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 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.
1. _A Pardonable Digression._
There are some, and they are considered, on the whole, fortunate by less
highly gifted individuals, who possess minds as accurately divided up into
receptacles for the storage of valuable material as a honeycomb. Every
scrap of information acquired by the owner of such a well-ordered
intellect is duly sifted, purged, ticketed, and finally pigeon-holed in
its proper cell, whence it could undoubtedly be drawn out at any future
time for reference, were it not for the fact that the pigeon-holes are all
so very much alike that the geometrically minded man commonly forgets the
number of the shelf to which he has relegated his item of knowledge. He
need not really regret that this should be the case; persons with this
exceedingly well-ordered form of mind are apt to be a little too precise
for ordinary folk, and may even by the captious be rated as dull
creatures. A love for the beautiful is not usually associated with
excessively tidy habits of mind. An artist’s studio in apple-pie order
would seem as unnatural as a legal document drawn up on æsthetic
principles. If the truth be told, the picturesque is always associated
with—not to mince matters—the dirty; and the city of Hygeia, however
commendably free from the latter quality, would be but a dreary and
unattractive town. Nor would it, as seems to be sometimes supposed, be
quite a paradise to that terrible and minatory person, the sanitarian. On
the contrary, he would probably be found dining with the undertaker—off
approved viands—and the pair would be bewailing the hard times.
(M112)
I knew a man once who was marvellously proud of a certain little cabinet,
devoted to the reception of keys, all of which were arranged in a
remarkably orderly manner. He was fond of demonstrating the system, which
seemed, in truth, highly business-like; but I lost faith one day in his
method, on finding that he did not know the locks which the several keys
were constructed respectively to open. It is with the mind’s eye as with
the bodily eye. We are able only to focus sharply one thing at a time, and
the beauty of a given view, from the physiological standpoint, consists in
the softened indistinctness of all objects out of the range of absolute
focus—a fact of which the early Florentine artists evinced a curious
disregard, and which their modern imitators, who, at least in our
scientific age, ought to know something of the elementary laws of optics,
render themselves somewhat ridiculous by servilely copying. So is it also
with the memory. A certain indistinctness of detail often renders the
recollection even more pleasing; we may be able only to reproduce from the
pigeon-hole, as it were, a rather indistinct, blotted-in impression, but
as the artist would be fully justified in working up such a study into a
finished picture, so may the writer be allowed also to elaborate from his
mental sketch a complete work. Now, in wandering in those numerous
districts in the mountains of Switzerland which cannot properly be classed
as sub-Alpine, and yet are not lofty enough to warrant their explorer in
dignifying his rambles by the term “climbing,” one great charm consists in
the fact that, while everything is pleasing, there is no distinct
objective point that we are bidden to admire. The critical tendency is a
very constant factor in human character, and the chief business the
professional critic has to learn consists in finding out how far he may
legitimately go, and how he may best say what he is called upon to
express. Now even the least critical of our race, the gushing section of
humanity, feel irresistibly disposed to cavil at anything they are told
they must admire. Perhaps, though, it is not the critical attributes which
come out on such occasions in them. Possibly it is but an example of that
still more uniformly found characteristic of man and woman, a quality
which, in the process of the descent of our species, has been handed down
without the least alteration from such lower animals as the mule for
instance, and for which, oddly enough, we have no proper term in our
language this side of the water, but know it as “cussedness.”
(M113)
Most travellers hear with a slight feeling of relief, on arriving at their
destination and inquiring what there is to be seen, that there is nothing
in particular, and the sub-Alpine walker has this charm perpetually with
him. His expedition cannot fail, for it does not aim at any particular
object on the attainment of which it depends whether he considers himself
successful or not. These sub-Alpine walks and rambles form the background,
the setting, the frame, and the surrounding of the more sharply defined
and more memorable high expeditions. Perhaps these are but the sentiments
of advancing mountaineering age; certainly they may be heard most often
from those who have reached that period of life when they no longer pay
heed to wrinkles in their trousers, when they are somewhat exacting in the
matter of club dinners, and when they object strongly to receiving
assistance from younger folk in putting on their overcoats. Howbeit, as we
may recall the statement made in the “Delectus,”—
Neque semper arcum
Tendit Apollo,
even so does the mountaineer occasionally relax his muscles, and find
pleasure in the Alpine midlands. Moreover, the writer feels that the
perpetual breathing of rarefied air may be apt to induce too great a
strain on his readers, and recollects that a piano always tuned to concert
pitch is not so harmonious an instrument as one occasionally unstrung; so
some relief is at times necessary. Contrast, inasmuch as nature provides
it on every hand, we may be sure is a thing for which man has an
instinctive craving; and to my mind, at least, a picture in which rich
colouring is introduced, and where the result of the blending is
harmonious, is more satisfactory than the work which appeals by what I
believe artists would call “tone.” The principle applies rather widely. We
may have observed that young ladies of prepossessing appearance love to be
accompanied by dogs of repulsive mien. The costermonger, again, if
possessed, as he always is, of a hoarse voice, is not completely equipped
unless provided with a boy companion capable of sending forth in alternate
measure the shrillest cries which the human larynx is capable of emitting.
Thus may the pair better vaunt their wares, compel attention, and attract
notice. The same objects, at any rate the latter two, influence an author,
and not only in all cases, it would seem, when he is actually engaged in
writing. So our expeditions, now to be described, may be looked upon as
material for contrast, and may be skipped if thought fit—at any rate by
purchasers—without risk of wounding the writer’s feelings.
(M114)
Some years ago we were travelling over that district of the Alps which to
the true lover of mountain scenery can never become hackneyed—that is, the
stretch of glacier land between Chamouni and Zermatt, first made known by
Messrs. Foster, Jacomb, Winkfield, and others, and known to mountaineers
as the “high-level route.” We had reached Monvoisin, then, possibly still,
one of the cosiest and most comfortable little inns to be found among the
mountains. An immense variety of first-rate glacier passes of moderate
difficulty lie between this Val de Bagne and the Arolla valley; the Col de
la Serpentine, the Col Gétroz, the Col de Breney, the Col Chermontane, and
others, all of high interest and varied scenery, tempt the walker
according to his powers. We selected on this occasion the Col du Mont
Rouge, having a design on the bold little peak towering just above the
Col, and known as the Ruinette. This peak, it may be at once mentioned,
was ascended for the first time in 1865 by Mr. Edward Whymper, a
mountaineer who has never ceased happily to add to his spoils and trophies
since in all parts of the globe, and who, unlike most of the clan, has
kept in the front rank from the day he first climbed an Alpine slope.
(M115)
We arrived soaked through, and with deplorably short tempers, at the hotel
at Monvoisin. Now tobacco has been vaunted as a palliative to persons in
this emotional state. Liquid remedies, described by the vulgar-minded as
“a drop of something short,” or, more tersely, “a wet,” have been
recommended as tending to induce a healthier state of mind. But there is
one specific remedy which never fails, and to this by tacit consent we at
once resorted.
Even as one touch of nature has been stated, on reliable authority, to
make the whole world kin, so may one touch of a lucifer match, if
discreetly applied beneath well-seasoned logs, induce even in the most
irritable and wearied individual a change of feeling and a calm
contentment. As the logs crackled and spluttered, hissing like angry cats,
so did the prescription purge away, if not the evil humours, at any rate
the ill-humour engendered by sore feet and damp raiment, till it vanished
with the smoke up the chimney. As a matter of actual fact, however, it
ought to be stated that the greater part of the smoke at first made its
way into the room. Before long, assisted by a passable dinner, which acts
on such conditions of mind as do the remedies known to the learned in
medicine as “derivatives,” we waxed monstrous merry. We laughed heartily
at our own jokes, and with almost equal fervour at those of other people—a
very creditable state of feeling, as any who have associated much with
facetiously disposed folk will be ready to acknowledge. As the evening
wore on, and the fire burnt lower, we became more silent and thoughtful,
watching the pale blue and green tongues of flame licking round the
charred logs. There is a pleasure, too, in this state. No one felt
disposed to break the charm of thoughtfulness in the company by throwing
on fresh fuel. The fire had done its work, had helped matters on, had left
things a little better than it found them—an epitome of a good and useful
life. The embers fell together at last, throwing up but a few short-lived
sparks; nothing remained but the recollection of what had been once so
bright, and a heap of ashes—a fit emblem; for one of the party who was the
life and soul of the expedition can never again join in body with us in
the Alps, or revisit those Alpine midlands he loved so keenly. We rose
from our seats and threw back the curtains from the window. The mists had
vanished, and with them all doubt and all uncertainty, while the stream of
light from the full moon seemed a promise of peace and rest from
elsewhere.
(M116)
At an early period of a walk there is always the greatest objection to
putting forth exertion, the result of which has almost immediately to be
undone. That man is indeed robust, and possessed of three times the
ordinary amount of brass, if he fails not to find it distasteful to walk
up a hill at the end of an expedition, or down one at the commencement.
The drawback to the commanding position of the hotel at Monvoisin lies in
the fact that it is absolutely necessary to descend the hill to begin
with, which always seems a sinful waste of energy, seeing that the grass
slopes opposite, which are steep, have immediately afterwards to be
climbed. The natural grass steps looked inviting, but in the language of
the Portuguese dialogue book we found them all either “too long or much
short.” One ascent over a grass slope is very much like another, and
description in detail would be as wearisome as the slopes themselves often
prove. Yet it is worthy of notice that there is an art to be acquired even
in climbing grass slopes. We had more than one opportunity on the present
occasion of seeing that persons look supremely ridiculous if they stumble
about, and we noticed also that, like a bowler when he has delivered a
long hop to the off for the third time in one over, the stumbler
invariably inspects the nails in his boots, a proceeding which deceives no
one. It is quite easy to judge of a man’s real mountaineering capacity by
the way in which he attacks a steep grass slope. The unskilful person, who
fancies himself perfectly at home amongst the intricacies of an ice-fall,
will often candidly admit that he never can walk with well-balanced
equilibrium on grass, a form of vegetable which, it might be thought in
many instances of self-sufficient mountaineers, would naturally suit them.
There is often real danger in such places, and not infrequently the wise
man will demand the use of the rope, especially when there are any tired
members among the party. There is no better way of learning how to
preserve a proper balance on a slope than by practising on declivities of
moderate steepness, and it is astonishing to find how often those who
think they have little to learn, or, still worse, believe that there is
nothing to learn, will find themselves in difficulties on a mountain-side,
and forced to realise that they have got themselves into a rather
humiliating position. We may have seen before now, all of us,
distinguished cragsmen to whom an ascent of the Weisshorn or Matterhorn
was but a mere stroll, utterly pounded in botanical expeditions after
Edelweiss, and compelled to regain a position of security by very
ungraceful sprawls, or, worse still, have to resort to the unpardonable
alternative of asking for assistance. It is on such places that the skill
born of constant practice is best shown in the peasant as contrasted with
the amateur; but the latter could easily acquire the art, were he not, as
a rule, too high and mighty to do so. It is a great point, too, if the
expedition is to be thoroughly enjoyed, to transport one’s self over the
earlier part of the day’s climb with the least possible amount of
exertion. The art possibly resembles that which, I am told, is acquired by
those of ill-regulated minds, whom the force of circumstances and the
interests of society compel to exercise themselves for a certain number of
hours daily in that form of unproductive labour exemplified in the machine
known as the treadmill. No doubt the very ardent mountaineer might find
that facilities would be accorded to him during such time as he cannot
visit the Alps of practising this art in the manner indicated.
(M117)
Before long, the smooth unbroken snow slope leading up to the Col du Mont
Rouge, glistening like a sheet of amber-coloured satin in the light of
early dawn, came into sight. One of the party, who had complained
throughout of the slow pace at which he had been going, and who was
already far ahead, now went through a singular performance. Conceiving
that he would stimulate us to greater exertion by displaying his own
agility, he suddenly shot forth, as an arrow from the bow, and ran at
great speed on to the snow slope. But he had misjudged the hardness of the
snow. It fell out, therefore, that after two or three curious flounders
his limbs suddenly shot out to all points of the compass. A desperate
effort to recall his members under control resulted only in his suddenly
coiling up into a little round ball, like a spider in a state of
nervousness, and in that shape descending with considerable momentum, and
not a few bumps, down the slope over some knobby stones and on to a
fortunately placed little grass ledge. When we joined him a few minutes
later, he observed unblushingly that he had found a capital place for
breakfast. So have I seen a skater, after performing a few exercises of a
somewhat violent nature, resembling the dances performed by nigger
minstrels wearing excessively long boots, suddenly sit down and instantly
adjust a perfectly correctly applied strap. On resuming our journey the
agile member was firmly secured with a rope, for fear, as we told him,
that he should become possessed with a sudden idea to hunt for a suitable
place for luncheon by resorting to his previous tactics. Somewhat
crestfallen, he took a place in the rear of the caravan, and condescended
to make use of the little notches scraped out by the leader in the hard
snow.
(M118)
A few minutes later the full sunlight of early morning burst upon us, and
produced, as it always does on such occasions, a feeling of supreme
contempt for those slothful individuals who had not got up as early as we
had. This moment of exhilaration is often the very best of a whole
expedition, and is apt to lead, I know not why, to an ebullition of
feeling, which usually takes the form of horse-play and practical joking.
A series of gentle slopes led us up to the Col. Our ascent took us
gradually round the base of the Ruinette, and we cast anxious glances to
our right to see if any practicable line of rocks could be made out. The
mountain is tolerably steep from this side, but the rocks are broken and
were bare of snow. On the summit of the Col the party divided, the agile
person and some of the others deciding that they would go straight on to
Arolla, while Burgener and I bespoke the services of the porter, and made
straight for the long buttress of rock running down almost directly to the
Col on the north-west face of the mountain. Half an hour’s complicated
scrambling resulted in our attaining a little level plateau of rock on the
ridge. As we looked down on to the great snow-field from which the Gétroz
glacier takes its origin, we perceived, far away, the forms of our
companions looking like a flight of driven grouse about a quarter of a
minute after the sportsman has missed them with both barrels. No doubt
they were enjoying themselves thoroughly, but from our point of view the
sight of some four or five individuals walking along at ten-foot intervals
with bowed heads and plodding gait did not suggest any very consummate
pleasure. Rejoicing, therefore, that they were making nice tracks for us
to follow later in the day, we turned again to the rocks above. Following
always the ridge, we clambered straight up, and found opportunities for
very pretty gymnastics (that is, from our own point of view) on this part
of the mountain. Our object was to select rocks that would give good
practice in climbing, rather than to pick out the easiest possible line,
and as a result we got into more than one difficult place, difficult
enough at any rate to demand much conversation on the part of the guides.
In about three hours from the Col we found ourselves looking over the
arête on to the southern side of the mountain with a very compact and
varied view in all directions. Close by, the long ridge of the Serpentine
formed a fine foreground, and a wide expanse of glacier district made up a
tolerably wild panorama. A few minutes’ climbing along the crest landed us
above a deep notch filled in with soft snow. Into this we plunged, and in
another minute or two stood on the summit of the Ruinette. So far as we
knew at the time, the mountain had not previously been ascended from the
northern side, and, indeed, the peak does not appear to be visited nearly
so often as it deserves. Following for the most part the same line as that
taken during the ascent, we regained, in about a couple of hours, the Col.
Here we hunted diligently, seeking what we might devour, and feeling sure
that our friends would have left us something as a reward for our energy.
It transpired, however, subsequently, that the agile person’s exertions
had provoked in him such an appetite that there was little if anything to
leave, so we followed the tracks laid out in the snow, noticing with some
concern that one member of the previous party had sunk at every step some
eighteen inches deeper into the soft compound than anybody else. By the
marks on the snow we perceived, also, that he had trailed his axe along by
his side, a sure sign of weariness. By sunset we had gained the Pas de
Chévres, and ran gaily down the gentle slope towards the hotel. A little
distance from the building we came so suddenly upon a manly form,
outstretched, like a stranded star-fish, on a mossy bank, that we almost
leaped upon his stomach. Yet he moved not, and was apparently wrapped in
slumber. We stopped and crept cautiously up to survey him more closely. It
was the agile person.
2. _A Little Maiden._
(M119)
In the old days of mountaineering, Saas was a place more often talked
about than visited. The beauty of the scenery around was indeed
unquestionable, the number of expeditions of every degree of difficulty
seemed almost without limit, first-rate guides could be obtained with
ease, and yet there was never any difficulty in finding quarters in the
hotels. In ascending the main valley from Visp the great stream of
travellers divided at Stalden into a large stream that made its way to
Zermatt and a little rivulet that meandered along the much finer valley
towards Saas and the Mattmark. It thus fell out that, notwithstanding a
small body of indefatigable mountaineers had explored the higher peaks and
passes on both sides of the valley with tolerable completeness, there was
left a considerable number of smaller expeditions capable of providing
good amusement for the climber desirous of acquiring fame or of exploring
the less known districts. In these days, when the soaring ambition of
mountaineers has led them to climb heights far greater than any found in
the Alps, an account of an expedition of an unimportant peak may seem out
of place. Indeed, its details were so devoid of sensational incident that
the recital may be dull; but, as will appear directly, that is not the
writer’s fault; at any rate, he ventures to give it, for the same reason
that invariably prompts youthful authors to write unnecessary books; that
is, as they say in their preface, to supply a want long felt—a want, it
may be stated, usually felt in their own pockets and nowhere else.
With every respect to the older generation of mountaineers, they are much
to blame in one matter. The stock of Alpine jokes is scanty; indeed, a
well-read author can get them all, with a little arrangement, into the
compass of one short description of a day in the mountains. Again, the
number of Alpine subjects lending themselves to facetiousness is but
small. The supply has been proved beyond question entirely inadequate to
meet the demand, but former writers have recklessly drawn on this limited
stock and entirely exhausted the topics, if not the readers. Some
allowance may therefore be made when the position is considered, and it is
realised that the writer is endeavouring to patch together a fabric with
materials almost too threadbare for use, and that he is compelled wholly
to pass by such attractive topics as the early start and consequent
ill-temper, the dirty porter, the bergschrund, the use of tobacco, or the
flea. The last-mentioned beast is in fact now universally prohibited from
intrusion into polite Alpine literature; he has had his day. But why? he
has surely some right to the place. An eminent French composer(6) has
written a ballad in his honour; but though, as old Hans Andersen wrote, he
was much thought of at one time, and occupied a high position, seeing that
he was in the habit of mixing with the human race, and might even have
royal blood in his veins, yet he is now deposed. I cannot forbear from
paying a last tribute to the memory of a departing, though formerly
constant, companion. To find oneself obliged to cut the acquaintance of a
friend whom I have fed with my own hand must give rise to some qualms.
Unfortunately, too, the older writings are too well known of many to be
dished up again in altered form, like a Sunday dinner in the suburbs; so
that even the most common form of originality, videlicet, forgetfulness of
the source from which you are borrowing, is forbidden. Plagiarism is a
crime that seldom is allowed to pass undetected. There are many people in
this world possessed of such a small amount of originality themselves,
that they spend their whole time in searching for the want of that quality
in others. The human inhabitants of the ark, unless they made the most of
their unexampled opportunities for the study of natural history, must have
become desperately bored with each other, and no doubt, when set free,
said all the good things, each in their own independent nucleus of
commencing society, which they had heard while immured. On the whole, it
is fortunate for writers that the period known as the dark ages came to
pass; it allowed those who commenced their career on this side of the
hiatus to make, on the old lines, a perfectly fresh start.
(M120)
Perhaps no country in the world has had the minute topography of its
uninhabited districts so thoroughly worked out as Switzerland. Beyond
question the orography is more accurately given than anywhere else; in
this respect, indeed, no other country can compare with it. It might seem,
even to those who have studied the matter, almost impossible to find any
corner of the Alps that has not been described; and the discovery that a
few superficial square yards of Swiss territory, arranged on an incline,
had not been discussed in detail came upon the writer with somewhat of a
shock. It was clearly somebody’s duty to rectify the omission and fill the
gap; whether the expedition was of importance from any point of view, or
whether any one in the wide world had the smallest desire to read a
description of it, was a matter of no moment whatever. There was a vacuum,
and it was a thing abhorrent. The mountain, to which reference is made
above, lies east of Saas, and is known to such of the inhabitants as have
any knowledge of geography as the Portienhorn. Substantially this peak is
the highest point of a long rocky ridge running north and south, and
called the Portien Grat.
(M121)
One fine evening we sat outside the inn at Saas just before dinner,
seriously discussing the prospect of climbing this mountain. The guides
were of opinion that we ought to sleep out, and surmised that the rocks
might be found much more difficult than they looked. With some reluctance
on our part their views were allowed to prevail on the point, and they
started off in triumph, promising to return and report when all the
necessary preparations for starting should be completed, while we went in
to prepare ourselves for the next day by an early dinner. The inn in those
days was somewhat rude, and the cuisine was not remarkable save for the
extraordinary faculty possessed by the chef for cooking anything that
happened to come in his way, and reducing it all to the same level of
tastelessness. On the present occasion, however, stimulated, no doubt, by
certain critical rebukes, he had determined to surpass himself. Towards
the end of the repast, as we sat chewing some little wooden toothpicks,
which were found to have more flavour than anything else placed on the
table, we heard the chef cross the yard and go into a certain little
outhouse. A few minutes later a subtle and delicate aroma made its way
into the apartment, leading us, after a few interrogative sniffs, to get
up and close the window. Gradually the savour became more pronounced, and
one of the party gave expression to his opinion that there was now
satisfactory proof of the accuracy of his constant statement that the
drains were out of order. Gradually intensifying, the savour assumed the
decided character of a smell, and we looked out of window to see in which
direction the cemetery lay. Stronger and stronger grew the perception as
steps came mounting up the stairs; the door opened, and all doubt was set
at rest as the chef entered, bearing proudly a large cheese. In a moment,
to his dismay, he was left undisputed master of the apartment.
(M122)
We left Saas equipped as for a serious expedition. A stout rustic, who was
the most preternaturally ugly man I ever saw, led the way; he had a very
large mouth and an odd-shaped face, so that he resembled a frog with a
skewer wedged across inside his cheeks. On his back he bore a bag full of
very spiky straw, which the guides said was a mattress. In about an hour’s
time we arrived at a carelessly built chalet on the Almagel Alp, of which
the outside was repulsive and the inside revolting. But the experienced
mountaineer, on such occasions, is not easily put out, and exhibits very
little astonishment at anything he may see, and none at anything that he
may smell. The hut consisted of a single apartment, furnished with a
fireplace and a bed. The fireplace was situated in the centre of the room;
the couch was separated by a dilapidated hoarding from a shed tenanted by
a cow of insatiable appetite—indeed, it may have been originally designed
as a manger. The bed, which accommodated apparently the family of the
tenant, was found on actual measurement to be forty-eight inches in length
and twenty in width; nevertheless the two guides packed themselves into
it, adopting in their recumbent position the theory that if you keep your
head and your feet warm you are all right. By the flickering gleams of
firelight it could be perceived through the smoke that these were the only
portions of their frames actually in the bed owing to its excessive
shortness; but guides share, with babies in perambulators, a happy faculty
of being able to sleep peacefully whatever be the position of their heads.
The dispossessed family of the tenant would not submit, notwithstanding
strong remarks, to summary eviction, and watched our proceedings with much
interest. It was pointed out to them that curiosity was a vicious quality,
that it had been defined as looking over other people’s affairs and
overlooking one’s own, and that, on the whole, they had better retire,
which they did reluctantly, to a little shed in which was a large copper
pot with other cheese-making accessories. Apparently they spent the night
in scouring the copper pot.
The mattress proved to be so tightly packed that it was easier, on the
whole, to lie awake under it than to sleep on the top of it, and less
painful. About 4 A.M. one of the guides incautiously moved his head, and
having thus disturbed his equilibrium fell heavily on to the floor.
Thereupon he woke up and said it was time to start. We bade a cheerful
adieu to our host, who was obtaining such repose as could be got by the
process of leaning against the doorpost, and made our way upwards.
On the south side of the Portienhorn a long and rough rocky ridge,
preserving a tolerably uniform height, extends as far as the Sonnighorn.
Ultimately the ridge, still running in a southerly direction, curves
slightly round to the west up to the Monte Moro, and thus forms the head
of the Saas valley. There are several unimportant peaks in this ridge
perhaps equally worthy, with the Portienhorn, of a place in literature;
but of all the points south of the Weissmies this Portienhorn is perhaps
the most considerable, and certainly the most difficult of access. At any
rate, we climbed the peak, and this is how we did it.
(M123)
It was clear that the southern ridge was more feasible than the northern
one, which drops to a col known as the Zwischbergen Pass, and then rises
again to merge into the mass of the Weissmies. The whole of the western
slope of the Portienhorn is covered by the Rothblatt Glacier, the ice of
which is plastered up against its sides. We kept to the left of the
termination of this glacier, and after a brief look round turned our steps
away from the rock buttress forming the northern boundary of the glacier,
though we were of opinion that we might by this line ascend the mountain;
but we nevertheless selected the southern ridge, on the same principle
that the sportsman, perfectly capable of flying across any obstacle,
however high, sometimes, out of consideration no doubt for his horse,
elects to follow somebody else through a gap. In good time we reached a
point about halfway up the side of the mountain, and halted at the upper
edge of a sloping patch of snow. It was fortunate that we had ample time
to spare, for considerable delay was experienced here. Burgener had become
newly possessed of a remarkable knife, which he was perpetually taking out
of his pocket and admiring fondly; in fact, it provided material for
conversation to the guides for the whole day. The knife was an intricate
article, and strikingly useless, being weak in the joints; but
nevertheless Burgener was vastly proud of the weapon, and valued it as
much as an ugly man does a compliment. In the middle of breakfast the
treasure suddenly slipped out of his hand, and started off down the slope.
With a yell of anguish he bounded off after it, and went down the rocks in
a manner and at a pace that only a guide in a state of excitement can
exhibit. The incident was trivial, but it impressed on me the
extraordinary powers of sure-footedness and quickness on rocks that a good
guide possesses. An amateur might have climbed after these men the whole
day, and have thought that he was nearly as good as they, but he could no
more have gone down a couple of hundred feet as this guide did without
committing suicide, than he could have performed a double-three backwards
the first time he put on skates. He might, indeed, have gone backwards,
but he would not have achieved his double-three. Turning northwards the
moment we were on the arête, we made our way, with a good deal of
scrambling, upwards. The rocks were firm and good, and, being dry, gave no
great difficulty. Still they were far from easy, and now and again there
were short passages sufficiently troublesome to yield the needed charm to
a mountain climb, difficult enough at any rate to make us leave our axes
behind and move one at a time. But how have the times altered since our
expedition was made! Nowadays such a climb would be more fitly mentioned
casually after dinner as “a nice little walk before church,” “a capital
after-breakfast scramble,” “a stroll strongly recommended to persons of an
obese habit,” and so forth. Nevertheless, there is a very distinct
pleasure in climbing up a peak of this sort—greater, perhaps, than may be
found on many of the more highly rated, formidable, and, if the truth be
told, fashionable mountains; for the expedition was throughout
interesting, and the contrast between the view to the west where the
Mischabelhörner reared up their massive forms, and to the east looking
towards Domo d’Ossola and the Italian lake district, was one to repay a
climber who has eyes as well as limbs. The crest was in places tolerably
sharp, and we were forced at times to adopt the expedient, conventionally
supposed to be the only safe one in such cases, of bestriding the rock
edge. It should be stated, however, that, as usual on such occasions, when
we desired to progress we discarded this position, and made our way
onwards in the graceful attitude observed at the seaside in those who are
hunting on the sand for marine specimens. And thus we arrived ultimately
at the top, where we gave way to a properly regulated amount of subdued
enthusiasm, proportionate to the difficulty and height of the vanquished
mountain. No trace of previous travellers could be found on the summit. It
was a maiden ascent. Doubtless the mythical and ubiquitous chamois-hunter
had been up before us, for at the time I write of the district was noted
for chamois; but even if he had, it makes no difference. We have found it
long since necessary to look upon ascents stated to have been made by
chamois-hunters as counting for nothing, and in the dearth of new peaks in
the Alps, have to resort to strange devices and strained ideas for
novelty. Thus, a mountain in the present day can be the means of bringing
glory and honour to many climbers. For instance:—
A climbs it First ascent.
B ascends it First recorded ascent.
C goes up it First ascent from the other side.
D combines A and C’s First time that the peak has been “colled.”
expedition
E scrambles up the First ascent by the E.N.E. arête.
wrong way
F climbs it in the First ascent by an Englishman, or first
ordinary way ascent without guides.
G is dragged up by his First real ascent; because all the others
guides were ignorant of the topographical details,
and G’s peak is nearly three feet higher than
any other point.
Many more might be added; probably in the future many more will, for, in
modern mountaineering phrase, the Portienhorn “goes all over.” By 4 P.M.
we were back again in the Saas valley.
It seems, as I write, only yesterday that all this happened. But a regular
revolution has really taken place. There can be no question, I think, that
fewer real mountaineers are to be found in the old “playground” than
formerly. Still, there are not wanting climbers, all of them apparently of
the first rank. For among the high Alps now, even as on the dramatic stage
of to-day, there are no amateurs.
(M124)
A curious human fungus that has grown up suddenly of late is the
emancipated schoolboy spoken of by a certain, principally feminine, clique
of admirers as “such a wonderful actor, you know.” Very learned is he in
the technicalities of the stage. The perspiring audience in the main
drawing-room he alludes to as “those in front.” He knows what “battens”
are, and “flies,” and “tormentors,” and “spider-traps.” He endeavours to
imitate well-known actors, but does not imitate the laborious process by
which these same artists arrive at successful results. But we all know
him, and are aware also, at any rate by report, of his overweening vanity,
and the manner in which he intrudes his conception of “Hamlet” or
“Richelieu” on a longsuffering public. Without the slightest knowledge
technically of how to walk, talk, sit down, go off, or come on, he rushes
on the boards possessed solely of such qualifications for his task as may
arise in a brain fermenting with conceit. Critics he regards as persons
existing solely for the purpose of crushing him, and showing ill-tempered
hostility born of envy. The judicious, if they accept and weakly avail
themselves of orders, can but grieve and marvel that there should exist
that curious state of folly which prompts a man to exhibit it before the
world, or even to thrust it upon his fellow-creatures. Some men are born
foolish—a pity, no doubt, but the circumstances are beyond their own
control; some achieve a reputation for lack of wisdom, and even make it
pay; but some thrust their folly on others, and to such no quarter need be
given. The self-constituted exponent of a most difficult art is not a whit
more ridiculous than the boy or man who rushes at a difficult peak before
he has learnt the elements of mountaineering science. A man may become a
good amateur actor if he will consent to devote his leisure to
ascertaining what there is to learn, and trying to learn it; and a man may
become a good mountaineer by adopting the same line of action. But this is
rarely the case. Too often they forget that, as a late president of the
Alpine Club remarked, “life is a great opportunity, not to be thrown away
lightly.” It is said sometimes by unreflecting persons that such
institutions as the Alpine Club are responsible for the misfortunes and
calamities that have arisen from time to time, and may still arise. But
there has been a good example set if recruits would only turn to it; for
the mountaineers in the old style, speaking of a generation that climbs
but little in these days, did what it is the fashion now to call their
“work” thoroughly—too thoroughly and completely, perhaps, to please
altogether their successors. Novelty in the mountains of Switzerland may
be exhausted, but there are still too many expeditions of which, because
they have been done once or twice, the danger is not adequately
recognised. If these remarks, written in no captious spirit, but rather
with the strongest desire to lay stress on truths that are too often
ignored, should lead any aspiring but unpractised mountaineer to pause and
reflect before he tries something beyond his strength and capabilities,
some little good will at least have been done. It is not that the rules
are unknown; they are simple, short, ready to hand, and intelligible; but
the penalty that may be exacted for breaking any of them is a terribly
heavy one—_absit omen._