I do not think I shall be accused of exaggeration when I say, that the
ascent to the Brêche-de-Roland is to the Pyrenean range what the
passage of the Col de Géant is to the Alps. They are both tough
undertakings, requiring sound legs and lungs, with a happy and
powerful combination of patience, fortitude, and energy.
The difficulty of ascending to the Brêche-de-Roland does not consist
so much in its height--though this is 9537 feet--as in the nature of
the ground to be surmounted; and after I had accomplished the feat, I
no longer wondered that several persons had given in, and retraced
their steps without attaining the Brêche. Before detailing my ascent
to this wonderful place, it may be proper to state what it is like. On
the flanks of the formidable and gigantic Mont Perdu rises Mont
Marboré, from the summit of which stretches to the west a wall of rock
from 400 to 600 feet high, in most places absolutely vertical. This
huge natural wall forms the crest of the Pyrenees, and divides France
from Spain at this part of the chain. In the middle of the natural
barrier is a gap, which, when viewed from the French valley of the
Gave de Gavernie, appears like a notch made in a jaw by the loss of a
single tooth, but which is in reality a magnificent and colossal
portal, 134 feet wide and 330 feet high.
Of course, legendary lore is not at fault to account in its own
poetical manner for this natural phenomenon. According to that oracle,
the Brêche owes its origin to Roland, the brave Paladin, who, mounted
on his war-horse, in his hot pursuit of the Moors, clove with one blow
of his trusty sword Durandal a passage through this mighty wall; and
it must be admitted that the sides of the gap are so smooth, that it
requires no great stretch of the imagination to suppose that they were
fashioned in some such artistical manner. Independently of the Brêche
itself, which alone is highly deserving of a visit, the surrounding
scenery is of the most imposing and magnificent character, and the
whole, therefore, most justly ranks as one of the chief lions of the
Pyrenees.
The most usual, and by far the most advantageous starting-place, is
the village of Gavarnie, near the Cirque of that name. In my
ignorance, however, of the toilsome nature of the excursion, I started
from Luz, eighteen miles from Gavarnie, where I was sojourning.
Reader, were you ever at Luz? Sweet Luz! with its babbling crystal
brook, in which tribes of pigs undergo sanitary ablutions; and its
inn, famous for good cookery and active fleas. If you have been there,
you will not have forgotten Madame Cazean--a model of a hostess. To
her I made my wishes known respecting the ascent to the Brêche, and
begged that she would find me a guide.
In Switzerland, at such a place as Luz, surrounded by numerous
excursion points of great interest, guides would be abundant; here,
however, there are only a few, and these are obliged to pursue the
callings of agriculture and hunting to eke out a subsistence. So, when
I demanded a guide, Madame Cazean said she would send to the fields
for Jaques St Laur, who was the best guide to the Brêche. And indeed
if strength of limb and a huge sinewy frame were the chief
qualifications for the affair, Jaques, I apprehend, would have stood
unrivalled, for I never saw a more sturdy or Titanic mountaineer.
The arrangements were soon made. We were to start at four o'clock in
the morning--not a moment later: true to his promise, my burly guide
appeared before the hotel door at that hour with two ponies, and in a
few minutes we were _en route_. The morning broke gloriously. Peak by
peak, the snow-crested first, and successively those beneath, became
tinted by the rising sun, while the valleys gave evidence of
approaching day by casting off their misty mantles. It makes the old
young again, and the young to feel the blood dance yet more briskly
through their veins, to breathe such air as wraps the Pyrenees in its
balmy folds. The beauties of the valley, or rather gorge, begin at
once. Woods, alternating with precipitous rocks, mountain peaks of
great altitude and most picturesque forms, tower aloft; while below,
the eye rests upon the _gave_, now deliciously green and peaceful, and
now worming its way with agonised fury through the gorge. Many
cascades of rare beauty streamed down from the summit of the
precipices, and we were continually crossing high and narrow bridges
suspended over deep gulfs. The box luxuriates in this defile,
springing in tree-like proportions from every ledge.
Before reaching Gèdres, which is about half-way to Gavarnie, a fine,
though tantalising view of the Brêche is obtained. I gazed at the
object of my expedition with anxious eyes, wondering how I was to get
to its cloud land amidst the eternal snow-crowned Tours de Marboré;
and I longed for the wings of one of the many eagles which sailed
majestically overhead, to transport myself thither at once.
At Gèdres the view of the Marboré is lost; but there is an almost
overabundance of grand scenery in the mountains that tower to the
right and left, and the gorges are filled with foaming cascades and
flowers of wondrous beauty. Close to the cascades--so close, that they
seem on the point of being swept away--are mills, not much larger than
goodly-sized boxes, one above the other, like rows of black beads
strung upon the white torrent. These mills are primitive in their
construction, closely resembling the old hand-mill; but they grind the
corn, and what more could the best mill in Europe do?
Beyond Gèdres, a singularly grand and savage scene presents itself,
called the Peyrada or Chaos. It is an _éboulement_, or slip of masses
of gneiss which have fallen from great heights; and the ruins are so
extensive, that it seems as if an entire mountain had been shivered
to fragments. The path winds in zig-zags through a labyrinth of
blocks, among which horse and rider appear like pigmies. The mountains
increase in majesty as Gavarnie is approached--the Vignemale with its
glaciers to the west; and the Pimène to the east, ranging among the
highest. Gavarnie is a poor village, boasting one inn, in humble
keeping with the place; poor, however, as it was, I was glad to draw
bridle before the door, for we had ridden fast and furious, as my
blood-stained spurs evidenced. I was about to dismount and recruit
myself with a flask of the best wine, when Jaques peremptorily forbade
such a proceeding. There was no time to be lost; a stirrup-cup and on.
He, however, dismounted, and went into the house for ice-staffs and
_crampons_, which were kept at the inn. Provided with these, and
partially refreshed by a glass of very good wine, we hastened on our
way. The morning continued most favourable; not a cloud obscured the
outline of the mountains, and the snow-crested Marboré towered aloft,
strongly pencilled against the deep-blue sky. Wonderful animals are
the Pyrenean ponies. Small in stature, and with diminutive limbs, on
they go, over ways rough enough to puzzle a goat, rarely pausing to
pick their steps, and as rarely stumbling. The path, about half-way
between Gavarnie and the Cirque, is carried over the torrent by two
terribly narrow planks, without any manner of railing. Over this frail
bridge, not three feet wide, my guide, much to my astonishment, rode
his pony; and as my _monture_ evinced no asinine disinclination to
follow, but, on the contrary, evidently regarded the proceeding as
nothing extraordinary, I slackened my bridle, pressed my knees a
little closer to the saddle, and committed myself to my fate. The
torrent rushed at a fearfully giddy rate some twenty feet beneath, and
the roar of waters was terrific; but my steed was proof against these
things, which would have tried the nerves of a pedestrian tourist, and
passed steadily over the narrow causeway as unswervingly as if it had
been the broadest highway in France. This was the last feat of our
horses; for, after a brisk canter, we dismounted in the arena of the
Cirque, and turned the animals to graze, a girl who had accompanied us
from Gavarnie engaging to look after them. We had ridden eighteen
miles, and I doubt whether the distance was ever accomplished in less
time.
To render the first impression of the Cirque or _oule_ more
impressive, a small projecting wall of rock marks the entry to the
gigantic amphitheatre. This passed, the end of the world seems gained:
a vast semicircle of rocks rises precipitously to the height of
between 1000 and 2000 feet. These gigantic walls are divided into
three or four steps or ledges, on each of which rests a glacier, from
which stream cascades. That to the left is 1266 feet high, and bears
the reputation of being the highest waterfall in Europe. The summit of
this wondrous amphitheatre is crowned by everlasting ice and snow,
resting on the crests of the Cylindre, so called from its shape, and
10,500 feet high. The base of this fine mountain is embedded in a huge
glacier, which gives birth to the high fall. Fit companion to the
Cylindre rises the Tours de Marboré, forming a part of Mont Perdu. Not
a scrap of vegetation breaks the ruggedness of the vast semicircle of
rocks. The floor of the Cirque is an irregular heap of rocks, with the
exception of a large heap of snow at the base of the precipices, under
which the waters of the cascades run, like the torrents beneath the
Swiss glaciers.
It was impossible to take in this sublime spectacle at once, so
overpowering were its features; and as we gazed tremblingly at the
huge Cirque, I felt as if on the eve of being crushed by its impending
walls.
Within a few yards of the most western cascade, the ascent to the
Brêche is made. Without a guide, however, the precise spot would be
exceedingly difficult to find; and from its forbidding nature, few
would be bold enough to make the essay. It is literally a rock-ladder,
and is the only locality in the wide sweep of the Cirque affording the
means of ascent. The rugged strata, which are here vertical, serve as
steps in which one can insert the toes and fingers; but as the
guidebook truly says: 'It is as abrupt as the ascent of a ladder; and
wide spaces of smooth rock often intervene without any notch or
projection offering a foothold. To those who cannot look down a sheer
precipice many hundred feet deep without a tendency to giddiness,
there is danger in this escalade, as well as in passing over some
smooth projecting shoulders of rocks.' The climb is, in truth, most
arduous--'bien pénible,' as my guide said. My _chaussure_ was sadly
against me--thin-soled boots, which doubled under me. Let no one
undertake this ascent without being strongly shod.
As we ascended, new wonders were revealed--more precipices, cascades,
and glaciers: it was literally alps on alps. The top of the great
waterfall was still far above us; and it gave me a very good idea of
its altitude, when, after more than an hour's ascent, I found that we
were still beneath the level of the glacier from whence it is
supplied. About two hours were occupied in ascending the first series
of precipices, above which patches of snow are met with. Our course
now lay through a kind of vertical gully nearly filled with snow. Up
this we scrambled, taking advantage of the hardness of the snow to
make it our path. Above us rose tremendous precipices, terminating in
jagged peaks, on which my guide with his practised eye discerned a
herd of izzards. I saw them remarkably well through my telescope,
balanced, like aërial creatures, on the giddy heights, one amongst
them evidently acting as sentinel. It was beautiful to witness their
wild attitudes, ready, at a moment's warning from their watchful
leader, to bound from crag to crag, or descend the awful precipices,
where man's foot has never been.
My guide, whose heart was evidently more in the hunting than in his
present business, became half wild with excitement at the sight of
these izzards. It was the largest herd he had seen that year, and,
with many a _sacré_, he bemoaned his fate that he should be without
his rifle; though I endeavoured to convince him that there was nothing
to regret, as he could not at the same time hunt izzards and conduct
me to the Brêche.
We now fairly lost sight of the Cirque, and were in the midst of snow
and glaciers which covered a steep, inclined about forty-five degrees.
The surmounting of this slope was a most fatiguing affair for me, as
the snow was very slippery, and it happened that I retrograded nearly
as often as I advanced. This part of the ascent occupied about an
hour. My guide now turned to the left, for the purpose of crossing a
glacier, the inclination of which is so great that it is the next
thing to impossible to ascend it. The passage over this glacier,
beyond which lies the Brêche, is by far the most dangerous part of the
undertaking. At the place where we encountered it, its breadth may be
about four hundred yards; but throughout, its inclination is such that
the slightest false step would prove fatal, for beneath are precipices
of fearful depth. Here crampons are used. I was fairly exhausted when
I came to the edge of this glacier, and despite the protestations of
my guide, who declared that there was no time to lose, I threw myself
on the snow, and would, had I been left alone, have been asleep in a
few moments.
It is customary for the few tourists who visit the Brêche to take two
guides, for the purpose of crossing this glacier in safety; and I had
cause to regret my ignorance of the practice, for although I trod most
cautiously in the notches cut by my guide, yet my limbs were so weak,
that when about half-way across, I stumbled, and for a moment gave
myself up for lost. Happily, my guide was sufficiently near to grasp
my extended arms, and shouting: 'Prenez garde! prenez garde! Courage!
courage!' he sustained me until I recovered my balance. Then it was
that I became fully aware of the mistake I had committed in making
this excursion without previous training; and I admonished Jaques in
future, to give those who desired to scale the Brêche fair warning of
the dangers and difficulties attendant upon the undertaking.
My escape was not rendered the less interesting by a story which my
guide related to me of an unfortunate traveller, who when his crampon,
by some accident, caught his trousers, lost his balance, and there
being no friendly hand to arrest him, in an instant sped down the
sloping ice with the speed of an avalanche, and was almost
instantaneously lost for ever.
It was here that Mr Paris, who was rash enough to attempt ascending to
the Brêche without a guide, was obliged to give up the task. 'The
sight of this glacier,' he observes, 'was too appalling. I could not
summon sufficient resolution to attempt the passage, which was in
distance about a quarter of a mile, and wisely, I think, abandoned it.
To understand all its terrors, the place must be seen. Once slip, and
you are gone for ever, past all human aid: the death is too frightful
for contemplation.'
Bracing my shattered nerves for the occasion, I resumed my labour,
taking care, however, to hold my guide's hand; and thus moving slowly
and cautiously, I had at length the inexpressible satisfaction of
achieving the formidable passage of this terrible glacier. The rest of
the journey was comparatively easy, though the elevation--above 9000
feet--and the steepness were trying enough. But all sense of fatigue
forsook me when the huge portal--the tiny notch as seen from
Gèdres--yawned in all its stern magnificence before me. It was a fit
reward for all my toil, and I felt that I would have willingly endured
even greater sufferings to make acquaintance with such a scene as now
met my astonished gaze.
Eager to achieve the crowning feat of my undertaking, I hastened
onwards; and with beating heart I soon stood within the jaws of the
mighty portal, through which swept the howling wind. A step more, and
I was in Spain. Glaciers slope away on each side of the wall; but all
along the front of the Brêche, on the French side, the glacier is
scooped out into a deep fosse or cavity, by the action of the sun's
rays pouring from the south through the opening. A wild world of
mountains appeared to the south, those in the foreground covered with
snow, and the more distant looming hazily over the plains of
Saragossa. And this was Spain!--wondrous land, defying description,
and in memory resembling, not realities, but fragments of tremendous
dreams. Towards France, the scene is softer. Mountains there are,
sky-piled, but there are forests too, the home of wolves
Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave!
Burning for blood; bony, and gaunt, and grim;
and vales of emerald, and silver streams, and gleaming lakes. But how
hope to convey anything like a faithful impression of the panorama
seen from the Brêche-de-Roland! I will not attempt it, preferring
rather to advise the reader, should he not be stricken in years, to
see it himself.
My guide produced the contents of his wallet, which, thanks to Madame
Cazean's provident forethought, were good and abundant; and having
placed the wine-flasks in the ice--there was enough at hand to ice the
great Heidelberg tun--I sat down on the ridge of the Brêche, one leg
in Spain, the other in France, and my body in amiable neutrality. Oh,
the delight of that repast! there never was so tender a fowl, never
wine so good. While thus engaged in refreshing exhausted nature, I
even forgot that the terrible glacier had to be recrossed, and the
steep snow-slopes to be descended.
The day continued faithful to its early morning promise. A bright
sun--unfelt, however, at this great elevation--poured down a flood of
light on the far-stretching glaciers and snow-fields, on which we
discerned izzards, which seemed, when in motion, like points moving in
space. These, and a few eagles, were the only living things that met
our eye. Fain would I have spent hours here, but my guide was very
properly obdurate; and having done great justice to our meal, we
prepared to descend. Before leaving the Brêche, where we remained for
about an hour and a half, he conducted me to a small cave on the
Spanish side between the Brêche and the glacier, where smugglers pass
the night, waiting for the early morning hours to descend into France.
Desperate work! and desperate must be the men engaged in it. Being
considerably recruited in strength, I found the passage of the glacier
much less arduous than it was in ascending; and having passed it in
safety, we flew down the snow inclines with delightful rapidity, in
five minutes clearing ground which cost us an hour to surmount. We
reached Gavarnie at seven o'clock, and pausing for half an hour, rode
on to Luz, where we arrived as the night closed.