An Ascent of the Matterhorn. 



79 



Very early on Thursday morning, July 20th, Burgener 

 was out sniffing the weather. It still looked ominous. 

 There was a high wind, and cloud-wracks, driven with 

 great velocity, almost combed the ledge on which the 

 cabin stood, then dashed up against the towering mass 

 of the mountain, like breakers against cliffs. There was 

 a chance that the weather might clear, and we decided to 

 trust to luck and take the risk. David packed up our 

 lunch, consisting of wine, tea, some meats, and various 

 condensed foods usually taken by mountaineers. I took 

 my camera, a small flask of rum, and a few small articles. 

 Burgener, carrying a new rope and rucksack with some 

 lunch, led the way into the night, for the dawn was 

 scarcely beginning to break. Not far above the cabin we 

 struck the northeast arete. Here we roped ourselves 

 together securely. Cockroft was placed immediately be- 

 hind Burgener, then came David Andenmatten, and I 

 brought up the rear. After worming our way along 

 narrow ledges, up and around several sharp corners, 

 we struck out upon the east face. Dimly visible beyond 

 the rim of the precipice, far beneath us, yawned the 

 bergschrund of the Furggen Glacier. From a point not 

 far above where we were Dr. William O. Mosely, of 

 Boston, had fallen in 1879. We found no difficulty at 

 this early hour in traversing the Great and the Little 

 Couloir, two funnel -like depressions, through which the 

 rocks, quarried by frost and wind on the cliffs above, go 

 bounding with fearful momentum to the glacier below. 

 The guides are in great dread of these places, for no skill 

 in climbing can avail against cannonades of rocks. Sev- 

 eral persons have in recent years lost their lives in the 

 Great Couloir. Silently, steadily we picked our way up 

 the east face of the mountain, not very far from the 

 northeast arete, and edging toward it more and more 

 as we reached a point about one third of the way up. 

 To this point the climbing could not be called difficult. 

 What from a distance looks like a smooth, unclimbable 

 surface is really considerably rifted and corrugated, af- 



