Edward Whymper

“ A precipice is a negative danger, but it is a positive one to a man who falls over it: a steep snow-slope of new snow has dangerous qualities, but it is not positively dangerous until its equilibrium is disturbed, and it descends as an avalanche: the piled-up blocks on a shattered ridge may be dangerous, but they are not so until they are dislodged: and a concealed crevasse may be perilous to the last degree, but it is not so unless you tumble into it. ”

“ Shivering, at last I entered the tent and made my coffee. The night was passed comfortably, and the next morning, tempted by the brilliancy of the weather, I proceeded yet higher in search of another place for a platform.
Solitary scrambling over a pretty wide area had shown me that a single individual is subjected to many difficulties which do not trouble a party of two or three men, and that the disadvantages of being alone are more felt while descending than during the ascent. ”

“ Nothing fairly within arm's reach could be laid hold of; it was necessary to spring up, and then to haul one's-self over the sharp edge by sheer strength. Progression directly upwards was then impossible. Enormous and appalling precipices plunged down to the Tiefenmatten glacier on the left, but round the right-hand side it was just possible to go. One hindrance then succeeded another, and much time was consumed in seeking the way. I have a vivid recollection of a gully of more than usual perplexity at the side of the Great Tower, with minute ledges and steep walls ”

“ From the first there is small risk, but unavoidable danger so long as mountaineering is practised; from the others there may be great risks, but they are easily avoided by the exercise of a little common sense. The largest part of the accidents, however, which occur in the Alps cannot be classed under these heads, but arise chiefly from momentary indiscretions, and from men trying to do that which is beyond their powers. It is not easy to find two cases exactly alike, although they principally come from the difficulty man experiences in keeping on his feet in slippery places. ”

“ The sun was setting when consciousness returned, and it was pitch dark before the Great Staircase was descended; but, by a combination of luck and care, the whole 4800 feet of descent to Breil was accomplished without a slip, or once missing the way. I slunk past the cabin of the cowherds, who were talking and laughing inside, utterly ashamed of the state to which I had been brought by my imbecility, and entered the inn stealthily, wishing to escape to my room unnoticed. But Favre met me in the passage, demanded "Who is it?" screamed with fright when he got a light, and aroused the household. ”

“ Professor Tyndall told me they had arrived within a stone's throw of the summit, and admonished me to have nothing more to do with the mountain. I understood him to say that he should not try again, and ran down to the village of Val Tournanche, almost inclined to believe that the mountain was inaccessible; leaving the tent, ropes, and other matters in the hands of Favre, to be placed at the disposal of any person who wished to ascend it, more, I am afraid, out of irony than for generosity. ”

“ A painstaking writer is therefore liable to be misunderstood in at least two ways. If he skips the difficulties, fearing, perhaps, to be charged with tediousness, he lays himself open to the imputation of being unobservant, or simply stupid; or, if he chronicles each step, and works out each difficulty, he is exposed to the risk of being accused either of frightful exaggeration, or of getting into utterly unjustifiable situations. ”

“ Seen from the Theodule pass, it looks only an insignificant pinnacle, but as one approaches it (on the ridge) so it seems to rise, and, when one is at its base, it completely conceals the upper parts of the mountain. I found here a suitable place for the tent; which, although not so well protected as the second platform, possessed the advantage of being 300 feet higher up; and fascinated by the wildness of the cliffs, and enticed by the perfection of the weather, I went on to see what was behind. ”

“ Three times I had essayed the ascent of this mountain, and on each occasion had failed ignominiously. I had not advanced a yard beyond my predecessors. Up to the height of nearly 13,000 feet there were no extraordinary difficulties; the way so far might even become "a matter of amusement." Only 1800 feet remained; but they were as yet untrodden, and might present the most formidable obstacles. No man could expect to climb them by himself. A morsel of rock only seven feet high might at any time defeat him, if it were perpendicular. ”

“ The first is attempting to traverse the upper (snow-covered) portions of glaciers without using a rope, and the second is ignoring the instability of new snow. Lives are lost every year through one or the other of these imbecilities. In each case the dangers are perfectly well known, and the results may be predicted with tolerable certainty. A man who attempts to traverse the upper parts of glaciers by himself, or with others, unroped, does not necessarily take harm on the first attempt, but if he perseveres he is certain to come to grief sooner or later. ”

“ The party becoming rebellious, a little exploration was made towards our right, and we found that we were upon the top of the cliff overlooking the Col du Lion. The upper part of the small peak is of a very different character to the lower part; the rocks are not so firm, and they are usually covered, or intermixed, with snow, and glazed with ice: the angle too is more severe. While descending a small snow-slope, to get on to the right track, Kronig slipped on a streak of ice, and went down at a fearful pace. ”

“ No one can regret more than myself the variable weather which afflicts that otherwise delightful chain of mountains, or the necessity of speaking about it: its summits appear to enjoy more than their fair share of wind and tempests. ”

“ But I think that in no very great distance more, consciousness as well as sensation would have been lost, and upon that I base my belief, improbable as it seems, that death by a fall from a great height is as painless an end as can be experienced. ”

“ There is, then, only one positive danger in mountaineering, and that is little risk. There are, however, numerous negative dangers through which many lose their lives. The words positive and negative are used in the following sense. A positive danger is one which we are powerless to avoid, and a negative danger is one which requires action on our part to convert it into a positive one. ”

“ If that which has been said is true, it follows that the dangers from the Alps themselves have been ridiculously overrated, and that the thing to be wished for is, not that the mountains should become easier, but that men should become wiser and stronger. It is too much to expect, however, so long as tyros attempt to imitate the doings of skilled mountaineers, and middle-aged gentlemen, with stiff knees, essay the things which are adapted only to the young and active, that accidents in the Alps will cease, or even diminish in number ”

“ I felt like a man whose grip had given way, and who was dropping through the air. . . . Bennen was evidently dead against any attempt upon the mountain. 'We can, at all events, reach the lower of the two summits,' I remarked. ' Even that is difficult,' he replied; 'but when you have reached it, what then? The peak has neither name nor fame.'" [3]
I was more surprised than discouraged by this report by Bennen. ”

“ If it were impossible to avoid tumbling into crevasses, or dislodging vast masses of débris, or starting avalanches, or falling over precipices, mountaineering, for the sake of sport, would be entirely unjustifiable; and, according to the principles already laid down, it is unjustifiable if, through incompetence or recklessness, any one converts these negative slumbering dangers into active and positive ones. ”

“ It is sometimes passed unconsciously, and the consciousness that it has been passed is felt too late; but so long as a man undertakes that which is well within his power, he is not likely to pass this line, or, consequently, to get into any great danger, although he may meet with considerable difficulty. That which is within a man's power varies, of course, according to time, place, and circumstance, but, as a rule, he can tell pretty well when he is arriving at the end of his tether ”

“ The slope was steep on which this took place, and was at the top of a gully that led down through two subordinate buttresses towards the Glacier du Lion—which was just seen, a thousand feet below. The gully narrowed and narrowed, until there was a mere thread of snow lying between two walls of rock, which came to an abrupt termination at the top of a precipice that intervened between it and the glacier. Imagine a funnel cut in half through its length; placed at an angle of 45 degrees, with its point below and its concave side uppermost, and you will have a fair idea of the place. ”

“ It is one of the few things which can be said in favour of mountaineering alone (a practice which has little besides to commend it) , that it awakens a man's faculties, and makes him observe. When one has no arms to help, and no head to guide him except his own, he must needs take note even of small things, for he cannot afford to throw away a chance ”

“ Places such as this gully have their charm, so long as a man feels that the difficulties are within his power; but their enchantment vanishes directly they are too much for him, and when he feels this they are dangerous to him. The line which separates the difficult from the dangerous is sometimes a very shadowy, but it is not an imaginary, one. ”

“ It is frequently necessary for a single man (or for the last man of a party) during a descent, to make a loop in the end of his rope, which he passes over some rocks, and to come down holding the free end. The loop is then jerked off, and the process may be repeated. But as it sometimes happens that there are no rocks at hand which will allow a loose loop to be used, a slip-knot has to be resorted to, and the rope is drawn in tightly. Consequently it will occur that it is not possible to jerk the loop off, and the rope has to be cut and left behind. ”

“ Their enchantment to the climber arises from their calls on his faculties, in their demands on his strength, and on overcoming the impediments which they oppose to his skill. The non-mountaineering reader cannot feel this, and his interest in descriptions of such places is usually very small, unless he supposes that the situations are perilous. They are not necessarily perilous, but I think it is impossible to avoid giving such an impression if the difficulties are particularly insisted upon. ”

“ Still it is not very difficult in practice to determine when a new fall of snow is dangerous to traverse or not. For example, it may be laid down as a general rule that it is imprudent to meddle with any slope exceeding thirty degrees for several days after a heavy fall. It is equally certain that slopes considerably exceeding this angle are traversed, or attempted to be crossed, every year, by incompetent persons, within twenty-four hours of heavy falls. ”

“ It seems that he sent his guide Bennen to reconnoitre, and that the latter made the following report to his employer:—"Herr, I have examined the mountain carefully, and find it more difficult and dangerous than I had imagined. There is no place upon it where we could well pass the night. We might do so on yonder Col upon the snow, but there we should be almost frozen to death, and totally unfit for the work of the next day. On the rocks there is no ledge or cranny which could give us proper harbourage; and starting from Breuil it is certainly impossible to reach the summit in a single day." ”

“ The plants ranged from about 10,500 to a little below 13,000 feet, and are the highest which I have seen anywhere in the Alps. Three times this number of species might be collected, I have no doubt, within these limits. I was not endeavouring to make a flora of the Matterhorn, but to obtain those plants which attained the greatest height. Very few lichens are seen on the higher parts of this mountain; their rarity is due, doubtless, to the constant disintegration of the rocks, and the consequent exposure of fresh surfaces. ”

“ A slip which arises from a momentary indiscretion, or an accident the consequence of exhaustion, should hardly be classed amongst those fatalities which are the direct results of imprudences that are entirely unjustifiable; and it cannot be denied that accidents have happened for which no excuses can be offered.
The most capable men agree that there are two species of fool-hardiness which merit emphatic condemnation. ”

“ It is needless to say that it is impossible to climb by the crest of the ridge at this part; still one is compelled to keep near to it, for there is no other way. Generally speaking, the angles on the Matterhorn are too steep to allow the formation of considerable beds of snow, but here there is a corner which permits it to accumulate, and it is turned to gratefully, for, by its assistance, one can ascend four times as rapidly as upon the rocks. ”

“ They come not from any dangers inherent to mountains, but from the frailties of the mountaineer. A volume might be filled with examples, and they would all be found to show that if this had been done, or that had not been done, the results would not have happened. In many cases some canon of mountaineering will be found to have been violated, and in all, the man rather than the mountain will be found to have been the offender. ”