THE DEATH5 ROLL OF THE ALPS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIX, Issue XII, 20 September 1902, Page 707

THE DEATH 5 ROLL OF THE ALPS.

A cablegram last week anno tie-d that there had been nearly forty Alpine fatalities in Europe this season, which appears to have been a singularly disastrous one. Yet, notwithstanding the danger attached to mountaineering, there is no sport in this world so enchanting as mountain climbing in the high Alps. It is like being in love, and one is always falling into difficulties and getting out of them, but all the time thoroughly enjoying oneself. When once the fever for climbing seizes a man he is a lost soul to anything but the mountains. I remember last year coming across an Irishman in the Cafe du Nord at Geneva, who, with Alpine stock in hand, walked across to the table where I was sitting, and in a blithesome sort of way accosted me with the remark: “I say, can you tell me where the nearest pawnshop is to be found?” “Certainly,” I said, having had at times a passing knowledge of such places. “Come along and I will show' you.” Away we went, and he confided to me he was temporarily hard up, as “I spent all my ready cash in getting up the Wetterhorn, and I want another £2O to get me up the Mont Blanc.” Five days later I saw in the Swiss papers that my genial Irish acquaintance had made a successful ascent of the white giant of the Savoy Alps. Before making- the ascent of a mountain it is wise to run through one's Lit, and see that everything- is in good order. Warm but not too heavy clothing should be worn, a Norfolk suit, with a flannel cricket shirt and a heavy woollen sweater,

being the ideal garments for the Alpinist. His boots, which are an allimportant factor for success, must be heavy, strong, and well-nailed with a special kind of hob-nail, procurable at any bootmaker’s in Switzerland. The thickness of the soles must be at least fin., and the boots ought to be new, but well tried companions of many a trudge up the mountain side. A slouch hat, ia pair of blue spectacles, gloves, rope and an ice axe complete the outfit. A mackintosh is a useless encumbrance. So much for the mere man, now for the ladies.

The Alps have no Mrs Grundy to criticise the lady climbers, hence conventional aress can be discarded w ithlout fear, for to essay a climb in ordinary feminine attire is not only a species of madness, but also renders the wearer a nuisance to the male members of the patry, w-ho, in nine cases out of ten, have to give up the ascent and help to carry a half-faint-ing, semi-hysterical woman down the mountain slope.

The proper costume for a woman is a short skirt Of knee-length, covering knicker-bockers of a heavy material. Gaiters well up to the knee, and boots with a sole at least half an inch in thickness, a warm blouse, covered with a fairly heavy-coat, gloves, ice axe, rope, and a tarn o’shanter hat complete tne costume. Before attempting a big climb, a local doctor ought to be visited, and if he vetoes the excursion, then under no circumstances ought it to be attempted.

On well trodden paths like those of the Rigi, Pilatus, Faulhorn, or the Gemmi, the services of guides are unnecessary in good weather, but for expeditions in the higher mountains, where glaciers are encountered, guides are an absolute necessity. There is no more honest class of men in

this world than the certificated Swiss guide. Each man is a climber of well tried experience, who has made a specialty of a particular mountain, and knows its peculiarities of weather, its many wandering, winding paths, its hidden crevasses, and other danger spots, like a London street Arab knows the Strand.

When engaging guides, it is well to put the matter entirely in the hands of your hotel proprietor, who, for his own sake, does not wish his mountain to get the reputation of being a dear one. and consequently will ar-

range fair and just terms with the necessary guides and porters. The charges, however, for guides and porters. are nominally fixed by the guides’ tariff, issued by the Central Committee of the Swiss Alpine Club. In an engagement lasting for several days, the terms are fixed by mutual consent, but for ordinary climbs they range from Bfr to 12fr per day for the guide and 6fr to Sfr for the porter. The guide is bound to carry 151 b of luggage in addition to the necessary rope; the porter carries 331 b. In tours of special difficulty the guide

is entitled to refuse to carry any baggage. but he must give his employer due notice beforehand to this effect.

When ascending a mountain for the first hour or so it is all leg work and no danger, but when the snow line is reached the fun begins, and the climbers are roped together, the tourist being invariably placed in the middle. Frequently, when coming across a bad piece of mountain side, stejvs have to be cut in the ice-bound slopes, and slowly the ascent goes on. Sometimes the path is scarce 2ft in breadth, and at one’s feet yawns a hungry precipice, awaiting an unwary climber. Then perhaps the road stop’s and a chasm has to l>e crossed. This is first accomplished bv the foremost guide, who literally‘jumps it; then the tourist, either jumps or is swung across the danger spot, the guide at the end of the rope jumping the chasm afterwards. And so the dangerous climb goes on over •••la- < ie.-s, which are always dangerous” as crevasses covered by the snow' are alien encountered, up nearly pe-pen-dict.lar sides of the mountain. .ml so ■on. battling against dangers unn] the summit is reached, where in most cases an Alpine cabin awaits the weary traveller. Here the nmht is spent, as the Alpine Club fits up each cabin with rough beds and mattresses On the morrow the descent is made, and the hotel regained

Guides occasionally have to be firm with their tourists, and sometimes trom some inconceivable reason, an amateur climber gets mountain funk, and refuses to go on any further’ then the chief guide asserts his authority, and as I once saw in the Bernese Oberland. literally bullied his tourist into doing what he was told German-Swiss guides, when thev o- e t unpleasant, are uncanny creatures, as their language, which is a cross between German, bad language and a cough, is hard enough at the best of times to understand, but when the speaker is excited, and waves an iceaxe in his hand, then the best thing to do s to bow to the inevitable, and express sorrow for having aroused the ire ot this stalwart of the Alps.

I have often been asked what is the charm of mountaineering, and what recompense does it give for all the danger encountered and all the fatigue endured. My opinion, after years of climbing, is that “doing" a .small mountain is the maximum of labour for the minimum of pleasure; but the ascent of a snow peak is a thing to be remembered for a lifetime. The glorious scenery. the

quietude ot the snow-capped mounts the endless seas of glaciers, the pitiless yawning chasms, the ex hi la rat ine* devil-may-care feeling of fighting dangers and conquering them, the knowledge that you are doing something out of the common, and the fact that a false step or a careless action may mean a fall of a thousand feet, all combine to make Alpineclimbing a passion once indulged in never afterwards forsaken.

Of course, accidents will happen even when accompanied by guides; ti

rope may snap, or a rock give way from the parent body. or. perchance, an avalanche may fall. All these are legitimate accidents, which may overtake any party; but the ordinary rim of casualties is the result of 'carelessness on the part of ordinary climbers, who. unaccompanied by guides, and without proper outfits, try to accomplish feats which, even with guides, would be dangerous. Then, again, there is the curious crank, who always wants to look down this crevasse “to see how deep it is,' or desires “just, to go down

the slopes to get a bit of eidelweiss ns a souvenir.” He usually meets with an accident as a recompense for his curiosity.

One day I was up the Seleve. a perfectly easy mountain, and quite safe, with •« party of Germans, one of

whom was very inquisitive. \Ve were without guides, and. ns I knew the mountain. I was in chief command

The man who was curious said that he would like to g’et a better view of the Lake of Geneva, and suggested that if he went down a little narrow creek of the mountain side he could get a better view.

“It's not safe," I said. “But I want to see ze blue vaves of ze lake."

I fear my reply was short, but expressive. However, he saw “ze blue vaves," together with many stars, which were thrown in as make weight, as he fell some forty feet, spending the next month in bed with a cut face ,»roLen arm, and water on the knee.

Another specimen of mountaineers is the totally inexperienced amateur, who goes up a small mountain clad in ordinary attire, wearing thin brown boots or tennis shoes, and smoking a strong cigar. He soon gets into difficulties, loses his head, and meets with an accident. Last, but not least, we have the foolhardy climber, whom one can't help but admire for his pluck, who essays well-nigh .impossible feats, and perhaps conquers 50 terribly dangerous peaks, and on the fi ft \-first meets his fate.

Again. I am s’jre many accidents happen owing to the injudicious use of stimulants on the mountain side. I do not mean to say that people get intoxicated when climbing, for no one would be such a fool as to do this; but 1 have frequently come across men who. whenever they felt at all “fagged." immediately took a sip at their brandy flask. The natural consequences followed, the respiratory organs being affected, and when a difficult piece of work came to be encountered they were unable to do it for sheer want of staying power. This is how accidents often happen. T am firmly convinced that spirits should not be used except as a last extremity. when a man is dead beat out, ami then only with a sparing hand. Cognac is the best spirit to use, although Kirsch or cherrywater is very useful when a climber is benumbed with cold.

MOI NTA 1 X EEKIXit 1 EXI’ENSI VE. Mountain climbing is expensive. I speak, of course, of the snow mountains, but not of the smaller ones; for where a trip is undertaken of more than two days the expenses run up to anything from £4 and onwards a day. As an example, a man considers himself lucky if he gels out of his trip u|. Mont Blanc for less than £l2, and so on relatively for most of the Alpine giants. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that Mont Blanc is a

dangerous mountain to climb; it is only fatiguing, and needs nothing more than a well-filled purse, a sound constitution, good guides, and a clear head, to reach the summit successfully. The one danger lies in falling avalanches; but the guides know the mountain so well that they usually manage to steer their party out of the way of these death traps. Perhaps the most difficult well-known mountain to climb is the Cervin, ox Matterhorn, the envy of every climber, and the despair of many a stal - wart Alpinist.