An Ascent of Mont Ventoux 2Qri 



me to the plight of a person whose eyes are 

 bandaged and who is then made to spin round 

 on his heels. I had lost all sense of direction ; 

 I had not the least idea which was the southern 

 slope. I questioned this man and that ; 

 opinions were divided and most uncertain. 

 The upshot was that not one of us could say 

 where the north lay and where the south. 

 Never in all my life had I realized the value of 

 the points of the compass as I did at that 

 moment. All around us was the mystery of 

 the grey haze ; beneath our feet we could just 

 make out the beginning of a slope here and a 

 slope there. But which was the right one ? 

 We had to make a choice and to launch out 

 boldly. If, by bad luck, we went down the 

 northern slope, we risked breaking our bones 

 over the precipices the sight of which had but 

 now filled us with dread. Perhaps not one of 

 us would survive it. I passed a few minutes of 

 acute perplexity. 



* Let 's stay here,' said the majority, * and 

 wait till the rain stops.' 



* That 's bad advice,' replied the others, of 

 whom I was one, * that 's bad advice : the 

 rain may last a long while ; and, wet through 

 as we are, we shall freeze on the spot at the 

 first chill of night.' 



My worthy friend Bernard Verlot, who had 



