Edward Whymper

“ The warm air of midsummer penetrates the chasms, and, assisted by the percolation of snow water, glazes the walls from top to bottom. The superficial coatings of ice which are thus formed upon the sides of crevasses vary greatly in thickness according to circumstances—in a single crevasse they may range from a thickness of less than an inch to more than a foot. [12] The crevasses close up; the surfaces of their icy walls are brought into contact; they regele, and the coalesced films will then appear as veins of pure ice in the generally whitish mass of the glacier. ”

“ At 5.30 we crossed the schrund which protected the final peak, and, a few minutes afterwards, saw the summit and the whole of the intervening route. "Oh! Aiguille Verte," said my guide, stopping as he said it, "you are dead, you are dead;" which, being translated into plain English, meant that he was cock-sure we should make its ascent.
Almer is a quiet man at all times. When climbing he is taciturn—and this is one of his great merits. A garrulous man is always a nuisance, and upon the mountain-side he may be a danger, for actual climbing requires a man's whole attention. ”

“ The man who is there is somewhat in the position of one who has attained all that he desires,—he has nothing to aspire to; his position must needs be unsatisfactory. Upon the summit of the Verte there is not this objection. You see valleys, villages, fields; you see mountains interminable rolling away, lakes resting in their hollows ”

“ Added to this, talkative men are hindrances; they are usually thirsty, and a thirsty man is a drag.
Guide-books recommend mountain-walkers to suck pebbles, to prevent their throats from becoming parched. There is not much goodness to be got out of the pebbles ”

“ As a rule, amateurs, and particularly novices, will not keep their mouths shut. They attempt to "force the pace," they go faster than they can go without being compelled to open their mouths to breathe, they pant, their throats and tongues become parched, they drink and perspire copiously, and, becoming exhausted, declare that the dryness of the air, or the rarefaction of the air (everything is laid upon the air) , is in fault. ”

“ It will be felt that some of the séracs will be so smashed up that the original structure will be got rid of; that others, which descend more gently, will remain intact, but will settle down with their beds more or less inclined to the horizon; and that it will be a very extraordinary chance if the dip of the strata of any two of the masses coincides within many degrees. ”

“ It penetrates the thickness of the glacier to great depths. It is an integral part of its inmost structure" (p. 5.) "The breadth of these (bands) varies from a small fraction of an inch to several inches" (p. 8) . "This structure consists in the alternation of more or less perfectly crystallised ice in parallel layers, often thinning out altogether like veins in marble" (p. 19) .
Forbes' "veined structure" is frequently cut, both horizontally and vertically, by other veins, which latter seem to me to have clearly a different origin from the former. ”

“ ASCENT OF THE AIGUILLE VERTE.
"Few have the fortitude of soul to honour
A friend's success, without a touch of envy."⁠
Æschylus. Michel Croz now parted from us. His new employer had not arrived at Chamounix, but Croz considered that he was bound by honour to wait for him, and thus Christian Almer, of Grindelwald, became my leading guide.
Almer displayed aptitude for mountaineering at an early age. Whilst still a very young man he was known as a crack chamois-hunter, and he soon developed into an accomplished guide. Those who have read Mr. ”