.1 521.] Two late Attempts to ascend Mont Blanc, ^ 



forms of snow, which occur in the space between the Domecfei 

 Goute and Mont Maudit, the eastern shoulder of Mont Blanc. 

 After having crossed this first platform, at a quarter before eight, 

 we ascended an acclivity at an angle of -^5° or 30°. This leads 

 ito the second, which we began to cross at 10 minutes past 

 weight, having then on our right hand the great seracs^^ of ice, 

 which are visible even at Chamouny. The sky, when observed 

 near these white masses of ice, appears of an extremely deep- 

 blue colour ; indeed almost black. After having ascended 

 another steep acclivity, we reached, at half-past eight, the last 

 of the great platforms, bounded on the right by the highest pait 

 of the Dome, on the left, by the last rocks on this side, and on 

 the south side by a steep acclivity, at about the height of which, 

 and a little further, appears the summit of Mont Blanc. Here 

 our guides congratulated us, telling us that all difficulties were 

 actually overcome; there were no more crevices, no more 

 dangers. Never, said they, did an ascent succeed better ; no 

 one ever ascended more rapidly, and with less difficulty. In 

 fact, the snow had precisely the degree of hardness which isr 

 ■desirable for walking upon with ease : the feet did not sink too 

 much, and the snow was not too hard. We had nevertheless 

 for some time experienced the effects of the rarity of the air : 

 Hiy pulse beat 128 in a minute, and I was continually thirsty. 

 Our guides advised us to breakfast here, for, said they, higher 

 up you will have no appetite. A cloth was spread upon thse 

 snow at the entrance of the great platform, which served both 

 for chairs and table. Every one eat his half chicken with appe- 

 tite. 1 arranged several things for the observations and experi- 

 ments which 1 proposed to make on the summit. I wrote two 

 notes to announce our arrival at the summit, leaving a blank 

 merely to insert the hour. I intended to fasten them to a pigeon 

 which I had with me, and which I intended to hberate on the 

 summit, in order to observe how he would fly in this rare atmo- 

 sphere ; and afterwards to know if he would find his way to 

 Sallenche, where the female was. We kept a bottle of our 

 best wine in order to drink to the memory of de Saussure on the 

 summit. 



" At precisely nine o'clock, we set off to ascend the summit, 

 "which we saw before us. " Would you accept a thousand 

 pounds to descend instead of ascending ?" said one of ray 

 companions to his fellow countrymen. " I would not return 

 for any money," was the reply. We were all full of hope and 

 joy at seeing ourselves so near the end of our journey. The 

 beautiful weather, the calm which reigned around us, the celes- 

 tial air which we had breathed durin^i our repast, made impres- 

 sions upon our minds which are not experienced in lower regions. 



♦ Scracs are those parallelepipeds, cubes, and other rather regular forms of ice and 

 'imow which are found at great heights. The name is derived from a kind of white 

 '■cheese, made in the mountains, and to which similar forms are given. 



