322 M. Guyot on the 



ia separated from the former by the imposing mass of Mont 

 Gele, is very nearly parallel, but more to the west. It af- 

 fords an easy passage, although covered with ice, into Pied- 

 mont, by the deep valley of Ollomont and the lower part of 

 Val-Pelline ; while by the Col de Crestasetz, which M. Guyot 

 crossed, we descend across the ruins of neighbouring moun- 

 tains, without any trace of a path, a little more to the east, 

 on the elevated chalets of the village of Bionnaz, in the mid- 

 dle of the Val-Pelline. After ascending this deep and savage 

 valley as far as the last chalet, that of Praraye, he explored 

 the bottom of the valley, which is occupied by the great 

 glacier of Lisette. This glacier turns suddenly to the north, 

 traverses, among high summits, the ridge of the chain, and 

 here confounds itself in the superior [)lateaux with the great 

 glacier of Ferpecle. 



Retracing his steps, M. Guyot traversed the ice-covered 

 Col of Mont Collon, from the summit of which the plateaux 

 of snow extend without interruption to the superior glacier 

 of Ferpecle. Tlu'ee hours of rapid descent on the glacier of 

 Arolla brought him to its lower extremity. This glacier fol- 

 lows a sinuous line, and turns westward round the base of 

 Mont Collon, here traverses a tributary of the great glacier 

 of Otemma, and resumes its northern direction before arriv- 

 ing at the first chalets. M. Guyot remarks how defective and 

 insufficient our best maps of these lofty summits ai^e to form 

 a guide to the traveller. The map of Osterwald alone, not 

 yet published, but of which M. Guyot had obtained a proof, 

 gives a less imperfect sketch of them. 



Not far from the Col de Collon, but at some distance from 

 the ridge of the chain, a small chain commences witli the 

 Dent des Bouquetins, which descends towards the north, and 

 separates the bottom of the val d'Erin into two valleys. To 

 the west is the valley of Arolla, with the glacier of the same 

 name; to the east, the origin of the val d'Erin, with the 

 double glacier of the Ferpecle and Mont Mine. After de- 

 scending the first of these valleys, M. Guyot went up the 

 second, as far as the supei'ior plateau from which the great 

 glacier Ferpecle descends in immense cascades. These pla- 

 teaux form in this place vast fields of snow from 10,000 to 



