118 Historical 



Just before we reached the summit (4640 meters), we met the 

 English travellers coming down. One of them was pale and disturbed; 

 he • told me that the rarefaction of the air had caused frequent 

 vomiting which had weakened him; in addition, he was dizzy. I merely 

 felt a weakness of the stomach with frequent nausea. (P. 160.) 



Last I shall report an observation made by M. Gamard, 1 "-' dur- 

 ing his ascent of the Jungfrau (4170 meters), August 24, 1874, 

 which we shall discuss later: 



We were buried in the very side of the mountain; air failed us, 

 and as we noticed on Monte Rosa and Mont Blanc, it is not at the 

 summit that we suffer from this rarefaction, but in spots which the 

 wind does not reach. 



At half past nine, we rested again; we were at an altitude of 

 about 3750 meters. (P. 216.) 



But, I repeat, observations of this sort are extremely rare. Ball 

 does not say a word about mountain sickness in his useful work 

 entitled Suggestions for Alpine Travellers, 1 ™ in which he enu- 

 merates the dangers of ascents and the principal observations of 

 physics and natural history which can be made there. 



Does this mean that everything has changed since the time of 

 De Saussure, and that today one can safely make ascents which 

 then were painful and difficult? In this hypothesis, however 

 strange it may appear at first thought, there is a portion of truth, 

 the amount of which we shall discuss later. But to make sure that 

 the immunity is anything but general and complete, we need only 

 question carefully those who make ascents, even those who in 

 their accounts do not mention physiological disturbances, even 

 those who deny the existence of such disturbances. Moreover, M. 

 Joanne, who has read and seen and heard so much, summarizes 

 perfectly in his excellent guidebook to Switzerland 104 all common 

 knowledge on this point: 



The lightness and the great rarity of the air in the Alps, and the 

 energy with which it speeds up evaporation cause at certain altitudes 

 very noticeable physiological phenomena, such as considerable 

 decrease or loss of appetite, distaste for food, nausea, drowsiness, 

 panting, headache, fainting, etc.; some of these symptoms even compel 

 certain individuals to turn back at once, as soon as they have reached 

 an altitude of 3000 meters; at about 3400 meters, mules are so out of 

 breath that they utter a sort of plaintive cry. However strength returns, 

 in such a case, as quickly and apparently as completely as it was 

 exhausted. Mere cessation of movement seems, in the short space of 

 three or four minutes, to restore it so perfectly that when one starts 

 walking again, one no longer feels any fatigue. (P. 93.) 



