Part 17 (2/2)
Though I speak thus slightingly of a very respectable peak, I will not do anything of the kind in regard to the view which it gives. It is happily placed in respect to the rest of the Pennine Alps, and as a stand-point it has not many superiors. You see mountains, and nothing but mountains. It is a solemn-some would say a dreary-view, but it is very grand. The great Combin (14,164), with its n.o.ble background of the whole range of Mont Blanc, never looks so big as it does from here. In the contrary direction, the Matterhorn overpowers all besides. The Dent d'Herens, although closer, looks a mere outlier of its great neighbour, and the snows of Monte Rosa, behind, seem intended for no other purpose than to give relief to the crags in front. To the south there is an endless array of Bec's and Becca's, backed by the great Italian peaks, whilst to the north Mont Pleureur (12,159) holds it own against the more distant Wildstrubel.
We gained the summit at 9.15,(203) and stayed there an hour and a half. My faithful guides then admonished me that Prerayen, whither we were bound, was still far away, and that we had yet to cross two lofty ridges. So we resumed our harness and departed; not, however, before a huge cairn had been built out of the blocks of gneiss with which the summit is bestrewn.
Then we trotted down the slopes of the Ruinette, over the glacier de Breney, and across a pa.s.s which (if it deserves a name) may be called the Col des Portons, after the neighbouring peaks. Thence we proceeded across the great Otemma glacier towards the Col d'Olen.
The part of the glacier that we traversed was overspread with snow which completely concealed its numerous pitfalls. We marched across it in single file, and, of course, roped together. All at once Almer dropped into a creva.s.se up to his shoulders. I pulled in the rope immediately, but the snow gave way as it was being done, and I had to spread out my arms to stop my descent. Biener held fast, and said afterwards, that his feet went through as well; so, for a moment, all three were in the jaws of the creva.s.se. We now altered our course, so as to take the fissures transversely, and changed it again after the centre of the glacier was pa.s.sed, and made directly for the summit of the Col d'Olen.
It is scarcely necessary to observe, after what I have said before, that it is my invariable practice to employ a rope when traversing a snow-covered glacier. Many guides, even the best ones, object to be roped, more especially early in the morning, when the snow is hard. They object sometimes, because they think it is unnecessary. Creva.s.ses that are bridged by snow are almost always more or less perceptible by undulations on the surface; the snow droops down, and hollows mark the courses of the chasms beneath. An experienced guide usually notices these almost imperceptible wrinkles, steps one side or the other, as the case may require, and rarely breaks through unawares. Guides think there is no occasion to employ a rope because they think that they will not be taken by surprise. Michel Croz used to be of this opinion. He used to say that only imbeciles and children required to be tied up in the morning. I told him that in this particular matter I was a child to him. ”You see these things, my good Croz, and avoid them. I do _not_, except you point them out to me, and so that which is not a danger to you, _is_ a danger to me.”
The sharper one's eyes get by use, the less is a rope required as a protective against these hidden pitfalls; but, according to my experience, the sight never becomes so keen that they can be avoided with unvarying certainty, and I mentioned what occurred upon the Otemma glacier to show that this is so.
I well remember my first pa.s.sage of the Col Theodule-the easiest of the higher Alpine glacier pa.s.ses. We had a rope, but my guide said it was not necessary, he knew all the creva.s.ses. However, we did not go a quarter of a mile before he dropped through the snow into a creva.s.se up to his neck.
He was a heavy man, and would scarcely have extricated himself alone; anyhow, he was very glad of my a.s.sistance. When he got on to his legs again, he said, ”Well, I had no idea that there was a creva.s.se there!” He no longer objected to use the rope, and we proceeded; upon my part, with greater peace of mind than before. I have crossed the pa.s.s fourteen times since then, and have invariably insisted upon being tied together.
Guides object to the use of the rope upon snow-covered glacier, because they are afraid of being laughed at by their comrades; and this, perhaps, is the more common reason. To ill.u.s.trate this, here is another Theodule experience. We arrived at the edge of the ice, and I required to be tied.
My guide (a Zermatt man of repute) said that no one used a rope going across that pa.s.s. I declined to argue the matter, and we put on the rope; though very much against the wish of my man, who protested that he should have to submit to perpetual ridicule if we met any of his acquaintances.
We had not gone very far before we saw a train coming in the contrary direction. ”Ah!” cried my man, ”there is R-- (mentioning a guide who used to be kept at the Riffel Hotel for the ascent of Monte Rosa); it will be as I said, I shall never hear the end of this.” The guide we met was followed by a string of tom-fools, none of whom were tied together, and had his face covered by a mask to prevent it becoming blistered. After we had pa.s.sed, I said, ”Now, should R-- make any observations to you, ask him why he takes such extraordinary care to preserve the skin of his face, which will grow again in a week, when he neglects such an obvious precaution in regard to his life, which he can only lose once.” This was quite a new idea to my guide, and he said nothing more against the use of the rope so long as we were together.
I believe that the unwillingness to use a rope upon snow-covered glacier which born mountaineers not unfrequently exhibit, arises-First, on the part of expert men, from the consciousness that they themselves incur little risk; secondly, on the part of inferior men, from fear of ridicule, and from aping the ways of their superiors; and, thirdly, from pure ignorance or laziness. Whatever may be the reason, I raise up my voice against the neglect of a precaution so simple and so effectual. In my opinion, the very first thing a glacier traveller requires is plenty of good rope.
A committee of the English Alpine Club was appointed in 1864 to test, and to report upon, the most suitable ropes for mountaineering purposes, and those which were approved are probably as good as can be found. One is made of Manilla and another of Italian hemp. The former is the heavier, and weighs a little more than an ounce per foot (103 ozs. to 100 feet).
The latter weighs 79 ozs. per 100 feet; but I prefer the Manilla rope, because it is more handy to handle. Both of these ropes will sustain 168 lbs. falling 10 feet, or 196 lbs. falling 8 feet, and they break with a dead weight of two tons.(204) In 1865 we carried two 100 feet lengths of the Manilla rope, and the inconvenience arising from its weight was more than made up for by the security which it afforded. Upon several occasions it was worth more than an extra guide.
Now, touching the _use_ of the rope. There is a right way, and there are wrong ways of using it. I often meet, upon glacier-pa.s.ses, elegantly got-up persons, who are clearly out of their element, with a guide stalking along in front, who pays no attention to the innocents in his charge. They are tied together as a matter of form, but they evidently have no idea _why_ they are tied up, for they walk side by side, or close together, with the rope trailing on the snow. If one tumbles into a creva.s.se, the rest stare, and say, ”La! what is the matter with Smith?”
unless, as is more likely, they all tumble in together. This is the wrong way to use a rope. It is abuse of the rope.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The wrong way to use a rope on glacier]
It is of the first importance to keep the rope taut from man to man. If this is not done, there is no real security, and your risks may be considerably magnified. There is little or no difficulty in extricating one man who breaks through a bridged creva.s.se if the rope is taut; but the case may be very awkward if two break through at the same moment, close together, and there are only two others to aid, or perhaps only one other.
Further, the rope ought not upon any account to graze over snow, ice, or rocks, otherwise the strands suffer, and the lives of the whole party may be endangered. Apart from this, it is extremely annoying to have a rope knocking about one's heels. If circ.u.mstances render it impossible for the rope to be kept taut by itself, the men behind should gather it up round their hands,(205) and not allow it to incommode those in advance. A man must either be incompetent, careless, or selfish, if he permits the rope to dangle about the heels of the person in front of him.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RIGHT WAY TO USE THE ROPE.]
The distance from man to man must neither be too great nor too small.
About 12 feet between each is sufficient. If there are only two or three persons, it is prudent to allow a little more-say 15 feet. More than this is unnecessary, and less than 9 or 10 feet is not much good.
It is essential to examine your rope from time to time to see that it is in good condition. If you are wise you will do this yourself every day.
Latterly, I have examined every inch of my rope overnight, and upon more than one occasion have found the strands of the Manilla rope nearly half severed through accidental grazes.
Thus far the rope has been supposed to be employed upon level, snow-covered glacier, to prevent any risk from concealed creva.s.ses. On rocks and on slopes it is used for a different purpose (namely, to guard against slips), and in these cases it is equally important to keep it taut, and to preserve a reasonable distance one from the other. It is much more troublesome to keep the rope taut upon slopes than upon the level; and upon difficult rocks it is all but impossible, except by adopting the plan of moving only one at a time (see p. 115).
<script>