MOUNTAINEERING.* IT is a truism, but we cannot help repeating
it, that no sport has quite the same power of developing all the qualities that go to make the best type of manly character as mountaineering, even in this adventurous age. The most striking feature in the character of the true mountaineer is his unselfishness, and though this may naturally coexist with courage, he is compelled to adopt it as much from the instinct of self-pre- servation as from any higher motive. And if it grieve some to have to puzzle over this paradox, the experienced moun- taineer knows the meaning of it, and rejoices in recalling romantic deeds that are forever crowned with the halo of self- sacrifice. Surely there can be no nobler training for a man, except that of the soldier P But there are moments in the madness of battle when the soldier becomes oblivious to everything but the foe, and the mountaineer does everything deliberately; results are simply matters of calculation, the only complications being in the form of weather changes and accidents. It is a fight, but one in which he must ever act on the defensive.
It is but a step further to say that the mountaineer belongs to a class that must always be limited; the standard of efficiency is ordered by an ordinance other than human, and it never varies. It involves physical soundness, absolute steadiness of nerve, the most instant presence of mind, and a tireless watchfulness. Let those who think climbing within the reach of any one given to getting himself into awkward places, count the number of his own acquaintances who dare not go within a foot of the sea-wall of a watering-place. Let them realise, we say, that this kind of vertigo is the rule rather than the exception, and then let them think of the hours that must be spent on the edge of precipices, on the ice-slopes, or crawling prostrate over a snow-bridge; the avalanche that may sweep the climber away, the snow that slips with him off an ice. surface, or the stones that, from some unforeseen cause, bombard his path with sudden fury. One knows men of great nerve and courage who will be seized with panic at the moment when the balance of life and death is held up. And even absolute steadiness and presence of mind are as nothing, lacking a well-remembered experience and a careful watch on the weather. A minute's sunshine,—what does it not mean, when the failing light warns the party to make haste, and a snow-bridge has to be crossed, to wait, or not to wait till it is well in the shade P No, indeed ; the proper combination of qualities is rare, and certainly not on the increase in this age, cursed as it is with that modern psychological terror, nervousness. The mere waiting, the enforced idleness on some awkward slope or corner, while the cruel wind numbs the fingers, is enough to unnerve the average man. The mountaineer himself forgets the weakening effect of a few months' worry and hurry on his trained muscular system, and, though he may not have failed in any one part of a, * Tho Badminton Library Mountainonring. By 0. T. Dent with contribu- tions by W. M. Conway, D. W. Froshfield, 0. E. Mathews, C. Pilkingion, Sir IP. Pollock, R. G. %Wank, and an Introduction by Mr. Justioe Wins. Illustrations by g. J. Willink and others, London ; Longmans and 00. difficult climb, the strain is very great, and the relief when it is over tells him the folly of thinking he can resume his old life at a moment's notice. And for men who are not first- rate, the exhaustion and subsequent exposure means death ; late years have shown us this much. It is always so with athletes. The strong swimmer, after a long absence from the sea, plunges into the water, and once again enjoys one of the keenest pleasures of life ; he is humbly and silently thankful to get back ; but sometimes he does not get back, and the local moralist delivers himself of the usual platitudes on the event.
It would appear, indeed, that mountaineers as a class are better fitted to climb now than they were a hundred or even fifty years ago. The mountaineer of to-day fails to under- stand why his predecessors complained so much of giddiness, nausea, lassitude, and other ailments, consequent on attaining a rarer atmosphere. Such an experience is the exception nowadays. Why is this P Are we better than our fathers P Undoubtedly we are better trained, in the sense that we are more regularly trained than they were. Climbing was a spasmodic species of adventure then, and now it is a regular recreation. More is done in a year by one man than was done then by a hundred, and consequently he gets the mountaineer's chest,—that is to say, his heart and lungs attain the highest possible efficiency under a new set of circumstances, and he approaches the development of the Indians of the Cordillera of the Andes, and the Apache-Yumas, the Apache-Mojaves, and other branches of that nation living in the highlands of Arizona, New Mexico, and California, who have always attracted the notice of travellers to their great breadth and depth of chest.
The greater part of Mountaineering is from the pen of Mr. C. T. Dent, and its practical excellence is certainly owing to him. The chapter devoted to " Snoworaft" is admirable in its clearness and its exhaustive attention to detail ; nothing is omitted or insufficiently explained, and the beginner realises, from the care bestowed on minute particulars, how necessary is caution. No one but a mountaineer could have written it, for it contains the essence of mountaineering science,— thoroughness. This quality, indeed, stamps the work of all the other collaborateurs, and, as Mr. Dent tells us, they have assisted him all through, so that the unity of style and treat- ment is, perhaps, more marked than in the preceding volumes of the Badminton Library, all remarkable, be it observed, for this invaluable quality of a composite book. Any one may realise for himself how necessary this quality of thorough- ness is by remembering the accidents that have occurred. In the ten years ending 1860, none were chronicled, with the exception of the celebrated ascent of the Matterhorn; since then, there have been one hundred and fifty, all due to some form of carelessness. Moreover, they are likely to increase, a result, we are afraid, that will not be affected by the publica- tion of Mountaineering. This foolhardiness is a rampant characteristic of Englishmen, as we have yearly demonstrated to us by the tiresome performances on Beaohy Head. If young blood ever listened to any advice, a special warning might have sufficed to remind them that though on Beaohy Head a long- suffering coastguard may appear at the critical moment, in the Higher Alps such fools are mercilessly punished, with perhaps the momentary satisfaction of providing Science with additional data for determining the rate of glacier movement. Alpine outfit is another subject which gives Mr. Dent an opportunity for a none-too-careful discussion on dress. " Re- connoitring " and the " Principles of Mountaineering," in- cluding, of course, the study of weather, are points in which the advice of experience is invaluable,—experience which enables a man to express in a compact form the result of countless observations.
Mr. D. W. Freshfield gives some very sound advice in "Mountaineering beyond the Alps," with which should be read Mr. Pilkington's " Climbing without Guides." The rising generation in different parts of the Empire, to impatient, it is to be feared, to go through an apprenticeship in the Alps, will learn much from these chapters, wherein the thoughtful writers have put general and particular advice as to the constitution and conduct of climbing parties. The interest in climbing is passing from the Alps to wider coun- tries; and mountaineers, ever ambitious, recognise that the greatest feats are yet to come. The Alps will never lose their charm, and the combination they possess of so many varied and interesting climbs ; and, indeed, it would be an error to neglect them in the education of a mountaineer. Switzerland is the great school of the art. Nowhere else is snowcraft to be learnt, and it is hardly necessary to add that nowhere else has the craft of the mountain-climber been systematically studied and developed. We would go so far as to say that not only is an education without the study of the method of the Bernese-Oberland guides incomplete, but that not to have made an ascent with the great Melchior argues a want of finish. Individual example is great at any time and in every place, but simply invaluable in mountaineering. The state of the snow, when to go on and when to turn back, these, and particularly the second desideratum, are to be learnt from the great guides. And though the second qualification is not tested in mountain ranges beyond the reach of the civilising Cook, as it is by coming into range of a battery of critical telescopes, one man, at least, must have an unfailing supply of it. Snowcraft has somewhat fallen into the background of late years, says Mr. Freshfield, and he reminds us that the Caucasus has par- ticularly called for it. The great Asiatic ranges will require it even more, at heights, too, where nerve, steadiness, and endurance will be tested to the utmost. In the Introduction, Mr. Justice Wills, alluding to the dangers of bad weather, falling stones, and grass-slopes, goes on to say :— " Falling stones may come from the most unexpected places, and I have seen from my Alpine home a whole flake of mountain- side peel off without warning, and sweep with a cannonade of thirty hours' duration a gully that I and mine have used for years as a highway to the upper world."
Such an occurrence is not often seen in the Alps, and Alpine climbers would be somewhat scared at the rock-falls in the Himalaya. The range of temperature, too, would be an un- pleasant experience for any but the most hardy. The future of mountaineering lies in these great mountain chains of Asia.
We do not forget the Andes and the New Zealand Alps, which offer a magnificent field, nor the ranges of western North America. Another generation will, perhaps, talk disrespect- fully of European hill-climbing and Alpine "beer and skittles."
Mr. C. E. Mathews has much both interesting and "melan- choly to tell us in Recollections of a Mountaineer. The great pioneers are passing away—some have already gone—Forbes, John Ball, Reilly, Sella, Moore, and Hudson, the " Paladin " of mountaineers, and the great guides, Balmat, Croz, Maquinaz, Carrel (of heroic memory), and Lather ; the Oberlanders, Baunen, Maurer, and Jakob Anderegg. Christian Abner and Melchior Anderegg arenearing thefurther end of life's span, but they are unequalled, and their names recall with others, as "the cool wind off a glacier," refreshing memories of great deeds. It is "inexpressibly sad," as Mr. Mathews says, to think of their retirement, but none have better earned their rest. Mr. Willink's drawings will appeal to every climber, so happy are they in catching the attitude at critical moments and the spirit of the sport; the book would lack much without them. We should say, in conclusion, that Sir F. Pollock's " Early History of Mountaineering" forms a most readable introduc- tion, and, historically speaking, is as good a sketch of the sub- ject as could be achieved in the space. He, too, thinks the mountain-climber better off, physically speaking, to-day than he was two generations ago. The further developments of mountain-climbing in Asia and elsewhere will require, before long, another edition ; but, otherwise, this volume is not likely to be superseded.
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