Fri. Sep 1. [1 September 1899] Off at 1.10 after chocolate. Clear night
with stars. Very dark up through the wood, I leading. Mathon not fit,
stopped twice. At a nÈvÈ drank lemonade. About 3.30 got to the
glacier where we roped. Dawn beginning to come. Long pull up a
good glacier. Tiny moon over the Fifre. Les Banes turned red. Col
des Avalanches 5.15. Saw down over a cloud sea in the Glacier Noir
and got a second of sun. Across the schrund and onto the rock at
5.45 where we rested. Very cold indeed. My lemonade forgotten
drank the Germans and eat. Didn't stay long but skirts off and up the
rock. 10 minutes up Marius dropped his axe and we had to wait while
Prince Louis's porter picked it up. Sat on my hands and feet and
froze. Up the rock, good, not too difficult. A wire rope at the worst
place but even that wasn't bad. Turned a corner into the sun 7.15 and
waited for the others who were someway behind. Mathon had once
passed the night there. Across the glacier, quite close stood the
Pelvoux, the Pic sans Nom and the Ailefroide. Pic Coolidge and the
Fifre at the head of the glacier. Sun most reviving. On again up
across steep slopes of ice and rotten aretes. Prince Louis led. I
slipped once and fell on my back on the ice. Mathon caught me by
the rope, we both cut our hands, he badly. Paulcke produced sticking
plaster and bandage. Photographed crossing the snow and climbing
the rock. At the foot of a couloir had to wait till the Orleans caravan got
to the top, they sent down so many stones. Pretty cold. Up couloirs
and rocks all fairly easy and reached the top at 10. Cold wind but
bright sun. Splendid view - Mont Blanc, Dame Blanche, Matterhorn
and the Pelvoux right opposite. Most hearty lunch. I drank
Lohm¸ller's lemonade and he my brandy. Slept also. Photographed
and left at 11.40. A little lower down had to wait for a long time while
the Germans made steps down the first almost perpendicular snow
slope. Slept again. Then down, snow good, no ice cutting, but awfully
cold and endlessly long. My left hand frostbitten. At the bottom is a
big schrund, difficult, with the wind blowing driven snow round one.
Got down at 1.50. Long ice slopes thinly covered with snow on which I
slipped about a good deal. Jumped down a schrund. Prince Louis
nearly came down on his back as the porter jumped too soon. "I ave
[sic] old of the rope Sir" said the English servant in most English
servant accents. Got down to the glacier about 2.45 and found the
Germans sitting on their knapsacks waiting for us. Most cheerful meal
of bread and jam and sardines. I tried to unfreeze my fingers in the
snow. The Orleans party far behind, passed over the Col des Ecrins
to the right. We took down the Glacier Blanc to the left, between the
Ecrins and its contreforts and a lot of pics, cols, Col Emile Pic etc.
Glacier ended in magnificent seracs from whence fine view of
Pelvoux and other peaks. Unroped and drank lemonade. Down
over stones where I twisted my foot. Passed the Refuge Tuckett, a
miserable dirty hole. Mathon lost the way and while he looked for it
we sat and admired the view. The Glacier Blanc all snow, and the
Glacier Noir, all stones meet together round the Ecrins massif at the
PrÈ de Mme Carle, a little oasis of stumpy pines and grass in the
midst of a desert of Èboulis. Very long steep rock down and by the
time we were down it was quite dark. Walked on over smoothish
small stones and then down a rocky path. Quite dark. About 7.30
lighted our lanterns again and at 7.50 arrived. Hippolyte Rodier
already there and 12 couverts spread for us. Very small toilette and
very large dinner. We were merry though my fingers and my foot hurt
and there was not a woman to be seen in the place. Then to bed and
straight to sleep.