New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-06

4
rovs,,v from climbing tour in the Alps. But ."
William Conway has given an air OF liesn".9
Anime adventure by showing that the ""o'e
ner,ence can be crowded into one su"i"e, N
omitted certain peaks. perhaps wnoie ia'r'"'' Va
peaks but those to whom ne mas sno"" NV
will doubtless remedy all that by tracing every
BASS and surrounding every snow-c'au po"'
tween the summer solstice and the autumn 49,
nox. After task has once been Pe'i'' =,
...,. 20 end means by which 1t can be varieo IN
a., details and shortened in time. 1t is largely W
weave ~ ingenious variations that mountain
.,u,,,rc IN southern Europe manages TO retain us
,,orarv charm Sir Williams party heid n''ie
conversation on the slopes Of Mont bianc WIN" -
,,..r.tsa the straits to which travellers are p''
In order to seem to be doing something iio' WIN "
ebreds by routine. Speaking OF wei, ~,
guide. one of the party happened 10 say '"a' ~
vss engaged 10 take a priest up 'he MA ~.
a,,,a ,r,es. who eaid mass on the summit OF
Mont Blanc" .,, ror,arked
another who as Sir William REMARKS III
80, &C we'll informed as he should be. mass
having been said long ago on top oil 'he i'''"s
- Monte yiso. and other peaks; eve nave hau
erst accents by ladies' first ascents WITHOUT
erst accents by blind men. and now. suppose we
"''' -. .ar,a. Of frs. ascents with mass on
a a
the summit. .....oor,r, IN
D. ,,na r.gions ia changed for those who know It's
-, Tho mountains Of the Tyrol are set WITH
,o rones from one end to the other. Complains
.ha author Of this book and there Is not soou
scramble left which has not been maze cas-! A0i
tho nublic. The railways have caused H"..1o
,.ra ~ he overrun bya multitude of what ir III
tam calls "gorifed trippers." He might nav
ened his meaning more clearly Tor the oe"e' %
those humble lowanders who never go any "''''
unless they are obliged to- ana "ou'u a
think Of going to the North Pole as 10 'ie app
Rut whatever glorifed trippers may De- 'nes -"
.. y. lant going according to his account OF 'heiA
hour by hour and day by day from the h'oi"e"'
thev approach the mountains untii tnes TURN """'
% something else. They are Infinitely docHe '"eS
take the weather just as 1t comes anu are NV "
and halted everywhere on the stroke OF 'he 0''o"
,r, last fart Is Of the highest importance to trav-
ouers who like Sir William. do not ike cro"os'
1<now,ne when his gloriied trippers were due al
given point or along given route nc
no,nt TO be there at some other hour and wac nap
nv. That is why even Swiss railroad mas SCI"
,,mental value. 1t makes the gloriied trlpper al
,mposs,bility off the line or in the Intervals oe
tween trains. Every new hill railroad every
roooorized lunch,ng-place or belvedere. becomes a
turtber c,amp" adds Sir William, that yet more
,rrevocablv holds the crowd to its particular ana
marrow route At Chamounix, for instance II you
sbun table d'hote and certain paths al certain
hours Won need hardly see tourist. lhey nave
,heir nlaces and their times. and can be aVoiueu
now as a few years ago they could not be aVoiu-
ed" 1865
Moreover the railroad has relieved the oid-iash-
Toned WAYS of their burden of travel anu THESE
are for that reason so much the smoother anu pe'
ter for those who wish TO walk the author cites
in particular the path from Nlsp 10 Zern'a''' !"
the old days. not so very long ago. peop'e WIZ
lid NOT climb were carried up BY mules. and
their belongings were Transported oy pdoh am
,o,s Rv midsummer the narrow mule path was
e., q condition 70 make pedestrian wonder wnat
demon ever put into his head the thought Oh dh
Anime tourney Now though the amount OF 'rdV-
Of TO Zermatt has more thar doubled, the tram mas
superseded the mule and the path Is clean anu d.
most deserted Conway. therefore does not SNARE
the feeling Of those who denounce the railways
in the Alpine region prosaic interference VIII"
nature The difficult lines Of mountain climbing
are still difficult no matter how often they nave
been surmounted He might have chosen route
which it would have taken many summers 10
traverse, but by demonstrating that the whole
a starting point In the Maritime Alps almost with
in sight of the Mediterranean TO snowy summit
within two hundred miles of Vienna. he at least
made an effort TO restore among mOuntaineers the
nioneer ambitions which they felt a quarter OF
century ago. when there were sti peaks practical
ly untrodden and paths to SUBMITS that had not
vet been traced. He cannot bring back the mys-
terry Of the Alps. That, he hastens TO confess Is
gone forever. almost every mountain and point
of view even of thrd-rate Importance has been
ascended most by many routes Almost every
gan between two peaks has been traversed as
pass" He has now replaced the mystery by
hint for doing the Alps in grand tour
Meanwhile he had some experiences that sup
plemented those Of himself and others In various
parts Of the world Mr.. Whymper's adventures
in the Andes did much to settle the question as TO
the cause OF mountain sickness. Conway adds his
experience to show that this alment Is due prlma-
ri,v IN the lack Of oxygen in the rare atmosphere
Of the heights BIT he had already learned IN the
H,ma,ayas that its attack was often on compare
lively low ground and now he found, on moving
I'D among the mountains from the level of the
Mediterranean, that he suffered more from II than
he did subsequently the highest peaks. Nat
urally he inferred that his condition was not yet
IN harmony with his surrou dings. But he saw
no reason for the scepticsm with which some
greet all mention Of the diseasese. Mr. Whymper
also on the almost unknown slopes OF the Andean
peaks, guided himself and his Swiss mountaineers
by his instruments. particularly by the barometer
Sir William gave his Alpine guides on their own
ground several object lessons in the use OF barom-
eter compass and map which astonished them
These guides were all men of the Western Alps
and SO knew little of the peaks Of the Tyrol. When
Il came to the ascent OF the Weisskugel they fol-
lowed rather than led and showed some distrust
Of a map published by the German and Austrian
Club. There was path to be seen but trusting
TO the aneroid and the contour lines Of the noun
tain as we'll as to the hints given By the map. the
party reached sheep-alp which they knew must