Curiosities of Olden TimesBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Curiosities of Olden Times
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Curiosities and wonders
“As we mounted higher the wind blew much stronger, and drove larger flakes
of snow before it: fortunately we had the wind in our backs, which
facilitated our ascent; but we met at the same time with so much loose
snow that our progress was but slow. Hoping, however, that the weather
would change, we agreed not to return till we had gained the summit, from
which arose a black rock.
“At length, after two hours’ longer tramp, we found that we could discover
nothing in the distance. A rampart of burnt rock of no considerable height
rose above the ice, and at this we paused to rest. The snowflakes now
obscured the air so much that we hardly knew how we should get back: we
examined the compass, but without observing any change; and we were
prevented by our guides from going towards the north-west, where the
mountain is highest and least accessible. The weather continued the same,
so that we found it impossible to resist the cold much longer, and deemed
it prudent to return.
“Although the sky was very heavy and dark, we discovered, on our return,
the entrance to a valley; if the weather had been more favourable we
should doubtless have had the pleasure of investigating it; but we doubt
whether we should have found Thorir’s dale. As we descended we found the
wind in our face, which threw the snow so much against us that we could
not discover the traces of our ascent.”
This expedition was frustrated by the inclemency of the weather. Messrs.
Olafsen and Povelsen made the mistake of starting in the morning. In
Iceland vapours form over the mountain tops directly that the evening sun
loses its power, and although there is no night, the air is sensibly
colder after 6 P.M. They had the fine part of the day for the ascent from
Kalmanstúnga to the snow, and their journey over the glacier was at a time
when they might almost have calculated on cloud and snow.
Probably they had not seen the description of the discovery made by Björn
and Helgi in 1654. They allude to the expedition of these clergymen, but
give one of them a wrong name, and speak of their journal as vague and
confused, which it is not.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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