Rock-climbing in the English Lake District: Third EditionJones, Owen Glynne
General
Rock-climbing in the English Lake District: Third Edition
Jones, Owen Glynne
Lake District (England) -- Description and travel; Mountaineering; Rock climbing -- England -- Lake District
‘Mr. Seiler sent out thirty guides under Alois Supersaxo. Dr. R. Leuk,
Mr. K. Mayr, and Mr. W. R. Rickmers joined them. We left the Staffelalp
at 10 p.m. on August 30th, reached the Col d’Hérens at 6 a.m. on the
31st, in fog and snow, which cleared away later on. Descended Ferpècle
Glacier towards termination of W. ridge of Dent Blanche, and ascended
the small glacier which comes down from point 3,912 on the S. _arête_.
At the spot under the “g” in “Rocs rouges” this glacier forms an
icefall (moderately difficult), and besides that a bit of the Glacier
de la Dent Blanche hangs over the narrowest part of the W. ridge. We
then came to the foot of a great gully. On the map it is the first one
from W., and it is very clearly indicated. In the rocks to the right
of the couloir (looking down) and about three hundred feet above the
rim of the glacier, the bodies were found. It was about 10 a.m., and a
party of Evolena guides, accompanied by Mr. Harold Spender, was already
on the spot.
‘The height above sea-level was ca. 3,600-3,700 m. Straight above, on
the ridge, one saw a smooth cliff (ca. 400-500 feet below summit),
and if that was the fatal _mauvais pas_ the fall must have been about
1,500-1,700 feet in a series of clear drops of many hundred feet. The
rope was intact between Furrer and Zurbriggen.
‘The guides did their work well; the icefall, of course, caused a great
deal of trouble.’
While the search party was crossing the glacier and the snow-fields, I
watched them through my glasses. Presently the sun got the better of
the morning mist, and the pure white snow gleamed beautifully. Then
from the Col d’Hérens there swept a tiny, serpentine black line,
moving fast. It was men. I turned my glasses on them. They were the
Zermatt party, some thirty strong, advancing at a rare pace. It was a
beautiful sight, so masterful, so sure was their progress.
As the long, hot hours of mid-day passed, I descended to Ferpècle, and
sent up a boy with food and drink for the certainly wearied searchers
when they returned from their sad duties. At length they came, drawing
the bodies over the grass slopes till they reached a path where they
could be carried on their shoulders. Darkness had fallen when we
reached Haudères.
Late on Friday night Mr. Hill came round for the funeral. His voice
seemed to me strangely altered. Otherwise he had come through his
terrible experience wonderfully, thanks to a splendid constitution and
nerves of steel. Then first I heard the true story of the accident.
I reproduce his own account from the _Alpine Journal_. All had roped
together early in the climb, and the accident took place about ten
o’clock. Mr. Hill says:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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