Front matter
ABOVE THE SNOW LINE LOS DON : PRINTED BT -.l'OTTIBWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AXD PARLIAMENT STI_1.__T Front ispifce THE BIETSCIIHOItN, FROM THE PETERSGRAT ABOVE THE SNOW LINE MOUNTAINEERING SKETCHES BETWEEN 1870 AND 1880 BY CLINTON DENT VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE ALPINE CLUB *&Zui qui tt'st jamais SM It'ia-s • l^ folie est moins sage 'jtt'il ne le pense1 — La Bruyere WITH TWO ENGRAVINGS BY EDWARD WHYMPER AND AN ILLUSTRATION BY PERCY MACQUOID LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 1885 AU .ighta reserved THESE SKETCHES OF MOUNTAINEERING I DEDICATE TO T. I. D. IN THE HOPE THAT A BOOK WITHOUT A HEROINE MAY, AT LEAST, ACQUIRE SOME FEMININE INTEREST
Preface
Some of tbe following sketches do not now appear for the first time ; but such as have been before published in other form have been entirely re-written, and, in great measure, recast. To the writer the work has afforded an occasional distraction from more serious professional work, and he cannot wish better than that it should serve the same purpose to the reader. C'OKIINA DI AmPEZZO * September 1881. CONTENTS
Chapter I
, AN EXPEDITION IN THE OLDEN STYLE PAOK Buried records — Litera scripta manet — The survival of the unfit — A literary octopus — Sybaritic mountaineering— On mountain ' form ' — Lessons to be learned in the Alps — The growth and spread of the climbing craze — Variations of the art — A tropical day in the valley — A deserted hostelry — The hotel staff appears in several characters — Ascent of the Balfrinhorn — Our baggage train and transport department — A wellventilated shelter — On sleeping out : its advantages on the present occasion — The Mischabelhorner family group — A plea for Saas and the Fee plateau — We attack the Sudlenzspitz — The art of detecting hidden crevasses — Plans for the future — Sentiment on a summit — The feast is spread — The Alphubeljoch — We meet our warmest welcome at an inn
Chapter II. The Eothhokn
(mOMING) FROM ZERMATT The Alpine dramatis personæ — Mountaineering fact and romance — The thirst for novelty and its symptoms— The first ascent of the Morning — Preliminaries are observed— Rock v. snow mountains — The amateur and the guide on rocks and on CONTENTS X 1'AUK snow — The programme is made out — Franz Andermatten — Falling stones in the gully — We smooth away the difficulties — The psychological effects of reaching mountain summits — A rock bombardment and a narrow escape — The youthful tourist and his baggage — Hotel trials — We are interviewed — The gushers 31
Chapter III. Early Attempts On The Aiguille Du Dru
The Alps and the early mountaineers — The last peaks to surrender —The Aiguille du Dru — Messrs. Kennedy and Pendlebury's attempt on the peak — One-day expeditions in the Alps and thoughts on huts and sleeping out — The Chamouni guide system — A word on guides, past and present — The somnolent landlord and his peculiarities — Some of the party see a chamois — Doubts as to the peak and the way — The duplicity of the Aiguille deceives us — Telescopic observations — An ill-arranged glacier— Franz and his mighty axe — A start on the rocks in the wrong direction — Progress reported — An adjournment — The rocks of the lower peak of the Aiguille du Dru — Our first failure — The expedition resumed — A new line of ascent —We reach the sticking point — Beaten back — The results gained by the two days' climbing . . 56
Chapter IV
A DAY ACROSS COUNTRY The art of meteorological vaticination — The climate we leave our homes for — Observations in the valley — The diligence arrives and shoots its load — Types of travellers — The Alpine habitue — The elderly spinster on tour— A stern Briton— A family party— We seek fresh snow-fields— The Bietschhorn— A sepulchral bivouac — On early starts and their curious effects on the temperament — A choice of routes — A deceptive ice gully— The avalanches on the Bietschhorn— We work up CONTENTS XI PAGE to a dramatic situation — The united party nearly fall out — A limited panorama — A race for home — Caught out — A short cut — Driven to extremities — The water jump — An aged per son comes to the rescue — A classical banquet at Kied — The old cur6 and his hospitality — A wasted life ? . . . 9fi
Chapter V. An Old Friend With
A NEW FACE Chamouni again — The hotel clientele — A youthful hero — The inevitable English family — A scientific gentleman— A dream of the future — The hereafter of the Alps and of Alpine literature — A condensed mountain ascent — Wanted, a programme — A double ' Brocken ' — A hill-side phenomenon and a familiar character — A strong argument — Halting doubts and fears — A digression on mountaineering accidents — ' From gay to grave, from lively to severe ' — The storm breaks — A battle with the elements — Beating the air — The ridge carried by assault — What next, and next ? — A topographical problem and a cool proposal — The descent down the Vallee Blanche — The old Montanvert hotel — The Montanvert path and its frequenters 130
Chapter VI. Ascent Of The Aiguille Du Dru
' Decies repetita placebit ' Disadvantages of narratives of personal adventure — Expeditions on the Aiguille du Dru in 1871— The ridge between the Aiguilles du Dru and Verte—' Defendu de passer par la ' — Distance lends enchantment— Other climbers attack the peak — View of the mountain from the Col de Balme — We try the northern side, and fail more signally than usual — Showing that mountain fever is of the recurrent type— We take seats below, but have no opportunity of going up higher CONTENTS XII l'AUK —The campaign opens— We go under canvas— A spasmodic start, and another failure — A change of tactics and a new leader— Our sixteenth attempt — Sports and pastimes at Chamouni — The art of eray-fishing — The apparel oft pro claims the man — A canine acquaintance — A new ally — The turning-point of the expedition — A rehearsal for the final performance — A difficult descent — A blank in the narrative — A carriage misadventure — A penultimate failure —We start with two guides and finish with one — The rocks of the Dru — Maurer joins the party— Our nineteenth attempt— A narrow escape in the gully — The arete at last — The final scramble — Our foe is vanquished and decorated— The return journey — Benighted — A moonlight descent — We are gra ciously received — On 'fair' mountaineering— The prestige of new peaks — Chamouni becomes festive — ' Heut' Abend grosses Feuerwerkfest ' — Chamouni dances and shows hos pitality — The scene closes in 169
Chapter VII. Bye-days In Alpine Midlands
1. A Pardonable Digression. On well-ordered intellects— The drawbacks of accurate memory — Sub-Alpine walks : their admirers and their recommendations—The ' High-Level Route '—The Ruinette— An infallible prescription for ill-humour— A climb and a meditation on grass slopes — The agile person's acrobatic feats- The psychological effects of sunrise— The ascent of the Ruinette — We return to our mutton at Arolla — A vision on the hill-side. 2. A Little Maiden. Saas in the olden days— A neglected valley — The mountains drained dry— A curious omission— The Portienhorn, and its good points as a mountain— The chef produces a masterpiece—An undesirable tenement to be let unfurnished— An evicted family — A rapid act of mountaineering — On the CONTENTS XIII TAGK pleasures of little climbs —The various methods of making new expeditions on one mountain — On the mountaineer who has nothing to learn, and his consequent ignorance . . 236
Chapter VIII
A SENTIMENTAL ALPINE JOURNEY Long ' waits ' and entr'actes— The Mont Buet as an unknown mountain — We hire carriages— A digression on a stationary vehicle — A straggling start — The incomplete moralist — The niece to the moralist — A discourse on gourmets — An artistic interlude — We become thoughtful, and reach the height of sentiment and the top of the Mont Buet — Some other members of the party — The mountaineers perform— How glissading ambition did o'erleap itself — A vision on the summit — The moralist leaves us for a while — Entertainment at the Berard Chalet - -View of the Aiguille Verte— The end of the journey 200
Chapter IX
A FRAGMENT An unauthentio MS. — Solitude on the mountain: its advantages to the historian of the Alps — A rope walk — The crossing of the Schrund — A novel form of avalanche and an airy situation — A towering obstacle — The issue of the expedition in the balance — A very narrow escape — The final rush — Victory ! — The perils of the descent— I plunge in medias res — A flying descent . . 290
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You’ve reached the end of Above the Snow Line. Mountaineering sketches between 1870 and 1880 ... With two engravings by Edward Whymper and an illustration by Percy Macquoid.