Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-03-07
The Avalanche.

The following graphic account of the
perils of avalanches in the Alps is from
Hours OF Exercise in the Alps" by
the celebrated John Tyndall, the scien-
fist. A party of six were being con.
Quoted by two local guides and famous
Alpine guide, Johann Joseph Bennen,
over the Haut de Cry, one of the Swiss
Alps. They advanced in the beginning
Of the ascent very rapidly. The peak
was glistening before them, and hopes
of success cheered their spirit. After
o time they came to snow frozen upon
the surface which would bear them O
few steps and then break down. This,
of course. delayed matters and was very
fatiguing. Finally it came to q point
that, in order to reach certain arete,
they would be obliged to go up steep
snow field 300 feet high, $50 feet broad
at the top and 500 feet at the bottom.
During the ascent they sank about one
foot deep at every step. After mount
ing for some distance the two leading
men suddenly sunk above their waists.
They were enabled to get out after
some struggles, and presently found
better footing and came to the conclu-
sion that the snow was accidently soft
or there than elsewhere. But Bennen
was afraid of starting an avalanche,
and said so. They started forward
agaip-but let the book complete the
story:
The snow field split in two about four
teen or fifteen feet above us. The cleft
was at first quite narrow, not more than
an inch broad. An awful silence en-
sued and then it was broken by Ben
mems voice:
"Wir sind allie verloren I'VE are all
lost His words were slow and SOL
emn, and those who knew him felt what
they really meant when spoken by such
q man as Bennen. They were his last
words. l drove my alpenstock into the
snow and brought the weight of my
body to bear on it. Invent in to within
three inches of the top. I then waited.
1t was an awful moment of suspense.
I turned my head toward Bennen to see
whether he had done the same thing.
To my establishment, I saw him turn
round, face the valley and stretch out
both arms. The ground on which we
stood bagan to move slowly, and felt
the utter uselessness OF any alpenstock.
/ soon'sank up to my shoulders and be-
gan descending backwards. From this
moment I saw nothing OF what had
happened to the rest of the party.
With good deal of trouble I suc.
ceeded in turning round. The speed
OF the avalanche increased rapidly, and
before long was covered up with
snow and in utter darkness. / was
suffocating, when, with q jerk, I sud.
denly came to the surface again. The
rope had caught, most probably on q
rock, and this was evidently the mo-
nent when II broke. was on q wave
OF the avalanche, and saw il before me
as was carried down.
1t was the most awful sight I ever
witnessed. The head of the avalanche
was already ct the spot where we had
made our last halt. The head alone was
preceded by thick cloud of snow-dust:
the rest OF the avalanche was clear.
Around me I heard the horrid hiss.
ing of the snow, and far before me the
laundering Of the foremost part of the
avalanche. To prevent myself sinking
again l made use of my arms, much in
the same way as when swimming in
standing position, At last noticed
that ! was moving slower; then I saw
the pieces of snow in front of me stop
ct some yards distance; then the snow
straight before me stopped, and I heard
on q large scale the same creakipg
sound that is produced when q heavy
cart passes over hard-frozen snow in
winter.
/ felt that I also had stopped. and
instantly threw up both arms to pro-
tect my head in case should again be
covered up. had stopped, but the
snow behind me was still in motion:
It's pressure On my body was 90 strong
that l thought ! should be crushed TO
death. This tremendous pressure lasted
but short time, and ceased as sudden
~ as it had begun. was then covered
mp with snow coming from behind me.
My first impulse was to try and re.
cover my head. but this I could NOT do.
The avalanche had frozen by pressure
the moment it stopped, and I was
frozen in.