file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #edafc-;h4htm or #edafc-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#edafc_/pg#edafc-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#ed afc_/edafc-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/skirunsi nhighalp#jjroge ,,ski-,,runs ,,in ,,the ,,high ,,alps 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ski-,,ing ,,for ,,beginners ,,and ,,mountaineers ,by ,w4 ,,rickmer ,,rickmers ,with #gb ,full-page ,plates and many ,diagrams in the ,text ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #ds4 #f;d4 net4 7,post free1 #ds4 #i;d47 ,opinions of the ,press 8,a fascinating book on the most delightful of ,continental winter sports4 ,not only is ,mr4 ,rickmers a strenuous and accomplished ski-runner himself1 but he has had years of experience as a teacher of the art1 and his handy volume embodies everything that it is essential for the novice to know in order to become an efficient ski-runner in as short a time as possible0--,t4 ,p4's ,weekly4 8,he is a teacher of vast experience1 who has studied every defect in style that a beginner can possibly fall into1 and has learned how to cure them all4 ,if the novice with the aid of this book studies his every posture and action1 practising the right and with pains correcting what he learns is wrong1 he is on the high road to becoming a first-class runner40--,scottish ,ski ,club ,magazine4 8,mr ,rickmers has written a lucid book which1 as regards ski-ing1 is cyclopdically exhaustive40--,illustrated ,sporting and ,dramatic ,news4 8,this book will be a great boon to those wishing to learn the art of ski-ing4 ,the illustrations are excellent and most carefully chosen--in fact1 the whole book from beginning to end is full of useful knowledge1 and is most interestingly written4 ,it will be enjoyed not only by the initiate1 but by the experienced ski-runner40--,pall ,mall ,gazette4 ,,london3 ,t4 ,,fisher ,,unwin 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,sunset1 ,,from ,,mont ,,durand ,,glacier4 ,frontispiece4 ,,ski-,,runs ,,in ,,the ,,high ,,alps by ,f4 ,f4 ,,roget1 ,s4,a4,c4 ,honorary ,member of the ,alpine ,ski ,club ,honorary ,member of the ,association of ,british ,members of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club ,with #be ,illustrations by ,l4 ,m4 ,crisp ,and #f ,maps ,t4 ,fisher ,unwin ,london3 ,adelphi ,terrace ,leipsic3 ,inselstrasse #bj #aiac 7,all rights reserved47 ,illustration ,,to ,,my ,,daughter ,,ismay ,,hoping ,,she ,,may ,,not ,,go ,,forth ,,and ,,do ,,likewise ,,preface ,in #aije1 when nearer fifty than forty1 had ,i not been the happy father of a girl of seven ,i should have had no occasion to write this book4 ,i bought1 for her to play with1 a pair of small ski in deal1 which ,i remember cost nine francs4 ,for myself ,i bought a rough pair1 on which to fetch and bring her back to shore if the small ship foundered4 ,no sooner had ,i equipped myself1 standing1 as a ,newfoundland dog1 on the brink of the waves1 ready to rescue a child from snow peril1 than ,i was born again into a ski-runner4 ,since1 ,i have devoted some of my spare time to revisiting--in winter--the passes and peaks of ,switzerland4 ,the bringing of the ski to ,switzerland ushered in the 8,new ,mountaineering10 of which a few specimens seek in these pages the favour of the general public4 ,the reader may notice that ,i never spell 8ski0 with an s in the plural1 because it is quite unnecessary4 ,one may stand on one ski1 and one may stand on both ski4 ,the s adds nothing to intelligibility4 ,nor do ,i ever pronounce ski otherwise than ,i write it4 ,there is in ski the k that appears in skipper and in skiff4 ,though cultured ,germans say ,schiff and ,schiffer1 the k sound of ski is quite good ,norse4 ,it has been preserved in the ,french esquif1 of same origin4 ,the i should be pronounced long as in 8tree40 ,so let us always say s-k-ee and write ski for both numbers4 ,,saas-,,fee4 ,august #ad1 #aiab4 ,illustration ,,contents ,,page ,,chapter ,i ,,ski-,,running ,,in ,,the ,,high ,,alps #ag ,the different ski-ing zones--,their characteristics and dangers--,the glaciers as ski-ing grounds--,the ski-running season--,inverted temperature--,the conformation of winter snow--,precautionary measures--,glacier weather--,rock conditions--,weather reports--,guides and porters4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,with ,,ski ,,to ,,the ,,diablerets #cd ,first ,ascent--,the ,bear inn at ,gsteig--,the young ,martis--,superstitions--,the rights of guides4 ,second ,ascent--,the composition of the caravan--,odd symptoms--,winter amusements on the glacier--,a broken ankle--,the salvage operations--,on accidents--,my juvenile experience--,a broken limb on the ,jaman4 ,third ,ascent--,the ,marti family--,the ,synagogue once more--,an old porter--,we are off4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,from ,,the ,,col ,,du ,,pillon ,,to ,,the ,,gemmi ,,pass 7,,diablerets1 ,,wildhorn1 ,,wildstrubel1 ,,and ,,kandersteg7 #ei ,the range--,ski-runners' logic--,itinerary--,the ,plan des ,roses--,untoward experiences on the ,rawyl pass--,death through exposure--,the ,daily ,mail and ,mr4 ,arnold ,lunn's feat--,house-breaking--,on the ,gemmi--,perspective and levels--,relief models of the ,alps--,my smoking den--,old ,egger4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,ski-,,runner ,,of ,,vermala #hc ,vermala--,the mysterious runner--,the ,plain of the ,dead--,popular beliefs--,the purification of the grazings--,a haunted piece of rock--,an awful noose is thrown over the country-side--,supernatural lights and events--,the ,babel of tongues--,the ,saillon and ,brigue testimonies--,the cur of ,lens and his sundial--,the people's cure--,the ,strubel--,chauffage central--,did ,i meet the ,ski-runner of ,vermala8--,my third ascent of the ,wildstrubel--,a night encampment on the glacier--,meditations on mountains1 mountaineers1 and the ,swiss--,how to make caf noir--,where to sleep and when not to--,alpine refuges--,the old huts and the new--,the ,english ,alpinists and the ,swiss huts--,the ,britannia hut4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,bernese ,,oberland ,,from ,,end ,,to ,,end #aac ,the ,oberland circuit--,my appointment with ,arnold ,lunn--,an ,anglo-,swiss piece of work--,an unbelieving public--,switzerland and ,britain--,geographical--,practical--,we start from ,beatenberg--,the ,jungfrau ice-slabs--,new ,year's ,day at ,kandersteg--,in the ,gasterenthal--,on the ,tschingelfirn--,foehn-effects on the ,petersgrat--,the ,telli glacier--,the ,kippel bottle-race--,a church door--,theodore ,kalbermatten--,the ,loetschen pass--,burnt socks--,roped ski-ing--,the ,concordia breakfast-table--,why we did not ascend the ,jungfrau--,the ,concordia huts--,the ,grnhornlcke--,on snow 8lips0 and cornices--,an afternoon snooze--,the ,finsteraarhorn hut--,a guideless party--,ascent of the ,finsteraarhorn--,our next pass--,a stranded runner--,the ,grimsel--,home life at ,guttannen--,our sleigh ran to ,meiringen--,a comparison of winter and summer work--,memories and visions--,table of levels--,how to form a caravan--,the pay of the men--,side-slip and back-slip--,future railway facilities4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,aiguille ,,du ,,chardonnet ,,and ,,the ,,aiguille ,,du ,,tour #aha ,the aspect of the ,grand ,combin--,topography--,weather conditions for a successful raid--,a classification of peaks--,the ,orny nivometer--,the small snowfall of the ,high ,alps--,the shrinkage of snow--,its insufficiency to feed the glaciers--,the ,aiguille du ,tour--,ascent of ,aiguille du ,chardonnet--,the ,st4 ,bernard hospice--,helplessness of the dogs--,the narrow winter path--,the monks' hospitality--,their ski--,the accident on the ,col de ,fentre--,ce n'est pas le ski4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,grand ,,combin #aig ,the ,panossire hut--,tropical winter heat--,schoolboys and the ,matterhorn--,shall it be rock or snow8--,the ,combin de ,valsorey--,my third ascent of the ,grand ,combin--,the track home--,col des ,avolions--,natural highways of a new character--,twenty-three thousand feet ascended on ski4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,across ,,the ,,pennine ,,alps ,,on ,,ski ,,by ,,the 8,,high-,,level0 ,,route #bjf ,the 8high-level0 route--,previous attempts--,my itinerary--,marcel ,kurz--,the wise old men of ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre--,maurice ,crettex--,guides with bamboos and laupars6--,the snow-clad cliffs of ,sonadon--,the ,chanrion hut--,sealed-up crevasses--,the nameless pass--,louis ,theytaz--,the ,pigne d',arolla--,the ,bertol hut--,why the ,dent ,blanche could be ascended--,the lady's maid's easy job--,the dreadful summer slabs--,we push past two 8constables06--,my cane--,we bash in her ladyship's white bonnet--,the ,ice-,maid presses gently my finger-tips--,the cornice crashes down--,a second night in the ,bertol hut--,the ,col d',hrens--,an impending tragedy--,a milk-pail versus ski--,dr4 ,koenig and ,captain ,meade--,the real tragedy of ,theytaz's death--,ropes and crevasses--,mr4 ,moore's account--,my comments--,the ,mischabel range and ,monte ,rosa4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,piz ,,bernina ,,ski ,,circuit ,,in ,,one ,,day #bde ,old snow well padded with new--,christmas ,eve in the ,bernina hospice--,the alarum rings--,misgivings before battle--,crampons and sealskins--,a causeway of snow--,an outraged glacier--,the ,disgrazia--,a chess-player and a ski-man--,unroped6--,in the twilight--,the ,tschierva hut--,back to ,pontresina--,hotel limpets--,waiting for imitators4 ,,chapter ,x ,,from ,,arosa ,,to ,,bellinzona ,,over ,,the ,,bernardino ,,pass #bef ,the ,arosa ,information ,bureau--,the hospitality of sanatorium guests--,the allurements of loneliness--,whither the spirit leads--,avalanche weather--,the ,spring god and ,king ,frost--,the source of the ,rhine--,the post sleigh in a winter storm--,the ,bernardino pass--,brissago4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,glaciers--,,avalanches--,,military ,,ski-,,ing #bfd ,a legacy from the past--,the formation of glaciers and atmospheric conditions--,forests and glaciers--,our deficient knowledge--,the upper ice and snow reservoirs--,what is the annual snowfall and what becomes of it--,how glaciers may be classed--,mechanical forces at work--,moraines and sracs--,avalanches--,periodic avalanches--,accidental avalanches--,the general causes--,the statics of snow--,what happens to winter snow--,strata--,how steep slopes may be classed--,excusable ignorance of strangers to the ,alps--,those who write glibly in home magazines--,unsafe slopes--,avalanches when running across slopes--,the probing-stick--,avalanche runs--,military ski-ing--,the ,st4 ,gothard and ,st4 ,maurice districts--,military raids in the ,high ,alps--,the glaciers as military highways--,riflemen on foot as against marksmen on ski4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,mechanics ,,of ,,ski-,,bindings #bhb ,the shoe--,the original bindings--,the modern bindings--,the foot--,the hinge in the foot--,different functions of the toe-strap and heel-band--,the parts of the binding--,faulty fasteners--,sketches of faulty and correct leverage--,a schematic binding--,critique of bindings in use--,suggestions--,cheeks and plates--,a whole blade--,cause of strained feet--,steel wire in bindings4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,rudiments ,,of ,,winter ,,mountaineering ,,for ,,ski-,,runners #bid ,the new 8,alpinism0--,a re-statement of elementary principles--,ski-runners versus summer pedestrians--,the experiences of an eminent physician--,how to walk in snow--,put not your trust in sticks--,keep your rope dry--,stand up on your feet--,ski-sticks as supports--,winter clothing4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,winter ,,stations--,,winter ,,sports--,,how ,,to ,,use ,,ski #cjj ,the awakening of the ,english--,switzerland the ice and snow rink of ,europe--,the high winter stations and the low--,principal sporting centres--,insular delusions--,the ,continental network of winter sport associations--,winter sports on ice--,tobogganing--,the winter climate varies with the altitude--,a classification of sporting centres according to altitude--,the ski-runner is monarch of the ,alps--,how to keep one's ski in good order--,how to learn the gentle art of running on ski--,precepts and practice--,the turns1 breaks1 and swings--,point final4 ,illustration ,,illustrations ,,sunset1 ,,from ,,mont ,,durand ,,glacier ,frontispiece ,,face ,,page ,,the ,,wildstrubel ,,hut #ba ,,obergabelhorn1 ,,from ,,the ,,dent ,,blanche #bi ,,sport ,,on ,,the ,,zan ,,fleuron ,,glacier #db ,,from ,,the ,,dent ,,blanche1 ,,looking ,,west #ej ,,moving ,,from ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn #fj ,,descent ,,into ,,the ,,tellithal1 ,,loetschenthal #gj ,,on ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn #hj ,,above ,,ried1 ,,loetschenthal #ij ,,wildstrubel ,,and ,,plaine ,,morte ,,glacier #ajj ,,kander ,,glacier #abc ,,gasternthal #acj ,,concordia ,,platz #adi ,,breakfast ,,on ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn #afc ,,adolf ,,on ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn ,,ar,,te #agh ,,the ,,valsorey ,,glen #aij ,,the ,,sonadon ,,cliffs #bad ,,on ,,the ,,dent ,,blanche1 ,,with ,,matterhorn #bcj ,,top ,,of ,,dent ,,blanche #bcd ,,on ,,the ,,stockj1 ,,looking ,,east #bch ,,foot ,,of ,,stockj1 ,,looking ,,east #bdc ,,upper ,,scerscen ,,and ,,roseg ,,glaciers #bec ,,the ,,sonadon ,,glacier #bff ,,at ,,the ,,foot ,,of ,,the ,,col ,d',h,,rens #bgi ,,the ,,britannia ,,hut #cjb ,,maps4 ,,diablerets--,,wildhorn--,,wildstrubel- -,,gemmi ,,pass #fd ,,kandersteg--,,finsteraarhorn--,,grimse l #aad ,,ferret--,,entremont--,,bagnes #ahb ,,the ,,pennine ,,range ,,from ,,grand ,,st4 ,,bernard ,,to ,,zermatt #bjh ,,mischabel ,,range ,,and ,,monte ,,rosa #bdj ,,piz ,,bernina ,,circuit #bdh ,illustration ,ski-,runs in the ,high ,alps ,,chapter ,i ,,ski-,,running ,,in ,,the ,,high ,,alps ,the different ski-ing zones--,their characteristics and dangers--,the glaciers as ski-ing grounds--,the ski-running season--,inverted temperature--,the conformation of winter snow--,precautionary measures--,glacier weather--,rock conditions--,weather reports--,guides and porters4 ,in a chapter like this1 a writer on the ,high ,alps may well abstain from poetical or literary developments4 ,his subject is best handled as a technical sport1 and personal experience should alone be drawn upon for its illustration4 ,little more than ten years have elapsed since men with a knowledge of summer mountaineering began to explore the ,alps in winter4 ,not only are the successes1 which have almost invariably attended the winter exploration of the ,swiss ice-fields1 full of instruction for the novice1 but also the accidents and misfortunes which1 sad to say1 ended in loss of life or limb1 have conveyed useful lessons4 ,in this chapter the writer has nothing in view but to be practical and pointed4 ,his remarks must be taken to apply exclusively to the ,alps4 ,he has no knowledge of any other ski-ing field1 and is conversant with no other experience but that gained in the ,alps by himself and members of the ,swiss ski-ing clubs1 which count in their membership thousands of devotees4 ,it is necessary to distinguish the zones of meadow land and cultivated fields1 forest land1 cattle grazings1 and rocks4 ,in the forest zone the snow presents no danger except1 perhaps1 in sharply inclined clearings where its solidity is not sufficiently assured either by the nature of the underlying ground or by the presence of trees growing closely together at the foot of the incline4 ,above the forest belt the zone of pastures is a favourite ski-ing ground4 ,this zone is wind-swept1 sunburnt during the day1 and under severe frost at night4 ,as a general rule1 it may be laid down that snow accumulated in winter on the grazings frequented by cows in summer affords a safe and reliable ski-ing ground1 at any rate in all parts where the cows are in the habit of standing4 ,when in doubt1 the ski-runner should ask himself3 ,are cows1 as ,i know them1 likely to feel comfortable when standing on this slope in summer8 ,if an affirmative answer can be given in a bona-fide manner1 the slope is not dangerous4 ,alpine grazing lands being selected for the convenience of cows1 they are almost throughout well adapted to ski-runners4 ,it is1 of course1 understood that gorges1 ravines1 and steep declivities will be avoided by ,swiss cows just as much as by those of any other nationality4 ,the ski-runner should leave those parts of the grazing alone on which a herd would not be allowed to roam by its shepherds4 ,the deepest and heaviest ,alpine snows lie on the grazings1 and the avalanches that occur there in spring are of the heaviest type and cover the most extensive areas4 ,these are spring avalanches4 ,they are regular phenomena1 and it is totally unnecessary to expect them in midwinter4 ,above the grazings begin the rocks4 ,they are either towering rocks and walls1 or else they lie broken up on slopes in varying sizes4 ,in the latter case the snow that may cover them is quite safe1 provided the points of those rocks be properly buried4 ,as a rule1 wherever there is a belt or wall of solid rock above a grazing 7which is practically the case in every instance when it is not a wood71 the loose stones at the foot of the rocks give complete solidity to the snow surface resting on them4 ,the danger arises from the rocks towering aloft4 ,if these are plastered over with loose snow1 the snow may come down at any moment on the lower ground4 ,one should not venture under such rocks till the snow that may have gathered in the couloirs has come down or is melted away4 ,avalanches are a matter belonging more particularly to snow conditions in the grazing areas1 but they need not to any degree be looked upon as characteristic of this area4 ,their cause has to be sought in the weather1 that is in the rise and fall of the temperature1 and in the wind4 ,there is quite a number of slopes at varying angles1 where it is impossible that the snow surface should be well balanced under all weather conditions1 and these are the slopes where mishaps do occur4 ,the easiest method to avoid accidents is to keep on obviously safe ground1 and it is also on such ground that the best and most steady running can be got4 ,the glaciers of ,switzerland are a magnificent and absolutely unrivalled ski-ing ground4 ,the months appointed by natural circumstances for ski-running in the ,high ,alps are the months of ,january and ,february4 ,this period may quite well be taken to include the whole month of ,march and the last days in ,december4 ,there are reasons for excluding the first three weeks in ,december1 and the last three in ,april4 ,in night temperature1 but in night temperature only1 the passing from summer to winter1 upwards of #i1jjj feet may indeed be said to have fully taken place long before the end of the year4 ,this passage is marked by the regular freezing at night of all moisture1 and by the regular freezing over of all surfaces on which moisture is deposited by day4 ,still1 the first fall of a general layer of snow1 which will last throughout the winter on the high levels1 may be much delayed4 ,till that first layer has covered the high ground1 the ski-runner's winter has not begun4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,wildstrubel ,,hut4 ,to face p4 #ba4 ,the first general snowfall1 if it mark the beginning of the ski-runner's winter1 does not yet mark the setting in of the ski-running season4 ,for a time1 which may extend from ,november to near the end of ,december1 moisture proceeding from the atmosphere1 that is rain and vapours 7warm1 damp winds71 is not without effect at the altitudes which we are considering4 ,such a damp condition of the air and any risk of rain are quite inconsistent with ski-running4 ,but everybody should know that if such risks must be taken throughout the winter by a ski-runner residing1 for instance1 at the altitude of ,grindelwald1 they may practically be neglected by a sportsman whose field of exercise is that to which the ,swiss ,alpine ,club huts afford access4 ,there1 from ,christmas to early ,easter1 the only atmospheric obstacle consists of snowstorms1 in which the wind alone is an enemy1 while the snow entails an improvement in the conditions of sport each time it falls4 ,the ,november and ,december snowfalls prepare the ground for running1 and running at those heights is neither safe nor perfect as long as the process goes on4 ,in ,january and ,february any snowfall simply improves the floor or keeps up its good condition4 ,it may be taken that during these months the atmosphere is absolutely dry from ,tyrol to ,mont ,blanc above #h1jjj feet1 and that a so-called wet wind will convey only dry snow4 ,any moisture or water one may detect will be caused by the heat of the sun melting the ice or the snow4 ,it is a drying1 not a wetting1 process2 it leaves the rocks facing south1 south-east1 and south-west beautifully dry1 and completely clears them1 by rapid evaporation1 of the early winter snows or of any casual midwinter fall accompanying a storm of wind4 ,such are the atmospheric reasons which help to determine the proper ski-running months in the ,high ,alps4 ,there are others which are still of a meteorological description1 but which are connected mainly with the temperature4 ,we shall begin by giving our thought a paradoxical expression as follows3 it is a mistake to talk of winter at all in connection with the ,high ,alps4 ,according to the time of year1 the weather in the ,alps is subjected to general rain conditions or to general snow conditions4 ,under snow conditions the thermometer falls under zero ,centigrade1 and the temperature of the air may range from zero to a very low reading2 but the sun is extremely powerful1 its force is intensified by the reflection from the snow surface4 ,the temperature of the air in the shade is therefore no clue to the temperature of material surfaces exposed to the rays of the sun4 ,the human frame1 under suitable conditions of clothing and exercise1 feels1 and actually is1 quite warm in the sun1 a violent wind being required to approximate the subjective sensations of the body to those usually associated with a cold1 damp1 and biting winter's day4 ,this is a general characteristic of the ,alpine winter1 to which must be added an occasional1 though perfectly regular1 feature1 namely1 that the ,alps may offer1 and do offer every winter1 instances of inverted temperature4 ,this name is given to periods which may extend over several days at a stretch1 and which are repeated several times during the winter months4 ,these are periods during which the constant temperature of the air--that is1 the average temperature by night and by day in the shade--is higher upon the heights than in the plains and valleys4 ,as a general principle1 the winter sportsman may be sure that in the proportion in which he rises he also leaves behind him the winter conditions1 as defined1 in keeping with their own notions and experience by the dwellers on plains1 on the seaside1 or in valleys4 ,when travelling upwards he reaches a dry air1 a hot and bright light1 and maybe a higher temperature than prevails in the lower regions of the earth which lie at his feet4 ,we said a little while ago that in ,january and ,february any snowfall improves the floor4 ,in the preceding months the high regions pass gradually from the condition in which they are practicable on foot to those under which they are properly accessible to the ski-runner only4 ,time must be allowed for the process1 and till it is completed ski-running is premature and consequently distinctly dangerous4 ,the ,alpine huts should not be used as ski-ing centres before they can be reached on ski1 and one should not endeavour to reach them in that manner as long as stones are visible among the snow4 ,the distinctive feature of the ski-runner's floor is that it is free from stones and from holes4 ,the stones should be well buried under several feet of snow1 and the holes filled up with compressed or frozen snow before the ski-runner makes bold to sally forth1 but when they are he may practically go anywhere and dare anything so far as the ground is concerned1 provided he is an expert runner and a connoisseur in the matter of avalanches4 ,of course1 our 8anywhere0 applies to ski-ing grounds only1 and our 8anything0 means mountaineering as restricted to the uses to which ski may fairly be put4 ,the floor of the ski-runner is a dimpled surface consisting of an endless variety of planes and curves4 ,it is a geometrical surface upon which the ski move like instruments of mensuration that are from two to three yards long4 ,snowfalls and the winds determine the geometrical character of the field upon which the long rulers are to glide4 ,this1 the only true notion of the ski-ing field1 means that the detail of the ground has disappeared4 ,it presents a continuity of differently inclined1 bent1 edged1 or curved surfaces1 all uniformly geometric in the construction of each4 ,any attempt at ski-running upon this playground before its engineers and levellers 7which are snow and wind7 have achieved their work in point of depth1 solidity1 and extent1 is unsporting and perilous4 ,the continuous figure or design presented by the upper snow-fields of the ,alps in ,january1 from end to end of the chain1 is broken by prismatic masses1 such as cones1 pyramids1 and peaks1 on the sides of which the laws of gravity forbid the establishment by the concourse of natural forces of snow-surfaces accessible with ski4 ,the runner who has been borne by his ski to the foot of those rock masses--such1 for instance1 as the top of ,monte ,rosa as it rises from the ,sattel--will continue his ascent as a rock-climber4 ,he will probably find the state of the rocks quite as propitious as in summer1 and often considerably better4 ,to sum up1 the characteristics of the ski-running season are3 stability of weather1 constant dryness of the air1 a uniform and continuous running surface1 windlessness1 a constant body temperature from sunrise to sunset1 at times a relatively high air temperature1 solar light and solar heat1 which must not be confused with air temperature and present an intensity1 a duration most surprising to the dweller in plains and on the seaboard2 last1 but not least1 accessibility of the rocky peaks with climbing slopes turned to the sun4 ,a real trouble is the crevasses4 ,the ice-fields form such wide avenues between the peaks bordering them that a ski-runner must be quite a fool if an avalanche finds him within striking distance4 ,but the crevasses are quite another matter4 ,in summer the protection against falling into crevasses is the rope and careful steering between them4 ,in winter mountaineering the ski1 properly speaking1 take the place of the rope4 ,the longest traverses in the ,alps have been performed by unroped ski-runners4 ,at the same time1 the usefulness of the rope1 in case of an accident actually occurring1 cannot be gainsaid1 though it cannot be maintained that the rope1 which has been known to cause certain accidents in summer1 may be called absolutely free from any such liability in winter4 ,of the use of the rope we therefore say1 8,adhuc sub judice lis est40 ,there are two golden rules for avoiding a drop into a crevasse3 firstly1 keep off glaciers or of those parts of any glacier where crevasses are known to be numerous1 deep1 long1 and wide2 secondly1 if called upon to run over a glacier that is crevassed1 use the rope1 but use it properly--that is1 bring its full length into use1 take off your ski1 and proceed exactly as you would do in summer by sounding the snow and crossing bridged crevasses one after another4 ,it is absurd to mix summer and winter craft2 they are distinct4 ,when the rope is used under winter conditions1 let it be exactly according to the best winter practice4 ,if going uphill you find yourself landed on ice1 take off your ski and gain a footing on the ice by means of the heavy nails on your boots4 ,never attempt glacier work with unnailed boots or short1 light bamboo sticks4 ,if any accident happens suddenly to your ski you are helpless and hopeless without nails2 you probably will not have time to take your climbing irons off your rucksack and bind them on to your feet4 ,accidents to ski generally happen when one is on the move on difficult and dangerous ground4 ,it is absurd to expect that the difficulty or danger will abate while you take off your rucksack1 sit down1 and strap on your climbing irons4 ,remember that you are on the move and that your impetus will carry you on1 if not immediately checked by nails gripping the ice4 ,that1 too1 is the reason why a short1 light bamboo will not do2 it is a fine-weather weapon and quite the thing on easy snows4 ,on rough ground you want something with a substantial iron point1 a weapon of some weight and strength which can support your body and help in seeing you home should your ski be injured4 ,a good runner would never put his stick to unfair uses1 such as riding and leaning back4 ,if on going downhill you find yourself landed on ice1 the essential thing is to be able to keep on your feet first1 to your course next4 ,a stout stick with a sharp point will then be sorely needed1 and if you have been careful to fasten on to your ski-blades an appliance against skidding or side-slip1 you will find it much easier to steer and keep to your course4 ,on the whole1 it is wiser on iced surfaces which are steep--and these are generally not extensive--to carry one's ski4 ,there ought to be an ice-axe in the party1 but this ice-axe should be carried by a professional and used by him4 ,nobody can cut steps or carry safely an ice-axe without some apprenticeship1 and this it is impossible to go through in severe winter weather4 ,the principal glacier routes of ,switzerland have been proved over and over again to be free from any particular risk or danger arising from winter conditions4 ,the ratio of risk is the same as in summer4 ,consequently1 select the best known routes1 which are also the most beautiful and ski-able4 ,take with you1 as porters and servants rather than guides1 men who have frequently gone over those routes in winter with some ,swiss runner of experience4 ,this is important1 because many guides1 particularly the most approved summer guides1 are creatures of routine1 and will take you quite obdurately along the summer routes1 step for step and inch after inch4 ,now1 this is wrong and may lead to danger4 ,the ski-runner must dominate the snow slopes4 ,his place is on the brow1 or rather on the coping1 not at the foot of the slopes along which the summer parties generally crawl4 ,when going uphill for several hours consecutively1 as it is necessary to do in order to reach the ,alpine huts1 an artificial aid against slipping back is indispensable4 ,when going uphill the ski support the weight of the runner and keep his feet on1 or above1 the snow4 ,but they do not distinguish between regressive and progressive locomotion4 ,the whole of the work of progression falls upon the human machinery4 ,under those conditions the strain put on the muscles by continuous or repeated backsliding is objectionable4 ,the use of a mechanical contrivance is made imperative by the steepness of the slopes and their great length4 ,another point is that when running downhill1 say1 from the ,monte-,rosa ,sattel to the ,btemps hut1 it is never advisable to pick out the shortest and quickest route1 which means the steepest run possible4 ,high ,alp ski-running demands the choice of the longest course consistent with steady progress and with an unbroken career along a safe line of advance4 ,the watchword of the good runner will always be--at those heights and distances where so much that is ahead must remain problematical--move onward on curves1 so as to approach any obstacle by means of a bend1 admitting of an inspection of the obstacle1 if it is above the surface1 before you are upon it1 and which1 if it is the running surface which presents a break1 even a concealed one1 will prevent your hurling yourself headlong into the trap4 ,illustration3 ,,obergabelhorn1 ,,from ,,dent ,,blanche4 ,to face p4 #bi4 ,the influence of wintry weather upon exposed and lofty rock pinnacles is practically the same as that of summer weather1 but still more so1 if such a paradoxical way of expressing oneself can be made clear4 ,at the height of #aj1jjj feet above the sea-level and upwards the winter weather is glacier weather4 ,this is not the weather that prevails in the depth of the ,swiss valleys or on the ,swiss tableland4 ,the snowfall upon the glaciers is not so great as one might expect4 ,the snow that does fall there is dry1 light1 powdery1 and wind-driven4 ,those characteristics are such that only some slight proportion of the snow driven across the glacier actually remains there4 ,most of it is carried along and accumulates wherever it can settle down--that is1 elsewhere than on wind-swept surfaces4 ,the winter sun is so powerful that it very soon clears the high ridges from a kind of snow that is in itself little suited to adhere to their steep1 rocky sides4 ,therefore the position is as follows3 the ski-runner can gain access to the peaks with great ease4 ,the so-called ,bergschrunde1 in ,french rimaie1 are closed up1 and the rocks towering above are practically just as climbable as in summer1 with the help of the same implements too--rope1 ice-axe1 and if one likes1 climbing-irons4 ,the start is made much later in the morning1 but1 on the other hand1 one need not be over-anxious as to getting to one's night quarters by sunset4 ,running on ski at night over a course that has been travelled over in the morning1 and therefore perfectly recognisable and familiar1 is1 in clear weather1 as pleasant as it is easy4 ,that is why the ascent of a rocky peak is1 to my mind1 an object which a ski-runner who does not take a one-sided view of sport will gladly keep in view4 ,the risk of frost-bite may be greater than in summer1 in so far as the temperature of the air is much lower4 ,but the air being1 as a rule1 extremely dry and the heat of the sun intense1 the full benefit of this extraordinary dryness and of this heat really puts frost-bite out of the question in fine weather1 provided rocks are attacked from the southern or south-west aspect1 or even south-east4 ,it is quite easy to wear thick gloves and to put one's feet away in thick and warm woollen material4 ,but no attempt whatever should be made at rock climbing under dull skies1 let alone when the weather is actually bad4 ,it must also be added that bad health1 exhaustion1 indigestion1 nervousness1 and such like are1 of all things1 the most conducive to frost-bite4 ,the thermometer may mark in ,january1 above the tree-line1 and still more among rocks1 as much as #dj degrees ,centigrade at midday in the sun4 ,this is not the air temperature1 as in the shade the same thermometer will soon drop to zero ,centigrade or less4 ,but anybody who has experienced the wonderful glow of those winter suns on the highest peaks of ,switzerland will be careful that he does not bring them into disrepute by visiting them when he himself is not fit or when they are out of humour4 ,in any case1 people who go about on ski with feet and hands insufficiently clad may well be expected to take the consequences4 ,the foregoing lines bring us quite naturally to consideration of the weather4 ,the first principle to be borne in mind is that weather in the ,high ,alps is quite distinct from weather anywhere else4 ,the only authentic information at any time about the impending weather in the ,alpine area is that given day by day by the ,swiss ,central ,meteorological ,office in ,zrich4 ,this report1 and accompanying forecast1 is published in all the important daily papers1 such as the ,journal de ,genve1 the ,gazette de ,lausanne1 the ,bund1 c4 ,the figures are of less importance than the notes on wind1 air-pressure1 and the description in ordinary language which comments upon the more scientific data4 ,those reports should be consulted1 and should be posted up by every hotel keeper4 ,weather is not uniform throughout ,switzerland4 ,the driest area runs along the backbone of the ,alps from the lake of ,geneva to the lake of ,constance1 along the ,canton du ,valais and the ,canton des ,grisons4 ,chances of steady1 fine weather are consequently greater in those valleys than elsewhere4 ,the driest spot in ,switzerland is ,sierre4 ,the ,high ,alps1 which are of most interest to the ski-runner1 are also the part of ,switzerland which presents the largest proportion of fine sunny days in the winter months4 ,the tableland1 extending from the lake of ,geneva to ,ble and ,constance along the ,rhine1 and bounded on the south-east by the lakes of ,thoune and ,brienz1 ,lucerne1 and the ,wallensee1 may remain for weeks together under a sea of fog1 resting at the height of about a thousand feet above the surface of the ground4 ,as long as those fog areas1 which are generally damp and cold1 are curtained from the rays of the sun1 the canopy of fog acts as a huge reflector for the sun rays which impinge upon it from above4 ,provided there is no wind 7and the ,alps may be windless for days and weeks at a time7 the rays1 reflected back into space from the fog surface1 heat very considerably the layers of air above1 while the air imprisoned below remains cold4 ,the winter snows themselves1 by a similar process of reflection1 generate a great deal of heat of the kind which a human body perceives1 and in which the mountaineer is fond of basking4 ,the long ,jura range1 extending from the lake of ,geneva to ,ble along the ,french border1 shares in the ,alpine climate1 though in a somewhat rougher form4 ,the conclusion is that in ,switzerland the weather conditions1 to mention these alone1 are extremely favourable to the ski-runner4 ,in the matter of space at his disposal there are in ,switzerland1 on the slopes of either the ,alps or the ,jura1 generally above the forest belt1 three thousand grazings for cattle1 every one of which is a ski-ing area4 ,only a very small number have hitherto been frequented by the ski-runner4 ,yet last winter three thousand pairs of ski were sold by one firm alone1 and it is reckoned that the number fitted and sold last winter 7#aiaa-ab7 in ,switzerland exceeds forty thousand4 ,swiss guides hitherto have been trained and engaged only for summer work4 ,consequently their efficiency on ski is in every instance a personal acquirement1 and their knowledge of their duties under winter conditions is simply consequent upon their summer training or derived from their own native knowledge of winter conditions1 without the addition of any instruction4 ,if one wishes to engage guides for winter work the best guarantee is that the guide belong to a local ski club1 and should have attended1 if possible1 one or several ski courses before he is considered fit to accompany amateur ski-ing parties4 ,another point is that guides in winter must be prepared to act as porters4 ,it is in the nature of running on ski that the runner will hardly ever find himself in a position to call for individual assistance1 and the routes he will frequent are of necessity routes which1 from the mountaineering point of view1 are easy and not suited to give great prominence to the qualities of a guide in the strict and recognised meaning of the term4 ,what the amateur ski-runner particularly wants is a hardy and willing companion who will carry the victuals for him and is wise enough to employ his influence in turning the ski-runner away from any dangerous ground1 and to pick out the best and safest lines across country4 ,guides holding a diploma should not be paid more for winter work than they are allowed to claim in summer under the established rates of payment4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,with ,,ski ,,to ,,the ,,diablerets ,first ,ascent4--,the ,bear inn at ,gsteig--,the young ,martis--,superstitions--,the rights of guides4 ,second ,ascent4--,the composition of the caravan--,odd symptoms--,winter amusements on the glacier--,a broken ankle--,the salvage operations--,on accidents--,my juvenile experience--,a broken limb on the ,jaman4 ,third ,ascent4--,the ,marti family--,the ,synagogue once more--,an old porter--,we are off4 ,it has been three times my lot to lay the flat of my ski across the brow of the ,diablerets4 ,this in itself would be of but little interest had not a trifling incident occurred each time which may be related with more animation than the ascents can be described4 #a4 ,in the month of ,january1 #ai--1 at a time when the ascent of the ,diablerets had not yet been attempted on ski1 ,i marched early in the day out of the slumbering ,bahnhof hotel at ,gstaad1 with a full rucksack on my back and rattled through the village on my ski along the ice-bound main street4 ,the sun had not yet risen when ,i knocked at the door of the ,bear hotel at ,gsteig and presented to the frowsy servant who appeared on the doorstep a face and head so hung about with icicles and hoar-frost that she started back as though ,father ,christmas had come unbidden4 ,when she had sufficiently recovered herself1 ,i inquired of her whether she knew of any man in the village who would accompany me to the top of the ,diablerets4 ,she looked so puzzled that ,i hastened to explain that by man ,i did not mean a guide1 but any one who might be foolish enough to enter upon such an expedition with a complete stranger advanced in years4 ,a mere boy would do1 provided he could cook soup and could produce a pair of ski with which to follow his employer4 ,two lads offered themselves2 the brothers ,victor and ,ernest ,marti1 sons of an old guide4 ,at first they understood no more of the business than that a gentleman had arrived with whom there was some chance of casual employment4 ,when ,i had made my intention plain to them1 they jumped at my purpose with the eagerness of their age4 ,they had ski which they had made themselves1 but was the ascent possible8 ,anyhow1 if ,i wanted one of them only1 he certainly would not go without the other1 and when ,i tackled the other to see whether he would not come alone1 they might have been ,siamese twins for aught ,i could do to separate them alive4 ,they went to their mamma1 who raised her hands to heaven and would have put them into the fire to rescue her darlings from my dangerous clutches4 ,in the end the boys1 dare-devils much against their wish1 sallied forth loaded with ropes1 ice-axes1 and other cumbersome paraphernalia1 among which it would be unfair to reckon their mother's blessings and their father's warnings4 ,indeed1 in their sight ,i was an evil one1 bent upon sundry devilries in an ice-bound world4 ,but for the halo thrown for them about my undertaking by the prospect of the beautiful gold pieces to be gained1 they would rather have committed me alone to the mercy of the ice fiends4 ,lusty of limb1 though with quaking hearts1 they had no sooner slipped on their ski than their fears were dispelled4 ,they flew to and fro on the snow like gambolling puppies4 ,who would have thought they bore on their backs a pack that would have curbed the ardour of any ordinary person8 ,they were already prepared in their minds to become ,swiss soldiers a few months later1 when they would carry1 in equipment and arms1 more than weighed their present guides' attire4 ,guides1 by the way1 they were not1 but hoped to be some day1 when they were soldiers4 ,i discovered that1 meanwhile1 besides working at the saw-mill1 they played the part of local bandsmen4 ,from ,christmas ,eve to ,new ,year's ,day they had shared as fiddlers in the mummeries1 revels1 and dances of the season4 ,they had conceived thereby much thirst1 as was soon made clear by the flagging of their spirits1 and by the loving way in which they bent down to the snow1 pressed it between their hands like a dear1 long1 unbeheld face and kissed it4 ,when they were refreshed their tongues were once more loosened4 ,we were drawing nearer to the ,diablerets4 ,the overhanging rocks seemed to arch themselves threateningly over our heads1 and if the young men now spoke glibly1 it was with a tremble in their voices and about their renewed fears4 ,it is not without reason that ,diablerets and devilry are cognate sounds in languages so distant from each other as the ,romance patois of the ,vaudois ,alps and the gentle speech of the ,thames ,valley4 ,like the remainder of ,christian ,europe1 those valleys shared once upon a time in the ,catholic faith1 and this had wonderfully commingled the early and earthly beliefs of our kind with the teachings of ,divinity4 ,free-thinkers in the ,protestant sense of the word1 those boys1 creeping under the shadow of the cliffs up to the snowy vastness above1 saw welling up from the depths of their minds1 as in a mirror1 the images of the strange beings with which the rude fancy of the peasantry peoples those upper reaches of the ,alps which they call the ,evil ,country4 ,but on that day nothing came of those forebodings4 ,on the next morning1 after a night spent in complete freedom from haunting ghosts1 my boys hesitated a moment before rounding the shoulder of the ,oldenhorn4 ,the ,zan ,fleuron glacier opened up just beyond4 ,this was the known ,synagogue1 or meeting place of the spirits4 ,they dreaded to see what they might see there if they turned the corner before the arrows of light-bearing ,apollo had scattered the night mists of ,hecate4 ,suddenly the sun broke and poured forth in floods upon a world springing up innocently from the folds of sleep4 ,my lads felt saved by glad day4 ,but1 if they went through this first expedition without suffering injury from the spirits1 they were less fortunate in their dealings with myself4 ,they had allowed themselves to be drawn into a temptation for which they were yet to undergo punishment2 namely1 they had1 for gold1 disregarded the rules of the ,bernese corporation of guides4 ,it is a salutary regulation of that honourable guild that none who is not an officially certificated guide shall accompany alone a gentleman in the district4 ,now1 a terrible thing had happened4 ,two young men1 neither of whom was a certificated guide1 had accompanied a gentleman in the district4 ,indeed1 the mother of the boys must in the end be proved to be right in her mistrust4 ,that gentleman had induced her boys to make light of the fundamental rule of local etiquette as to keeping off the ,zan ,fleuron beat entirely reserved for the spirits from ,all ,souls' ,day to ,easter ,sunday1 and1 in addition1 he was getting them into trouble with the police4 ,one or two months later ,i was busily and peacefully engaged in my study when a member of the ,geneva detective force was ushered in4 ,i started up4 ,what could be the matter8 ,the gentleman then explained politely that ,i was wanted somewhere in the ,canton de ,berne4 ,what for8 ,it could be no light matter4 ,now ,i knew--by repute1 rather than by personal experience--that justice in ,berne is extremely rough and even handed4 ,i said ,i would rather appear before a ,geneva judge4 ,on repairing to the courts1 ,i was informed that the brothers ,marti were summoned at ,saanen for palming themselves off as guides upon an unwary gentleman of uncertain age and feeble complexion4 ,they had preyed upon his weak mind and enthusiasm to drag him in midwinter up to the top of the ,diablerets1 exposing his body to grave risks1 and his soul to the resentment of the fairies1 and thus indirectly infringing a privilege which certificated guides alone enjoyed1 to the exclusion of the remainder of man and womankind4 ,reassured on my own behalf1 ,i at once became 8cocky0 and proceeded to prick that legal bubble and take the guiding corporation down a few pegs4 ,i solemnly swore before the judge--in presence of the clerk who took my words down with forced gravity--that ,i had engaged ,victor ,marti as lantern-bearer to the elderly ,diogenes ,i actually was1 and his brother ,ernest to act for me as crossing-sweeper over the ,zan ,fleuron glacier1 because ,i expected there might be some snow1 and it is bad for old men to have cold feet4 ,i have since heard that the two boys got off that time without a stain on their character4 ,i say that time1 because this trouble is not the last ,i got them into4 ,but this is another tale1 and will appear hereafter4 #b4 ,my second ascent of the ,diablerets was somewhat tragic--this1 too1 in ,january1 and in pursuit of the magnificent ski-run which one gets down the ,zan ,fleuron glacier to the ,sanetsch pass1 and back to ,gsteig4 ,the brothers ,marti were again with me4 ,the eldest was now a certificated guide1 and had thus acquired the legal right to take his brother with him when escorting strangers in the mountains4 ,on that occasion there were some strangers1 mostly ,english1 in the party4 ,one of them was a young and able runner on ski1 another was an elderly member of 8the0 ,alpine ,club1 in whose breast a love for ski was born late in life1 probably in the same years when ,i myself fell a victim to that infatuation4 ,the third stranger of ,british blood need not for the nonce be otherwise presented to the reader than in a spiritual garb as a vision4 ,he--or rather she--will appear in the flesh when a ministering angel is called for in the disastrous scene yet to be enacted1 when the kind apparition will flutter down as unexpectedly as the goblins pop up through the soft white carpet1 under which they have their homes in the comfortable cracks designed for them by the glacier architect4 ,this caravan went up the usual way1 in the usual manner1 above the ,pillon pass4 ,near the end of the day1 and at sunset1 one of us was suddenly seen to curl up and roll in the snow4 ,the next moment he was back at his place again1 with his rucksack on his shoulder1 ice-axe in hand1 and with his ski under his feet1 as if nothing had happened4 ,yet we had all seen him curl up and roll down4 ,and here he was again1 spick and span1 like one of those tourists carved in wood which are offered for sale at ,interlaken or ,lucerne4 ,the ,marti brothers looked at me queerly4 ,they were1 indeed1 thankful ,i had got them unscathed out of the police court4 ,in spite of parental advice1 they had come again with me on that account4 ,but this was beyond a joke4 ,however1 they went on1 exchanging among themselves their own remarks1 wondering whose sticks1 ski1 and rucksack would next be seen flying in opposite directions4 ,but nothing happened during the night4 ,the next morning the brothers ,marti1 heading our column1 wended their way carefully1 as before1 to the corner of the ,oldenhorn1 and peered cautiously round4 ,it was still dark4 ,from this place it is usual before dawn to catch a glimpse of the gnomes4 ,they are impervious to cold4 ,being of an origin infernal in some degree1 they naturally delight in the coolness of winter nights1 and their eyes being habitually scorched by the flames that blaze in the bowels of the glacier1 they much enjoy the soothing caress of the moonbeams4 ,on that morning--since there is a morning even to an evil day--the gnomes were still engaged in their after midnight game of skittles4 ,they plant their mark on the edge of the glacier1 above the cliffs which drop down clear on to the ,derborence grazings4 ,their bowls are like enormous curling-stones hewn out of the ice4 ,when the gnomes miss their aim--which in their love of mischief they like to do--the ice blocks fly over the edge of the rock parapet1 and crash down upon the grazings4 ,in summer the shepherds endeavour to meet this calamity by prayer4 ,in winter it is of no consequence4 ,but what was of consequence is that we had no business on the glacier while the night sprites were still holding ,synagogue4 ,this the brothers ,marti knew1 and that woe was in store for us on that account4 ,but all went well with us1 to all appearances4 ,we left our baggage at the foot of the ,diablerets peak1 and1 on our ski1 pushed merrily along to the summit4 ,we lunched1 and enjoyed the view1 like any ordinary mortals1 ignorant of having challenged ,fate4 ,then down we went1 curving and circling over the glacier1 crossing unawares the place of the ,synagogue4 ,a gnome1 crouching somewhere on the edge of a crevasse1 lay in wait for us1 hiding behind a heap of carefully hoarded curling-stones4 ,the deadly weapons began gliding about4 ,the brothers ,marti were proof against them1 being involuntary offenders4 ,the head of the party could not be struck1 being of the sceptical kind4 ,the young ,englishman jumped about1 being ever safe in the air when the gliding missile came his way4 ,but the member of 8the0 ,alpine ,club suffered the fate all were courting4 ,his fibula was snapped4 ,then nothing was seen but a man lying down in pain upon a beautifully white snow-field4 ,the evil spot was clad in the garb of innocence4 ,the sky spread above in a blue vaulted canopy1 such as ,madonnas are pictured against4 ,one of the poor offending mortals lay low1 expiating the fault of all4 ,would the sacrifice be accepted8 ,yes4 ,amid the scene of temple-like beauty1 charity--it might have been the ,madonna or a simple ,ice ,maid--appeared in human shape amid the effulgence of midday1 in the opportune costume of a hospital nurse4 ,illustration3 ,,sport ,,on ,,the ,,zan ,,fleuron ,,glacier4 ,to face p4 #db4 ,with such help1 the moment to be absolutely practical came4 ,it was two o'clock in the afternoon4 ,we were still on the glacier as high as we could be4 ,whether we retraced our footsteps or glided on1 the distance was the same to ,gsteig1 where the ,pillon and ,sanetsch passes join together4 ,luckily the weather was fine1 the air quite warm and still4 ,i despatched ,victor ,marti1 the better runner of the two1 down the ,sanetsch to ,gsteig4 ,his orders were to summon by telegraph a medical man from ,gstaad to ,gsteig1 with instructions there to await our arrival1 and to come provided with splints for the crippled man4 ,this young winged ,mercury received another message to convey4 ,it was to send forthwith a team of four men to the top of the ,sanetsch pass4 ,he himself was to bring back to the pass eatables1 drinkables1 and blankets4 ,it was1 indeed1 impossible to tell whether we should not be kept out in the wilderness the whole night4 ,in such places at that time of the year1 the wind1 in rising1 might be attended by the worst consequences to human life4 ,we had before us many1 many miles to be travelled over1 across hill and dale1 in deep snow1 conveying on foot a helpless man1 whom immobility would expose to serious risks while out in the open during the night hours4 ,our messenger carried out his instructions with the utmost rapidity and punctuality4 ,his ski carried him swiftly over many miles of snow to the wooded confines of the ,sanetsch pass4 ,he hailed two wood-cutters1 and sent them straight up to the top of the pass1 as a forward relief party4 ,they got there some time after sunset1 while ,victor ,marti continued on his way down into the valley to complete his task4 ,as for those left behind1 they had in prospect a six-mile trudge before they could reach the pass4 ,no question of continuing on ski4 ,our sister of mercy wanted them all to accommodate the wounded man4 ,on the glacier the snow was not so deep that the hard1 icy1 under-surface could not support our footsteps1 but as we proceeded lower our plight got worse4 ,a ski-runner who1 on deep snow1 has to give up the use of his ski1 is very much like a sailor upon a small craft in mid-ocean4 ,suppose the boat capsizes1 the sailor may swim4 ,but for how long8 ,similarly1 a ski-runner bereft of his ski amid boundless1 pathless snow-fields1 may walk4 ,but for how long8 ,snow is a good servant1 but a bad master4 ,most people who have not found it out for themselves do not know that snow gets deeper and deeper as you descend from the glaciers into the valleys4 ,after we had reached the pass we would still have to climb by night down the ,sanetsch gorge4 ,this manifold task was about to fall to the lot of a party in which everybody1 except one1 was new to winter work4 ,they were1 besides1 totally unacquainted with night conditions4 ,the ministering angel dropped from heaven1 too1 was one who1 strange to say1 had never yet been sent to ,switzerland on an errand of mercy4 ,besides1 her task grew so upon her that the discharge of it made her more and more human1 and in the end she experienced in herself all the inconveniences of being the possessor of a material body4 ,with the help of puttees we tied the inert limb to one ski4 ,the other ski of the same pair supported the intact leg4 ,we cut our ski-sticks into lengths1 split them down the middle1 and making cross-bars of them we fixed the ski to one another4 ,thus was the stretcher or shutter made4 ,we had nails1 fortunately1 and plenty of cord4 ,a stretcher1 however1 cannot be carried in deep snow up hill and down dale4 ,we now required a sleigh4 ,to build one we laid down on the snow1 carefully and side by side1 three pairs of ski1 binding them together with straps1 and thereupon we laid the shutter on which was tied the wounded man4 ,would this improvised sleigh run on the snow8 ,by means of his rope ,ernest ,marti yoked himself to the front of it4 ,head down1 shoulders bent1 he gave a pull4 ,his feet broke through the crust of snow and he sank in up to the waist4 ,to this there was no remedy4 ,he would plunge at each step1 and1 recovering himself1 breathless and quivering1 he would start afresh4 ,each time he got off the victim of our accident received a jerk that threw him back1 for we had not the wherewithal to make a support for his shoulders4 ,to obviate this very serious trouble1 we fitted an empty rucksack to his back1 and pulled tightly the straps over his shoulders and across his chest4 ,the young ,englishman and myself walked then on each side of him4 ,holding him by means of the shoulder straps1 we checked the back thrusts to which he was exposed1 and kept him upright from the waist4 ,thus our caravan proceeded on its way1 our pockets stuffed with the remaining bits of our ski1 with which we might be glad to light a fire that night in some deserted shepherds' hut4 ,the charity dame walked alongside of us1 cheering with her smile the sad hero of this melancholy adventure4 ,what a picture it would have made if only one of us had had the heart to photograph it6 ,night was creeping on4 ,the snows turned dark and gloomy1 still we were drawing near to the pass and had no sooner reached it than two burly figures rose up before us4 ,they smiled1 and laid hold of the guiding-rope which ,ernest ,marti1 exhausted1 threw to them4 ,they had appeared in the nick of time to save us from spending the night up there4 ,from that moment1 turning to the north1 we were able to continue to the top of the ,sanetsch gorge without a stop4 ,the stars had long been glittering overhead when we were able to look down into the gorge across to ,gsteig4 ,the village was all agog4 ,lanterns were creeping about like glow-worms4 ,some appeared at time amid the woods1 flitting from place to place like fire-flies4 ,the other two men1 ordered up by ,victor ,marti1 now showed their lights quite near us4 ,and then began the last stage in our salvage operations4 ,the ,sanetsch gorge was as a vast1 curved sheet of ice4 ,its northern exposure and the night air had done their work4 ,it would not be possible to convey a man reclining on a stretcher down the steep windings of the mule path4 ,the rescuing party soon hit upon the only practicable scheme4 ,the patient was removed from his splints1 poles1 straps1 and bindings1 and set across the back of a powerful highland man4 ,ernest ,marti took my ,lucifer lamp and placed himself in front to light up the way4 ,two men stood immediately behind the human pack-mule4 ,the group thus formed launched itself down into the gorge1 each man depending for security upon the rough crampons driven into his shoe leather4 ,all's well that ends well4 ,the doctor was found waiting at ,gsteig4 ,it is now his turn to take up the cue1 but we do not vouch that he will satisfy the reader's curiosity1 should we by any chance have left him with any curiosity to satisfy4 ,i hope we may1 because our third ascent of the ,diablerets still awaits him4 ,this was not the first mountaineering misadventure ,i found myself mixed up with4 ,moreover1 it was an accident1 the memory of which ,i do not particularly relish4 ,i am afraid ,i smarted visibly under it1 and showed my personal disappointment4 ,this may have conveyed to some the impression of some unfairness on my part4 ,has the reader ever noticed how different is the attitude of the public mind towards accidents on land and on sea8 ,why should mountaineering accidents be less sympathetically received than those befalling sailors8 ,it is1 however1 not unnatural that the sea should be more congenial1 and command forgiveness by its grandeur4 ,it teaches charity by the immensity in which it drops the cruel dramas enacted upon its surface4 ,when casualties occur in mountaineering1 even those concerned appear to make efforts to single out somebody on whom to fasten the blame4 ,some people's vanity is bent upon discerning the wisdom1 or unwisdom1 of one or another of their companions4 ,if a boat goes down a respectful silence is allowed to dwell alike around the survivors and those lost4 ,but shall we ever1 for instance1 hear the end of the merits or demerits of each concerned in the accident that befell the ,whymper party1 in #ahfe1 on the ,matterhorn8 ,when a climbing party comes to grief1 it is as an additional course for the menu of the table d'htes3 a dainty morsel for busybodies1 quidnuncs1 and experts alike4 ,the critical spirit grows ungenerous in that atmosphere4 ,the victims of the ,alp were tempting ,fate2 one knows exactly what mistake they made2 so-and-so was altogether foolish in ----1 and so forth4 ,with such more or less competent remarks1 the fullest mead of admiration is blended4 ,this1 too1 be it added with the utmost appreciation of a kind disposition1 does not go without some admixture of silliness4 ,i should prefer1 even now1 to leave all accidents in an atmosphere of romance4 ,it is best to meet with them when one is young4 ,the tender spots in one's nature are then nearer the surface1 and the vein of chivalry more easily struck4 ,the flutter and excitement of a rescue are then delightful4 ,one would almost wish for accidents elsewhere than in day-dreams for the sake of dramatic emotion4 ,the accidents1 however1 arranged in the flights of my imagination were weak in one respect4 ,they were egotistic4 ,the brilliant part of a quixotic rescuer fell regularly to me4 ,let me give the reader an instance from real life before ,i take him for the third time up the ,diablerets4 ,the thing occurred in a ,byronic spot4 ,in this place in my book it will detach itself as a spring-flower against the snow and ice background which all these chapters have in common4 ,was ,i in my 8teens10 like 8her10 or not quite so green1 or much greener8 ,the question arouses some vague twinges of wounded vanity4 ,but ,i consult in vain the tablets of my memory4 ,they are now as illegible in many places as old churchyard stones4 ,if ,i then believed ,i had grounds for jealousy1 ,i could not now trust myself to say with truth that they were genuine4 ,my resentment fastened upon a rival4 ,i withdrew proudly to the recesses of the hills1 as it is recorded by romantic lore that even males of the dumb creation are in the habit of doing when baffled in desire and injured in self-esteem4 ,but as1 a few days later1 ,i lay lazily stretched out at full length on the tender pasture grass of the ,plan de ,jaman1 viewing at my feet the scene of my sentimental dconvenue1 ,i do not wish the reader to paint for himself the picture of an angry bull pawing the ground and snorting for revenge1 though the number of cows grazing about and the multitudinous tinkling of the bells might well suggest such a classical impersonation4 ,the view over the lake was pure1 crystal-like through a moist1 shiny air4 ,rain had fallen during the night over ,glion and the bay of ,montreux4 ,the long grass on the steep pastures of ,caux was tipped with fresh snow4 ,it lay here and there in melting patches1 and every blade of grass had its trickle of water4 ,seated on my knapsack for dryness1 ,i was comfortably munching some bread and chocolate when discordant and husky cries burst upon me from behind4 ,the sound was more grotesque than pathetic4 ,on looking round there hove in sight a suit of fashionable clothes1 which seemed to betray the presence of a man4 ,they were mud-bespattered and stained green with grass4 ,a scared and besmirched face stood forth from above them1 marked with what looked like dried-up daubs of blood4 ,from that dreadfully burlesque and woebegone countenance issued the affrighted ,red ,indian cries which had startled my ears4 ,dear me1 how un-,byronic all this6 ,my feelings grew more sympathetic to that vision--and that1 in a sense particularly exhilarating to myself--when in the soiled1 distracted fashion-plate ,i recognised my successful rival4 ,his language became immediately an intelligible speech for me1 and when he blurted out a familiar name he won a friend1 if not to himself at least to his plight1 which was coming to me as a splendid opportunity4 ,too dazed to be aware of the true identity of his audience1 he confessed to having lost his way with 8her0 that very morning on the ,jaman grazings4 ,their house-shoes had literally melted away in the wet1 slippery grass and been torn to shreds on the rocks4 ,famished1 thirsty1 exposed to the beating rays of the midday sun1 his presence of mind had deserted him4 ,they had fallen together over a wall of rock4 8,where1 oh where80 shouted ,i4 ,illustration3 ,,from ,,the ,,dent ,,blanche1 ,,looking ,,west4 ,to face p4 #ej4 ,the wretch could not tell4 ,his mind was a blank4 ,he had run thus far1 but knew not whence1 and looked round vacantly for a clue4 ,exhausted1 he tumbled down upon the turf4 ,to him it had fallen to do the mischief4 ,i was to repair it4444 ,but was the repairing still within human power8 ,my eyes travelled anxiously up and down the hangs of the ,dent de ,jaman4 ,by what end should ,i begin my search8 ,had the accident occurred in the wooded parts screened over by a growth through which ,i could not see8 ,i began a systematic search at one end of the battlefield1 as would have done a party of stretcher-bearers1 ,red ,cross men1 clearing the ground of the wounded and dead4 ,i called out at regular intervals the name of the object of my search4 ,no reply4 ,her companion looked on disconsolately from afar4 ,an hour passed1 two hours4 ,then at last1 at one end of the wooded slope1 hidden away in a gorge of minute dimensions1 ,i came upon an apparently lifeless figure partly reclining on a moss bank with a foot hanging out from a torn muslin dress over a running stream of snow water4 ,the faint had lasted long4 ,but for the tears in her dress she looked as though she had quietly fallen asleep4 ,when ,i took her up in my arms1 my touch seemed to re-animate her1 evidently because it caused her some pain4 ,then she came back to life more fully1 and gradually realised how the situation accounted for my presence4 ,she was suffering from a broken leg4 ,i carried her down to ,les ,avants4 ,the reader would expect to hear that this adventure bound together again the broken threads of love4 ,not so4 ,the story did not end as in the case of a friend of mine who happened to be at the right moment in command of a column of artillery moving along the ,freiburg high road4 ,a carriage and pair with several ladies in it was being driven up from behind4 ,the horses took fright and bolted down a side lane4 ,my friend galloped up1 cut the traces of the horses with his sword1 while the affrighted driver just managed to put on the brakes4 ,on further approaches being made from both sides1 it turned out that the carriage contained the material appointed by ,fate to make a wife for him4 ,i believe that in my case so much emotional force got vent in bringing the work of rescue to a successful issue1 that none was left over to nurse the flower of love to fruition4 ,my personal feeling became as a part of my obligations to humanity4 ,dissolved into chivalry and quixotry1 its subtle essence was lost in so broad a river and swept away to the sea4 #c4 ,it is not a far cry from the ,dent de ,jaman back to the ,diablerets4 ,at the end of ,march1 #aiaj1 ,i set out with ,monsieur ,kurz1 of ,neuchtel1 to be avenged on the ill-luck which had marred the ,january trip4 ,the name of ,mr4 ,marcel ,kurz will appear repeatedly under my pen in this volume4 ,i made his acquaintance years ago on the occasion of a political speech4 ,i was only too glad1 after a night spent in public talk and conviviality1 to throw off the fumes of oratory and post-prandial cordiality4 ,in this a lot of keen young ski-runners agreed with me4 ,among them was ,marcel ,kurz1 son of ,louis ,kurz1 the eminent maker of the map of the ,mont ,blanc range4 ,he has since accompanied me on several expeditions1 the first of which was planned on that day1 while practising side by side ,christiania and ,telemark swings in friendly emulation4 ,some of the photograph reproductions which adorn these pages were made from snapshots taken by him4 ,not having yet become acquainted with the ,diablerets range in winter1 he accompanied me there in #aiaj with our old friends1 the brothers ,marti4 ,these were dienstbereit1 which1 being put in ,english1 would read3 ,ready for service1 which guides and soldiers ever are4 ,but were they as free from their ancient fears as they were willing to undergo fresh trials8 ,i might well have my doubts when1 this time1 their father expressed a desire to see me before his boys acquiesced4 ,the accident which attended our last expedition had left its mark in the minds of the people4 ,the man with the broken leg had unfortunately hobbled about so long1 on crutches1 all over the country side1 that this sight had rudely shaken the confidence which they were beginning to repose in me1 as bringing into the country fresh means of earning a little money during the winter months4 ,the old ,marti lady1 particularly1 whose heart had no eye--if this is not an ,irish bull--for economic advantages that ran counter to the conservative character of her domestic affections1 watched me wickedly from her doorstep1 while her husband interviewed me in the village street4 ,here we stood1 with the villagers round us1 looking a picture truly symbolic4 ,an old father1 clothed in authority by his age and experience1 the preserver of the traditions of the past in his house1 as in the village community1 and bearing within himself the true doctrine of the guiding corporation2 his sons1 with their minds in that half-open condition which is that of so many young peasants of the present day1 when they may be compared1 without thereby losing anybody's esteem1 to oysters opening to the sunlight the shells out of which they cannot grow2 the mother1 anxious for those nurtured at her breast1 the coming founders1 as she hoped1 of a domestic hearth like unto the old2 a man from the outside1 dropped maybe from a higher sphere1 but disturbing the even tenour of their lives1 and presenting in a new light to their awakening consciousness their sense of inferiority and perhaps of misdirected adherence to the past2 lastly1 the onlookers and passers-by1 a homely throng1 bearing witness1 after the style of the ,greek chorus in the village comedy4 ,i proposed to the old man that his sons should come again with me unhindered4 ,we were a small party1 and made up of such elements that there was but little chance of the last accident being repeated4 ,but it had got to his ears that ,i had privately consulted with his sons as to pushing on from the ,diablerets to the east over the ,sanetsch and ,rawyl passes4 ,i had to confess that such was the intention of myself and of ,marcel ,kurz4 ,whereupon the old man held up his hands and his wife hurried to his side4 ,in the end it was decided that ,ernest ,marti should accompany me and my friend with provisions for one day only1 and that on the next day the other brother and a porter would meet us on the ,sanetsch pass4 ,unwilling to inquire at once what this porter arrangement might portend1 lest the whole affair might be stranded on that inquiry1 as a ship might do on leaving the stocks1 we agreed to the suggestion4 ,the conference broke up1 each party being satisfied that it had gained one of its points4 ,our ash planks carried us up without a hitch to the confines of the glacier4 ,at the ,oldenhorn hut1 however1 another of those sights awaited us which had made the brothers ,marti feel queer4 ,they of the ,synagogue spent the witching hours of the next night in a drunken snowballing orgy4 ,they pushed an enormous bolt of snow against the door of the hut during our peaceful slumbers therein4 ,never mind4 ,we opened the window1 got out through it into the snow1 bored our way to the outside1 and slipped down on to the ice4 ,there was some spectral light in the air when we came out4 ,the ,oldenhorn battlements crackled and crepitated a little4 ,when the sun lit them up from behind1 it looked for a moment as if they were manned with a fringe of tittering monkeys4 ,as ,i have said1 there was a strange play of light in the air4 ,but the snowballing might have been the work of avalanches4 ,there is as a rule a natural explanation to be given of phenomena of this kind4 ,while the ,oldenhorn pyramid glowed in the morning light1 a veil of mist hung over the ,zan ,fleuron glacier4 ,the mist in no ways interfered with our run4 ,we flew like birds over the scene of the ,january accident4 ,on the pass we sat down and waited4 ,victor ,marti was to come up4 ,but who was to accompany him up the pass1 in the guise of a porter1 with a further supply of provisions8 ,we required no such thing as a porter--nor even guides1 for the matter of that2 but if ,i acted upon that view1 the game was up4 ,local men would be slow in taking up the cry1 the new cry3 ,winter mountaineering6 ,so we looked for the expected two4 ,the mist still hung on the pass between us and the sun4 ,now and then the sun shone vaguely1 as through cotton wool4 ,when the wind broke the mist up in rifts a patch of blue would look down upon us benignly4 ,at last1 low down in the north1 a black speck showed itself to our straining eyes4 ,then the speck divided up4 ,there were two men1 and something moving along close to the ground4 ,this turned out to be a dog1 dragging along a pair of ski4 ,the dog got on very well on the hard frozen snow4 ,but when about to leave the wind-beaten tract1 he floundered and got no further4 ,on inspection with my binoculars1 the porter turned out to be none other than ,father ,marti1 come to fetch his bairns4 ,but we never quite knew why the dog was made to bring up an extra pair of ski4 ,the position was peculiar2 the would-be porter could not cover the distance which separated him from us4 ,we might have snapped our fingers at him and parodied the biblical phrase3 8,thus far shalt thou come and no farther40 ,we preferred to push into shore on our skiffs and to parley4 ,the old man declared he had come up to say the weather was bad4 ,we looked round4 ,did appearances give him the lie8 ,kurz was sure they did4 ,more cautious1 because nearer the age of the old salt1 ,i thought they might2 but both boys promptly agreed with their father and the dog wagged its tail approvingly4 ,kurz and myself began by making sure of the provisions4 ,then1 by a few judiciously applied biscuits1 we won the favour of the dog4 ,then we said that1 rather than come down at such an early hour1 we should spend the day in runs on the glacier1 whereupon ,victor ,marti felt it would be his duty to do likewise4 ,ernest1 in his turn1 did not see why he should not spend1 in our agreeable company1 a day that was so young4 ,the father winced1 but consented4 ,then ,i thought the juncture had come when ,i might propose to both young men to take full advantage of our new supplies of victuals and drink by spending another night on the heights4 ,the family met again to 8sit0 upon the suggestion4 ,meanwhile ,i liberally paid old ,marti for his trouble and took him apart to tell him that if the weather was really bad on the morrow1 ,i should send his boys down4 ,this arrow hit the mark4 ,he was a perfectly honourable old man1 true to the core4 ,turning to his sons1 he told them that on no account were they to come back home without their 8gentlemen40 ,i hope1 for his comfort1 that he realised that the 8gentlemen0 would not either consent to be seen again in the valley without his boys4 ,anyhow1 we spent a delightful day in ski-ing in the precincts of the ,synagogue1 repaired at night to our hut1 slipped through the window1 and spent a night free from molestation4 ,i deemed that it would be wise to let the sun rise before we did4 ,when it did1 it shone with wonderful grace and power4 ,the mists were scattered out of the sky and the cobwebs cleared away from our brains4 ,we entered upon the trip which is described in the next chapter1 and during which my excellent young friends pushed on steadily to ,kandersteg1 our goal1 longing all the time for the sight of the telegraph poles on which hung the wires which would convey to their mother the message of their safety4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,iii ,,from ,,the ,,col ,,du ,,pillon ,,to ,,the ,,gemmi ,,pass 7,,diablerets1 ,,wildhorn1 ,,wildstrubel1 ,,and ,,kandersteg74 ,the range--,ski-runners' logic--,itinerary--,the ,plan des ,roses--,untoward experiences on the ,rawyl pass--,death through exposure--,the ,daily ,mail and ,mr4 ,arnold ,lunn's feat--,house-breaking--,on the ,gemmi--,perspective and levels--,relief models of the ,alps--,my smoking den--,old ,egger4 ,no visitor to ,switzerland requires telling that a section of the ,bernese ,alps runs up to the ,gemmi pass from the south-west4 ,in this secondary range1 the leading groups are the ,diablerets1 the ,wildhorn1 and the ,wildstrubel4 ,so far as the ,wildstrubel and ,wildhorn are concerned1 the range separates the ,canton du ,valais from the ,canton de ,berne1 but the ,diablerets throw out a shoulder into the ,canton de ,vaud4 ,from their summit the lake of ,geneva can be seen4 ,each of these large mountain clusters is linked up to its neighbour by a pass1 running perpendicularly to the range4 ,the ,sanetsch pass is a dip between the ,wildhorn and the ,wildstrubel4 ,just as--in ,january1 #aiji--;,i had the pleasure of traversing the higher ,bernese ,alps between the ,gemmi and ,grimsel passes1 it was1 in ,march1 #aiaj1 my good luck to carry out in one continuous expedition the traverse of the nether ,bernese ,alps1 beginning at the ,col du ,pillon and ending at the ,gemmi and ,kandersteg4 ,the summits of the ,diablerets1 ,wildhorn1 and ,wildstrubel group do not exceed #aj1gje feet in height4 ,singly1 they have frequently been ascended on ski4 ,but1 to my knowledge1 the ascent of all three had not yet been achieved as a connected and consecutive piece of winter work4 ,my traverse having brought me much opportunity to fully realise the extraordinary quality and beauty of this high ski-ing ground1 ,i do not hesitate to give here my best information on the route4 ,the route now opened out presents this capital feature1 that the mountains along the top of which it lies are uniform in height and in conformation4 ,their general lineal development is straight2 they arise steeply from their south-west extremities2 they carry ski-runners down1 on well-defined inclines1 to their north-east extremities1 which rest on the flat surface of high-lying passes4 ,no wise runner will attempt to run from the ,gemmi end4 ,by so doing he would be making light of the best rules of ski-ing1 as well as throwing away the indications which nature herself gives him4 ,from all three summits the larger and lengthier glaciers stretch uniformly from south-west downwards to north-east1 while on the opposite slope the mountains are precipitous and the glaciers short4 ,illustration3 ,,moving ,,from ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn4 ,to face p4 #fj4 ,not only will no wise runner attempt the trip from the ,gemmi end1 but he will also follow the rules of ski-runners' logic4 ,the reader will notice that while summer tourists cross the ,bernese ,alps from north to south1 that is from ,canton ,berne to ,canton ,valais1 or vice vers1 from ,canton ,valais to ,canton ,berne1 tourists on ski follow the range in its length1 and will have nothing to do with its passes1 as leading from one valley to another4 ,indeed1 a ski-runner must look a very paradoxical creature4 ,for him1 passes are just convenient1 saddle-like depressions connecting the summits he has left with the summit he next wishes to attain4 ,he will have no dealings with the valleys4 ,he does not follow the path1 say from ,kandersteg to ,louche4 ,that is all very well for mules4 ,but he crosses1 say1 the ,sanetsch and ,rawyl passes1 in the same way as a foot-passenger goes across a street from one pavement to the other4 ,by so doing he knows no more of the actual pass-track than its width1 say a matter of one to a few yards1 as the case may be4 ,this totally new conception of how to get about on the ,alps from point to point is of great importance with a view to the military occupation of the ,high ,alp passes and their defence in winter4 ,i call it the ski-runners' paradox4 ,gsteig is best reached from ,montreux1 on the lake of ,geneva1 or from ,spiez1 on the lake of ,thoune1 by availing oneself of the electric railway and getting out at the station of ,gstaad2 hence on foot or by horse-sleigh to ,gsteig4 ,the hut1 on the ,tte aux ,chamois1 at the foot of the ,oldenhorn1 where the first night had better be spent1 lies to the south-west from ,gsteig1 and is approached from the ,pillon route4 ,the approach vi the ,sanetsch pass necessitates the ascent of the ,zan ,fleuron glacier round the ,oldenhorn4 ,it is therefore much longer4 ,the map to be used1 and to which all references in this book are made1 is the ,swiss ,military ,survey ,map 7,siegfried ,atlas71 sold to the public in sheets4 ,a reprint covering the whole region may be bought at ,gstaad1 price #d francs4 ,cross the ,reuschbach by a bridge1 a little beyond point #a1cdj 7sheet #dgb74 ,the chalets of ,reusch will then be reached at ,reuschalp1 at the altitude marked #a1cbf on the map 7sheet #dgb or #dga74 ,at ,bdeli one should carefully avoid taking the path leading south1 up to the ,oldenhornalp4 ,the situation of the ,cabane des ,diablerets is given on the ,siegfried ,atlas at point #b1dhg 7sheet #dgh74 ,the line of access is plain from ,bdeli4 ,but strangers should not attempt to reach the hut in winter snow without being accompanied on the ,martisberg slopes by some person possessing full local knowledge4 ,the traversing of steep slopes1 such as those which here run down from the ,oldenhorn1 is always dangerous4 ,runners start from ,gsteig and will do well to take with them one or both of the brothers ,ernest and ,victor ,marti1 young men and fair runners4 ,readers of the preceding chapter know that ,i have trained them in what little they understand about winter mountaineering4 ,this little is quite sufficient to enable them to guide safely any party of able-bodied and fair ski-runners along the new route4 ,from ,gsteig to the hut an average walker on ski may count five hours4 ,the hut is comfortable enough for practical purposes1 and can accommodate a large party4 ,on the next morning1 do not leave the hut till daylight1 and then1 in three hours1 one may reach the top of the ,diablerets on ski1 though these may have to be removed to traverse a part of the steep snow-fields resting on ice which run down the precipitous cliffs to the south4 ,runners with whom it is a point to run1 rather than conquer hill-tops1 may leave the summit alone4 ,wending their way round the ,oldenhorn1 they will at once face north-east and run down the ,zan ,fleuron glacier to the top of the ,sanetsch pass4 ,use a compass1 and run strictly east4 ,full north1 full south1 or south-east are equally pernicious4 ,the snow may be crusted and wind-swept4 ,but if it is dry1 powdery1 and smooth1 the runner's joy will be inexpressible4 ,our day--and so might yours--gave us a prospect of a very long run4 ,we knew that we should not be able to make use of the ,alpine ,club hut on the ,wildhorn1 for a notice had appeared in the ,alpina 7organ of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club7 that this hut was badly overwhelmed with snow4 ,under ordinary conditions1 provided one did not mind sweeping low down out of one's way to the north1 there would be no reason why this hut should not be taken advantage of to spread over two days the work which on that occasion we did in one day1 to get from the ,diablerets hut along to the ,wildstrubel huts4 ,without any waste of time1 we pushed across the ,sanetsch pass1 from the point marked #b1bcd 7sheet #dha71 on to the arte which runs due east across the point marked #b1ced4 ,if it is your intention to go as far as the ,wildstrubel hut in one day1 you ought to cross the ,sanetsch by eleven o'clock--an easy thing if you left the ,diablerets hut by eight o'clock4 ,the line to be followed leads down to1 but keeps above1 the small lakes which are marked with the name ,les ,grandes ,gouilles1 altitude #b1def4 ,these lakes must be left on one's right hand1 and then make straight for the ,glacier du ,brozet1 above the words ,luis de ,marche4 ,under ordinary winter circumstances1 particularly late in the season1 this glacier1 which is broken up to any extent in summer1 will be found to present a steep and hard surface most convenient to ascend4 ,when once the point #c1aff has been reached1 it will be unnecessary to complete the ascent of the ,wildhorn1 though nothing could be easier4 ,leaving the summit to your left at the point #c1agb1 the descent on the ,glacier de ,tenehet comes next to be considered4 ,at that altitude you should ski onward sharply to the north-east for a while1 then great care should be taken to proceed downward gradually by taking a curved route1 below point #c1abd 7sheet #dgb71 full north-east1 then east1 along the circular tiers of the ice4 ,illustration3 ,,diablerets--,,wildhorn--,,wildstrubel- -,,gemmi ,,pass4 7,reproduction made with authorisation of the ,swiss ,topographic ,service1 #bf4h4ab7 ,to face p4 #fd4 ,let me here remind the reader that the ,wildhorn hut is away far down on the northern slope of the ,wildhorn1 at the top of the ,iffigenthal4 ,runners who wish to break their journey and spend a night there will beware of running down the glacier of ,tenehet4 ,they will cross the watershed to the north at the point #b1gie1 or thereabouts1 and descend to the point #b1bjd1 in the vicinity of which they will find the hut4 ,the course on to the ,rawyl pass presents no difficulty to a competent runner4 ,when under point #b1gfg1 turn to the south1 where the slope dips1 and then again1 when well under point #b1gig1 and the lake1 turn to the north-east1 so as to reach and keep on dotted curve #b1djj4 ,south or south-east would be irrecoverably wrong4 ,in fair weather it will be unbroken pleasure1 on condition that the runner is well led or is thoroughly conversant with map or level readings in a very difficult country4 ,i reached the ,rawyl pass by six o'clock4 ,the fairly level stretch along which undulates the ,rawyl mule track is called the ,plan des ,roses1 which sounds very poetical to cultivated minds1 such as my readers always are4 ,the ,alps1 and many other ranges in ,europe1 are studded with those appellations1 whose delightful ring calls forth the fragrance and beauty of the rose at an altitude at which gardens are not usually met4 ,never did a summer rose grow or blossom naturally in most of the places bearing that pretty name--not even the ,alpen ,rose or the ,alpine ,anemone4 ,the imagination of some has seen in the name an allusion to the pink colour of the sky at dawn and at sunset4 ,alas1 this too is a fallacy borne in upon us by the literary faculty4 ,monte-,rosa does not mean pink mountain4 ,rosa 7as in ,rosa ,blanche1 above the ,val ,cleuson71 roses1 roxes1 rousse1 rossa1 rasses1 rosen 7as in ,rosenlaui71 ross1 rosso 7as in ,cima di ,rosso71 rossre1 all mean rocks or rock4 ,the ,tte ,rousse 7above ,st4 ,gervais7 would not be in ,english the ,ruddy ,brow1 but the much more commonplace ,rocky ,tor1 ,ben1 or ,fell4 ,all forms of the word go back to a common ,celtic origin1 whether they appear in ,swiss nomenclature1 in a ,french1 ,german1 ,italian1 or ,romance form4 ,this phenomenon is a good illustration of the manner in which the association of ideas by sound enriches and varies in time the very rudimentary stock of primitive impressions gathered in by the ancient ,alp dwellers4 ,if the reader will think of ,rhine1 ,rhne1 ,reuse1 ,reuss1 ,reusch1 in the light of the foregoing explanations1 he will hear through all those words the rush of water that is characteristic of ,alpine streams4 ,i have lively recollections of the ,rawyl pass dating back to the days of my boyhood4 ,this pass is dear to me also as having served as an introduction to my young friend1 ,arnold ,lunn4 ,when he battled with the pass1 on ski1 he was probably little older than myself when ,i first fought my way through it on foot4 ,i was following the range in its length in the early1 old-fashioned style1 purposing to make my way from ,sion1 on the ,rhne1 to ,grindelwald1 by dipping in and out of the valleys2 namely1 first to ,lenk across the ,rawyl1 then to ,adelboden1 thence to ,kandersteg1 then to ,trachsellauenen1 in the ,lauterbrunnen valley1 hence to ,grindelwald1 over the little ,scheidegg--a regular switchback railway4 ,my walk over the ,rawyl was marked by an episode4 ,it was late in the season--late in the sense of the word in those days1 when there was no winter season to upset people's ideas4 ,i reached at night the ,chlet d',armillon1 by hook or by crook1 along the precipitous ,kaendle1 and crossing mountain torrents as casually as a squirrel would swing from tree to tree1 for those were the days of my ,sturm und ,drang ,periode as a mountaineer4 ,nevertheless1 when the ,armillon shepherds pointed out to me the heights of the pass shining pink in the sunset with a fresh snow edging1 my resolution wavered for an instant4 ,on ,i went1 little dreaming that thirty years later ,i should despise being seen here at all1 except in winter and on ski4 ,the job proved a serious one4 ,heavy snow lay over the marshes and rivulets of the ,plan des ,roses4 ,the mule track was buried under wind-blown wreaths4 ,the moon rose and illuminated a desolate landscape4 ,a little rain1 then snow1 began to fall1 obliterating the moonbeams and my own footprints behind me4 ,floundering about1 ,i broke through the thin ice that lay over the patches of water imprisoned under the snow4 ,still ,i ploughed my way forward4 ,then1 probably in the nick of time for my own safety 7else ,i might have spent the night up there1 being still young enough to show myself1 in the circumstances1 obstinate unto folly71 a guardian angel1 whose assistance ,i certainly did not deserve1 slily detached my brandy flask from around my shoulders and dropped it well out of my reach4 ,when ,i discovered the trick1 ,i took the hint and retraced my footsteps to the shepherds' huts at ,armillon4 ,i believe they were more pleased than surprised4 ,they sat down round the hearth1 an open fireplace1 with embers lying about on the ground4 ,they handed to me a bowl of milk1 a lump of cheese1 a piece of rye bread as hard as a brick1 and gave me a bit of goat's liver that was stewing in the pan in its own broth4 ,they said their prayers aloud1 standing reverently in the firelight2 then the goats' skins were laid out flat on the ground4 ,we lay on them all in a heap together1 with our feet turned towards the fire4 ,the last man threw the last chips upon it1 pulled warm sheeps' skins over us1 and laid himself down beside us4 ,the moon1 high up in the sky by this time1 shone placidly upon the pastoral scene4 ,the air got sharper and more chilly4 ,when we rose at dawn every blade of grass sparkled with frost4 ,i set out again up the pass in brilliant sunshine4 ,my footprints were still here and there faintly visible4 ,when they came to an end ,i made for the cross1 marking the site of a rough stone refuge1 then under snow4 ,from here some faint footprints again became visible1 turning down the gorge to the north4 ,i made up my mind to follow them1 for those who had made them were certainly moving in the right direction4 ,after a while ,i saw a stick standing out of the snow4 ,the footprints did not seem to continue beyond4 ,on approaching1 ,i found myself in the presence of the dead body of a mountaineer4 ,rumour will have it--for the scene of this mishap was visited shortly after1 to lift the body--that ,i leaped aside at the sight1 leaving marks on the snow which1 graphologically interpreted1 were seen to signify my dismay4 ,it was the first time that ,i had before my eyes an instance of death through exposure in the mountains4 ,on reaching the ,iffigen ,alp ,i reported the matter to the local authorities4 ,from later information it came to my knowledge that there were two victims1 the body of the second being covered up by the snow4 ,my other connection with the ,rawyl pass is less gloomy1 since ,i owe to the eccentricities of that pass one of my best young friends in ,england4 ,i was1 a few years ago1 standing on the platform of the railway station at ,gstaad1 when an ,english vicar1 whom ,i took pleasure in instructing in ski1 brought me a copy of the ,daily ,mail1 in which a whole column was literally flaming with the exploits of two ,english runners who had crossed the ,rawyl a few days before4 ,that sort of description we generally call 8,journalese10 and let it pass without correction4 ,it would be an ungracious act on the part of climbers1 who seek out deliberately so many hardships1 to wince at the touch of the voluntary kindness that almost kills4 ,the true account of what then took place appeared in the columns of the ,isis1 the ,oxford undergraduates' organ1 on ,january #bc1 #aiji4 ,there ,arnold ,lunn expresses himself as follows3-- 8,i spent five winters in climbing from various centres1 before--in the winter of #aijg-h--;,i first tried cross-country work4 ,with three ladies and my brother1 ,i visited the ,great ,st4 ,bernard and spent ,new ,year's ,eve in the ,hospice4 ,next day ,i was thoroughly walked out by two plucky ,irish ladies1 and had just enough energy left to reach ,montana on the following afternoon4 ,i had previously arranged with a friend to cross the mountains to ,villars1 a four-day trip1 but on arriving found that he was unable to go4 8,i was introduced to ,mr4 ,w41 who had only been on ski three afternoons1 but volunteered to come4 ,we left next morning at #d a4m41 climbed for eight hours up to the glacier of the ,plaine ,morte1 and then separated4 ,mr4 ,w4 went on to the hut and ,i climbed the ,wildstrubel alone1 from the summit of which ,i saw a beautiful sunset4 ,the solitary trudge back over the glacier at night thoroughly exhausted me1 and ,i narrowly escaped frost-bite in one of my feet4 ,at ,lenk that night1 #f1jjj feet lower down1 they had #dj degrees of frost1 and the cold in the hut was almost unbearable4 ,we did manage to get a fire alight1 which proved a doubtful blessing1 as it thawed the snow in the top bunk1 forming a lake which trickled down on our faces during the night in intermittent showers4 ,the next morning our blankets were frozen as stiff as boards4 ,even the iron stove was sticky with frost4 ,illustration3 ,,descent ,,into ,,the ,,tellithal1 ,,loetschenthal4 ,to face p4 #gj4 8,our natural course led over the ,wildhorn1 a delightful ski-run1 but though ,mr4 ,w4 throughout displayed wonderful pluck and perseverance1 his limited experience prevented our tackling the long but safe ,wildhorn4 ,so we took a short and dangerous cut down to ,lenk1 following a track which crossed several avalanche runs4 ,we raced the darkness through a long hour of unpleasant suspense1 and won our race by a head1 getting off the cliff as the last rays of light disappeared4 ,a night on the ,rawyl would probably have ended disastrously4 8,the remaining two days of the expedition were comparatively uneventful1 but we were dogged by an avenging ,providence4 ,a telegram miscarried1 and a search party was organised to hunt for our remains4 ,the guests at ,montana spent a very pleasant day with ordnance maps in attempting to locate the position of our corpses1 and were not a little disappointed when they learnt that the search party had found nothing but our tracks4 ,the net result of the expedition was a bill for #bj for search parties1 plus hospital expenses1 as one of the guides had been frost-bitten40 ,arnold ,lunn's performance in bringing down safely to ,lenk a companion encumbered with ski in places fit for the use of climbing-irons only1 at that time of year1 was conclusive as a proof of his sportsmanlike qualities1 as it was a bold and unexpected line to take4 ,for that reason ,i found it necessary to reflect upon his daring in the ,gazette de ,lausanne1 which had quoted the ,english press1 lest it should unwittingly lead my young countrymen into dangerous undertakings4 ,arnold ,lunn and myself made friends over the correspondence which ensued between us4 ,a better companion and a fairer knight to joust with in ,alpine tourney it would be1 ,i believe1 difficult to meet4 ,now1 it might be well to return to the ,plan des ,roses1 whence1 still north-east1 and then upwards on the ,rohrbachstein glacier to the ,rohrbachhaus1 whose roof was plainly visible at sunset1 we strolled peacefully and unconcernedly along4 ,in connection with the ,rohrbachhaus1 the brothers ,marti1 for the second time1 had an encounter with the ,bernese police courts on my account4 ,it was my evil influence that brought them to that comfortable but closed house4 ,i need not say that ,i carefully kept out of the mischief that was brewing by lingering behind to admire the view by moonlight4 ,with an ice-axe they dealt a well-directed blow upon the lock4 ,before this 8,open ,sesame0 the door gave way4 ,we gained admittance to a kitchen1 well stocked with fire-wood2 a dining-room1 with preserves1 tinned victuals1 and bottles of wine in the cupboards2 a vast bedroom1 furnished with couches1 mattresses1 sheets1 blankets1 eiderdown quilts6 ,quite an ,eldorado1 but1 for my young friends1 another step on the downward path to the prisoners' dock6 ,the police of ,berne had a watchful eye on the ,rohrbachhaus4 ,though ,i did promptly send the culprits to make their report in the proper quarter1 to ask for the bill and pay for the damage done 7which precluded any civil action being brought against me71 the ,court at ,blankenburg tried them for house-breaking on the ,procurator's charge4 ,but this business was happily purely formal1 as the bona-fides of the house-breakers was not questioned4 ,the offenders were spoken free1 on condition that they paid the costs of the official prosecution4 ,this part of the bargain was passed on to me to keep1 which ,i did cheerfully4 ,indeed1 the whole transaction appealed to my sense of right in the administration of law4 ,there was no doubt in my mind that we had broken into a private establishment without leave1 and even without actual necessity4 ,the establishment was1 of course1 there for the use of such as ourselves1 even without consent1 on an emergency4 ,but the weather was good1 the night still and clear1 our health excellent1 and there was an open refuge within short ski-ing distance4 ,it is true that on foot we might have been totally unable to reach it4 ,those who do not wish to run the risk attending the forcible bursting of locks in order to get shelter at the first hut had better move on1 in the quiet of night and with an easy conscience1 to the open hut1 which stands a little further on1 and reach it by lantern light4 ,they may1 however1 make previously an appointment with the caretaker at ,lenk4 ,he will then come up1 weather permitting1 and open the ,rohrbachhaus4 ,i need not dwell on the pleasant night we spent in the beds of the ,rohrbachhaus4 ,stolen joys are sweet1 and even may1 as in our case1 be well deserved1 or at least well earned--a way of putting it which leaves morals uninjured4 ,our first day had been heavy1 but had afforded two magnificent runs on glaciers and on slopes abutting to passes1 each covering about four miles exclusive of curves1 which1 of course1 being purely voluntary as to their number and scope1 cannot be calculated4 ,ski-running parties spending a night in one or the other of the two ,wildstrubel huts will find themselves on the next day surrounded by as fine and as varied a country as they may wish for4 ,whatever line they choose1 there is but one that should absolutely be avoided4 ,this1 they know already1 is the ,rawyl pass1 whether winter tourists wish to go north to ,lenk or south to ,sion4 ,the outlet of the pass to the north is best described as a most precipitous and ice-bound region4 ,the southward descent is dangerous quite as much1 owing to its great complication amid rock1 ravine1 forest1 and watercourse4 ,runners should divert their ambitions well away from those gorges4 ,the best way to ,montana and ,vermala lies over the ,glacier de la ,plaine ,morte1 and thence to the south4 ,runners proceeding from the huts and wishing to follow in our footsteps1 in order to reach the ,lmmern glacier and the ,wildstrubel1 will run down the slopes leading to the ,glacier de la ,plaine ,morte 7map1 sheet #dgc74 ,they will glance at the ,raezli glacier tumbling down to the north-west1 between the ,gletschhorn and the ,wildstrubel 7west-end summit74 ,hence they will steer a straight course to the east1 along the centre line of the ,glacier de la ,plaine ,morte1 and then turn to the north-east towards the ,lmmernjoch1 a pass to the east of the ,weststrubel1 on a ridge1 which is steepish to reach1 though usually well covered with snow4 ,from that point to the top of the ,weststrubel there is an additional rise of about #abj metres1 say #djj feet4 ,the view from this ,strubel is worth the additional labour1 and it also gives one the satisfaction of having reached the last of the highest points on the ,diablerets-,wildhorn-,wildstrubel route4 ,the height of the ,diablerets is #c1bbb1 of the ,wildhorn #c1bfd1 and of the ,wildstrubel west #c1bea metres4 ,but this satisfaction1 like that which may have been got from ascending the ,diablerets and the ,wildhorn1 may1 in point of time1 be too dearly bought4 ,it is quite sufficient to direct one's course straight from the ,lmmernjoch on to the higher reaches of the ,lmmerngletscher1 which open up beyond the ,lmmernjoch to the north4 ,runners should not plunge full east straight down the glacier4 ,such a course would be attended with much danger1 as a line of crevasses runs across the glacier roughly from south to north4 ,a careful runner will map out for himself a 8circumferential0 route1 which will bring him round that dangerous part1 by descending the slopes of the glacier which are beyond that spot to the north4 ,then1 by turning to the east1 one enters the lower reaches of the ice1 when one faces the extensive building of the ,wildstrubel ,hotel on the ,gemmi pass1 about #c miles ahead4 ,the best way off the glacier on to the ,lmmernalp is on the north side of the gorge1 in which the glacier tails off1 though ,i found it quite convenient to reach the ,lmmernboden 7see map7 by means of the slopes which run down to it on the southern side of the stream4 ,our route leaves completely out of account the ,gross-strubel 7#c1bec metres71 which rises above ,adelboden and the ,engstligenalp4 ,this summit does not belong to the traverse ,i am now describing4 ,there are quite distinct expeditions to be made to either or both ,strubels from ,adelboden or ,kandersteg4 ,if from ,kandersteg1 one should go and spend the night at the ,schwarenbach ,hotel1 on the ,gemmi road1 go up the way we have just described for the descent1 and return vi ,ueschinenthal4 ,the ,kandersteg guides know all about this run1 which is much to be recommended to the expert4 ,there are three long1 flat strips on the run from the ,wildstrubel huts to the ,schwarenbach ,hotel vi ,gemmi4 ,the first is the ,glacier de la ,plaine ,morte 7about #c miles71 the second the ,lmmernboden 7about a mile71 the third the ,daubensee 7about a mile74 ,the run from the ,daubensee to ,kandersteg requires no particular notice4 ,it begins at the spot where the ,lmmernboden turns to the north1 within #hjj yards or so of the ,wildstrubel ,hotel on the ,gemmi pass4 ,the run on the ,daubensee1 then to the ,schwarenbach ,hotel 7one should not pass to the right1 east of the summer road7 affords excellent ski-ing4 ,then1 on the rush down to the ,spitalmatten1 with the ,balmhorn and the ,altels towering to one's right1 will be met some of the best ground of the whole trip1 the slopes being throughout beautifully exposed to the north4 ,the gorges to the east should on no account be entered4 ,the course runs straight north on the west side of the valley1 till the upper bends of the summer road are met on the shoulder which drops down to ,inner ,kandersteg1 at the entrance of the ,gasternthal4 ,the slopes to the west of the woods on the shoulder are periodically swept by avalanches4 ,look carefully whether the fragments lie on the ground1 and whether the rocks above1 whence they start1 are bare of snow4 ,if so1 you may proceed among the fragments4 ,if otherwise1 take to the road and walk4 ,the whole distance travelled over during this expedition1 starting from ,gsteig1 is1 measured on the map1 about #dj miles to ,kandersteg4 ,we had with us ropes and axes1 but never used them4 ,in point of fact1 ,i should consider that expeditions upon which a use is foreseen for the axe and the rope are not1 strictly speaking1 ski-ing expeditions4 ,ski-ing1 by definition1 excludes the use of rope and axe1 though one should be provided with them when having reason to fear unforeseen contingencies4 ,the levels are as follow3-- ,at ,gsteig3 #a1aib metres 7#c1icg feet74 ,on the ,zan ,fleuron glacier3 #b1hff metres1 being a rise of #a1fgd metres4 ,on the ,sanetsch pass3 #b1bba metres1 being a fall of #fde metres4 ,on the ,wildhorn glacier3 #c1agb metres1 being a rise of #iea metres4 ,on the ,rawyl pass3 #b1djj metres1 being a drop of #ggb metres4 ,on the ,lmmernjoch3 #c1acb metres1 being a rise of #gcb metres4 ,on the ,gemmi pass3 #b1bad metres1 being a drop of #iah metres4 ,at ,kandersteg3 #a1afi metres1 being a drop of #a1jde metres4 ,from this table of levels1 the general public1 if there is any in mountaineering topics1 may draw a conclusion and a moral4 ,have you ever looked at a model relief map of the ,alps8 ,as one of the general public1 you may not be aware that the relief is artificially forced4 ,it is intended to amaze by the steepness of the declivities and the terribly sharp angles at which the ridges of the peaks meet in the air and terminate into a threatening point4 ,the designers of those otherwise beautiful and attractive models wish to heighten the impression which you are accustomed to receive when you look up to the ,alpine peaks from some point below4 ,the laws of perspective bring then those peaks nearer the perpendicular4 ,by an optical delusion1 which is full of scenic effect1 they tower aloft4 ,the designers of ,alpine models run after poetical and picturesque effects4 ,they very naturally do not wish to show you in plaster ,alps far less formidable than those which agreeably overawe you in nature4 ,they add from #aj to #bj per cent4 to the angles of declivity1 deepen the valleys and pull out the mountain tops like putty4 ,they thus show you the ,alps in your own natural perspective1 as a painter does on his canvas4 ,but the whole thing is fallacious4 ,i should feel called upon to condemn the process as a downright black lie if there was not enough snow on those models to paint the lie white4 ,look at the ,matterhorn from ,zermatt and then look at one of those paper-weight models in stone which are sold for a few francs in the local bazaars and which are cut according to scale4 ,you will be surprised to see how really flat the ,matterhorn is4 ,i advise every one who intends to climb it to first make a careful study of a paper-weight model4 ,it is most reassuring4 ,now this is exactly what an ,alpine ski-runner does or should do4 ,there is in the vestibule of the ,university buildings at ,geneva1 on the first floor1 a magnificent plaster model of ,switzerland1 true to scale4 ,each time ,i cast my eyes upon this model ,i more fully realise how exactly the author's execution of the relief1 based on science1 corresponds with the runner's conception1 based on experience4 ,in its own unvarnished language1 the model says3 8,by me know the ,alps1 and by them know thyself and be modest1 thou hast not done so much after all40 ,so the general public may now understand why the runner sees the ,alpine world in his own perspective4 ,the real reliefs are printed on his mind4 ,a summer tourist1 who instead of fitting foot-rules to his feet1 pegs or stumps along1 can with difficulty enter into the runner's notion4 ,orographic conformation and questions of exposure are ski-running matters4 ,the runner studies the relievo in the light of two or three truisms resting on experience1 which are as conditions determining the rational use of ski and assuring the pleasure of the runner4 #a4 ,the runner aims at rising rapidly1 because he cannot draw from his ski a full measure of pleasure except from the moment when the ski cease to be the means of carrying his weight uphill1 and become merely a means of velocity4 #b4 ,while rising as abruptly as he possibly can1 the runner seeks out--for this tiresome operation is seldom avoidable--the declivities whose exposure marks them out as unsuitable for a good run down4 ,no wonder4 ,it is not to his interest to throw away1 as it were1 good slopes by employing them for work uphill4 ,now1 steepnesses turned to the south1 south-west1 and west1 afford poor running1 viewed1 of course1 in their generality4 ,here meteorology--or1 in plain ,english1 weather--is more important than geography1 because warm winds1 whether they blow soft or wild1 beat upon those faces4 ,when not actually dangerous1 such defective slopes are convenient for rising to the high levels4 ,the runner who knows how to take advantage both of meteorology and orography shows himself possessed of an advanced knowledge of his craft4 #c4 ,the best running hills are those whose gentler slopes are exposed north and east4 ,the winds from those quarters are not warm winds1 though they too have their own way of spoiling the snow4 ,at any rate1 the sun--which has even in winter powers for mischief--is too low on the southern horizon to interfere with the powdery condition of snow facing north4 ,but there is not much gained in mapping out one's tour in the manner indicated if one is landed for the descent on abrupt1 though northern or eastern1 slopes4 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn4 ,to face p4 #hj4 ,so now draw your moral and conclusion4 ,will it not be that you should walk round and round a large relief model of the ,alps when planning your winter excursions8 ,this you could easily do if some kind patron of ,alpinism would provide you in ,london with a copy1 cast in metal for durability1 of the ,geneva plaster relief4 ,would the reader like to know1 after this long lecture1 how ,i take the refreshment1 and smoke the pipe--in my case it has always been a cigar--which ,i should like to offer him now8 ,he is welcome to my den4 ,i scoop out the snow1 in the manner of dogs1 to the depth of #b feet1 or thereabouts4 ,i lay my ski across the cavity thus formed4 ,pressed close together1 they roof in about one-third of the opening4 ,i put my feet in the hole1 wrap them up in my empty rucksack1 bend my knees and sit on the ski4 ,before me1 on the snow shovelled up with my hands in the shape of a tray1 ,i display the contents of my larder4 ,then ,i plant my sticks behind me1 one supporting each shoulder4 ,thus1 my armchair1 dining-room1 and table are all ready4 ,i wait upon myself1 as is usual at lunch1 and when the time has come for the blissful smoke1 ,i lazily stretch my legs across the empty table and lean back1 looking into immensity through the puffs4 ,when the time comes when ,i should like a nap1 ,i find that the sticks at my back invite me to recline by gradually giving way4 ,i lay them flat on the snow1 spread my cloak over them and1 thus comfortably padded1 ,i pull my cap over my eyes1 and try hard to convince myself that it is a cold midwinter day4 ,the smoke ceases to rise1 the cigar end drops and---- ,this is all vanity no doubt1 but is mine not better than that of many a wiser man8 ,old ,egger at ,kandersteg1 who received me with a cheery handshake on completion of the trip described in this chapter1 had seen me start about a year before on my traverse of the ,bernese ,oberland4 ,he expressed satisfaction at seeing me again1 though with another companion1 and said he thought we had been rather long4 ,but when ,i told him that another trip had been thrown in1 as well as my companion changed1 he insinuated with a smile of great intelligence that we had had time to grow very thirsty4 ,it was1 he said1 a grand thing for ,kandersteg that it had been at the beginning of the first trip and at the end of the second4 ,so he would drink our healths4 ,and we honoured him likewise4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,ski-,,runner ,,of ,,vermala ,vermala--,the mysterious runner--,the ,plain of the ,dead--,popular beliefs--,the purification of the grazings--,a haunted piece of rock--,an awful noose is thrown over the country-side--,supernatural lights and events--,the ,babel of tongues--,the ,saillon and ,brigue testimonies--,the cur of ,lens and his sundial--,the people's cure--,the ,strubel--,chauffage central--,did ,i meet the ,ski-runner of ,vermala8--,my third ascent of the ,wildstrubel--,a night encampment on the glacier--,meditations on mountains1 mountaineers1 and the ,swiss--,how to make caf noir--,where to sleep and when not to--,alpine refuges--,the old huts and the new--,the ,english ,alpinists and the ,swiss huts--,the ,britannia hut4 ,the sheet #dhb of the topographical atlas of ,switzerland assigns the name of ,vermala to the mayens in ,canton ,valais1 situated above ,sierre1 at an altitude of #d1ejj feet or thereabouts4 ,swiss mayens are places where grass is grown that can be mown and on which cattle is grazed in autumn4 ,about #fjj feet higher there is in the forest a clearing1 with a south-west exposure1 in which the ,mont ,blanc range1 framed in fir-trees1 presents itself in the distance to the appreciative eye as a beautiful background to a picture of loveliness4 ,if the bareness of the map is to be trusted1 this spot was not yet inhabited in #ahhd when the topographical survey was made4 ,the map is right1 and yet it is not quite right4 ,there were at that time no ordinary dwelling-houses in the clearing1 but people of ordinary mind held that the ,ski-runner of ,vermala1 whose presence on the country-side was at that time exactly known1 had his home somewhere in those parts4 ,from afar curious people would point out a rocky platform planted with beautiful1 well-spaced firs amongst which it would be pleasant to bask in the sun in winter4 ,but others were rather taken up with the peculiar apparitions which at night were seen there skimming the rocks in a sinister play of light4 ,the map marks the place with a broken line1 between ,vermala and ,marolire1 right above ,praz-,devant4 ,it was said that in earlier times the mowers piled up their hay at the top of the clearing in one or two mazots1 or rough barns1 set on short posts1 four in number1 planted in the ground and crowned with flat stone disks4 ,but that hay had an unwelcome way of catching fire1 consuming the mazots as well4 ,nothing was left but the stones4 ,so the peasantry gave up this unlucky storage ground4 ,at present no other mystery hovers about this spot than that which these recollections call back to mind4 ,the ,forest ,hotel occupies the site4 ,the sun holds divided sway in summer with the coolness of the woods1 in winter with ,king ,frost4 ,here conventional tourists embrace at a glance the most marvellous piece of ,alpine scenery--from ,monte ,leone and beyond1 to ,mont ,blanc--that human eye can long for1 such1 that had ,byron known of it1 he would have sent his world-sick ,manfred to contemplate it from ,vermala4 ,the sweetness of this name would have rung as true to the poet's ear as1 in the ,italo-,celtic tongue1 it rings to the ear of the rough mountaineer4 ,would you not1 for a while1 when reading on the map names of such romantic harmony1 forget that they are mere geographical terms8 ,let us personify those place names4 ,do not ,vermala and ,marolire spell out as tunefully as the classically tender and melodious ,daphnis and ,chloe8 ,but then there might be a risk of forgetting that there is not a halfpenny worth of love in this story4 ,it is a homespun yarn1 woven by rustics in ignorance and fear1 and would fall very flat on the ears of civilised mankind1 but for the curiosity roused by that consummate sportsman whose humours shine through the woof of the story4 ,whence did he come8 ,who was he8 ,nobody ever knew4 ,he had already disappeared from the country when a more enlightened generation ceased to look upon him as a true ghost4 ,there arose a class of minds which ran to the opposite extreme and held him to be a superman of the morrow4 ,in the end he was described as the ,ski-runner of ,vermala1 when some acquaintance with the new implements called back popular imagination within the bounds of reason4 ,then the glamour that had gathered around his memory at last faded away4 ,the terraced plain of ,crans on which there is now a golf course was not then much frequented4 ,the whole district was held to be inhospitable4 ,the ,wildstrubel mountain group1 which fills up all the space between the ,rawyl and ,gemmi passes1 bore a redoubtable reputation4 ,it was still more feared for the ,plaine-,morte and the glacier of the same name1 which spread as a counterpane over his feet4 ,both the plaine and the glacier were reputed abodes of the souls of the dead4 ,poor souls perishing with cold in the cracks6 ,dante's idea of an ice circle in hell harks back to the rustic belief that souls serve their term of purgatory on the ,plaine-,morte and come down on certain sacramental nights to visit the living and receive additional punishment from the contemplation of the evil deeds they have left behind them to work themselves out4 ,in summer1 the ,valaisan peasant would not venture upon the ,plain of the ,dead1 had he not first sought the protection of the ,holy ,virgin and saints4 ,in winter he doubts not that the ,plain of the ,dead is reserved for the evil ones by the holy ,powers that be4 ,as soon as the first winter snow turns to white the brown1 sunburnt slopes of the upper grazings1 these are laid under the ban by the piety of the villagers1 if not by the ,church4 ,who knows1 say the vintners of ,sierre1 what is going on there8 ,assuredly1 nothing of worth1 while the sun draws its daily course slowly on the horizon from the ,equinox of autumn to that of spring4 ,thus an alarming scientific fact has become a nursery ground for fond popular beliefs4 ,we should easily sympathise with the credulity of those big children if we would but imagine our own state of mind1 did we believe we had positive reason to fear lest the sun which had ripened the last harvest might not return in spring to ripen the next1 after we had exhausted the garnered crops of the former year4 ,and in what mood would we see the shades of night enfolding us this evening1 if we did not rest more confidently in the hope of dawn than in the arms of sleep8 ,it is under the influence of motives of that kind that the inhabitants of the populous villages thrown as a belt round the plateau of ,crans ,mollens1 ,randogne1 ,montana1 ,chermignon1 ,lens1 and ,icogne--were quite prepared to go into the forest to pick up their allotment of fire-wood1 and even to pilfer that of their neighbour4 ,but1 so long as their herds and flocks--when the sun rises again full east and sets again full west1 which is the signal for the raising of the ban--have not been solemnly escorted to the grazings by the priest with holy water and sprinkler1 they will not be seen ascending to the beats whence they retreated in the autumn4 ,and if any do visit those desecrated spots before they have again been hallowed1 even the boldest miscreants undertake the venture with a sense of insecurity1 knowing full well that1 for the pure-minded1 they are committing sheer blasphemy4 ,the ,god of winter is still a ,god for heathens in the eyes of those people4 ,nor should this call forth any astonishment4 8,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings40 ,if so1 how much more awful than elsewhere must appear there those of the arch-fiend6 ,he alone is of a nature sufficiently proof to fire to make his home in ice with impunity4 ,his followers alone are sufficiently witched to share in his privilege4 ,therefore1 when the rumour was spread that a supernatural form haunted the ,vermala woods1 it needed but little comment before it gained credence4 ,everybody was pretty clear in his own mind as to what kind of person he must be1 and none needed to question others to know that they thought exactly the same thing4 ,as might be expected1 poachers1 chamois hunters1 and wood-cutters1 people with uneasy consciences--because they steal wood or game1 and because their occupation makes them particularly liable to mistrust each other and to meditate on the ,evil ,one--were among the first to believe a story so much in keeping with the trend of their own thoughts4 ,they could even bear witness to its truth4 ,they had uplifted their eyes1 at night1 upon a shade so pellucid that the moonbeams shone through it4 ,the shade stole away among the trees like the wind1 with a slight rustling of the snow4 ,then1 in a hollow lane leading from the ,mayens de ,lens towards ,chermignon1 they had come across strange marks which were not those of game1 such as hares1 foxes1 or badgers4 ,they were not either the marks of any hoofed animal1 whether it be a four-footed beast or even the dreaded biped4 ,those marks soon seemed to join together into tracks that flung themselves like huge ribbons all over the country-side4 ,but1 of all those who would1 none was able to follow them out4 ,never had impressions like these been seen on the snow1 of which it was impossible to say whether the being who made them walked backwards or forwards4 ,some said he was a creature mounted on a wheel or riding on two4 ,others said he was a serpent crawling on his belly1 so unbroken was the track and so much did it keep winding about4 ,however much it seemed to roll away in every direction and to stop nowhere1 a few bold spirits determined to follow its course4 ,they forthwith found themselves plunging and diving in such deep snow that1 breathless and shivering1 they gave up the chase1 feeling numb at heart4 ,from that moment the public mind was made up4 ,no creature in mortal shape1 no flesh could ever have marked the face of the snow with this labyrinthine coil4 ,to wind up this clue of thread one must either fly like a bird1 or blow like the wind1 or be favoured with the malediction of ,god4 ,this last explanation being of all the most clear1 and the most creditable to the piety of the largest commune in the ,canton du ,valais1 it was accepted by the municipal council and the clergy4 ,in the spring--the next to the great disturbance--the melting snow blotted out the dreadful spoor1 the alarm it had caused and1 of course1 the ,runner1 for want of his element4 ,as soon as they dared1 people hurried up to the ,vermala rock4 ,there they found the remains of a new and unexpected kind of habitation4 ,the drooping branches of a mighty fir appeared to have been pinned to the ground by frost1 consequent upon the piling of snow upon their extremities4 ,then snow had been piled up higher and higher around the tree1 embedding other branches as it rose1 which were cut away from the trunk1 except at the top1 where they stretched out in the form of a snow-covered dome4 ,there had thus arisen a pyramid-shaped dwelling enclosed in walls of ice1 for the snow had clearly been brought to transparency by the application of heat from within4 ,and thus was explained that wonderful effluvium of light1 the shimmer of which looked so sinister from afar4 ,it is even said that some children picked among the tufts of green grass which here and there began to grow about the floor of the abandoned hut1 pieces of a yellow amber-like substance which shot forth sparks bathed in a soft purple radiance1 when seen by them in the darkness of their own homes4 ,no wonder that people spoke of ,vermala in fearsome strains6 ,what a pity the most beautiful spot in the country was haunted6 ,in the ensuing winters1 things went from bad to worse4 ,people ceased visiting the plateau de ,crans for pleasure4 ,do you fancy1 they said1 that strangers henceforth will ever set foot upon this ground1 unless it be for their sins8 ,illustration3 ,,above ,,ried1 ,,loetschenthal4 ,to face p4 #ij4 ,so much tribulation turned the feebler heads4 ,folk no longer understood each other aright4 ,they got confused over names4 ,those who called ,la ,zaat by its name were rebuked by those who called it ,la ,chaux ,sei1 and those parties both fell out with the supporters of the name ,bellalui4 ,no one was quite clear about the identity of ,petit ,mont ,tubang and ,grand ,mont ,tubang4 ,they were in a mist as to ,petit ,mont ,bonvin and ,grand ,mont ,bonvin4 ,everybody confused one and all of these with the ,tonio de ,merdasson4 ,in short1 the mind of the country-side was muddled1 now that all eyes saw double when they looked in the direction of ,vermala4 ,old men1 however1 stiffened their backs and spoke in firm voices above the new ,babel of tongues4 ,they said it had always been known before their time and would ever hereafter be manifest1 that the crest that is visible from ,lens is the brow of ,bellalui1 and they clinched the matter with the reminder that when ,bagnoud the mayor built his new house1 he called it ,bellalui after the mountain4 ,as it happens1 it was at ,lens that the meteoric personage once more called attention to himself4 ,truth to say1 though there was no one who did not expect his return1 there was nevertheless a general shudder when ,jean ,perrex who had gone to ,saillon1 brought back the news that 8he0 was known to have brought out of the stable the horse which had lately been bought with a new cart1 to show visitors over the country4 8,he0 had put the horse to the cart without collar1 traces1 or bridle4 ,without whip or ribbons1 he had driven to ,st4 ,pierre de ,clages4 ,he had tied the horse to the church door4 ,then he had sat down on the grass at the foot of the ,norman tower1 between the beehives of the cur and the wasps' nest that is there sunk in the soil4 ,nobody could say how and when they had seen him4 ,it would have been useless to ask what he was like4 ,but it could not but be he1 since the abandoned horse and cart had been impounded1 and the church was now sinking more rapidly than heretofore4 ,the most convincing testimony1 however1 was that of ,claudine ,rey4 ,her brother was in the habit of walking out with a girl who had a situation in a hotel in ,brigue4 ,one night he had clambered up the wall to the terrace1 when the moon suddenly grinned through the clouds4 ,then1 instead of the girl he was to meet1 whom should he see there to his right in the arbour but 8him0 in the shape of a dwarfish1 wizened wiseacre1 clutching in his right hand a death's head1 and with the fingers of his left running rapidly along the lines of a book of charms6 ,when1 on ,st4 ,martin's eve1 this account was given to the worthy cur of ,lens1 who had gathered about his hearth some of his parishioners to crack in goodly company the arolla nuts roasting in the ashes1 the dear old man shook his head2 his mind was running on the words 8,get thee behind me1 ,satan40 ,then a gentle scratching was heard on the panes of the closed window4 ,the gathering looked that way and most turned pale4 ,the first snow of the coming winter was swirling and whirling against the glass1 borne on the soughing wind4 ,and the bluish purple light poured forth from the wells of memory into the sockets of their eyes4 ,the cur came out with his guests on his way to trim the church lamp4 ,a thin layer of snow covered the village lanes4 ,he cast about him furtive and mistrustful glances4 ,the pure white carpet was as yet unsullied by footprints4 ,would 8he0 come8 ,now this cur was a bit of an astronomer and a clerical moralist4 ,he took every care of the sundial of his church tower and had adorned it with an inscription1 in two expressive lines3-- 8,le temps pass n'est plus1 l'ternit commence4 ,pensez-y donc1 mortels1 et pensez-y d'avance40 ,that night he stared at it4 ,the piece of advice was as good as ever4 ,but the involutions of the meridian mean curve1 drawn with such careful exactness on the stone and painted with such a light hand in the gayest colours1 struck him now as being the exact counterfeit of the ribbons on the snow4 ,was he not breaking away from his ordinary piety in accusing his church dial of taking after an un-,christian pattern8 ,surely1 he was wronging his dial4 ,and the good cur kept poring over the unholy coincidence1 in so far at least as his mind could find time to spare for meditation upon matters of paramount importance4 ,on the morning of ,st4 ,martin's ,day1 the village showed itself to be all in a tangle of loops4 ,the diabolical spoor went in and out round every house4 ,the figure eight of the sundial had thrown off innumerable copies upon the ground4 ,the bells were tolled in vain4 ,to no purpose did the chimes peal4 ,in vain did the most ,christianlike of all suns that ever poured its kindly light upon ,lens1 kindle the most reassuring smile upon the wrinkled stones of the old tower4 ,not a single parishioner was bold enough to spurn with his foot the cabalistic loops that embraced the bosom of ,mother ,earth in their oppressive grasp4 ,not a child dare step across them1 not even to go and dip his fingers in the holy water at the church door4 ,the most thunder-struck was the cur4 ,a truculent pentagram in red chalk was displayed all over his distich1 surrounded by a double circle that looked like a green fairies' ring designed in moss upon the church tower4 ,as for the good men of the largest commune in ,canton ,valais1 they bethought themselves of a day of fasting1 the natural remedy for their orthodox faith to point out4 ,but there was a sign against that too4 ,the pewter pots and mugs of the village tavern appeared that morning all set up in a row upon the railings of the churchyard gate1 upside down4 ,they would have to be fetched and brought back to their proper place4 ,the hardiest commoners were summoned4 ,they took heart from their thirst4 ,the general anxiety was soothed by such an obvious way of drowning care4 ,the frequenters of the forests1 whether they were honest day-labourers or night-birds1 knew alone1 beyond all doubt1 the identity of the mischief-maker4 ,for them the prime mover in the big upset was none other than the ,strubel1 about whom the village elders would still relate1 in the dim light of the evening fires1 dreadful stories of an ancient stamp1 such as suggest themselves in the woods after dark1 when the old tree stumps are phosphorescent and glow-worms come out of their retreats to set up their tiny lamps on the edges of the rocks4 ,of all creatures born of local lore the ,strubel was to them the nearest in kin4 ,when the north wind blows the ,strubel races from crest to crest1 from the ,gemmi to the ,rawyl1 and from the ,rawyl to the ,gemmi4 ,up there his long white shock of hair streaming in the wind1 and upturned by the gale1 spreads as a plume across the sky4 ,the tumbling folds of his beard fill the precipitous ravines4 ,a hail of icicles rattles out of his roaring breast4 ,the rush of his huge body1 soaring amid snowflakes and in glacier dust1 awakens the slumbering elements4 ,at night the ,aurora ,borealis gathers in streamers around his brow4 ,at dawn and at sunset a diadem of snow-crystals sets a many-coloured band about his hoary head4 ,he flies1 and his feet do but tip the top of the peaks1 and his stature rises aloft in an immense upward sweep4 ,in a blue-and-white transparency1 such as one sees in glacier crevasses and in pure ice water1 the spring of his sinuous limbs uplifts him to the confines of atmosphere and firmament4 ,such is the poetic picture of the dread being which the shepherds still worship secretly1 far down in the recesses of their primitive hearts4 ,and it is he whose image the antics of an enigmatic ski-runner revived for several winters1 as our story shows1 under the low and gloomy roofs of the white-hooded chalets4 ,there is an evening hour1 when1 after cooking and partaking of the day's last meal1 the family gathers round the domestic hearth4 ,then the last embers are fanned into a congenial flame4 ,the dying light of the hearth kindles anew the memories of a bygone age4 ,is the time near when these will die out for want of fuel1 as the flame of that hearth when the family goes to bed8 ,but why should we link any melancholy after-thought with their well-earned rest8 ,the thought of the reward granted to their toil pleases one's moral sense4 ,yet he who1 like me in this chapter1 uses figments of the past as a page decoration1 cannot but regret that such picturesque elements should be gradually1 but surely1 vanishing for ever from the face of our modern world4 ,the accepted idea is that things have progressed4 ,so they have4 ,a nice hotel crowns the ,vermala rock4 ,at night real electric light of industrial origin has taken the place of the fantastic rays of old4 ,there is a chauffage central1 fed with colliers' coal1 and stoked by porters who never could produce heat without matter and on terms that were not commercial4 ,now people dance at ,vermala1 they have music at night1 they lounge about in smoking-jackets1 and1 when all is said and done1 ,i am one of those who most enjoy the new situation4 ,did ,i ever meet the ,ski-runner of ,vermala8 ,i should have a vague fear of being caught prevaricating should ,i answer either ,yes or ,no4 ,truth sometimes dwells in half-way houses4 ,i was staying at ,vermala last winter4 ,the glacier de la ,plaine-,morte1 and the ascent of the ,wildstrubel1 were objects which a young man of my party kept steadily in view4 ,it was his second winter holiday in ,switzerland4 ,a much-travelled man1 he had camped out in ,persia1 and endured thirst and hunger in some of the most ,god-forsaken spots of the globe4 ,how would he fare in the ,wildstrubel country8 ,a man may have done very well in sandy deserts and yet find himself out of his depth in snow4 ,he had ski1 but would they do as much for him on these charmed snows as a camel's spreading feet had done in the desert8 ,so we set forth late one morning1 after paying the usual penalty to the photographic fiend4 ,so great an honour conferred by a number of fair women inspired us with proper pride4 ,it was a most strengthening draught to harden us against the trials that might be in store1 but it also worked so insidiously as to cause us to overlook the wise saw of the most bourgeois of ,french fabulists3 8,rien ne sert de courir1 il faut partir temps10 which1 topically rendered1 might mean3 8,a man who has started late need never hope to make up for lost time when going uphill on ski40 ,the glacier de la ,plaine-,morte lies at the altitude of #i1ejj feet approximately1 measured at the brim1 or lip1 which we had to overcome before we could dip down to the surface of that shroud of the dead4 ,we were setting out for it from the altitude of #e1ejj feet1 and allowing for unavoidable 8downs0 that would break the upline1 we had quite #e1jjj feet of vertical displacement before us4 ,at whatever hour of the day we might have started we had that much to ascend by sunset1 if we wished to reach the ,hildebrand hut in comfortable circumstances1 and so the true bourgeois spirit would have us do4 ,had we been in military mood we should have borne with the dictates of punctuality4 ,unfortunately we had received attentions that had raised us beyond ourselves4 ,we chose to trust our elation to bring us on over the ground4 ,but the #e1jjj feet we had to ascend would not grow less4 ,the sun would not delay its progress4 ,the ups and downs would not smooth themselves out1 however much gentle pressure our planks might bring to bear upon them4 ,the refreshing compliments we had stored up would not check the flight of time4 ,all too early ,night put in a punctual appearance upon the scene4 ,she found us1 indeed1 sailing gently along the shroud of the dead1 but far from the place prepared to shelter weary ,alpinists4 ,we seemed to be in for the same adventure as a friend of mine who spent the night wandering on the glacier during a wind and snowstorm4 ,the dead then might almost have been moving under their shrouds in every direction4 ,he did not lose his way1 but was impressed by solitude and by the weirdness of the shifting snows1 let alone the fatigue that loosened his limbs4 ,he confided to me quite lately how odd he still thought it that he did not go off his 8chump40 ,anyhow1 ,mr4 ,b41 my present companion1 decided that he saw something happy in the situation1 the beckoning finger of a friendly fate1 that would guard us while we spent that ,january night on the open glacier4 ,the air was still and clear4 ,the cold might be keen1 but not sharp1 though somebody since would absolutely have it that the thermometer marked that night at ,vermala #b4b ,fahrenheit4 ,as ,mr4 ,b4 was anxious to view this escapade as a fit counterpart to his nights in the ,persian desert1 the situation could be accepted with equanimity4 ,he was possessed of the true romantic spirit4 ,poor man6 ,he was afflicted with much thirst4 ,i had1 unfortunately1 nothing better to offer him than the carefully worded expression of my regret that he had not been able to get himself fitted up1 before he left ,persia1 with some of the valuable water compartments of his ,bactrian camels4 ,so by ten o'clock we laid ourselves demurely down on the angular glacier moraine1 pretty confident that long before the hour struck for the sun to rise1 we should be anxious to roll the shutters away from the ,palace of ,dawn4 ,on the contrary1 when the sun stepped out of his car upon the glacier and1 at the most reasonable hour of eight on the clock1 knocked us up1 we were still reclining in our alcve4 ,shall ,i say that we found at our bedside shaving water and a cup of tea8 ,no1 for this would be a really undue elongation of truth4 ,but we saw the 8boots0 busy lighting odd scraps of paper and slipping them into our shoes to soften the frozen leather4 ,we thanked him and were about to tip him when he took fright and flew away upon a sunbeam1 leaving behind a pot of blacking and an electric brush4 ,if ,i ever did set eyes upon the ,ski-runner of ,vermala1 it was during that night1 nor could it have been in a better setting than on the ,plain of the shrouded ,dead4 ,in fact1 in the supposition that he is a person that never existed1 the glacier de la ,plaine-,morte would cry out for him4 ,glaciers are legion1 but there is only one glacier de la ,plaine-,morte4 ,measured with tape1 its size1 as our readers have learnt in a preceding chapter1 would come out at a few miles4 ,sir ,martin ,conway1 in his 8,alps from ,end to ,end10 comes nearer to conveying a correct impression1 because he measures it by the standard of his own mind4 ,those who have in any weather entrusted themselves in winter to that ice cup scooped out of the top of lofty ,alpine battlements1 may alone imagine in its true character the ,alpine world as it was in those dim and distant days1 when half ,europe would have been too small to hold the glories of the ,plaine-,morte in its prehistoric stage of being4 ,since last year 7#aiaa71 a cable railway runs passengers up from ,sierre to ,montana-,vermala4 ,some day1 perhaps1 the railway may be taken #e1jjj feet higher4 ,it would then pass the place where we spent the hours of our mystic night1 alternately watchful and asleep1 taking in the immense charm that flowed in upon us1 and seeking in short terms of slumber rest from our meditation4 ,illustration3 ,,wildstrubel ,,and ,,plaine ,,morte ,,glacier4 ,to face p4 #ajj4 ,the amateurs of mountain scenery whom the rail may bring up here will not be so single-minded about it as we were4 ,they will look for something else to lie upon than a gritty stone bed4 ,they will allow a wooden barrier to intercept the pulsation of nature on its way to their souls4 ,they will not catch in full the gracious calls which pass in the stillness between heaven and earth1 and roll in harmoniously upon the mind1 as a sonorous shore echoes the beat of the waves4 ,my young companion1 more restless because the situation was so overmasteringly novel1 looked around for distractions which ,i needed not4 ,i have often stood1 or lain1 like that1 looking from the outside upon the play of life in which ,i otherwise bear my faint part4 ,i like to withdraw from the stage of the company directed by ,messrs4 ,time and ,space in which we are1 with as much humbleness as the master dramatists could be with pride1 composers1 actors1 and managers of some small theatrical contribution4 ,i am then doubtful whether ,i feel some approach in me to the lotus eater's frame of mind1 or whether ,i rejoice in the overflowing energy of the superman4 ,there is a deep meaning in the ,gospel passage that shows us the ,son of man being led upon a hill1 and upon a temple pinnacle1 that ,he may be tempted by the sight of those aspects of the world which it was ,his mission to forswear1 combat and finally to overcome by the spirit and succumb to in the flesh4 ,it is on pinnacles such as these that we may behold ourselves4 ,let us see4 ,is he who learns his philosophy by conversation with the mountains not at once a lotus eater and a superman8 ,he acquires from them a firm conviction that-- 8,il mondo va da s4 ,le monde se fait lui-mme20 which apophthegm breathes the spirit of abdication and is a source of weakness for him4 ,on the other hand1 the conscious personal power by which he overcomes the savage forces and the blind puttings-forth of might by ,nature1 does mark him out as instancing in himself human courage1 a well-created physique and some superiority4 ,when his energy is excited1 he caresses the illusion that he could crush his fellow beings1 if he thought it worth doing4 ,but his dignity forbids4 ,his fellows need have no fear1 for there is some taming effect in his haughtiness4 ,the loftiness of his spirit lames his hand for battle against those in whom he hardly recognises his like4 ,he cannot take the affairs of men so seriously that he would whip up in himself the ambition to take after ,napoleon or ,csar4 ,when he is in lotus-eating mood1 the ,rubicon is really too big a thing to be crossed lightly4 ,when he is in his superman's temper1 the undertaking is indeed so small that it is not worth while that such as he should be bothered with it4 ,the ,swiss1 as a people1 have shown in a high degree that such is the mental composition of a true mountain race4 ,left for six hundred years to their unbroken line of development1 they show in the successive layers of the formation of their national mind the stages of the process4 ,they first won in the ,alps1 by arms1 sufficient room for themselves1 and set round their borders a ring-fence of impassable pikes4 ,then1 turning to supermen1 they fought the battles of others1 for the sake of war1 despising power1 and moving untempted in the domains of kings4 ,in the nineteenth century1 the reflective mountain spirit gained hold on them4 ,they held war as an immoral pursuit and ceased from being mercenaries4 ,but their contemptuous loftiness remained4 ,without despising their former glory they1 as it were1 drew into themselves and drew themselves up at the same time4 ,they have become the typically lotus-eating neutral nation in ,europe1 supermen still in a way and armed to the teeth1 but with swords ever sheathed and with bayonets ever resting in the scabbard4 ,in their national life the ,swiss practice political self-education1 and would do so rather than seek the means of making their influence felt among nations4 ,the ,swiss are but a small and insignificant nation1 but their history shows that1 disillusioned of mere strength1 they passed to the consciousness of a moral identity4 ,they became self-centred1 and liked to keep aloof from other people's affairs4 ,they formed the conclusion that-- 8,le monde se fait lui-mme4 ,il mondo va da s20 and1 in the public life of ,europe1 assumed the part of spectators and political moralists4 ,for ,napoleon1 a mere village or two were a sufficient stake for which to set ,europe ablaze4 ,with material means1 he built up a political society that soon crumbled away4 ,had the ,french been by temperament lotus-eating supermen1 would they have followed him8 ,they too would have answered him with the words-- 8,le monde se fait lui-mme4 ,il mondo va da s40 ,the victories of fourteen years could not make a ,buonapartist ,europe4 ,what subsists of the ,superman's adventure8 ,it had been just as well for him1 had he stood on the edge of the glacier of the ,plaine-,morte1 withstanding temptation1 though he had thereby shorn ,elba and ,st4 ,helena of their title to fame4 ,the bent of the mountaineer's mind is turned inwards1 towards the education of self4 ,as a superman he pits himself against nature1 to man he is kind and just4 ,he is the lotus-eater who would forget the things1 the seeking after which would turn him away from self tuition4 ,he is a kind of ,marcus ,aurelius who does the share allotted to him in the common task1 and then withdraws into his higher self1 preserving a kindly interest in those who have built up no such upper chambers4 ,that sort of man is not an adept at self-sacrifice1 because sacrifice is the opposite of education4 ,if he entirely gave himself away1 he would have no inner garden left to cultivate1 and in which to plant his own vine and sit under his own fig-tree4 ,but if you need not expect him to die for you1 or live for you1 neither does he expect you to do the like on his behalf4 ,mountaineers are known to help each other when their lives are in danger in cases of ,alpine peril4 ,in self-love they practice self-reliance4 8,exercise thyself0 would be their motto4 ,why8 because the mountaineer believes in his ,creator and looks upon ,his work as a good piece of work1 the quality of which the creature has to justify in itself4 ,so in the end should the mountaineer perish at the hands of the forces of ,nature which he has1 by right of spiritual conquest1 transformed into moral values for the world1 with him it is a case of invicto animo vicit moles4 ,while ,i was thus trimming the lamp of my thoughts ,mr4 ,b4 contrived sundry little amusements for himself4 ,he brought out of his bag an extremely smart dressing-gown and bedroom slippers4 ,he arrayed himself in the former and dressed his feet in the latter4 ,then he smoked the few cigarettes he found in his pockets4 ,then we shared the frozen sandwiches that were left over for our evening meal4 ,when those occupations were exhausted1 it might almost be described as a fortunate factor in the situation that his thirst would not depart from him4 ,how to slake it became the main concern that whiled away the long hours of the night for the sleepless ,londoner4 ,the problem was as follows3 being given snow ad infinitum and a very fair quantity of ground coffee beans1 how to produce a refreshing and fortifying beverage whose supreme quality consists in being black1 hot1 pure1 and strong3-- 8,noir comme le diable1 ,chaud comme l'enfer1 ,pur comme un ange1 ,fort comme l'amour20 but which1 under the circumstances1 would be valued principally for its quantity4 ,the improvised cook looked about him for a coffee-pot4 ,he found nothing in his bag that would do4 ,but there was in mine a small tin pot which had resided there from time immemorial4 ,it was somewhat dented with age1 and bore many signs of the hardness of its lot1 though its office was of a quite amiable description4 ,it carried about my smoked glasses and sundry silk veils4 ,i liked to have these by me--though ,i personally never use them--because they often came in conveniently to relieve from the glare of the sun those tender-skinned representatives of the fair sex who insist on not making sufficient preparations to go over glaciers4 ,the pot contained also some cotton wadding1 tintacks1 pins1 and such like necessaries of hut life4 ,with regret ,i poured these forth upon a dry patch of ground1 and committed the pot to the mercies--whatever they might be--of the would-be cook4 ,some time later our camping ground was wrapped in a sheet of light4 ,i looked round4 ,my friend had done wonders4 ,he had scooped a nice square hole in the snow and planted in it our lantern1 in which he had stuck and lit one of our tapers4 ,the light from the taper had suddenly flashed upon the scene through the transparent wall of snow4 ,then some of the coffee was poured into my tin pot1 and this was placed on the top of the lantern and lumps of snow were heaped upon the coffee4 ,then began the labours of ,hercules4 ,the snow in the pot melted very properly1 but that which walled in the stove would do likewise4 ,it either fell in and smothered the lantern below1 or else fell from above and put out the taper4 ,all night long the cunning of the young engineer was kept devising means of meeting every fresh emergency4 ,anyhow1 at every watch in the night ,i was kept supplied with a few mouthfuls of hot coffee4 ,so well did this suffice that1 on striking our tents at eight o'clock--faon de parler1 for we had between us but one dressing-gown to take off before revealing to an astonished world the effectiveness of our ,burberrys--we gave no thought to the ,rohrbachhaus1 but made our way straight to the ,wildstrubel1 between the ,raezli and ,lmmern glaciers4 ,once more the popular notion that to allow one's self to fall asleep on an open glacier is to court an awakening in the other world1 had been effectually dispelled4 ,provided one is clad to perfection in weather-proof material1 with chamois leather underwear over the usual woollen undergarments1 one need have no fear as long as the air is still and free from falling snow4 ,on the contrary1 in a violent snowstorm and with a heavy wind1 nothing but an actual place of shelter can afford sufficient protection4 ,for all that some people will push their dread to the most ridiculous extremes4 ,i met1 not very long ago1 a young ,german1 an otherwise doughty lad1 who1 rather than spend the night in one of the extremely comfortable ,concordia huts on the ,aletsch glacier1 preferred1 after coming up on ski the whole way from the ,loetschenthal1 to reach ,rieder ,alp in an exhausted condition1 at much greater risk than if he had stopped on the way4 ,it is reported by de ,saussure that the dread with which the men hired by him in ,chamounix to ascend ,mont ,blanc looked forward to the night which must unavoidably be spent on the glacier des ,bossons1 was the main difficulty he had to contend with in keeping up their morale4 ,no sooner had they reached the spot marked out for pitching the tents1 than they dug for themselves an underground recess and buried themselves therein1 as though they expected a hail of bullets to pepper them all night4 ,yet1 they had hardly been herded together for half an hour1 when such a terrible epidemic of heat broke out among the huddled pack that they dribbled out one after another1 saying they preferred a fair battle with the elements to such a process of extinction4 ,the history of the construction of ,alpine huts enables us to trace the progress which public opinion has made since4 ,the first huts were simply caves1 walled in on the open side with a rough stone dyke1 and on the floor of which was strewn some straw1 while a few utensils and a stove lay about1 all higgledy-piggledy1 with some logs of fir or pine wood4 ,they were dirty1 damp dens4 ,now1 such ill-conditioned refuges have been given up as an absurd and rudimentary conception of our forefathers4 ,they sought a well hidden away nook4 ,we choose the most exposed spur of hill that is near our route4 ,we build on high1 preferring places exposed to the full fury of the blast1 and we erect wooden houses that appear too fragile to resist the violent onset of the storm fiends4 ,but such refuges as these are dry and airy1 the snow has but little chance of choking them up4 ,the light shining through the windows when a party is gathered therein after dark1 is as a mast light on ships anchored at sea4 ,the stored-up wood keeps dry4 ,the emergency provisions that a party may leave for the next--a party perhaps less favoured--do not rot away4 ,and when the sun shining upon those lofty mansions lights up the yellow or brown pine wood1 a sense of near comfort and of coming security pervades the weary traveller's breast and warms the cockles of his heart4 ,this progress has to be paid for in the form of a light tax levied upon the traveller to defray for the ,swiss ,alpine ,club some portion of the expense incurred in keeping the huts in order and regularly supplying them with fire-wood4 ,the original characteristic of the huts1 which were intended to be mere emergency refuges open gratis to all1 has somewhat suffered in this respect from the new policy4 ,visitors are now requested in most of them1 by an appropriate notice1 to deposit their contribution in a receptacle fastened to the wall4 ,this may be the most convenient way of collecting the money due4 ,but it means that sums of money--not inconsiderable in the opinion of any one badly in want--are left for rather long periods in uninhabited premises which are far from being inaccessible4 ,it has happened that cash-boxes have been rifled4 ,a less objectionable way of managing this little piece of business is surely within the resources of civilisation4 ,it is not justifiable that any other premium than wholesome exercise and natural beauty1 should be held up as an inducement to make an excursion on the glaciers of ,switzerland4 ,while here on the subject of huts1 the awkward position which their great multiplication of late years entailed upon the ,british clubs1 may be suitably laid before the reader4 ,as the huts of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club became more and more frequented1 questions of preferential rights of admission came to the fore4 ,it was obvious that non-,swiss clubs1 able to grant terms of reciprocal admission to the ,swiss1 must obtain for their members1 in the ,swiss huts1 preferential rights over ,alpine clubs who were so by genuine profession and yet had no local habitation in the ,alps or elsewhere in which they might hope to offer hospitality in their turn1 as an acknowledgement of hospitality received4 ,consequently1 when notices were put up in the ,swiss ,alpine ,club huts1 which number now from seventy-five to eighty1 showing what clubs enjoyed a right of admission on the score of reciprocity1 the absence of any and every ,english club struck the eye4 ,english visitors were then able to realise that they had been drawing benefit from the hospitality provided--for all and sundry1 it is true--by a large body of private persons in ,switzerland4 ,in spite of every desire to remedy this situation by contributing to the expense of building and maintaining the ,swiss huts1 ,english climbers could not obtain a definite locus standi1 for want of being able to come under a reciprocity clause4 ,even at present it would be idle to hope that ,english clubs may be quoted by name1 beside the ,swiss1 ,french1 ,german-,austrian1 and ,italian clubs4 ,but the following arrangement was come to1 on the initiative of ,english climbers1 and with the concurrence of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club3-- #a4 ,a committee was formed in ,london1 of an administrative character1 to serve as a rallying point for ,englishmen who might wish to enter one of the sections of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club4 ,the members recruited in that fashion for the ,swiss club formed an association of ,british members of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club1 which is recognised by the ,swiss club1 but has no corporate existence within that club4 #b4 ,the new association1 which now numbers little less than #djj members1 started a subscription with a view to providing the ,swiss club with funds sufficient for the building of a first-class hut on the ,klein ,allalin ,horn above ,saas ,fe1 at the expense of #hjj4 ,this hut was built by the care1 and will remain under the administration of the ,geneva section of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club4 ,it was completed and inaugurated this year 7#aiab74 ,the ,britannia hut deserves particular mention in these pages1 because it has been contributed to by the ski-ing clubs of ,great ,britain1 on account of the first-rate opportunities it offers for ski tours in the ,high ,alps4 ,it occupies a central position in the ,mischabel range which1 from the top of ,monte ,rosa to the glacier of ,ried that rolls down from the ,balfrin to within #d miles of ,st4 ,niklaus1 is one of the finest ski-ing fields of ,switzerland4 ,illustration3 ,the ,strubel4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,bernese ,,oberland ,,from ,,end ,,to ,,end ,the ,oberland circuit--,my appointment with ,arnold ,lunn--,an ,anglo-,swiss piece of work--,an unbelieving public--,switzerland and ,britain--,geographical--,practical--,we start from ,beatenberg--,the ,jungfrau ice-slabs--,new ,year's ,day at ,kandersteg--,in the ,gasterenthal--,on the ,tschingelfirn--,foehn-effects on the ,petersgrat--,the ,telli glacier--,the ,kippel bottle-race--,a church door--,theodore ,kalbermatten--,the ,loetschen pass--,burnt socks--,roped ski-ing--,the ,concordia breakfast-table--,why we did not ascend the ,jungfrau--,the ,concordia huts--,the ,grnhornlcke--,on snow 8lips0 and cornices--,an afternoon snooze--,the ,finsteraarhorn hut--,a guideless party--,ascent of the ,finsteraarhorn--,our next pass--,a stranded runner--,the ,grimsel--,home life at ,guttannen--,our sleigh run to ,meiringen--,a comparison of winter and summer work--,memories and visions--,table of levels--,how to form a caravan--,the pay of the men--,side-slip and back-slip--,future railway facilities4 ,this the ,oberland 8circuit40 ,we left ,beatenberg on ,december #ca1 #aijh1 passed through ,interlaken1 went on to ,kandersteg1 crossed the ,petersgrat to the top of the ,loetschenthal1 traversed the ,aletsch glacier between the ,jungfrau and the ,concordia hut1 ascended the ,finsteraarhorn1 reached the ,grimsel hospice1 and came back to ,interlaken and ,beatenberg1 where we were again comfortably quartered on the night of ,january #h1 #aiji4 ,this traverse was made into an event and marks a date in the history of ,swiss mountaineering4 ,the telegraph and news agencies announced it far and wide4 ,it was the object of press articles and flattering references in most countries in which interest is taken in mountaineering feats4 ,it has been lectured on1 and related in periodicals over and over again4 ,the reception given to a trip of this kind obeys the laws of pictorial perspective4 ,maybe1 however1 shorn of the benevolent element so kindly contributed by the public1 our expedition is still worth describing in its true relief1 in the light of the impressions of the two explorers who carried it out4 ,this expedition1 the first of its length at such altitudes at that time of the year1 was an ,anglo-,swiss piece of work4 ,it was performed in company with ,arnold ,lunn4 ,we met by appointment at ,beatenberg1 which his father was then opening up for the first time as a winter station4 ,arnold ,lunn is as keen a mountaineer as was ever born under the skies of ,britain4 ,his poetic and adventurous mind is endowed with an exceptional facility for imaging forth in words ,alpine scenery1 and for communicating to others the manly joy which overtakes him in such scenery4 ,he has the soul of a propagandist and missionary4 ,he is a striking example of how1 with climbers1 performance goes before propaganda1 unless one would belong to those who are deservedly marked out as hangers--on to the exploits of others4 ,there are only too many such loitering about the ,alps nowadays4 ,illustration3 ,,kandersteg--,,finsteraarhorn--,,grimse l4 7,reproduction made with authorisation of the ,swiss ,topographic ,service4 #bf4h4ab47 ,to face p4 #aad4 ,can there be a more noble spectacle than the sight of one1 who having met young with an extremely serious accident in climbing1 which to all appearance1 and according to cool reason1 should confine him to the part of an armchair propagandist and pen-wielding missionary1 yields again to the irresistible call of the ,alps1 and ascends the ,dent ,blanche in spite of the lameness consequent upon the accident in ,north ,wales in which his right leg was broken in two places1 under such conditions that it has continued ever since to be a source of daily suffering8 ,last winter1 on the ,eiger1 battling with a terrifying snow and wind storm1 my lame friend was three times thrown out of his steps4 ,he had with him ,maurice ,crettex1 one of the most powerful rock and snow men1 ,i believe1 of the present day among ,swiss guides4 ,the situation would have been frantically impossible but for him4 ,but what a picture6 ,two men1 side by side1 one1 all physical strength and professional devotion to duty1 the other1 all spiritual energy and moral force4 ,it is particularly gratifying that a ,swiss and an ,englishman should have been united in showing to ski-runners that the way across the ,bernese ,oberland was open from end to end and that the most magnificent mountain scenery that ever wasted its sweetness upon the desert air was awaiting them4 ,these were spectacles for which ,i was quite prepared1 having already moved1 like many of my country men1 amid the glories of ,high ,alp winter scenery1 ever since some of the sections of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club 7that of ,geneva leading the way71 had instituted for their members and friends1 the expeditions known under the name of ,grandes ,courses d'hiver4 ,it is1 however1 one thing that the ,swiss should favour such expeditions1 and quite another thing that strangers to ,switzerland should entertain the idea4 ,i understand that when the first accounts of my winter ascents of the ,aiguille du ,chardonnet and the ,grand ,combin were read1 in ,london1 in the pages of the ,alpine ,ski ,club ,annual1 there came upon the lips of many competent readers a smile which partly betokened admiration--which ,i certainly did not deserve--and1 partly1 incredulity--which ,i certainly expected in some measure4 ,even in ,geneva ,i had at first some hesitation in making known my ,bagnes-,entremonts-,ferret circuit4 ,when ,i did make up my mind to send an extremely short and compendious notice to the ,journal de ,genve1 the editors let my scrap of paper lie six weeks before they printed it4 ,it was unkind of me to laugh in my sleeve while this long pause lasted4 ,i did not fare much better after my ascent of the ,dent ,blanche4 ,i slipped a word about it into a local but widely read halfpenny paper1 to whose information people 8in the know0 are wont not to attach much importance4 ,in fact1 some busybodies had already forestalled my note with a few warning lines to the effect that any attempt to cross in a consecutive trip the ,pennine ,alps1 in ,january1 from ,mont ,blanc to the ,simplon pass1 would be too hazardous to prove anything but fatal4 ,and here was a gentleman who not only had got from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to ,zermatt1 but asseverated he had ascended the ,dent ,blanche4 ,some of my colleagues in the ,geneva section1 desirous of protecting the good name of their club1 and anxious to exonerate one of the older and more respected members from any charge of senile self-complacency1 explained gravely that it was a printer's mistake1 and that surely ,i had written ,tte ,blanche in my hastily scribbled manuscript note4 ,the reader must be told at this juncture that the ,tte ,blanche is an insignificant little bump of snow on the ,col d',hrens1 of which those good colleagues of mine1 with their knowledge of my climbing powers1 could well trust themselves to say that ,i might have reached its summit1 without putting too great a strain on my powers4 ,even now1 another of my young disciples1 ,marcel ,kurz1 whose circuits on ski in the ,bernina and ,mischabel districts may be followed in two of the maps appended to this volume1 writes me that he is pleased to hear of its approaching publication1 because it may conduce to the enlightenment of disbelievers1 across isolated specimens of whom he still occasionally comes4 ,arnold ,lunn1 too1 has met with ultra-sceptical folks1 and a boastful trait has been read by some into his ardour4 ,for my part1 ,i am content to look upon our mountaineering fellowship as a pleasant little incident in the history of ,anglo-,swiss relations4 ,these ,i much take to heart4 ,there is every reason in the world wherefore they should be frequent1 numerous1 and close4 ,sometimes1 in the flush of after-dinner speeches1 ,i have spoken of the ,swiss as the navigators of the ,alps and of the ,english as the mountaineers of the sea4 ,there is some similarity in the risks incurred4 ,it would be a truism--in fact the repetition of a truism--to say how ,english climbers of the middle of the nineteenth century helped the ,swiss in introducing into mountaineering the wholesome element of risk4 8,on ne fait pas d'omelettes sans casser des ufs40 ,it should not be hidden from the present generation of ,english climbers1 however1 that the example of their forerunners has perhaps been more thoroughly taken to heart in ,switzerland than among themselves4 ,there is hardly a family or friendly circle in ,switzerland that does not count one of its members in the ring of those whose life was sacrificed for love of the ,alps4 ,the motives for associating here ,swiss and ,english in my mind are not solely sporting4 ,it has hitherto been little realised how much ,swiss neutrality and national integrity are one of the bulwarks of the freedom of ,britain's movements in ,europe4 ,every effort is being made to join ,switzerland more closely to the economic system of central ,europe4 ,in a century in which economics are considered to offer a more effective political weapon than the open use of military force1 the tightening of the ties of fellowship between two nations1 neither of which can possibly aim at political encroachments upon the other1 may usefully serve to counteract a less innocent set of tendencies4 ,what with military roads1 tunnels1 and railways1 the ,alpine barrier between the ,baltic and the ,mediterranean is being worn very thin4 ,it needs1 probably1 no further insistence to show that sentimental ,anglo-,swiss relations may be attended by practical consequences of some immediate utility4 ,in this network of associations an important function devolves upon winter mountaineering4 ,the ,english have no sporting winter4 ,they have already1 in large numbers1 adopted the ,swiss winter as what they want to supply home deficiencies4 ,may this continue and an ever wider bridge of ,swiss and ,british ski be thrown over the ,channel4 ,that this book1 among others1 might serve this purpose was one of the motives that impelled the writer when he put together1 for publication in ,england1 such accounts as that which follows4 ,at first sight1 the title ,i have given to this chapter may appear exaggerated4 ,but it will not bear out any such unfavourable construction1 if the reader will charitably recollect that he has already travelled with me from the western extremity of the ,bernese ,alps1 visiting from end to end the ,diablerets1 ,wildhorn1 and ,wildstrubel range1 as a prelude to this excursion beyond the ,gemmi to the east4 ,geographically and technically the euphemistic title of this chapter is not without excuse4 ,the ,oberland is theoretically taken to include not only a western1 but also an eastern wing1 on to the ,galenstock and ,dammastock4 ,popularly1 the name ,oberland is understood to apply to the great range which is cut off on the east by the ,grimsel and ,haslithal1 on the west by the ,gemmi and ,kanderthal4 ,classical literature agrees with the popular definition1 the main point about which is1 for ski-runners1 that between those two depressions there is no pass that does not lead across glaciers4 ,the ,oberland shows1 between its extreme points1 two parallel rows of peaks4 ,the northern row overlooks the lakes of ,thun and ,brienz4 ,the southern row overlooks the valleys of ,loetsch and of ,goms 7in ,french ,conches71 leading up to the ,furka pass4 ,of those parallel rows the northernmost1 facing somewhat to the west1 comprises the ,blmlisalp and the ,lauterbrunner ,breithorn4 ,the southernmost1 drawing to the east1 culminates in the ,bietschhorn and ,aletschhorn1 and includes the summits which1 under the names of ,wannehorn1 ,galmihorn1 c41 look down upon the glaciers of ,fiesch and ,oberaar1 while the northern row1 curving round the ,lauterbrunnen ,valley from the ,breithorn1 is crowned by that magnificent cluster overlooking both ,scheideggs3 the ,jungfrau1 ,mnch1 ,eiger1 ,wetterhorn1 c41 with the ,schreckhorn and ,finsteraarhorn somewhat in the rear4 ,between those two rows a high glacial basin takes the form of an elongated trough4 ,from distance to distance this trough shows transversal lips 7cross-bars or threshholds1 if one so prefers to style them71 which are the upper ,tschingel glacier with the ,mutthorn hut 7#i1gjj feet71 the ,loetschenlcke1 with the ,egon von ,steiger hut 7#aj1eae feet71 the ,grnhornlcke1 between the ,jungfraufirn and the glacier of ,fiesch 7#aj1hdj feet71 and at length the ,oberaarjoch 7#aj1hjj feet71 between the ,oberaarhorn to the north and the ,oberaar-,rothhorn to the south4 ,one sees from the figures quoted that those glacier passes all reach to an altitude exceeding #i1jjj feet4 ,the top of the arc--to speak like ,euclid--would pass over the ,finsteraarhorn at an altitude of #ad1jce feet4 ,this high level is1 in the opinion of ,sir ,martin ,conway1 who followed it in his journey through the ,alps from end to end1 the very finest snow-field in the ,alps4 ,it passes at the head of the greatest ice stream1 and is sufficiently remote from the ,italian border to escape the unfavourable influence which the ,rhaetic1 ,lepontine1 and ,pennine faces of the ,alps have to endure from the hot atmospheric currents and inordinately violent action of the sun4 8,two things were necessary for the success of this trip10 says ,arnold ,lunn in one of his printed accounts2 8good weather and immunity from accidents4 ,we could reduce the chances of accidents to a minimum by a careful scrutiny of our kit1 and we could reasonably expect fair play from the weather by judiciously choosing the moment to begin our attack1 though1 of course1 the weather is always the most fickle factor in determining the success of an expedition4 8,as regards kit1 ,i carried two pairs of gloves1 one made of reindeer skin lined with sealskin1 the other a thick pair of woollen gloves1 a woollen scarf1 a silk scarf1 and a woollen helmet4 ,a spare suit of underclothing and two pairs of stockings completed the list of extra clothing4 ,i wore laupar boots and goat's-hair socks on my feet1 with a pair of crampons in my sack for rock and ice-climbing4 ,and here1 incidentally1 let me remark that the ordinary crampon-nails which are fixed into the sole of the boot soon spoil laupars4 ,the only practical kind are those which are sold in summer to be strapped on under the boots4 8,i think ,i have at last found the ideal ski-binding for mountain work4 ,it is made by a ,geneva firm1 and was given me by ,professor ,roget4 ,it never gave any trouble2 it was strong and tough4 ,it did not vary in tightness with the temperature1 and1 most important of all1 it could be put on and taken off at a moment's notice4 ,this is really essential1 as one may meet with short stretches on which it pays to #8take up one's ski and walk4' 8,i tried1 for the first time1 a pair of sealskins1 and found them answer admirably4 ,they reduced the labour of climbing by #bj per cent41 weighed hardly anything1 and could be taken on and off without any trouble4 ,an extra ski-tip1 a pair of ,canadian rackets1 #8climber's guides1' maps1 c41 completed our kit40 ,illustration3 ,,kander ,,glacier4 ,to face p4 #abc4 ,my intention was to use ,kandersteg as a starting-point1 to land on the high level1 at #i1jjj feet1 by means of the ,kander glacier gradient1 to go down to ,kippel1 in the ,loetschenthal1 by the ,petersgrat2 to pass through the ,loetschenlcke1 to drop thence into the basin formed by the ,aletsch nvs 7the ,jungfraufirn and ,ewig ,schneefeld of ,german maps72 to rise again to the ,grnhornlcke1 to skid down upon the firn of the ,fiesch glacier1 to overtop this network of ice-mountains by the ascent of the ,finsteraarhorn1 to go round the ,finsteraarhorn group on its south side1 to return to the north as far as the ,oberaarjoch1 to descend the ,oberaar glacier to the ,grimsel hospice1 to follow thence the posting road and to enter ,guttannen as knights-errant1 mounted and spurred--that is1 in our case1 on trusty ski and shod with nailed boots1 the attire in which we would leave ,kandersteg4 ,thanks to the absence of any unpleasant incident1 thanks also to a most obligingly long spell of unbroken weather1 the precautions we had taken enabled me and my companions to carry out this programme without interruption and without inconvenience4 ,the 8stripling10 ,mr4 ,arnold ,lunn1 gave proof of remarkable staying powers4 ,though our ,bernese porters seemed at first to believe that they were being 8let in0 for harum-scarum adventures1 by which they discreetly hoped the party might be brought to a standstill after a few hours' march1 before it could run its head1 beyond hope of escape1 into the dangers of this raid1 they laid no visible claim to being wiser than ourselves4 ,they proved themselves to be good and reliable fellows to the end1 and came out of their trials with beaming countenances1 grateful for the lessons they had received in ,high ,alp ski-running4 ,we got into training at ,beatenberg1 where a snowfall delayed our start for three days1 if three days spent on the running slopes above ,beatenberg may be looked upon as a delay4 ,then1 one morning1 the sun1 bursting through the snow clouds1 showed us the great peaks of the ,oberland looking down on a scene newly painted white4 ,our hopes rose high1 and making our rucksacks proportionately heavy1 we skied down to ,interlaken1 losing a bottle of whisky on the way4 ,carefully laid on the top of my pack1 with its nozzle looking out upon the world1 it flew out1 on ,arnold's calling a sudden halt1 and broke its nose against the wall by the roadside4 ,thus was our expedition christened straight away1 as a launched ship that leaves the stocks4 ,on reaching ,kandersteg1 the gossamer banner of ice-dust blowing off the ,blmlisalp showed plainly enough that the gale from the north1 which had brought the fine weather1 was still in full swing4 ,my sympathy went out to any young men who might be then battling up there with the raging wind1 for at ,christmas and ,new ,year's tide the ,alpine huts are much visited by holiday-makers4 ,indeed1 ,i saw later from an account published in the ,swiss periodical ,ski1 by ,mr4 ,tauern1 and by ,mr4 ,schloss in the ,alpine ,ski ,club ,annual1 that those gentlemen were actually at the time on the ,aletschfirn4 ,they had hoped to ascend the ,jungfrau4 ,under the circumstances the prospect lost its charm4 ,as ,i write1 the ,jungfrau has not yet been ascended in winter4 ,the ,swiss papers gave out last year that my young friend ,fritz ,pfeiffer had succeeded in reaching the top4 ,it was a misapprehension4 ,within two hundred yards of the ice-cap that crowns the ,jungfrau1 ,mr4 ,pfeiffer1 who was accompanying an officer of the ,st4 ,gothard troops1 was compelled to fall back before the heap of slabs of solid ice1 with which the combined action of wind and sun had strewn the way4 ,on these the two distinguished mountaineers were unable to gain footing4 ,the slabs slipped away from under their feet1 or bore them down in such a manner that they could not have had better toboggans4 ,toboggans1 however1 were not the thing wanted1 nor even such trays or pieces of board as children are fond of using1 for the sake of amusement1 in sliding down grass slopes nearer home4 ,the formation of these ice-slabs on exposed summits of suitable shape opens up an interesting1 and as yet unsolved1 question in the history of natural phenomena4 ,what clearly happens is this4 ,snow1 driven by a tearing wind1 falls against an ice buttress4 ,then the sun shines with all its winter power upon the snow that sticks to the rugged ice4 ,exposed to the action of two physical agents of great force1 namely1 to the heat produced by the sun and to the impetus of the wind sweeping now with perhaps still greater violence across a clear sky1 the amorphous but plastic mass is cut up and divided by a process which may be compared1 though the analogy is merely superficial1 to what happens to dough in an oven when a hot blast is driven through it4 ,the dried-up dough breaks up into flakes4 ,when ,i first came across that winter phenomenon--,i have never met with it in summer--,i was led to compare those piled-up ice-slabs to the stone slabs of like shape and size which lie on the bare crests of so many mountains4 ,the supposition lies near that these1 too1 may be due to some combined action of pre-existent heat and supervening wind impetus1 in those geological ages when we have a fancy for imagining that the still plastic earth-crust was blown about in huge billows by the liquid and aerial elements4 ,be this as it may1 ,i hope ,i may never be uncharitable enough to desire1 for ski-ing parties1 an encounter with those ice-slab pyramids4 ,the caretaker who in winter keeps watch over the ,schwarenbach ,hotel had just come down to join in the ,new ,year festivities4 ,he announced that there was on the heights a fresh layer of snow #cj inches deep4 ,stoller1 a guide of some reputation1 whose advice we applied for1 was of opinion that we should put off our departure till the #bnd of ,january4 ,the advice might be sound1 but ,i did not like it because ,i knew how badly the men ,i might be about to engage were likely to spend their time on ,new ,year's ,day4 ,as a matter of fact1 when we did enter the ,gasternthal1 we found nothing like the amount of snow that we were told would impede our way4 ,from ,stoller1 who had just returned from a week's engagement to teach the rudiments of ski-ing to a ,swiss club1 we heard that all guides with first-class certificates were away climbing1 and that he1 having only just returned1 would not be available4 ,we engaged three men1 under his advice and under that of ,egger1 for whom ,arnold ,lunn had a valuable letter of introduction from his father4 ,one of these men had a guide's certificate1 the other two were porters4 ,i took three men because ,i wanted to carry sufficient commissariat for six days1 which the raid was supposed to last1 with a margin in case of a check being put on our progress by a change in the weather or some accident that could not be foreseen4 ,i hoped to force my way through without touching any inhabited spot before we reached ,guttannen4 ,we went down to ,kippel1 because our progress was so smooth and easy that it would have been a pity to sleep in a chalet at ,guggi just for the pleasure of not stopping in a decent hotel4 ,none of our men had been beyond the ,aletsch glacier4 ,this ,i did not mind1 having previously gone over the whole route in summer4 ,provided those men carried their loads from hut to hut1 we should be satisfied4 ,arnold ,lunn says in the ,isis that we arrived in ,kandersteg just in time for a fancy dress ball1 and aroused considerable curiosity as to what we were supposed to represent4 ,at dinner he sat next to a man who1 lost to all sense of local colour1 had come dressed as a nigger minstrel4 ,this was on ,new ,year's ,eve4 ,next day we pottered round ,kandersteg1 one of us receiving much useful advice as to how to fix on his ski1 from a lady who was under the quite pardonable impression that she was addressing a novice1 while the other was considered enough of an expert to instruct another lady who had the good taste not to be so sure of her own knowledge4 ,we left ,kandersteg on the morning of ,january #bnd4 ,as usual in those early starts1 we had plenty of time1 the five of us1 to try and find out of what stuff each and every member of the party was made4 ,it was my first expedition with ,arnold ,lunn4 ,i was entitled to think he would take my measure as curiously as ,i was about to take his4 ,two of our men turned out to be quite satisfactory1 but the third was destined to become the butt of our satire4 ,i am not prepared to say that he had spent ,new ,year's ,day in those excesses which ,i dreaded1 because ,i have since been told by old ,egger that ,adolf--as we shall agree to call him--was in bad health when he undertook to serve us4 ,whatever might be the cause1 whether excusable or not1 he showed himself throughout in the colours in which he is painted--maybe somewhat to the amusement of our readers--by ,arnold ,lunn and myself4 ,those who mountaineer for sport are very much like schoolboys1 or they become schoolboys for the nonce4 ,the printed records of mountaineering are to a great extent records of the kind of humour that overgrown and elderly boys--if ,i may so describe those of us who have gone through public school-life and wish to preserve some of its characteristics in a sphere where these may be as harmless to others as comforting to themselves--would be expected to cultivate4 ,for us1 in the course of a constant fellowship of seven days1 ,adolf soon represented quite a definite and rather objectionable specimen of the human kind4 ,we found him lazy1 slow1 clumsy1 ever ready to take undue advantage4 ,some one1 who had evidently made a close study of political types1 dubbed him the ,socialist1 and the title stuck4 ,for my part1 anxious to secure for him a place among types ranking in a higher class1 ,i placed him1 under the name of ,thersites1 in a gallery of classical portraits in which ,i allotted to ,arnold the part of fiery ,achilles1 and to myself that of the worldly-wise and cunningly cautious ,ulysses4 ,our course lay up the ,gasternthal1 one of the wildest and most impressive valleys in the ,alps1 utterly desolate in summer4 ,from its rugged floor rise some of the sternest precipices in ,switzerland4 ,on our way we had plenty of time to examine the superstructure of the shafts which were then being driven through the floor of the valley to ascertain the depth of the gravel-bed that formed it4 ,our readers may remember that1 in #aijh1 the ,italian workmen engaged in excavations on the north front of the ,loetschberg tunnel were suddenly overwhelmed by an inrush of water1 gravel1 and mud4 ,the progress of the boring was stopped till it could be known to what extent it would be necessary to divert the tunnel1 in order to keep in hard rock4 ,it is a bit of a reflection upon the forethought of engineers--and geologists--that1 before working their way from beneath across ,gasternthal1 they had not sunk that shaft which was now to supply them with an information that would still be opportune from the engineer's point of view1 but which was belated in regard to safeguarding human life4 ,three hours after starting1 we reached a rustic caf1 or summer restaurant1 which we discovered it was ,adolf's summer occupation to preside over4 ,it was a pretty place with a fenced orchard about it1 whose trees now stood out barely from amid the coverlet of snow which contributed to enhance the attractiveness of the spot4 ,but a dreadful doubt crossed our mind4 ,was ,adolf a bona-fide mountaineer or was he a professional tavern keeper8 ,on reaching the doorstep of his property1 he angrily dropped to the ground his burden1 produced the key of his cellar1 and contrived to give us the impression that he expected us to call a halt of some duration and indulge in the delights of his ,capua4 ,we were suddenly confronted with the thought of the temptation put by ,circe before wary ,ulysses and his simple-hearted companions4 ,thersites1 as a mental picture1 was outdone4 ,the vision conjured up before us was that of five days to be spent in plenty in this winter-bound ,abbey of ,thelema4 ,we would empty the larders4 ,we would clear the bottle shelves4 ,we would rifle the cigar boxes1 under the watchful1 but encouraging eye of this male ,circe1 who would fill his pockets with sweet-scented coin1 instead of bruising his shoulders any longer with that dreadful pack4 ,we commend the trick to those who may have the face to play it on the public4 ,nothing is easier4 ,switzerland is full of those concealed ,canaans flowing with milk and honey4 ,illustration3 ,,gasternthal4 ,to face p4 #acj4 ,shortly after leaving ,adolf's pavilion1 a bend in the valley disclosed the ice-fall of the ,tschingel glacier4 ,the moraine up which we had to pass came into sight4 ,it was three in the afternoon--and we had distributed some of ,adolf's packages amongst the other two guides--before we caught our first glimpse of the sun1 which flashed out triumphantly behind the ,hockenhorn1 only to disappear in a few minutes past the ,balmhorn4 ,a steep slope of snow led from the moraine to the glacier4 ,out of laziness1 we did not fix up our ski with carrying straps4 ,we might have paid dearly for the mistake1 as a sharp wind caught us half-way across1 and a dropped ski would have taken hours to recover4 ,it is always wise to have at hand in one's pockets the short straps which serve to tie together the ski at each extremity1 and to make use of them whenever one has to carry ski across an unskiable piece of ground4 ,it is also better to be provided with ski-slings wherewith to carry them across both shoulders4 ,the wind is the ski-runner's treacherous enemy4 ,when you are on your ski it may drive you out of your direction1 and when you carry your ski it may try to wrench them from you and blow you off your balance by weighing upon them4 ,the last three hours of our walk lay along the nv of the ,tschingel glacier1 a snow valley bounded on the north by the cliffs of the ,blmlisalp1 on the south by the gently rising ,petersgrat4 8,the last lingering rays10 writes ,arnold ,lunn1 8faded from the snows1 but the sunset was soon followed by the rise of the full moon1 a moon undreamt of in our ,english skies1 so bright that ,i read with ease a page of my note-book4 ,those who have only seen her #8hurrying with unhandsome thrift of silver' over ,english landscapes have little idea of her real beauty4 ,before we reached the hut we had been climbing fourteen hours uphill1 loaded with heavy sacks4 ,yet such was the mysterious fascination of the moonlit snows that we made no attempt to hurry4 ,again and again we stopped1 lost in silent wonder4 8,straight ahead1 the ,jungfrau1 backed by the slender cone of the ,eiger1 rose above a sea of shadows4 ,the moonlight slept on her snowy terraces1 steeping in silentness her cliffs and glaciers1 and revealed the whole as a living monument of incarnate light4 ,a hut stood in a cirque of snow4 ,here the wind had played strange havoc1 torturing the billows and cornices into fantastic shapes4 ,anything more weirdly beautiful than the glancing sheen of this hollow ,i cannot conceive4 ,its colour could only be compared1 if at all1 to the fiery blue of ,capri's grotto40 ,the writer of the above lines1 whom we shall not tire of quoting in this chapter1 does not overpaint the picture4 ,what could be more beautiful1 more entrancing1 than the ,tschingel terrace1 by moonlight1 in the middle of winter8 ,standing on a balcony little less than #aj1jjj feet high1 we were able to read our maps1 after ten o'clock at night1 as plainly as at noonday4 ,to the furrowed and broken ribs of the ,blmlisalp clung several small glaciers1 suspended in the couloirs like swallows' nests in the eaves of a ruined castle4 ,the sharp pyramid of the ,eiger shone beyond the white cupolas of the airy ,jungfrau1 as though they had been the distant walls and minarets of an ,oriental city4 ,the snows about us were alive with a smooth and soft radiance4 ,the sky was transparent1 and as yet hung about with light veils4 ,silver clouds fluttered about the peaks1 and when they floated into the moonlight from behind them1 they flashed forth like fishes when the sun plays upon their scales4 ,layers of purple and crimson haze rested upon one another along the horizon4 ,the play of light and shade upon the black patches and white spots of the visible world showed them1 according to whither you looked1 wreathed in smiles or puckered up in frowns4 ,buttresses1 cliffs1 abysses swam in a bluish mist1 in which the twinkling rays of a million stars danced as sparkling dust4 ,it is a law of this world that what is unbecoming-- of ,greek comedy--must ever come to underline and show off the most beautiful sights by giving them a contradictory background4 ,for ,arnold and myself1 the last three hours of that day were spent on one of the most beautiful walks we can remember4 ,but ,adolf had been completely knocked up long before4 ,during the self-same last three hours he experienced a great desire for sleep1 and the burden of his refrain was not1 8,how grand6 ,how beautiful60 but 8,very1 very tired60 ,sometimes he dozed2 sometimes he half uttered swear-words1 which issued from his throat like stones rattling down a mountain gully4 ,i had to send one of the other men to his help4 ,whether we shouted to him ,thersites or ,circe1 or the ,socialist1 he cared not4 ,what went to his heart1 and as it were broke his wind1 was that we had left his tea-house far behind and would not take him back across the beloved threshold4 ,a miserable ,alpine hut awaited his tottering footsteps4 ,he staggered through the doorway and collapsed on the mattresses1 sleeping at last when to sleep was decent4 ,what was it to him that every curve in the swelling snows1 every crag and buttress of the ,blmlisalp cliffs was lit up by the mellow rays of the mountain moon8 ,of the night spent in the ,mutthorn hut nothing need be said1 except that it seemed to us a perfect night4 ,at #e4cj the alarum went off1 and1 if ,arnold ,lunn's story be trusted--and it must be1 in the absence of any other accountable person1 as ,i was asleep at that moment--the ring of the bell was accompanied by an ill-sounding ,german epithet4 ,a guide stumbled to the door1 threw it open1 and muttered in more parliamentary language3 8,abscheuliches ,wetter40 ,arnold says--and ,i must trust him in this again1 for ,i was still asleep--that a sense of sickening disappointment1 such as climbers know so well1 fell upon the waking inmates of the hut1 a definition which must be taken to exclude ,adolf and myself4 ,arnold stepped outside and discovered heavy grey clouds blowing up from behind the ,eiger1 sniffed a gust of south-westerly wind1 laid his finger on sticky snow1 and1 in thus feeling the pulse of the weather1 became aware of a high temperature4 ,he says3 8,we sulkily despatched our breakfast and started up the slope leading towards the ,petersgrat4 ,suddenly ,professor ,roget caught sight1 through a gap beyond the ,blmlisalp1 of the still lake of fog hanging quite undisturbed over the plain of ,switzerland and above lake ,thun4 ,i should like to say that he gave a cry of surprise1 but1 alas6 the professor has his emotions under strict control1 and was content to rapidly communicate to us his analysis of the apparent bad weather4 ,these unauspicious phenomena were merely local disturbances1 which would vanish after dawn4 ,the westerly breeze was only a glacier wind1 the grey clouds only the effect of the intense solar heat collected the day before and blending throughout the night with the cold air from the snows4 ,as long as the ,nebelmeer remained undisturbed1 no bad weather need be feared4 ,every sign of evil actually vanished an hour after sunrise40 ,on the ,petersgrat we could fancy ourselves on the top of the globe4 ,we were standing on the highest point of a curved surface1 shaped like a balloon1 and on all sides it seemed to fall away into immensity4 ,beyond1 rose in gigantic outline the summits of the ,alps and1 still further1 in long sinuous lines curving in and out of sight1 the ,jura1 the ,vosges1 and all that distant girdle that hangs loosely about the outskirts of ,switzerland4 ,the winter fog filled up the intervals4 ,afar1 there was not a breath of wind1 not a whirl in the air4 ,the phenomenon that alarmed my party was that which is well known under the name of ,foehn1 a phenomenon which may assume almost any dimensions1 sometimes general enough to embrace the whole of the ,alps1 and sometimes so closely circumscribed that you might almost compare it to the motion in the air produced by a small top spinning round on the palm of your hand4 ,the phenomenon is as follows3 ,masses of air of varying density and temperature are pushed up the ,alps and are dropped down1 as it were1 upon the other side4 ,or else1 as this morning on the ,petersgrat1 it is a layer of hot dry air formed aloft that forces its way down1 in corkscrew fashion1 on a given spot1 through the nether air4 ,with us the phenomenon lasted an hour and was as a water spout in the middle of a still ocean4 ,the universal quietude of the elements impressed itself again upon the spot on which we stood1 doubting1 like ,thomas1 but ready to believe1 if a sign would but be given4 ,by #h4cj the sun gilded gloriously the whole ,pennine range1 towards which our eyes were eagerly turned4 ,as we reached the sky-line1 that distant host of old friends greeted us beyond the morning shadows1 but what held us most was the wonderful pyramid of the ,bietschhorn4 ,the sharp-shouldered giant1 sprinkled with snow from head to foot1 through which showed his jet-black armour1 stood forth before us1 as within reach of the hand1 strangely resembling the view of the ,weisshorn from above ,randa1 but how much grander in his winter cloak with jewel-like crystals6 ,this second day was to be a day spent in idling down glacier slopes and in lounging above the forest zone of the ,loetschenthal4 ,we knew now that we could count on the sun till its proper time for setting in the evening4 ,we knew that on his decline and fall the moon would take his place1 as the night policeman succeeds the day policeman upon the common beat4 ,the winter ,god was full of gentleman-like consideration4 ,the rules of meteorology might have been purely astronomical and mathematical for any chances we might see of their being upset by the weather fiend4 ,the snow was hard and crusted as we entered upon the southern slopes of the ,petersgrat4 ,after forty minutes running1 or thereabouts1 the guides advised us to take off our ski while we descended the steep bits on the ,telli glacier4 ,the fact is that those men were not quite sure of their ground4 ,i asked the party to proceed in close formation and to move with studied care till we should reach the bottom of the ,telli glacier1 considering that it would be wiser to cope with any difficulties it might put in our way than to ski down the ,faffleralp1 as to whose condition in winter ,i had not the faintest indication4 ,the ordinary summer route might prove dangerous from avalanches4 ,on the ,telli glacier1 the hardness and comparative thinness of the snow layer cemented to the ice1 allowed of crevasses and depressions being easily recognised4 ,it would be a piece of summer mountaineering in midwinter1 and to this1 for safety's sake1 there would be no valid objection4 ,i kept my people close in1 to the eastern edge of the glacier1 so as to pass under the buttress on which were supported the masses of snow over which ,i would not ski4 ,the descent of the deep gully proved the right solution to our difficulty and procured for us for some twenty minutes the distinct pleasure of being thoroughly occupied with a serious job4 ,a run over some extremely broken ground1 then some cuts and capers in a wood led us to a chalet1 where we decided to have a feed and a rest4 8,this confession10 says ,arnold ,lunn1 8lays us open to the scorn of those who imagine that mountaineering is a kind of game1 the object of which is to spend the minimum of time on a peak consistent with reaching its summit4 ,our party fortunately belonged to the leisurely school that combines a fondness for wise passiveness with a strong dislike to reach one's destination before sunset4 8,thus understood1 mountaineering on ski is the purest of all sports4 ,the competitive and record-breaking elements are entirely eliminated4 ,those who go up to the hills on ski are then actuated by the most elemental motives1 the desire to explore the mountains in the most beautiful of all their aspects1 and to enjoy the most inspired motion known to man4 8,to me the ideal form of ski-ing is cross-country mountaineering4 ,one thus approaches nearest to the methods of the pioneers to whom mountaineering meant the exploration of great ranges1 not the exhausting of all possible climbs from one small centre4 ,nothing is more delightful than to penetrate into the remote ,alpine valleys in the winter months4 ,the parasite population that thrives in summer on the tourist industry has disappeared4 ,one meets the genuine peasant1 #8the rough athletic labourer wrestling with nature for his immediate wants4' 8,those who travel first class and stop in the best hotels do not know the real ,switzerland4 ,it is in the third-class carriages and small inns that one sees the most characteristic types4 ,nothing is more enjoyable than to escape for ten days from conventionality and dress clothes1 wandering1 kit on one's back1 from club hut to club hut1 and descending at rare intervals to remote recesses in winter-bound valleys40 ,the conclusion of this is that neither of us could describe in strenuous language the lazy afternoon we spent on the upper fringe of the woods above ,blatten and ,ried4 ,we had a quiet repast1 smoked our pipes1 or cigars--and watched the shadows creeping up the ,loetschenlcke4 ,having heaps of time1 we sailed down to ,kippel1 as merry as finches1 piping like blackbirds1 and as fresh as new-laid eggs4 ,would we have been in such a happy predicament if we had not been on narrow boards about six and a half feet long and half as many inches broad1 of ,norwegian origin1 which were used primarily as a means of crossing deep snow1 and have lately been adopted as an aid to winter mountaineering8 ,the hotel we landed at was quite an ordinary eating and sleeping house of the ugly type which too often disfigures ,swiss villages4 ,how is it that dwellers in the ,alps who1 when left to themselves1 show such good taste in the plainness of their dwellings and in their primitive church architecture1 are1 when they build for townspeople1 such utter strangers to the most spontaneous suggestions of the artistic instinct8 ,at table we chanced to have as neighbours three members of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club1 whose native language was the ,germanic4 ,they were on their way from the ,grimsel and had just completed that section of our route upon which we were to enter on the morrow4 ,we sat with them after dinner1 and here fiery ,achilles behaved most wisely4 ,with high hopes he went quietly to bed at a reasonable hour4 ,then ,ulysses1 seeing his opportunity1 thought he would like to unbend for a while4 ,he sat up with the ,swiss party and sacrificed to good fellowship a few hours of rest and the contents of a few fragile flagons4 ,as midnight came on1 the moon suddenly peeped indiscreetly upon the carouse1 showing through the casement a seductive vista of most beautifully slanting slopes round the foot of which roared the river ,lonza4 ,cunning ,ulysses1 beside himself with a naughty idea1 sent the empty bottles flying through the window4 ,immediately the blood of the young ,swiss was up4 ,they rose1 strapped on their ski in a trice1 and down they went along the slope to the bank of the ,lonza4 ,the bottles were by then floating on the swirl of the stream4 ,but1 in the case of each pursuer1 a timely ,christiania swing brought him round up the bank again4 ,there was a swish1 a spray of snow1 and three young men were saved to fight again for their country4 ,on returning to the hotel1 they and ,i found a jolly old villain in possession of the tap-room4 ,he was in the early stages of inebriation4 ,seeing from the costumes of the party that he had to do with town-bred mountaineers only1 he drew from the depths of his imagination the longest bow that was ever harboured by a genuine mountaineer in his armoury4 ,with him the humour was transparent4 ,but it is not always so1 unfortunately4 ,some of the ,swiss peasantry1 brought into contact with the foreign clientle1 are in the habit of being so pampered by sentimental1 gullible people that they quite overstep the bounds of any liberty that may be permissible in resenting such treatment4 ,on the whole1 the winter life led in the high ,swiss valleys is not altogether wholesome4 ,when they are visited in summer1 the people are seen in the busiest time and appear in the most favourable light4 ,the domestic establishments of the hotels1 and the few individuals who benefit from the presence of strangers1 such as mule drivers1 casual dealers in cut flowers1 in carved bears and rock crystals1 are merely parasitic and as temporary features in the landscape as those whose passage called them into being4 ,the evils inherent to winter seclusion are more serious4 ,this old man was an example1 for he could be seen there day after day1 spending his time in idle talk and throwing into the till his earnings of last season4 ,but stop3 is ,ulysses acting up to his reputation for wariness in moralising at the present moment to a weaker brother's detriment8 ,has he forgotten that on the next day1 ,monday1 ,january #dth1 the little company turned out into the night at six o'clock without him8 ,was it a fair excuse1 that1 on the eve1 he had engaged ,theodore ,kalbermatten to carry his kit for him to the next hut8 ,having once more sworn allegiance to his usual beverage1 milk1 the best friend of the young and the old1 he marched out last1 but in good order1 to join the troop over which he held command4 ,as the dawn broke he found them waiting for him before a church in the ,upper ,loetschenthal1 built six hundred years ago4 ,arnold had time to examine it4 ,he says3-- 8,the church door was carved by the hand of some long-forgotten genius1 carved with a delicacy of execution surprising in this remote corner of the ,alps4 ,we stopped for breakfast in some cheese-making chalets high up in the valley4 ,here we exchanged some remarks on cows and kindred subjects and gently chaffed the cheese-makers on the proverbially high stature of the men of ,ried4 ,but one realised throughout the barrier which one could never pass4 ,we could form little or no conception of the world as seen through their eyes4 ,to them these mountains must seem a waste by-product1 an inexplicable freak on the part of the ,creator4 ,they regarded us and our ski with that amused tolerance that everyone extends to those idiosyncrasies which are not personally annoying4 8,this rugged conservatism is nowhere so accentuated as among those who are shut off by mountain barriers from the #8sick1 hurry1 and divided aims' of modern life4 ,theirs is the spirit so gently satirised in ,utopia4 ,these things they say pleased our forefathers and ancestors3 would ,god we might be as witty and wise6 8,for six hundred years their forefathers had worshipped in the little church we had passed1 sheltered by the hills from all breath of modern scepticism1 apparently undisturbed by the thought that beyond them existed spirits who recklessly doubted the priest's control over the economy of nature in such modest details as harvest rains4 ,the ,loetschenthal still possesses the strange pathetic beauty of those secluded ,catholic valleys whose inhabitants seem to live a life as old as the hills themselves1 and in which one poor priest and one little church stand forth as the only help1 the only symbol of the world outside1 and of ages not absolutely prehistoric40 ,arnold ,lunn relates that after leaving the chalets he had an amusing talk with ,theodore ,kalbermatten1 whom ,i had engaged to carry my sack up to the club hut4 ,a fine-looking fellow1 he showed a touch of that not ungraceful swagger which one notices in many guides and in which ,lunn rightly sees nothing more than the unsophisticated pride that humble and well-meaning men take in the achievement of good work4 ,but business is business4 ,lunn says very wittily that the conversation concluded with the inevitable production of a card1 coupled with the caution that1 though there were many ,kalbermattens1 there was but one ,theodore ,kalbermatten4 ,anyhow1 we were soon great friends with ,theodore4 ,the day was indeed long enough--like the glacier on which we were wandering--to make and undo friendships several times over4 ,circumstances lent themselves so well to mere strolling--think what it is to be able to cross the ,bernese ,oberland without once having one's foot brought up against a stone--that we pressed our pace no more on this third day than on the preceding4 ,we might have been ,egyptian sages walking up and down in conversation outside the porticoes of ,thebes with the hundred gates4 ,had we been told that what we stirred up with our ski were the burning sands of ,africa which we mistook for ,alpine snow1 because our eyes were under the spell of mirage1 it would have been ungracious on our part to pretend to know better1 so much did we long for the coolness of the evening1 for sea breezes and the dew at dusk1 as ,arabs might1 returning upon their tired steeds to the secrecy of the oasis1 after a raid in the desert4 ,all said and done1 we found that we had spent twelve hours in reaching the summit of the ,loetschenlcke pass4 ,arnold's poetic gift found at every step fresh sustenance4 ,he had discovered the beau ideal of a pass4 8,it was10 he says1 8the only opening at the head of the valley1 visible1 with the whole length of the glacier1 during the entire day4 ,for twelve hours a little gap backed by blue sky told of a wonderful new world that we should see from the summit4 ,above us we caught sight of our goal1 the ,egon von ,steiger hut1 bearing the name of a ,swiss climber who perished on the ,doldenhorn1 and built in his memory4 ,this is the real ungrudging spirit of mountain lovers1 the attitude which ,mummery sums up so well4 #8,the great mountains1' he writes1 #8sometimes demand a sacrifice1 but the true mountaineer would not forego their worship even though he knew himself to be the destined victim4' 8,we had the whole day10 says ,lunn1 8to reach the hut1 and without being lazy1 were wise enough not to hurry1 and1 indeed1 there was no temptation to rush on4 ,the time was all too short to take in the wonders of the ,anen glacier on our left1 the stern beauty of the ,sattelhorn cliffs on our right4 ,slowly the distant ranges climbed higher into the sky4 ,peacefully the morning merged into the afternoon1 and the afternoon into the evening4 ,we paused below the final slope to watch the glow creeping down the snows of ,mont ,blanc4 ,even the guides were impressed by the strange stillness1 as-- #8,light and sound ebbed from the earth1 ,like the tide of the full and weary sea1 ,to the depths of its own tranquillity4' 8,i shall never forget the tantalising suspense of that last slope4 ,for twelve hours a little strip of blue behind the sky-line had been an earnest of the revelation that was awaiting us4 ,for some six hours we had been faced by this same long slope in front and above4 ,now only a few yards remained4 ,we took them at a rush4 ,at sunset exactly1 the sky-line was beneath our feet and in one moment were set forth before us1 backed by the ,finsteraarhorn1 the #8urns of the silent snow' from which the greatest of all the ,alpine glaciers draws its strength4 ,the rays of the risen moon mingled with the ebbing twilight and lent an atmosphere of mystery to our surroundings4 ,for the moment we were no longer of the earth earthly1 for the moment the ,loetschenlcke became a magic casement opening into perilous snows 'mid faery lands forlorn4' 8,thus what1 seen from a distance1 was obtrusively--almost offensively--a pass1 wore a peculiar fascination for that very reason4 ,it grew upon the imagination with the magic of those corners one has only turned in one's dreams40 ,like the historic gap between the ,mnch and ,jungfrau1 it led to the solitudes of the ,aletsch1 which ,lunn had never seen save as a white streak from distant ranges4 ,like all good mountaineers1 who have usefully wasted hours over a map in keen and eager anticipation1 he now could dwell with gladness upon the reality of the mental picture elaborated long ago1 while contemplating certain white spaces on an old copy of the ,siegfried map4 ,but the inevitable anti-climax that dogs the flight of all poets was awaiting us4 8,on this occasion it took the form of the club hut stove1 and a more effective bathos has never been devised4 ,amongst the torments of the damned ,i am sure the smoking stove holds a proud place40 ,some of last summer's moisture had remained in the pipe4 ,our fire might have been of green wood and wrung from us copious tears4 8,the guides for the space of some half-hour1 wrestled and fought and prayed1 ,kalbermatten meanwhile keeping up a running conversation with his favourite saint4 ,adolf1 with a wonderful sense of the fitness of things1 chose the moment when supper was on the table to put in a belated appearance4 ,his contribution to the evening's work was a successful attempt to burn my thick socks10 writes ,lunn1 righteously indignant4 ,the temperature outside the hut was #h ,centigrade under zero on arriving and1 very naturally1 somewhat colder inside4 ,at the ,mutthorn hut we had noted #i ,centigrade under zero in the evening and #aj in the morning4 ,our expedition unfolded itself from day to day with the monotony and exactitude of a scroll4 ,on the #eth1 by seven o'clock1 an hour before sunrise1 we were again on the slide eastwards4 ,the lie of the land was nasty4 ,most of us turned a somersault or two1 a performance at which those will not be astonished who have come down in summer from the ,egon von ,steiger hut to the ,gross-,aletsch-,firn4 ,then badly conducted parties are daily watched from the ,concordia huts1 with no little curiosity4 ,they flounder about till they are often heard calling for help1 or seen disappearing in a crevasse1 from which moment they are entitled1 under the rules of the game1 to a search party4 ,in his diary ,lunn says that the ,aletschhorn had shoved its head in front of the moon4 ,the solitude was almost oppressive4 8,never have ,i so realised the weakness of the cry that the ,alps are played out and overcrowded4 ,true1 some thousands of climbers have explored their inmost recesses2 but substantially they are little changed from the peaks that looked down on ,hannibal3-- 8#8,die unbegreiflich hohen ,werke ,sind herrlich wie am ersten ,tag4' ,and on a winter night one feels more than ever the insignificance of such trifling excrescences as club huts and mountain inns4 ,the parting genius loci has1 perhaps1 been sent with sighing #8from haunted hill and dale'2 but ,i strongly suspect that these white solitudes of eternal snow are still visited by the court of the ,ice ,queen40 ,to tell the truth1 ,i rather hope that the feminine section of that court leave the ,aletsch severely alone1 for our remarks that morning would have stood trimming4 ,why8 ,because1 fearing concealed crevasses on the ,aletsch-,firn1 we roped4 ,it was a miserable experiment4 ,at rapid intervals ,adolf sat down1 in the rear1 of course1 as he never could do anything else but tail4 ,four sudden jerks1 and four more bold ski-runners bit the dust4 ,at times1 somebody in the front of the train followed suit1 an inspiration which necessitated a rapid swing on the part of those behind4 ,we swung1 of course1 in opposite directions1 and the tangled skein that ensued was enveloped in a mist of snow with a few oaths darting about4 ,no wonder1 for such evolutions 8excyte beastlie and exstreme vyolence10 as ,lunn found it expressed in his mind1 so elegantly stored up with classical quotations1 and we rapidly came to the conclusion that there was 8a good deal to be said for being dead10 oh1 much more than for roped ski-ing with ,adolf4 ,illustration3 ,,concordia ,,platz4 ,to face p4 #adi4 ,ski-running on a rope is only possible if every member of a party is a steady runner4 ,i1 for one1 have always found its utility limited to providing a merry1 rough-and-tumble entertainment1 such as the ,wiggle-,woggle1 the ,whirling ,pool1 and such-like helter-skelter performances in which ',arry delights to jostle ',arriet4 ,meanwhile the quotation runs that3-- 8,the hunter of the ,east had caught ,the mountain turrets in a noose of light40 ,but its author was in far too sulky a condition to appreciate a sunrise4 ,by nine o'clock1 with our troubles well ended1 we were all comfortably seated on the rounded edges of the famous breakfast-table1 an erratic stone in the centre of that wonderful ice quadrivium marked on the maps as ,concordia ,platz1 in which the stone in question expresses the altitude in four figures 7#b1ghj metres74 ,carpeted in the purest white1 surrounded by pyramids in the best assorted white marble architecture1 set out with flying buttresses and domes in jasper1 jade1 and sapphire1 the ,concordia ,platz did not betoken the symmetrical designing power of man1 but perfect harmony in the work of ,nature's agents--sun1 snow1 rock1 and ice4 ,what a perfectly beautiful city for the dead1 these precincts and temple whence the handiwork of man was absent6 ,and what a number of graves were laid under the pavement of this cathedral6 ,think of the tears shed for the many who came here1 impelled by the desire to behold in this world a habitation pure enough for angels1 and whose human strength gave way before the resistance opposed by the cruel guardians of this blissful abode6 ,during breakfast we discussed our plans4 ,our eyes were fixed upon the ,jungfrau1 partly because we had vaguely talked of the tempting ascent1 but still more because1 having come up here with ice-axes1 regulation ropes1 and ten-pronged climbing-irons1 it was quite plain that a serious ascent entered into our programme4 ,if ,i may put it frankly1 pure adventure was not the purpose that brought me on the ,concordia ,platz4 ,i wished to put to the test of reality1 in the highest mountain rink of the ,bernese range1 the theory forced upon my mind by observations and experiences elsewhere4 ,i had learnt conclusively much that was new and interesting about winter conditions in the forest zone and on the denuded grazings that rise above them4 ,the comparatively easy slanting and horizontal expanses of the ice-covered parts of the ,alps had yielded some positive information to the winter pioneers now visiting them for the first time4 ,now ,i wanted to know1 with ever-increasing accuracy1 how those huge spurs of rock and ice that are thrown up into the sky from the glacier region behaved in winter4 ,hitherto they had been looked at and their condition judged from a distance4 ,conclusions come to in that manner were extremely unfavourable to their accessibility4 ,one might1 moreover1 safely say that no scientific men had subjected the winter ,alps to the same scrutiny as1 in the years following the middle of the nineteenth century1 made ,agassiz1 ,desor1 the ,englishmen ,tyndall and ,sir ,john ,lubbock1 famous1 and so many more whose hard and shrewd thinking about the physical complexion of the ,alps has met with general acceptance4 ,in a humbler sphere1 too1 among men in daily contact with the ,alps1 such as guides and chamois hunters1 there was till lately an absolutely ineradicable belief that the ,alp peaks would oppose almost insuperable obstacles to those bold enough to grapple with them under winter conditions4 ,but neither scientific scholars nor practical men could exactly say why this should be the case4 ,it was one of those vague impressions or beliefs which are more imperative in proportion as actual first-hand knowledge is scantier4 ,most would tell you1 when pressed1 that in ,january the ,high ,alps could not but be found smothered in the most stupendous quantities of snow that the frightened imagination could body forth1 and that in those masses rock peaks and ice domes would be buried alike4 ,once more1 on the ,concordia ,platz1 the notion ,i had formed as to the comparative scarcity of snow on the flanks of the leading summits of our ,alps--those exceeding #aj1jjj feet--was about to be reported upon and tested by impartial eyes4 ,our three ,bernese guides could barely trust the testimony of their own eyes4 ,they expected to see a ,jungfrau embedded in snow from head to foot1 stuffed out to a shapeless mass1 bolstered out as with the seven petticoats of a ,dutch belle4 ,on the contrary1 the ,bernese ,maid was more slim than they had ever seen her in summer4 ,almost entirely free from snow1 she turned towards us a shoulder as smooth1 bright1 and pure as that of a ,greek goddess that might have been clad in a close-fitting suit of silver armour4 ,one of my men who saw her again last summer 7#aiaa71 one of the two hottest recorded since #ahcj1 found her less free from snow than she appeared on that ,january day1 when she was actually melting away under the perfect downpour of solar rays towards which her face was turned4 ,thus was an important doubt set at rest by the testimony of practical men4 ,it would have taken us half the day to cut steps in the sheer ice that stretched from the ,roththal ,sattel to the very top4 ,the near completion of the railway from ,grindelwald to ,jungfraujoch will make it quite easy to institute a series of regular scientific observations on this interesting subject4 ,so far as we were concerned1 after five days of sun and inverted temperature it was out of the question for us to attempt the top slopes of the ,jungfrau at that hour of the day4 ,it was tacitly agreed to abandon it for the ,finsteraarhorn4 ,the same causes which turned the snow slopes of the ,jungfrau to ice and rendered them impracticable would dry the rocks of the ,finsteraarhorn1 clearing them from the excess of snow which the winter winds might have piled up there4 ,so we pressed on towards the ,grnhornlcke1 past the ,concordia huts1 ski-ing leisurely downwards on the ,aletsch glacier4 ,the reader may easily picture to himself how much our ski were in tune with the wonderful surface over which we were passing4 8,these rollings of nv10 relates ,lunn1 8are almost unique in the ,alps4 ,on other glaciers one's attention is diverted to the surrounding peaks4 ,but1 as some one says1 on the ,aletsch the boundary mountains form an insignificant cup-lip to the glacier itself1 which1 to my knowledge1 may be compared to the same on the ,plaine-,morte only4 ,the ,oberland peaks1 which from ,grindelwald or ,lauterbrunnen exhibit such a wonderful wealth of design1 are comparatively tame from the basin of the ,aletsch4 ,when we think of the ,jungfrau we always think of her as seen from the pastures of the ,wengern ,alp4 ,seen from the ,aletsch she is not particularly striking4 ,one's whole attention is focussed on the broad1 silent reaches of snow4 ,from the ,loetschenlcke1 from the ,jungfraujoch1 from the ,grnhornlcke1 three vast ice streams flow down towards the ,concordia1 rightly so named1 for1 there1 irresistible forces blend silently in perfect harmony and move downwards without a break40 ,by three o'clock in the afternoon we passed by the huts which now form quite a township on the rocky spur which supports them4 ,there is the ,cathrein ,pavilion1 a regular little mountain hostelry1 the new ,swiss ,alpine ,club hut1 and the old hut4 ,stowed away under the rock the ancestral hut of all might betray its site to curious ,alpine antiquaries4 ,we could have walked straight into the township on that day1 the rocks being dry and swept clean of snow1 the effect of the sun only1 as ,i can easily prove by the testimony of ,mr4 ,schloss who1 with his party1 had to take refuge in the ,swiss ,club hut during the storm that had raged in the last days of ,december4 ,he says3 8,we rammed the ski into the snow at the foot of these rocks1 expecting to reach the hut1 some #ej metres above us1 in a few minutes4 ,but the storm made the passage up the narrow path hewn out of the rock wall very unpleasant4 ,it was covered with ice and snow1 and the wind1 blowing in furious gusts from the ,jungfrau snow-fields1 threatened every moment to hurl one or the other of us down on to the glacier below40 ,let the reader take warning4 ,from the ,concordia ,platz we started up steep slopes to our next pass4 ,but were they so steep8 and did we climb at all8 ,there is in words a forceful though conventional mendacity4 ,in language the most honest catch themselves playing the part of gay deceivers4 ,did we have any occasion during that week to draw one laboured breath from our tranquil breasts8 ,restful and vigorous1 we led the sthetic life4 ,as on the previous evening1 there was a tantalising interest1 the same eagerness to look beyond the sky-line into the new world of snow4 ,this time the pass revealed the ,fiesch glacier and the great pyramid of the ,finsteraarhorn4 8,professor ,roget10 writes my young friend1 whose fancy ,i like to tickle by appearing before him in the rle of an old cynic1 8having been here before1 exhibited no indecent haste1 and so ,i had some time to myself in the pass4 ,the guides--to them also the country was new--were moved to unwonted enthusiasm on seeing the ,finsteraarhorn4 ,they said1 #8,eine schne ,spitze1 die mssen wir morgen machen4'0 ,indeed they might on the morrow4 ,there it stood before us such as three times already ,i had climbed it in summer4 ,a photograph would hardly show the difference in the seasons4 ,the ,finsteraarhorn could be ranked in the same category as the ,combin de ,valsorey and many others #ab1jjj feet high and upwards with rocky sides falling away to the south and west4 ,whenever they had a northern slope whereby they were accessible in summer1 ,i had found that by that flank their top could be reached in winter with the help of ski and ice-axe judiciously blended1 and that1 on the other side1 they would regale the tourist with the gymnastics of a scramble as diverting as in summer4 ,it was about two in the afternoon when our party assembled on the lip of the ,grnhornlcke4 ,this substantive1 which has before now enjoyed our favour1 ,i do not employ as a mere literary phrase4 ,let me say why4 ,high ,alpine passes are like funnels up which the wind sweeps the snow4 ,most passes ,i describe in this book being parallel to the main range of the ,alps1 are most susceptible to winds blowing from the south-west and to north-easters4 ,when the wind blows from the south-west the snow driven up the inclined funnel overlaps to the north-east and forms an overhanging lip in that direction4 ,after a time intervenes a gale from the north-east4 ,it drives up snow under the curve of the lip and fills the bend as with plaster4 ,a time comes when1 that space being filled up1 the new snow is rolled up over the lip and then bulges out in a hanging cornice towards the south-west4 ,that in its turn gets reversed1 and so forth throughout the winter4 ,on passes1 therefore1 cornices are not fixed4 ,they shift from one side to another of the sky-line4 ,this may constitute a serious danger1 either because the lip is curled over above you1 and then you may have to break through it or even bore a tunnel1 as when a waterpipe1 in order to be carried up through the projection of a roof1 is led straight up a wall and an opening pierced to take it above the roof4 ,at other times it is easy enough to get on to the lip1 because the outside edge of it bends down away from you4 ,but then the difficulty is how to get off the lip on to the chin below4 ,here again1 if you go carelessly forward your weight may break off the edge of the lip4 ,you will fall with it1 through the open space underneath1 on to the lower level4 ,or else you may have to jump1 or let yourself down by means of a rope if the distance is too great or the landing surface too steep or too slippery or too near an abyss for you to be sure of getting a safe foothold4 ,it is sometimes the wisest course to dig one's way down1 as on other occasions you may have dug your way up4 ,these are the minor incidents that attend every kind of mountaineering4 ,but they are much more frequent1 and sometimes a cause of real peril in winter1 because overhanging hems of snow may be met with1 even in the zone of the grazings1 where the snow is usually very deep and much tossed about by the contrary currents of wind resulting from the extremely broken character of the country4 ,high glacier passes are1 on the whole1 pretty free from cornices because the wind has free play so near the altitude where all land ceases4 ,geography is very much simplified from #i1jjj feet upwards4 ,you would be easily convinced of it if1 on a relief model1 you sliced off all the pieces rising above #i1jjj feet and separated them from the remainder of the model by slipping in a tray under them at that altitude4 ,that is why the ,high ,alp ski-runner is much less concerned with avalanches than his less ambitious brother who confines himself to lower and more complicated regions4 ,the reader will now understand better why ,lunn and myself are so perpetually 8lounging1 strolling1 idling0 in this raid4 ,it was actually only two in the afternoon--let us say it again in the light of these observations--when our party assembled on the lip of the ,grnhornlcke4 ,we looked back towards the ,loetschenlcke1 once more a mere dent against the sky1 and contrasted our easy journey with the long1 laborious tramp which is there the lot of summer trippers over slushy1 soft sticky snow4 ,how often had ,i worked my way toilsomely1 with wet feet and perspiring brow1 over these extensive fields when they were mud-coloured and a vast network of puddles6 ,yet the temperature throughout had been delightfully mild6 ,our party lay down on the summit of the pass as comfortably as on a hot ,sunday afternoon1 the members of a boating party on the ,upper ,thames might choose to land on a dry and elevated part of the bank--but1 alas6 in our case quite shadeless--to boil the kettle and lay the table for afternoon tea4 ,at #aa1jjj feet above sea-level we lay about on the white dry floor and enjoyed a prolonged siesta1 and thought how unlikely all this would seem when we should relate it4 ,but when the sun had set behind the ,aletschhorn1 the change was instantaneous4 ,we had now to go down slopes facing east1 whose surface glazed immediately4 ,our ski seemed alive1 and skimmed over the glaze like swallows skimming the surface of a lake4 ,we had plenty of room in which to break our speed by curving in uphill and bending down and round again4 ,i could indulge to my heart's content in my favourite amusement on such slopes1 which1 when you present the broadside of your ski somewhat upwards and sideways to the concavity of the surface1 let you down at varying rates of speed while you describe a spiral line to the bottom4 ,in this case the foot of the pass was indeed the bottom1 but it was also the top of the ,walliser ,fiescher ,firn4 ,like arrows from a hidden bow1 we shot along the path of the moonbeams and came to a standstill at the foot of a dreadful black rock1 on the top of which the rays of the sun1 before parting1 had lit up as a beacon the windows and chimney-pots of the ,finsteraarhorn hut4 ,we left our ski well planted in the snow and scrambled up with our packs4 ,this hut once stood on the ,oberaarjoch1 till it was removed thence and rebuilt in its present position4 ,the trials of transport may account for its being somewhat loose in the joints4 ,it is not weather-tight1 and the snow on the roof--in summer ,i have known it to be rain--trickles through in large drops1 sometimes on the clothes set out to dry on strings all round the stove pipe and sometimes on the noses of the sleepers in their berths4 ,i understand that the trickle of water on one's cranium is one of the most terrible tortures a man can be subjected to4 ,anyhow we had climbed a thousand feet1 taken perhaps the wrong way up1 the whole in very good time to allow ,adolf his usual extra hour for joining us round the flowing bowl of hot soup4 8,as we were sitting down to supper10 says ,lunn1 8a party of some six or seven ,swiss came in40 ,they had just completed the ascent of the ,finsteraarhorn1 and were not a little pleased to find the stove lit and water on the boil4 ,we had noticed on arrival that the hut had the appearance of being inhabited1 and on looking round had soon caught sight of its denizens slipping and stumbling merrily down the shoulder of the ,finsteraarhorn4 ,a look at the hut guest-book also told us that it had been lately visited by two ,norwegians4 8,that night in the hut we were a merry party4 ,the ,swiss belonged to the class that in ,england divide most of their time between watching football matches and playing billiards4 ,they made one realise how much the higher life of a nation was stimulated by a prevailing love of mountains4 ,for mountaineering is essentially the people's sport4 ,climbing tends more than any other sport to break down artificial barriers between classes4 ,snobbery is seen in its true proportion against a background of mountains4 ,the wealth of enthusiasm which mountaineering inspires among the artisan classes of ,switzerland is a permanent asset to the nation1 lifting all those who come into contact with the hills out of their narrow ambitions4 ,shelley felt this truth4 ,the great peaks1 he writes1 have a voice to repeal large codes of fraud and woe4 ,one had only to look at these ,swiss to feel how their lives were coloured1 their ideals raised1 their views broadened1 by their love of their native mountains40 ,lunn likes to speak of the ,swiss parties he meets as being 8guideless40 ,i do not know to what extent this epithet may convey a clear meaning to others4 ,it hardly does to me4 ,what is a guideless party8 ,unless it means a party who undertakes1 without the assistance of a professional guide1 one of the ascents for which such a guide is authorised by a binding tariff to claim payment1 the expression is wanting in point4 ,there is nothing particularly noteworthy in this1 that the natives of ,switzerland should explore and climb the mountains of their country without the assistance of professional fellow-citizens4 ,these form a class which has been instituted to serve two purposes3 7#a7 ,to provide them with an additional economic asset2 7#b7 to give strangers confidence in exploring the ,alps4 ,guides seek from their employers certificates of good conduct and utility4 ,many of the latter have acquired a taste1 in those documents1 for sitting1 as it were1 at the feet of their guides as though the positions were reversed4 ,indeed1 it would be more natural that the guides should give certificates of ability1 daring1 and endurance to the amateur mountaineers whom they have in their charge4 ,under such altered circumstances a guideless party would be a party in possession of a certificate to the effect that they had gained sufficient proficiency in mountaineering to hold a licence as guideless parties4 ,till things are so arranged1 the epithet is bootless4 ,many young ,swiss solve the difficulty by going through the official course of training laid down for professional guides1 in the persuasion that should they1 or the party they are with1 meet with an accident1 it would not be possible for either the guiding corporation or public opinion to fairly lay any blame at their door4 ,there was assuredly no reason why the young men whom we saw on that day should have been expected to meet with an accident because they had no paid bystander4 8,luxuries had long been devoured1 but even soup has a delightful flavour in a club hut4 ,and no one can really understand the charms of tobacco who has never smoked in a club hut at the end of a good day's work4 ,the mountain pipe has a flavour undreamt of in the plains4 ,even some horrible hay-like production purchased in ,adolf's inn seemed inspired with ambrosial flavour40 ,on this #fth day of ,january it was to be our turn to ascend the ,finsteraarhorn4 ,for the first time in our trip this verb is an apposite term4 ,it meant work1 and our ,socialist undertook to prove it4 ,he first of all swallowed up on the sly the last contents of our pot of honey4 ,if ,i wished to be nasty1 ,i should say that he got himself tied at the end of the rope because he had calculated selfishly that he would be dragged up and1 being first and lowest on the rope when descending1 he would be held up by us4 ,this little piece of reckoning did not miscarry4 ,wise ,ulysses was too good natured to let it be seen that he 8saw through0 this little plot2 fiery ,achilles was of too powerful a build to mind a little extra weight1 and the other two ,bernese guides were such excellent fellows that they gave no sign of how much they suffered in their pride on account of their colleague4 8,for once in a way10 says ,lunn1 8the guides were punctual4 ,i think ,professor ,roget was the only one in the party who did justice to the breakfast4 ,a seasoned mountaineer of thirty years' standing1 he can eat stale bread and tinned meat at #f4cj in the morning with the calm persistency of the man who realises that food is a sound insurance against cold and fatigue4 ,but we were all glad to turn out of the hut1 which we left at #g4ae a4m4 ,the first signs of dawn appeared before the moon had set1 a somewhat unusual phenomenon4 ,such a sunrise--though one misses the more dramatic change from the darkest night to the day--is accompanied by an almost unique depth of colouring4 ,two hours above the hut the sun shot out from behind the ,oberaarhorn1 ,i should like to add1 like a stone flung out of a sling40 ,illustration3 ,,breakfast ,,on ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn4 ,to face p4 #afc4 ,the simultaneous presence1 morning and evening1 of sun and moon at opposite ends of the sky1 was one of the most interesting pictorial features displayed before our eyes4 ,i am not aware that painters are ever likely to succeed in reproducing the cross light effects we witnessed1 silvery and cold at one extremity1 golden and warm at the opposite extremity1 meeting on that endless expanse of neutral white1 and shot throughout with the azure of the sky4 ,the ,finsteraarhorn proved itself as accommodating as the ,jungfrau was rebellious3 for one and the same cause1 as already hinted4 ,the rocky arte stood up like a lace ruff above its shoulder1 as fine as if it were wrought in muslin1 and offering everywhere an easy hold for our hands4 ,it was free from snow and from ice1 owing to the constant action of the sun's rays percolating through the superimposed layers of dry air4 ,where there was any snow there was so little that we could hardly have expected less in summer4 ,the arte was warm to our touch4 ,on reaching the breakfast place1 we looked anxiously at the sweep of the uppermost span into space4 ,not a suspicion of any wind blowing up there4 ,the last two hours of the six afforded a delightful scramble along the edge of that very impressive cock's comb4 ,for an hour and a half more we climbed up alongside steep snow slopes1 down which we saw the most alarming ski tracks ,i have ever beheld4 ,by one o'clock our ropes were thrown as a noose all about the top of the ,finsteraarhorn1 the giant of the ,oberland4 ,the ,socialist hung on to the end of the rope like a scorpion's sting2 ,achilles led1 presenting his naked torso to the bite of the sun2 in the middle bulged the robust frame of venerable ,ulysses1 with his grey hair blown about by the wind1 and1 filling the gaps between those three important personages1 came ,gyger and ,schmidt1 betraying on their honest1 grave countenances their naive satisfaction at seeing themselves on such a lofty platform4 ,we spent a wonderful hour on the summit4 ,the view was perfect1 as only a winter view can be1 over all the great ranges mellowed by the winter atmosphere4 ,beyond them a vast sea of cloud covered the plains of ,switzerland and ,italy4 ,we lay about hatless1 coatless1 and gloveless4 ,not a breath of wind even to make the inviolable quiet audible4 ,quoth ,lunn3-- 8#8,it seemed as if the hour were one ,sent from beyond the skies1 ,which scattered from above the sun ,the light of ,paradise4' 8,time stood still1 or rather the time we passed on that aerial summit1 seemed stolen from the rest of eternity4 ,at such moments the mind becomes a passive instrument for recording external impressions4 ,old memories arose unbidden2 old associations lived again4 ,familiar ridges1 the hills of ,grindelwald1 the little chalet1 just visible1 where ,i had spent so many happy summers1 all lent an element of personal romance to the view1 all helped to awaken memories of #8far-off things and battles long ago4' 8,the view from the ,finsteraarhorn is of its kind almost unique4 ,it is the very hub of vast spaces of eternal winter4 ,below1 the ice-bound cliffs of the ,oberland1 scored with the passage of ages1 rise from a waste of glaciers4 ,the ,finsteraarhorn is the culminating point of this rugged chain1 and looks defiantly over a host of lesser peaks towards its great brethren of the ,swiss ,alps4 ,from the ,dolomites to ,dauphiny1 from the ,vosges to the ,apennines1 scarcely a peak of any importance was hid4 ,the winter atmosphere toned down the harsh features whilst rendering the whole flawless panorama strangely distinct4 ,the mountains were clad in those wonderful bluish tints peculiar to the winter months1 their crudities had been softened1 their barren places made smooth4 ,the keynote in the panorama was a dreamy1 languorous atmosphere40 ,the boundless canopy of clouds dragged itself out lazily1 like a huge soft beast1 to fill up all the interstices in this rock-bound and rock-studded vista1 shot through with waves of light4 ,there was a superb suggestion of indolence on the far horizon1 turning pale against a sky of unfathomable blue4 ,below us the small wooden hut1 perched on its rock1 added a touch of human interest to the view4 ,the guides went to sleep in the snow1 while the two educated men of the party contemplated and smoked1 smoked and contemplated4 8,nine long summers ,i had spent as a small boy in getting to know the remote bye-ways of the ,faulhorn chain4 ,for nine summers we had looked longingly up to the great cliffs of the ,oberland1 the peaks of storm and of dread1 the dark ,aar peak1 the ,maiden1 the ,monk1 and the ,giant4 ,vaguely we wondered if it would ever be ours to penetrate into their recesses4 ,by the peculiar cussedness of things1 ,i had climbed in other ranges1 but till then had never returned to my first love4 8,the force of associations formed in childhood has been insisted on ad nauseam by ,wordsworth and his imitators1 but the sentiment is none the less powerful for being somewhat trite4 ,and even now1 as this early ambition had at last reached the point of realisation1 ,i could scarce restrain a feeling of regret4 ,though1 in later years1 calm reason convinced me that the terrors in which my childish imagination had clad the ,oberland peaks were almost non-existent1 yet the ease with which we had conquered their monarch had its element of sadness4 8,the hour passed like ten minutes4 ,the professor gave the word to return4 ,we roused ,adolf and sadly turned down the arte4 ,the weaker brother led with great deliberation4 ,on this occasion we lacked not sthetic compensations for his slowness4 ,it was a unique sensation1 sitting astride that vast cliff1 watching the afternoon lights spreading tinges of an infinite gradation of tones over the boundless canopy of mist40 ,we reached again the fantastic little gap of the ,hugi-,sattel1 overlooking a sheer cliff that drops down to the ,finsteraarhorn glacier4 ,we now rested in the afternoon where we had breakfasted in the forenoon4 ,we looked back up the way we had come down4 ,owing to the ice1 we had been forced off the summer route--which keeps some distance below the ridge--on to the very arte4 ,there is nothing on the ,matterhorn finer than that sheer cliff that falls away to the glacier #c1jjj feet below4 ,drop a stone1 and it falls the entire distance without a bound4 ,the climbing1 however1 both up and down1 had been easy enough4 ,good sound hand and foot-holds--no shadow of an excuse for a slip1 not even for ,adolf1 who had come up wailing in the forenoon1 contributing to the gaiety of the party by his monotonous3 8,ich komme schon1 aber nur nicht so schnell40 ,with a shudder he beheld the track of the two ,norwegians1 who had taken their ski to within a thousand feet of the summit1 and1 on their return1 appeared to have gaily descended a slope of soft snow lying on streaks of ice1 at an angle of #de degrees1 bridging several yawning cracks4 ,having rested on the ,hugi-,sattel--this part of ,switzerland recalls everywhere the names of its explorers and scientific investigators--we slowly retraced our steps to the hut1 reaching it at #e4de4 ,the merry ,swiss boys had left everything in beautiful order4 ,we had all the room--and all the raindrops--to ourselves4 ,heated through and through1 the roof was letting the water from the melting snow pass through the shingles4 ,once more a perfect sunset gave promise of yet another day of cloudless beauty4 ,our anxieties--we had none others than those which might come from eagerness to succeed--were at an end4 ,we had done what we had set out to do4 ,had we planned to go to the ,north ,pole--or to discover the ,antarctic--and succeeded likewise 7as mountaineers would have done long ago if they had troubled to7 our feelings could have differed but little from those that now passed in our minds4 ,there is a likeness in all achievements in this4 ,when the past is just putting forward its forefinger in warning of its readiness to withdraw our deed gently from our grasp and from the sight of men1 we feel a pang that to have done something means parting with it soon after4 ,some may have been so ambitious to reach the ,north ,pole that they set about it in a dishonest spirit4 ,some returning from another voyage of joint and mutual discovery--that generally goes under the name of a wedding tour--carry home with them a melancholy tinge of regret upon their happiness4 ,so did we4 ,yet there is in simple achievements a satisfaction which nothing else in the world can give4 ,most other successes leave something to be desired4 ,the instability of wealth and health is a platitude4 ,but ,lunn rightly says that every successful expedition is a permanent asset1 bringing in year by year a high rate of interest1 an incorruptible treasure in the memories of the past which nothing can destroy4 8,next day we got away by #g1 stumbled down the steep rocks below the hut1 picked up our ski1 our faithful boards1 standing all bespattered with snow1 and by the light of the moon skied merrily down the ,fiesch glacier4 ,as dawn broke we pushed up the long slopes leading to our next pass1 the ,oberaarjoch4 ,suddenly an expression of pleasure escaped ,professor ,roget4 ,such an unprecedented phenomenon--on the part of the old ,cynic--aroused my attention4 ,i turned and saw what1 for an sthetic mind1 was probably the most striking view of the whole tour--namely1 softened and subdued by the magic of the winter atmosphere1 the perfect pyramid of the ,weisshorn flanked by the daring spire of the ,matterhorn4 8,a little later it was my turn to give vent to some satisfaction1 and the professor looked up to see ,adolf walking well at the head of the party with his pack trim and neat on his shoulders1 like those people who1 when approaching the end of their trials1 stride forth as if they had conquered the world40 ,we almost reluctantly took our stand upon this the fifth and last sky-line we were to cut through with the flat of our ski4 ,the last of our five passes disclosed the long arm of the ,oberaar glacier1 backed by the mountains that overshadow the birthplace of the ,rhne4 ,now the ,finsteraarhorn showed us his back view1 his shoulder blades1 terrace upon terrace of sheer rock4 ,indeed1 the force that was impelling ,adolf back towards civilisation was not of the sort that could make the pace for us4 ,we were going onwards and onwards1 but rather drawn by the sun towards his haunt in the east1 the common goal of so many pilgrims4 ,but our mood was not devout except that we were nature worshippers who1 while marching to ,canterbury1 were diverting one another with appropriate tales4 ,you might have had pleasure in seeing us advance in very open order up the wrinkled back of the ,fiesch glacier4 ,i believe one of us was holding a pipe between his teeth1 another strolled with his hands in his pockets1 a fourth darted about kodak in hand4 ,adolf thought we were slow1 and grew impatient at our tarrying on this astonishing veranda4 ,it has1 perhaps1 no like in the world in this1 that it is a suspended ice-garden of an extent and altitude well proportioned to the physical faculties of man1 showing as much of natural beauty under one of its most prodigious aspects as does not exceed the understanding of a well-balanced mind4 ,i shall never forget the ever renewed delight which ,i found in skirting the southern buttresses of the ,finsteraarhorn range4 ,we did not take a step forward without stopping to look backward through the wide gap formed by the valley down which the ,fiesch glacier pours its waters in the ,rhne4 ,the whole of the ,pennine ,alps displayed themselves within this gap4 ,there they loomed as lifted off the earth1 a gossamer1 a sea of soft light1 a row of pearls looking as frail as a dream1 and yet a real world1 the key to which is love of the beautiful4 ,softly--the ski have a way of caressing the snow--slowly1 chatting1 then wrapped in silence1 we went forward1 as on wings4 ,immersed in light1 we might have been borne aloft by an expansive force within ourselves1 so much did we rise without any effort4 ,it was barely midday when we stood on the ,oberaarjoch4 ,before us bent and curved the sides of the last glacier which we had yet to follow--the ,oberaar ,gletscher4 ,our eyes embraced a new horizon which1 surging beyond the ,galenstock and the ,dammastock1 extended further than the ,toedi in the north and enclosed the ,bernina in the east4 ,we were not alone on this ,belvedere4 ,the ,oberaarjoch hut1 high above us on our left1 looked like one of those boxes which in a theatre allow the eyes of the occupants to plunge down upon the stage unseen4 ,the platform in front of the hut was occupied by some fellow-runners1 whose voices reached our ears almost as soon as we saw them4 ,they were watching us1 and we exchanged with them such greetings as ships may send to one another when crossing on the high seas4 ,to-morrow they would resume their course towards the skies we had left behind us1 while we pushed our way towards those they had hitherto travelled under4 ,it would be idle to attempt to reckon up our widely sweeping curves as we came down the ,oberaar glacier4 ,the surface1 concave at the top1 becomes convex at the bottom1 with a regularity which is a good example of an unfailing law in glacier phenomena4 ,i think we turned to the right1 and spun round to the left1 and then turned to the left and spun round to the right for about twenty minutes on that sheet of snow without a stop4 ,our men bowled themselves down anyhow4 ,but the spiral line we looked back upon from the foot of the glacier would have won respect from the most exacting teacher in draughtsmanship4 ,lunn says that the top slope was unskiable4 ,so we set our lunch upon it4 8,thence some straight running took us over an uninterrupted stretch of snow about five miles in length4 ,the surface was hard and wind-swept1 but the gradient was so gentle that we could let ourselves go without thought of possible falls4 ,we turned off beyond the snout of the glacier and bore away down a gully to our left4 ,here the professor supplied an interesting entre-acte4 8,the guides had1 for once in a way1 got ahead4 ,suddenly ,professor ,roget fell down at the top of a steep and trying slope4 ,he did not rise1 so ,i sent the guides back to help him4 ,adolf saw his opportunity3 a little bit of a tragedy coming in the nick of time when the perils of the route were over4 ,he puffed and panted up the slope1 leading the search party with a rush4 ,when at last three hot and perspiring guides reached the piece of wreckage stranded on the chilly shore they were not a little annoyed to see the boat right itself without their help1 and1 recovering the use of human speech1 the ,professor remarked that he hoped this lesson would teach them to keep together4 ,it did60 ,by four o'clock in the afternoon we had wandered over the long1 flat basin at the end of the ,unteraar glacier1 whence we said goodbye to the ,finsteraarhorn4 ,arnold1 in high spirits1 was bent on making the most of his last chances4 ,we were on the last spur abutting on to the flat land in the middle of which stands the ,grimsel hospice1 when ,i saw him dash to the left over the brow of the last wave of the hill1 exclaiming1 8,i see a cheeky thing to do60 ,the next moment he was sailing along safely on the flats4 ,we had no thought of entering into the hospice4 ,why should we8 ,we had not a scratch1 we did not feel an ache1 our equipment was as complete as when we had started4 ,we therefore took immediately to the road4 8,here we at last discovered genuine winter4 ,above1 on the glaciers1 all had been warmth1 colour1 and light4 ,here in this grim gorge all was sombre1 grey1 and chill4 ,the hospice seemed to breathe a feeble defiance to the genius of this abode of frost4 ,never have ,i seen anything more desolate than the deserted post-road1 gagged with old avalanche tracks and overhung with icicles4 ,below1 the angry gash of the torrent peered out between cakes of ice1 whilst above the waning light revealed sombre bosses of grey rock smothered in snow4 8,we were anxious to telephone1 so ,i took one of the guides and made all speed down the road4 ,some one had conveniently made tracks1 which had iced during the night and afforded some furious running4 ,at last1 at #f p4m41 twelve hours after leaving the hut1 we pulled up at ,guttannen4 ,here we telephoned to ,beatenberg and ,kandersteg and then went in search of night quarters4 ,the hotel was1 of course1 closed1 but we found rooms for the night in an adjoining chalet and were afforded one of those sidelights on real ,swiss life which the summer visitor so rarely sees4 8,we supped in the one room which was warmed1 and here the family were pursuing their various occupations4 ,the patriarch was mumbling in the corner over his pipe1 attracting1 like the majority of patriarchs1 little attention4 ,the father1 a guide in summer1 chatted on the winter's work4 ,he appeared to think that cutting the wood and bearing it towards the valley left a man little time to grow fat4 ,at the table a young girl was plying--alas6--not the spinning-wheel of a previous generation1 but an unromantic #8,singer4' ,in front of her stood some dressmaker's model1 a hideous1 headless monstrosity on a wire cage4 ,on the stove a small youth slept contentedly4 ,to him entered a bustling little damsel with the maternal instinct precociously developed4 ,with unsuspected tenderness she gently lifted him up1 still sleeping1 bore him out of the room1 and attacked #8with an undaunted tread the long black passage up to bed4' 8,supper over1 we lit our pipes with pardonable satisfaction4 ,our long journey had been carried through without a hitch4 ,perfect weather1 thorough arrangements1 every precaution4 ,seriously1 one can scarcely be too careful in winter mountaineering4 ,with every precaution1 the entire complexion of things may be altered in one moment4 ,a broken ski1 a wrenched ankle1 the work of a minute1 and the situation becomes charged with painful anxiety4 ,with superb indifference the mountains suffer us for ninety-nine days1 and1 perhaps on the hundredth--with equal indifference--they strike4 8,friday1 ,january #hth4--,up once more before the dawn1 to discover signs of bad weather1 which had thoughtfully postponed its arrival till we had left the upper snows4 ,one day earlier and we should have been cooped up in the ,finsteraarhorn hut for four days1 living on stale bread and tinned meat4 ,a sleigh was hired to drive us to ,meiringen1 but ,i was anxious to finish the journey on ski1 so1 with unpardonable sophistry1 ,i #8tailed' behind the sleigh4 ,this proved far from easy on the icy1 winding road4 8,at last1 six days and six hours after leaving ,kandersteg1 five happy men stepped on to the ,meiringen platform4 ,on lake ,brienz the sky was veiled in dark1 lowering clouds1 and snow fell as we drove up to ,beatenberg4 ,on arriving1 we were plied with those questions which a certain type of people offer as well-meant flattery3 #8,was it not too cold8' #8,wasn't it too1 too awfully dangerous8' ,we could have accepted the heroic rle with greater equanimity1 had we failed to realise that any one with decent endurance and a fair knowledge of ski-ing could have accompanied us without risk40 ,to give satisfaction to so many kind inquiries1 ,i gave two days later my first lecture before a more than crowded audience1 and ,arnold ,lunn supplemented it4 ,the joint address is the common foundation of anything we have since written on the subject4 ,let me now wind up with a few final remarks4 #a4 ,winter mountaineering may be more difficult and more dangerous than summer climbing4 ,one often has to face the most intense cold2 but with first-class conditions such as we enjoyed1 it is scarcely more arduous1 and certainly much more enjoyable1 than summer work4 ,our journey in summer would have involved hours of walking through damp1 slushy snow4 ,there would have been wearisome tramps up and down moraines1 tedious stretches of mule paths1 dull grinds over grass slopes1 and ,i shudder to think--consider the mileage6--what the last day would have meant in ,july4 ,as it was1 we at no time suffered from the cold1 and1 strangely enough1 though our days were long and mostly uphill1 in point of time at least1 we neither of us ever felt tired4 ,this was1 to be sure1 owing to good ski technique4 8,the professor would never allow us to raise our ski off the surface of the snow4 ,in that way they were absolutely no weight1 and even the raising of the foot and leg was replaced by the glide upwards of the ski blade which provided a resting-point and support1 reducing the muscular action to the same amount of forward movement as is necessary on level ground1 without any additional force being employed in vertical action40 ,given good weather and normal conditions1 a six-day traverse can be accomplished with very little fatigue and still less privation4 ,i have done four such and have never been any the worse4 ,one may weary somewhat of soup1 bread and cheese1 but barring these and similar drawbacks1 there is no reason why any one of moderate physique and fair ski-ing powers should not follow in our steps4 ,somehow the memories of those six days have the power to impart something of the magical colourings of a winter sunset to the drab dullness of lowland evenings4 ,on the mountains we all have moments when life assumes unsuspected values1 helping us to realise on our return to civilisation1 that the things that are seen are temporal1 whereas the things which for the time are not seen are for all practical purposes eternal4 8,the winter ,alps are but a vision1 a faint memory intruding itself at intervals when the roar of the commonplace is for a moment hushed in silence4 ,if visions were not at times the most solid of realities this world would be intolerable40 8,just for a moment ,i have had a fleeting vision10 wrote ,lunn1 when he had once more settled down to the round of daily life1 8of the silent snows of the ,aletsch1 as you and ,i saw them that glad evening on the ,loetschenlcke1 lit in all the splendour of the ,january moon4 ,it faded all too soon1 and the winter ,alps again seem very far away40 #b4 ,i append a table of levels1 in feet1 similar to the table of my vertical displacements1 in metres1 which the reader has found at the end of the ,diablerets to ,kandersteg chapter3-- ,january #bnd4--,kandersteg to ,mutthorn hut3 #e1gjj feet 7,tschingel pass74 ,january #crd4--,mutthorn hut to ,petersgrat 7our second pass73 #a1jjj feet4 ,january #dth4--,from ,kippel to ,egon von ,steiger hut 7,loetschen pass73 #f1jjj feet4 ,january #eth4--,from ,concordia ,platz to ,grnhornlcke 7our fourth pass73 #b1jjj feet4 ,january #fth4--,from ,fieschfirn to ,finsteraarhorn3 #e1jjj feet4 ,january #gth4--,from ,fieschfirn to ,oberaarjoch 7fifth pass73 #b1jjj feet4 ,add #b1jjj feet for unconsidered trifles4 ,the total vertical displacement is thus brought out at a little under #bd1jjj feet4 ,we paid each of our men a pound a day4 ,other expenses brought the cost to thirty pounds4 ,it is better to have plenty of men and plenty of food4 ,plenty of food because one is always liable to be detained some days in the huts by the bad weather--plenty of men1 which does not necessarily mean guides1 because a party that can be broken up into sections is infinitely safer and handier4 ,a party of six may be expressed by #b #b #b1 or by #c #c1 or by #d #b1 dispositions which may fit into almost every emergency4 ,there is no doubt that sealskins are extremely convenient and a great saving of labour in going uphill1 because they annihilate back-slip1 the bugbear of beginners and of loaded men4 ,serious trouble may be caused by wrinkled and puckered-up hard snow1 or by those extremely slippery patches1 either snow or ice1 which now and then upset the balance of the ,high ,alp runner4 ,the remedy to this ,i have found in a contrivance against side-slip which figures as a permanent fixture on the powerful pair of military ski which ,i used on all my big traverses4 ,it consists of two blades of hardish steel1 about #e inches long1 sharpened and shaped in the fashion of skates4 ,linked to each other across the upper surface of my ski1 they adhere to the sides by lateral pressure only1 which is applied by means of a top screw4 ,the edge of each blade stands out beyond the flat of the ski by the merest fraction of an inch1 in front of one1 and behind the other1 foot4 ,this secures straight running on hard snow and ice by biting into it1 preventing side-slip when the broadside of the ski slew's round to the drop of the slope4 ,the laws of mechanics teach that this contrivance1 maintained against the ski by side-pressure only1 should get pushed out of place when1 the ski being edged1 an unduly large portion of the weight of the runner falls to be borne by the ski edge4 ,but1 in practice1 it is not so1 provided you are careful to obtain the maximum of side-pressure that the horizontal binding screw can produce4 ,illustration3 ,,adolf ,,on ,,the ,,finsteraarhorn ,,ar,,te4 ,to face p4 #agh4 ,studs on the inside of the blade1 making impressions upon the wood of the ski1 without injuring it in any way1 increase the resistance of this contrivance to the vertical pressure caused by the weight of the runner4 #c4 ,within a few years from the date of writing1 this part of the ,alps will be girdled by a network of mountain railways4 ,the ,grindelwald-,jungfrau railway1 already completed to the ,jungfraujoch 7#aa1jjj feet71 will deposit the ski-runner within a stone's throw of the ,concordia ,platz4 ,there he will1 as the phrase goes1 have it all his own way1 with the resources of civilisation and a railway station to fall back upon4 ,the line of the ,loetschberg1 on the international railway1 now being built to join ,berne to ,brigue1 should be open to traffic by the end of #aiac4 ,it will then take but a few moments to run there and back1 underground1 between ,kandersteg and ,goppenstein in the ,loetschenthal1 joining together both ends of the ski route ,kandersteg--,gastern--,mutthorn--,peter sgrat 7or ,loetschberg7--,kippel--,goppenstein4 ,to the east1 a line now under construction from ,brigue1 with a tunnel under the ,furka pass to ,andermatt1 will connect the ,st4 ,gothard ski-ing grounds with those we have just described4 ,skiers running down the ,aletsch will be able to take train at ,moerel or ,fiesch4 ,these coming facilities are not altogether pleasant to contemplate for those who hold the traditional ideas about the virginity and sanctity of the ,alpine ,holy of ,holies2 but to the extent in which it may be possible to work those lines in winter--and to this there is no insuperable physical obstacle--they will greatly contribute to the generalising of ski1 and thereby confer inestimable benefits upon young people in ,europe1 while reducing to the minimum consistent with the zest of manly enjoyment those risks which are the haunting terror of the parents1 sisters1 and wives of the adventurous winter sportsman4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,aiguille ,,du ,,chardonnet ,,and ,,the ,,aiguille ,,du ,,tour ,the aspect of the ,grand ,combin--,topography--,weather conditions for a successful raid--,a classification of peaks--,the ,orny nivometer--,the small snowfall of the ,high ,alps--,the shrinkage of snow--,its insufficiency to feed the glaciers--,the ,aiguille du ,tour--,ascent of ,aiguille du ,chardonnet--,the ,st4 ,bernard hospice--,helplessness of the dogs--,the narrow winter path--,the monks' hospitality--,their ski--,the accident on the ,col de ,fentre--8,ce n'est pas le ski40 ,the ,val de ,bagnes1 the ,val d',entremont1 which leads up to the pass of the great ,st4 ,bernard1 and the ,val ,ferret are comparatively little frequented by ,englishmen1 even in the height of the summer season4 ,why it should be so is not quite clear4 ,there is no finer group in the ,alps1 from ,tyrol to ,dauphin1 than the ,grand ,combin and ,mont ,velan group4 ,as seen from ,lake ,champex1 or from almost any point of vantage in the ,val de ,bagnes1 the group of the ,combins and abutting snow-clad tops forms one of the grandest pieces of mountain architecture that can be imagined1 one of a character that is somewhat uncommon1 for the breadth and width of the lines are more striking here than in the usual type of mountains tapering up to a peak4 ,the snow-fields and icefalls are magnificent1 while the altitude of this group 7,grand ,combin #d1cag metres1 or #ad1afd feet7 enables it to rank beside ,mont ,blanc1 ,monte ,rosa1 and the ,mischabel range1 eclipsing the ,finsteraarhorn and ,piz ,bernina4 ,if the ,englishman is not so often seen in summer in that region as he might be1 ,i am sure that in winter none have yet visited on ski the valleys of ,bagnes1 ,entremont and ,ferret1 with the exception of a party about which ,i may have something to say in another chapter4 ,the writer of these lines has1 therefore1 an excellent chance of introducing a novel field to the ,british ski-runner4 ,he spent an eight-days' week in ,march1 #aijg1 upon a raid in the valleys above named1 ranging from one to another on ski1 with two friends1 one of whom was a youth of eighteen1 and the other a well-known ,valaisan ski-runner1 ,maurice ,crettex1 from ,champex4 ,a knowledge of topography being absolutely essential to one's safety in ,high ,alp ski-running1 even the most expert runner will take care that at least one of his party possesses that knowledge to perfection4 ,the runner who takes the risk of wasting some of his strength--or time on short winter days--upon errors in direction1 is little short of a fool4 ,owing to steep slopes and complicated ground1 the slightest topographical mistake may cause a fatal waste of precious time--and of a man's useful energy1 the fund of which is limited in a town or plain dweller1 who only occasionally tries his physical endurance in winter at a high altitude4 ,illustration3 ,,ferret--,,entremont--,,bagnes4 7,reproduction made with authorisation of the ,swiss ,topographic ,service1 #bf4h4ab47 ,to face p4 #ahb4 ,a raid on ski is not a raid if it is interrupted by stress of weather4 ,it is then best described as a commonplace misadventure4 ,the intending raider must trust to chance1 assisted by a careful reading of the daily reports of the weather issued from ,zrich4 ,these reports now very usually distinguish between ,high ,alp weather and the conditions prevailing during the same periods in the lake and river region4 ,when there is a scientific prospect of fog over the lakes and rivers1 this means that the air is still1 and that the sun shines upon every mountain rising above four1 five1 or six thousand feet1 as the case may be4 ,a wind arising from north or east will not interfere with the raid 7except in the matter of cold71 but a gale from west or south will bring it to an abrupt end1 and be attended with the utmost danger if the warning of a falling glass is not immediately acted upon4 ,during the eight days that this raid lasted1 the weather was absolutely steady1 fine1 and windless1 the sun and moon vying uninterruptedly with each other to extinguish darkness4 ,we suffered at no time from the cold after sunset or in club huts1 and basked all day long in the sun's direct heat and in the rays reflected from the snows4 ,the temperature fell at night to #aj or #ae degrees under zero ,centigrade1 and rose to most extraordinary readings during the day4 ,we were dressed in the warm1 tough material used by all competent mountain climbers even in the height of summer1 with strong thick boots1 and never for a moment suffered from cold feet4 ,thanks to the above circumstances and to a happy concourse of every advantage1 my two companions and myself were the first human beings who ever smoked their pipes and cigars in winter1 and sat in their shirt-sleeves on the top of the ,aiguille du ,tour1 ,aiguille du ,chardonnet1 and ,grand ,combin4 ,the latter summit was attempted by one of my colleagues at ,ble 7,mr4 ,o4 ,d4 ,tauern1 the ,german gentleman mentioned in another chapter74 ,but the most gallant efforts failed to bring him and his friends to the very top1 though the tour was a complete vindication of winter mountaineering on ski4 ,an account of their expedition appeared in the ,annual 7#aijh7 of the ,schweizer ,ski-,verband4 ,a ski-raid upon the giants of the ,alpine world does not necessarily mean that the raider sets his ski upon the brow of the conquered adversary4 ,such a pretension would be pedantic4 ,the summits of the ,alps may1 for the ski-runner1 be divided into three classes1 strictly according to their conformation1 whether they be small or great1 ,alpine or only sub-,alpine4 ,there is the class which is inaccessible under winter conditions1 because those summits are then led up to by slopes so sharp or insecure that neither ski nor boot can reasonably be used upon them4 ,that class we reject altogether4 ,another class consists of mountains1 such as the ,diablerets1 ,wildhorn1 ,wildstrubel1 the tops of which are led up to by slopes eminently fitted for ski1 both upwards and downwards4 ,a third class consists of summits which cannot be reached on ski1 because they are rock-pinnacles1 but which can be only conveniently approached on ski4 ,this class1 to my mind1 is the best1 as it combines ski-running with rock-climbing4 ,the ,dufour ,spitze of ,monte ,rosa would be the grandest example in this category4 ,grand ,combin1 approached on the north side from the ,plateau des ,maisons ,blanches1 belongs to the same class as ,diablerets1 ,wildhorn1 and ,wildstrubel4 ,but if the ascent be varied by climbing the rocks vi ,combin de ,valsorey1 a course which ,i found as easy and comfortable in winter as in summer1 the ,grand ,combin passes into a--to my mind--higher class4 ,the ,aiguille du ,chardonnet and the ,aiguille du ,tour1 to the tops of which there is from no side a continuous way on snow1 are other typical instances4 ,any one who would follow in our footsteps and perform1 like us1 an eight or ten days' ski-running and rock-climbing raid1 will find every useful indication as to programme and distribution of time in the following description3-- ,the raid comprises three parts3 ,first1 ,aiguille du ,tour and ,aiguille du ,chardonnet2 second1 ,great ,st4 ,bernard1 and ,val ,ferret back to ,orsires2 third1 ,grand ,combin1 and back to ,martigny4 ,the ski-runners will leave ,orsires at about #g o'clock a4m41 and proceed on their first day to the ,cabane d',orny1 or to the ,cabane ,dupuys1 which lies still higher4 ,the ,cabane d',orny being quite comfortable1 the vertical displacement from ,orsires 7#hij metres7 to the site of that hut 7#b1fib metres7 will probably be found a sufficient effort to justify one in leaving the higher hut severely alone that day4 ,the ,cabane d',orny may be reached either by following the bed of the ,combe d',orny from ,orsires1 or vi ,chalets de ,saleinaz1 from ,praz de ,fort4 ,we found both lines of access equally good1 but information as to the best at any given time of the winter season should always be obtained from those locally acquainted with snowcraft4 ,the ascent to the hut being continuous1 the ski-runner will save much time1 and save up much energy1 in using a contrivance against back-slip1 whichever may be the one he favours4 ,there is near the ,cabane d',orny1 against a flight of rocks1 a nivometer4 ,this is an apparatus for recording the height at which the snow may rise against a rock face4 ,persons of an observant turn of mind are requested to read the nivometer 7which consists of horizontal bars of red paint1 bearing each a number at regular intervals7 and to enter in the hut-book the date of the observation4 ,this is one of the many lame devices which have been contrived to measure the snowfall at a given spot during the year4 ,it is supposed that interesting data1 and points of comparison from year to year1 may thus be collected4 ,and these1 with observations made at other places in the glacier zone1 are digested and published from time to time4 ,there is no doubt that the nivometer will show every day in the year--though it will not be so often noticed--the height at which the snow stands against the face of that rock4 ,but how much information can it give about the snowfall8 ,snow cannot find its true level on the face of a rock against which it is blown about by the wind and where it is interfered with by the temperature of the stone1 sometimes heated by the sun and sometimes colder than the air surrounding it4 ,snow is not like water or air4 ,it is not an elastic consistent substance or a uniform fluid1 like gas1 seeking its own level or settling down upon a surface4 ,it falls unevenly upon an uneven ground4 ,it melts or accumulates1 shrinks or flies about according to its local situation1 and1 within a given time1 the nivometer will give very contradictory readings4 ,a snow gauge is no easy thing to establish4 ,when rain falls it is easily measured1 because1 in the course of nature1 it is mere water4 ,not so with snow4 ,what is measured by the ,alpine nivometers is the height of the snow lying at a certain place on a given day4 ,density cannot be checked4 ,yet it operates immediately after the snowfall4 ,this mode of mensuration gives no reliable clue4 ,some of the snow was carried away by the wind that would have remained on a windless day4 ,some has been blown from elsewhere1 in what proportion it is impossible to tell4 ,how much has melted depends on the sun heat1 and the amount of this deficiency no instrument is there to record4 ,a storm may have intervened4 ,another may have blown the snow flat1 concentrating the total mass within a smaller compass4 ,another may have piled it up in abnormal wreaths4 ,the science of snow measurement is quite in its infancy4 ,when it is developed it will probably be on lines very different from those at present followed1 and the results cannot be foretold4 ,natural nivometers should be raised above the surface like dovecots and set up in wide-open spaces1 in situations exposed to the four winds of heaven4 ,they should be able to receive on all sides the snow moving in the air4 ,they should be in the shape of a cone with long1 gently sloping sides4 ,and even then they would not prove much1 unless the snow they had collected was gauged after every fall and the apparatus swept clean and prepared to receive the next fall on a smooth surface4 ,it would then probably be found that the amount of snow falling on the glaciers of the ,alps is much smaller than we are apt to imagine4 ,in any case1 the depth of the snow that finds a permanent station upon the rock and ice surface of the ,alps1 till spring1 is only a fraction of the depth of snow that would be obtained by adding together each volume of snow that might be gauged after each separate snowfall4 ,snowflakes form an aggregate which gradually passes into a conglomerate4 ,they lie at first like the pieces of a game of spillikins1 at different angles with one another4 ,by degrees the crystals lose their shape4 ,the edges of the prisms die out4 ,the air that circulated between them is expelled4 ,a hard texture takes the place of the flimsy structure of the first moment4 ,in this process of reduction in volume and of increase in density1 cracks are generated in the mass4 ,they are at first potential and remain latent till wind-pressure1 or the footfall of man1 determines the bursting open of the surface1 accompanied by a report which sometimes unnecessarily alarms the unwary1 and at other times is a sure sign of a dangerous snow-quake4 ,the depth of the snow is also modified by a process of sublimation which causes it to shrink rapidly4 ,the atmosphere while re-absorbing the air expired by the snow1 also re-assimilates some of its moisture1 even without the suggestion of a thaw4 ,the outcome of so many efficient causes may be summed up in one word3 shrinkage4 ,but1 as snow almost always is wind-driven when it falls1 a large portion of the quantity follows in the air a course parallel to the wind1 and 7when it strikes obliquely the smooth and slippery surfaces--old snow1 ice1 rock surfaces--over which it travels instead of locating itself upon them7 it is impelled forward1 and sweeps along till it can find a lodgement against a solid protuberance1 or is dropped over the edge of some break in the surface1 out of the reach of the wind1 when it finds a resting-place and gets piled up4 ,this is another reason why one meets with less snow on the wind-swept1 high-lying surfaces than in the middle zone of the ,alps4 ,a third effective cause is to be found in the clouds4 ,snow-laden clouds do not generally unload themselves at a very high altitude4 ,they form themselves in belts on the lower flanks of each range and pour forth their contents nearer the grazing and forest zone than one would be led to expect when one looks up towards them from the bottom of a valley4 ,we then see the basement and sides of the cloud masses4 ,we project their vertical lines almost infinitely into space4 ,this is the kind of delusion to which we are subject when we look at a house from the street-level or1 vice vers1 when we look down from a roof on to the pavement4 ,the actual volume of snow whirling above our heads is considerably thinner than we assume4 ,this is the case particularly during the winter season in ,switzerland1 as winter balloonists may testify4 ,so1 without entering any further into the scientific aspects of this question1 we wish here to note provisionally that a properly conducted nivometric survey of the ,alps might show that the winter snow storage is quite out of proportion with the quantities required to replenish the upper ice-forming reservoirs to whose function so much importance is attached in the current theories about glaciers4 ,from the hut try the ascent of the ,aiguille du ,tour the following morning4 ,on ski1 along the easy slant of the ,glacier d',orny1 and then by an easy climb1 lasting one hour at the most1 on good dry rock 7#c1eca metres #aa1fae feet72 this undertaking will be a great delight4 ,the upper reaches of the ,glacier du ,trient and of the ,glacier d',orny are one of the most magnificent ski-grounds that man can imagine4 ,they can be taken advantage of both before sunset on the day of one's arrival at the hut1 which should be reached by two o'clock1 and on the next day1 for a departure at eight from the hut should enable you to be on the ,aiguille du ,tour by eleven1 which leaves the whole afternoon for runs4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,valsorey ,,glen4 ,to face page #aij4 ,your third day can be employed in ascending the ,aiguille du ,chardonnet 7#ab1ehe feet7 as follows3 ski up to the ,col du ,tour2 ski down the pass facing west1 and leaning a bit to your left2 then up the slope from right to left 7that is facing full south7 at first1 and then full west1 along the foot of ,aiguille ,forbes4 ,from the moment you have passed that point the ski-runner becomes a climber4 ,you may have to cut a few steps to reach the eastern arte1 which runs from the dip on the west flank of ,aiguille ,forbes to the top4 ,the arte1 of course1 requires rope and much skill in manipulating it4 ,in splendid weather1 the rock being free from snow or ice1 and1 into the bargain1 well known to one of the three of us1 we did the climb without experiencing anywhere a moment's delay4 ,time-table3 ,started from ,cabane d',orny1 #e4ej a4m42 reached ,col d',orny1 #g4ae a4m42 crossed ,plateau du ,trient to ,col du ,tour by #h4ae a4m42 passed foot of ,aiguille ,forbes by #aj4bj a4m42 set foot on arte by #ab a4m42 reached top at #a4be p4m42 completed descent of arte by #c4bj p4m42 resumed our ski at #d4bj p4m42 skied back to ,col du ,tour by #e4dj p4m42 got home by #g o'clock4 ,our rests were3 ,twenty minutes at #h4ae a4m41 twenty minutes at #aj4bj a4m41 thirty-five minutes at #a4be p4m41 twenty-five minutes at #d4bj p4m41 twenty minutes at #e4dj p4m4 ,for ski tours in the ,mont ,blanc range1 consult the maps by ,barbey1 ,imfeld1 and ,kurz4 ,the fourth day of this raid was employed in an easy and very fast run down to ,orsires1 then on a vehicle to ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre1 whence four hours on ski bring the runner to the ,hospice du ,grand ,st4 ,bernard1 the gates of which are open night and day to all-comers4 ,a long night in a most comfortable bed1 after a most substantial meal1 and followed by a plentiful breakfast next day1 made sufficient amends for the nights spent in the ,cabane d',orny4 ,in summer the hospitality extended by the ,st4 ,bernard monks to passing tourists--one may not spend more than two nights under their roof--is somewhat perfunctory1 because they are oppressed by numbers4 ,in winter1 on the contrary1 they are left to themselves4 ,time and solitude are somewhat heavy and passers-by of some education are the more welcome4 ,within a lap of the hospice we were spied by the famous dogs4 ,they barked and made but a poor pretence at coming towards us4 ,they were terribly handicapped in the snow1 which we lightly brushed with the flat of our ski4 ,no wonder they floundered3 the floury snow was about #f feet deep4 ,their fore and hind quarters went under1 and then hove again into sight1 while they swung out of one hole into the next1 as nutshells rising and falling with the waves4 ,this situation threw some fresh light upon their legendary life-saving occupation4 ,the tables were turned4 ,we were much better prepared to save them from suffocation than they to lend us a helping paw4 ,in fact1 one huge beast's efforts to get on board my ski somewhat perplexed me4 ,we had struck out our own line1 in coming up1 across the surges of the snow4 ,the farther from any path1 the happier the ski-runner4 ,but we saw enough of the winter track to understand the usefulness of the dogs4 ,the track is about #b feet wide4 ,it cuts in and out of the summer road1 and consists simply of the narrow footpath which pedestrians and the monks have trodden hard4 ,they manage to keep it open from summer to spring by directing upon it the little traffic there is4 ,the snow hardens after each fall when walked on and raises the pathway by so much1 building up by degrees a kind of elevated viaduct on which to remain is the condition of safe progress4 ,step out to the right or to the left by one inch1 you drop down several feet into the drifts4 ,what this might mean1 in the fog or during a blizzard1 to those weary1 ill-shod1 ill-clad1 under-fed ,italian labourers who still choose that mode of transit to save their railway fare under the ,simplon1 we could easily imagine4 ,the dogs1 on the other hand1 would keep upon the track and scent in what snow-covered spot the poor trespasser had missed his footing and strayed4 ,the remainder would be spade and shovel work for the charitable monks4 ,easter being early that year1 ,lent was drawing to an end4 ,the house was wrapped in silence4 ,the bells being hushed1 a rattle croaked along the passages instead4 ,but ,lenten hospitality may be lavish and fishes must swim at all times1 as the capital trout from the ,dora ,baltea experienced1 that was floated on the best of wines down to a worthy home of rest4 ,on the next morning we met a procession2 they were calves being driven up from ,italy4 ,they looked sickly against the pure sunlit snow1 but they capered and frolicked1 and booed with joy4 ,well might they do so as long as the bells were silent4 ,but after6 ,years before this1 the monks had been driven to the use of boards for getting about4 ,they invented a rude ski wanting in the essential feature of modern planks1 free action for the heel4 ,with them the heel was fastened down to the boards4 ,they sprinted and punted about with the help of a long stout pole1 achieving quite a style of their own4 ,with their long robes waving1 and swinging their gaffs from side to side1 now to steer1 and now to propel their unsteady craft1 with arms alternately raised and lowered1 they cut very picturesque figures against a terribly bleak background1 with their dogs pounding after them1 till we lost sight of them behind the corner like a flock of mountain choughs4 ,my next day saw me across the ,col de ,fentre 7#b1ggc metres #h1hee feet71 along the whole ,val ,ferret1 back to ,orsires1 a most magnificent1 perfectly easy and reposeful trip4 ,from point to point1 that is1 from ,orsires up the ,val d',entremont to the ,col du ,grand ,st4 ,bernard1 and through the ,col de ,fentre1 down the ,val ,ferret1 back to ,orsires1 the ski-ing is first-rate1 these valleys running on parallel lines1 downwards1 from south to north4 ,the crossing from one col to the other1 upon south-facing slopes1 is the only unpleasant piece of ski-ing1 though quite safe and easy4 ,a fatal accident befell here a party of runners a few years after4 ,they intended running up the ,val ,ferret to the hospice when they committed a serious mistake4 ,as the map shows1 the summer path winds corkscrew fashion from the bed of the valley to the lakes of ,ferret4 ,now1 when a ski-runner is seen upon a steep winding path1 or ploughing his way up the sides of it1 it often means that he has not reconnoitred the skiers' route on his map4 ,those young men cut into a snow bulge1 the snow ran out through the slit and overwhelmed one of them4 ,those bulges are a most treacherous invention of the snow-fiend4 ,they are best likened to an egg-shell full of sand1 with some compressed air imprisoned between the shell and the sand4 ,break the crust1 the air runs out with a puffing sound1 and the snow1 freed from pressure1 begins to trickle through the hole1 enlarging it4 ,then the whole mass1 blowing itself out and thrown out of balance1 comes down4 ,the study of the map would have shown to the victims of this phenomenon of nature that however much the corkscrew might be the right way up or down for loaded men and cows 7the pack and the cow between them determine the lie of every mountain path71 such a path was not for men mounted on skiffs that could choose their course upon the country-side with the same liberty of choice as a ship steering upon the open sea4 ,this brings back to my mind a regulation supposed to have been issued by a certain ,war ,office on the ,continent4 ,some zealous officers had been coaching their men in the use of ski upon open fields1 and some trifling injuries had been entered by the army medico in his report sheet4 ,next autumn a circular was received in every army corps recommending officers to teach ski-ing on roads only6 ,last winter ,i was trotted up a steepish and narrow winding path by some well-meaning friends who had acquired their ski-ing from a 8big0 man4 ,some patches of the road under wood were sunk in deep snow2 others1 in the open1 were ice2 others bare earth and stones1 and the whole was so well banked in that side-stepping was impossible4 ,when ,i mildly remonstrated--after1 not before1 discipline would forbid--,i was politely told that so-and-so always took his parties up that way4 ,no doubt1 and quite heroic of him1 mais ce n'est pas le ski4 ,in the evening of this day1 which ,i reckon as the fifth1 a conveyance carried the three runners1 in whom the readers of this chapter may by now have become interested1 to ,chble1 in the ,val de ,bagnes1 and then to ,lourtier1 a convenient starting-point for an attempt upon the ,combin region4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,grand ,,combin ,the ,panossire hut--,tropical winter heat--,schoolboys and the ,matterhorn--,shall it be rock or snow8--,the ,combin de ,valsorey--,my third ascent of the ,grand ,combin--,the track home--,col des ,avolions--,natural highways of a new character--,twenty-three thousand feet ascended on ski4 ,on the sixth day of my expedition we left ,lourtier shortly before #aj o'clock a4m41 knowing full well that we were in no hurry1 that we meant to thoroughly enjoy our day's work1 and that the hospitable door of the ,cabane de ,panossire would be no more difficult to open after sunset than before4 ,as soon as we had passed the last houses of ,lourtier1 we put on our ski1 and1 practically1 did not remove them from our feet till eight o'clock that evening1 allowing for two hours' rest in the heat of the day1 from two to four4 ,we branched off from the ,fionnay direction to turn to the right at ,granges ,neuves1 crossing the bridge to ,mayens du ,revers1 and hence rising towards the path that leads in summer from ,fionnay to the ,alpe de ,corbassire4 ,we thus reached1 by two o'clock1 after passing the wooden cross at the point #a1ifg1 and just beyond the chalets of the ,alpe de ,corbassire1 the point #b1bbg of the map4 ,we spent there two hours1 under a tropical sun4 ,then we plunged down a gully to the west1 on our right1 so as to advance on ground which the sun had not softened1 and rose again along the side moraine to the point #b1fdd1 whence there lay before us a most romantic moonlit landscape4 ,the hut was still in darkness when ,i reached it1 the last of the party1 in order to enjoy the sensation of seeing the windows dimly lit by the candlelight within1 and the smoke curling up out of the chimney4 ,the impression was one of charming 8cosiness10 in the middle of a more than ,arctic landscape1 and there was that sublimity above and around which beggars the art of description4 ,a snow and wind-tight ,alpine hut1 well stocked with fuel and blankets1 well supplied with plain food and wholesome drink from the provision bag of its guests1 is1 in midwinter1 one of the snuggest 8ingle-nooks0 a natural epicure may wish for1 and1 strange to say1 what he may therein find most pleasurable is the shade and coolness of the shelter1 so fairly could ,i compare our tramp of that day to a trip in the 8scrub0 under the equator4 ,forsooth1 the prejudice which still prevails against roaming in winter at high altitudes is a remnant of that state of mind which kept early explorers of the ,high ,alps tramping round and round the foot of such hills as the ,matterhorn1 which ,macaulay's healthy 8schoolboy0 would now think nothing of rushing at1 with his sisters trailing behind4 ,if it is possible1 in sporting circles1 to speak of the ,zeit ,geist without pedantry1 we should say that the spirit of the time1 in matters mountaineering1 has undergone a remarkable change since the advent of ,macaulay's proverbial schoolboy4 ,or is the change not rather a return to a healthier frame of mind8 ,it is quite true that in few sports is the extreme penalty1 death1 so constantly near at hand as in mountaineering4 ,but is it not quite apparent1 too1 that the early lovers of the ,alps were full-grown1 leisured1 and cultured men1 whose training1 occupation1 or temper1 had not properly prepared them to see the risk in its true proportions8 ,from them a whole generation took the cue4 ,then came another1 for which the taking of risks exceeding the modicum attached to a passive existence was the touchstone of manliness4 ,they sought in the ,alps opportunities for strenuous displays1 as well as haunts where the harassed soul could take holiday4 ,they are the generation which made of ,switzerland the playground of ,europe4 ,it is they who brought mountaineering to the present period1 when first ascents have become a hackneyed amusement1 and schoolboys marvel at the facility of undertakings which1 when attempted for the first time in bygone days1 rightly called forth the admiration of the civilised world4 ,is it in the modern spirit that1 on the morning of my seventh day1 with the grand unconcern of an ever-victorious squad1 hitherto scratchless1 bruiseless1 and unwearied1 we took the route1 well known to all of us1 which leads up the ,glacier de ,corbassire to the ,col des ,maisons ,blanches8 ,on reaching the plateau which precedes the col1 we made up our minds as to the choice between the two routes to the top of ,grand ,combin4 ,the choice lay between rock and snow4 ,rock won the toss4 ,from the ,plateau des ,maisons ,blanches we turned full south1 and left our ski at the foot of the steep snow and ice slope which leads to the ,col de ,meiten4 ,the track over this col1 dotted upon the map 7,siegfried ,atlas1 ,swiss military survey71 crosses the ,combin rocks upon a snow belt from north to south1 where it ends upon the so-called ,plateau du ,couloir4 ,the ascent to the col--we were roped--presented no difficulty4 ,the crusted snow was easily kicked into foot-holds4 ,the rocks of the ,combin de ,valsorey1 which we ascended from the col1 now looking east1 were absolutely free from snow or ice1 the only discomfort being exposure to a hot sun in an excessively dry atmosphere--just the thing1 ,i should say1 for salamanders1 which1 unfortunately1 we were not4 ,in this respect our experience totally differed from that1 already alluded to1 of ,mr4 ,tauern and his friends4 ,not only did they take to the peak further east1 from the corridor1 vi ,grand ,combin de ,zessetta 7this summit is immediately south of the figures #c1fjj on the ,siegfried71 using climbing-irons on the steep ice1 but they experienced a cold so intense that they were driven back4 ,for my part1 being no longer a young man at all1 ,i felt so overcome with the dry heat on ,combin de ,valsorey1 that ,i remembered with complacency how fully acquainted ,i was with the top of ,grand ,combin1 and how useless it would be to bore such an old friend with another visit at an unusual time of year4 ,i went1 nevertheless1 and spent some minutes of that triumphant afternoon in amicable nods to ,mont ,viso1 which somehow ,i had missed on my previous visits4 ,the reader will gather from the late hours noted in the following time-table what confidence a rock-climber may gain from the knowledge that his ski are waiting for him below1 firmly planted in the snow1 and that a secure track marked on the friendly element runs uninterruptedly from the spot where they stand to a trustworthy refuge hut4 ,we cheerfully cut through the loops of our ascending track1 by a perpendicular course1 and1 as the reader will see1 returned to the hut in an incredibly short time1 enjoying with untroubled mind the afterglow of a magnificent sunset gradually whitening into mellow moonlight4 ,time-table3 ,left ,panossire hut at #g4ae a4m42 reached first plateau by #h4bj a4m42 reached ,maisons ,blanches1 #aj a4m42 reached foot of ,col de ,meiten1 #aj4ee a4m42 lunch1 thirty-five minutes2 reached top of ,meiten pass1 #ab4bj p4m42 reached top of ,combin de ,valsorey1 #b4cj p4m42 reached top of ,grand ,combin1 #c4cj p4m4 7#ad1afd feet72 afternoon tea on top of ,combin de ,valsorey1 thirty minutes2 left ,combin de ,valsorey1 #e p4m41 resumed our ski1 #g4ae p4m42 back to hut1 #g4de p4m4 ,remember that in runs like this1 extending over #h kilometres 7#e miles71 the runners must keep together from beginning to end4 ,the eighth day of this fascinating circular tour was an easy one4 ,it is worth noting1 as an instance of many of the same kind1 which moderately trained ski-runners would find extremely remunerative4 ,our eight days' work would form the third and last portion of a typical ski trip1 such as the ,val de ,bagnes enables the intelligent amateur to compose in various ways1 in this instance as follows3 ,first day1 from ,lourtier 7where night lodging can be had at the telegraph office71 to ,cabane de ,panossire1 vi ,fionnay2 second day1 ,col des ,maisons ,blanches1 and back to the hut2 third day1 back to ,lourtier vi ,col des ,avolions1 leaving plenty of time to reach ,martigny by sledge1 and catch the evening trains to ,lausanne1 ,geneva1 ,milan1 or ,berne4 ,the ,col des ,avolions is an insignificant incision in the range of rocky heights which run along the tongue of the ,glacier de ,corbassire on its west side1 from north to south4 ,from the hut you cross the glacier very much to the north1 though slightly inclining to the west4 ,in an hour's time you will be on the col1 the vertical displacement from the hut down to the foot of the pass being about #aij yards 7the difference between #b1gac metres and #b1ebc metres is the amount 8dipped071 while the rise from the foot of the pass is #abe yards1 approximately4 ,these #abe yards were practically all the climbing we got that day4 ,you will ascend with your ski slung over your shoulders1 the most convenient way when the gullies are steep1 short1 and full of compact snow4 ,no man in his senses will attempt ,high ,alp ski-running without strong1 heavily soled and nailed mountain boots to his feet4 ,the big nails round the toe of the boot are most valuable for lodging one's feet into steep snow slopes or couloirs1 and a broad1 flat1 nail-fringed heel need never interfere with the running1 unless the heads of the nails are uneven4 ,nails on the sides of the boots are less necessary4 ,from the ,col des ,avolions there is a delightful run down1 full north-west1 to the stream which the path crosses 7see map7 to lead up to the ,chalets de ,sery4 ,keep well to the right 7east7 of the point marked #b1dai4 ,we found the bed of the stream quite practicable on ski1 as far as we required it to get round the point #b1dai4 ,then we made for point #b1bdc1 so as to keep on the level 7about #b1aij metres71 while leaving that point on our left1 slightly above us4 ,then we proceeded down to the ,alpe de la ,lys1 keeping above the tree-line1 till we could ski down to ,tougne on fairly open ground4 ,thence1 to the bridge that crosses the ,dranse to ,lourtier1 the ground is not complicated1 or you may ski down to ,champsec4 ,we left the hut at #h o'clock a4m41 sat astride the ,avolions saddle at nine1 and entered ,lourtier at twelve1 having in nowise hurried ourselves4 ,it is a distinctive feature of mountaineering on ski that its votaries look for natural highways of a new character4 ,the winter snow opens up quite unexpected routes1 and it will soon be the business of ski-ing clubs to issue maps revised from that point of view4 ,a well-filled-up steep gully becomes an opportunity for building up a stairway that summer is unaware of4 ,a gorge in which a dangerous stream brawls in summer on slippery rocks may now appear in the guise of an open and straight line of communication between upper and lower reaches separated by impassable shelves of rock4 ,glacier tails1 at other times bristling with spiky sracs and riddled with gaping blue pits1 turn into smooth bridges thrown over blanks in nature that were a torture to contemplate4 ,torrents are reduced to the size of tiny transparent rivulets closely hemmed in between narrow banks of solid snow and easily spanned by the long1 pliable boards4 ,a frozen-over and snow-wadded ,alpine lake1 toilsomely skirted in summer by winding up and down its rocky1 broken shores1 may be crossed from point to point by a smiling navigator4 ,the word snowcraft acquires a new meaning4 ,the runner eyes the country in its broad1 general aspect1 determines1 map in hand1 the bee-line leading to his destination1 fixes upon the stretches of unbroken snow that will bring him round any unskiable places1 and in the end gets home more after the style of birds borne through the air than after the fashion of the clod-hopping kind4 ,here is1 to wind up with1 a note of the total vertical displacement which we have shown may be attained1 with ski1 in the course of eight days4 ,from ,orsires to ,cabane d',orny1 #a1hjb metres2 to ,aiguille du ,tour1 #hci2 to ,aiguille ,chardonnet1 #a1aca2 from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to ,grand ,st4 ,bernard hospice1 #hci2 thence to ,col de ,fentre1 #bbh2 from ,lourtier to ,panossire hut1 #a1fac2 thence to ,grand ,combin1 #a1fag2 ,col des ,avolions1 #abe2 metres1 #h1aid4 ,of course1 the measurement on the ground would show a still more significant total1 but ,i do not really believe that more than #fjj yards need be added on that score4 ,on the other side the following items may be deducted1 as done on foot1 climbing3 ,tour1 #bgj2 ,chardonnet1 #ejj2 ,combin1 #a1jjj--metres1 #a1ggj4 ,this leaves1 as actually ascended on ski1 a minimum of #g1jjj metres1 a trifle under #bc1jjj feet4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,viii ,,across ,,the ,,pennine ,,alps ,,on ,,ski ,,by ,,the 8,,high-,,level0 ,,route4 ,the 8high-level0 route--,previous attempts--,my itinerary--,marcel ,kurz--,the wise old men of ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre--,maurice ,crettex--,guides with bamboos and laupars6--,the snow-clad cliffs of ,sonadon--,the ,chanrion hut--,sealed-up crevasses--,the nameless pass--,louis ,theytaz--,the ,pigne d',arolla--,the ,bertol hut--,why the ,dent ,blanche could be ascended--,the ladies' maids' easy job--,the dreadful summer slabs--,we push past two 8constables0--,my cane--,we bash in her ladyship's white bonnet--,the ,ice-,maid presses gently my finger-tips--,the cornice crashes down--,a second night in the ,bertol hut--,the ,col d',hrens--,an impending tragedy--,a milk-pail versus ski--,dr4 ,koenig and ,captain ,meade--,the real tragedy of ,theytaz's death--,ropes and crevasses--,mr4 ,moore's account--,my comments--,the ,mischabel range and ,monte ,rosa4 ,from the ,st4 ,bernard hospice to ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre the run down presents no particular interest4 ,it is at ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre the 8high-level0 road to ,zermatt is entered upon4 ,for about fifty years it has been customary to give the name 8high-level route0 to the glacier passes which connect ,chamonix and ,zermatt--,col d',argentire1 ,col des ,planards1 ,col de ,sonadon1 ,col de l',evque1 ,col de ,collon1 ,col du ,mt4 ,brl1 and ,col de ,valpelline4 ,all these passes1 except the second 7,col des ,planards71 are above #aj1jjj feet and linked to each other by means of glaciers4 ,this is the high-level route properly so-called1 and as followed in summer4 ,the first attempt to cross the ,pennine ,alps in winter on ski1 from west to east1 was made by a party of four from ,chamonix1 namely1 ,dr4 ,payot1 ,joseph ,couttet1 ,alfred ,simond1 and the guide1 ,joseph ,ravanel1 nicknamed 8le ,rouge40 ,they started from ,chamonix in the middle of ,january1 #aijc1 and appear to have outlined for themselves the following route1 which was intended to bring them in three days from the 8,pavillon de ,lognan10 above ,argentire to ,zermatt3-- ,first ,day4--,col du ,chardonnet1 ,fentre de ,saleinaz1 ,orsires1 ,chble 7in ,valle de ,bagnes74 ,second ,day4--,chble1 ,cabane de ,chanrion4 ,third ,day4--,chanrion1 ,glacier d',otemma1 ,col de l',evque1 ,col du ,mt4 ,brl1 ,col de ,valpelline1 ,glacier de ,zmutt1 ,zermatt4 ,obviously1 this plan could not be carried into practice as it was laid down on paper4 ,into the bargain1 the runners were stopped on the ,col de l',evque by bad weather1 and1 being short of provisions1 they backed down the ,valle de ,bagnes1 the whole way to ,martigny4 ,thence they went to ,evolena1 and crossing the ,col d',hrens1 they reached ,zermatt4 ,from ,evolena to ,zermatt the day was a long one1 and they came down the ,glacier de ,zmutt at night 7see ,revue ,alpine1 #aijc1 pp4 #bfi-bhd74 ,this first attempt1 over ground as yet unknown to the ski-runner1 was broken up into three sections4 ,one month later 7in ,february1 #aijc71 two pioneers1 who probably had no knowledge of this first feat1 started in their turn upon the high-level route on ski4 ,they were ,dr4 ,r4 ,helbling and ,dr4 ,f4 ,reichert4 ,starting from the ,valle de ,bagnes1 they reached with much difficulty the ,cabane de ,panossire1 on the right bank of the ,glacier de ,corbassire4 ,after attempting the ,col des ,maisons ,blanches in order to reach the ,cabane de ,valsorey1 they found themselves compelled to return to the ,cabane de ,panossire1 and thence crossed the ridge at ,mulets de la ,liaz4 ,the descent on the face looking towards ,chanrion was extremely trying4 ,they had to carry their ski4 ,anatole ,pellaud1 of ,martigny1 who accompanied them1 actually lost his pair1 and came home along the ,valle de ,bagnes1 while the others spent the night in the wretched huts of la ,petite ,chermontane4 ,the following day was spent in lounging about the ,cabane de ,chanrion4 ,then they went on to ,arolla by the ,mont ,rouge1 ,seilon1 and ,riedmatten passes4 ,at ,arolla they slept in a barn1 and next day ascended to the ,cabane de ,bertol4 ,the last day in this uncomfortable pilgrimage was taken up in crossing the ,col d',hrens1 ascending the ,tte de ,valpelline1 and descending to ,zermatt 7see ,alpina #aijc1 p4 #bjg1 and following3 ,erste ,durchquerung der ,walliseralpen74 ,this is1 beyond doubt1 one of the finest expeditions on ski that had yet been attempted in the ,alps4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,pennine ,,range ,,from ,,grand ,,st4 ,,bernard ,,to ,,zermatt4 7,reproduction made with authorisation of the ,swiss ,topographic ,service1 #bf4h4ab47 ,to face p4 #bjh4 ,in ,january1 #aijh1 the third attempt took place4 ,like the first1 this caravan started from ,chamonix4 ,it consisted of ,m4 ,baujard 7from ,paris71 with ,joseph ,ravanel1 8le ,rouge10 and ,e4 ,d4 ,ravanel4 ,already on the first day this party got off the bee-line4 ,they went down to ,chble along the ,col des ,montets and the ,col de ,forclaz1 then to ,chanrion4 ,on the third day they left ,chanrion at midnight1 and got to ,zermatt at #f4cj in the evening1 having crossed the ,col de l',evque1 ,col du ,mt4 ,brl1 and the ,col de ,valpelline 7see ,revue ,alpine1 #aijh1 p4 #hj74 ,as one sees1 these three expeditions partly followed1 or cut across1 the high-level route4 ,so far as the first three passes are concerned 7those of ,argentire1 of ,planards1 and of ,sonadon71 they left them completely on one side4 ,they were right in leaving the first4 ,the best and only rational course is to traverse this part of the ,mont ,blanc range by the ,col du ,chardonnet1 or the ,col du ,tour and ,orny4 ,indeed1 the ,col d',argentire1 on the ,swiss side1 lands one in a wall of rock1 where nobody should think of venturing on ski4 ,the ,col du ,gant cannot either be used to any advantage4 ,the ,col des ,planards 7#b1gcf m471 leading from the ,val ,ferret to ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre1 is quite ski-able1 but does not present the same interest as a run on a glacier4 ,thus if you start from ,chamonix1 you must1 at least once1 descend into the valleys4 ,this necessity makes of the 8high level0 from ,chamonix an empty word for the ,alpine runner4 ,if you start from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre and proceed to ,zermatt from pass to pass1 you will travel along an almost unbroken ice route1 which may be compared to that which leads across the ,bernese ,oberland from the ,ltschenthal to the ,grimsel4 ,chanrion1 at the altitude of #b1djj m41 is the only downward bend of some depth on this road1 the only place where one is not surrounded by ice4 8,mr4 ,f4 ,f4 ,roget1 of ,geneva10 says a newspaper1 8who in ,january1 #aiji1 with ,mr4 ,arnold ,lunn1 explored the high-level route from ,kandersteg to ,meiringen1 planned out as follows his exploration of the ,pennine high level in ,january1 #aiaa3-- 8,first ,day4--,from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to the ,cabane de ,valsorey on the ,sex du ,meiten 7#c1ajj m474 8,second ,day4--,col du ,sonadon 7#c1chi m471 ,glacier du ,mt4 ,durand1 ,cabane de ,chanrion 7#b1dfj m474 8,third ,day4--,col de l',evque 7#c1cic m471 ,col de ,collon 7#c1acj m471 ,col and ,cabane de ,bertol 7#c1dba m474 8,fourth ,day4--,ascent of ,dent ,blanche and a second night in the ,cabane de ,bertol4 8,fifth ,day4--,col d',hrens 7#c1chj m471 ,glacier de ,zmutt1 ,zermatt4 8,mr4 ,roget was lucky in being able to carry out this programme from point to point1 with the exception of a delay of one day in the ,valsorey hut1 where the atmospheric conditions compelled him to spend two nights4 ,this disturbance in the weather was in itself an additional piece of luck1 as a fall of snow1 driven by a violent north wind1 laid a fresh carpet of dry stuff over the old1 making the run1 the whole way to ,zermatt1 a perpetual delight4 8,mr4 ,roget had asked ,mr4 ,marcel ,kurz1 of ,neuchtel1 to be his companion1 and had engaged four guides1 all of whom did duty as porters1 namely3 ,maurice ,crettex1 ,jules ,crettex1 ,louis ,theytaz 7of ,zinal71 ,lonce ,murisier 7of ,praz de ,fort74 ,the two ,crettex are natives of ,orsires1 and form probably the strongest pair of ski-ing guides that the ,canton du ,valais can now produce40 ,marcel ,kurz had been my companion on the ,aiguille du ,chardonnet and on the ,grand ,combin4 ,he is the youth of eighteen alluded to in a preceding chapter4 ,he began his career as an ,alpinist in #ahih and1 since1 he spent every summer in improving himself1 ,praz de ,fort being the usual summer quarters of his family4 ,in #aijf he became acquainted with the ,grisons ranges and particularly with the ,bernina peaks4 ,the following summer finds him in the ,mont ,blanc range1 in #aijh he was in the ,pennines4 ,his first ,alpine expedition on ski was when ,i took him up the ,chardonnet4 ,from that time he fell into my way of preferring winter tours to summer climbing1 and intends1 in the end1 to publish the skiers' way up and down every mountain in ,switzerland to the top of which he may be able to get on ski4 ,for two years he presided over that extremely distinguished society of young climbers1 the ,akademischer ,alpen ,club1 at ,zrich4 ,next spring1 on leaving the ,polytechnic ,university of ,switzerland1 he will enter the ,federal ,topographic ,bureau in ,berne as surveying engineer4 ,as a soldier1 he was first a private--like every able-bodied young ,swiss--in the corps of machine gunners attached to our mountain infantry4 ,he served his term as non-commissioned officer and is now doing his officers' training course at ,lausanne4 ,i would not in this way offend ,kurz's modesty and tax my reader's patience by giving here so many particulars about a life career which after all is only at its inception1 and is not so very different from that of many young fellows of the same age1 did ,i think it out of place that a sample should appear here of the manner in which mountaineering sport1 professional studies or occupations1 and military obligations are crowded together in the ,switzer's youth4 ,the journey from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to ,zermatt was performed from ,monday1 ,january #i1 #aiaa1 to ,saturday night1 the #adth4 ,it might have been done in half the time1 but such was not the purpose of the expedition4 ,at ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre we met with one of those quite trifling but somewhat unpleasant incidents with which mountaineers may be harried in those remote ,swiss villages where winter sportsmen are quite a novel apparition4 ,we fell upon a nest of those obsolete and retired guides who fill the emptiness of their lives with nothing and find in the idle habits they have acquired an excuse for passing adverse comments upon the new mountaineering4 ,we could not but go about collecting victuals from the village shops1 and did our packing in the public rooms of the hostelry known under the name of ,djeuner de ,napolon4 ,this started the tongues of those who would talk4 ,buonaparte1 indeed1 seems to have bequeathed to those big-mouthed villagers1 whom he astonished by breakfasting like any other mortal1 a distinct capacity for bluff4 ,three old guides sat1 hours before midday1 with a glass of kirsch huddled between their thumbs1 eyeing our goings and comings and scanning all our doings4 ,then they consulted each other and began bragging of the wonderful exploits they had performed in their day4 ,having thus employed half an hour in impressing us1 they proceeded to call our attention--simply by making much of it within our hearing--to the enormous risk we were about to incur by entrusting ourselves to such inexperienced men as those young madcaps whom we had brought along with us1 and who had no share in the vast knowledge and weight of authority that had by degrees been amassed in ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre4 ,when they thought they had successfully filled us with suspicion towards our men1 they asked ,maurice ,crettex1 in my presence1 whether he had fully recovered from an accident he had met in the summer when running a cart-load of hay into a barn4 ,the hay was toppling over and he had been badly squeezed between the wall and the cart while holding up the unsteady mass with his pitchfork4 ,little did they know that ,i was fully aware of that and had purposely wished to be ,crettex' first employer since the accident4 ,all their sly dodges having failed1 their vindictive jealousy and self-conceit1 when we had left1 ran into another channel1 and of this a few words will be heard at the end of our chapter4 ,the jolly old villain of ,kippel was sterling gold as compared with that ugly crew4 ,first ,day4--,fine warm weather1 foehn wind4 ,from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to the ,chalets d',amont 7#b1aib m471 the ski-runner's track falls in with the summer route2 but instead of climbing the chimney over which stands a cross1 the ski-runner keeps on to the south1 and enters on the left the gorge through which escapes the water of the ,valsorey glacier4 ,this glacier is thus reached1 then the ,grand ,plan1 whence one discovers the hut standing on the ,sex du ,meiten4 ,starting from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre at #aa o'clock1 it was quite easy to reach the hut by sunset4 ,i noticed that the guides were provided with sealskins1 light bamboos1 and laupars4 ,there can be no question about the utility of sealskins on long ,alpine expeditions2 but a light1 short bamboo is certainly not the right weapon for a guide1 and laupars1 with a few nails driven in1 certainly are most unsuited for glacier work4 ,in other respects the men were perfectly equipped4 ,there were three ice-axes in the party1 two ropes1 and everybody was provided with climbing-irons4 ,second ,day4--,a violent wind during the night1 then snow till midday1 when the north wind gained the upper hand1 clearing the sky after #b o'clock4 ,beautiful sunset1 clear night1 #ah degrees ,centigrade under zero4 ,third ,day4--,weather beautiful2 quite half a foot of fresh dry snow on the old wind-driven snow4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,sonadon ,,cliffs4 ,to face p4 #bad4 ,there is on the way from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to ,chanrion over the ,col du ,sonadon a difficulty which may have turned the earlier runners away1 and no doubt induced them to go round that range from the north rather than go across4 ,this obstacle is the wall of rock which runs as an unbroken1 fortified line from the shoulder of the ,combin on the north to the ,aiguilles ,vertes in the south1 and divides the ,glacier de ,sonadon into two basins--the upper and the lower4 ,the old editions of the ,siegfried ,atlas show a dotted line which passes close to the ,aiguille du ,djeuner 7#c1jji m471 but it has been recognised that this route is exposed to falling stones4 ,caravans now prefer to ascend to the ,plateau du ,couloir under the shoulder of the ,combin1 and to descend upon the ,glacier de ,sonadon1 and thus reach the pass of that name4 ,we were quite successful in traversing the snow-covered rocks1 along which ran in former days the usual route4 ,in case any runners should feel called upon to prefer the new route1 owing to the state of the rocks and of the snow1 here are some indications as to how to strike upon the right course4 ,from the ,valsorey hut one should climb straight up1 on ski or on foot1 till one is on a level with the ,plateau du ,couloir4 ,if the snow is good it will generally be found to be hard2 if it is powdery1 avalanches are likely4 ,from the ,plateau du ,couloir one may slide down to the glacier and put one's ski on again1 getting gradually on a level with the ,col du ,sonadon4 ,i do not say that this track is better than the old one which we took4 ,the conditions of snow and rock should each time be considered in the choice1 because open snow slopes on hard ice-worn rock are the happy hunting ground of the avalanche fiend4 ,at #aj o'clock1 having crossed the small ,glacier du ,meiten1 my party was standing on the edge of the high wall which overlooks the lower basin of the ,glacier de ,sonadon4 ,for ski-runners the situation was somewhat ludicrous1 and was not one in which to remain for any length of time4 ,the party removed their ski1 put on their climbing-irons1 and the ,crettex brothers1 carefully roped1 went forward as scouts4 ,the snow was in capital condition 7newly fallen powdery snow1 very light and dry on the bare rocks1 and in the couloirs old snow of great consistency74 ,progress was possible along a kind of ledge1 which dropped slantingly along slopes whose angle of declivity was about #de degrees4 ,one's foot rested occasionally in the compact snow1 and sometimes on the rock itself4 ,this ledge presented an extremely narrow surface1 and if one did not know that it is in use in summer one might question in winter whether it existed at all4 ,it is very irregular1 zigzagging across the couloirs and hanging on to the spurs which separate them1 but extremely interesting4 ,when once the ,col de l',aiguille du ,djeuner had been reached1 the snow showed a continuous surface on to the ,glacier du ,sonadon4 ,the ski were once more put on1 and the party 8tacked0 its way1 first down1 and then up1 on slopes on which the sun brought trifling avalanches into motion4 ,at about #c o'clock in the afternoon the caravan was seated in the full glow of the sun on the ,col du ,sonadon 7#c1chi m474 ,an hour later began a rapid descent on the ,glacier du ,mont ,durand--one of the many of that name--with one's face turned towards the sunset on the mountains above ,chanrion 7,ruinette1 ,glacier de ,breney1 c474 ,one should avoid running too low down on the glacier4 ,the thing to do is to cross over to the north-east arte on ,mont ,avril1 and to descend full speed1 pushing on to the ,glacier de ,fentre1 describing thus a vast semicircle on to the tip of the tongue of the ,glacier d',otemma4 ,hence by moonlight to ,chanrion on the opposite slope4 ,the hut was reached at #f o'clock4 ,there was but little snow in front of the door1 and no snow at all inside4 ,by that time the moon shone through a damper atmosphere2 the glass was somewhat lower1 though comparatively high 7it remained so throughout the expedition71 but the cold had considerably abated since the morning4 ,this meant the gathering up of mists during the night4 ,there is a serious drawback to the ,chanrion hut4 ,its situation marks it out as a most convenient resort for ,italian smugglers in the dull autumn and winter months when the tourist traffic has ceased4 ,those smugglers cross over from ,italy in large numbers1 bringing in farm and dairy produce1 and then return to their homes laden with heavy packages of tobacco1 sugar1 and every kind of grocery that is heavily taxed in their own country4 ,they are not above lifting such things as spoons1 forks1 tin plates1 and sundry useful kitchen utensils1 nay1 even the blankets with which the club huts are furnished4 ,such movables are therefore almost entirely removed from ,chanrion at the close of the summer season when the caretaker comes down4 ,the six of us had to be content with the barest necessaries out of the always very scanty club furniture3 six spoons1 six forks1 six plates1 six knives1 six blankets3 quite enough1 you see1 whether smugglers or no smugglers4 ,fourth ,day 7,january #abth74--,as foreseen1 the weather was dull4 ,departure at #h4cj4 ,considerable masses of snow had filled up1 or at least completely closed1 the huge crevasses1 which in summer are open at the junction of the ,glacier d',otemma with the ,glacier of ,crte ,sche4 ,not the slightest fissure could be detected4 ,there are at the outlet of the ,crte ,sche glacier some interesting engineering works to regulate the outflow and obviate floods which have repeatedly visited the ,dranse valley1 owing to the collection of water in glacier pockets and their bursting when the weight is too great for the ice walls to bear4 ,of these not a sign could be seen4 ,as a long and wide avenue1 the glacier stretched itself out before the runners1 and out of sight4 ,grey mists1 rising from ,italy1 hung loosely over the southern rim of the glacier4 ,but when near the upper end1 at an altitude of #c1jjj m4 or thereabouts1 the mist melted away and the sun reappeared4 ,three passes had to be crossed on that day in order to reach the ,bertol hut by night4 ,at that time of year those passes were nothing more than slightly marked elevations in the snow-fields4 ,the first opens between ,petit ,mt4 ,collon and ,becca d',oren4 ,this pass1 as yet nameless1 and which it will be convenient to call here ,pass #c1cjj m41 affords a much more direct route than the ,col de ,chermontane1 or any other4 ,messrs4 ,helbling and ,reichert had swerved away from the continuous snow-highway to the north4 ,messrs4 ,baujard and ,ravanel had taken refuge from the crevasses upon the rock passes south of the ,bouquetins range4 ,in our case the choice was determined by the requirements of ski technique4 ,from ,pass #c1cjj1 gentle downward and upward slopes led us on to the ,col de l',evque 7#c1cic m471 which was reached at #b4cj in the afternoon4 ,in the direction of ,italy the sky had remained dull4 ,to the north the mountains shone 7including the ,bernese ,oberland7 in a blue sky1 in which floated a few clouds4 ,the glass on that day1 as before1 gave very fair readings4 ,there was but little wind1 and the cold was not sharp4 ,on that day ,i conversed much with ,louis ,theytaz4 ,it was with me a set purpose that he should accompany us on this expedition1 since ,i had read in the ,alpine ,ski ,club ,annual1 and otherwise heard1 of his ,high ,alp runs with ,mr4 ,w4 ,a4 ,m4 ,moore and some of that gentleman's friends4 ,i wrote to ,theytaz from ,les ,basses above ,ste4 ,croix4 ,he joined me at ,martigny4 ,he was what one would call 8a nice1 jolly chap40 ,but was he in for bad luck8 ,he had hardly placed his things in the net of our railway carriage1 going to ,orsires1 when his climbing irons fell from the top of his rucksack upon his head1 badly bruising his forehead with the prongs4 ,i had engaged him to carry my own pack1 as ,i had made up my mind that ,i was now old enough to have a personal attendant all to myself4 ,my luggage was particularly valuable to the whole party1 as it contained all the spirits ,i allowed them1 namely1 in two large flasks1 the contents of four bottles of whisky1 the proper allowance for six men during six days in ,january weather at a minimum altitude of #aj1jjj feet4 ,theytaz surprised me when1 on arrival at the ,valsorey hut1 he violently threw my pack upside down upon the bed planks4 ,the stopper of one of the flasks flew out1 and then ,i had the pleasure of seeing the floor streaming with whisky4 ,we got through to ,zermatt very well on the contents of the other flask4 ,but the head of an expedition so serious as this1 when he has forbidden wine and limited spirits to the supply which is known to be in his possession only1 does not like to see half of it spilt on the first stage of the journey by an act of sheer carelessness4 ,anyhow1 ,i viewed ,louis ,theytaz in the light of what ,i had read and heard in his favour4 ,knowing that he was again to accompany1 within a fortnight of leaving me1 ,mr4 ,moore and friends to the ,pigne d',arolla1 that mountain gained much interest in our sight1 as1 with the searching eyes of ski-runners1 we examined its slopes dipping into the higher reaches of the ,glacier d',otemma4 ,we photographed it a little later in the day in its eastern aspect4 ,seen from the south and west it presented the most attractive appearance4 ,from the east1 it would have been out of the question4 ,what it might be from the north we could suspect from its ominous hang that way4 ,recollecting that ,messrs4 ,helbling and ,reichert had struck the ,glacier de ,seilon from the west1 ,i advised ,theytaz either to lead his party down south to the ,col de ,chermontane1 or to take them back the way they had come1 and reach ,arolla in the same manner as the eminent gentlemen whose route was on record4 ,but ,i did not at the time attach any particular value to my opinion1 having learnt from experience how much better things generally turn out in practice than they appear likely to do when considered by an over-prudent man in a pessimistic mood4 ,louis ,theytaz was swallowed up by a crevasse on the ,glacier de ,seilon4 ,from the ,col de l',evque to the ,col de ,collon the snow was hard for half a mile or so2 but as soon as the northern slope of the latter was reached the snow resumed its excellent quality4 ,thus the three passes were crossed4 ,wide curves brought the party down the gentle slopes of the ,glacier d',arolla to the level marked #b1fgj in the map4 ,from that point we made towards the right bank of the glacier1 and landed on the very steep slopes which rise between it and the ,plan de ,bertol4 ,some of the party removed their ski rather than run along the top of this ridge4 ,when we were well above the ,plan de ,bertol we were careful not to dip into it1 but turned in to the right1 and this move brought us to the foot of the ,glacier de ,bertol1 in which the six runners opened a fairly deep track while tacking with geometrical regularity in the direction of the ,bertol hut4 ,they gained about #be metres in each tack4 ,the moon lit up their march4 ,in the higher reaches of the glacier the slope stiffened1 but the snow remained excellent4 ,let it be noted here that from one end to the other of the trip we were entirely spared hard and wind-beaten snows1 except at the ,col de ,collon1 as above specified1 this being the result of the day's delay in the ,valsorey hut1 during which it snowed so nicely4 ,moreover1 the high-level route presents on its whole length a belt of comparatively low summits on the south side--low because the route is situated so high4 ,this almost continuous parapet considerably interferes with the view upon ,italy1 but it is a protection from sun and wind1 and no doubt assists in keeping the snow in good condition4 ,at seven o'clock in the evening the foot of the ,rocher de ,bertol was reached4 ,the ski were hidden in a niche for the night4 ,we climbed on foot1 like dismounted dragoons1 up the wall1 the rocks of which form a kind of ladder4 ,the rope which is permanently fixed there was available1 though partly buried in snow4 ,this hut1 perched as an eagle's nest above the glacier1 looks as if the ,neuchtel section of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club 7to whom it belongs7 had wished to underline with a stroke of humour the ,swiss ,alpine ,club regulations1 which say that1 in the first instance1 huts are intended for the accommodation of the sick and wounded4 ,the door was blocked up with snow1 but the windows gave quite comfortable access to the kitchen4 8,on that evening10 says the newspaper already quoted1 8the party became more confirmed than ever in ,mr4 ,roget's resolve to attempt the ascent of the ,dent ,blanche4 ,the condition of the mountains and the weather seemed to justify his anticipations4 ,in forming that bold plan ,mr4 ,roget had taken his stand upon the successful experiences he had had before in his winter ascents of the ,aiguille du ,tour1 the ,aiguille du ,chardonnet1 the ,grand ,combin1 the ,finsteraarhorn1 the ,diablerets1 the ,wildhorn1 the ,wildstrubel1 c4 ,it could not but be1 he thought1 that the ,dent ,blanche1 like all the foregoing peaks1 would present itself in ,january in such a good condition that its ascent by the south arte would be quite possible4 ,it was ,mr4 ,roget's belief that the arte would show in its fissures but a thin layer of dry and powdery snow4 ,he was convinced that the cornices would show a full development1 with their faces to the east and south-east1 but without any hem of snow on the west side of the arte1 where the ascent is practically made4 ,the slabs1 he thought1 would be entirely covered with ice1 but this ice1 in its turn1 could not but be covered with an adhesive layer of old snow1 with fresh snow on the top of it1 and this1 having fallen in comparatively mild weather1 must have cemented itself on to the old snow1 so as to form with it a reliable surface1 at whatever angle a footing might have to be gained4 ,after a spell of fine weather1 the ,dent ,blanche could not be more difficult in winter than in summer4 ,in fact1 he thought the rocks had been shone upon by the sun till they were dry and free of snow1 the couloirs had been swept clean by the wind or clothed in a firm crust4 ,that the cornices might come down with a crash was evident1 but this would be into the abysses on the east slope1 which was immaterial4 ,on the western slope the snow would be firmly enough attached to the ice to leave but little opportunity for the ice-axe to come into play40 ,those forecasts1 brought to the proof1 were borne out by reality4 ,the snow1 which had fallen three days before 7a light1 powdery snow1 coming down in whirls71 had gained no footing1 nor could it1 upon such an arte as that of the ,dent ,blanche4 ,the little of it which the sun had not had time to melt we swept away with our gloved hands4 ,it was an easy job1 as that of ladies' maids brushing away the dust on their mistress's sleeves1 and we certainly did not complain of having some little tidying-up to do4 ,fifth ,day4--,at six in the morning some early mists were trailing slowly on the ice and snow-fields between the ,dent de ,bertol and the ,dent ,blanche4 ,the light of the setting moon broke occasionally through the clouds4 ,the weather might be uncertain--and it might not1 for the glass was at fair4 ,the mists turned out to be1 as on the preceding days1 such as herald a beautiful autumn sunrise4 ,a start was made in the direction of the ,col d',hrens4 ,slowly the day dawned1 and found the party on the ,glacier de ,ferpcle4 ,by that time we could make out which was the real direction of the wind in the middle of those mists which seemed to drift about aimlessly4 ,it actually blew from the north-east1 then from the north1 with a steady but moderate strength1 which abated entirely only at sunset4 ,the impedimenta were1 for the most part1 left on the northern side of ,col d',hrens1 keeping but a few victuals1 the three ice-axes1 the climbing-irons1 and two ropes4 ,we turned the heads of our ski against the north wind1 skirting the foot of the big southern arte1 so as to reach a small terrace situated above the spot marked ,roc ,noir on the map4 ,on this terrace the ski were firmly planted in the snow4 ,dismounting1 we fastened on our climbing-irons4 ,three ski sticks were kept along with the three ice-axes4 ,among the first rocks the party halted in order to take some food4 ,it was #i4ae4 ,by means of the ropes two caravans were formed1 and these soon started1 exchanging a cheerful au revoir in case some incident should separate them4 ,the brothers ,crettex and ,marcel ,kurz were on the first rope2 on another myself1 ,louis ,theytaz1 and ,lonce ,murisier1 this last carrying the bag of eatables4 ,the fairness of the weather1 the capital condition of snow and rock1 and the fitness of the party would have made it quite possible to reach the top of the ,dent ,blanche at one o'clock in the afternoon4 ,but there was no good reason for any hurry4 ,a quick march might bring on some fatigue1 or at least some totally unnecessary tension of mind and physical effort4 ,this would entail some slight additional risk to no purpose whatever4 ,the climbers had the whole day before them1 and need not make any allowance for difficulties when returning to the ,bertol hut1 for they would follow their own tracks 7which they knew to be safe7 back across the glacier1 whatever time of night it might be4 ,consequently this ascent of the ,dent ,blanche was deliberately carried out1 and almost without any effort4 ,it was accomplished in such leisure as not to need any quickening of the pulse4 ,maurice ,crettex and ,louis ,theytaz were fully acquainted with every peculiarity of the ,dent ,blanche1 and treated her with as much familiarity as though they had been babes sitting on the lap of their own grandmother4 ,the ,crettex section of the caravan got on to the arte at a trot1 and began to ride it 7the expression is false1 but picturesque7 at the point #c1gbi4 ,lunch was relished at point #c1iab4 ,thence the two sections kept about #ej yards apart4 ,up to the first ,grand ,gendarme the arte is undulated rather than broken up1 and quite comfortable to follow4 ,there are fine glimpses on the ,obergabelhorn to the right and on the ,matterhorn2 the cornices of the arte formed round those pictures magnificent frames with an ice fringe4 ,i had long been curious to ascertain what might be in winter the condition of the famous 8plaques0 or 8dalles0 7slabs71 which have acquired such an evil reputation in summer4 ,no such thing was to be seen4 ,they were pasted over with excellent snow1 in which ,maurice ,crettex dug a few steps when the ice came near to the surface4 ,he seemed to do it as a matter of form3 assuredly it would have been an irregular practice to do otherwise4 ,it is true that without our excellent climbing-irons we might have been much less at ease4 ,in point of fact1 it was enough to dig out the snow with one's boot-tips and to stand firmly in the holes on one's climbing-irons in order to skip over those formidable slabs4 ,the arte offered the best means of progress immediately after passing the ,grand ,gendarme4 ,this appellation is bestowed upon the turrets1 which1 constable-like1 bar one's progress along a ridge4 ,on the rock of the arte there was the merest sprinkling of fresh snow1 so dry and light that it could easily be brushed aside1 and nowhere prevented one's gloved hands from securely grasping the rock4 ,the scramble was quite interesting1 and the hours passed by so agreeably while proceeding up this magnificent staircase1 that nobody felt in a hurry to shorten the pleasure of the climb4 ,there was occasionally a bit of a competition between ,louis ,theytaz1 leader of the second rope1 and ,maurice ,crettex1 leader of the first1 as to who should lead the van1 but ,crettex would not yield his place1 and stormed on4 ,here ,i left my stick planted in a mound of snow on the arte4 ,we might1 or might not1 pick it up on the way back1 and ,i took my chance4 ,this stick was worthy of being planted and left there4 ,it was a beautiful bit of cane1 smooth and white as ivory1 which ,i had picked up from a heap of drifted wreckage on the ,cornish coast1 in the preceding summer1 while bathing4 ,what scenes it might have witnessed upon the deep ,i did not like to picture4 ,yet1 but for its suggestive power1 ,i should not have brought it the whole way from ,watergate bay4 ,it has always been my fancy to unite in one sweep of vision the ocean and the mountains1 the deepest with the highest4 ,my ,dent ,blanche might be one of a school of whales stranded on high when the waters withdrew1 and my harpoon was well placed1 sticking in one of the vertebr of her petrified spine4 ,at the time of writing1 ,i understand that it is there still1 respected of the eagles and of the gales4 ,the summer thaw has left untouched the fleecy patch of snow4 ,the lightning has drawn in its forks before the unaccustomed wand4 ,now and then a guide writes me that he has seen it1 that so-and-so could not believe his eyes when he led up the first party of the summer season and found an ivory staff shining on the ridge4 ,in wonderment1 he reported the matter to some colleague of mine who had heard in our club-room my first account of this ascent4 ,for my part1 ,i am content to look upon this incident as confirming my views4 ,a frail stick1 planted in the middle of a patch of snow on the most exposed and weather-beaten arte in the ,alps1 appears here as the needle showing how nicely balanced are the scales of ,nature4 ,in due course the rock came to an end1 and the arte showed itself under the appearance of a white-hooded crest4 ,it was the final pyramid4 ,on that day1 ,friday ,january #ac1 #aiaa1 the small1 conic snow-cap which surmounted the brow of the peak was brought down by a blow from an ice-axe1 at #c4cj p4m4 ,a short time was spent on the summit4 ,the view was now and then obscured by a cloud sailing rapidly down from the north and skirting the watch-tower on which stood the onlookers4 ,on the way down1 each section1 in its turn1 with feet deeply embedded in the snow1 reached again the bare rocks of the arte1 having resumed the footprints made on the way up4 ,but when leaving the snow that covered the terminal pyramid1 the party did not continue on the arte the way it had come up1 but wheeled to the right--that is1 westward--and began ploughing in a downward course the slopes of the ,dent ,blanche facing ,bertol1 which had the appearance of being all snow4 ,in spite of the extreme steepness of the slope1 the party1 with heels and climbing-irons well wedged into the snow1 advanced with great security and speed1 though the irons did occasionally impinge upon the ice4 ,the slope getting sharper and the layer of snow thinner1 it became necessary to substitute a lateral or horizontal course for the vertically downward course4 ,a few steps had to be cut before a footing could again be gained on the arte4 ,but1 by that time1 the caravan had proceeded beyond both ,gendarmes1 and1 though it was night1 we could hop along quite nicely4 ,during this bit of traverse1 being without a stick ,i rested my left hand upon the snow each time ,i moved forward1 digging in my bent fingers to relieve the foothold from some of my weight4 ,the ,ice ,maid then kissed my finger-tips very gently4 ,the bite was so timid that the kind attention escaped my notice at the moment4 ,but late that night1 before the stove1 in the hut1 ,i struck a match upon the hot iron plates with my right hand1 to light my cigar1 while holding up some garment to the fire with my left4 ,the heat made the mischief apparent4 ,it caused almost no pain1 only giving an earnest of what the ,ice ,maid could do if pressed too hard4 ,through the mists of this ,january dusk the moon threw a gentle light1 which made it easy to discern the footprints made in the morning on the snow4 ,the few steps which had been cut here and there on the ice were quite visible1 and the rope made it a simple matter to descend the rocky parts4 ,so1 from that moment1 the descent consisted simply in repeating in the opposite direction the moves of the morning4 ,the cornices on the left hand were made more beautiful than ever by the play of the moonbeams through the icicles4 ,now and then some fragment of the cornice came down with a crash1 and a cloud of dust arose from the abyss and sent minute crystals across the faces of the men4 ,it was #h4cj when the party stood again beside their ski4 ,an hour later we picked up our heavier luggage4 ,sitting on our rucksacks1 we took an evening meal4 ,then1 ropes and all being packed1 the six strolled back across the ,glacier de ,ferpcle at pleasure1 and1 as fancy bade1 each chose his own way4 ,the night sped on1 and half its course was almost run when we reached for the second time the hospitable nest on the ,bertol rock4 ,we might have been shades moving in a dream rather than men4 ,our task being successfully accomplished1 we might claim a right to vanish away1 like dissolving views thrown for a moment upon a screen4 ,sixth ,day4--,the morning was long and lazy4 ,at eleven o'clock1 after a good rest and full of good cheer1 we entered upon our last day's work4 ,the sun shone brilliantly1 and1 thanks to his kindness1 and thanks also to the smooth and sparkling snow1 this last day1 more than any of the foregoing1 if possible1 gave rise to one of those rambles on ski which are the delight of the ,alpine explorer4 ,on approaching the ,col d',hrens1 the track of the preceding day was departed from where it had bent away towards the ,dent ,blanche1 and the party turned their backs upon their conquest4 ,the rocks1 which on the ,col d',hrens divide the ,glacier de ,ferpcle1 on the north1 from the ,stock glacier to the south of the ,wandfluh1 could just be seen emerging from the snow4 ,the ski were removed for about ten minutes while descending those rocks4 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,dent ,,blanche1 ,,with ,,matterhorn4 ,to face p4 #bcj4 ,it may be said that from that point to ,zermatt the run was practically continuous4 ,no obstacle of any sort ever came to interfere with the downward flight4 ,whenever the party came to a stop1 it did so for its own pleasure and convenience4 ,after the rush down the sides of the ,stockj came the run down the ,glacier de ,zmutt1 with the icefalls of the ,matterhorn glacier on the right4 ,fragments of ice studded the snow surface1 and the ski occasionally grated against them4 ,on the moraine1 where in summer the surface is stony and the climber's brow wet with perspiration1 we slid along as borne on by wings1 rushing through the air4 ,when we reached the ,staffelalp the sun was beginning to set4 ,over the tops of the arolla pines stood forth in a mighty blaze many friends visited of old--the ,rimpfischhorn1 the ,strahlhorn1 the ,allalinhorn1 the ,alphubel2 the beautiful mouldings of the ,findelen glacier were bathed in rays of purple fire4 ,on approaching ,zermatt the snow proved heavy and deep4 ,the ski got buried in it and shovelled along masses of it1 somewhat delaying the running4 ,zermatt was reached by five o'clock at night4 ,the village was in a hubbub1 and we arrived in the nick of time to ring the necks of ,i do not know how many birds of ill omen ready to take their flight4 ,the ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre dunderheads had had six days in which to rouse the journalists4 ,they had stuffed them with fusty words of ignorant wisdom4 ,reporters had telegraphed and telephoned1 to make sure of their quarry4 ,a column of guides had been warned by the head of the ,zermatt relief station to be in readiness4 ,they were to leave on the next morning for the scene of the expected disaster4 ,they might do so yet1 for all we cared4 ,by looking about carefully they might detect the tip of one of ,mr4 ,kurz's ski1 which had snapped off against a stone1 at the moment when1 entering the village at a quick pace1 he had suddenly come upon a milkmaid with her pail balanced on her head4 ,there was nothing for it but to go gallantly to the wall4 ,this was more courtesy than the ski could stand4 ,its point came off1 and this the rescue party might bring back as a trophy4 ,joking apart1 ,zermatt gave us a grand reception1 seasoned with steaming bowls of hot red wine and cinnamon4 ,thus was accomplished the first successful ski-run from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to ,zermatt4 ,luck was good throughout2 indeed1 if an attempt to ascend the ,dent ,blanche on a ,friday and on the thirteenth day of the month could not break the weather1 nothing would4 ,the ,crettex brothers went back by rail to ,orsires4 ,louis ,theytaz got out of the train at ,sierre4 ,he returned to his avocations at ,zinal1 looking with well-founded confidence to his next engagement1 a few days hence1 with ,mr4 ,moore4 ,the ,crettex' had no sooner reached home than a telegram reached them from my friend ,dr4 ,knig of ,geneva1 one of the pioneers of the new mountaineering school1 enjoining ,maurice to expect him at once for a repetition of the successful expedition1 news of which had meanwhile been carried to ,geneva4 ,dr4 ,knig and ,maurice found our ski track generally undisturbed1 but the wind and sun had done their work upon the fresh snow1 hardening it and covering it with the usual icy film4 ,the running was fast and uncertain1 for want of side support for the ski blades4 ,on the way they climbed the ,grand ,combin1 as ,i had done in #aijg4 ,imitation by such a distinguished mountaineer was the most flattering form of appreciation ,i could look for4 ,i met him some time after at our ,geneva ,ski ,club1 when he observed that he wondered not so much at what my party had accomplished--in which he was quite right1 as ,i proved by producing the table of our very easy hours--as at the bold practical thought that had inspired and helped us4 ,like me1 ,dr4 ,knig had noticed from the ,zmutt glacier how practicable the ,matterhorn would be4 ,in fact1 ,maurice would have tackled the ,zmutt arte on the slightest provocation4 ,meeting at ,zermatt ,captain ,meade1 who had just achieved the ,zinal ,rothhorn1 ,dr4 ,knig communicated to him his observation concerning the ,matterhorn4 ,as was soon made public1 ,captain ,meade succeeded in making a ,january ascent of the ,matterhorn4 ,unfortunately he suffered very severely from exposure4 ,i had returned to my ordinary occupations in ,geneva1 when ,i was startled one morning by a note in the local papers4 ,on the very day on which ,captain ,meade was 8doing0 the ,matterhorn--,january #cast--,louis ,theytaz was perishing on the glacier de ,seilon1 an occurrence which changed an otherwise successful trip into a dreadful ordeal4 ,the cold may be gauged from ,captain ,meade's notes in the ,alpine ,journal4 ,the thermometer down at ,zermatt at #g a4m4 showed #bg degrees of frost ,fahrenheit4 ,the fatal accidents to ski-ing parties that ,i so far know of in the ,alps have proceeded from one or another of three causes3 avalanches1 exhaustion ensuing upon stress of weather or losing one's way1 and crevasses4 ,for no accident yet can ski be made responsible1 a rather remarkable exception1 when one reflects how easily a ski blade may break or a fastening get out of order4 ,theytaz's accident was caused by a crevasse4 ,he was one of four able and well-known guides accompanying a party of three gentlemen who put implicit faith in their leadership and in whom they had every confidence4 ,the third on a rope of three1 ,louis ,theytaz followed the two leading over a crevasse which1 after the event1 showed itself about #g feet wide1 and of which the party had become aware before launching themselves across it4 ,it was unfortunate that the leading guide 8took0 the crevasse obliquely to its width4 ,the moving rope1 too1 compelled each man in succession to bring his weight to bear on the same spot4 ,the rope could not be of much use for want of stable supporting points4 ,a man advancing carefully on foot breaks his speed at every step4 ,not so a runner on ski4 ,illustration3 ,,top ,,of ,,dent ,,blanche4 ,to face p4 #bcd4 ,the gentleman preceding ,theytaz made a stopping turn on the further side of the crevasse1 and waited to see him over4 ,by that time ,theytaz's brother ,benot1 who was leader on the rope1 might have been ready4 ,anyhow1 the snow broke4 ,theytaz was hurled down and the rope snapped4 ,i was on the very rope when ascending the ,dent ,blanche4 ,it was an old rope1 but perfectly satisfactory4 ,why are the best of ropes liable to snap8 ,after this accident1 which roused his personal interest as it did mine1 my friend ,kurz instituted experiments on all kinds of rope material on the market4 ,the results showed conclusively what rope material1 under tension1 was the best1 but no light was thrown upon the supposed greater liability to snap when frozen1 either when dry or after absorbing moisture4 ,all we know so far about the breaking-point of mountaineering ropes1 is that they may break under a shock which will leave a man unmoved in his steps though1 on trial1 they may resist a tension far greater than can be put upon them by the dropping suddenly into space of a man's weight4 ,an athlete may burst a taut chain by muscular effort4 ,a horse may burst his girths by a little inflation4 ,what about a slack rope8 ,popular imagination1 baffled by such obvious but unexplained contingencies1 at once suspects foul play4 ,the strangest stories may be heard in the ,val d',anniviers about ,theytaz's broken rope4 ,mr4 ,moore's own account appeared in the ,alpine ,ski ,club ,annual for #aiaa1 and runs as follows3-- 8,on ,january #bhth last1 a party assembled at ,martigny1 ,a4 ,v4 ,fitzherbert1 ,a4 ,d4 ,parkin1 and myself1 with four guides3 ,flix ,abbet and the three ,theytaz brothers1 ,louis1 ,benot1 and ,basile1 all of ,zinal4 ,next morning we walked up to ,fionnay1 where a small hotel had been opened for us4 ,the snow was in perfect condition1 and as we had an hour or so of daylight to spare1 we enjoyed some practice runs on an excellent slope just outside the village4 ,here we made the acquaintance of three ex-presidents of the ,geneva section of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club1 who were learning to ski in this deserted retreat4 ,they had a comfortable chalet1 where we spent a most pleasant evening1 surrounded by ,alpine paintings and old ,swiss wood-carved furniture4 8,at #h a4m4 on the #cjth we got off1 provisioned and equipped for a hard two days1 and started up the valley to ,chanrion4 ,it was easy-going as far as ,mauvoisin1 but beyond that the summer path was quite impassable in places1 owing to the overflowing and freezing of streams4 ,we lost much time over these1 and finally had to descend to the bottom of the gorge1 which afforded much better going40 ,may ,i break here the thread of the narrative to insert an observation4 ,louis ,theytaz had got information from us as to this passage1 and had been told that the summer path was known in the ,bagnes valley to be impassable in the winter1 particularly with ski4 ,the gorge is the right ski-ing route4 8,a steep and trying couloir brought us up to ,chanrion4 ,we left next morning at #f4cj1 and made for the ,glacier de ,breney1 where we were able to put out the lamp4 ,it was pretty cold4 ,near the top there must have been nearly #ej degrees of frost4 ,the glacier presented no difficulties1 the only obstacle being an ice-fall1 up which we had a little step-cutting4 8,the trouble began about an hour below the ,col de ,breney1 where we were met by a piercing north-east wind1 which struck us in gusts1 sweeping up clouds of powdery snow1 through which one could hardly see4 ,the snow was quite hard under foot1 and all1 except ,louis1 took their ski off on reaching the col4 ,half an hour's walking brought us to the top of the ,pigne 7#ab1dgj feet71 where we got the full benefit of the gale4 ,the view1 however1 was magnificent1 and fully justified the struggles of the last few hours4 8,we stopped on the top about five minutes1 and then returned to our ski and began the descent to the ,glacier de ,seilon4 ,for half an hour we descended on foot over wind-swept slopes1 at first gentle1 and then steep and crevassed1 till we at last got out of the wind and into the sun1 when a short halt was made4 ,at this point ,i became painfully aware that three fingers had been temporarily frost-bitten4 ,parkin also had lost all feeling in his toes1 but did not realise how bad they were till later on4 ,we were soon off again on ski1 and on perfect running snow1 in the following order3 ,benot1 ,fitzherbert1 and ,louis on the first rope1 myself and ,parkin on the second1 followed by ,flix ,abbet and ,basile unroped4 8,as we approached the ice-fall which gives access to the ,glacier de ,seilon1 there occurred the sad accident which cost ,louis his life1 depriving us of an old and tried companion1 and the ,valais of one of its best guides4 ,we were running down and across the glacier when the leading three came to a small depression and ridge running straight down the slope parallel to the sides of the glacier1 evidently a crevasse bridged over by snow4 ,the first two crossed safely1 but apparently loosened the snow1 which gave way under ,louis4 ,he fell back into the crevasse which was about #h feet across1 and as the rope tightened1 it snapped1 and he was gone4 ,basile was running on to the bridged crevasse a little higher up1 at the same moment1 but although it gave under him1 his pace carried him over1 and he fell clear4 ,abbet was just behind ,louis and saved himself by throwing himself down40 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,stockj1 ,,looking ,,east4 ,to face p4 #bch4 ,mr4 ,moore next gives a sketch of the crevasse and of the position of each in relation to it4 ,then he continues3 8,this journal is no place to describe the half-hour which followed1 the memory of which is only too fresh for those who were present4 ,it is enough to say that we could not reach ,louis with #acj feet of rope1 and had to tear ourselves away4 ,it was a great relief to know from subsequent examination that1 although we had heard him answer for about five minutes1 he could not have lived longer1 and in all probability felt nothing4 ,the search party of guides that went up next day found the body #afj feet down1 and as we had only #hj feet of reliable rope1 we could have done nothing40 ,the sketch shows--and its accuracy cannot be doubted--that ,messrs4 ,moore and ,parkin were keeping a course that led them past the crevasse without touching it2 that ,basile ,theytaz showed less discretion1 and escaped because1 being unroped1 he came singly on the bridge1 in a place where the crevasse was narrower and when he was sufficiently under weigh4 ,abbet escaped simply because he approached the crevasse in the wake of ,louis ,theytaz1 and took warning in time1 for he was about to cross the gulf at its widest4 ,one may say--in all kindness and with every sympathy--that the roped party which met with the accident was badly led1 and one may say so the more confidently1 as the leader seems to have been fully aware that he was heading for a formidable crevasse4 ,when planning my traverse from ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre to ,zermatt1 ,i had it in my mind that an expedition across the ,pennine ,alps from end to end would not be complete1 unless ,i pushed on over the ,mischabel and ,weissmies ranges to the ,simplon pass1 beyond which begin the ,lepontine ,alps4 ,the weather was so fine and our powers of endurance had been so slightly taxed that we might easily have pushed on4 ,in fact1 in respect of weather1 circumstances remained so favourable that we might have continued till the end of ,february without experiencing a check4 ,the weather report was so perpetually3 ,still and warm in the ,high ,alps4 ,unfortunately ,marcel ,kurz had broken his ski1 and it might be just as wise to go home and nurse my frozen finger-tips4 ,there are other things in life than ski-running4 ,so we came to the conclusion that we had done enough for glory4 ,however1 ,marcel ,kurz took this spring 7#aiab7 his revenge over the misadventure to his ski and1 with some friends1 completed our interrupted programme4 ,i append here his notes1 as the ,mischabel range is about to be an object of great interest for ,british runners who will find that ,saas ,fe has become a nursery of excellent ski-running guides4 ,at the moment of writing 7,august1 #aiab71 the ,britannia hut on the ,hinter ,allalin1 as already pointed out in this volume1 is about to be formally inaugurated4 ,it opens up to the ski-runner a magnificent field for exploration on account of which the ,english ski clubs liberally contributed to the erection of this ski-runner's hut par excellence4 ,the map entitled ,mischabel-,monte ,rosa shows one of the numerous zigzag tracks for which the district will become famous4 ,illustration3 ,,mischabel ,,range ,,and ,,monte ,,rosa4 7,reproduction made with authorisation of the ,swiss ,topographic ,service1 #bf4h4ab47 ,to face p4 #bdj4 ,mr ,kurz's notes show also what an incredible amount of stiff mountaineering can be crowded easily into a short time by ski-runners1 including the ascent of ,monte ,rosa1 the highest peak in the ,alps next to ,mont ,blanc4 ,the latter is not a ski-runner's mountain4 ,the gradients are too sharp and exposed4 ,monte ,rosa1 on the contrary1 is an ideal runner's mountain4 ,i lay no stress on the fact that ,mr4 ,kurz's raid was guideless4 ,i have endeavoured elsewhere to show how much this term is a misnomer when applied to perfectly competent mountaineering parties that dispense with professional guides4 ,march #bgth4--,we started three from ,st4 ,nicolas for the ,mischabel hut up the glacier of ,ried and over the ,windjoch pass4 ,the weather was very fine1 extremely warm at about three o'clock in the afternoon4 ,the glacier was extremely broken up1 presenting the same appearance as in autumn4 ,would do very well for ski in a normal year1 particularly on the higher nv4 ,the last #cjj feet of the ,windjoch should be done on foot4 ,on the top of the pass there rose an unpleasant west wind1 and the snow being most unpleasantly hard1 we elected to leave our ski on the spot1 intending to come back for them on the next day and to ascend the ,nadelhorn by the way4 ,we spent the night at the ,mischabel hut4 ,march #bhth4--,very uncertain weather2 too much wind to attempt the ,nadelhorn4 ,we walked down to ,saas ,fe in two hours on very firm and very reliable snow4 ,march #bith4--,on hard snow and dry rocks we walked up to the ,gemshorn and thence along the snow arte to the ,ulrichshorn1 coming down on to the ,windjoch to pick up our ski4 ,we then ran down the ,riedgletscher till within a few hundred feet of ,gassenried1 and thence walked to ,st4 ,nicolas1 first on hard snow and then on wet snow4 ,march #cjth4--,we walked from ,st4 ,nicolas and then skied to a fairly hospitable hut on the ,untere ,taesch ,alp4 ,march #cast4--,along the ,untere ,taesch ,alp and the ,langefluh glacier1 our ski carried us up to the arte rising above the ,rimpfisch ,waenge and along that arte to the altitude of #c1fjj metres4 ,then on foot along the ordinary route we reached the top of the ,rimpfischhorn 7#ac1gij feet74 ,the ascent took seven hours1 the descent four hours4 ,the rocks were absolutely dry1 as 8summery0 as possible4 ,this is a very interesting ski tour and had not yet been attempted4 ,april #ast4--,the weather is bad2 we come down to ,taesch and go to ,zermatt to get fresh supplies4 ,april #bnd4--,weather splendid with a furious north wind4 ,we return to our cabin on the ,taesch ,alp4 ,one of us returns to the lowlands and two only are left to continue the campaign4 ,april #crd4--,the weather is very cold and we make too early a start4 ,we cross the ,alphubeljoch to ,saas ,fe1 leaving the ,alphubel unascended on account of the fury of the wind4 ,a pass somewhat steep from the ,taesch side and somewhat crevassed on the ,saas side1 from the runner's point of view1 but magnificent with respect to scenery4 ,illustration3 ,,foot ,,of ,,stockj1 ,,looking ,,east4 ,to face p4 #bdc4 ,april #dth4--,weather magnificent4 ,north wind not so strong4 ,we ramble most delightfully on our ski from ,saas ,fe to ,mattmark1 which is a deadly place in other respects4 ,april #eth4--,from ,mattmark to ,zermatt by the ,schwarzberg ,weissthor4 ,weather mild1 foehn1 rather cold on the top1 magnificent outlook over ,zermatt4 ,the snow hard throughout allowed us to ski up very quickly 7four hours from ,mattmark to the summit1 #c1fab metres74 ,at ,findelen we enjoyed an afternoon nap under the arolla pines4 ,amid regular flower-beds we descended to ,zermatt1 where we met two other friends4 ,april #fth4--,from ,zermatt to the ,btemps hut on ,monte ,rosa1 following the ,gorner glacier from the beginning and employing half an hour in crossing the srac zone on foot4 ,the heat on the upper reaches of the glacier was most overpowering4 ,april #gth4--,monte ,rosa4 ,snow quite hard here1 and everywhere else1 throughout this fortnight4 ,weather beautiful1 slight north wind4 ,we left the hut at six o'clock1 reaching the top at #ab4ce4 ,april #hth4--,not a cloud in the sky all day long4 ,we take sun baths all day about the hut4 ,april #ith4--,we intended to ascend the ,lyskamm1 but bad weather came and punished us for our idleness on the preceding day4 ,foehn and fog4 ,there was nothing to do4 ,we ran down to ,zermatt in two hours along the whole of the ,gorner glacier4 ,this laconic record is extremely instructive4 ,it bears out the contentions already formulated in other parts of this book4 ,the snow surface was hard1 reduced in volume1 and as cemented by the wind4 ,the artes were bare of snow1 free from ice1 and perfectly dry4 ,the crevasses were either plainly visible or firmly crusted over4 ,ski were throughout useful in preventing the surface from breaking underfoot1 perhaps still more in going uphill than when rapidity of movement lightens one's weight flying downhill4 ,the summer of #aiaa1 as one knows1 was one of the two driest on record in the preceding half-century4 ,the glacier snow was therefore worn down to its thinnest when the winter snows began to pile themselves in layers above them4 ,these too remained comparatively thin1 affording admirable running surfaces when sprinkled over with fresh snow4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,piz ,,bernina ,,ski ,,circuit ,,in ,,one ,,day ,old snow well padded with new--,christmas ,eve in the ,bernina hospice--,the alarum rings--,misgivings before battle--,crampons and sealskins--,a causeway of snow--,an outraged glacier--,the ,disgrazia--,a chess-player and a ski-man--,unroped6--,in the twilight--,the ,tschierva hut--,back to ,pontresina--,hotel limpets--,waiting for imitators4 ,at the close of #aiaj ,marcel ,kurz was at ,pontresina4 ,i had occasion to draw up certain reports upon the winter aspect of the district1 and he kindly undertook the inspection of the glacier routes for me4 ,a few glorious days seemed about to efface the memory of many previous gloomy ones4 ,on the day on which this account begins1 a little snow had fallen in the morning1 the skier's welcome quotum4 ,nothing affords such excellent sport as old snow well padded out with about a foot of new floury stuff4 ,the ski blades sink nicely through the top layer of rustling crystals4 ,the ski-points pop out of the snow like the periscope of a submarine4 ,the sparkling prismatic flakes stream past each side of the lithe1 curled-up blade1 like silvery waves parted by the prow of a fast motor canoe4 8,the north wind10 writes ,mr4 ,kurz1 8was now clearing the sky of every cloud1 leaving the dazzling snowy heights and the forests below steeped in sunshine and brightness4 ,it was our last chance1 and1 in a few minutes1 our minds were made up to accept it4 ,half an hour later we were in the train on our way to the ,bernina pass4 8,the exact itinerary of this expedition ,i published in the ,alpina 7,mitteilungen des ,schweizer ,alpenclubs7 number of ,february #ast1 #aiaa1 p4 #bb4 ,the following only being intended as a short sketch1 ,i will not describe the route too minutely4 ,the principal landmarks are3 ,pontresina1 ,bernina pass1 ,alp ,pal1 ,pal glacier1 ,fellaria glacier1 ,upper ,scerscen glacier1 ,fuorcla ,sella1 ,sella glacier1 ,roseg glacier1 and back to ,pontresina4 8#8,grtzi ,herr ,stub6 ,grtzi ,herr ,kurz6' ,these first words of greeting1 uttered on our arrival by our little friend at the hospice1 showed her evident pleasure on seeing us so soon back again4 ,it was1 in fact1 our second visit to the hospice within the week1 but this time we came firmly intending at last to carry out our plan4 8,here was the same low-ceiled1 comfortable room in which we had sat before1 while the landlord and his friends talked the whole evening away1 with a big dog snoozing by the stove4 ,we had taken supper at this very table with ,casper ,grass1 the ,pontresina guide1 on ,christmas ,eve4 ,here had huddled together an ,italian couple1 busily writing endless cards of ,christmas greetings4 ,the landlord1 ever to be remembered1 his bead-like eyes looking out from behind his spectacles with a malicious twinkle1 stood up at times1 munching a long #8,brissago1' to see that all was right1 while talking volubly in ,italian4 ,a maidservant sat at the corner table1 pen in hand and with vacant look1 evidently stuck fast in the midst of her literary endeavours4 ,not a star was to be seen outside1 and the howling wind1 rattling the shutters with every gust1 made us feel how rash it was to have come at all4 ,to drown the sound of the storm we set the phonograph going1 which cheered but little our drooping spirits4 ,still1 we started on the morrow1 but on arriving at the ,alp ,grm1 the violence of the wind made it impossible to go further--a disappointment we had anticipated4 8,but now we were out on our second attempt1 and would not go back4 ,this time our friend ,grass had unfortunately been obliged to remain behind at ,pontresina1 in spite of his longing to join our expedition4 ,the weather was fine and cold1 intensely cold4 ,our chances of success were great2 the reconnoitring done on ,christmas ,eve had sharpened our appetite for the unknown beyond4 8,the alarum had rung long since1 and our candle had been alight some time4 ,the window-panes1 white with frost1 shut out the black night and the piercing cold2 never had one's bed felt so comfortable4 ,if our bodies remained motionless1 our thoughts wandered forth1 trying to pry into the secrets still lying concealed in the lap of the coming day1 just as the watchman's lamp pierces the darkness of the night4 8,there is a delightful thrill of impending battle hazards in being the first to break upon new ground1 as when a troop nearing the line of fire eagerly questions the dissolving morning mists and doubtingly greets the light that will expose it to the enemy's strokes4 ,what unkind shafts might ,fate have in store8 ,what bolts might the glacier be preparing to fire off1 when we should pass under the portcullisses of its castellated strongholds8 ,with what pitfalls might the snow desert not be strewn under the winning aspect of its rustling silken gown8 8,if we wished to reach the ,roseg glacier before nightfall1 we must cross the ,fuorcla ,sella between four and five o'clock that afternoon4 ,this1 supposing that we should have passed the ,pal glacier by midday4 ,all that1 and back to ,pontresina1 in one day6 ,would it be very hard work8 ,that was the question1 for nobody had yet ventured there in winter1 and on ski4 8,thus did our thoughts travel till we finally dropped off to sleep again1 only to wake a few minutes later with a start1 and leap from our beds to make up for lost time4 8,at #f4cj we left the hospice4 ,it was pitch dark1 though numberless were the stars shining overhead1 so the lantern was lighted which had already guided many travellers4 ,a cheery voice1 from one of the windows above1 wished us good luck1 and with this pleasant sound in our ears we started on our way4 ,illustration3 ,,piz ,,bernina ,,circuit4 7,reproduction made with authorisation of the ,swiss ,topographic ,service1 #bf4h4ab47 ,to face p4 #bdh4 8,having reached ,lago ,bianco1 we went due south1 the wind at our backs4 ,looking down1 we saw the valley of ,poschiavo sunk in the mist4 ,we rapidly crossed the lake and the level ground beyond1 when dawn began to break4 ,by the time we had passed ,pozzo del ,drago it was already broad daylight4 ,at the steep wooded slope above ,alp ,pal we took off our ski and put on crampons4 ,the ten- or eight-pronged crampons fit very well on to ski4 ,they are wide enough--being calculated to enclose the heavy-nailed sole of mountain shoes--to embrace the blade of the ski1 and the bands are long enough to be buckled conveniently over one's boots4 8,to the left appeared ,le ,prese1 with its lovely lake among forests of chestnuts1 while to the right began to tower the threatening mass of the ,pal glacier1 which formed part of our route4 ,we were again running on our ski when1 at this point1 the snow proving very slippery1 we attached our sealskins4 8,these should be fitted with a ring to throw over the point of the ski1 and should stretch down to the middle of the ski1 where they should terminate4 ,here they are fastened to the ski binding by a proper mechanical contrivance4 ,they may be taken on to the back end of the ski1 but then they are difficult to stretch and fix over the heel of the ski4 ,it is quite unnecessary to carry the sealskin so far back4 ,the clamp under the beak of the ski completes the arrangement and tightens or loosens the skin ad libitum4 8,we continued thus till our arrival at the first fall of the glacier1 when1 to reach the opposite side1 we passed along a narrow strip of snow we had noticed and marked to that effect some time before4 ,the slope became so steep that our sealskins failed to adhere1 and we were beginning to skate about on the hard crust of snow4 ,above our heads hung the sracs1 which forbade our venting our wrath in loud vociferations4 ,we strengthened ourselves1 therefore1 with the additional safeguard of our crampons1 and proceeded comfortably1 taking care to have a firm grip of the hard snow4 ,on arrival at the first table of the glacier we stopped for breakfast and enjoyed the sun4 ,before us stretched a long causeway of snow to the top of the glacier2 near us ,pizzo di ,verona1 its ice cascades resembling a shower of glittering emeralds1 cast a shadow on all around4 ,the weather was glorious4 ,stubli introduced me to several of his old friends towering on the opposite side4 ,far beyond appeared the majestic ,ortler group4 8,we continued our ascent round the western side of the glacier1 roped this time4 ,at the foot of ,piz ,cambrena we took the direction of the col opening to the west of ,pizzo di ,verona1 and from thence an easy way opened up through wonderful sracs all aglow with the morning sun4 ,va piano1 va sano4 ,a few more gaping crevasses had to be carefully avoided1 then the nv became even1 and we finally reached the col1 leaving behind us the ,pal glacier1 moping over its mysteries now unveiled4 ,it was midday4 8,we could not restrain an outburst of admiration at the new world before us1 with the ,disgrazia as the culminating point4 ,stubli1 mad with delight1 began a wild dance on the edge of the precipice4 ,one of the many slabs of stone which surrounded us served well for a table4 ,while the kettle was boiling we could have had time to ascend ,pizzo di ,verona1 but we preferred to remain where we were and enjoy the wonders before us1 taking an occasional photograph4 ,a great stillness reigned everywhere4 ,we did not talk4 ,we understood each other just as well1 perhaps better4 ,but why should there not have been more than the two of us to enjoy that glorious sight8 ,would that ,i could have transported all you city people to magic scenes like these6 8,i cannot help thinking of one who1 regularly every day1 at ,zrich1 comes to the restaurant where ,i dine to play his game of chess at a table near me4 ,he salutes his partner1 the small glass of cognac is brought1 the cigars are lighted1 and then the game begins and continues to the end1 without a single word being uttered1 and this each day of his life4 ,poor wretch1 how ,i pity you6 ,how shall we repay our fathers for showing us the mountains and their glory8 8,we were roused from our motionless ecstasy by a sensation of cold1 and upwards still1 continued our way along the ,italian frontier towards the ,piz ,zupo1 and lazily skid over the frozen ice-waves of the ,fellaria glacier4 ,how shall ,i describe the fairy-like scenes met at every step8 ,we came to the foot of the huge buttresses of the ,piz ,zupo and ,piz ,argient4 ,what a contrast between those awful1 dark1 jagged artes and the snowy robes flowing round their feet8 ,further on we came into a fresh region of glaciers1 dazzling in their brightness1 with the mass of the ,disgrazia in the background1 sunk in shadow4 8#8,man wird verrckt6' exclaimed ,stubli1 my dear little friend ,stub4 8,having unroped and relieved our ski both of crampons and sealskins1 we once more glided softly over those lovely snow deserts which run along the border on ,italian territory4 ,a cry of #8,youh' fills the air4 ,stubli was flying over an enchanting lake of ice1 and though the snow was not of the best1 we enjoyed our run to the full4 ,soon we were half-way across the ,fellaria glacier1 directing our steps towards the western side1 where a new region was about to open before us2 a black arte1 however1 hid the other side still from view4 ,it was a solemn moment4 ,we began to descend and fly over the ground1 when1 turning the cornice of rock1 we suddenly stopped to gaze on the wonderful sight before us4 ,the two ,scerscen glaciers stood out bathed in light at the foot of the ,gmels and ,piz ,roseg1 the whole suffused with the soft mauve tints of the ebbing twilight4 8,we soon reached the ,upper ,scerscen glacier1 in the midst of a formidable amphitheatre of mountains4 ,the king of them all1 ,piz ,bernina1 was at last revealed to us1 towering above ,piz ,argient1 ,crast ,agzza1 and ,monte ,rosso di ,scerscen4 ,the ,italians showed their good taste in erecting the ,rifugio ,marinelli in this very ,eden4 ,we could stop at this little stone hut for the night4 ,we preferred1 however1 continuing our run4 ,from here to the ,fuorcla ,sella we roped1 and made a large circuit to avoid the region of crevasses as much as possible4 ,soft clouds of snow were raised by the wind1 and sparkled like diamonds in the sun4 ,illustration3 ,,upper ,,scerscen ,,and ,,roseg ,,glaciers4 ,to face p4 #bec4 8,by twilight we began ascending the last slopes to the ,fuorcla ,sella4 ,we reached the col1 and1 leaving the sunny ,italian slopes behind us1 entered into the shadow of the ,sella basin4 ,it was #d4cj p4m42 we still had three-quarters of an hour of daylight left1 which would exactly allow us to reach the flat of the ,roseg glacier4 ,we enjoyed a lovely run over the soft1 powdery snow tinted with mauve1 the reflection from the rocks of ,piz ,roseg all on fire in the setting sun4 ,we knew our way here by heart1 and skimmed over the snow without fear1 #8yodling' frantically4 8,by the last ray of the setting sun we left the ,sella glacier1 and passed on to the ,roseg glacier4 ,there were still a few traces left of our expedition three days before on our way to the ,piz ,glschaint4 ,far in the distance we could see the lights of ,pontresina brightly shining4 ,we seemed quite near already4 ,we stepped over the back of the glacier in long strides1 and on nearing the ,tschierva hut1 where two friends were to meet us1 we began to yodle4 ,however1 our calls remained unanswered1 and no lights could we see4 ,we were not astonished on learning later that those two distinguished mountaineers had been enjoying luxurious couches at ,samaden all the time6 8,one difficulty remained1 in the shape of the ,tschierva moraine4 ,i asked ,stubli for some light4 ,he tied an electric lamp on to his belt1 leaving me in complete darkness6 8,a little later we started on a splendid run1 descending from the ,tschierva hut1 where we flew over the ground like phantoms4 ,this run was cut short on arrival at the bridge of the ,roseg ,restaurant1 where the road is completely spoiled with the deep ruts made by the sleighs4 ,we took advantage of this stoppage to rest awhile and finish some cake left from our morning's repast4 ,after this1 we passed through the beautiful ,val ,roseg1 a lovely spot1 but wearisome after a long night run4 8,in the hotel1 brilliant with many electric lights1 we are sitting at a table with our friend1 the guide ,grass1 and some welcome bottles of wine4 ,stubli1 the pink of neatness1 is giving the guide a long account of our trip4 ,around us the usual set of well-dressed people laugh and talk4 ,for them it is like every other evening2 for myself1 ,i find it difficult to realise that all ,i have seen and felt is not a dream4 ,a glow of happiness fills my heart that not all these lights could surpass1 and the wish comes to shut out all around and rest once more in those glorious solitudes4 ,what a gulf seems to separate me from those who have not seen the wondrous mountains1 those who have not shared our vision of the silent snows6 8,life is made up of contrasts1 and ,i take pleasure in recalling them to my mind in order to perpetuate their memory40 ,strange it is1 on reading over those lines written by ,marcel ,kurz1 to have to add that the idea of the ,piz ,bernina ski circuit did not germinate in a ,pontresina mind4 ,forsooth it was reserved for the ,swiss to conceive and execute4 ,but how strange is that apathy1 that subjection to routine on the part of an otherwise bold and enterprising people6 ,and how strange too that out of the number of foreign sportsmen congregating every winter in the ,engadine1 not one could brace himself to 8get up and go0 from ,pontresina to the ,bernina hospice1 thence to the refuge ,marinelli1 thence to the ,tschierva hut and back to ,pontresina1 in three days1 if he so pleased6 ,illustration ,,chapter ,x ,,from ,,arosa ,,to ,,bellinzona ,,over ,,the ,,bernardino ,,pass ,the ,arosa ,information ,bureau--,the hospitality of sanatorium guests--,the allurements of loneliness--,whither the spirit leads--,avalanche weather--,the ,spring god and ,king ,frost--,the source of the ,rhine--,the post sleigh in a winter storm--,the ,bernardino pass--,brissago4 ,badenin ,aargau is a flourishing watering-place1 whence ,i was glad to make my escape a few years ago in the last days of ,march4 ,i had wired to the information bureau at ,arosa1 asking how long ,i might expect to find good snow4 ,the answer came3 8,till the middle of ,may10 which sounded boastful1 in fact rather alarming1 by promising so very much4 ,but why should ,i malign those good people8 ,i found heaps and heaps of snow1 enough to satisfy all reasonable requirements till the middle of ,june4 ,my little daughter kept then a small paper box1 in which she stored up all the fine weather ,i might wish to apply for4 ,on fair terms of purchase she 8let out0 a certain number of fine days--as many as she thought ,i might be allowed--to take me to ,arosa and thence to ,bellinzona1 where ,i was to join her and her mother on the way to ,brissago on ,lago ,maggiore4 ,there certain open-air orange and lemon groves ,i knew of awaited us and a blossoming aloe near by on the way to ,ascona4 ,to swoop down the ,bernardino pass upon ,mesocco on ski and land a few hours later on the banks of ,lago ,maggiore1 after crossing the ,rhaetic ,alps from ,arosa to ,hinterrhein1 tickled my fancy4 ,my line would be from ,arosa to ,lenzerheide1 along the ,oberhalbstein valley to ,stalla1 otherwise called ,bivio1 thence to ,cresta ,avers1 and somehow along the ,madesimo pass to the ,splgen road1 and then east to ,hinterrhein1 and across the ,bernardino pass through the village of that name to ,mesocco4 ,the whole thing could be done on ski4 ,it would nowhere take me over glaciers4 ,i should do this alone1 carrying my pack1 sleeping every night in a comfortable bed1 and tramping by day on ski like any ordinary summer vagabond wasting his shoe-leather on the hard high road4 ,i could imagine nothing pleasanter4 ,i should not take off my ski till the last strip of snow sticking to the edge of the ,mesocco road gave way and should bring my navigation to a standstill upon the characteristic mixture of mud and gravel found on post-roads during the spring thaw4 ,there is no small charm in slithering upon snow getting thinner and thinner till it is from two to three inches deep and tapering in the end to the bare inch1 which is enough for the expert runner4 ,spring has a delightful way of creeping and sneaking up the ,alpine passes1 using against ,king ,frost every seduction that a soft1 tender heart can devise to disarm a fierce1 unrelenting spirit4 ,it threads its way delicately from one warm1 protected nook to another1 and throws out feelers that stretch forth tremblingly from the rock crannies into the rough air4 ,flowerets peep out here and there4 ,the eggs of frogs float about in slimy masses upon pools of warm water banked in with snow4 ,the released springs and waterfalls throw off their transparent scarves of iridescent crystal ice4 ,the blackbirds hop about from branch to branch piping upon bare trees that are still sunny through and through1 but do not yet venture to chill their feet by touching the ground still encumbered with deep snow4 ,the hard winter god1 gradually coaxed into a softer mood1 relaxes his hold upon the crust of the earth4 ,what more delightful than this mixture of two seasons8 ,under one's feet all is winter still4 ,above1 spring skies1 a scented air4 ,within one's breast a heart yielding gently to the suggestions of a new atmosphere4 ,to enhance the contrast and accelerate its phases1 the spring god artfully turned the head of my ski full south straight in the face of the sun4 ,thus it is within any one's power to rewrite in this way for himself ,hesiod's 8,book of ,days10 and he will do it best if alone4 ,it was a peculiar thing to pass from ,arosa1 still lying under six feet of snow1 over the south brim of the cup and to swoop down upon ,lenzerheide1 while the steamy fog of incipient spring hung over the moving1 thawing masses1 and the man who had brought me up so far shrank back4 ,there were cracklings round about and dull thuds4 ,a roar and clang came up from the bottom of the gorge as the snowbanks crashed in upon the stream whose reawakening had soaked and eaten away their supports4 ,something had gone wrong with a ski-binding4 ,thus a kindly word may be spoken in time by the mountain fiend before he strikes4 ,he plays fair4 ,go away1 he says1 unless you know that you have the luck of the ,evil ,one4 ,the brim of that snow cup was a parting line4 ,one pair of ski carried its man back the way he had come4 ,the other carried its man forward whither the spirit led4 ,i left ,arosa with a pang of regret4 ,i had lived there some perfectly happy and health-giving days in an abode reserved for so many who are sick beyond human help4 ,i was alone1 and went from table to table as a guest bidden to dinner4 ,my hosts would1 if ,i may apply this figure of speech to a moral attitude1 seek me out for my strength1 and ,i found1 in the proximity of their illness1 the shadow of our common human plight falling across my path1 bringing with it a kind of excuse for my rude temporary immunity from physical ills in which in time we all share alike1 but which seem to create such unfair contrasts4 ,some were there1 so to say1 for a last throw of the dice in this ,monte ,carlo of consumptives4 ,on the return of some to health depended the future of a home1 wife1 children1 awaiting anxiously the physician's verdict upon their chief1 for whose cure the last moneys of the family were now being staked upon the double card1 ,arosa ,davos4 ,a powerfully built ,englishman1 among others1 ,i got to know4 ,on the next day he was to be told whether he could go home or not4 ,he was writing to his wife in the last hour of that day1 about that hour of the next which would hail his return to life1 duty1 and love1 or bring down upon his head another of those blows for which there is no other remedy than the infinite serenity of the children of ,god4 ,then he came up to me1 spoke of the impending interview and of all that was at stake4 ,i looked at him and said1 8,you are as sound as a bell40 ,the words were magnetic4 ,they were posted to ,london that night1 and the next day the happy father and husband1 released by the professional man's verdict1 prepared to pack4 ,there are two tragedies that to my mind are particularly pathetic1 both ,alpine--that of the lung patient whom the ,alpine sun cannot save1 and that of the ,alp worshipper in bounding health for whom the ,alps have become as a car of ,juggernaut4 ,i have seen dead1 handsome young men1 for whom the avalanche had woven a shroud of snow1 and ,i have beheld wasted frames for whom the sun could not weave fresh physical tissues4 ,of the ,arosa scenes ,i carried a keen remembrance as ,i passed1 safe and sure1 from ice-cold slope to sun-baked slope1 whether the northern blast froze my moustache1 or the ,ausonian breeze loosened the rigidity of the air into balmy wafts4 ,but ,arosa was not without its moments of fun4 ,there was a parson there who gave me his ,christian name to guess4 ,it began with ,b1 and that was to be the clue4 ,but ,i suggested ,bradshaw1 ,bradlaw1 and ,beelzebub before his obliging wife put me on the way to the right spelling1 ,bible4 ,of all places that suggest ,chaos1 a poor bare beginning of things1 that place is the desolate spot in which the ,hinter ,rhine takes its rise4 ,it is called ,paradise1 and if ever man required to cheer himself with a euphemism1 it might be here4 ,from ,splgen to ,hinterrhein extends a flat tract of country on every inch of which nature has left an impression as of exhausted powers4 ,and yet1 under those external marks of sterility1 lurks the beginning of a great thing1 the ,rhine1 its fruitful valleys1 its grandeur1 its world-renowned towns4 ,you may 8tail0 behind a post-horse from ,splgen to ,hinterrhein for an hour in the gathering dusk1 and wonder whether the next moment will not drop you over the edge of the world4 ,but a comfortable inn will open its homely rooms4 ,you will tumble among children learning their lessons around the stove4 ,a place will be made for you beside the young mother with her youngest hanging at her breast4 ,the father will walk in with the proud gait of him who bears himself with grace and kindness in his sense of manly power4 8,crossing the ,bernardino10 he says1 8to-morrow1 alone60 8,why not8 ,i am on ski2 the post-sleigh does its service in all weathers40 8,yes1 but two men go together with the sledge and the horses40 ,indeed1 ,i saw them the next day4 ,i left at a reasonably late hour1 and they left still later1 catching me up along the flat4 ,then ,i passed them up the slope4 ,they took all the windings1 ,i cut across4 ,it was a terribly bleak day4 ,the wind blew the snow in wreaths1 and these laid themselves across the old hard wreaths4 ,sleigh and horses cut through them1 throwing out the two men4 ,they rose again1 and got back into their seat to cut through the next wreath4 ,this time the sleigh was overturned4 ,the horses--harnessed tandem fashion--plunged1 reared upon their sinking hind-quarters1 ploughing the snow with their breasts1 while their hoofs pawed about for a footing4 ,then they came off with a rush1 once more taking the sledge through4 ,it was a long1 narrow sleigh1 just wide enough to hold two men1 with the mail bags boxed in behind them--more like a torpedo than anything else4 ,it seemed impossible to distinguish the causeway under the wreaths of snow1 in the snow dust blown up by the wind and with strips of fog flying and curling about4 ,yet the horses kept to the winter track1 and all that plunging and kicking was the ordinary business of every day4 ,the ,cantonieri stationed from league to league in stone sheds all along the pass1 kept guard in the worst places1 and came out with spade and shovel to expedite the mail4 ,i saw all that1 hovering about like a stormy petrel1 unable to make out whether my hoverings were looked upon as of bad or good augury4 ,i expect the latter1 for if there is a gift that mountaineers seldom lack1 it is that of jovial good humour4 ,to talk and exchange impressions would not be the question1 till we might 8foregather0 in ,bernardino village1 where horses would be changed and men might rest4 ,but long before the mail came down ,i was swinging through the empty village1 between its deserted hotels1 leaving the storm behind me and opening my coat to the sun-rays that brought the snow down in trickles from the roofs4 ,on and on ,i went1 staying at last my course on the edge of a wood above ,mesocco4 ,there ,i sat on the corner of a stone wall1 riding it as a lady's saddle1 with one ski dangling and the other hanging down as a stirrup1 lost in contemplation4 ,the contrast was so complete1 so wonderful1 knotting together as it were in one bow the most opposite aspects of nature4 ,there ,i rested1 snow-man and sun-man in one4 ,a peasant came slowly and stolidly by1 making a mess of the thin snow with his heavy boots4 ,he looked at me with great sympathy1 stopped1 and let out that one word in the ,italian tongue1 8,stanco60 78,tired607 ,a few hours later my ski were stowed away in an attic room at ,brissago4 ,their time was up4 ,but ,i would take them out again on the return of the appointed hour4 8,jamais press1 toujours prt40 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,glaciers--,,avalanches--,,military ,,ski-,,ing ,a legacy from the past--,the formation of glaciers and atmospheric conditions--,forests and glaciers--,our deficient knowledge--,the upper ice and snow reservoirs--,what is the annual snowfall and what becomes of it8--,how glaciers may be classed--,mechanical forces at work--,moraines and sracs--,avalanches--,periodic avalanches--,accidental avalanches--,the general causes--,the statics of snow--,what happens to winter snow--,strata--,how steep slopes may be classed--,excusable ignorance of strangers to the ,alps--,those who write glibly in home magazines--,unsafe slopes--,avalanches when running across slopes--,the probing-stick--,avalanche runs--,military ski-ing--,the ,st4 ,gothard and ,st4 ,maurice districts--,military raids in the ,high ,alps--,the glaciers as military highways--,riflemen on foot as against marksmen on ski4 ,on the whole the ,mid-,european glaciers are a legacy from a distant past4 ,their former size and extent corresponded to general meteorological conditions which have long ceased to exist4 ,they might--and no doubt did--alternately increase and decrease within historical times4 ,they nevertheless must be viewed as a bequest1 a kind of heirloom coming from a prehistoric ancestry4 ,they are the survival of a phenomenon which1 in its former compass and intensity1 is no longer compatible with the meteorological rgime of ,central ,europe4 ,the temperature most suitable for the formation of ice in nature is the temperature which remains the most steadily around the freezing-point of water4 ,extremes of temperature are not favourable to the formation of snow1 which is the form in which water generally passes into glacier ice4 ,it stands to reason that the oftener the atmosphere can be saturated with moisture in circumstances which allow a frequent discharge in the shape of snow falling upon surfaces that are iced--or such as will retain the snow1 assuring the transformation of some of it1 ultimately1 into ice--the more will the thermometer readings show a temperature rising and falling only moderately above and below the freezing-point of natural water4 ,there is no use in further emphasising this obvious truth4 ,everybody will understand that moisture formed in hot tracts of the atmosphere has little chance of being converted into snow1 and that1 while a warm atmosphere may generate water--destructive of ice and snow surfaces--a very cold atmosphere cannot assist in glacier formation--on high land1 at any rate--for want of vapours to condensate and precipitate1 and for want of water masses to consolidate4 ,it follows that1 within historical times1 the ,alpine glaciers have undergone variations according to changes in the quantity of moisture contained in the atmosphere1 theirs being such altitudes and such climatic conditions as might allow the ,centigrade thermometer to swing pretty steadily between #bj degrees above zero and #bj degrees under1 all the year round and in the course of a day4 ,these conditions existed more fully in periods when the ,alps were well wooded4 ,such a period pre-existed the first historical epoch of ,switzerland4 ,under the ,romans1 say from #ej ,b4,c4 to #ejj ,a4,d41 this first historical epoch was marked by the wholesale destruction of forests--the usual price to be paid for civilisation--and the glacier world retreated in a ratio commensurate with the process of denudation4 ,then came the ,early ,middle ,ages1 which for about six or seven hundred years show a distinct retrogression in ,swiss civilisation4 ,the glaciers now regained some of the ground they had lost1 because the wooded surface1 which is the most favourable to the condensation of moisture1 underwent a considerable increase4 ,in modern times the forest area has again undergone such shrinkage that it has reached the minimum when artificial means have to be devised for its preservation4 ,glaciers have gone back again4 ,we may therefore define glaciers as ice and snow reservoirs formed under prehistoric conditions which no longer exist4 ,they are kept alive on a reduced scale1 in a direct ratio to the moisture yielded by the atmosphere as often as it is conveniently a little above and a little below the freezing-point of natural water4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,sonadon ,,glacier4 ,to face p4 #bff4 ,our knowledge of the glacier world in its formative processes is as yet extremely deficient4 ,what proportion of the year's snowfall--within the glacier region--is actually converted into ice8 ,what proportion melts away on the surface and passes directly into water1 to be carried away1 carrying along with itself some of the ice8 ,what proportion is1 by sublimation and evaporation1 returned to the atmosphere1 to become again the toy of winds1 in the shape of snow or rain-clouds1 never feeding the glacier at all on which it first fell8 ,on the other hand1 who can tell how much ice is formed on the glacier surface by the direct absorption of the air moisture collecting upon such a condensator8 ,and would it be alien to our subject to ask what effect may have on the present glaciers the loss of pressure consequent upon the enormous reduction in bulk and height which they have undergone8 ,is the glacier ice formed under the present rate of pressure capable of offering anything like the same resistance to disintegration as its prehistoric congener8 ,what are its powers of self-preservation under the vastly inferior pressure which it experiences in the very places in which ice was once packed to a height and in a bulk we should not like to express in figures1 even if we possessed competent data8 ,the broad fact seems to be that as much snow as falls on the glaciers throughout the year is taken back into the atmosphere1 and that the snow congealed and fixed in the upper basins is as nothing compared with the quantity of water that evaporates or runs away at the nether end of the mass every summer4 ,what is the capacity of the ice-forming firn of the ,aletsch basin compared to the extent of its melting surface8 ,and how much snow does the firn receive every year from the atmosphere8 ,and how much of that snow is incorporated8 ,there are now so many approaches to the glacier world of ,switzerland that it should be easy to determine1 at the outlet of a few typical glaciers1 the amount of water thaw conveys to the valleys below4 ,according to the season1 it is quite easy to distinguish between rain-water1 water from springs1 and glacier water4 ,such observations would lead to results reciprocally verificatory4 ,my provisional conclusions are that3-- #a4 ,the snow falling on the ,swiss glaciers is a mere fraction of the quantity wanted to assure their stability4 #b4 ,the average snowfall of any year returns to the atmosphere4 #c4 ,the source and means of congealation are not proportionate to the exigencies of ice-formation1 even for the maintenance of the status quo4 #d4 ,the glaciers1 regressing as they are now doing1 are not being replenished to any appreciable extent from the so-called everlasting snow storage1 and certainly not at all in proportion to their wastage4 ,in other words3-- #a4 ,in a number of years ,x the whole glacier mass of ,switzerland is dissolved and reconstituted in proportions that are less than in the preceding ,x period4 #b4 ,the snow fallen during the period ,x--if present conditions are accepted--is pumped back by the atmosphere during the same period4 #c4 ,the quantity of water flowing from those glaciers in the time is greater than the means of glacier recuperation4 #d4 ,yet the glaciers do recuperate in some proportion to their former size4 #e4 ,consequently the condensation and congealing of atmospheric moisture must be much more effective an agent than hitherto suspected1 for there is no reason why1 upwards of #i1jjj feet1 snow should be less liable to thaw on ice than on rock surfaces4 ,rock and ice areas are conterminous4 ,glaciers may be classed1 according to their physical conformation1 under the following headings3-- #a4 ,circular ,schema4--,they are then enclosed in a basin more or less irregular in shape4 ,the enclosed mass of ice remains concave as long as it is lower than the rim of the basin4 ,but it becomes convex in the centre when it rises above the horizontal line joining the opposite rims of the basin4 #b4 ,longitudinal ,schema4--,a4 ,on the flat1 or approximately1 those glaciers show convex surfaces4 ,b4 ,when resting on a slope they are concave in the upper basin1 which feeds them and become convex as they reach lower and wider channels4 ,this second type is the normal glacier type4 ,a diagram or section of the convex portion of the glacier--an ideal diagram of course--would show the mechanical and static forces at work in a fan-shaped formation radiating from a point on the not geometrical1 but mechanical1 centre line of the glacier1 this point being situated on its bed1 where the side-pressures converge and annihilate each other's progress4 ,from this point the bottom ice works its way up to the melting-surface--but obliquely1 being the whole time carried down by the slope--and throws up side moraines and one or several spinal moraines in the process4 ,the spinal moraines always rest on pure ice4 ,the ice seams have been thrown up from the inside4 ,crevasses may occur in an outward1 open1 surface-formation1 as in sracs when they are grouped together1 or else they are the result of accidental deflections or temporary oppositions in mechanical and static forces at work in the ice4 ,we said a while ago that there was no reason why1 at the height of #i1jjj feet and upwards1 snow accumulations should be more stable and constant on ice surfaces than on rock4 ,the cause for this is simply that rock and ice are too near to each other and at altitudes too closely alike for serious differences in temperature4 ,let us now pass to the matter of avalanches4 ,if snow is utterly unstable on rock1 so it is on ice4 ,rock and ice constitute an avalanche area1 which in winter extends down so as to include all steepnesses on which snow may lodge and whence it may be dislodged by the forces of ,nature4 ,avalanches may be periodic or accidental4 ,a periodic avalanche is the kind that comes down regularly at a known spot1 each time sufficient cause is brought into play4 ,maps of the ,alps exist on which those periodic avalanches are noted4 ,almost every ,alpine village has a periodic avalanche on its territory4 ,the peasants know when and where to expect it4 ,it is called the avalanche of so and so1 and your business is to find out1 each time you propose going out on an expedition1 whether it has come down or not1 and all about it4 ,an accidental avalanche arises from general causes taking effect fortuitously4 ,the general causes are3-- #a4 ,a quick rise in the temperature4 #b4 ,a sudden fall of the barometer4 #c4 ,a change of wind4 #d4 ,a fresh fall of snow4 #e4 ,slopes of a certain angle and conformation4 #f4 ,differences of density1 moisture1 and consistency in superposed layers of snow4 ,a study of the statics of snow is the royal road to the understanding of avalanches4 ,on a slope snow is in a state of more or less pronounced instability4 ,a first fall of dry winter snow upon dry slopes is extremely avalanchy1 provided it be heavy enough4 ,if it be a fall of wet snow on a porous surface--that is1 neither frozen ground nor hard rock--the snow will as it were flop together in a slithering mass1 but is not likely to form itself into a dangerous compact floe4 ,as soon as a second fall of snow comes to adhere to what is left of the first1 it may happen that the second layer does not get properly welded to the first4 ,the thoroughness of the attachment depends on the adhesiveness of the snow and on weather conditions4 ,a foundation is therefore laid for the slipping of the new snow upon the surface of the old4 ,in the course of the winter the snow gets consolidated in one mass1 but the process takes each time from two to three days1 during which caution is necessary4 ,a homogeneous layer of snow1 hardened from the outside by wind pressure1 or freezing over after a slight thaw1 may then break up into slabs which slide down on the older snow1 should one with ski1 or in any other fashion1 cut that snow away--at any point--from its support4 ,a stratum of snow on a steep open slope is like a piece of cardboard balanced on your finger4 ,there is a limit to the inclination of the cardboard beyond which it will slip off its pivot4 ,so it is with snow4 ,newly fallen snow soon ceases to be an amorphous mealy mass4 ,its bottom layer models itself on the surface on which it lies and1 if turned over1 would show that surface en relief4 ,the next stratum adheres to the first more or less1 and finds points of support for itself1 such as rocks protruding through the first stratum1 trees1 shrubs1 fences1 dykes1 c4 ,every ensuing layer is less shored up than the one beneath4 ,should there be a rise in the temperature1 an increase of moisture brought on by a change in the wind1 the snow becomes heavier and may start down2 as a dry sponge on an inclined board1 gradually absorbing water1 must slide down when the inclination of the board and the quantity of water reach the critical point4 ,our illustration from the cardboard balanced on a finger-tip1 and from the sponge on an inclined plane1 makes it clear that it is impossible to state at what definite angle the equipoise of a snow stratum must be lost or is sure to be kept4 ,that angle depends on the finger-tip1 on the weight and size of the cardboard1 on the sponginess of the sponge1 on the slipperiness of the plank1 on your holding your breath1 or mischievously blowing upon the suspended object1 c4 ,when about to capsize1 the cardboard may meet some external point of support1 such as your raised hand1 which1 in the case of the snow stratum1 would be a pre-existing prop and maintain an otherwise impossible stability4 ,a fall in the barometer almost always means an increase of moisture which is unfavourable to the steadiness of old snow4 ,a dry1 hot wind--such as foehn--is worse1 because its heat penetrates the snow to the very bottom and sets it moving throughout its thickness4 ,new snow is dangerous till it has had time to set--that is1 for two or three days4 ,runners are generally agreed to call steep the slopes on which avalanches may occur4 ,steep slopes are either concave1 convex1 or straight4 ,they are concave when the slopes converge towards a central dividing line lying deeper1 to the eye1 than their sides2 these are scooped out of the hill4 ,concave slopes are3-- #a4 ,funnel-shaped1 when the funnel may be either upright or upside down4 ,if it is upright1 the wide opening is at the top4 ,if the slope affect the shape of a reversed funnel1 it opens out at the bottom1 but it may also be choked up in the middle1 opening up again above1 like an hour-glass4 ,concave slopes are quite safe if strewn with rocks1 overgrown with shrubs1 or wooded4 ,they are untrustworthy if the sides have been planed down1 as it were1 by what we may call natural wear and tear4 ,the reader sees here how the indications of nature may be properly interpreted4 ,it is quite clear that a gorge which is a natural shrubbery1 for instance1 has not been visited by avalanches for a time at least as long as the plants took to grow to their visible size4 ,the trouble here is that ,londoners1 for example1 having to deal with a gorge which they have not seen free from snow1 cannot be expected to tell whether it is safe or not4 ,the local man alone--a permanent eye-witness--possesses the information required1 and failing actual acquaintance with the place1 a practised mountaineer alone can form an opinion4 ,slopes are convex when the centre line1 to the eye1 rises above their sides4 ,these stand out from the hill1 diverging from its top4 ,convex slopes should be ascended and descended along the dividing-line4 ,this line1 as a dominating centre1 will always be sought out by the good ,high ,alp runner4 ,it is both the shortest and surest path from point to point1 and great is the delight to see at one's feet the avalanche runs4 ,if the coping is occupied by rocks1 the runner will keep to the snow near to the rocks1 but he has no business there at all if the rock ridge is considerable enough to harbour avalanche snow4 ,a practised eye sees at a glance whether snow in excess of the capacity of the gullies is still suspended above the runner's head1 or whether it lies in cakes and balls at his feet4 ,here again the native will know4 ,it would help you but little to say that you have found him out to be an unconventional runner1 that he is slow and not at all the handy man you expected4 ,however much you may be entitled to fancy yourself or your skill as a conventional runner1 he is the better mountaineer1 and should your conventional style leave you in the lurch1 he is the fellow to do the right thing for you4 ,it is then just as well to remember1 when one writes in a home magazine1 that1 on the spot1 one was the incompetent person of the party4 8,he of the ice-axe10 your guide1 would do that second job1 too1 far better than you1 if the use of the pen in that periodical was not inconsistent with his inferior social standing and extremely imperfect education4 ,the straight slope is the slope on which every point is on the same plane as another4 ,these slopes are safe when they abut on to ground which obviously is locally viewed as not exposed to avalanches3 vineyards1 potato-fields1 woods1 hay-lofts1 c4 ,they are unsafe when undermined by a trickle of water--springs1 for instance--and when the layer of snow next to the ground has melted away without affecting the upper layers2 or when the slope rests upon a protruding ledge over which it bulges out2 or when it is cut by longitudinal ribs of blown-out snow which you may break open unawares1 letting out the mealy contents upon yourself4 ,all slopes may be traversed--that is1 you may run across them obliquely4 ,when about to traverse1 look to the foot of the slope1 and then look to the head of the slope4 ,if all is right1 sound the snow with your stick and glance into the conic hole made by it4 ,in time you will acquire an ability to tell by the feel whether the snow is mealy1 or set1 or damp1 and how many layers your stick breaks through before coming to a standstill upon frozen ground1 or against rock1 or before sinking into the hollow space that may exist between the nethermost layer of snow and the soil4 ,of course1 all this you cannot do with a short1 light bamboo1 conveniently fitted with an osier disk within three inches of the point6 ,to go forth so simply equipped means that you are leaving your brains at home on that day--a thing ,i often do myself--but1 ,i assure you1 only when out for mere play6 ,a stick that cannot be used on an emergency either as an anchor or as a sounding-line to take castings with1 is a poor friend4 ,it is instructive to look curiously into the hole made by one's stick4 ,what would be the use of a sport practised simply as an opportunity for being scatter-brained with impunity1 so long as luck lasts8 ,on the hill-side1 slopes--concave1 convex1 and straight--are joined to one another by linking surfaces varying in shape and inclination1 but of too limited a development and too irregular a build to offer to avalanches any opportunity of spreading over them2 or else slopes are separated from one another by breaks in the ski-ing surface1 such as ravines4 ,in these1 masses of snow gather most conveniently4 ,the longitudinal gaps opened up by landslips1 torrent beds1 or even only the slides made by wood-cutters through forest and pasture land to launch felled trees into the valley1 are very distinctly avalanche runs4 ,efforts are now being made to bar such runs by artificial plantations1 fencings1 or walls4 ,the centre of military ski-running in ,switzerland is in the environment of the permanent ,alpine forts which defend the ,st4 ,gothard knot of trans-,alpine and sub-,alpine 7railway tunnels7 lines of communication from ,italy into ,switzerland1 betwixt the sources of the ,reuss1 ,ticino1 ,rhine1 and ,rhne4 ,another centre is situated in the ,rhne ,valley1 at the point where a natural defile bars the line of communication between the upper ,rhne ,valley1 at ,st4 ,maurice1 and the ,lake of ,geneva1 commanding to some extent the roads converging upon that point from ,northern ,savoy and leading to it from ,italy over the ,st4 ,bernard pass or through the ,simplon tunnel4 ,the opening of the ,loetschberg tunnel on the new short railway route between ,berne and ,milan will1 however1 make it advisable to erect some kind of additional works about ,brigue4 ,the ,gothard and ,st4 ,maurice guards use ski1 and ski-ing detachments are about to be attached to the brigades of mountain infantry located all along the range of the ,alps4 ,many junior ,swiss officers have made themselves proficient in the new mountaineering by joining military ski courses4 ,military patrol competitions meet with much favour at the large ski gatherings4 ,for all that1 the adaptability of ski to military purposes is not very great in the ,high ,alps4 ,still they are called upon to become quite a consideration in border defence or attack4 ,small troops of skiers could pass easily from one side to another of the ,alps1 occupying flying posts of observation1 and even raiding places where the defence would have preferred to put its own outposts1 had it not allowed itself to be forestalled4 ,the ,alpine ,club huts afford sufficient shelter for summarily equipped detachments numbering from twenty to forty men4 ,bodies of troops crossing the ,alps in winter by the passes available for considerable military transport would enjoy a distinct advantage if the outlet of the passes had been previously occupied by half or quarter companies of bold ski-ing infantry pouncing1 as it were1 from the skies upon small snow-bound places with summer hotels ready for occupation and better stocked with means of subsistence than one would at first be led to expect4 ,in some ,swiss ,alpine villages particularly1 large supplies are often accumulated for the next summer season1 and in others much merchandise is stored up to accommodate the ,italian smugglers whose 8exports0 from ,switzerland are all the year round a source of profit to their purveyors4 ,illustration3 ,,at ,,the ,,foot ,,of ,,col ,d',h,,rens4 ,to face p4 #bgi4 ,swiss ski-runners1 by expeditions like my own1 have proved that the glaciers may be used1 within strict limits1 as highways for rapid and unexpected military movements4 ,till now it was assumed that crevasses1 iced rocks1 and piles upon piles of corniced snow would offer insuperable obstacles to any military action4 ,but the crevasses--as the reader now knows--are most hermetically sealed4 ,to the expert and wary runner the snow opposes no greater barrier than to the pedestrian in summer4 ,does not history teach how foot-soldiers have en masse1 with artillery and baggage1 been moved to and fro across the ,alps8 ,henceforth1 military runners may be trusted to scour the ranges1 undetected1 cutting communications one day at the ,st4 ,bernard hospice and opening fire three days later upon the ,simplon hospice1 hanging alternately on the only two military roads joining ,switzerland and ,italy between the ,st4 ,gothard forts and ,french ,savoy4 ,those raiding parties could be followed by considerable parties of transport men1 carrying fresh ammunition and supplies4 ,such places as ,bourg ,st4 ,pierre1 ,fionnay1 ,arolla1 ,zinal1 ,zermatt1 ,saas1 would be1 from the ,italian point of view1 worth seizing and manning at the outset of a winter campaign4 ,from the point of view of a ,swiss advance aiming at laying hold of the southern outlets of the military roads before the enemy could move up its advanced columns1 those places would be valuable bases for the auxiliary services waiting upon the raiding detachments4 ,hitherto forces crossing the ,alps in winter could expect to be safe from attack on their flanks4 ,henceforth there might be a very different story to relate4 ,the few experiments hitherto made show that an attack by skirmishing ski-runners upon columns on the march could not be met by dispatching against them rifle-men on foot4 ,across country a man on foot will take about an hour--on flat ground--to cover a distance which an average runner on #b feet of snow will overtake in one-quarter of the time4 ,uphill1 the advantage of the ski-man is still more marked1 and he may continue much longer4 ,moreover1 he disposes of the whole hill-side1 and may take cover exactly as he pleases1 by crossing snows over which the pedestrian can make no progress at all1 and becomes a most convenient mark4 ,the ski-runner may force his pursuer into any ground he chooses4 ,for a force developed across an expanse of snow1 it is extraordinarily difficult to carry out an attack upon ski-runners firing from behind shelter4 ,they occupy probably the higher position1 and their field of vision is absolutely uninterrupted4 ,rushes from point to point across the zone of fire are quite out of the question in the absence of any screen whatsoever4 ,as for the rifle-men or sharpshooters on foot in charge of a village1 sallying forth to dislodge a party of runners firing into their position and then withdrawing out of the reach of adversaries firing from opened-up tracks1 spaces1 or houses1 the idea is not plausible4 ,a dismounted horse-soldier might just as well advance sword in hand against marksmen manning rifle-pits1 or an infantry man1 short of ammunition1 might just as well trust his bayonet to reach a horseman galloping away out of sight4 ,ski-ing patrols of mountain infantry with portable machine-guns could defend such passes as the ,furka or the ,grimsel against forces pushed forward in vastly superior numbers4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,mechanics ,,of ,,ski-,,bindings ,the shoe--,the original bindings--,the modern bindings--,the foot--,the hinge in the foot--,different functions of the toe-strap and heel-band--,the parts of the binding--,faulty fasteners--,sketches of faulty and correct leverage--,a schematic binding--,critique of bindings in use--,suggestions--,cheeks and plates--,a whole blade--,cause of strained feet--,steel wire in bindings4 ,in choosing a suitable binding for the high-level routes in the ,alps--as in thinking out or devising such a binding--the runner's commodity is the main consideration4 ,there is human anatomy4 ,there are the possibilities of leather1 metal1 and wire4 ,and footgear1 and ski1 and binding have to work together4 ,runners who run for sport alone have a preference for the boots known in the trade under the name of laupar boots4 ,they are thick-soled1 flat-heeled1 box-shaped above the toes4 ,the ,lotus boots1 made on an ,american shape1 are a good type also4 ,but are they good ,alpine boots8 ,runners in the ,alps for whom ski are a means to an end1 as well as an object in itself1 generally wear an ordinary mountaineering boot of a large size1 carefully nailed on heel and sole4 ,this for two reasons3-- ,first1 there is frequently some distance to be travelled over1 in order to get across the rough1 broken1 or wooded ground before reaching the high snow-fields4 ,second1 it is practically impossible to dispense with nails in one's boots when crossing1 above the snow-line1 rocks and icy patches4 ,on these ski are useless4 ,they have to be carried for awhile or left behind1 till called for4 ,the runner is then thrown upon his boots and climbing-irons4 ,should his boots be laupars1 the climbing-irons have to be fitted on to the bare soles4 ,this is an inconvenient process1 partly because the bands are liable to freeze1 partly because it may take more time to don and doff the irons than the emergency will be kind enough to allow4 ,those who speak of injury done to ski-blades by boot-nails carry too far their sympathy for an excellent servant4 ,in point of fact1 a symmetrically and regularly nailed boot makes upon the ski-blade and plate a harmless impression4 ,the lodgement of each nail-head is clean4 ,it even affords an additional support when turning1 or breaking1 or swinging4 ,the characteristics of a good running boot are1 as one sees1 few and definite4 ,with ski bindings1 or fastenings1 the matter is altogether different4 ,the popularity of ski-running burst forth so suddenly upon the sporting world that the invention of new bindings--of which there is no end--soon proceeded even beyond the boundaries of common sense and reason4 ,the original ,scandinavian and ,lap bindings1 with bent twigs1 twisted cane1 or long thong1 were quite sufficient for their purpose and in their place4 ,of the new bindings a large number are of a commercial character only4 ,others1 brought out on the score of mechanical perfection1 come forward with purely academical credentials4 ,the early ,scandinavian or ,norse fastenings had a distinct quality4 ,they were not invented1 but grew4 ,they were made of one same material throughout1 showing the essential feature of a sound binding3 uniformity of texture4 ,but the ski-blade was directly fastened to the foot1 more particularly to the toes1 by the binding4 ,the defect of these original bindings came to light when they were put to more athletic uses4 ,they then proved too weak1 and not sufficiently durable1 in the hands of ,germans1 ,austrians1 and ,swiss1 practising the ,norse sport in their own countries4 ,iron and steel1 in varying degrees of hardness1 were pressed into service4 ,the uniformity of material was thus brought to an end4 ,to make a long story short1 the ,huitfeldt and ,ellefsen bindings are generally admitted to be the most useful4 ,the former is distinguished by a clamp for bolting down the heel-strap4 ,the latter obtains rigidity--which is considered indispensable--by binding the heel of the runner to the ski-blade by means of a stiff sole4 ,whatever the binding1 the mechanics controlling the linking together of limb1 boot1 and ski in common action1 need some explaining4 ,even the lay-reader may gain some benefit from a short and easy excursion in the domain of technique4 ,the foot consists of toes1 ball1 and heel4 ,the point of play is the same1 whether one walk or use ski4 ,it lies across the ball of the foot4 ,it is determined by the structure and articulations of the foot1 from the extremity of the big toe to above the ankle-joint4 ,but the line of play does not lie along the foot2 it lies athwart4 ,on this line turns or hinges the foot1 as though a rod were run through it1 whether the motion be up and down--that is1 vertical2 or horizontal 7right and left72 or oblique 7foot sideways and edgeways71 as in turns1 swings1 c4 ,there is thus an axis of rotation through the foot4 ,this axis need no more be horizontal than1 for instance1 the wheels of a motor-car when one drives over an obstacle4 ,the foot should sit at ease in the binding4 ,it must not be fretted1 chafed1 galled1 or pressed by the material of the binding when the work to be done puts a long and enduring strain on the boot4 ,to that effect1 the binding should be such that the pressure will1 as it were1 cancel itself by an equal application and even distribution1 whatever may be the movements and position of the foot4 ,in other words1 the heel-strap must have its point of attachment on the axis of rotation across the foot1 the point on which it revolves to describe some portion of a circle in the vertical direction4 ,but this attachment must be mobile throughout in the horizontal plane4 ,it should not be fixed on to the side of the ski-blade1 or upon the ski in front of the foot1 or anywhere else4 ,one should bear in mind that1 in mechanics1 a heel-strap adhering to the ski at the centre of revolution acts like a rigid arm4 ,the balance of the body is upset by sudden shocks which may react injuriously upon the foot1 whenever there is a rigid connection brought into play1 if only for one instant4 ,it is the business of the toe-strap to establish a connection 7a close and immobile connection7 between the foot and the ski1 which it is the foot's function to propel4 ,to the contrary1 to perform its office1 the heel-strap requires no fixed points of vertical support4 ,in a mechanically perfect binding1 the foot of the runner would be free to revolve1 as on a pivot1 in the horizontal plane1 spending thus forces of lateral origin1 while the ski continued upon its course4 ,as it is1 a good runner surmounts disturbing1 incidental forces 7the ordinary cause of accidents arising from ski-structure7 by passing them up along his body and neutralising their effect by shooting himself upwards1 as if to fly4 ,when twigs of twisted cane were used they broke away under the strain4 ,the long leather thong was stronger1 but it froze1 or imbibed water with too much alacrity4 ,a ski-binding is essentially composed of four parts3-- ,first3 ,a ring1 or toe-strap1 in which to adjust the point of the foot1 and which is the fulcrum4 ,second3 ,a heel-band1 which1 passing round the foot1 presses its fore-part against the fulcrum1 in the ring1 or toe-strap4 ,third3 ,a fastener1 either clamp1 bolt1 buckle with eye and prong1 sole of appropriate length1 lever1 c41 wherewith to regulate and adjust the pressure of the heel-band upon the fulcrum4 ,fourth3 ,side-supports1 or cheeks1 for the ball of the foot1 generally placed on each side of the fulcrum4 ,it is under number three 7clamps1 buckles1 and levers7 that all fastenings are at fault4 ,they would have to be self-adjusting1 so far as quick adaptation to changing weather conditions and sudden running strains is necessary4 ,but such cannot be automatically obtained yet4 ,the best fasteners are approximate in their action4 ,the worst are clumsy mechanical contrivances4 ,most1 good or bad1 link the heel-band with the ski blade4 ,some fasteners are placed on one or both cheeks4 ,illustration3 ,,faulty ,,leverage4 ,we have already made it plain3 the heel-band1 when stretched out round the foot1 should be free to revolve in the same plane as the flat of the ski1 as set forth in the following sketches3-- ,here lateral impulses or checks are transmitted through the point of attachment of the heel-band4 ,illustration3 ,,correct ,,leverage4 ,a4 ,oblique ,view4 ,b4 ,front ,view4 ,here none but the pressure exerted by means of the heel-band fastener upon the fulcrum 7toe-straps and cheeks7 controls the ski4 ,if the reader will kindly remember what we said about the axis of rotation lying across the ball of the foot1 he will now understand that the heel-band has to describe 8some portion of a circle0 on the apex ,a1 as follows3-- ,illustration3 ,,correct ,,leverage4 ,side ,view4 each time the foot moves up and down in the vertical line4 ,consequently the principles of a schematic binding work out in this way3-- ,first3 ,that the heel-band be free to move in a horizontal plane1 and be made to run through the fastening lever instead of being itself attached to the ski by an extremity4 ,second3 ,that the heel-band run loosely through a loop or sleeve placed on the apex of the foot axis on each side of the ball of the foot4 ,the band will hinge on the loop1 else it would slacken and tighten as the foot rises and falls4 ,third3 ,that the heel-band be of the nature of a continuous rope1 or closed circuit1 passing through the handle of the lever which1 when opened or shut1 releases the foot1 or presses it down into the toe-strap4 ,fourth3 ,that the heel-band hang upon each apex of the rotatory axis instead of being tied there4 ,there are many reasons for accepting the above remarks4 ,for instance1 the point of rotation works out too high in many manufactured bindings4 ,the heel-strap then cannot adhere as it should to the boot4 ,its radius and that of the heel do not coincide4 ,in the case of a well-known ,norwegian binding1 the strap1 on the contrary1 starts from a point of attachment which1 on each side of the ski1 is placed lower than the toe-line4 ,thus the heel-strap is wrongly centred again4 ,the boot undergoes irregular pressure1 a cause of additional fatigue and a waste of mechanical power4 ,most makers have been led into this fault by the bulk and thickness of the material ordinarily employed--namely leather4 ,leather does very well for circling the heel1 a flat band being there the proper thing to be used1 but it is less useful to the front1 where tension is called for4 ,the fore part of the heel-band might perhaps be replaced by a rope of fine strands of wire1 with a breaking strain equal to1 say1 six hundred pounds1 by far exceeding the strength of the stoutest ski-thong4 ,at the point of rotation1 the strap1 in which is placed the heel1 would meet the wire4 ,thus the connecting-point between the heel-strap and its wire extremities to the front would coincide with the pivots on which the heel revolves in the axis of the foot4 ,under those conditions1 when lifting from the ski the heel of the boot1 the tension of the heel-band remains uniform in every position4 ,this part of the binding apparatus may be practically autonomous4 ,free from any direct connection with the wood1 it ceases to be a medium through which shocks may disturb the balance of the body4 ,the foot then is free to exercise unhindered its own balancing power and to obey its spontaneous 8statics40 ,when cheeks are used1 they generally consist of two steel plates1 with turned-up sides or ears1 and frequently provided with holes at suitable distances4 ,hammered into shape1 the plates usually overlap each other on the centre line of the ski4 ,sometimes a pin driven through any two holes in the superposed plates 7by means of a spring1 to which it is attached7 maintains the plates at such a distance from each other as may fit the boot of the runner4 ,plates need not be inserted through the wood of the ski1 as is the case with most bindings with cheeks1 but they may be laid on the flat of the blade1 quite on a level with the rotatory axis of the foot4 ,a steel spring may then be adjusted along the middle line of the foot-rest4 ,it may be raised with the greatest ease1 bringing the pin with it4 ,to the usual practice of boring a hole through the wood of the ski should be preferred an arrangement such as we have just described1 preserving for the runner that on which he most justly may pride himself3 a whole and uninjured ski-blade4 ,the writer has always used in the ,high ,alps a binding fulfilling the conditions here laid down4 ,he found his binding both safe and strong4 ,elasticity and uniformity of pressure are so well secured by the severance of the heel-band from the body of the ski1 that a fall forward is not accompanied by an awkward strain1 such strain being almost always brought about by the reaction of the weight of the ski upon the muscles or bones of the foot4 ,it is now generally recognised that strains and breaks are not caused by the firmness of a binding1 but by an unequal and jolting application of pressure to the bones and muscular tissues4 ,a binding1 the whole of which may be detached from the ski-blade by taking out a pin and removing a lever1 is handy to travel with1 as instruments to fit on a new binding instead of an old or broken one1 are inconvenient adjuncts4 ,the weak points in steel rope bindings are3-- #a4 ,that the rivet connecting wire and leather may give way4 ,the splicing should be most carefully seen to4 #b4 ,the metal cheeks may turn out to be brittle1 if too hard or too thin1 as in any other binding with cheeks4 #c4 ,the soft steel wire being made of strands1 the very condition of its pliancy1 this also means that the strands may be too soft1 or too hard1 or that they may be broken or unwound by coming into contact with hard edges4 ,to obviate this risk1 an oiled leather sleeve through which the wires might run1 would protect them against friction and provide them with a lubricant4 ,the lubricant should be applied also on the bends of the wire4 ,the leather sleeves are placed outside each cheek by means of a rivet with the loop upwards and free4 ,this provides a non-rigid 8focus0 of soft material1 through which the fine wires1 though tense1 run loosely4 ,the section of the wire thus enclosed lies at a varying angle with the foot as it rises and falls1 and adjusts itself to this in its every position4 ,the lever by means of which the tightening of the wire heel-strap is managed1 is best placed across the ski-blade in front of the foot4 ,the wire runs freely through this lever to which1 as mentioned before1 it should not be attached4 ,thus1 in case of a wrench1 or should the runner fall1 the whole of the wired heel-band may yield to the foot and shift it just a little to one side or the other1 instead of jerking it1 as is otherwise common1 either against or out of the binding4 ,be this as it may1 and taking things at their best1 the modern ski-runner's desideratum--a binding of uniform material1 adaptable and elastic throughout--has yet to be met4 ,an occasionally rather heated warfare was1 a few years ago1 waged in words1 all about ski-bindings4 ,the shape1 length1 breadth1 and grooving of the ski-blades were also drawn into the field of controversy4 ,such debates are a positive relish for enthusiasts and fanatics4 ,but1 though angry words break no bones1 violent talk is apt to be vapid and1 save for the sake of exercise in vituperative wit1 can serve no useful purpose4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,rudiments ,,of ,,winter ,,mountaineering ,,for ,,ski-,,runners ,the new 8,alpinism0--,a re-statement of elementary principles--,ski-runners versus summer pedestrians--,the experiences of an eminent physician--,how to walk in snow--,put not your trust in sticks--,keep your rope dry--,stand up on your feet--,ski-sticks as supports--,winter clothing4 ,till within the last one hundred and fifty years mountaineering as a sport was undreamt of in ,europe4 ,the high ,swiss valleys were then visited by a few scientific and geographical explorers or by people whose means of livelihood and business occupations stood in some connection with the valleys1 their produce and inhabitants4 ,during the nineteenth century1 poetry and literature fostered summer mountaineering1 and commercial enterprise was not slow in following in the wake of the intellectual and emotional admirers of mountain scenery4 ,the ,high ,alps were frequented by others than mere trans-,alpine travellers4 ,but it was reserved for the present generation to invent winter sports4 ,by them1 the ,alpine winter has sprung into international life4 ,thanks to them1 winter mountaineering is now fast adding a new branch to ,alpinism4 ,in the light of this new age1 even the most elementary principles of the mountaineer's art have to be re-stated4 ,within the compass of the most modest pretensions1 the present chapter aims at so doing--for winter sport lovers of either sex1 whom the perusal of the foregoing chapters may further fire with zeal4 ,general readers--ladies particularly--we would not rudely expect to be at pains to supplement1 by incurring a course of severe trials1 their deficient opportunities and brevity of experience4 ,they will not regret their patience if they read these pages1 which1 roughly speaking1 cover a ground beyond which few of them ever are likely to push their investigations4 ,none can safely and properly use ski in the ,alps but they who have become acquainted with a mountainous country as summer pedestrians4 ,but many now visit the ,alps in winter only4 ,as these have no previous acquaintance with the conditions of mountaineering1 let them here take heed and be warned4 ,for want of minding these hints1 you might fare like a famous physician of our acquaintance who1 coolly1 in mid-,january1 after an early breakfast1 left his hotel1 at ,beatenberg1 with a sandwich in his pocket1 a few drops of whisky in his flask1 and accompanied by his son1 lightly clad and lightly shod like himself4 ,they went merrily along in the snow1 on gently sloping ground bathed in the rays of the sun1 till they found themselves by midday above a somewhat tall and far-stretching wall of rocks4 ,the heat of the day and the weariness of the flesh promptly brought about the disappearance of the whisky and sandwiches4 ,but the sun would continue to burn above and the snow to be deep below4 ,hot heads1 icy feet1 worn limbs4 ,to trudge back seemed uninviting4 ,so the tourists at sundown took to the steep rocks with trembling legs4 ,their hands were numb4 ,they slipped on wet snow4 ,they got no grip on the ice4 ,they fell into snowdrifts4 ,their heads were dizzy4 ,their feet froze4 ,to reach quickly the happy end of a sad tale1 it was three o'clock in the morning when they were snatched from the edge of the grave by a party of peasants bearing lanterns and drawn to them by their despairing cries4 ,like cases are well-nigh of daily occurrence4 ,so1 if you would be a mountaineer1 you may learn here a few things which probably you think you know already1 but perhaps do not3-- #a4 ,how to ,walk in ,snow4 ,wear heavy socks and stockings1 put on boots of stout leather with nailed soles and broad low heels4 ,to go uphill1 set your feet down lightly but firmly in the snow1 putting your weight upon the ball of the foot4 ,then raise yourself on your foremost leg by a forward swing of the body1 to bring it well above your bent knee4 ,this will set your hindmost foot free to step up in its turn1 quite lightly4 ,you must not raise yourself by means of a push away from the ground1 you would merely glide out of your step1 backwards4 ,to go downhill1 put your foot flat in the snow1 heel and all1 keeping your heel straight1 to build a foundation4 ,but do not thump your foot down4 ,there is frequently1 under the snow1 a slippery surface of stone or ice4 ,put not your trust in sticks4 ,as you do not know very well where the point will rest when thrust through the snow1 it will often cause you to stumble4 ,your body should be well supported and well balanced on your legs alone4 #b4 ,if you use a rope in snow do not let it drag4 ,insist on your guide keeping it dry by coiling it up in his hands when it would be inconvenient to keep it taut4 ,a rope that has over and over again been frozen and wetted is slippery under any condition and may snap under sudden stress4 #c4 ,when climbing rocks or steep grass slopes in winter1 it is safest to assume that they are frozen over4 ,wear strong gloves and use them to hold on with1 but do not lay your full weight1 through your hands1 on to jutting pieces of rock4 ,such supports are indispensable in climbing1 but likely to break away4 ,so use them as supports only4 ,the weight of your body must rest on your feet and be raised by your legs to its next resting-point4 ,frozen ground1 frosted grass1 iced rocks are always extremely dangerous4 ,when letting yourself down frozen rocks1 as a rule with the help of a rope1 stand upright and in most cases with your back to the rise of the hill4 ,you may then let yourself down on your bent elbows while your feet settle in their next hold4 #d4 ,the winter mountaineer has such a preference for ski-running that he has but little opportunity to use the instrument called pickel1 piolet1 or ice-axe4 ,however1 when compelled to remove his ski and sling them across his shoulders to pass a difficult piece of ground1 he will hold his sticks together and use them in guise of an ice-axe for support4 ,when going down a sharp incline on foot1 hold your sticks together1 with both hands resting on them4 ,let the point end rest on the high ground well behind you1 but do not lean back4 ,you would find your feet running away from under you4 ,when going uphill1 plant the point ends of your sticks somewhere on the ground in the middle of your stride1 but somewhat higher on the rise of the hill than the ground you stand on4 ,it is a common mistake to plant one's sticks down the slope1 a sure way of running into danger4 ,in case of a slip1 the place of hands and sticks is on the higher ground1 while it is the business of the feet to seek alone a fresh hold lower down4 ,they are thus partly relieved from the weight of the body1 and this is kept upright4 #e4 ,the clothes of the winter mountaineer should be strong and warm4 ,when moisture-laden1 the air is more trying than when it is dry1 though colder4 ,thaws are not unknown in winter1 and rain in the valleys is an experience to be prepared against4 ,boots and leggings should be weather-proof4 ,one should wear wind-proof knickerbockers or breeches1 a chamois leather waistcoat1 a short but wide and easy coat4 ,rough woollen material collects the snow4 ,such should be reserved for underwear4 ,outer garments should present to the snow a smooth1 closely woven surface4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,winter ,,stations--,,winter ,,sports--,,how ,,to ,,use ,,ski ,the awakening of the ,english--,switzerland the ice and snow rink of ,europe--,the high winter stations and the low--,principal sporting centres--,insular delusions--,the ,continental network of winter sport associations--,winter sports on ice--,tobogganing--,the winter climate varies with the altitude--,a classification of sporting centres according to altitude--,the ski-runner is monarch of the ,alps--,how to keep one's ski in good order--,how to learn the gentle art of running on ski--,precepts and practice--,the turns1 breaks1 and swings--,point final4 ,it is strange to have to acknowledge1 that while in the high-lying valleys of the ,alps the ,swiss have basked for centuries in hot ,christmas sunshine1 the ,english1 till within the last twenty years1 remained ignorant of ,alpine winter sports4 ,enlightened medical men first recommended the tonic properties of the ,alpine climate in winter4 ,then came the spirited promoters of the ,public ,schools ,winter ,sports ,club4 ,now ,sir ,henry ,lunn's winter stations stud the ,alpine ranges from end to end4 ,these stations are typical of the best organisation hitherto devised to connect winter games known in ,england1 such as skating1 curling1 and hockey1 with the magnificent scenery and inexhaustible opportunities afforded by the ,swiss winter climate4 ,as compared with regions situated further north1 the sporting advantages of ,switzerland over1 say1 ,scandinavia1 consist in its central situation in mid-,europe1 the closeness of its population1 the immense accommodation for visitors1 the short distances from station to station1 the compactness of the road and railway system1 and above all in the abundance of sunlight throughout the winter months4 ,we need say nothing on the benefits of altitude4 ,if air1 sun and snow are ideal winter conditions for modern men and women1 the higher we go1 the more completely will those benefits be secured4 ,be this as it may1 stations under #e1jjj feet are not so reliable for steady1 continuous frost1 as those situated above that level4 ,this is a pity1 because1 from a social point of view1 the lower stations are largely patronised4 ,the winter sportsman likes to rise quickly4 ,he knows that high peaks and deep valleys are nowhere so closely and attractively interwoven as in ,switzerland4 ,the two highest points permanently inhabited by a sedentary community are1 in the valley of ,cresta ,avers1 between the ,maloja and ,splgen passes1 and at ,chandolin d',anniviers above ,sierre1 both at an altitude of about #f1jjj feet4 ,these places are above the forest zone and should in time become the flourishing winter sport stations which their situation entitles them to be4 ,at the other and lowest extremity of the scale1 but in the vicinity of ,mont ,blanc1 and wanting but little energy to raise its potentialities to the level of the very best1 should rank ,megve1 above ,sallanches in the valley of the ,arve4 ,unfortunately there has been hitherto in that part of the world but little disposition to act in an enterprising spirit4 ,the most important stations1 so far1 are those situated3-- #a4 ,in the ,engadine and adjoining valleys 7,st4 ,moritz1 ,pontresina1 ,kampfer1 ,silvaplana1 ,sils1 ,maloja1 ,fex1 ,davos1 ,arosa1 ,klosters1 c474 #b4 ,in the ,bernese ,oberland 7,grindelwald1 ,beatenberg1 ,wengen1 ,mrren1 ,grimmi ,alp1 ,kandersteg1 ,zweisimmen1 ,adelboden1 ,gstaad1 ,lauenen1 c474 #c4 ,in the ,vaudois ,alps 7,chateau ,d',oex1 ,comballaz1 ,les ,ormonts1 ,leysin--this latter with many sanatoria--,caux above the lake of ,geneva1 c474 #d4 ,in the ,rhne valley 7,chesires1 ,villars1 ,gryon1 ,morgins and ,champry1 ,montana and ,vermala1 ,louche les ,bains1 in ,german1 ,leukerbad71 c4 ,zermatt is accessible and may be most comfortably lived in in winter1 but cannot be said to be as yet a properly opened up station4 ,the same may be said of ,saas ,fe1 to which the new ,britannia hut of the ,swiss ,alpine ,club1 a gift of the ,british members of the club1 should draw henceforth a large number of ,english ski-runners4 ,the ,simplon and ,st4 ,bernard hospices are open throughout the year4 #e4 ,in the ,st4 ,gothard district 7,andermatt1 c474 #f4 ,in the ,jura range 7,st4 ,cergue sur ,nyon1 ,les ,rasses sur ,ste4 ,croix1 ,mont ,soleil sur ,st4 ,imier1 c474 #g4 ,in the ,mont ,blanc district 7,chamounix1 ,st4 ,gervais1 ,le ,planet1 ,finhaut1 c474 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,britannia ,,hut4 ,to face p4 #cjb4 ,the offices of the ,federal ,railways at ,regent ,street1 #aa;,b1 ,london1 ,s4,w41 deliver gratis an illustrated winter list of ,swiss mountaineering resorts4 ,many of these have been founded by local enterprise only4 ,such1 though quite commendable and moderately expensive1 do not often afford the first-class skating facilities found in the ,engadine1 at ,grindelwald1 and in stations under ,english management4 ,stations which may boast of a large and well-kept skating rink1 a curling pond1 well-laid toboggan and bob-sleigh runs1 a rink for hockey1 and plenty of good ski-ing slopes1 with hotel accommodation for an unlimited number of visitors of either sex1 are a modern achievement of no mean order in primitive out-of-the-way ,swiss mountain villages1 buried under anything from #c to #i feet of snow4 ,there is a marked difference between the stations patronised by the ,english--or visitors from the capitals1 whatever their nationality--and the stations frequented by the local people for sport or holiday purposes4 ,those two classes avoid each other very effectually1 though unconsciously for the most part1 and without any pointed intention so to do4 ,the former class depends on 8central heating0 for comfort4 ,so exclusively do they depend on this and so steadily do they flock to the best accredited stations1 that they often fondly imagine themselves to be the only sportsmen active in winter4 ,how often has the writer been asked1 at ,villars1 for instance3 ,how is it that we ,english are alone seen on ski in ,switzerland8 ,this mistake is easily accounted for1 because those who get that impression do not go far enough afield to correct it4 ,if they did1 they would soon find out what an extremely small proportion of those who run on ski are ,english4 ,a little thought will show that this is quite natural4 ,ski-running facilities stretch1 as it were1 in an unbroken line from ,scandinavia through central ,europe straight down to the ,maritime ,alps1 and from the ,vosges and ,dauphin in the west to the ,carpathians in the east4 ,the number of ski-runners recruited over this immense area is immeasurably larger than anything the ,british ,isles 7where there exist no ski-ing facilities worth mentioning7 can produce4 ,the whole of ,central ,europe is1 as it were1 caught up in the meshes of a huge net of ,alpine associations and skiers' clubs4 ,these hold periodic competitions and meet in international congresses1 commanding a degree of public attention and drawing to themselves an interest the magnitude of which passes quite unnoticed in the ,united ,kingdom4 ,in a rather ill-considered manner1 winter visitors to ,switzerland like to crowd the resorts which have become famous for their suitability in summer4 ,this is not quite the way to set about the thing4 ,winter stations should be sought out for their own characteristics4 ,several low-lying centres are not nearly so suitable in winter as in summer4 ,besides1 many which could be favourably reported upon by specialists1 have hitherto failed to be introduced to the public4 ,winter sports may be divided into two classes3-- #a4 ,those which depend upon nature alone4 #b4 ,those which depend upon nature artificially aided4 ,among the latter class1 skating and curling are foremost4 ,running on ski ranks first among the former4 ,it would be out of place here to dwell upon skating1 curling1 and hockey4 ,these are most congenial pastimes under the blue skies and amid the magnificent scenery of the ,alps1 but they are distinct from mountaineering4 ,scottish and ,swiss curlers vie with each other in such stations as ,kandersteg4 ,curling stones are imported from ,london1 and ponds are now made in all centres favoured by players of the game4 ,skating rinks are a much more costly affair than curling ponds4 ,patrons of the sport are apt to forget how valuable and extensive is the land that has to be purchased and prepared in the vicinity of the hotels4 ,a staff of professional skating rink builders is in request1 with an army of sweepers under their orders4 ,in the middle of the day the great heat of the sun has often to be kept down by filtering the rays through huge pieces of stretched-out sacking or canvas4 ,as the supply of electricity for lighting purposes is seldom scarce1 night ftes are a great feature upon the ,alpine rinks4 ,the social life is indeed sometimes a little excessive1 and may interfere with the steadiness of one's nerve4 ,when ,englishmen1 by way of amusement1 use the ,swiss military rifle at the local range in friendly rivalry with the peasantry1 the ,swiss team has hitherto been invariably victorious1 no doubt because the ,british marksmen are called out 8for social duty on the station0 at too close intervals4 ,the toboggan1 or luge1 and the sleigh are usual vehicles with the ,swiss4 ,a sight deeply indicative of manly power and grace1 is that of ,swiss woodmen steering heavily laden sleighs round jagged corners and down precipitous ice cliffs4 ,a run on one of these is an introduction to a new set of sensations4 ,but the 8common herd0 toboggan and bob on well-defined roads or tracks1 or buzz down runs purposely laid out for their use4 ,according to the lie or curve of the land1 and with a view to accelerated speed1 artificial runs are scientifically built up in lines and bends carefully designed beforehand4 ,the banks are made of snow piled up with a shovel1 and often hardened into blocks by pouring water upon the snow4 ,the ,alpine climate1 whether the ,swiss1 ,french1 ,italian1 or ,austrian ,alps are considered1 varies with the altitude4 ,it is at its worst in the region of towns1 lakes1 and rivers1 wherever the altitude is under #a1ejj feet4 ,the winter months begin to wear their characteristic aspect in places ranging from #c1jjj feet and upwards4 ,but climate must not be confused with general suitability for sport1 and stations between #c1jjj and #d1jjj feet1 however excellent in every other respect1 are not yet high enough to show a thoroughly reliable winter climate4 ,south-west winds1 recurrent thaws1 rain1 and fog may affect sport seriously in such places for the whole of any one week out of three4 ,but1 upwards of #d1jjj feet1 a steadily dry winter climate sets in early in ,december1 and may be relied upon to last until the end of ,march4 ,there is sure to be some thawing now and then1 under the influence of mild weather or as an effect of long exposure to the sun1 but the dry1 cold air1 and the torrid rays of an almost tropical sun1 are the prevailing features of the sporting season4 ,as1 upwards of #g1jjj feet1 no winter stations have as yet been thrown open1 the useful range of ,alpine climate is as follows3-- #a4 ,under #c1jjj feet 7such as ,mont ,plerin1 above ,vevey1 and ,ballaigues1 above ,vallorbes74 #b4 ,from #c1jjj to #d1ejj feet 7these stations are the most numerous and the most frequented74 #c4 ,between #d1ejj and #f1ejj feet 7at this altitude some people begin to experience breathing and heart troubles1 mental excitability1 and insomnia74 ,stations situated in this last and highest zone afford excellent sport4 ,such are1 for instance3 ,mrren1 ,montana-,vermala1 the whole of the upper ,engadine1 ,arosa1 ,davos1 c4 ,they are the ski-runner's paradise4 ,pontresina1 particularly1 is one of the very finest centres for long excursions on ski4 ,but1 while some other parts are rather too flat1 the ,pontresina district does not abound in short1 easy runs4 ,at from #g1jjj feet and upwards1 the climate is that of a glorified ,north ,pole2 alternative spells of beautiful blazing sunshine1 and of stormy1 snow-laden1 piercingly cold winds4 ,in winter the temperature of the air is always low and1 practically speaking1 there is frost above the snow-line every night even in summer4 ,but1 in the coldest ,january weather1 the sunbeams are poured forth in such arrays1 for weeks at a time1 from cloudless1 windless skies1 that one's sensation of bodily heat1 between sunrise and sunset1 may be quite overpowering4 ,all those allurements would perhaps1 as in former days1 still count for little1 but for the transportation of the ski from their dull1 northern home to that house set on high which opens its southern frontage1 as a balcony #bjj miles long over the plains of ,italy4 ,this chapter would not be brought to a fit conclusion if its last lines were not the means of enabling the reader to make himself proficient in the bare rudiments of the ski-ing craft which brings the ,high ,alps in their winter garb within reach of human gaze4 ,the beginner should purchase ski made of ash1 and somewhat shorter than the reach of his arm when extended above his head4 ,he will find the ,huitfeldt binding most convenient1 with the improved ,ellefsen clamp patented under the name of ,aspor4 ,previously to using your ski1 oil them repeatedly at intervals of a week1 and give the oil 7if possible hot linseed7 plenty of time to sink into the wood4 ,then rub lightly some dry paraffin-wax into the grain of the wood4 ,each time after using your ski1 clean them and rub them down with an oily cloth or sponge4 ,warm feet are the royal road to health and comfort3 there must be room enough in your boot to leave freedom of motion to each toe4 ,first learn to move about on the flat1 without any support of any kind4 ,if you have followed our advice as to oiling and waxing ski1 the under surface of yours will be perfectly smooth and very slippery4 ,so1 next1 choose the most gentle slope you can find to glide upon4 ,let it be an easy slant leading on to a flat piece of snow4 ,practise going down steadily and slowly1 holding in each hand1 if you like1 a light bamboo or hazel-wood stick4 ,these are to be used only to pick yourself up4 ,never practise with a single stick1 or a stout1 heavy stick1 or a long stick4 ,put the right foot foremost1 then the left4 ,then go down on one foot alone1 alternately using the right and the left4 ,go through these preliminary exercises with extreme patience4 ,in nothing so much as in ski-running is it fair to say 8,the more haste the less speed40 ,the beginner who raises his ski off the snow surface falls into a serious mistake4 ,he should glide his ski along the surface of the snow when moving uphill as well as on the flat4 ,ski were not made to be lifted1 like feet1 but to be pushed along1 like a drawn-out wheel4 ,a sensible learner never forces his way up a slope1 but1 as soon as he feels himself sliding back1 he eases off to the right or left4 ,he should always keep his ski close to each other1 whether his course be upwards or downwards4 ,the knees1 too1 should be held close together when descending4 ,the body should not stoop from the waist but lean forward from the ankle-joint1 so as to be well balanced over the middle of the ski1 the limbs remaining loose and easy throughout4 ,the whole secret of straight and easy running may be further summed up in the following simple golden rules3-- #a4 ,stand upright on your ski1 keeping your body at a right angle to the slope down which you run4 #b4 ,keep ski1 feet1 and knees together4 #c4 ,then practise lunging with each foot alternately1 with the forward knee bent each time as far as it can go4 #d4 ,while lunging bring the weight of the body to rest alternately on each ski4 #e4 ,practise thrusting back each leg alternately as far as it can go1 with your body resting on the forward bent knee4 #f4 ,then bring both ski close to each other again1 and let yourself be borne downwards along hangs of increasing steepness4 #g4 ,then let yourself fly down the whole length of a long slope1 first on one foot1 then on the other1 till you can move along on each ski1 without bringing the other into play4 #h4 ,practise dragging each ski alternately behind the other1 setting the hind ski free from your weight1 then raise the front ski in the air and transfer all your weight to the back ski4 ,having got so far one may begin trying swings to the right and left4 #a4 ,to do a ,telemark swing to the right1 push your left ski forward1 and bring the weight of your body well above your fully bent knee4 ,if you then incline your body slightly within the curve you wish to describe in the snow to your right1 the forward ski1 left1 will begin to glide in sideways4 ,the inner ski 7the right ski7 will follow within the curve1 provided you keep your right leg well extended behind1 and keep the weight of your body off it4 #b4 ,to do an ,alpine swing to the right1 turn the beak 7or head7 of your left ski towards the right ski1 while laying the weight of your body on the left ski1 placed lowest on the slope4 ,the left ski will then swing downwards and sideways1 and1 under the pressure of your foot1 come round the head of your right ski1 accomplishing the turn4 ,in this swing the heels 7or back of the ski7 fly apart4 #c4 ,to do a ,christiania swing to the right1 start with ski even and close together4 ,advance slightly the right ski1 get up speed sharply and then throw your weight somewhat backwards by a side thrust inward1 ranging from the left hip to the right4 ,the heels of the ski will slip together away from your body1 behind you1 to the left1 and the heads of both ski will point to the right4 ,the ,christiania is reputed a difficult swing1 but here is the 8straight tip03 ,old ski1 with edges worn down at the heel1 feather round beautifully4 ,beware of learning those turns in deep or heavy snow1 lest you sprain or wrench an ankle4 ,hard1 ridgy snow is even more dangerous4 ,this is not the place to teach how1 at the altitude of #g1jjj feet and upwards1 begins ,high ,alp ski-running1 in which the ,swiss are past masters1 because this phase of sport is not for beginners4 ,on the other hand1 consummate runners with good guides and inured to every kind of hardship1 might well be trusted to add to this book many a page showing1 much better than the present writer can1 how the ,high ,alps in winter have infinite pleasure in store for the bold1 cool-headed1 and strong4 ,illustration ,,unwin ,,brothers1 ,,limited1 ,,the ,,gresham ,,press1 ,,woking ,,and ,,london ,,burberry ,,weatherproof ,,outrigs ,,for ,ski-ing1 ,lge-ing and ,skating ,every genuine ,burberry garment is labelled 8,burberrys40 ,illustration 8,,hints ,,on ,,alpine ,,sports0 ,by ,professor ,f4 ,f4 ,,roget1 ,author of 8,ski-runs in the ,high ,alps40 ,a handbook of invaluable advice addressed to those ambitious to excel in ,winter ,sports4 ,price #f;d41 ,post ,free4 ,,burberry ,,outrigs1 for men and women1 designed from the specifications of experts completely satisfy the exacting requirements of ,winter ,sports4 ,they have been tested under the severest conditions1 and pronounced infinitely superior to any other form of equipment4 ,,burberry ,,materials1 woven and proofed by exclusive processes1 afford healthful warmth and comfort in the coldest weather1 yet in action prevent overheating by their faultless self-ventilation4 ,airylight1 they minimise fatigue and conserve physical energy4 ,,burberrys' system of weatherproofing1 whilst it leaves the textural ventilation of the fabrics undiminished1 renders them permanently antagonistic to every form of moisture4 ,burberry ,winter ,sports materials are smooth surfaced and uncreasable1 so that snow cannot lodge upon them4 ,,lightweight1 yet densely woven1 ,burberry excludes cold wind and is so durable that years of rough-and-tumble wear amongst snow and ice fails to affect either its appearance or its efficiency4 ,,burberrys ,haymarket1 ,s4,w41 ,,london2 ,boul4 ,malesherbes1 ,,paris4 ,,ski-,,ing ,,for ,,beginners ,,and ,,mountaineers ,by ,w4 ,,rickmer ,,rickmers ,with #gb ,full-page ,plates and many ,diagrams in the ,text4 ,cloth1 #d_/f net4 7,inland ,postage #d;d47 ,there are few who can look back on so many years of strenuous ski-ing as ,mr4 ,rickmers1 and1 save one other man1 nobody has had so large and successful an experience of teaching it to beginners4 ,this volume is especially valuable as containing the advice of a mountaineer4 ,it is 8short and sweet10 embodying everything the beginner must know in order to learn as quickly as possible4 ,the second part gives him due warning and sound advice1 once he has mastered the elements of ski-running and sallies forth on short tours to be followed by long expeditions into the wintry mountains4 ,mr4 ,rickmers' idea throughout is to teach and tell only what has stood the test of time and what is strictly necessary1 thus saving from much indecision the ski-tourist who is to be4 ,the book will be found to be the most complete introduction to the subject in ,english4 8,a fascinating book on the most delightful of ,continental winter sports4 ,not only is ,mr4 ,rickmers a strenuous and accomplished ski-runner himself1 but he has had years of experience as a teacher of the art1 and his handy volume embodies everything that it is essential for the novice to know in order to become an efficient ski-runner in as short a time as possible40--,t4 ,p4's ,weekly4 8,he is a teacher of vast experience1 who has studied every defect in style that a beginner can possibly fall into1 and has learned how to cure them all4 ,if the novice with the aid of this book studies his every posture and action1 practising the right and with pains correcting what he learns is wrong1 he is on the high road to becoming a first-class runner40--,scottish ,ski ,club ,magazine4 ,on ,sale at all ,booksellers4 ,t4 ,,fisher ,,unwin1 #a ,adelphi ,terrace1 ,london4