1^1.] Capt, UndreWs Ascent to the Summit of Mont Blanc, 373 



Article IX. 



An Accowit of an Ascent to the Summit of Mont Blanc, in 

 August, 1819. By Capt. J. Undrell, RN. 



(To the Editor of the Annals of Philosophy.) 



SIR, London^ March 23, 1821. 



Having seen in your journal an account of an unsuccessful 

 effort to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, perhaps you may give 

 room for the detail of a prior attempt attended with better fortune. 

 The letter I send you is a transcript of one written a short time 

 after the ascent, and never, as you will perceive, intended for 

 pubh cation ; but, as the relation may excite some interest from 

 the melancholy event attending a subsequent failure, you may 

 deem it worth a place in your publication, though possessing no 

 requisite for a work solely dedicated to the purposes of science. 

 I am, Sir, your very humble servant, 



J. Undrell. 



DEAR Barne^ Aug. 29, 1819. 



You may feel curious to have the detail of my late ascent to 

 Mont Blanc. I need not remind you that I had long intended 

 making the attempt, but rather next year, upon my return from. 

 Italy, than at this period. In truth, when I left Geneva for 

 Chamouny, on the 4th ult. the weather was so unfavourable that 

 I scarcely expected even to see the summit of the mountain ; 

 and when the following day at Sallenche, I caught a glimpse of 

 it at sun-rise, I deemed myself fortunate, as it became in a few 

 minutes overcast. In the afternoon I reached the Prieure, the 

 rain falling in torrents, and although it cleared up a httle the 

 next morning, all the heights were still cloud-capt. 



On the 7th, from that singular ice-bound is^e, called the 

 Jardin, at the extremity of the magnificent glacier of Talefre, 

 which branches to the eastward from the upper part of the Mer 

 de Glace, I had the first clear view of the top of Mont Blanp, 

 which is thence beheld in a most imposing form, rising so 

 abruptly for many thousand feet, that the snow cannot rest upon 

 its sides. 



On the 8th, the weather was unsettled ; and on the 9th, I set 

 off for Martigny, and had proceeded seven or eight miles towards 

 the Tete Noire, when, turning to take a kind of farewell look at 

 the mountain, then quite clear, as I was about to enter a path, 

 which, from its direction, would have concealed it altogether; I 

 all at once determined to return, and make an attempt the ensu- 

 ing morning. My guide, Josef Marie Couttet, who had attended 

 me in every excursion, was delighted at this resolution, and 

 quite confident that the weather would prove favourable in spite 



