Chapter XXV: Appendix: A.* the Death of Bennen.(253) (2)

87 Sept. 8 A. H. Burton Zermatt Guides—P.
Baumann, P.
Taugwalder, and
B. Nageli.

88 Sept. 9 E. Pigeon. Zermatt Guides—N. and
— Pigeon. J. Knubel, and
F. Sarbach.

89 Sept. 16-17 W. Nägeli Zermatt Guides—J. and
P. Knubel.

1875.
90 May 10 — Corona ? Guides—J. A.
Carrel and J.
J. Maquignaz.
Account is
perfectly
illegible.

91 Aug. 2-3 L. Brioschi Zermatt Guides—F. and
A. Imseng and
P. J.
Andermatten.

92 Aug. 10 J. W. Hartley Zermatt Guides—P. Rubi
and J. Moser.

93 Aug. 10-11 F. T. Wethered Zermatt Guides—Ch. Almer
and A. Pollinger.

94 Aug. 11 A. Fairbanks. Zermatt Guide—J. Perrn,
W. Fairbanks. and a porter.

95 Aug. 12 D. L. Pickman Zermatt Guides—J.
Taugwalder and
F. Biener.
Ascent made in
one day.

96 Aug. 16 D. Merritt Zermatt Guides—No
information.

97 Aug. 16 E. Hornby Zermatt Guides—A. and
F. Pollinger.

98 Aug. 16 J. J. Morgan. Zermatt Guides—J.
C. L. Morgan. Imboden and J.
Sarbach.

99 Aug. 16 A. W. Payne Zermatt Guide—J.
Taugwalder.

100 Aug. 17 J. H. Pratt. Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A.
W. Leaf. Carrel and N.
Knubel.

101 Aug. 19-20 F. Tendron. Zermatt Guides—F. and
G. F. Vernon. P. Sarbach and
J. Taugwalder.

102 Aug. 23-24 H. R. Whitehouse Zermatt Guides—P. J.
Knubel and P.
T. Truffer.

103 Aug. 26-27 F. Morshead. Zermatt Guides—M.
A. O. Prickard. Anderegg, Ch.
H. S. Wilson. Lauener, and J.
Moser.

104 Sept. 7 H. G. Gotch Zermatt Guides—Ig. and
Jos. Sarbach.

105 Sept. 8 R. King Zermatt Guides—J. A.
Carrel and Jos.
Coulter, and
(porter) A.
Payot.

106 Sept. 8 H. Loschge Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. Petrus
and A. Ranier.

107 Sept. 9 P. Methuen Zermatt Guides—Johann
Jaun and A.
Maurer.

108 Sept. 14 — Butter Zermatt Guides—Jos.
Imboden and J.
Brantschen.

109 Sept. 15 W. Kittan Zermatt Guides—J. Petrus
and Franz
Burgener.

1876.
110 July 22-23 A. H. Cawood. Zermatt Without guides,
J. B. Colgrove. and with two
A. Cust. porters.

111 July 29 J. Hazel. Zermatt Guides—P.
W. F. Loverell. Maquignaz and
F. Zuber.

112 July 30 Eug. Dacqué Zermatt Guides—Borren
(Bohren?) and
Platter (?).

113 Aug. 3-4 F. Corbett. Zermatt Guides—F.
M. Courtenay. Burgener, P.
Taugwalder
_fils_, and J.
Taugwalder.

114 Aug. 3-4 P. A. Singer. Zermatt Guides—J.
P. A. Singer. Imboden, Jos.
Perrn, P.
Perrn, and F.
Perrn (porter).

115 Aug. 6-7 D. E. Cardinal Zermatt Guides—Pierre
Carrel and
Louis Carrel.

116 Aug. 7 F. Reiners. Zermatt Guides—P. and
M. Haushofer. J. Knubel.

117 Aug. 8-9 H. de Saussure Zermatt Guides—A.
Burgener and J.
Knubel.

118 Aug. 8-9 W. Cooke Zermatt Guides—Louis
Carrel and
Pierre Carrel.

119 Aug. 8-9 J. J. Bischoff Zermatt Guides—J. Petrus,
P. T. Truffer,
and another.

120 Aug. 9 Joseph Seiler Zermatt Guides— —
Lauber and ? An
one day ascent.

121 Aug. 9-10 W. J. Whelpdale. Zermatt Guides—J. M.
C. Weightmann. Lochmatter, A.
Ritz, and Jos.
Brantschen as
porter.

122 Aug. 10 P. Watson Zermatt Guides—Alex.
Burgener and B.
Venetz.

123 Aug. 12 S. Waller. Zermatt Guides—J. M.
G. Fitzgerald. Lochmatter and
J. Lauber.

124 Aug. 12 H. Meyer. Zermatt Guides—Jos.
C. Estertag. Brantschen, P.
J. Knubel, and
Jos. Taugwalder.

125 Aug. 12 J. Jackson. Zermatt Guides—Christian
T. H. Kitson. and Ulrich
Almer. Ascent
in one day.

126 Aug. 12 Jos. Nantermod Zermatt Guides—A.
Pollinger and B.
Andenmatten.

127 Aug. 14 C. E. Mathews. Zermatt Guides—M.
F. Morshead. Anderegg and ?
Ascent made in
one day.

128 (?) — Dent. Zermatt Guide—Alex.
Burgener.

129 Aug. 28-29 G. W. Prothero. Zermatt to Breil Guide—J. A.
Carrel.

1877.
130 Aug. 4 O. Boenaud. Zermatt Guides—No
G. Mermod. information.
L. Mermod.

131 Aug. 13-14 Q. Sella. Zermatt to Breil Guides—J. A.
L. Biraghi. Carrel, — Imseng,
J. B. Carrel,
Louis Carrel,
Jos. and
Vict. Maquignaz,
etc. etc.

132 Aug. 19 W. H. Grenfell. Breil Guides— — Imseng
J. H. A. Peebles. and ?

133 Aug. 20 W. Penhall Zermatt Guides—Jos.
Imboden and P.
Taugwalder
_fils_.

134 Aug. 24-25 G. Fitzgerald Zermatt Guides—J. M.
Lochmatter and
Joseph Lauber.

135 Aug. 29 J. A. Cooper Zermatt Guides—Alex and
Alois Burgener.

136 Aug. 30 J. D. Griffiths Zermatt Guides—Basile
Andenmatten and ?

137 Aug. 30 J. F. Yearsley Zermatt Guides—F.
Burgener, P.
Andenmatten, and
(porter) —
Blumenthal.

138 Aug. 30-31 J. C. Leman Zermatt Guides— —
Pollinger and ?

139 Aug. 30-31 T. de Cambray Digny Zermatt to Breil Guides—J. A.
Carrel and Henri
Séraphin.

140 Sept. 4 J. Freitschke Zermatt Guide—Basile
Andenmatten.

141 Sept. 4-5 H. Loschge Zermatt to Breil Guides—Alex.
Burgener and a
Tyrol guide.

142 Sept. 6-7 J. Nérot Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A.
Carrel, a
Chamounix guide,
and a porter.

1878.
143 ? T. Jose Zermatt Guides—J. M.
Lochmatter, P.
Knubel, and
Pierre Truffer.

144 Sept. 7 Carl Hecke Zermatt Guide—Basile
Andenmatten.

145 Sept. 9 Jules Seiler Zermatt Guides—P. Knubel
and Basile
Andenmatten.

146 Sept. 21 Dr. Minnigerode Zermatt Guides—J. M.
Lochmatter and
J. Taugwalder.

147 Sept. 11-12 C. J. Thompson Zermatt Guides—J. A.
Carrel and —
Imseng.

1879.
148 Aug. 12-13 Dr. Lüscher. Up Breil side Guides—J. M.
Prof. Schiess. and down Zermatt Lochmatter, Jos.
side. Brantschen, and
Petryson
(Evolena).
Brantschen was
left behind in
the hut on the
“_cravate_,” and
died there.

149 Aug. 13 W. W. R. Powell Zermatt Guides—Peter
Taugwalder
_fils_ and A.
Imseng.

150 Aug. 13-14 C. E. Freeman Breil to Zermatt Guides—J. A.
Carrel
and—Sopersac
(Saas).

151 Aug. 13-14 A. E. Craven. Zermatt Guides—P. Rubi
W. O. Moseley. and C. Inabnit.
Dr. Moseley lost
his life in
descending the
mountain. See
Appendix *D*.

152 Aug. 28-29 C. E. B. Watson Zermatt to Breil Guides—P.
Anderegg and A.
Imboden.

153 Aug. G. H. Savage Zermatt Guides—Jos.
30-Sept. 1 Imboden and
Franz
Andermatten. Dr.
Savage slept on
the Hörnli Aug.
30; began the
ascent by
moonlight at a
little before 2
A.M. on Sept. 1,
reached the
summit at 6.30
A.M., and
returned to
Zermatt by 12.30
P.M.

154 Sept. 2-3 A. F. Mummery Z’Mutt side Mr. Mummery was
the first to
ascend the
Matterhorn from
the side of the
Z’Mutt Glacier.
No details have
been received.

155 Sept. 2-3 W. Penhall Z’Mutt side Guides—Ferdinand
Imseng and Louis
Sorbrichen. Mr.
Penhall also
made his ascent
upon the Z’Mutt
side, but took a
route more to
the south than
that followed by
Mr. Mummery.

156 Sept. 4-5 B. Wainewright Zermatt to Breil Guides—Jos.
Imboden and
Peter Sarbach.

157 Sept. 4-5 H. Hoare Zermatt Guide—J.
Anderegg and
(porter) Jos.
Chanton.

158 Sept. 5-6 J. Baumann Z’Mutt side Guides—Petrus
(Stalden) and
Emile Rey. Mr.
Mummery’s route
was followed.

159 ? J. Maurer Breil to Zermatt Guides—? No
information.

The above table is known to be imperfect, and the Author will be obliged if correspondents will enable him to correct and extend it. Communications should be addressed to him _Care of the Publisher_.

*G.* COURTE NOTE SUR LA GÉOLOGIE DU MATTERHORN. PAR SIGNOR F. GIORDANO,
Ingénieur en Chef des Mines d’Italie, etc. etc.

Le Matterhorn ou Mont Cervin est formé depuis la base jusqu’au sommet de roches stratifiées en bancs assez réguliers, qui sont tous légèrement rélevés vers l’Est, savoir vers le Mont Rose. Ces roches quoiqu’évidemment d’origine sédimentaire ont une structure fortement cristalline qui doit être l’effet d’une puissante action de métamorphisme très développée dans cette région des Alpes. Dans la série des roches constituantes du Mont Cervin l’on peut faire une distinction assez marquée, savoir celles formant la base inférieure de la montagne, et celles formant le pic proprement dit.

Les roches de la base qu’on voit dans le Val Tournanche, dans le vallon de Z’Mutt, au col de Théodule et ailleurs, sont en général des schistes talqueux, serpentineux, chloriteux, et amphiboliques, alternant fort souvent avec des schistes calcaires à noyaux quartzeux. Ces schistes calcaires de couleur brunâtre alternent ça et là avec des dolomies, des cargueules, et des quartzites tégulaires. Cette formation calcaréo-serpentineuse est très étendue dans les environs. Le pic au contraire est tout formé d’un gneiss talqueux, souvent à gros éléments, alternant parfois à quelques bancs de schistes talqueux et quartzeux, mais sans bancs calcaires. Vers le pied ouest du pic, le gneiss est remplacé par de l’euphotide granitoïde massive, qui semble y former une grosse lentille se fondant de tous côtés dans le gneiss même. Du reste, les roches du Cervin montrent partout des exemples fort instructifs de passages graduels d’une structure à l’autre, résultant du métamorphisme plus ou moins avancé.

Le pic actuel n’est que le reste d’une puissante formation géologique ancienne, triasique peut-être, dont les couches puissantes de plus de 3500 mètres enveloppaient tout autour comme un immense manteau le grand massif granitoïde et feldspathique du Mont Rose. Aussi son étude détaillée, qui par exception est rendue fort facile par la profondeur des vallons d’où il surgit, donne la clef de la structure géologique de beaucoup d’autres montagnes des environs. On y voit partout le phénomène assez curieux d’une puissante formation talqueuse très cristalline, presque granitoïde, régulièrement superposée à une formation schisteuse et calcarifère. Cette même constitution géologique est en partie la cause de la forme aiguë et de l’isolement du pic qui en font la merveille des voyageurs. En effet, tandis que les roches feuilletées de la base, étant facilement corrodées par l’action des météores et de l’eau, ont été facilement creusées en vallées larges et profondes, la roche supérieure qui constitue la pyramide donne lieu par sa dureté à des fendillements formant des parois escarpées qui conservent au pic ce profil élancé, et caractéristique alpin. Les glaciers qui entourent son pied de tous les côtés, en emportant d’une manière continue les débris tombant de ses flancs, contribuent pour leur part à maintenir cet isolement de la merveilleuse pyramide qui sans eux serait peut-être déjà ensevelie sous ses propres ruines.

REFERENCES TO THE GEOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE MATTERHORN.

I. Gneiss talqueux quartzifère. Beaucoup de traces de foudres.
II. Banc de 3 à 4 mètres de schistes serpentineux et talqueux verts.
III. Gneiss talqueux à éléments plus ou moins schisteux, avec quelque lit
de quartzite.
” Gneiss et micaschistes ferrugineux à éléments très fins, beaucoup de
traces de foudre.
IV. Gneiss alternant avec des schistes talqueux et à des felsites en
zones blanches et grises.
V. Petite couche de schistes serpentineux, vert sombre.
VI. Gneiss et micaschiste avec zones quartzifères rubanées.
VII. Gneiss talqueux à éléments schisteux.
_VIII. Id._ _id._ verdâtre, porphyroïde à éléments moyens.
IX. Gneiss talqueux granitoïde à gros éléments et avec des cristaux de
feldspath.
X. Schistes grisâtres.
XI. Micaschistes ferrugineux.
XII. Gneiss talqueux vert sombre.
XIII. Gneiss et schistes quartzeux, couleur vert clair.
XIV. Euphotide massive (feldspath et diallage) à éléments cristallins
bien développés, traversée par des veines d’eurite blanchâtre. Cette
roche forme un banc ou plutôt une lentille de plus de 500 mètres de
puissance intercalée au gneiss talqueux.(270)
XV. Gneiss talqueux alternant avec des schistes talqueux et micacés.
XVI. Schistes compactes, couleur vert clair.
XVII. Calcaire cristallin micacé (calcschiste) avec veines et rognons de
quartz. Il alterne avec des schistes verts chloriteux et
serpentineux.
XVIII. Schistes verts chloriteux, serpentineux et talqueux, avec des
masses stéatiteuses.
XIX. Calcschistes (comme ci-dessus) formant un banc de plus de 100
mètres.(271)
XX. Schistes verts chloriteux.
XXI. Calcschistes (comme ci-dessus).
XXII. Il suit ci-dessous une série fort puissante de schistes verts
serpentineux, chloriteux, talqueux et stéatiteux alternant encore
avec des calcschistes. En plusieurs localités les schistes
deviennent très amphiboliques à petits cristaux noirs. Cette
puissante formation calcaréo-serpentineuse repose inférieurement sur
des micaschistes et des gneiss anciens.

*H.* PROFESSOR TYNDALL AND THE MATTERHORN.

In the second edition of Tyndall’s _Hours of Exercise in the Alps_ the Professor made some additional remarks upon his defeat in 1862, and to these remarks I replied in No. 35 of the _Alpine Journal_. I do not feel that the additional information afforded in these publications possesses the least interest to the majority of my readers, and therefore I do not reprint it; and I refer to it only for the sake of those who may be desirous to pursue the subject.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING
CROSS.

THE MATTERHORN AND ITS GLACIERS

[Map: The Matterhorn and its glaciers]

THE VALLEY OF ZERMATT

[Map: The Valley of Zermatt; and the Central Pennine Alps]

FOOTNOTES

1 In the lower diagram the tins are shown as they appear when packed
for travelling. I generally carry them at the top of a knapsack,
outside.

2 I extract from No. 63 of the _Alpine Journal_ the following note by
Gustav de Veh, a retired Russian officer, upon the prevention of
snow-blindness. “We were on the march home along the mountain
plains, when, dazzled by the intense sun-rays reflected by the
endless snow-fields we were marching along, my eyelids lost all
power to open; I felt my elbow touched, and, looking through my
fingers, I beheld one of our friendly highlanders preparing a kind
of black paste by mixing gunpowder with snow. The General told me to
let him do what he wanted. The Circassian applied the black stuff
under my eyes, on my cheeks, and to the sides of my nose. To my
astonishment I could then open my eyes, and felt no more difficulty
to see plainly and clearly everything. I have tried that experiment
many times since, and it never failed to relieve me, although I used
common Indian-ink and black water-colour, instead of the
above-mentioned paste.”

3 I understand that scarcely any nails wore found in the boots of Dr.
Moseley, who lost his life recently on the Matterhorn, and this fact
sufficiently accounts for the accident.

4 The author of _Travels in Alaska_.

5 The Riffel hotel (the starting-point for the ascent of Monte Rosa),
a deservedly popular inn, leased to Monsieur Seiler, the hotel
proprietor of Zermatt, is placed at a height of 3100 feet above that
village (8400 above the sea), and commands a superb panoramic view.
The house has continually grown, and it can now accommodate a large
number of persons. In 1879, it was connected by telegraph with the
rest of Switzerland.

6 The highest of the Mischabelhörner.

7 The temperature at the St. Bernard in the winter is frequently 40°
Fahr. below freezing-point. January is their coldest month. See
Dollfus-Ausset’s _Matériaux pour l’étude des Glaciers_, vols. vi.
and vii.

8 There was not a pass between Prerayen and Breil. See note to p. 105.

9 This pass is called usually the Va Cornère. It is also known as the
Gra Cornère; which is, I believe, patois for Grand Cornier. It is
mentioned in the first volume of the second series of _Peaks,
Passes, and Glaciers_, and in Chapters V. and XVIII. of this volume.

10 I had been sent to the Val Louise to illustrate this ascent.

11 Since that time a decent house has been built on the summit of this
pass. The old vaulted hospice was erected for the benefit of the
pilgrims who formerly crossed the pass _en route_ for Rome.—Joanne’s
_Itinéraire du Dauphiné_.

12 See the Map in Chap. VIII.

13 The depth of the valleys is so great that the sun not only is not
seen for more than a few hours per day during the greatest portion
of the year, but in some places—at Villard d’Arène and at Andrieux
for example—it is not seen at all for one hundred days.—Lodoucette’s
_Hautes-Alpes_, p. 599.

14 Sometimes called the Aiguille du Midi de la Grave, or the Aiguille
de la Medje.

15 The maps of the Dauphiné Alps to Ball’s _Guide to the Western Alps_,
and to Joanne’s _Itinéraire du Dauphiné_, must be excepted. These
maps are, however, on too small a scale for travelling purposes.

16 “Faits pour servir à l’Histoire des Montagnes de l’Oisans,” by Elie
de Beaumont, in the _Annales des Mines_.

_Norway and its Glaciers; followed by Excursions in the High Alps of
Dauphiné._ By J. D. Forbes.

The following works also treat more or less of the districts
referred to in this chapter:—

_ Outline Sketches in the High Alps of Dauphiné_, by T. G.
Bonney.
_ Histoire des Hautes-Alpes_, by J. C. F. Ladoucette.
_ Itinéraire du Dauphiné_, by Adolphe Joanne (2nd part).
_ Tour du Monde, 1860_, edited by Ed. Charton.
_ The Israel of the Alps_, by Alexis Muston.
_ A Memoir of Felix Neff_, by W. S. Gilly.

Good pictures of Dauphiné scenery are to be found in _Voyages
Pittoresques dans l’ancienne France_, by Ch. Nodier, J. Taylor, and
A. de Cailleux, and in Lord Monson’s _Views in the Departments of
the Isère and the High Alps_.

17 M. Puiseux took for guide a man named Pierre Bornéoud, of Claux in
the Val Louise; who had accompanied Captain Durand in 1828. In 1861,
the expedition of M. Puiseux was quite forgotten in the Val Louise.
I am indebted to M. Puiseux for the above and other details.

18 This is a common saying in Dauphiné. It means that there is usually
less snow on the mountains during these days than at any other time
of the year. The natives have an almost childish dread of venturing
upon snow or glaciers, and hence the period of minimum snow seems to
them to be the most favourable time for excursions.

19 See Chapter VII.

20 Monte Viso is not seen from the Lautaret Road. That this is so is
seen when one crosses the Col du Galibier, on the south side of
which pass the Monte Viso is visible for a short time.

21 It became a regular business. “We find amongst the current accounts
of the Bailiff of Embrun this singular article—‘_Item, for
persecuting the Vaudois, eight sols and thirty deniers of
gold._’”—Muston, vol. i. p. 38.

22 On the 22d of May 1393, eighty persons of the valleys of
Freissinières and Argentière, and one hundred and fifty persons of
the Val Louise, were burnt at Embrun.—Muston, vol. i. p. 41.

23 See Morland’s _History of the Evangelical Churches of Piedmont_,
1658; Cromwell’s _Acts_, 1658; and Burton’s _Diary_, 1828.

24 The commune of the Val Louise contains at the present time about
3400 inhabitants. This crétin population has been aptly described by
M. Elisée Reclus in the _Tour du Monde_, 1860. He says:—“They attain
the highest possible development of their intelligence in their
infancy, and—abundantly provided with majestic goîtres, which are
lengthened and swollen by age—are in this respect like to the
ourangoutangs, who have nothing more to acquire after the age of
three years. At the age of five years the little crétins have
already the placid and mature expression which they ought to keep
all their lives.... They wear trousers, and coats with tails, and a
large black hat.”

25 “The nucleus of the ‘massif’ is a line protogine, divided by nearly
vertical cracks.”—_Dollfus-Ausset._

26 J. G. Whittier, “Snow-Bound.”

27 M. Puiseux, on his expedition of 1848, was surprised, when at
breakfast on the side of the mountain, by a mass of rock of more
than a cubic yard falling like a bomb at his side, which threw up
splinters in all directions.

28 This mountain is the culminating point of the group, and is named on
the French map, Pointe des Ecrins. It is seen from the Val
Christophe, and from that direction its ridges completely conceal
Mont Pelvoux. On the other side—that is, from the direction of La
Bessée or the Val Louise—the reverse is the case: the Pelvoux
completely conceals it.

Unaware that this name was going to be applied to it, we gave the
name Pic des Arcines or des Ecrins to our summit, in accordance with
the traditions of the natives.

29 There are three cols or passes close to Monte Viso on its northern
side, which lead from the valley of the Po into that of the Guil.
The deep notch spoken of above is the nearest to the mountain, and
although it is by far the lowest gap in that part of the chain, and
would seem to be the true Col Viso, it does not appear to be used as
a pass. The second, which I crossed in 1860, has the name Col del
Color del Porco given to it upon the Sardinian map! The third is the
Col de la Traversette; and this, although higher than at least one
of those mentioned above, is that which is used by the natives who
pass from one valley to the other.

30 See Ladoucette’s _Hautes-Alpes_, p. 596.

31 Frequently spelt Breuil.

32 See the Map of the Matterhorn and its Glaciers.

33 There were no guides, properly speaking, in this valley at that
time, with the exception of one or two Pessions and Pelissiers.

34 This face is that on the right hand of the large engraving opposite
p. 46. It is also represented, more prominently, in the engraving
facing p. 227.

35 Mr. Hawkins was unaware that any attempts had been made before his
own, and spoke of it as the first.

_ 36 Macmillan_, 1861.

37 This ridge is seen on the left of the large engraving accompanying
this chapter; and if the reader consults this view, the explanatory
outlines, and the maps, he will be able to form a fair idea of the
points which were attained on this and on the subsequent attempts.

38 Since this time the small peak has received the name Tête du Lion.
The gap is now called the Col du Lion; the glacier at its base, the
Glacier du Lion; and the gully which connects the Col with the
glacier, the Couloir du Lion.

39 By the kindness of its owner, Mr. F. Tuckett.

40 See Appendix A.

41 A view of this place faces p. 76.

42 The guide Bennen must be excepted.

43 The engraving is made after a sketch taken from the rocks of the
Matterhorn just above the Col.

44 J. G. Whittier.

45 Mr. Hawkins referred to this place as one of excessive difficulty.
He, however, found it coated with ice; we found it free from ice.

46 I learned afterwards from Jean-Antoine Carrel that they got
considerably higher than upon their previous attempts, and about 250
or 300 feet higher than Professor Tyndall in 1860. In 1862 I saw the
initials of J. A. Carrel cut on the rocks at the place where he and
his comrade had turned back.

47 This man proved to be both willing and useful on lower ground, and
voluntarily accompanied me a considerable distance out of his way,
without fee or reward.

_ 48 Alpine Journal_, 1863, p. 82.

49 See p. 49.

_ 50 Mountaineering in 1861_, pp. 86-7. Tyndall and Bennen were mistaken
in supposing that the mountain has two summits; it has only one.
They seem to have been deceived by the appearance of that part of
the south-west ridge which is called “the shoulder” (l’épaule), as
seen from Breil. Viewed from that place, its southern end has
certainly, through foreshortening, the semblance of a peak; but when
one regards it from the Col Théodule, or from any place in the same
direction, the delusion is at once apparent.

51 The late Principal Forbes was similarly situated while crossing the
same pass in 1842. He described the sounds as rustling, fizzing, and
hissing. See his _Travels in the Alps of Savoy_, second ed., p. 323.
Mr. R. Spence Watson experienced the same upon the upper part of the
Aletsch glacier in July 1863, and he spoke of the sounds as singing
or hissing. See the _Athenæum_, Sept. 12, 1863. The respective
parties seem to have been highly electrified on each occasion.
Forbes says that his fingers “yielded a fizzing sound;” and Watson
says that his “hair stood on end in an uncomfortable but very
amusing manner,” and that “the veil on the wide-awake of one of the
party stood upright in the air!”

52 I have described this tent at length, as frequent application has
been made to me for information on the subject. I would strongly
recommend any person who wishes to have one for long-continued use,
to have one made under his own eye, and to be particularly careful
to test the poles. My experience goes to show that poles which (when
supported upon their extremities) will bear a dead weight of 100
lbs. suspended from their centres, will stand any wind to which they
are likely to be submitted. Ash is, perhaps, the best wood that can
be selected. Tents of this pattern have been used, amongst others,
by Messrs. Freshfield, Moore, and Tucker, in the Caucasus; by the
Rev. W. H. Hawker in Corsica; and by myself in Greenland.

53 The heights given on the outlines of the Matterhorn accompanying
Chap. III., on the geological section in the Appendix, and quoted
throughout the book, are after the barometric (mercurial)
measurements of Signor F. Giordano in 1866 and 1868. I have ventured
to differ from him only in regard to the height of the second
tent-platform, and have assigned to it a somewhat lower elevation
than his estimate.

54 During this time making the ascent of Monte Rosa.

55 They were not guides by profession.

56 Those which I collected were as follow:—_Myosotis alpestris_, Gm.;
_Veronica alpina_, L.; _Linaria alpina_, M.; _Gentiana Bavarica_,
L.; _Thlaspi rotundifolium_, Gaud.; _Silene acaulis_, L. (?);
_Potentilla_ sp.; _Saxifraga_ sp.; _Saxifraga muscoides_, Wulf. I am
indebted for these names to Mr. William Carruthers of the British
Museum. These plants ranged from about 10,500 to a little below
13,000 feet, and are the highest which I have seen anywhere in the
Alps. Several times this number of species might be collected, I
have no doubt, within these limits. I was not endeavouring to make a
_flora_ of the Matterhorn, but to obtain those plants which attained
the greatest height. Very few lichens are seen on the higher parts
of this mountain; their rarity is due, doubtless, to the constant
disintegration of the rocks, and the consequent exposure of fresh
surfaces. _Silene acaulis_ was the highest plant found by De
Saussure on his travels in the Alps. He mentions (§ 2018) that he
found a tuft “near the place where I slept on my return (from the
ascent of Mont Blanc), about 1780 toises (11,388 feet) above the
level of the sea.”

Mr. William Mathews and Mr. Charles Packe, who have botanised
respectively for many years in the Alps and Pyrenees, have favoured
me with the names of the highest plants that they have obtained upon
their excursions. Their lists, although not extensive, are
interesting as showing the extreme limits attained by some of the
hardiest of Alpine plants. Those mentioned by Mr. Mathews
are—_Campanula renisia_ (on the Grivola, 12,047 feet); _Saxifraga
bryoides_ and _Androsace glacialis_ (on the summits of Mont Emilius,
11,677, and the Ruitor, 11,480); _Ranunculus glacialis_, _Armeria
alpina_, and _Pyrethrum alpinum_ (on Monte Viso, from 10,000 to
10,500 feet); _Thlaspi rotundifolium_ and _Saxifraga biflora_ (Monte
Viso, about 9500 feet); and _Campanula rotundifolia_ (?), _Artemisia
spicata_ (Wulf.), _Aronicum Doronicum_, and _Petrocallis Pyrenaica_
(Col de Seylières, 9247).

Mr. Packe obtained, on or close to the summit of the Pic de
Mulhahacen, Sierra Nevada, of Granada (11,600 to 11,700 feet),
_Papaver alpinum_ (var. _Pyrenaicum_), _Artemisia Nevadensis_ (used
for giving the flavour to the Manzanilla sherry), _Viola
Nevadensis_, _Galium Pyrenaicum_, _Trisetum glaciale_, _Festuca
Clementei_, _Saxifraga Grœnlandica_ (var. _Mista_), _Erigeron
alpinum_ (var. _glaciale_), and _Arenaria tetraquetra_. On the
Picacho de Veleta (11,440 feet), and on the Alcazaba (11,350), the
same plants were obtained, with the exception of the first named. At
a height of 11,150 feet on these mountains he also collected
_Ptilotrichum purpureum_, _Lepidium stylatum_, and _Biscutella
saxatilis_; and, at 10,000 feet, _Alyssum spicatum_ and _Sideritis
scordiodes_. Mr. Packe mentions the following plants as occurring at
9000 to 10,000 feet in the Pyrenees:—_Cerastium latifolium_, _Draba
Wahlenbergii_, _Hutchinsia alpina_, _Linaria alpina_, _Oxyria
reniformis_, _Ranunculus glacialis_, _Saxifraga nervosa_, _S.
oppositifolia_, _S. Grœnlandica_, _Statice Armeria_, _Veronica
alpina_.

Information on the botany of the Val Tournanche is contained in the
little pamphlet by the late Canon G. Carrel, entitled _La Vallée de
Valtornenche en 1867_; and a list of the plants which have hitherto
been collected on the glacier-surrounded ridge (Furgen Grat)
connecting the Matterhorn with the Col Théodule, will be found in
Dollfus-Ausset’s _Matériaux pour l’étude des Glaciers_, vol. viii.
part first, 1868. In the _Jahrbuch_ for 1873 of the Swiss Alpine
Club it is stated that on an ascent of the Finsteraarhorn (14,106
feet) the following were collected within the last 1000
feet:—_Saxifraga bryoides_, _S. Muscoides_, _Achillea atrata_, and
_Ranunculus glacialis_.

57 I have already had occasion to mention the rapid changes which occur
in the weather at considerable elevations in the Alps, and shall
have to do so again in subsequent chapters. No one can regret more
than myself the variable weather which afflicts that otherwise
delightful chain of mountains, or the necessity of speaking about
it: its summits appear to enjoy more than their fair share of wind
and tempests. Meteorological disturbances, some would say, are by no
means necessary accompaniments of high regions. There are some happy
places which are said to be favoured with almost perpetual calm.
Take the case of the Sierra Nevada of California, for example, which
includes numerous summits from 13,000 to 15,000 feet. Mr. Whitney,
of San Francisco, says (in his _Guide-book to the Yosemite Valley,
and the adjacent region_), “At high altitudes, all through the
mountains, the weather during the summer is almost always the finest
possible for travelling. There are occasional storms in the high
mountains; but, in ordinary seasons, these are quite rare, and one
of the greatest drawbacks to the pleasure of travelling in the Alps,
the uncertainty of the weather, is here almost entirely wanting.” It
is probable that a more thorough acquaintance with that region will
modify this opinion; for it must be admitted that it is very
difficult to judge of the state of the atmosphere at great heights
from the valleys, and it often occurs that a terrific storm is
raging above when there is a dead calm below, at a distance perhaps
of not more than three or four miles. A case of this kind is
described in Chapter VI., and another may be mentioned here. At the
very time that I was regarding the Dent Blanche from a height of
12,550 feet on the Matterhorn, Mr. T. S. Kennedy was engaged in
making the first ascent of the former mountain. He described his
ascent in a very picturesque paper in the _Alpine Journal_ (1863),
and I learn from it that he experienced severe weather. “The wind
roared over our ridge, making fearfully wild music among the
desolate crags.... It rendered an ordinary voice inaudible,” and
“nothing at a distance greater than fifty yards could be seen at
all.... Thick mists and driving clouds of snow swept over and past
us;” the thermometer fell to 20° Fahr., and his companion’s hair
became a mass of white icicles. Now, at this time, Mr. Kennedy was
distant from me only four and a half miles. With me, and in my
immediate neighbourhood, the air was perfectly calm, and the
temperature was agreeably warm; even during the night it fell only
two or three degrees below freezing-point. During most of the day
the Dent Blanche was perfectly unclouded, though, for a time, light
fleecy clouds were hovering about its upper 2000 feet. Still no one
would have supposed from appearances that my friend was experiencing
a storm such as he has described.

58 See the engraving “Crags of the Matterhorn,” facing p. 120.

59 A remarkable streak of snow (marked “cravate” in the outline of the
Matterhorn, as seen from the Théodule) runs across the cliff at this
part of the mountain. My highest point was somewhat higher than the
lowest part of this snow, and was consequently about 13,400 feet
above the sea.

60 I received much attention from a kind English lady who was staying
in the inn.

61 As it seldom happens that one survives such a fall, it may be
interesting to record what my sensations were during its occurrence.
I was perfectly conscious of what was happening, and felt each blow;
but, like a patient under chloroform, experienced no pain. Each blow
was, naturally, more severe than that which preceded it, and I
distinctly remember thinking, “Well, if the next is harder still,
that will be the end!” Like persons who have been rescued from
drowning, I remember that the recollection of a multitude of things
rushed through my head, many of them trivialities or absurdities,
which had been forgotten long before; and, more remarkable, this
bounding through space did not feel disagreeable. But I think that
in no very great distance more, consciousness as well as sensation
would have been lost, and upon that I base my belief, improbable as
it seems, that death by a fall from a great height is as painless an
end as can be experienced.

The battering was very rough, yet no bones were broken. The most
severe cuts were one of four inches long on the top of the head, and
another of three inches on the right temple: this latter bled
frightfully. There was a formidable-looking cut, of about the same
size as the last, on the palm of the left hand, and every limb was
grazed, or cut, more or less seriously. The tips of the ears were
taken off, and a sharp rock cut a circular bit out of the side of
the left boot, sock, and ankle, at one stroke. The loss of blood,
although so great, did not seem to be permanently injurious. The
only serious effect has been the reduction of a naturally retentive
memory to a very common-place one; and although my recollections of
more distant occurrences remain unshaken, the events of that
particular day would be clean gone but for the few notes which were
written down before the accident.

62 An incident like this goes far to make one look favourably upon the
_règlements_ of Chamounix and other places. This could not have
occurred at Chamounix, nor here, if there had been a _bureau des
guides_.

63 This appeared to be the most difficult part of the mountain. One was
driven to keep to the edge of the ridge, or very near to it; and at
the point where we turned back (which was almost as high as the
_highest_ part of the “cravate,” and perhaps 100 feet higher than my
scramble on the 19th) there were smooth walls seven or eight feet
high in every direction, which were impassable to a single man, and
which could only be surmounted by the assistance of ladders, or by
using one’s comrades as ladders.

64 See Appendix H.

65 Professor Tyndall describes this incident in the following
words:—“We had gathered up our traps, and bent to the work before
us, when suddenly an explosion occurred overhead. We looked aloft
and saw in mid-air a solid shot from the Matterhorn describing its
proper parabola, and finally splitting into fragments as it smote
one of the rocky towers in front. Down the shattered fragments came
like a kind of spray, slightly wide of us, but still near enough to
compel a sharp look-out. Two or three such explosions occurred, but
we chose the back fin of the mountain for our track, and from this
the falling stones were speedily deflected right or left.”—_Saturday
Review_, Aug. 8, 1863. Reprinted in _Macmillan’s Magazine_, April,
1869.

_ 66 Saturday Review_, August 8, 1863.

67 The pinnacle, in fact, had a name,—“L’ange Anbé.”

_ 68 Saturday Review_, 1863, and _Macmillan’s Magazine_, 1869.

69 I have entered into this matter because much surprise has been
expressed that Carrel was able to pass this place without any great
difficulty in 1865, which turned back so strong a party in 1862. The
cause of Professor Tyndall’s defeat was simply that his second guide
(Walter) did not give aid to Bennen when it was required, and that
the Carrels _would not act as guides after having been hired as
porters_. J.-A. Carrel not only knew of the existence of this place
before they came to it, but always believed in the possibility of
passing it, and of ascending the mountain; and had he been leader to
the party, I do not doubt that he might have taken Tyndall to the
top. But when appealed to to assist Bennen (a Swiss, and the
recognised leader of the party), was it likely that he (an Italian,
a porter), who intended to be the first man up the mountain by a
route which he regarded peculiarly his own, would render any aid?

It is not so easy to understand how Dr. Tyndall and Bennen
overlooked the existence of this cleft, for it is seen over several
points of the compass, and particularly well from the southern side
of the Théodule pass. Still more difficult is it to explain how the
Professor came to consider that he was only a stone’s-throw from the
summit; for, when he got to the end of “the shoulder,” he must have
been perfectly aware that the whole height of the final peak was
still above him.

70 Dr. Tyndall ascended the Matterhorn in 1868. See Appendix *F*.

71 Information upon the Val Tournanche will be found in De Saussure’s
_Voyages dans les Alpes_, vol. iv. pp. 379-81, 406-9; in Canon
Carrel’s pamphlet, _La Vallée de Valtornenche en 1867_; and in
King’s _Italian Valleys of the Alps_, pp. 220-1.

72 I shall speak again of this mountain, and therefore pass it over for
the present.

73 See the Map of the Matterhorn and its Glaciers.

74 My attention was directed to this note by Mr. A. Adams-Reilly.

75 The summit of the Théodule pass is 10,899 feet above the sea. It is
estimated that of late about a thousand tourists have crossed it per
annum. In the winter, when the crevasses are bridged over and
partially filled up, and the weather is favourable, cows and sheep
pass over it from Zermatt to Val Tournanche, and _vice versa_.

In the _middle of August, 1792_, De Saussure appears to have taken
mules from Breil, over the Val Tournanche glacier to the summit of
the Théodule; and on a previous journey he did the same, also in the
middle of August. He distinctly mentions (§ 2220) that the glacier
was completely covered with snow, and that _no_ crevasses were open.
I do not think mules could have been taken over the same spot in any
August during the past twenty years without great difficulty. In
that month the glacier is usually very bare of snow, and many
crevasses are open. They are easily enough avoided by those on foot,
but would prove very troublesome to mules.

A few days before we crossed the Breuiljoch in 1863, Mr. F. Morshead
made a parallel pass to it. He crossed the ridge on the _western_
side of the little peak, and followed a somewhat more difficult
route than ours. In 1865 I wanted to use Mr. Morshead’s pass (see p.
235), but found that it was not possible to descend the Zermatt
side; for, during the two years which had elapsed, the glacier had
shrunk so much that it was completely severed from the summit of the
pass, and we could not get down the rocks that were exposed.

76 Although the admirable situation of Zermatt has been known for, at
least, forty years, it is only within the last twenty or so that it
has become an approved Alpine centre. Thirty years ago the Théodule
pass, the Weissthor, and the Col d’Hérens, were, I believe, the only
routes ever taken from Zermatt across the Pennine Alps. At the
present time there are (inclusive of these passes and of the valley
road) no less than twenty-six different ways in which a tourist may
go from Zermatt. The summits of some of these cols are more than
14,000 feet above the level of the sea, and a good many of them
cannot be recommended, either for ease, or as offering the shortest
way from Zermatt to the valleys and villages to which they lead.

Zermatt itself is still only a village with 600 inhabitants (about
forty of whom are guides), with picturesque châlet dwellings, black
with age. The hotels, including the new inn on the Riffelberg,
mostly belong to M. Alexandre Seiler, to whom the village and valley
are very much indebted for their prosperity, and who is the best
person to consult for information, or in all cases of difficulty.

77 “Un des faits les mieux constatés est que l’érosion des glaciers se
distingue de celle des eaux en ce que la première produit des roches
convexes ou moutonnées, tandis que la seconde donne lieu à des
concavités.”—Prof. B. Studer, _Origine des Lacs Suisses_.

78 Professor Ruskin’s view of “the Cervin from the north-west” (_Modern
Painters_, vol. iv.) is taken from the Stockje. The Col du Lion is a
little depression on the ridge, close to the margin of the
engraving, on the right-hand side; the third tent-platform was
formed at the foot of the perpendicular cliff, on the ridge, exactly
one-third way between the Col du Lion and the summit. The
battlemented portion of the ridge, a little higher up, is called the
“_crête du coq_”; and the nearly horizontal portion of the ridge
above it is “the shoulder.”

79 On p. 7 it is stated that there was not a pass from Prerayen to
Breil in 1860, and this is correct. On July 8, 1868, my enterprising
guide, Jean-Antoine Carrel, started from Breil at 2 A.M. with a
well-known comrade—J. Baptiste Bich, of Val Tournanche—to endeavour
to make one. They went towards the glacier which descends from the
Dent d’Erin to the south-east, and, on arriving at its base,
ascended at first by some snow between it and the cliffs on its
south, and afterwards took to the cliffs themselves. [This glacier
they called the glacier of Mont Albert, after the local name of the
peak which on Mr. Reilly’s map of the Valpelline is called “Les
Jumeaux.” On Mr. Reilly’s map the glacier is called “Glacier
d’Erin.”] They ascended the rocks to a considerable height, and then
struck across the glacier, towards the north, to a small “_rognon_”
(isolated patch of rocks) that is nearly in the centre of the
glacier. They passed above this, and between it and the great
_séracs_. Afterwards their route led them towards the Dent d’Erin,
and they arrived at the base of its final peak by mounting a
_couloir_ (gully filled with snow), and the rocks at the head of the
glacier. They gained the summit of their pass at 1 P.M., and,
descending by the glacier of Zardesan, arrived at Prerayen at 6.30
P.M.

As their route joins that taken by Messrs. Hall, Grove, and
Macdonald, on their ascent of the Dent d’Erin in 1863, it is evident
that that mountain can be ascended from Breil. Carrel considers that
the route taken by himself and his comrade Bich can be improved
upon; and, if so, it is possible that the ascent of the Dent d’Erin
can be made from Breil in less time than from Prerayen. Breil is
very much to be preferred as a starting-point.

80 See p. 8. The height of this pass, according to the late Canon
Carrel, is 10,335 feet. A portrait of this enthusiastic and worthy
mountaineer is given upon p. 109.

81 A brief account of this excursion was published in the _Athenæum_,
August 29, 1863.

82 This incident occurred close to the place represented in the
engraving facing p. 78. The new, dry snow was very troublesome, and
poured down like flour into the steps which were cut across the
slopes. The front man accordingly moved ahead as far as possible,
and anchored himself to rocks. A rope was sent across to him, was
fixed at each end, and was held as a rail by the others as they
crossed. We did not trust to this rope alone, but were also tied in
the usual manner. The second rope was employed as an additional
security against slips.

83 “There is, therefore, little hope of thus arriving at anything
decisive as to the exact part which echoes take in the production of
the rolling sound of thunder.” P. 165, English ed., translated by
Col. Sabine: Longmans, 1855.

84 The same has seemed to me to be the case at all times when I have
been close to the points of explosion. There has been always a
distinct interval between the first explosion and the rolling sounds
and secondary explosions which I have _believed_ to be merely
echoes; but it has never been possible (except in the
above-mentioned case) to _identify_ them as such.

Others have observed the same. “The geologist, Professor Theobald,
of Chur, who was in the Solferino storm, between the Tschiertscher
and Urden Alp, in the electric clouds, says that the peals were
short, like cannon shots, but of a clearer, more cracking tone, and
that the rolling of the thunder was only heard farther on.”
Berlepsch’s _Alps_, English ed., p. 133.

85 Mr. J. Glaisher has frequently pointed out that all sounds in
balloons at some distance from the earth are notable for their
brevity. “It is one sound only; _there is no reverberation, no
reflection_; and this is characteristic of all sounds in the
balloon, one clear sound, continuing during its own vibrations, then
gone in a moment.”—_Good Words_, 1863, p. 224.

I learn from Mr. Glaisher that the thunder-claps which have been
heard by him during his “travels in the air” have been no exception
to the general rule, and the absence of rolling has fortified his
belief that the rolling sounds which accompany thunder are echoes,
and echoes _only_.

86 See Appendix B for the experiences of Mr. R. B. Heathcote during a
thunderstorm on the Matterhorn in 1869.

87 Since then (on at least one occasion), several persons have found
themselves in this predicament for five or six consecutive days!

88 I am speaking exclusively of the disturbances which occur in the
day-time during fine weather.

89 The rocks are sometimes so hot that they are almost painful to
touch.

90 The mists are extremely deceptive to those who are on the mountain
itself. Sometimes they _seem_ to be created at a _considerable
distance_, as if the whole of the atmosphere of the neighbourhood
was undergoing a change, when in reality they are being formed in
immediate proximity to the mountain.

91 Croz was born at the Village du Tour, in the valley of Chamounix, on
April 22, 1830; Almer was a year or two older.

92 The Pointe des Ecrins is also seen from the top of the Col de
Valloires, rising above the Col du Galibier. This is the lowest
elevation from which I have seen the actual summit of the Ecrins.

93 It should be observed that these mountains were included in the
territory recently ceded to France. The Sardinian map above referred
to was the old official map. The French survey alluded to afterwards
is the survey in continuation of the great French official map.
Sheet No. 179 includes the Aiguilles d’Arve.

94 Whilst stopping in the hospice on the Col de Lautaret, in 1869, I
was accosted by a middle-aged peasant, who asked if I would ride
(for a consideration) in his cart towards Briançon. He was
inquisitive as to my knowledge of his district, and at last asked,
“Have you been at La Sausse?” “Yes.” “Well, then, I tell you, _you
saw there some of the first people in the world_.” “Yes,” I said,
“they were primitive, certainly.” But he was serious, and went
on—“Yes, real brave people;” and, slapping his knee to give
emphasis, “_but that they are first-rate for minding the cows!_”

After this he became communicative. “You thought, probably,” said
he, “when I offered to take you down, that I was some poor ——, not
worth a _sou_; but I will tell you, that was my mountain! _my_
mountain! that you saw at La Sausse; they were _my_ cows! a hundred
of them altogether.” “Why, you are rich.” “Passably rich. I have
another mountain on the Col du Galibier, and another at Villeneuve.”
He (although a common peasant in outward appearance) confessed to
being worth four thousand pounds.

95 We had seen a tracing from the unpublished sheets of the French
Government Survey.

96 The bracketed paragraphs in Chaps. VII. VIII. and IX. are extracted
from the Journal of Mr. A. W. Moore.

It would be uninteresting and unprofitable to enter into a
discussion of the confusion of these names at greater length. It is
sufficient to say that they were confounded in a most perplexing
manner by all the authorities we were able to consult, and also by
the natives on the spot.

97 A great part of this morning’s route led over shales, which were
loose and troublesome, and were probably a continuation of the
well-known beds of the Col du Galibier and the Col de Lautaret.

98 The ridge called La Meije runs from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and is crowned
by numerous aiguilles of tolerably equal elevation. The two highest
are towards the eastern and western ends of the ridge, and are
rather more than a mile apart. To the former the French surveyors
assign a height of 12,730, and to the latter 13,080 feet. In our
opinion the western aiguille can hardly be more than 200 feet higher
than the eastern one. It is possible that its height may have
diminished since it was measured.

In 1869 I carefully examined the eastern end of the ridge from the
top of the Col de Lautaret, and saw that the summit at that end can
be ascended by following a long glacier which descends from it
towards the N.E. into the Valley of Arsine. The highest summit
presents considerable difficulties.

Sheet 189 of the French map is extremely inaccurate in the
neighbourhood of the Meije, and particularly so on its northern
side. The ridges and glaciers which are laid down upon it can
scarcely be identified on the spot.

99 The justness of the observation will be felt by those who knew La
Grave in or before 1864. At that time the horses of the couriers who
were passing from Grenoble to Briançon, and _vice versa_, were
lodged immediately underneath the salle-à-manger and bedrooms, and a
pungent, steamy odour rose from them through the cracks in the
floor, and constantly pervaded the whole house. I am told that the
inn has been considerably improved since 1864.

100 Our route from La Grave to La Bérarde will be seen on the
accompanying map.

101 Taking one kind of work with another, a thousand feet of height per
hour is about as much as is usually accomplished on great Alpine
ascents.

102 Fig. 2 represents in a similar manner the distance and elevation of
the Matterhorn from and above Zermatt. See p. 45.

103 The drawing was inadvertently made the right way on the wood, and
the view is now _reversed_ in consequence.

104 This wall may be described as an exaggerated Gemmi, as seen from
Leukerbad. From the highest summit of La Meije right down to the
Glacier des Etançons (a depth of about 3200 feet), the cliff is all
but perpendicular, and appears to be completely unassailable. It is
the most imposing thing of its kind that I have seen.

105 Since this chapter was first printed, the whole of the Aiguilles
d’Arve have been ascended, and also the highest point of the Meije.
For information upon these ascents the reader is referred to the
pages of the _Alpine Journal_.

_ 106 Alpine Journal_, December 1863.

107 There are more than twenty peaks exceeding 12,000 feet, and thirty
others exceeding 11,000 feet, within the district bounded by the
rivers Romanche, Drac, and Durance.

_ 108 Alpine Journal_, Dec. 1863.

_ 109 Alpine Journal_, June 1863.

110 The above view of the Ecrins was taken from the summit of the Col du
Galibier.

111 The most striking example which has come under my notice is referred
to in Chapter XIX.

112 See vol. i., p. 73 of _Alpine Journal_. We considered the height
assigned to the final peak by Mr. Bonney was too small, and thought
it should have been 200 feet more.

113 The Glacier Blanc is in the direction indicated by the arrow below
the letter *E* on the outline on p. 156.

114 The ascent of the Pointe des Ecrins has been made several times
since 1864. The second ascent was made by a French gentleman, named
Vincent, with the Chamounix guides Jean Carrier and Alexandre
Tournier. They followed our route, but reversed it; that is to say,
ascended by the western and descended by the eastern arête.

The best course to adopt in future attacks on the mountain, would be
to bring a ladder, or some other means of passing the bergschrund,
in its centre, immediately under the summit. One could then proceed
directly upwards, and so avoid the labour and difficulties which are
inevitable upon any ascent by way of the arêtes.

115 For route, see Map in Chap. VIII.

116 For route, see Map in Chap. VIII.

117 The path from Ville de Val Louise to Entraigues is good, and well
shaded by luxuriant foliage. The valley (d’Entraigues) is narrow;
bordered by fine cliffs; and closed at its western end by a noble
block of mountains, which looks much higher than it is. The highest
point (the Pic de Bonvoisin) is 11,500 feet. Potatoes, peas, and
other vegetables, are grown at Entraigues (5284 feet), although the
situation of the chalets is bleak, and cut off from the sun.