Part 20 (1/2)
Joseph commandeered them to carry out goods suitable for mountain travel. Bearskin coats. Beaver gloves. Backpacks. Alpenstocks.
”What's that for?” William asked. ”If it is a walking stick, why is it so long?” The alpenstock was a thick ash staff, perhaps eight feet long, ringed with iron at both ends. It also bore a metal point.
”It is essential in theAlps , young man. It is the only thing that can save you from a dragon.”
”A dragon?”
”Indeed. If you shoot a dragon, you will merely annoy it and it will devour you. If you run, the result will be much the same. You must wait bravely until it opens its mouth, and then thrust the alpenstock between its jaws, jamming them open. The dragon will then starve to death.” Joseph waited, deadpan, for William's reaction.
”Are dragons common in the mountains? I mean, if they are, wouldn't you need to carry more than one alpenstock?”
”Don't worry. They're rare, so one's enough.”
It was then that I returned, as yet ignorant of Joseph's little joke. But I was quite conscious of the ominous pile of gear. ”I hope we are going to keep the climbing to a minimum.”
”No climbing, sir,” Joseph said. ”But we also want to keep the slipping to a minimum, so we need these crampoons.” He held out devices which looked vaguely like horseshoes, but matched the size and shape of human feet. They were studded with nails, and each was equipped with a leather strap.
”You fasten them under your feet, like so”-he demonstrated-”and now you can walk on ice, if need be.”
William tried them on. ”Ouch, the bars dig into my feet.”
”They take getting used to.”
I intervened. ”Let's stow them in the saddlebags until we really need them.”
We managed to get off to a mid-morning start. We had eight mules, five for our party to ride, and three to carry supplies. Two of these would ultimately be given to Joseph, so he could take back the loaned mountaineering gear after we crossed the Timmelsjoch.
The path, at first, was fairly easy, as we walked along a mountain stream, the Veltina. After perhaps a dozen miles, Joseph motioned us up the left side of the river valley. It was steep and rocky, and the mules became a little balky.
Then we heard a shriek. We Englishmen halted abruptly, and reached for our weapons. ”G.o.d's blood, what was that?” I cried.
Joseph had continued up the slope, unperturbed. ”The marmot, the mountain squirrel. That was its alarm whistle.”
”Can you eat them?” asked Samuel.
Joseph nodded. ”They are best caught in April or May, when they have just come out of their winter sleep and are still befuddled.” He smacked his lips. ”Bop 'em on the head, and then it's dinner time.”
The trail now swished back and forth as it climbed further into the mountains. Now and then, we found ourselves in light fog and had to slow down even more.
It was after one such patch that we had our first clear indication of how high we were. No trees.
”Where are the trees?” William asked.
”From here on up there are no trees, until we are over the pa.s.s and descend into theTyrol ,” said Joseph.
He pointed to the relatively flat section ahead, limestone carpeted with white wild flowers, theedelweiss .
”These are theAlps .”
”I thought theAlps were the mountain peaks.”
”No, no. They're the high pastures. Although the shepherds don't usually come this way.”
I thought that strange. ”If the shepherds don't use this path, who does?”
”Folks who like to move goods from one country to another with a minimum of fuss.”
Smugglers, in other words. ”How much further up do we have to go to reach the pa.s.s?” I asked.
Joseph leaned on his alpenstock. ”Let me think. Oh, we are perhaps three-quarters of the way to the top.”
Samuel whistled. ”And I thought the Kinder Scout back home was high.”
”What's the Kinder Scout?” asked Joseph.
”The highest point in the Peak District, back in Derbys.h.i.+re. But it's just a hillock compared to theseAlps .”.
Before we left this resting place, William collected some of the edelweiss, to be dried and pressed, and pasted into his journal as souvenirs. They didn't grow in the lowland.
We trudged on, weaving higher and deeper into the mountain range. A golden eagle soared overhead.
At last the trail opened up a bit, and leveled out somewhat. Ahead of us was a valley of sorts. Not a river valley, merely a saddle point between two great peaks. Patches of snow lay helter-skelter on either side of the trail ahead.
”We are at the top of the pa.s.s,” said Joseph. ”There is the Jochkopfl, behind us, on the right, and there the Wurmkogl, ahead on the left.” Their tops were lost in the clouds.
We set up camp under an overhang. Snow started to fall, and we all crowded closer to the fire.
”Good thing we brought firewood with us,” William said. ”There is not a branch, or even a twig, up here.”
The next morning, the valley floor was completely white. We put on our crampoons, and continued our journey. The snow sparkled in the sun and crunched under our feet as we walked.
As the oldest, I was the first to tire and I decided to ride my mule, not lead it. It was a mistake. Off to one side, a small slab of snow slid down with awhoomp . It came nowhere near us, but my misbegotten mule bolted. I held on for dear life, and my companions pursued us.
The mule halted abruptly at a small declivity; I sailed off the cursed beast and into the hollow.
The next thing I knew, I was staring up at William and Joseph. I hurt everywhere and I was lying on a bed of snow, quite bemused.
”What are you doing down here, William? For that matter, how did I get down here?”
”The mule threw you,” he said. ”Joseph slid down, and I followed. It was harder than I expected, but I made it to the bottom. Joseph said that he thought you were knocked silly for a moment, but there was deep-ish snow at the bottom and that cus.h.i.+oned you. I was so relieved when you finally stirred. How are you feeling?”
Samuel yelled ”watch out below,” and hurled down an alpenstock, the rope tied firmly to it. Joseph picked it up and brought it to me. I looked at it in puzzlement.You take a fall like that and see how quickly you come to your senses.
”All right, Mister Hobbes. Take hold of this staff with both hands. Your lords.h.i.+p, you put one arm under his and the other on your own alpenstock. Take it nice and slow.” He looked up, and raised his voice.