Photo by G. R. Ballance 



SKRACS ON THE MER DE GI.ACE 



In all ascents where glaciers have to be crossed these seracs are a constant source of 

 difficulty and danger. Always avoided where possible, it sometimes happens that they have 

 to be climbed, and it takes an experienced mountaineer to select one sufficiently stable to 

 bear the weight of a party. 



visit, together with that of Windham and 

 Pococke, in the form of two letters. 



These descriptions are interesting, for 

 they give us a good idea of Chamonix of 

 that period. It seems that at this time 

 only the lower ends of the glaciers were 

 visited, though there were already guides 

 and porters. Windham makes no men- 

 tion of Mont Blanc itself, an omission so 

 remarkable as to make us think the sum- 

 mit was invisible during his visit; but 

 Martel mentions the mountain four 

 times, and as he is the first to make use 

 of the name in print, the honor of intro- 

 ducing the great ' Vhite mountain" to the 

 world must be given to this poor shoe- 

 maker's son. 



It now became the fashion to visit the 

 "glaciers." Many people came to Chamo- 

 nix ; among others, a young professor 

 from the Geneva Academy, named de 

 Saussure. He climbed the peak of the 



Brevent (see picture, page 869), the 

 mountain inclosing Chamonix on the 

 west, and conceived the idea of ascend- 

 ing Mont Blanc itself for the purpose of 

 making some scientific experiments. So 

 he proclaimed a reward for any one who 

 should discover a route to the summit. 



As yet, probably no one had thought 

 of ascending the mountain ; at that time 

 only crystal searchers and chamois hunt- 

 ers ever ventured on its upper reaches. 

 And although now a few feeble attempts 

 were made, notably by Pierre Simon, it 

 was not for 15 years that the first serious 

 attempt to gain the reward was made. 



EAREY ATTEMPTS AT THE ASCENT 



Four peasants climbed the narrow, 

 pine-covered ridge of rock called the 

 Montague de la Cote, which separates 

 the two glaciers of Taconnaz and Bos- 

 sons, and got some little distance up the 



867 



