52

TI1E ASCENT OF TIIE MATTERHORN.

CHAP. III.

noiselessly out before daybreak, and went off. "We did not startuntil nearly seven o’clock, and followed them leisurely, leaving allour properties in the cow-shed ; sauntered over the gentian-studdedslopes which intervene between the shed and the Glacier du Lion,left cows and their pastures behind, traversed the stony wastes, andarrived at the ice. Old, hard beds of snow lay on its right bank(our left hand), and we mounted over them on to the lower portionof the glacier with ease. But, as we ascended, crevasses becamenumerous, and we were at last brought to a halt by some whichwere of very large dimensions; and, as our cutting powers werelimited, we sought an easier route, and turned, naturally, to thelower rocks of the Tete du Lion, which overlook the glacier on itswest. Some good scrambling took us in a short time on to thecrest of the ridge which descends towards the south; and thence,up to the level of the Col du Lion, there was a long natural stair-case, on which it was seldom necessary to use the hands. Wedubbed the place “ The Great Staircase.” Then the cliffs of theTete du Lion, which rise above the Couloir, had to be skirted. Thispart varies considerably in different seasons, and in 1861 we foundit difficult ; for the fine steady weather of that year had reduced thesnow-beds abutting against it to a lower level than usual, and therocks which were left exposed at the junction of the snow withthe cliffs, had few ledges or cracks to which we could hold. But byhalf-past ten o’clock we stood on the Col, and looked down uponthe magnificent basin out of which the Z’Mutt glacier flows. Wedecided to pass the night upon the Col, for we were charmed withthe capabilities of the place, although it was one where libertiescould not be taken. On one side a sheer wall overhung theTiefenmatten glacier. On the other, steep, glassy slopes of hardsnow descended to the Glacier du Lion, furrowed by water and byfalling stones. On the north there was the great peak of the Mat-terhorn,* aud on the south the cliffs of the Tete du Lion. Throw

* The engraving is made after a sketch taken from the rocks of the Matterhornjust ul>ovc the Col.