90 Historical 



talking, for at this height even talking fatigues one, and the air 

 transmits the sound feebly. I was still the last, and I was taking about 

 twelve consecutive steps; then, leaning on my alpenstock, I stopped 

 to take fifteen inspirations. I found that in this way I could advance 

 without becoming exhausted. Wearing green glasses and with a 

 crape veil over my face, my eyes were fixed on my steps, which I 

 was counting, when suddenly I felt the snow give way under my 

 feet .... 



The whole sheet of snow slid from under the travellers, and 

 three of the guides disappeared forever in an immense crevasse. 



After this fatal experience, no one had ventured upon this 

 undertaking "dangerous as well as useless", when F. Clissold tried 

 again successfully, on August 18, 1822. In his first rather brief 

 account, 124 he limits himself to saying that all the guides, except 

 one, were "more or less affected by the rarity of the air". 



The detailed account which he published later 125 is much more 

 explicit; it even contains very unusual theoretical ideas which we 

 shall report in the proper place. 



It is strange to have to state that this stranger who was making 

 his first trip to the Alps endured the decreased pressure better 

 than the guides, almost all of whom had already ascended to the 

 summit of Mont Blanc: 



We were not far from the Grands Mulets (he says) when the man 

 who was fastened to my rope untied himself, being absolutely 

 exhausted. I then had myself tied between two others; shortly after- 

 wards, a second one stayed behind, and finally all, except Favret 

 (one of the six guides) and myself, had to stop from weariness and 

 a difficulty in breathing which they attributed to the rarity of the air; 

 a little rest soon revived them. At two o'clock, we reached the 

 Grand Plateau. Marie Coutet, who could hardly breathe (he had 

 already ascended Mont Blanc five times) was surprised at my fine 

 condition. (P. 146.) 



They slept in a little excavation of the Rocher Rouge (4490 

 meters) and suffered greatly from the cold. The next day, at 

 dawn, they set out for the summit: 



Favret and I were the only ones who were comfortable, especially 

 in breathing. As for the others, some were stretched out flat on the 

 snow, others paused standing up, bent forward with their heads 

 hanging, finding it easier to breathe in this position. For my part, I 

 have felt much more fatigue in other trips and on much less lofty 

 mountains than I felt in ascending Mont Blanc; it is true that I was 

 walking more quickly then. My pulse rate did rise from 100 to 150 

 per minute, but my circulation always quickens to this degree when 

 I climb a steep grade, so that all in all I experienced nothing particular 

 or new to me. (P. 149.) 



