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National Geographic : 1913 Aug
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Photo by G. R. Ballance SERACS ON THE MER DE GLACE In all ascents where glaciers have to be crossed these seracs are a constant source of difficulty and danger. Always avoided where possible, it sometimes happens that they have to be climbed, and it takes an experienced mountaineer to select one sufficiently stable to bear the weight of a party. visit, together with that of Windham and Pococke, in the form of two letters. These descriptions are interesting, for they give us a good idea of Chamonix of that period. It seems that at this time only the lower ends of the glaciers were visited, though there were already guides and porters. Windham makes no men tion of Mont Blanc itself, an omission so remarkable as to make us think the sum mit was invisible during his visit; but Martel mentions the mountain four times, and as he is the first to make use of the name in print, the honor of intro ducing the great "white mountain" to the world must be given tc this poor shoe maker's son. It now became the fashion to visit the "glaciers." Many people came to Chamo nix; among others, a young professor from the Geneva Academy, named de Saussure. He climbed the peak of the Brevent (see picture, page 869), the mountain inclosing Chamonix on the west, and conceived the idea of ascend ing Mont Blanc itself for the purpose of making some scientific experiments. So he proclaimed a reward for any one who should discover a route to the summit. As yet, probably no one had thought of ascending the mountain; at that time only crystal searchers and chamois hunt ers ever ventured on its upper reaches. And although now a few feeble attempts were made, notably by Pierre Simon, it was not for 15 years that the first serious attempt to gain the reward was made. EARLY ATTEMPTS AT THE ASCENT Four peasants climbed the narrow, pine-covered ridge of rock called the Montagne de la Cote, which separates the two glaciers of Taconnaz and Bos sons, and got some little distance up the 867
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