Edward Whymper

“ But although the examination of an intended route from a height at a distance will tell one (who knows the meaning of the things lie is looking at) a good deal, and will enable him to steer clear of many difficulties against which he might otherwise blindly run, it will seldom allow one to pronounce positively upon the practicability or impracticability of the whole of the route. ”

“ Inferior peaks seem unduly important, subordinate ridges are exalted, and slopes conceal points beyond; and if one blindly undertakes an ascent, without having acquired a tolerable notion of the relative importance of the parts, and of their positions to one another, it will be miraculous if great difficulties are not encountered. ”

“ We were very fortunate in the selection of our summit. Not to speak of other things, it gave a grand view of the ridge which culminates in the peak called La Meije (13,080 feet) , which used to be mentioned by travellers under the name Aiguille du Midi de la Grave. The view of this mountain from the village of La Grave itself can hardly be praised too highly,—it is one of the very finest road-views in the Alps. The Ortler Spitz from the Stelvio is, in fact, its only worthy competitor ”

“ No living man, for example, can pronounce positively from a distance in regard to rocks. Those just mentioned are an illustration of this. Three of the ablest and most experienced guides concurred in thinking that they would be found very difficult, and they proved to be of no difficulty whatever. In truth, the sounder and less broken up are the rocks, the more impracticable do they usually look from a distance; while soft and easily rent rocks, which are often amongst the most difficult and perilous to climb, very frequently look from afar as if they might be traversed by a child. ”

“ It is impossible, the cows never go there." "Could we get to La Grave over yonder ridge?" "Oh yes! the cows often crossed!" Could they show us the way? No; but we could follow the cow-tracks.
We stayed a while near these chalets, to examine the western sides of the Aiguilles d'Arve, and, according to our united opinion, the central one was as inaccessible from this direction as from the east, north, or south. On the following day we saw them again, from a height of about 11,000 feet, in a south-easterly direction, and our opinion remained unchanged. ”

“ When moistened by the rain, as it has neither support nor cohesion, it rolls down into the valleys, sometimes in floods resembling black, yellow, or reddish lava, and sometimes in streams of pebbles, and even huge blocks of stone, which pour down with a frightful roar. ”

“ Should they be very steep, it may be better to avoid them altogether, and to mount even by difficult rocks; but upon glaciers of gentle inclination, and with few open crevasses, better progress can always be made than upon the easiest rocks.
So much to explain why we were deceived when looking at the Brèche de la Meije from the Aiguille de la Sausse. We took note of all the difficulties, but did not pay sufficient attention to the distance that the Brèche was south of La Grave. ”

“ The movement was duly executed, and after wading up some snow-slopes of considerable steepness (going occasionally beyond 40°) , we found ourselves in a gap or nick, between the central and northernmost Aiguille, at 8.45 a.m. We then studied the northern face of our intended peak, and finally arrived at the conclusion that it was relatively impracticable. Croz shrugged his big shoulders, and said, "My faith! I think you will do well to leave it to others." ”

“ Such men are not common, and when they are known they are valued. Michel was not widely known, but those who did know him came again and again. The inscription that is placed upon his tomb truthfully records that he was "beloved by his comrades and esteemed by travellers." ”

“ F. Tuckett—that mighty mountaineer, whose name is known throughout the length and breadth of the Alps—with the guides Michel Croz, Peter Perm, and Bartolommeo Peyrotte, and great success attended his arms. ”

“ Yet the Meije deserves more than a passing notice. It is the last—the only—great Alpine peak which has never known the foot of man, and one cannot speak hi exaggerated terms of its jagged ridges, torrential glaciers, and tremendous precipices . ”

“ The Brèche is 2000 feet below the summit of the Meije, and only 6000 feet above La Grave. A direct ascent from the village to the Brèche would consequently be at an angle of not much more than 20°. But it is not possible to make the ascent as the crow flies; it has to be made by an indirect and much longer route. ”

“ They had been seen by ourselves and others from numerous distant points, and always looked very high and very inaccessible; but we had been unable to obtain any information about them, except the few words in Joanne's Itinéraire du Dauphiné. Having made out from the summit of the Col de Valloires that they could be approached from the Valley of Valloires, we hastened down to find a place where we could pass the night, as near as possible to the entrance of the little valley leading up to them. ”

“ From the highest summit of La Meije right down to the Glacier des Etançons (a depth of about 3200 feet) , the cliff is all but perpendicular, and appeals to be completely unassailable. The dimensions of these pages are insufficient to do justice to this magnificent wall, which is the most imposing of its kind that 1 have seen ”

“ My meaning will be apparent from the accompanying diagram, Fig. 1 (constructed upon the data supplied by the French surveyors) , which will also serve to illustrate how badly angles of elevation are judged by the unaided eye. ”

“ I am told that the inn has been improved since 1864. ↑ Our route from La Grave to La Bérarde will be seen on the accompanying map. ↑ Taking one kind of work with another, a thousand feet of height per hour is about as much as is usually accomplished on great Alpine ascents. ”