104

viz pisoc.

afterwards on Piz d’ Aela near Bergun . One ought tobe glad, I suppose, to see such evidence of a genuinelove of sport in a class sometimes represented as theunwilling victims of foreign gold. But to the Alpineclubman such conduct looks a little like the gamekeeperturning poacher, and selecting moreover the momentwhen his employer’s game is nearly exhausted togo out by himself and shoot off the few remainingpheasants. And the mountaineer recollects further asan aggravation of the offence that maiden peaks cannotlike pheasants be bred in the farmyard or sent down bythe morning express from town. Fortunately for theEngadiners they are not subject to the jurisdiction ofa bench of climbing county magistrates. From theirown countrymen they have nothing to fear. Swiss‘ Klubists ’ do not seem to find the point or interest ofa ‘ first ’ ascent seriously diminished by the fact thattheir guides have made it beforehand; and as the guidesof Pontresina have never got on particularly well withour countrymen they are quite right, perhaps, even iroma professional point of view, in their practice.

Fluri furnished some details of his ascent for HerrTscliudi’s ‘ Schweizerfiilirer; ’ and, I presume, it was onthe same authority that in the new Grisons guide-tariff the mountain is described as £ scliwierig,’ andtaxed at 30 francs a guide. No one had followed thetwo Engadiners until, in 1870, I climbed the peak incompany with Framjois Devouassoud. Our experiences,both as to the length and difficulty of the expedition,differed considerably from those of our predecessors,who probably did not hit off the best way. The follow-ing directions will, I think, be found useful by futureclimbers :—Turn off the road leading from Yulpera to