THE ASCENT OF MONT BLANC 



879 



were the Aiguille du Dru, in 1878 (see 

 picture, page Sy2) ; the Aiguille du Geant, 

 in 1882, and the Blanche de Peuteret, in 

 1885. Although some of these needle- 

 like rocks are far more hazardous to 

 scale than Mont Blanc itself, still none 

 of them rivals the main peak in interest; 

 and, as time goes on, its fame increases 

 and each summer greater numbers make 

 the ascent, attracted either by the grand 

 scenery, the interest of its past history, 

 or by pure adventure, as it is the highest 

 mountain peak in Europe (if we except 

 certain peaks in the Caucasus), being 

 only 58 feet less than three miles high. 

 Down to the close of the season of 1906 

 there had been 2,176 different ascents 

 recorded at the Bureau of Guides. The 

 summit has been reached even in winter. 

 Although the ascent of Mont Blanc 

 offers no greater dangers than that of 

 some other Swiss mountains, it has the 

 name of being the longest and most ex- 

 hausting climb in the Alps. While such 

 peaks as the A/fatterhorn and the Chamo- 

 nix Aiguilles are so formed that no great 

 quantities of snow can cling to their sides, 

 and consequently present for the most 

 part merely dangers incident to rock- 

 climbing, Mont Blanc, from its peculiar 

 formation, is almost wholly buried in its 

 upper reaches in snow and glacier, so 

 that crevasses and avalanches and all the 

 other dangers peculiar to snow-climbing 

 are a constant menace to the climber. 

 The extreme cold and rarity of the air 

 as you approach the summit are also 

 serious obstacles. 



HOW TO ASCEND THI^ MOUNTAIN 



But with good guides and proper pre- 

 cautions, with a good pair of legs and 

 good lung power, the ascent will not 

 be unduly difficult. Before undertaking 

 any of the higher peaks of Switzerland, 

 it is well to have got oneself into training 

 by walking over some of the passes and 

 climbing some of the lesser summits, for 

 it often happens that he who feels him- 

 self strong and starts this excursion by 

 walking out of Chamonix with head 

 erect and firm step, ends by having to be 

 pulled up the final slopes. 



Our first care, in arriving in Chamo- 

 nix, one day in July, was to go to the 



Bureau of Guides and secure the services 

 of a good guide and porter. A porter is 

 simply a guide in the making, generally 

 a younger man, who has attached himself 

 to some guide, and who later on, after 

 he has made a certain number of ascents, 

 will be enrolled as a guide himself and 

 receive the same compensation. 



Then we set about procuring the neces- 

 sary equipment for the two days' jour- 

 ney, such as ice-axes, hobnailed boots, 

 woolen leggings and gloves, mountain 

 caps which cover the face and protect it 

 from blistering, dark glasses with wire 

 sides to protect the eyes completely from 

 the glare of the sun, and a goodly supply 

 of provisions — for you would be sur- 

 prised at an Alpine appetite. The guide 

 himself brings a long coil of rope, about 

 100 feet in length, slung over his shoul- 

 der. 



Our party left the quiet little village 

 about seven o'clock in the morning. As 

 an ascent of the main peak is not yet a 

 very common undertaking in Chamonix, 

 a few people were before the hotel to 

 see us off. We followed the left bank 

 of the Arve for some distance and then 

 ascended by a zigzag path through the 

 pine forest at the base of the mountain. 



A RKSTAURANT 7,000 I^EET UP THE MOUN- 

 TAIN SIDE 



Soon the larch and pine trees become 

 thinner and are succeeded by meadows, 

 far above which appears the imposing- 

 Aiguille du Midi, at the extremity of the 

 great arm or ridge descending from the 

 right shoulder of the mountain. Just be- 

 neath its base, and high up on a huge 

 granite cliff overlooking the glacier of 

 the ''Bossons," is the shabby little chalet 

 restaurant of Pierre Pointue, 6,723 feet 

 above the sea, where, after our two 

 hours' climb, we stop and rest and enjoy 

 an unrivalled view of the Valley of 

 Chamonix and the Brevent, the moun 

 tain directly opposite. 



Now the main buttress, along the crest 

 of which our way has so far lain, is aban- 

 doned, because the huge glacier of the 

 Pelerins shoots down across it from the 

 heights of the Aiguille du Midi ; we 

 therefore turn our course toward the icy 

 stream that has now for some time been 



