A GRIM SENTINEL II treasure. They seem scarcely to know themselves what treasure they look for; perhaps they hope to find gold in masses on the surface, or to penetrate, like Sinbad, into a valley of diamonds. Here some wretched treasure-seeker had perished, overwhelmed by sudden tempest and blinding snow. Within the next weeks, the struggle for Aconcagua still unended, Güssfeldt rode eight times past that ghastly figure, crouched by the wayside in dumb and significant warning. Fourteen years later, when the German expedition from Santiago tried to reach Aconcagua by Güssfeldt's route, they also came upon the skeleton of the dead Chileno. Doubtless at this moment, as I write these lines, that grim sentinel still keeps watch and ward in its silent valley, before the awful gate of the mountain. The immense rocky barrier which interposed between the Valle Penitente and the base of Aconcagua proved on examination to be not insurmountable. In the middle of it Güssfeldt discovered a couloir by which it was possible to reach the top. This couloir led upwards to a notch or gap in the ridge, to which he gave the name of Portezuelo del Penitente, or "Büsserthor." From this gateway on the ridge a magnificent spectacle, never before seen by human eyes, presented itself. Aconcagua had been reached at last. Right in front, its base separated from him only by a hollow filled with last year's snow, rose its immense black slopes. Above was the summit in an unclouded sky. The surrounding mountains were covered with white; Aconcagua alone was bare, and dominated everything else. Although the explorer stood at an altitude of 16,500 feet, and the summit was therefore only some 6500 feet higher, the whole effect was one of overpowering immensity. The way for the ascent was now open, and Güssfeldt returned to his camp to prepare. He made his attempt on the 21st of February 1883, accompanied only by two Chilenos, neither of whom, it is needless to say, had any experience of mountaineering, or indeed had ever given it a thought before Dr. Güssfeldt appeared and engaged them for his expedition. The attempt failed. Indeed, under all the circumstances, it could scarcely have been successful; but as a mountaineering feat it was distinguished by extraordinary daring. Güssfeldt was unable to establish, as we afterwards did, a high camp on the slope of the mountain itself. He simply left his camp down in the Valle Penitente, rode with his servants to the foot of the rocky barrier, where they left their horses, scaled the huge cliff, crossed the snowfield to the base of Aconcagua, and attacked it there and then. It was four in the afternoon of the 20th when they left camp. Passing on their way the skeleton, now a familiar landmark, they reached the couloir, at seven, where they rested for an hour and a half. At half-past ten they had reached the top of the cliff. By the light of a brilliant moon they crossed the snowfield, and it was nearly two in the morning when they first set foot on the lower slope of Aconcagua and began the real ascent. As time went on, and the ascent became more toilsome and the cold winds keener, a spirit of something like panic came upon the two Chilenos. From time to time. Güssfeldt had to add to the labours of the climb by delivering persuasive speeches in Spanish to his companions, in order to overcome their reluctance to proceed a step farther. Day broke. At ten o'clock one of the Chilenos collapsed. His feet were frozen, and it was absolutely impossible for him to proceed. Leaving him there, Güssfeldt pressed doggedly forward, having induced the other Chileno to continue the struggle. Together they reached a point about 1 300 feet below the summit. It was now afternoon, and the question forced itself upon their minds whether the peak could be reached before sunset. They had with them the smallest supplies of food; their base camp was far away; and they had set out from it twenty-two hours before. Suddenly the sky clouded over, the summit became wrapped in mist, and sleet began to fall. A snowstorm was coming on. Unless other skeletons were to lie on the sides of Aconcagua, they must turn back at once. Descending, they joined the unfortunate Chileno who had been left behind, and hurried down the slopes and across the snowfields. At the foot of the cliff the horses were waiting, GÜSSFELDT'S FAILURE 13 and at eleven o'clock at night they reached the camp again, after an absence from it of thirty-one hours, spent without sleep and with little food, in almost continuous exertion. Next day snow fell heavily in the Valle Penitente. Trigonometrical measurements had been begun, but the change in the weather made it impossible to remain on the spot. Grass for the mules was no longer to be had; in snow and ice the open unsheltered camp was uninhabitable. It was thereupon broken up, and the caravan withdrew on 24th February to the Valle Hermoso. Güssfeldt was not, however, at the end of his resources. The time spent in that beautiful valley, among its green meadows and flocks of sheep, restored the spirits of his men. The weather improved; and the way seemed clear for another attempt on Aconcagua. Once more the caravan proceeded up the Valle Penitente, and he encamped a second time in view of the rocky barrier that closed it in. With great determination he proceeded with the preparations for the second attempt, although he suffered so severely from an abscess which had formed under a tooth that he could not sleep at night, even with the aid of strong doses of opium. The second climb took place on 5th March. This time a new plan was adopted. On the previous day he set out with two of his three men, crossed the Sierra del Penitente and the snowfield beyond to the slope of the mountain, where the night was spent, the three climbers huddling together for warmth in one sleeping-bag. In the morning, shortly before sunrise, the ascent began. Güssfeldt endured agonies from toothache and the pain of the abscess; the men also suffered greatly from fatigue. Snowflakes began to fall, and a storm came on. Although they had not yet reached so high an altitude as on the first occasion, it was found necessary to turn back. Even had the weather continued favourable it would hardly have been possible for them to reach the summit of Aconcagua that day. The explorer and his men, after all their heroic endeavours, were utterly. worn out. There was nothing for it but to return as quickly as possible to Chile. The labours of that courageous and energetic traveller first made the world acquainted with the district round Aconcagua, which until his arrival was virgin soil, and with all the conditions of climbing upon the mountain. To such a pioneer those who follow in his steps and enjoy the fruit of his exertions owe a debt of gratitude which they can never sufficiently repay. Our obligation to Dr. Güssfeldt is none the less because we did not actually follow in his track. Although after his attempt on Aconcagua from the north, he crossed the Cumbre and arrived at Puente del Inca, he did not actually enter the Horcones Valley,' which was the chief scene of our labours in 1897, and the avenue by which we in our turn approached the mountain. It does not appear upon his map, and although he speaks of a valley entering that of the Rio de las Cuevas, which from its position must be the Horcones, I have not observed that he even mentions it by name. The first scientific exploration of the Horcones Valley was made by Herr Jean Habel in January 1895. In the course of his journey across South America, Habel spent a number of days up the Horcones, which he followed as far as the glacier and the sources of the river. A large collection of splendid photographs of the valley, some showing Aconcagua, were published in his Ansichten aus Südamerika. With Habel's results we were not acquainted at the time of our own exploration, as the work just mentioned was not issued from the press till a later date. Curiously enough, although Habel was the first scientific investigator who saw Aconcagua from the Horcones Valley, he was not aware of its identity, but speaks of the mountain which he photographed there as the Cerro de los Almacenes. Not until the investigations of our party, of which he has spoken with great kindness, were made known, did he identify this mountain with Aconcagua itself. 1 Pronounced "Orocōnés." WE CHAPTER II TO MENDOZA AND VACAS E sailed from Southampton in the R.M.S.S. Thames, on 15th October 1896, and on 29th November we left Buenos Aires, en route for Mendoza and the mountains. The director of the Great Western Railway had very kindly placed a small sleeping-carriage at our disposal. This had been coupled at the end of the train, but as it was not swung on bogey trucks, an absolute necessity in these countries, where the permanent way is not kept in the best of repair, we were nearly rattled to pieces. Several times during the night I started up convinced that our carriage was off the line, so alarmingly did it swing from side to side, swaying and jarring as if it were bumping along the sleepers. The journey takes about thirty-six hours, and when we drew up at the terminus in Mendoza we were so shaken and fatigued, that we could scarcely stand up. The town as it now stands was built some thirty-five years ago on a new site not far from the old town, which was destroyed in 1861 by a terrible earthquake, being literally levelled to the ground. Not far from the Great Western Station lies the terminus of that little railway which styles itself "Il Ferro Carril Trasandino de Buenos Aires a Valparaiso." The original intention of the constructors of this line was to carry it through from Mendoza to Santa Rosa de los Andes, the nearest town on the Chilian State Railway, and thus to make a complete line from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso. On the side of Argentina there are, at the present time, some ninety miles of rail open, but on the western or Chilian side, only thirty miles have so far been constructed. At present, construction has ceased, owing to the bankruptcy of its former contractors. As the |