tly child's play.
At about eleven o'clock we stepped on the ice and were agreeably
surprised to find that there was no tendency to slip, our boots having
been well studded with nails before starting, and as yet the points had
not become rounded through wear. For the first half hour walking was
fairly easy, the surface, though irregular, being in no way difficult.
After this we reached a queer-looking place, where the ice was split up
with yawning crevasses whose edges twisted and turned in the most
extraordinary way. Here there was a bit of climbing in which both hands
and feet had to take their part. Francois helped S----, Jules helped me,
and we each helped the other until all were safely across; and then
turning to look at the gulf we had just passed we noticed that the
_face_ of the ice (not the surface) was exquisitely tinted with the most
delicate green and blue, deepening into azure until it was lost in the
abyss.
Between this spot and the junction of the Glaciers des Bossons and
Taconnaz, the ice was tolerably regular, and being free from snow there
were no unseen crevasses to be guarded against; until we reached the
"junction," where these mighty Glaciers part company. They seem to part
in anger, for here the ice is in a frightful state of confusion, with
the "seracs" (ice-bergs) heaped about in all directions, and with
fathomless crevasses on every side.
[Illustration: GLACIER DES BOSSONS.]
A halt was called, and Francois uncoiled the rope which he measured out,
forming a loop at every twelve feet or thereabouts; we were tied round
the chest, and having been cautioned to keep our distances, and on no
account to let the cord be slack, we proceeded on our way very slowly,
and with the greatest care. This was by far the most trying part of the
Glacier, and just before quitting this chaos our nerves were put to a
severe test, for the only method of advance was over a ridge of ice
about a foot wide, twisting about, and having a very irregular surface.
Francois went first and cut some rude steps with his ice-axe, then we
walked after him at a snail's pace, at one moment seeking for a good
foot-hold, and the next looking into the crevasses on either side, the
azure blue of which was more beautiful than ever. We crossed without a
slip, and Francois remarked, "the most difficult part of the ascent to
the summit has now been accomplished."
This observation, however, was not borne out by the facts which shall b
|