CHAPTER VIII 

 MONT BLANC 



IN 1760 de Saussure, as has already been pointed out, had had 

 posted in every commune of the Chamonix valley a notice promis- 

 ing a handsome reward to the first man to climb Mont Blanc, and 

 also payment to pioneers for time spent in the endeavour. Fifteen 

 years passed without any serious effort being made to take 

 advantage of his offer. 



Pierre Simon, de Saussure's first guide, it is true, undertook 

 some sort of reconnaissance of the mountain both from the Tacul 

 and from the Chamonix flank, but in neither case did he push 

 beyond the first difficulties. Yet the Chamoniards were a race 

 accustomed to brave the perils of the peaks and glaciers in 

 search of crystals or in pursuit of chamois. What was the 

 cause of their lack of adventure in this instance ? It may 

 probably be attributed in part to the moral effect of a deeply 

 rooted belief in the inaccessibility of the ' Great White Mountain,' 

 in part to the particular character of the perils to be encountered 

 in the attempt. Even practised cragsmen may well have been 

 deterred by the vast extent of the slopes of treacherous snow, 

 seamed with hidden pitfalls, that had to be traversed in order to 

 approach the far-withdrawn summit, and by the knowledge that 

 at least one night would probably have to be spent in the frozen 

 wastes. The Chamoniards, it must be borne in mind, unlike in 

 this respect the natives of Zermatt or Val d'Herens, had no need 

 to cross glacier passes in ordinary life ; they could always get to 

 Italy by going round Mont Blanc, and consequently they were 

 very much behind the Vallaisans in learning the use of the rope. 

 It was not till the latter half of the eighteenth century that Alpine 

 exploration ki Savoy made any decisive advance. About 1770 

 the hitherto rare ' visitors to the glaciers ' became more frequent, 

 and the interest taken in Mont Blanc by the troops of tourists 

 who penetrated to its foot had a stimulating effect on the villagers. 

 They had already found profitable employment as guides, and 



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