the victory; a furious wind and driving snow, added to the natural difficulties, nearly turned the scale against them.[1]
Mr. Kennedy started from Abricolla between 2 and 3 a.m. on July 18, 1862, and ascending the glacier that is mentioned in the opening paragraph, went towards the point marked 3912 metres upon the map;[2] then turned to the left (that is, to the north), and completed the ascent by the southern ridge,—that which overhangs the western side of the Schönbühl glacier.
Mr. Kennedy described his expedition in a very interesting paper in the Alpine Journal. His account bore the impress of truth; but unbelievers said that it was impossible to have told (in weather such as was experienced) whether the summit had actually been attained, and sometimes roundly asserted that the mountain, as the saying is, yet remained virgin.
I did not share these doubts, although they influenced me to make the ascent. I thought it might be possible to find an easier route than that taken by Mr. Kennedy, and that if we succeeded in discovering one we should be able at once to refute his traducers, and to vaunt our superior wisdom. Actuated by these elevated motives, I halted my little army at the foot of the glacier, and inquired, "Which is best for us to do?—to ascend the Dent Blanche, or to cross to Zermatt?" They answered, with befitting solemnity, "We think Dent Blanche is best."
From the chalets of Abricolla the south-west face of the Dent Blanche is regarded almost exactly in profile. From thence it is seen that the angle of the face scarcely exceeds thirty degrees, and after observing this I concluded that the face would, in all probability, give an easier path to the summit than the crest of the very jagged ridge which was followed by Mr. Kennedy.
We zigzagged up the glacier along the foot of the face, and looked for a way on to it. We looked for some time in vain, for a mighty bergschrund effectually prevented approach, and, like a fortress' moat, protected the wall from assault. We went up and
