Algernon Blackwood

“ In fact, Arolla has nothing to offer the idler, no funicular ascents, not even a grotte aux fées. And yet, though primarily a hunting-ground for the mountaineer, it provides ample scope for less ambitious projects, no one presumably venturing so far afield without some form of pedestrian exercise in view, And here lies one of the chief attractions of the place, in that it can offer ascents of every description and difficulty; it is an admirable school to choose for one’s early climbing education, while many of its peaks will call for all the resources of the most finished mountaineer. ”

“ But the Dent Blanche is not a peak to be trifled with, and should not be attempted in doubtful weather, and therefore if time at Arolla is limited, it is wiser to confine one’s attention to the summits near at hand and where weather conditions are of less importance. Every day spent in those stoney highlands will be one to look back to, and when the climbing season comes round and the mountaineer longs once more for the ring of the axe or the tinkle of the cowbells on the upland pasture. ”

“ When writing a description of a mountaineering centre, one is invariably embarrassed by the unlikelihood of its suiting every reader. Some may be experienced climbers, preferring only the hardest expeditions, while others may be new to the sport, and unfit for anything but easy scrambling. ”