ROUTE P. SAAS TO ST. NXKLAUS

547

or other of these passes the edge of theRied gl., finds himself overlookinga broad, level plateau of nev£ separat-ing the Nadelgrat from the Balfrin.

flf the latter peak, a wonderfulpanoramic point, is the object ofthe traveller^ he has only to crossthis plateau in a N. direction, andattain the summit either by its face orby either ridge (i hr. from the RiedPass, rather more from theWindjoch).The summit was first reached in1863 by Mr. and Mrs. R. SpenceWatson, and Herr Imseng, and com-mands a view which is admirable initself, and is all the more striking inthat the still higher peaks of theDom, Weisshorn, &c., are near athand. It is easy to descend by theBalfrin gl., on the N., to the Saas valley a little above the Hutegg inn,the start being made from the gap| between the two points of the Balfrin.

! The Ulrichshorn (named in 1848j in honour of one of its conquerors,

| Prof. Ulrich) is accessible by easyI snow slopes in 1 hr. from the RiedPass, or J hr. from the Windjoch.From the latter pass the Nadelhornmay be climbed by an easy ridge(2 hrs.) The Siidlenzspitze is bestattained by continuing to follow thej difficult E. arete, after the Windjochroute quits it (8 hrs. from Fee to thesummit), or by gaining this ridge bya steep snow couloir from the uppersnows of the Hohbalen gl.]

The descent from either pass to-wards St. ‘Niklaus is the same, andoffers no real difficulties. After leav-ing the great plateau of n£ve at the !head of the gl. it is best to turn the jupper icefall by the moraine on its r.bank, and then to cross between thetwo icefalls to the 1. bank of the gl.

A track between the hill-side andthe moraine is followed to theSchallbett chalet, below the tail of thegl., and thenceforward there is agood path past the village of Gasen-ried to St. Niklaus (4-J hrs.), or amore direct descent along a water-course and the 1. bank of the torrentfrom the Ried gl.

SECTION 21.

SIMPLON DISTRICT.

Between* the valley of Saas , de-scribed in the last Section, and theSimplon Pass there is a very con-siderable mountain range, parallel inits general direction with the Saas-grat, and important enough in anyother neighbourhood than that ofMonte Rosa to have early attractedthe attention of mountaineers. Afterlong neglect this fine chain has nowbeen thoroughly explored, at any rateon its Swiss side. From the Joder-horn, E. of the Monte Moro, to thePortjengrat (3,660 m., 12,008 ft.) therange in question forms the watershedbetween Switzerland and Italy , theItalian slope being all but entirelyoccupied by the fine and extensivevalley of Antrona, still scarcelyknown to English travellers. N. ofthe Portjengrat rises the Weissmies(4,031 m., 13,226 ft.), the loftiestsummit of the chain. Still farther tothe N. are the twin summits of theFletschhorn—the S. peak being theLaqumkorn (4,005 m., 13,140 ft.),and the N. peak the Rosshodenhorn(4,001 m., 13,128 ft.) On the E.side of this portion of the range onevery long (Zwischbergen) and twoshort (Laquin and Rossboden) glensstretch down to the Simplon road,all being by a freak of historicalgeography in Switzerland , though onthe S. side of the main chain of theAlps. A little to the N. of theRossbodenhorn the chain forks, andtwo parallel ridges of no great height,enclosing between them the Gamscr-tha/ t descend towards the Rhone valley between Visp and Brieg. TheN. half of this long range is high,and so steep that the Saas valley andthe Simplon road are in some placesnot more than 7 miles apart. Fur-ther S. the summits are lower, buttwo great ridges project to the E.which enclose the Antrona valley,

N N 2