LA BORNA DE LA GLACE, IN THE DUCHY OF AOSTA.
The Chanoine Carrel, of Aosta, whose name is so well and so favourably
known to Alpine men, sent a brief account of an ice-cave in his
neighbourhood to the _Bibliothèque Universelle_ of Geneva[81] in the
year 1841, and, as far as I know, there is no other account of it. My
plan had been to pass from Chamouni by the Col du Géant to Courmayeur,
and thence to Aosta for a visit to the canon and his glacière; but,
unfortunately, the symptoms which had put an end to the expedition to
the Brezon and the Valley of Reposoir came on with renewed vigour, as a
consequence of Mont Blanc, and the projected fortnight with Peter Pernn
collapsed into a hasty flight to Geneva. It was fortunate that medical
assistance was not necessary in Chamouni itself; for one of the members
of our large party there was mulcted in the sum of £16, with a hint that
something beyond that would be acceptable, for an extremely moderate
amount of attendance by the local French doctor.
The glacière was thus of necessity given up. It is known among the
people as _La Borna de la Glace_, and lies about 5,300 feet above the
sea, on the northern slope of the hills which command the hamlet of
Chabaudey, commune of La Salle, in the duchy of Aosta, to the north-east
of Larsey-de-là, in a place covered with firs and larches, and called
Plan-agex. The entrance has an east exposure, and is very small, being a
triangle with a base of 2 feet and an altitude of 2-1/2 feet. After
descending a yard or two, this becomes larger, and divides into two main
branches, with three other fissures penetrating into the heart of the
mountain, too narrow to admit of a passage. The roof is very irregular,
and the stones on the floor are interspersed with ice, which appears
also in the form of icicles upon the walls; and, in the eastern branch
of the cave, there is a cylindrical pillar more than 3 feet long, with
a diameter of rather more than a foot. The temperature at 4 P.M. on
July 15, 1841, was as follows:--The external air, 59°; the cave, at the
entrance, 37·2º; near the large cylinder, 35°·7; and in different parts
of the western branch, from 33°·6 to 32°·9.
M. Carrel was evidently not aware of the existence of similar caves
elsewhere. He recommends, in his communication to the _Bibliothèque
Universelle_, that some scientific man should investigate the phenomena,
and explain the great cold, and the fact of the formation of ice, which
common report ascribed to the time of the Dog-days. He doubts whether
rapid evaporation can be the only cause, and suggests that possibly
there may be something in the interior of the mountain to account for
this departure from the laws generally recognised in geology.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 81: Nouvelle Série, t. xxxiv. p. 196.]
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