New-York tribune., 1901-08-18
MOUNTAIN CLIMBING.
sTS PERII.S AND THE MEANS OF AVOID
ING THEM DESCRIBED by
VETERAN ALPINiST-


dents in so doing The first is gained 10y skill
the second by prudence and experience A'cl-
dents are caused either by things ialIins ni'"
The climber or 10y the climber himself falling
When | speak of accidents mean practlcaiy
una Voi,- able miSfortuneS. More IMAM nan 'le
6taths that annually occur on the Alps are
cauend bv neglect of the most rudimentary pre-
cautions and are not properly accidents irue
Alpine accidents are those which occur IN spite
Df foresight and precaution. They nav" Always
hseu few ana when the continually increasing
number Of climbers is reckoned they may be
said To decrease rather than increase III ire
The things that by falling upon A climbing
marty may produce fatal results are rocks zee
and snow. All rock mountains are ldlIlhE ID
,j.,,s-snrne faster than others-under the ac-
ton Of alternate frost and thaW- water C''h'eS
into cracks on a warm day Al hlshI II ittI'' -
and in freezing expands II thuS a'tS ihS
wedge To widen cracks and tear rocks aSuhu'I-
Thus the whole face of most rock mountains Is
cuml.red with loose stones balanced on Lodges
and ready To fall when the least impulse Is APP
piled one stone in motion starts others anu
they turn many more In TINS , hlaiiiti =
whole rock face may be swept bS III! !Il,'uS ~
falling rocks of all shapes and siz"s Such rams
are fairly common on the east face oi the MAJ
terhorn That is why the route followed up II
keeps IS close as possible To the edse "i '''e
Rock faces are usually furrowed with tracks
called gullies and couloirs worn by the stones
falling down them. II guily Is SfaiEh'' N,"" ~
generally fall down the middle "f IT. ana thr
sides may be climbed in comparative S"i"Y
Som- faces OF rock are less liable 10 DE sion"
swnIt than others: an experienced climber
knows the signs of danger When there Is muCh
recently fallen snow 4 rock face stones 40
not fali 50 often as when the snow - all melted
away \ good climber bears all these facts III
mind and knows what 10 look 'ut Tor
AS with stones with 10. u i""S not lal
anywhere and anyhow. II has jS n1Iits. Whlch
may be learned by Observable. Except in me
lower part of "A glacier. lee S'''l'i" "pi~"'S "ii
the surface People talk vatn-lE 'i I'' "Itn ~
they mean hard frozen snow Where E'dclcT
aescends A very steep and uncV"1 sl"p" ~ breaks
up into great Jumps of Ice. Eiirh if" cdlled
pf
early part 0f day. II is GEM ~ easy 10 per
ceive whether u given Sefh' D. -tiS 10 I"'i. ~
whether il is firm. 4 ~cl d sen route a'"'H9
the track where the ser"'s u" '' 'AIr I'Ii 10 10
fall The orests Of some naft"N eno" ridges
frirged with an or"rhan@.iS ""S' "i r+'
called "A ccrnice. torHic's Sl"" Slowly "H -
cretion Of snoWI1k"s. ~h"n they '"."i"r 700
big they fall. and Woe 20 the man ON "hoih
th-y fam Th- wise man does not pass under
Failing snow is called snow avalanoh"
enow aNalanch-s only iall IN easily T"'"sniNt""
tracks Mos OF them fall IN spriIEumr. before
climbing begins. The summer a' 'aItn' h"a it'l
after fresh snow has accumulated durinS hil
weather. Avalanche. E"""f'I. 9''a"'" i'I' " -.
climbers Usually an accident D. caused uS '".
climbing party starting aH aN3ltn't'- i'i"l'7 ''i
TyndaH nearly lost his Htr iu thls Ny II"
was crossing a steep slop" ~ sn'" IN IA" after
noon after II had been soltru~i by hot sun
shin. II cracked across. and IN" "h'l" SuIit''
marty with IT, By good luck they escaped from
Inc rear Of the avalanche b~for" reaching IN"
edge Of a clln. over which II FELL prudent
climber avoids CROSSING Ipil'+i SNOW t'-''
steep %
Most accidents. however. are caused iy falls
Srnrn rocks ic. or snow Careful climbers -,.i-
dom fan from rocks. They dp not und"ttft'
ascents that are beyond tie shlll of their party
IL the guides good enough Tor lh' i"i tl' hiir
climb. two Of them viii render aht "l,I.,P"
climber safe 10y proper use "i ihr i'p. " me
they are moving IA" keeps @tl Nh'I IT,. ii"F'H
they remain iiymly planted. ana iii" lh 'h' i"l-
as he advances. III Lc slips th-y easily h"Id
him Ii an amateur b. ae good a- " u'-" u"
may be counted instead Of one, hut Su'H anna
teuTs are few. ami ar" men OF long 'Nl''ii i'i
who have learned their craft by WORKING "IIh
guides .r,
fall from ice is Jess easy ." check Inc lih-
eerous places are steep SLOPES "f real ic" haid
blue ice like the surface of a frozen pond SCI
up at an angle. steps cut in such material an"
themselves quite slippery II slope "i tli9
kind is very long. and tak-7 perhaps hours |"
ascend the time comes when carclestn"Ss IN
footing or balance may lead 10 "A snip. II thr
man ahead is Immediately above the On" VINO
Sims ne can hold him easily bat # IN" ascent
as is prohable is being made diag"nalIy, a sup
Is more difficult 10 arrest, ami thc whuI" party
Will be in great peril
From slopes ridges Of snow men are not
likely 10 fall unless they ar" oV"rthr"Wn by
sudden blast of storm, as has happened One
or twice. Even then fall may b" arrested by
using the axe "A brake II IN" SuTiac" of the
snow he not too hard frozen. The chef danger
ON snow is that you may fail through IL into
a hidden crevasse. II sometimes happens. after
a fresh fall Of snow. that a creNaSSr ~ com
pletely. covered up that not sign oi 1t can
h. perceivpd even H." the most experienced eye
tain protection. IL is the rope. rightly used
.t,..Fl of