CHAPTER IV. THE VAL FORMAZZA, THE GRIES PASS, AND THE Weather-bound at Airolo - Thomas and his horse "Fritz" The Val di Bedretto The Chapel of St. Giacomo The Falls of the Tosa -An-der-Matten in Val Formazza - The Gries Pass A fall on the glacier Eagles and Lämmer-geyer - Hôtel The Eginenthal - Chamois visible - A woman killed - Münster - The Æggisch-horn de la Jungfrau — Early rising rewarded — View from the summit of the Æggisch-horn - Mists, and echoes Return to the Hotel The travellers' fever Sudden start for Brieg. OUR second visit to Monte Rosa was made in the autumn of 1856. On that occasion we crossed the St. Gothard Pass to Airolo, where we were weatherbound for a couple of days, and we made there the acquaintance of an American gentleman, Mr. F-, who, like ourselves, intended to cross by the Gries Pass to the valley of the Rhone, and visit the Æggisch-horn and Zermatt. This gentleman became our travelling companion during the next fortnight; and his society proved so agreeable that we ceased to regret the bad weather which had detained us at Airolo. We hired a horse at the inn at Airolo to take me across the Gries Pass, but the animal supplied was clumsy, and unsuited to carry a lady, and we finally converted him into a baggage horse. Our American friend had an excellent horse with him called "Fritz," which he had brought to Airolo on the preceding day, accompanied by the owner, Thomas Nessier* of Münster (Vallais). Fortunately for us Mr. F—, who was making his first Swiss tour, feeling some distrust in his walking powers, had hired this horse at Meyringen, but he speedily found that such assistance was unnecessary, and he never rode at all after joining us. The services of "Fritz" were therefore transferred to me, and I would not wish for a more sure-footed, clever, good-tempered creature. Thomas also proved himself to be a very shrewd, active, and trustworthy fellow. We left Airolo at 7 A.M. on the 4th of September Airolo is at the foot of the St. Gothard Pass, on the Italian side, and is 3629 feet above the sea-level. During the bad and tempestuous weather of the two preceding days, we found the place piercingly cold; but the storm had now cleared off, and the temperature became warmer. We proceeded up the beautiful Val di Bedretto, to the west of Airolo, holding our course along the right bank of the stream which leads to the Nufenen Pass. We found the mountains covered with fresh snow, upon which the sun now shone brightly. At about 9.20 A.M. we passed, on our left hand, a cleft in the mountains, in which, at a great elevation, we could perceive a small glacier of the most brilliant colour, with an enormous ice cavern distinctly visible. *He is to be found during the summer at the Reichenbach Hotel, Meyringen. It formed a most beautiful object, and we stopped some minutes examining it through our glasses; but it was placed at so prodigious a height that it seemed quite inaccessible. At 10 A.M., after three hours' walking, we arrived at the little dirty-looking inn at All' Acqua, which is 4830 feet above the sea: here we rested on the green turf outside, but did not venture within the inn. The landlord told us that he had crossed the Nufenen Pass the day before, in a perfect hurricane, and that he never recollected encountering such a severe storm, though he had frequently crossed the pass in bad weather in February and March. After having rested about an hour, we started again on our journey, and then, turning to the left, we ascended the mountain-chain which separates the Val di Bedretto from the Val Formazza-thus we left the Nufenen Pass on At 1 P.M. we our right hand. At this point we had to climb a very steep ascent, thickly covered with rhododendrons and bilberries, and it was with great difficulty that the horses could get up some parts of it. Here I dismounted, and walked for some time. reached the little chapel of St. Giacomo, near the summit of the pass, and had on our way a beautiful view of the Finster Aar-horn. We then began to descend into the Val Formazza, and at about 3.30 P.M. reached the falls of the Tosa, or Toccia. These falls are not perpendicular in their descent, but the water tumbles with headlong violence over a series of ledges of rock about 80 feet broad, and of great steepness, which keep breaking it into foam as it leaps amidst clouds of spray from ridge to ridge to a depth of nearly 500 feet. The roaring of the water is tremendous. With the exception of Schaffhausen, there is no waterfall in Switzerland that has a larger body of water; and its effect, when viewed from below, is very striking. All the scenery above the falls is of a desolate character; but the Val Formazza is seen below, stretching downwards into scenes of most exquisite beauty, and is richly wooded. It was 5.30 P.M. before we reached the little inn at An-der-Matten, called Albergo del Caval bianco. We found here only rough accommodation, but it was quite endurable; and we were informed that there was nothing better in the district. The language of the inhabitants of the upper part of this valley is German, but below Fopiano they speak Italian. Every village has two names, a German and an Italian, and the traveller is therefore often sorely puzzled. Sept. 5.-We left An-der-Matten at 7 A.M., and, retracing our steps, ascended the valley as far as the small chapel of St. Lorenzo, above the falls of the Tosa. It took us a couple of hours to reach this chapel, including the time spent in examining the falls. We then turned to the left, and proceeded towards the Gries Pass: we reached the foot of the glacier at 11.30 A.M. Here we rested for about a quarter of an hour, and then crossed a portion of the glacier over The fresh snow that A smooth ice, very little crevassed. had fallen enabled the horses to cross the glacier without difficulty, though not without a trifling accident. French count and countess, who had been staying the previous night at the little inn at An-der-Matten, were crossing the pass at the same time as ourselves, and the horses seemed to have so good a footing on the glacier that they, like myself, did not dismount on reaching the ice. Their guide, however, was not so well acquainted with the pass as our trusty Thomas, and took them a little out of the course which we were pursuing. Nothing could exceed the care and caution displayed by Thomas as we crossed the glacier: he went before "Fritz," and pounded down the snow to make a firm footing for him wherever it was required. Whilst I was watching his operations, I suddenly heard a scream from the Countess, and, on looking round, saw that the Count's mule had fallen with his rider, and that both were floundering in the soft snow. Fortunately the gentleman was not hurt, but only a little shaken. He was up again in an instant, and scolded the guide with such violent gesticulations that I feared he was going to beat him. Taking warning by his mischance, I quickly alighted, and crossed the rest of the glacier on foot this I did without any difficulty, though Murray does say that this "is not a pass for ladies." We were only twenty minutes in crossing the glacier, which is 7900 feet above the level of the sea. The |