valley, thought it was only dust that went
so far. His horror, when the cloud cleared off and
he beheld the solid grey carpet, beneath which one
hundred and fifteen of his flock were buried with
their houses and their fields, may be imagined. He
turned his eyes to the hills, and lo ! the familiar
Plattenbergkopf had vanished and a hole was in
its place.

"The roar of the fall ceased suddenly. Silence
and stillness supervened. Survivors stood stunned
where they were. Nothing moved. Then a great
cry and wailing arose in the part of the village that
was left. People began to run wildly about, some
down the valley, some up. As the dust-cloud grew
thinner the wall-like side of the ruin appeared. It
was quite dry. All the grass and trees in the
neighbourhood were white with dust. Those who
beheld the catastrophe from a distance hurried
down to look for their friends. Amongst them

was Burkhard Rhyner, whose house was untouched

288

LANDSLIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS

at the edge of the debris. He ran to it and found,
he said, ' the doors open, a fire burning in the kitchen,
the table laid, and coffee hot in the coffee-pot, but
no living soul was left.' All had run forth to help
or see, and been overwhelmed — wife, daughter, son,
son's wife, and two grandchildren. ' I am the sole
survivor of my family.' Few were the wounded
requiring succour ; few the dead whose bodies could
be recovered. Here and there lay a limb or a trunk.
On the top of one of the highest debris mounds was
a h-^ad severed from its body, but othenvise un-
inju.vd. Every dead face that was not destroyed
wore a look of utmost terror. The crushed remains
of a youth still guarded with fragmentary arms the
body of a little child. There were horrors enough
for the survivors to endure. The memory of them
is fresh in their minds to the present day.

" Such was the great catastrophe of Elm. The
hollow in the hills, whence the avalanche fell, can
still be seen, and the pile of ruin against and below
the Diiniberg ; but almost all the rest of the debris-
covered area has been reclaimed and now carries
fields, which were ripening to harvest when I saw
them. The fallen rocks, some big as houses, have
been blasted level ; soil has been carried from afar
and spread over the ruin. A channel, 40 feet
deep or more, has been cut through it for the river,
so that the structure of the rock-blanket can still
T 289

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

be seen. The roots of young trees now grasp stones
that took part in that appalling flight from their
old bed of thousands of years to their present place
of repose. The valley has its harvests again, and
the villagers go about their work as their forefathers
did, but they remember the day of their visitation,
and to the stranger coming amongst them they tell
the tragic tale with tears in their eyes and white
horror upon their faces."

290

CHAPTER XVIII

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

A LL must have noticed, summer after summer, in
the daily papers, a recital from time to time
under some such heading as, " Perils of the Alps," of
a variety of disasters to Germans or Austrians on
mountains the names of which are unfamiliar to
English people or even to English climbers. Many
young men, of little leisure and of slight means,
develop a passionate love for the peaks of their native
land. The minor ranges of Austria and Germany
offer few difficulties to really first-class, properly
equipped parties, but nasty places can be found on
most of them, and the very fact that they do not
boast of glaciers removes the chief argument against
solitary ascents.

The Rax, near Vienna, is a mountain which can be
reached in a few hours from that city, and while a
good path has been laid out to the summit, many
other routes requiring climbing — by climbing I mean
the use of the hands — are available for the hardier
class of tourists. One route in particular, that from

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the Kaiserbrunn through the Wolfsthal, appears to
be really difficult, and is unfit for a man to ascend
alone unless he is a climber of great skill. A terrible
experience fell to the lot of a young Viennese com-
positor, employed on the Neue Freie Presse, and by
name Emil Habl. He set out by himself to make
the expedition referred to, and, having fallen and
broken his leg, he managed, thanks to his pluck and
endurance, to escape with his life. " Despite injuries
which made it impossible for him to stand," says a
writer in one of Messrs Newnes' publications, from
which I am courteously permitted to quote, " he yet
succeeded in conveying himself from the scene of his
accident into the valley in the neighbourhood of
human dwellings. Three dreadful days and three
awful nights lasted that memorable descent — a
descent which can easily be made in two hours by
any one able to walk. It may almost certainly be
said that the case is without a parallel in the annals
of Alpine accidents."

Herr Habl had ascended the Rax on previous
occasions, and twice before by the Wolfsthal. It is
the custom on many of the easier Austrian mountains
to mark the way by painted strips on the rocks.
These are sometimes very useful, but occasionally
they tempt the tourist into tracks which may be
beyond his powers, or lure him on till, at last, losing
sight of them, he is induced to strike out a route —

292

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

and perhaps an impracticable one — for himself. The
Wolfsthal route up the Rax is marked in green, but
the paint had worn off in many places, and after a
time Herr Habl could no longer trace it. At last
the way was barred by a precipice, but while pausing
in uncertainty beneath it, the climber noticed two
iron clamps fixed far apart on the face of the cliff,
and argued that they must at one time have supported
ladders and formed, perhaps, part of a hunter's path.
He made an attempt to scramble up the rock, in
spite of the absence of the ladder, but when more
than 30 feet up saw that it was impossible to scale it.
He therefore determined to return, but a loose stone,
giving way beneath him, he was precipitated from his
precarious hold, and fell with a crash straight to
the bottom. This happened at about 7.30 A.M., and
for a long time he lay unconscious. When he came
to himself again he was suffering greatly.

" The first thing I noticed," he says, " was a terrible
pain in my right leg, my head, and left side ; I was
also bleeding profusely from several wounds. At the
same time, considering the fearful fall I had had, I
felt thankful I had not been killed outright. On
trying to get up I discovered, to my utter horror, that
I had broken my right shin-bone. It was quite im-
possible to rise. The break was about 6 inches
below the knee, and at the first glance I knew it to

be a very bad fracture. It was what the doctors

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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

call an ' open ' fracture — that is, the bone projected
through the skin."

It was in vain that he shouted for help. Tourists
seldom pass that way, and it was useless to expect
any one to hear him. To make matters worse, the
weather had changed, and rain now fell heavily.
But Herr Habl did not lose courage. He writes :
" Unless I wanted miserably to die a long-drawn-out,
hideous death from hunger and thirst, I knew / must
saz'e myself. I decided not to lose another moment
in fruitless brooding, and waiting, and shouting, but
to act at once.

" I perceived that first of all I must set my broken
leg and bandage it in some rough fashion. In spite
of the agony it caused me, I rolled over and over
the ground in different directions like a bale of goods
— a few yards here and a few yards there — until I
had collected a sufficient quantity of fallen branches,
bits of fir and moss ; this strange collecting process
took me some hours. The next thing was to tear off
the sleeves of my shirt and such other parts of my
underwear as I could spare. On my mountain ex-
cursions I always took with me a box containing
iodoform gauze and cambric ; and now these things
were more than welcome.

" At last, then, I was ready to begin the operation.
But, good heavens, what agony ! My deadliest enemy
I would not wish such excruciating pains as I suffered

294

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENXES

when setting the poor splintered bone — which, be it
remembered, was not broken straight across. The
dreadful splinters, indeed, dug deep into my flesh.
Not regarding the pain (although nearly fainting
therewith) I exerted my whole force, and at last
succeeded in getting the bone into what, as far as I
could judge, was its right position. Then I wound
the iodoform gauze round it, and over that I put the
cambric, the bits of underclothing, and a layer of
moss. Next in the queer operation came my alpen-
stock and some boughs in place of splints ; and finally
I tied the whole together with the string, my hat-line,
and neck-tie."

During the rest of the day the agonising descent
continued, down rocks which were difficult even for
a sound man to ascend. As evening approached
Herr Habl bethought him of the need of food, but,
alas ! all was gone from his knapsack, doubtless left
at the spot where the bandages had been put on.
To regain this point was out of the question, so
berries and leaves were resorted to, to appease the
craving of hunger.

That night was passed in pain and weariness. The
rain never ceased, the poor wounded man was soaked
to the skin. The next day, from dawn to dark
the fearful descent continued, and was followed by
another night of indescribable miser\\ The morning
after Herr Habl could hardly drag himself a yard,

'95

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

and the temptation to lie down and await the end
was ver>' great. Still, for the sake of his parents at
home, he continued his efforts, though bleeding now
from the contact of the sharp rocks over which he
pushed himself in a half-lying, half-sitting posture.
By four o'clock that afternoon it seemed as if human
endurance could bear no more, and for two hours he
lay in an awful apathy he could not shake off Then,
when all hope seemed over, help came, for he heard
the sound of human voices, and this so stirred him
that once more he began to crawl downward, though
unable to obtain any reply to his cries for assistance.
Another night passed, and during it, for the first
time, he got some sleep. The next morning, he
once more dragged his poor lacerated body down-
wards and at last came in sight of some houses.
Calling feebly for help, he was delighted beyond
measure to receive an answer, and soon he was
carried to Hotel Kaiserbrunn, and the same evening
transported to the hospital at Vienna. He concludes
his most interesting account by remarking : " I do
not think that my accident, terrible as it is, has
cured me of my love of mountaineering. But
certainly the remembrance of those three terrible
days and nights will deter me from again under-
taking difficult climbs by myself"

An adventure, having a happier termination,

befell some friends of mine in the Bregaglia group,

296

^fha.^aj^A'aMKja "J

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

owing to the marking of a route with paint. The
district was but little known to them, so they were
glad to follow where the marks led. One of the
party, writing in The Alpine Journal, says :

"The descent began by a grass ledge. After a
few yards this was suddenly closed by overhanging
rocks. Francois, who was first, appeared to us to
plunge down a precipice. He answered our criticism
by pointing to the red triangles. They indicated
the only means of advance. It was requisite to
go down a dozen feet of nearly vertical rock by the
help of two grass tufts, and then for several yards
to walk across a horizontal crack which gave foot-
hold varying from 2 inches to nothing. Nominal
support — help in balance — could be gained at first
by digging axes into grass overhead ; further on
hand-hold was obtainable. Frangois walked across
without a moment's hesitation, but we did not
despise the rope. This mauvais pas would not,
perhaps, trouble younger cragsmen. It came upon
us unprepared and when somewhat tired. But to
indicate a route including such an obstacle to un-
suspecting tourists as a Station Path is surely rash.
A practical joke that may lead to fatal results
should only be resorted to under exceptional cir-
cumstances— as, for example, in the case of an
hotel bore. There can be little doubt that in this

instance the Milanese section entrusted their paint-

297

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

pot to a conscious, if unconscientious, humorist ;
for we found afterwards that he had continued his
triangles through the village, along the high road,
and finished up only on the ticket office."

The following terrible experience did not, it is
true, happen to a party of mountaineers, but as
The Alpine Journal, from which I take my account,
has considered a notice of it appropriate to its
pages, I include it amongst my tales.

" A distinguished aeronaut. Captain Charbonnet,
of Lyons, married a young girl from Turin. On
the evening of their wedding, in October, 1893,
they set out in Captain Charbonnet's balloon
'Stella,' and covered about 10 miles on their way
towards Lyons.

" Next morning, accompanied by two young
Italians named Durando and Botto, one of whom
had made many previous ascents with Captain
Charbonnet, they started again. Stormy weather
seemed to be brewing, and after rising to a height
of 3000 metres they were caught in a current. At
Saluggia they nearly touched ground, then leapt
up again to 4000, and presently to 6000 metres.
About 2.30 P.M. the balloon began to descend
rapidly, and they had some difficulty in stopping
it at 3000 metres.

" Here they were in dense clouds, and bitterly
cold ; quite ignorant, moreover, of their position.

298

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

Captain Charbonnet made his crew lie down in
the car, himself leaning out in order to try if he
could catch a glimpse of any point from which he
could learn his bearings. The balloon was drifting
at a great rate, and nothing could be done to
check it. Presently there was a shock, and Captain
Charbonnet was thrown to the bottom of the car,
by a heavy blow over his left eye.

" The balloon rebounded, and dashing across a
gully struck the other side of it, and it finally
settled down on a steep rocky spur on the east
side of the Bessanese (3632 metres= 11,917 feet),
just above the small glacier of Salau. It had
struck the wall of the mountain which faces the
Rifugio Gastaldi, at a height of about 3000 metres
(9843 feet).

" The aeronauts reached the ground a good deal
shaken and bruised, but none of them, except the
leader, suffering from any serious injuries. . , . Their
sole provision was one bottle of wine ; but they
were fairly well off for covering, and they cut up
the balloon to supply deficiencies. In the night a
violent storm came on, to add to their misery. In
spite of his injuries, Captain Charbonnet kept up
the spirits of his companions as well as might be,
but towards morning his powers failed, and when
day dawned his young wife, a girl of eighteen, had
some difficulty in bringing him round.

299

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

" They started to descend the snow-slope,
Durando going first, and making steps to the best
of his power with his feet 'and with a long key
which he happened to have in his pocket.' Of
course they had neither nails nor poles ; and, by
a fatal imprudence, they did not tie themselves
together, though ropes must have been in plenty
in the wreck of the balloon.

"Presently Charbonnet slipped. He was held
up by his wife and Botto ; but a few minutes later
he disappeared into a hidden crevasse. The others
could see him far below, but as he neither moved
nor answered their call, they rightly assumed that
he was beyond the reach of any human help, and
proceeded downwards.

"With infinite difficulty, owing to their utter
ignorance of the country, and after another night
spent in the open air, they found a path which
brought them to the hut under the Rocca Venoni,
Thence a shepherd guided them to the Cantina
della Mussa, where they were at first taken for
deserters or spies ; the lady, it should be said, had
been obliged to put on a suit of her husband's
clothes, her own having been torn to pieces.

" The sight of her hair and bracelets convinced
the inhabitants of the true state of the case ; a
telegram was sent to Turin, and a message to
Balme, and a search party came up from the latter

3C0

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

place in the afternoon. Captain Charbonnet's body
was recovered the next day. It was found at the
bottom of a crevasse more than 60 feet deep, and
completely doubled up ; but medical examination
showed that his death was primarily due to the
injury received when the balloon first struck."

The first passage of the Alps by balloon was
made in September 1903, by Captain Spelterini, of
Zurich, accompanied by Dr Hermann Seller and
another friend. They started from Zermatt, crossed
the Mischabel group, passed over the valley of
Saas, then rose above the Weissmies range, and
approached the Lago Maggiore so closely that
they were able to converse with the passengers of
a steamer. They then rose again and spent the
night above the mountains not far from the
Gotthard. The next day it would have been
possible to clear the Bernese Alps and descend
somewhere near Lucerne, but though Dr Seller,
who is a climber and was fully equipped for a
descent above the snow line, urged the attempt
being made to cross the chain. Captain Spelterini
and his friend, unused to the aspect of the higher
peaks, considered it more prudent to descend, and
so the expedition came to an end after twenty
hours aloft, during which no discomfort from cold
was experienced.

When an accident happens in the Alps involving
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ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

loss of life, it is not difficult to learn whatever facts
may be known with regard to it, but when climbers
have a narrow escape from death the occurrence is
often hushed up and nothing said or written about
the matter. And yet it is just the narrow escapes
that furnish the most interesting Alpine narratives.
Amongst them are few more exciting than a mishap
on the Matterhorn which happened in 1895, and
is admirably described by an onlooker, Mr Ernest
Elliot Stock, in the pages of one of Messrs Newnes'
periodicals, from which I am courteously permitted to
quote a portion of the tale.

Mr Stock's party consisted of himself, his sister,
Mr Grogan (the well-known traveller who first
crossed Africa from South to North), Mr Broadbent,
and the guides, P. A. and Alois Biner, Peter Perrin,
and Zurmatter. An American of no climbing
experience, with Joseph Biner and Felix Julen, was
on the mountain at the same time, and both parties
having made the ascent by the ordinary route, were
coming down the same way, and had descended in
safety to just below " Moseley's Platte " when the
incident which so nearly cost them their lives took
place. They were on a steep slope and the
American party was slightly in advance. Mr Stock
writes :

" We had been working slowly, and at a slight zig-
zag, down this for some 150 feet, only one member of

302

'he Mattekhorn from the Hornli ridge.

The Matterhorn from the Fupcg Glacier.

face p. 3<>2.

Josefh Bi.ver.

The Matterhorn hut.

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

the party moving at a time, and keeping carefully
within the steps cut by the leader, when suddenly a
flat stone, some 6 inches across, became detached
from a small pile either to the side of or directly
behind me — possibly loosened by our passage or
picked up by the rope as it tautened between myself
and Peter Biner, who came next. Peter's cry of
warning was echoed by his brother at the tail of
the party, and I half turned to see it slipping past on
the right.

" Reaching out with my axe I endeavoured to stop
it, but its impetus had become too great. Getting
upon its edge it rolled and struck a small rock ; then
jumped some 20 feet down the ice-slope, narrowly
missing Perrin and ' America,' and struck again upon
a larger and flatter rock, when, amidst a flight of
smaller stones, it bounded outwards and down-
wards, striking the leading guide, Joseph Biner, full
and square on the head. He fell as though he had
been shot, dragging ' America ' after him amidst a
perfect shower of snow and stones. Julen, who came
third, with the greatest presence of mind drov-e his
ice-axe hard and deep into the ice, took a turn round
it with his left arm, and, though dragged violently
from his steps, to our intense relief held on.

" But we were in an awkward plight. Poor Joseph
half lay, half hung, without movement, at the end of
some 30 feet of rope, bleeding copiously from a deep

303

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

gash in the head and another across the forehead
caused by his fall ; ' America ' clung to a small rock
projecting from the snow, beating a tattoo with his
boots on the ice and wailing dismally ; Julen held the
two by favour of his ice-axe and firmly planted feet
only. For a space no one moved, excepting to get
such anchorage as was possible upon the spur of the
moment, each expecting a rope-jerk, the forerunner
of a swift and battered end in the ice-fall of the
Furgg Glacier thousands of feet below.

" The guides for a time seemed utterly stunned by
the catastrophe, and to all suggestions could only
reply with muttered prayers and exclamations. So
exasperating did this become at last, with the thought
of the man below bleeding to death, if not dead
already, that Mr Grogan, who had vainly been
endeavouring to bring the guides to a sense of the
position, quietly slipped the rope, and, amid a storm
of protest from them, traversed out some distance to
avoid a patch of loose stones, and descended inwards
again, cutting his steps as he went, till he reached a
spot immediately below the wounded man. Poor
Joseph hung with his head buried in a patch of snow,
and in an extremely awkward position to reach from
above. Mr Grogan, however, refused to be daunted
by the difficulties, and we were treated to a fine piece
of ice-craft during his descent."

After a little time Mr Grogan managed to cut a
304

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

seat in the slope of ice and placing the still breathing
but insensible man in it, he bandaged the wounds on
his head, and before long had the satisfaction of seeing
him recover his senses. With great difficulty, as he
was very weak and shaken, poor Joseph was helped
down the mountain, and at last every one arrived safe
and sound at the lower hut.

There is no doubt that Joseph owed his life to
Mr Grogan's skill, promptness, and courage. Had the
travellers in the party following " America's " been of
the usual type of tourist, who is hauled up and let
down the Matterhorn, one dare not think what would
probably have been the result, for the description
Mr Stock gives of the behaviour of his guides seems
in no way exaggerated. I edit this account in sight of
the very spot where the accident occurred, and I have
made careful enquiries here as to the accuracy of the
story, and am assured that it is true in every detail.
It is a pleasure to feel that a fellow-countryman
should show so brilliant an example to those who
were not willing and probably would have hardly
been able to rescue their comrade, although to
attempt such a task was one of the prior obligations
of their profession.

To be bombarded by falling stones in the Alps is

bad enough. To be hurled from one's foot-hold by

a flock of eagles seems to me even more appalling.

Though on one occasion, when on the slopes of a

u _ 305

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

bleak and rocky peak in Lapland, in company with
my husband, a pair of eagles came screaming so
close to us that we drove them away by brandishing
our ice-axes and throwing stones at them, I did
not till recently believe that there could be positive
danger to a climbing party from an onslaught by
these birds. It was only a few weeks ago that
taking up one of Messrs Newnes' publications I
came upon an account of a tragedy in the Maritime
Alps caused by an attack from eagles. On applying
to the editor of the magazine in question, he kindly
allowed me to make some extracts from a striking
article by Mons. Antoine Neyssel. This gentle-
man with a friend, Mons. Joseph Monand, was
making a series of ascents in the Maritime Alps
with Sospello as their headquarters. From here
they took a couple of guides and got all ready for
a climb on the following morning, 23rd July. During
the evening the amazing news reached them that
a postman, while crossing a high pass, had been
attacked and nearly killed by eagles. They at once
went into the cottage where the poor man lay un-
conscious on two chairs, a pool of blood beneath
him and his clothes torn to ribbons. A few days
later he died from the terrible injuries he had
received.

Though much shocked at the sad event, the
climbers believed that their party of four would be

306

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

quite safe, for each man had an ice-axe and some
carried rifles. So the next morning they set out,
and, ascending higher and higher, reached the glacier
and put on the rope. They had forgotten all about
the ferocious birds when suddenly, as they traversed
the upper edge of a crevasse near the summit of
their peak, the leading guide stopped with an
exclamation of horror. Close to them the ground
was strewn with feathers and marked with blood,
doubtless the spot where the postman was attacked.
They passed on, however, and remembering that
they were a party of four, felt reassured. But soon
after weird cries came to their ears from below,
followed by the whirr and beating of great wings.
Looking cautiously over the abyss, they saw a fight
of eagles in progress ; feathers flew in the air and
strange sounds came out of the seething mass. It
seemed to rise towards them, and in their insecure
position on the edge of a crevasse, they were badly
placed to resist an attack. The foot-hold was of
frozen and slippery snow. Suddenly the eagles
burst up and around them. The guides immediately
cut the rope and each person did what he could
to save himself " Wherever possible," says Mons.
Neyssel, " we simply raced over the frozen snow like
maniacs. In another moment they dashed upon us
like an avalanche. I heard a shot — I suppose
Monand fired, but I did not : I do not know why.

307

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

The attack was quite too dreadful for words. Speak-
ing for myself, I remember that the eagles struck
me with stunning force with their wings, their hooked
beaks, and strong talons. Every part of my body
seemed to be assailed simultaneously. It was a
fierce struggle for life or death. Strangely enough,
I remember nothing of what happened to my
companions. I neither saw nor heard anything of
them after the first great rush of the eagles. It is
a miracle I was not hurled to death into the
crevasse.

" Do not ask me how long this weird battle lasted.
It may have been five or six minutes, or a quarter
of an hour. I do not know. I grew feebler, and
felt almost inclined to give up the struggle, when
the blood began to trickle down my face and nearly
blinded me. I knew that every moment might be
my last, and that I might be hurled into the crevasse.
Strangely enough, the prospect did not appal me.
From this time onward I defended myself almost
mechanically, inclined every moment to give up and
lie down.

" I gave no thought to the guides and my poor

friend Monand. If I am judged harshly for this,

I regret it ; but I could not help it. All at once I

heard loud, excited voices, but thought that these

were merely fantastic creations of my own brain.

In a moment or two, however, I could distinguish a

308

SOME TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES

number of men laying about them fiercely with
sticks, and beating off the eagles."

The villagers, having watched the ascent through
a telescope had come to the rescue and had saved
the lives of the writer and his two guides. His poor
friend, however, was dashed into the crevasse, at
the bottom of which his body was found five days
later.

309

CHAPTER XIX

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

T AM indebted to the editor of The Cornhill and
^ the author of an article entitled " The Cup and
the Lip " for permission to reprint portions of a paper
containing much shrewd wisdom, several accounts
of narrow escapes, and withal of a wittiness and
freshness that brings to the reader a keen blast of
Alpine air and the memory, if by chance he be a
climber, of his own early days upon the mountains.
The writer, after remarking that even in these
days when the traveller, by the purchase of a few
climbing requisites, is inclined to consider himself a
mountaineer before he has ever set foot on a peak,
goes on to say that, in reality, "for the most of
us the craft is long to learn, the conquering hard.
And in the experience of many there are two distinct
phases. There is the time when, flushed with youth
and victory, you seem to go on from strength to
strength, faster from year to year, more confident
in foot and hand, more scornful of the rope which
you have seen so often used, not as a means of

310

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

safety, but as an assistance to the progression of
the weaker brethren, until one day your foot un-
accountably finds the step too small, or the bit of
rock comes away in your hand, or the outraged
spirit of the mountains smites you suddenly with
a stone, and all is changed. Henceforth every well-
worn and half-despised precaution has a new mean-
ing for you ; it becomes a point of honour to walk
circumspectly, to turn the rope round every helpful
projection when the leader moves, and to mark
and keep your distance ; and you begin to catch
a little of the wisdom of your fathers. It is not
until the slip comes — as it comes to all — that you
believe a slip is possible ; and were it not for slips
the continual advance of cup to lip might become
in time monotonous and irksome, and mountaineer-
ing nothing but a more laborious and elaborate form
of walking up a damp flight of stairs. But when
it has come, and there has passed away the result
of the consequent shock to your self-esteem, and
to other even more sensitive portions of your person,
there succeeds a new pride of achievement, and
you will have the advantages of the converted sinner
over the ninety-and-nine just persons whose knicker-
bockers are still unriven. Furthermore, you will
have commenced the graduate stage of your moun-
taineering education. Unlucky, too, will you be
if your experience has not given you something

311

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

more than a juster estimate of your own moral
and physical excellence ; for your misfortune, if you
have chosen your companions aright, will suddenly
turn your grumbling hireling into a friend as gentle
and as patient as a nurse, and disclose in those who
were your friends qualities of calm and steadfastness
never revealed in the fret of the valley ; while, if
you need wine and oil for your wounds, when you
reach home again, you will find in the inn some
English doctor, asking nothing better than to devote
the best part of his holiday to the gratuitous healing
of the stranger.

"The form of my own awakening was not such
as to require wine or oil or consolation, and indeed,
had I spoken of it at the time, would have scarcely
escaped ridicule. We had reached the summit of
our pass, and the guides and myself had decided
that the steep wall of snow on the further side was
an admirable place for a glissade. Accordingly, we
went through the inevitable ritual of the summit,
consumed as much sour bread and wine as we
could, with unerring inaccuracy applied the wrong
names to all the newly disclosed mountain-tops,
adjusted the rope and prepared for the descent.
Unfortunately, we omitted to explain the particular
form of pleasure in which we were about to indulge
to my companion, who was ignorant alike of moun-
taineering and the German tongue. The result was

312

A TEDIOUS SNOW SLOPE TO ASCEND.

A SITTING GLISSADE AND A QUICK DESCENT.

A GLACIER-CAI'I'EI) SUMMIT.

ce p. 312.

Italy to the lf.it, Switzerland to ihe kight.

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

simple : the second guide, who was in front, set off
with his feet together and his axe behind him ; I
followed in as correct an imitation of his attitude
as I could induce my body to assume ; but the
novice stood still on the crest of the pass to ' await
in fitting silence the event,' and the rope tightened.
The jerk, after nearly cutting me in two, laid me
on my back in the snow, and was then transmitted
to the guide, who was also pulled off his feet and
plunged head foremost down. Our combined
weights drew after us both my companion and the
chief guide, who was taken unawares, and both
came crushing upon me. We rolled over and over,
mutually pounding one another as we rolled ; hats
and spectacles and axes preceded us, and huge
snowballs followed in our wake, until, breathless
and humiliated, we had cleared the schrund, and
came to an ignominious halt on the flat snow below.
" This was no very rude introduction to my climb-
ing deficiencies, but before the end of the season
I had felt fear at the pit of my stomach. We (that
is A. T. and myself) had scrambled up an Austrian
mountain, and, on our way down, had come to where
the little glacier intervenes between the precipice
and the little moraine heaps above the forest. The
glacier would hardly deserve the name in any other
part of the Alps, so small is it ; but it makes up
for what it lacks in size by its exceeding steepness ;

313

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

the hardness of its ice, and the ferocity (if one may
attribute personal characteristics to Nature) of the
rock walls which keep in its stream on either hand,
hem it in so closely that I think it must be always
in deep shadow, even in the middle of a June day.

" Here you must cross it very nearly on a level,
and then skirt down its further side between ice
and rock for a few feet before you come to a suitable
place for the crossing of the big crevasse below you ;
and then a short slide down old avalanche debris
shoots you deliciously into the sun again. The
crossing of the glacier in the steps cut by the
numerous parties who have passed on previous days
is an extremely simple affair. But you must not
hurry, for a slip could not be checked, and would
probably finish in the before-mentioned crevasse.
We started, however, in some fear ; for a party
ascending the mountains favoured us with continual
showers of stones of all sizes, and the higher they
climbed the more viciously came their artillery.
Hence I was nervous and apt^to go carelessly when
we reached the middle of the ice, and here the noise
began. I heard a strange, whizzing, whirring noise
which sounded strangely familiar, accompanied by
a physical shiver on my part and a curious knocking
together of the knees ; again and again it came,
followed each time by a slight dull thud ; and,
looking at the rocks below us on each side, I saw a

314

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

little white puff of dust rising at every concussion.
Then I knew why the sound seemed familiar. I
was reminded how, as a panting schoolboy, I had
toiled up a long dusty road to a certain down with
a rifle much too large for me, in the vain hope of
shooting my third-class, and how, as we bruised our
shoulders at the 200 yards' range, another young
gentleman firing at the 400 yards at the parallel
range on the left, had mistaken his mark and fired
across our heads at the target beyond us on the
right. Everything was present : the indescribable
whirring of the bullet, its horrible invisibility while
it flew, and the grey little cloud as it flattened itself
on the white paint of the target. The sensation was
horrible, the tendency to hurry irresistible, and but
for my companion I should have risked slip and
crevasse and everything to get out of the line of fire.
But my companion remained absolutely steady ;
while he poured forth curses in every language and
every patois ever spoken in the Italian Tyrol, he
still moved his feet as deliberately, improved the
steps with as much care and minuteness as if he were
a Chamonix guide conducting a Frenchman on the
Mer de Glace. I know he felt the position as acutely
as I did, for when, a week later, we had to cross the
same place under a similar fire, and the third member
of the party was sent on in front with a large rope
to recut the steps, be turned to me with impressive

315

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

simplicity, and sSiid/ A desso e quello in grande pericolo.
If he is hit, we cannot save him.' How long we took
to cross I do not know. But when at last we reached
the other bank we cast the rope off with one impulse,
and, bending under the shelter of the rocks, ran
where I had found climbing hard in the morning,
jumped the bergschrujid, fell and rolled down the
snow under a final volley from the mountain, and lay
long by the stream panting and safe.

" I suspect the danger here was far more apparent
than real. My next adventure with a falling stone
was more real than I like to think of. Four of us
had been scrambling round the rocks beside the
Ventina Glacier, and were returning to our camp to
lunch. By bad luck, as it turned out, I reached level
ground first, and, lying on my back amongst great
boulders, watched with amusement the struggles of
my companions who were about a hundred feet above
me, apparently unable to get up or down. They
were screaming to me, but the torrent drowned their
voices, and I smoked my pipe in contentment. Suave
mart viagfio. At last they moved, and with them the
huge rock which they had been endeavouring to up-
hold and shouting to me to beware of. It crashed
down towards me, but I determined to stop where
I was. The roughness of the ground would have
hindered my escape to any distance, and I calculated
on stepping quickly aside when my enemy had

316

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

declared himself for any particular path of attack.
So I did, but the stone at that moment broke in
pieces, and, quick as I was with desperation, one
fragment was quicker still. It caught me, glancing
as I turned between the shoulder and the elbow,
only just touching me, as I suppose, for the bone
was quite unhurt. Up I went into the air and down
I came among the stones, with all the wind knocked
out of me, large bruises all over me, not hurt, but
very much frightened.

" Such experiences as this leave no very lasting
impression, and might just as easily happen were the
party accompanied by the best of guides. But I
hardly think that any guide would have been crack-
brained enough to take part in two expeditions which
taught me what it feels like to slip on rock and ice
respectively. The first slip took place during the
winter. With one companion I was climbing in
a long and not very difficult gully on 'a Welsh
mountain. The frost had just broken, and there was
more water in the pitches than was quite pleasant.
It was very cold water, and my hands, which had
been frost-bitten the week before, were still swathed
in bandages. Hence progress was very slow, and at
last my friend took the lead to spare me. He was
climbing over a big overhanging stone jammed
between the walls of the gully and forming an
excellent spout for the water, which was thus poured

317

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

conveniently down his neck. I stood on the shelving
floor of the gully in perfect safety, and watched the
shower-bath, which was gradually exhausting him.
He asked for his axe, and I, in a moment of madness,
came near and handed it up ; his legs, which were all
I could then see of him, were kicking in the water
about 5 feet above my head. What happened next
I do not know, but I shall always maintain that,
seeing an eligible blade of grass above him, he
plunged the adze in and hauled with both hands.
The blade resented such treatment, and came out.
Anyhow he fell on my head, and we commenced a
mad career down the way we had ascended, rather
rolling than falling, striking our heads and backs
against the rocks, and apparently destined for the
stony valley upon which we had looked down
between our legs for hours. People who have
escaped drowning say that, in what was their
struggle for life, their minds travelled back over their
whole history. I know that my brain at this moment
suddenly acquired an unusual strength. In a few
seconds we were safe, but in those seconds there was
time for centuries of regret. There was no fear ; that
was to come later. But I felt vividly that I was
present as a spectator of my own suicide, and thought
myself a feeble kind of fool. Had it been on the
Dru or the Meije, I thought, it might have been
worth it, but, half-drowned, to plunge a poor 40

318

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

feet over the next pitch on a hill not 3000 feet high,
with a carriage road in sight, and a girl driving in
the cows for milking in Nant Francon ! We did not
roll far, and stuck between the walls of the gully,
where they narrowed. Then I arose and shook
myself, unhurt. My companion made me light his
pipe, which cheered me very much, and we each
partook of an enormous mutton sandwich. Help
was near, for another party of three was climbing in
the next gully, and came to our shouts ; one ran
down to the farm for a hurdle, the rest began the
descent. For hours we seemed to toil, for my com-
panion, though with admirable fortitude he supported
the pain of movement, had temporarily no power
over his legs and the lower part of his body. I could
do little, but the others worked like blacks, and
just at dark we reached the farm and the ministra-
tions of a Welsh doctor, who told my friend, quite
erroneously, that there was nothing the matter with
him, pointed out a swelling on my face as big as a
pigeon's egg, which, he said, would probably lead to
erysipelas, and then departed into the darkness.

" A fall on ice has something in it more relentless,
though, until the last catastrophe, less violent. We
had all been victims to the flesh-pots of the valley,
and were, perhaps, hardly fit for a long ice-islope,
when we began to cut up the last few feet to gain
the are^e of our mountain. The incline seemed to

319

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

me very steep, and, third on the rope, I was watching
the leader at his labours, half pitying him for his
exertions, half envying him his immunity from the
ice fragments wjiich he was sending down to me.
Below me the fourth man had barely left the great
flat rock on which we had breakfasted ; there was
no reason to think of danger; when to my horror
I saw the leader cut a step, put out his foot slowly,
and then very slowly and deliberately sway over
and fall forwards and downwards against the ice.
We were in a diagonal line, but almost immediately
beneath one another, and he swung quietly round
like a pendulum, his axe holding him to the slope,
until he was immediately beneath the second man.
Very slowly, as it seemed, the rope grew taut ; the
weight began to tug at his waist ; and then he, too,
slowly and reflectively in the most correct mountain-
eering attitude, as though he were embarking upon
a well-considered journey, began to slide. Now was
the time for me to put into practice years of patient
training. I dug my toes in and stiffened my back,
anchored myself to the ice, and waited for the
strain. It was an unconscionable time coming, and,
when it came, I still had time to think that I
could bear it. Then the weight of 27 stone in a
remorseless way quietly pulled me from my stand-
point, as though my resistance were an impudence.
Still, like the others, I held my axe against the ice

320

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

and struggled like a cat on a polished floor, always
seeing the big flat rock, and thinking of the bump
with which we should bound from it, and begin our
real career through the air ; when suddenly the bump
came and we all fell together in a heap on to the
rock and the fourth man, who had stepped back
upon it, my crampons running into his leg, and my
axe, released from the pressure, going off through
the air on the very journey which I had anticipated
for us all. The others were for a fresh attack on
the malicious mountain ; but I was of milder mood,
and very soon, torn and wiser, we were off on a
slower but more convenient path to the valley than
had seemed destined for us a few minutes before.
But our cup was not yet full. Having no axe with
which to check a slip, I was placed at the head of
the line, and led slowly down, floundering a good
deal for want of my usual support. The great
couloir was seamed across with a gigantic crevasse,
the angle of the slope being so sharp that the upper
half overhung, and we had only crossed in the
morning by standing on the lower lip, cutting hand-
holes in the upper, and shoving up the leader from
the shoulder of the second man : hence, in descend-
ing, our position was similar to that of a man on
the mantel-shelf who should wish to climb down
into the fire itself. We chose the obvious alterna-
tive of a jump to the curb, which was, I suppose,
X 321

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

about 15 feet below us and made of steep ice with a
deep and deceptive covering of snow. I jumped and
slid away with this covering, to be arrested in my
course by a rude jerk. I turned round indignant ;
but my companions were beyond my reproaches.
One by one, full of snow, eloquent, and bruised, they
issued slowly from the crevasse into which I had
hurled them, and, heedless of the humour of the
situation, gloomily urged me downwards,

" Some hours still passed before we reached our
friendly Italian hut, left some days before for a raid
into Swiss territory ; there on the table were our
provisions and shirts as we had left them, and a
solemn array of bottles full of milk carried up during
our absence by our shepherd friends ; and there, on
the pile, in stinging comment on our late proceedings,
lay a slip of paper, the tribute of some Italian tourist,
bearing the inscription ' Omaggio ai bravi Inglesi
ignoti.' We felt very much ashamed.

" When the soup has been eaten and the pipes are
lighted, and you sit down outside your hut for the
last talk before bed, you will find your guides'
tongues suddenly acquire a new eloquence, and, if
you are a novice at the craft, will be almost over-
whelmed by the catalogue of misfortune which they
will repeat to you. And so, too, upon us in the
winter months comes the temptation to dwell on
things done long ago and ill done, and, as we write

322

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

of the sport for others, we give a false impression of
peril and hardihood in things that were little more
than matter for a moment's laughter. I too must
plead guilty to a well-meant desire to make your
flesh creep.

" Mountaineering by skilled mountaineers is about
as dangerous as hunting in a fair country, and
requires about as much pluck as to cross from the
Temple to the Law Courts at midday. Difficult
mountaineering is for the unskilled about as danger-
ous as riding a vicious horse in a steeplechase for a
man who has never learnt to ride. But the tendency
in those who speak or write of it for the outer world
who are not mountaineers is to conceal a deficiency
of charm of style by an attempt to slog in the melo-
dramatic, and I plead guilty at once.

" So we think and write as though to us our
passion for the hills were a fancy of the summer, a
mere flirtation. Yet no one has lost the first bloom
of his delight in Alpine adventure before the element
of sternness has come to mar his memory and bind
more closely his affections. You find the mildly
Horatian presence of death somewhere near you,
and that at a moment when, whatever your age
and strength, and whatever your infirmities, you are
at the full burst of youth ; when Nature has been
kindest she has been most capricious, and has
flaunted her relentless savagery just when she has

323

ADVENTURES ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

bent to kiss you. The weirdest rocks rise from
Italian gardens, and the forms of hill seem oldest
when you are most exultant — immortal age beside
immortal youth. Yet is it not this, 'the sense of
tears,' in things which are not mortal which must
mark your Alpine paths with memories as heavy
and as definite as those inscriptions which tell of
obscure and sudden death on every hillside, and
invite your prayers for the woodcutter and the
shepherd? You too will have seen friends go out
into the morning whom you have never welcomed
home. There is a danger, sometimes encountered
recklessly, sometimes ignorantly, but sometimes —
hard as it may be to understand the mood — not
in the mere spirit of the idle youth, but met with
and overcome, or overcoming, in a resolution which
knows no pleasure in conquest save when the essay
is fierce, and is calmly willing to pay the penalty of
failure. While for ourselves we enjoy the struggle
none the less because we have taken every care that
we shall win, they freely give all ; and for such
there is surely no law. While by every precept
and example we impress the old rules of the craft
on our companions and our successors, how can we
find words of blame for those who have at least paid
the extreme forfeit, and found 'the sleep that is
among the lonely hills ' ?

" The penalty for failure is death ; not always
324

FALLING STONES AND FALLING BODIES

exacted at the first slip, for Nature is merciful and
ofttimes doth relent ; but surely waiting for those
who scorn the experience of others and slight her
majesty' in wilfulness, in ignorance, in the obstinate
following of a fancy, in the vain pursuit of notoriety.
The rules are known, and those who break them,
and by precept and example tempt to break them
those whom they should teach, wrong the sport which
they profess to love.

" In this game as in any other, it should be a
point of honour for us not to make the sport more
difficult for others, and not to bring unnecessary
sorrow upon the peasants, who help us to play it,
and upon their families. It should be a point of
honour to play the game, and, if disaster comes in
playing it, we have at least, done our best"

3*5

GLOSSARY

Alp . . .A mountain pasture, usually with chalets

tenanted only in summer.
Arete . . A ridge.

Bergschrund . A crevasse between the snow adhering to
the rocks and the lower portion of the
glacier.

Col . . .A pass between two peaks.

Couloir . . A gully, usually filled with snow or stones.

Crevasse . . A crack in a glacier, caused by the move-
ment of the ice over an uneven bed or
round a comer.

FiRN . . . The snow of the upper regions, which is
slowly changing into glacier ice.

Grat . . .A ridge.

JOCH . . .A pass between two peaks.

Kamm . . A summit ridge.

Moraine . . An accumulation of stones and sand which
has fallen from bordering slopes on to
a glacier. Medial moraines are formed
by the junction of glaciers, their lateral
moraines joining.

327

GLOSSARY

Moulin

Rucksack

SCHRUND
SfeRAC

A glacier mill, or shaft through the ice,
formed by a stream which has met a
crevasse in its course, and plunging
into its depths has bored a hole right
through the glacier and often into the
rock beneath.

The French of Firn. (See Fim.)

The bag type of canvas knapsack now in-
variably used by guides and climbers.

A crevasse. (See Crevasse.)

A cube of ice, formed by transverse crevasses,
and found where a glacier passes over
steep rocks. This part of a glacier is
called an ice-falL

338

INDEX

Abruzzi, Duke of, 8
Adine Col, io8
^ggischhom, 257
Ailefroide, 228, 245
Aitkins, Mr, 162
Aletsch Glacier, 125
Aletschhom, avalanche on, 55
Aimer, Christian, 223, 237
Aimer, Ulrich, 55
Andenmatten, 108
Anderegg, Jacob, 126, 127
Anderegg, Melchior, 125, 212

Andermatten, Franz, 202

Arbuthnot, Mrs, 257

Arc, Valley of, 266

Aren Glacier, 57, 61

Arlberg Pass, 61

AroUa, 168

Arves, Aiguilles d', 248

Asti, 265

Baker, Mr, 134

Balloon (crossing Alps), 298

Balme, 300
Bans, Les, 228
Baumann, Hans, 127
Bean, Mr, 136
Bennen, 57
Bergemoletto, 65
Bergh Hut, 210
Bessanese, 299
Bettega, 183
Biner, Alois and P., 302
Biner, Joseph, 204, 302

Blaiti^re, Aiguille de, 26, 37

Blanc, Mont, 136, 153

Blanche, Dent, 51, 152, 167

Boeufs Rouges, 228

Bohren, 58

Boniface, 265

Bonvoison, Pic de, 226

Botto, 298

Bregaglia group, 296

Brenner, 136

Brewer, Mrs, 61

Bricolla chalets, 168

Bristenstock, 164

Broadbent, Mr, 302
1 Bruce, Major, 59
329

INDEX

Brulle, Mons. H., 260
Burckhardt, Mr, 208
Burchi peak, 59
Burgener, Alexander, 104, 202

CA D'ASTi, 265
Carr, Mr Ellis, 23
Carrel, J. A., 21
Caucasus, 58, 99, 116
Cenis, Mont, 264
Cerbillonas, the, 260
Chamonix, 8, 23, 126, 153
Charbonnet, Captain, 298
Charmoz ridge, 50
Claret, 258

Clayton, Captain, 261
Collie, Dr Norman, 134
Constance, 60

Conway, Sir W. M., 155, 275
Copland Valley, 4
Croz, Michel, 222, 238

Dauphin^ h

Dent, Mr C. T., 99, 116, 142, 202

Devas, Mr J. F. C, 144

Dixon, Mr H. B., 133

Dolomites, 182

Dom, 52

Donkin, Mr W. F., 58, 99, 116

Dora Riparia, Valley of, 266

Diiniberg, 282

Durand Glacier, 204
Durando, 298
Dych Tau, 105

ECRINS, 228, 235
Ecrins, Col des, 225
Eiger, 264
Elbruz, 115
Elm, landslip of, 275
Elmer, Huntsman, 280
Encula, Glacier de 1', 246
i^tangons, Val des, 1 1

Fellenberg, E. Von, 212
Ferard, Mr A. G., 144
Fitzgerald, Mr E., 3
Flender, Herr, 138
Foster, Mr G. E., 126
Fox, Mr, 116

Freshfield, Mr Douglas, 116
Furgg Glacier, 304
Fiirrer, Alphons, 8
Furrer, Elias, 167

Gabelhorn, Ober, 55
Gastaldi, Rifugio, 299
Gavarnie, 261
Geant, Dent du, 257
Geneva, Lake of, y]
330

INDEX

Gentinetta, A., 8
Gentinetta, E., 206
Gestola, 99
Glace, Mer de, 8
Glarus, Canton, 277
Gohna Lake, 277
Grass, Hans, 55
Greenwood, Mr Eric, 154
Grogan, Mr, 302
Grove, F. Craufurd, 2
Gurkhas, 59

Habl, Herr Emil, 292
Hardy, Mr, 164
Hartley, Mr E. T., 166
Hill, Mr, 167
Himalayas, 58, 275
Hochjoch Haus, 261
Hohberghom, 52
Homli, 9
Horrocks, D. P., 204

Imboden, J06EPH, 52, 165, 195
Imboden, Roman, 195
Imseng, Ferdinand, 202, 267
Innsbruck, 60
Interlaken, 221

Jones, Mr Glynne, 167
Julen, Edouard, 206

Julcn, Felix, 302
Jungfrau, 55, 210
Jungfrau Hut, 209

Kaiserbrunn, 292
Kennedy, Dr, 164, 222
King, Sir H. S., 208
Koenig, Herr, 138
Kubli, Herr Oswald, 281
Kurzras, 261

La B^rarde, II, 245
La Grave, 1 1
Langtauferer Glacier, 262
Lapland, 306
Lausanne, yj
Lucerne. 301
Lyons, 298

Maggiore, Lago, 301
Maithana Hill, fall of, 275
Maquignaz, 21
Maritime Alps, 305
Martino, St, 182
Matthews, Mr E. C., 211
Matterhom, 8, 21, 248, 302
Maund, Mr, 11
Maund, Mrs, 11
Maurer, 11, 116
Meije, 12, 248

331

INDEX

Meije, Br^che de la, 12, 228
Middlemore, Mr, rr
'^idi, Aiguille du, 126
ischabel group, 301
ivlonand, Mons. J., 306
Monch, 124
Montanvert, 8

Moore, Mr A. W., 124, 222, 235
" Moseley's Platte," 302
Mouvoison, 142
Mueller Valley, 4
Mummery, Mr, 23, 58
Miirren, 208
Miisli, 280
Mussa, Cantina della, 300

Nant Francon, 319
Nantillons Glacier, 24
Neyssel, Mons. Antoine, 306
Noir, Glacier, 245

Oktzthal, 261
Offerer, J., 136
Ossoue, Valley of, 261

PALtJ, PiZ, 55
Passingham, Mr, 202
Packe, Mr C., 259
Pelvoux, 245
Pelvoux, Crete du, 245

Perren, H., 138
Perren, P., 204
Pilatte, Col de la, 222
Plan, Aiguille du, 23
Plattenbergkopf, 277
Pourri, Mont, 267
Powell, Captain, 116, 123
Pyrenees, 259

Rax, the, 291
Renaud, Mons., 223
Rey, Emil, 8
Rhyner, Fridolin, 287
Rhyner, Meinrad, 280
Richardson, Miss, 165
Rocca Venoni, 300
Roccia, Family of, 68
Roche Melon, 264
Rocky Mountains, 133
Rodier, 11
Rosetta, 182
Rothhorn, Zinal, 195

Saas, Valley of, 301
Sahrbach, 134
Schaffer, Dr, 136
Schildthorn, 257
Schuster, Mr, 162
Schwarzsee Hotel, 10
Sefton, Mount, 4
Seiler, Herr, 145, 162

332

INDEX

Seller, D. H., 301

Sernf Valley, 277

Silberhom, 208

Skagastoldstind, 140

Ski accident, 137

Slingsby, Mr Cecil, 23, 140, 152

Sloggett, Mr, 8

Smith, Mr Haskett-, 158

Solly, Mr, 156

Somis, Ignazio, 65

Sospello, 306

Spechtenhauser, 261

Spelterini, Captain, 301

Spender, Mr H. 167

Strahlplatten, 209

Stock, Mr E. E., 302

Stockje, 156

Supersax, Ambrose, 209

Susa, 265

Tavernaro, 183
Tetnuld Tau, 99
Tonsberg, 141
Trift Valley, I95
Tuckett, Mr F., 55, 264
Tuckett Glacier, 5
Turin, 298

USCHBA, 115

Vallon, Glacier du, 245
Vallot Hut, 153
Valtournanche, 21
Ventina Glacier, 316
Vignemale, 260
Viso, Monte, 269
Vuignier, Jean, 168

Walker, Mr, 223, 235
Walker, Mr Horace, 126
Wandfluh, 166, 179
Watson, Mr and Mrs, 257
Weisshorn, 248
Weisskugel, 261
Weissmies, 301
Wengern Alp, 124, 210
Willink, Mr, 123
Wildlahner Glacier, 136
Wolfsthal, 292
Woolley, Mr H., 116
Whymper, Mr E., 222, 235
Wyss, Schoolmaster, 280

Zentner, Kaspar, 287
Zermatt, 10, 51, 139, 181, 301
Zmutt Glacier, 166, 179
Zurbriggen, 3, 59
Zurbriggen, Clemens, 168
Zurbrucken, Louis, 209
Zurmatter, 302

333

PRINTED AT THE EDINBURGH PRESS,
9 AND 11 YOUNG STREET

DQ Le Blond, Elizabeth Alice

823 Frances (hav/kins-Whitshed)
L43 "Mrs. Aubrey Le blond."

Adventures on the roof
of the v;orld

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

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