TH PREFACE HIS book is the outcome of seven months' work by myself and my colleagues, Mr. Stuart Vines, Mr. Arthur Lightbody, and Mr. Philip Gosse, in the Andes of Argentina. My expedition had for its object primarily the triangulation of the country immediately surrounding the peak of Aconcagua, America's highest mountain; and secondly, the scaling of the great peak itself, which had up to that time defied the efforts of all who had attempted to gain its summit. The success that we met with was due to the unflagging help and splendid efforts of my companions, who in the face of many difficulties and hardships assisted me with unfailing cheerfulness and great courage. The delay in the appearance of this narrative is owing to a severe attack of typhoid fever as I was about to leave South America. No sooner did I become convalescent than my friend Mr. Vines was stricken by the same malady, with the result that it was not till January 1898 that we reached England. The genesis of the expedition and the history of Aconcagua are set forth in the first chapter. It may be of interest, however, to reproduce here a short passage written in 1876 by the late Mr. T. W. Hinchliff, an ardent mountaineer of the early days of the Alpine Club, upon the prospect of an ascent of Aconcagua and Tupungato. He wrote: "Lover of mountains as I am, and familiar with such summits as those of Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, and other Alpine heights, I could not repress a strange feeling as I looked at Tupungato and Aconcagua, and reflected that endless successions of men must in all probability be for ever debarred from their lofty crests. When we used to look at the highest peaks and passes of the Alps the only question which suggested itself was 'Which is the best way to get there?' In the presence vii of the huge peaks of the Andes I could but think of the great probability that no one would ever get to them at all. There they reposed in divine dignity, too great for mortal approach, and suggesting the abodes where the gods of Epicurus sit careless of mankind,' and careless of the tremendous calamities dealt out to men by the fires concealed beneath the feet of these glorified monsters. The Alps have been conquered, and Mont Blanc has been obliged to bow down to the monarchs of the Caucasus; but Nature proclaims the existence of an impassable limit somewhere, and the latest conquerors of even Elbruz and Kasbek have been compelled to admit the effects of the rarefaction of the air. Those who, like Major Godwin Austen, have had all the advantages of experience and acclimatisation to aid them in attacks. upon the higher Himalayas, agree that 21,500 feet is near the limit at which man ceases to be capable of the slightest further exertion. Even this has only been. attained by halting after a very few steps and lying down exhausted in the snow. Mr. Simpson, whose pictures of Himalayan scenery are so well known, tells me that he and his party suffered severely in crossing the famous Purung Pass, which is 19,000 feet above the sea; and that some of the natives from the plains declared they were not only dying but dead! None could advance without more and more frequent halts. There is reason to believe that from some climatal reason this difficulty of breathing, called puna in South America, is experienced with greater severity in the Andes than in other great ranges. When Mr. Darwin crossed the Portillo Pass to Mendoza at the height of 13,000 or 14,000 feet, he found that 'the exertion of walking was extremely great, and the respiration became deep and laborious.' With their 9000 or 10,000 feet above this, Aconcagua and Tupungato may probably defy intrusion unless through the medium of a balloon." 1 Such opinions are familiar to all climbers. The impossibilities to one generation of Alpinists become the achievements of the next; and so, doubtless, it will continue to be until the summit of the Himalayas themselves is scaled, and the breaking of mountaineering records ceases for ever. 1 Over the Sea and Far Away, p. 90. One other matter that may be noticed here is the attempt that was made to climb Aconcagua while I was in South America. For a long time the members of the German Turnverein (or Athletic Club) of Santiago had cherished the idea of ascending Aconcagua, and thus completing the work begun by Dr. Güssfeldt, their countryman. During several successive years they made ascents in the Andes in order to gain experience and training. Maipo was climbed by them for the second time, as well as a peak to which the name of Bismarck was given, and the still higher summit of Plomo, 18,964 feet above the sea. When we arrived in South America in the autumn of 1896 the members of the Club were already contemplating an attack on Aconcagua, January 1898 having been provisionally fixed for the attempt. I was as unaware of these preparations as the members of the Club apparently were of mine, although the fact that I was organising an expedition to Aconcagua had been made known in the Press a year before we left England. Our arrival in South America, however, took the Club by surprise, and seemed to threaten the destruction of their plans and hopes. Nevertheless, in friendly rivalry which I gladly recognise, the members of the Turnverein gallantly resolved to attempt the ascent of Aconcagua that season, and after hurried preparations they left Santiago on January 9. The gentlemen who took part in the expedition were Messrs. Robert and Emil Conrad, Karl Greibel, Adolf Moser, Harold Wolff, and Gustav Brant, all members of the German colony in Chile. The route which they followed from point to point was that already explored by Dr. Güssfeldt through the Valle Hermoso and the Cañon del Volcan. Their base camp was pitched on the very spot where Dr. Güssfeldt's had stood fourteen years before. The whole mass of the mountain interposed between their camp and our own, and each expedition remained completely in ignorance of the movements of the other. Aconcagua was thus being attacked simultaneously from opposite sides, and neither party could tell what success the other had met with. On January 16th the Germans crossed the great ridge which Dr. Güssfeldt had called the Sierra del Penitente, and spent that night at the base of the mountain. Their ascent began on the 17th, three days after the summit had been actually reached by my guide Mattias Zurbriggen. The climb so far offered few difficulties, and towards evening they reached a height of about 19,000 feet, when they saw two men approaching along the side of the mountain. These were my porters Pollinger and Lanti, whose meeting with the Germans is described elsewhere. From them the party received the news of Zurbriggen's ascent to the summit. That night they reached an elevation of 20,670 feet, where they were compelled to stop, as the feeble moonlight was insufficient to light them over the rocky ground in front. They bivouacked as well as circumstances permitted, and passed an exceedingly trying night. The thermometer sank to 12° cent. below freezing, and they had no covering whatever except a few shawls. On the morning of the 18th the Germans reached their highest point, which they estimated to be at an altitude of 21,326 feet. They were now suffering from exhaustion and mountain sickness, and a mist suddenly enveloped them, so dense that although only a few yards apart they could scarcely see one another. The weather became more and more threatening, and it was absolutely necessary to turn back. They spent that night on the Sierra del Penitente, and descended into the Cañon del Volcan next morning. For some days they hoped that a change in the weather might allow them to make a second attempt, but it continued to rain, and thick clouds surrounded Aconcagua. On the 21st they abandoned the enterprise. I have to express my sense of deep obligation to Professor Bonney, D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.S., Mr. G. C. Crick, F.G.S., Mr. R. I. Pocock, Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., and Mr. I. H. Burkill for their invaluable technical contributions to this volume; and to thank my friend Mr. Henry Norman for his help in preparing my proofs for the press. SAVILE CLUB, LONDON, EDW. A. FITZ GERALD 1 |