The Western Alps

Front matter

Information respecting any portion of the region described in Vols. I. and II. of the Alpine Guide, with a view to the correction of errors or omissions, will be thankfully received by the Editor. It is requested that notes may be authenticated by the name and address of the writer, and directed to the Editor, care of the Secretary of the Alpine Club, 23 Savile Row, London, W.

Messrs. H. Georg & Co. are Agents for the sale of the Alpine Guide in Switzerland and Lyons. It may be obtained at, or ordered from, their houses at Bale (Freiestrasse), Geneva (Corraterie), or Lyons (Passage de l'Hotel-Dieu).

Louden

Preface

TO

THE NEW EDITION.

Mr. Ball in his Preface to the third edition (1870) of this volume expressed his surprise at the numerous changes which had occurred since the publication of the first (1863) an< ^ second (1866) editions, and had entailed many alterations in the text. He also remarked that after another interval of two or three years a similar process of correction would be required. For various reasons, however, Mr. Ball himself was unable to carry out this intention, save to a very inconsiderable extent. Hence his important work became more and more out of date as time went on and the Alps were more and more minutely explored.

It was only natural, therefore, that, after his lamented death on October 21, 1889, the Alpine Club should take into consideration the question of bringing the book up to date, as a memorial to the first President and first Editor of the Club. An appeal made for funds to carry out this project was liberally responded to, and at the Winter Meeting of the Club in December, 1890, the then President officially announced that the revision would be proceeded with at once.

On December 12, 1893, I accepted, at the request of the Committee of the Club, the post of General Editor of Volumes I. and II. and of the General Introduction. I explained in my letter of acceptance that I was already deeply engaged for that winter, and could do little for a time except to organise a band of helpers. But I did not then foresee that my health would break down, that I should be compelled to reside* abroad, and that my breakdown would culminate in a very serious illness. This series of unexpected events have, of course, greatly delayed the task of revision, which, though begun in 1894, was only completed in 1897. No one can regret these vexatious vi

PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION delays more than myself, and I must express my very sincere thanks to the Committee of the Alpine Club for the kindly and generous consideration which they have shown to me under such trying circumstances. However the revision of Volume I. at least is now complete, the MS. having been ended on June 5, 1897, while it was all in type on December 2 of the same year.

The first point which I had to determine was to settle the main lines on which the revision was to be carried out. Here I was much aided through the kindness of Mrs. Ball, who allowed me to examine her husband's Alpine diaries and correspondence, especially of the periods at which the book was being originally written, or later on revised. I may be permitted here to offer her my very hearty thanks for this great courtesy. I soon found that Mr. Ball's scheme was (as I had expected) an admirable one, consisting in invoking the assistance of all the principal mountaineers, whether English or foreign, of the day. It seemed to me that I could do no better than adopt this plan, with the modifications which later experience had shown to be desirable. Hence in December, 1893, I drew up a circular of invitation (accompanied by detailed 6 Instructions which I sent to all the mountain specialists of Europe who were likely to be able to furnish useful information for Volumes I. and II. I selected this band of helpers from among all the mountaineers that I could hear of, absolutely regardless of whether they belonged to any Alpine Club or not, or whether I had or had not the honour of their personal acquaintance. It speaks well for Alpine comity that (so far as regards the present volume at least) I did not meet with a single refusal, while gradually others either spontaneously offered their services or were later on requested by me to take part in the revision. (A general appeal for help was also inserted in the ' Alpine Journal.' ) These specialists each received an interleaved copy of the unrevised text relating to the district with which they were specially acquainted. Their more or less scattered notes (though there were rare exceptions) were then set in order by myself, and this type-written draft submitted to the several writers, so that the complete MS. had been thoroughly revised by the time it was sent to the printers. I need hardly say how very deeply indebted I am to this assistance, so generously rendered. Without it my task would have been much more difficult, in part well-nigh impossible. But while fully acknowledging my indebtedness to my devoted band of helpers for the notes, often of the most detailed kind, with which they entrusted me, it is only fair to them to state as distinctly as possible that I, and I alone, am responsible for the actual form and shape in which these invaluable notes appear in the published text.