The sun., 1905-11-12
WOMAN, A HERO OF THE ALPS.
GHICAG0AN MAKES ONE or THE
SBA5ON'S DARING CLIMBS.
SsiSS BTOtnlee Sought TO scale the Aiguile
de GrepOn--A Almost Perlshed in the
Attampt New Routes - Well Known
IL MOuntatpS Disasters or the summer.

More than $50 900 persons have swarmed
over the Alps il the last four or hve months,
Nearly 200 Of them have BEEN injured and
65 have been killed..
Among the thrilling asCent5 none has
been more loudly apphuded than the at
tempt OF Miss Alma Brownlee OF Chicago to
scale the Aiguile ie Grepon IN company
with two guides. That she lived to relate
her experience is hardly les5 than niracu-
lous. As 1t was, both her hands were frozen
and she was on the verge Of collapse when
she descended to the Village Of Chamounin
at the base Of Mont BLANC.
Miss Brownlee Succeeded in reaching an
iWlttude OF about 10. 900 feet and would no
doubt have been the first woman to reach
the pinnacle Of the Aiguille had not her prog
HTess been barrcaded by the binding snow
storm, At the inn of Chamounix OH the day
following her hazardous excursion Miss
Brownlee told her experience.
-Of course II Was mad thing to do, she
fsaid, "but having climbed several difficult
peaks among the Rockies preparatory to
fessay ying the Matterhorn last year IL was
}my ambition 10 be the first womanto scale
efhe Aiguie. Everything went smoothly as
we passed through the Blaitiere woods and
mounted to the hut, Arriving there we
s5ound 1t pretty well frozen up, but by build.
ing roaring fire we succeeded in thaRing
Sput the hut enough to make it habitable
Shortly after midnight we resumed ae
Eourney and were soon picking our way up
'the hard snow slopes toward the NantilloA
sglaoier. Gradually we mounted the glacier
Alntil we arrived at u sort of oasis of over
Hanging rock jutting out from the glacier.
@Pausing there, one OF the guides sud
FGlenly pointed out that heavy snowstorm
was blowing across the valley and approach
Eng in our direction. Almost simultaneously
81 ragged cloud began blanketing US, a strong
$rold wind sprang up and it began to snow.
1In less than ten minutes the whole aspect
sol the mountain was transformed. Spicule
ipf ice were fairly lashing our faces, 40 that
1t was necessary to get out our blankets and
cover up. So furious did the storm become
that it presently turned into a terrific bliz-
yard and 1t became impossible to see more
than two or three yards ahead,
AT length the guides suggested that we
begin retraoing our steps. But having
mounted 80 far, they were persuaded to
wait in hopes that the storm would blow
over and permit us to continue the climb.
Two hours passed however, without any
prospect Of the weather clearing and then,
mastering my disappointment, | aban-
doned all hope Of reaching the summit.
We hurriedly packed up and started
down, hoping to reach the hut before dark
ness overlook us But even in that we we're
disappointed. For within twenty minutes
we came to a dead standsti on the edge of
terrific precipice which we certainly had not
skirted earlier in the day.
Clearly We had lost our way, the roaliza-
tion being forced upon us when we tried two
or three impracticable passages downward
and then sought to retrace our steps up
ward. All the holds had to be cleared Of
Ice and snow and it soon became too dark
TO move with safety.
Adding to the predcament on making
camp beneath a shelterng ledge, found
that both my hands were frozen. The ex-
ctement Of seeking clear passage out Of the
rocky labyrinth had prevented my noticing
the fact. But with the discovery every
hope seemed to leave me.
THE guides managed to make a small
clearing on the ledge and there, nearly
famished and thoroughly detected, we sat
down. But it was pretty gloomy outlook
the prospect of waiting there until day
break Our ledge was 30 limited in size that
we could only exercise one at time. Thus
vl0 IlRnt pdSSeI WITHOUT steep OF llt lIONRnI
of 1t.
BY daybreak we seemed to have been
shivering on the ledge for ages but the sun
rising, it suddenly ceased showing Tow
ering above us, glistening pure white against
the sky, was the provoking Aiguille from
the top of which the wind carried the snow
sin spectral streamers which trailed for I 900
feet into the valley.
4
pretty slow work as the slightest slip would
have been disastrous. We then discovered
TO our chagrin that we had spent the night
within 500 yards Of the hut. An hour later
we espied q small party with ropes and ice
axes toiling slowly up the slope toward us.
1t proved to be party Of guides sent out
from the hotel TO sarch for us, and we had
the ignominy OF returning to Chamo,nix
escorted by them"
An experience, with a tragic sequel was
that some six weeks ago of German party
of mountain climbers headed by DR.. Wei
mer of Berlin, member of the German
Alpine Club. One of the Weimer party, |
q young Heidelberg student named Frederic
Bonn, lost his life within hundred feet Of
the spot where Lord Francis Douglas and |
three guides fell from ledge Of the Matter |
With DR.. Wemer and Herr Bonn we're
four guides, all of them veteran mountain
climbers. A guide named Shmond went
first, followed by DR.. Wemer and then
successively by second guide, another I
alpinist, third guide, Herr Bonn and
fourth guide, Amand by name.
They started from Iermatt at A. NJ. |
and met with no special difficulties until |
the 10 900 foot line was reached, when the |
entire party was nearly dislodged by huge
boulder, which came laundering down |,
the slope directly over their heads. Add |
ing to their discomfort an alpine party
further up the slope visited upon them a
continuous bombardment of rocks for /
nearly an hour one heavy stone striking
the guide Amand a nasty blow on the head. :
Two-thirds of the way up the shoulder |
however, the route lay over sleeper but !
firmer rocks which even the most awk-
ward mountaneer could not disodge,
and the Weimer- Bonn party succeeded in
reaching the summit without further acci-
dent.
As with the Whymper- Douglas party
forty We, rs ago, the German mountaineers