170. Mr F. Clissold’s successful Ascent of Mont Blanc. 
conversing with more than once, after his return to Geneva, has 
allowed us to insert in our work. 
“ Cliamouny , August 27. 1822. — Sir, You have probably 
heard of the success of my ascent of Mont Blanc, of which I 
shall communicate to you some particulars. I left Chamouny, 
where I remained fifteen days in expectation of settled weather, 
on Sunday, the 18th, at half past 10 p. m., with six chosen 
guides, one of whom was provided with a lantern*. We as- 
cended, as is usually done, by the mountain called De la Cote , 
and reached the summit of it at half past three in the morning. 
After a short halt, we entered, at four o’clock, on the Glacier ; 
and, having crossed it without accident, reached, at half past 
seven, the rocks called the Grands Mulcts , where preceding tra- 
vellers have generally made arrangements for passing the night. 
My plan was different : 1 was ambitious to reach the summit the 
same day, and to remain there during the night, in order to see the 
day-break on the following morning. We therefore continued our 
march, the most difficult part of which was in the neighbourhood 
of these same rocks, where we had to climb obliquely up a very 
steep slope of ice, inclined about 45 degrees, in which we were 
obliged to cut with a hatchet a number of steps, the missing of 
one of which would have been certain death ; for this slope ter- 
minated at an enormous cleft. This passage was still worse 
when we came down again. We quitted the Grands Mulets at 
nine o’clock, and reached at two the Grand Plateau , near the 
Dome du Goute. We were in the region of those masses of 
snow, which are formed into enormous parallelopipedons, called 
Seracs. Thence, ascending to the left, we from time to time 
proceeded along the edge of the clefts, one of which was perhaps 
the grave of the victims of 1820. All the guides, excepting 
P. M. Favret, and myself, were more or less incommoded by 
the rarefaction of the air. Three of them, in particular, who 
ascended Mont Blanc for the first time, lost their strength to 
such a degree that they considerably delayed our progress. If 
it had not been imprudent to separate, I should certainly have 
reached the summit before night. We arrived about seven in 
* Each of these guides carried a weight of 20 lb. in provisions and objects of 
precaution for the ascent. Mr Clissold, either with the design of trying his 
strength, or with the view of inspiring the guides with confidence, carried one of 
these loads during a considerable part of the ascent of the mountain De la Cote. 
