Pollux
The day following was a rainy one at Zermatt, but on Friday, August 8, it cleared — at least partially — and in the afternoon we went to sleep at the Gandeck hut, near the foot of the Breithorn. The twin peaks of Castor and Pollux, usually mentioned together and well known to all who have enjoyed the view from the Gornergrat, were the only ones of the larger peaks about Zermatt which I had not heretofore climbed, and we hoped on this occasion to ascend one or perhaps both of them. During the late afternoon and evening at the Gandeck the weather was warm and unsettled, and the clouds could not make up their minds whether to stay or go, with the result that the magnificent peaks about us were seen amidst numerous varying and beautiful atmospheric effects. At one time all that could be seen of Dent Blanche, Gabelhorn, Rothorn and Weisshorn was their final points above a great sea of clouds. At another, all but the uppermost part of the Matterhorn was in cloud, the portion visible presenting the appearance of a triangle of the size and shape of the pyramid of the Rothorn, but tipping in the opposite direction. The scene was weird and fascinating beyond the power of words adequately to describe, and I went to bed reluctantly.
We were to start at 2 a. m., but so unsettled was the weather that we did not venture to leave until 3.45, at which time it cleared suddenly, and at once it became evident that a beautiful morning was before us. For two and a half hours we followed the Breithorn route, walking over easy, rising snow fields on which there were at least six parties, four of them bound for the Breithorn, one for Castor and one for Pollux, all advancing rapidly. The sun rose on a cloudless sky and its first pale illumination of the splendid peaks surrounding us furnished a most beautiful picture, so beautiful in fact that it seemed as if we should cease walking and devote our whole attention to it. After thus rising for two and a half hours we began skirting the long, southerly face of the Breithorn — a most interesting route — and at 7.15 were at its westerly end, where we halted for breakfast, an hour's walk thereafter bringing us to the foot of the southerly Pollux arête. Usually its ascent presents no particular difficulty, but this was a bad year for rock climbing by reason of the extraordinary amount of snow, which indeed rendered some of the great rock peaks quite unclimbable throughout the whole season. Snow in the rocks operates to conceal or destroy wholly or in part the usefulness of any foot and hand-holds, while offering no proper substitute, especially when soft. We made slow time and were not on the summit until 11. We were then at a height of approximately 13.500 feet. A strong, cold wind was blowing and the atmospheric conditions were generally so disagreeable that we remained on top but two minutes.
As we approached the base of the peak on the descent we noted that banks of fog were rising from Italy, and indeed this fog soon enveloped us, rendering it inadvisable, especially at so late an hour in the day, to attempt to climb the adjoining Castor. The problem before us was how best to reach Zermatt before bad weather should set in, and we selected the shortest route via the Schwarzthor. „Thor“ means gateway, and this was indeed one of magnificent proportions, lying between Pollux and the Breithorn and leading down the Schwarze Glacier to the Gorner Glacier below. Fortunately the Italian fog halted at the Schwarzthor and did not cross the boundary into Switzerland.
The upper portion of the Schwärze Glacier consists of steep slopes of snow, and these were becoming very soft under the influence of a hot sun. ' We literally waded down them, and as we approached the bottom entered a veritable maze of broken and fissured ice, with surrounding ice towers, or seracs, differing however from the ordinary maze in that it sloped downward, which circumstance, taken in conjunction with the softness of the snow, would have rendered very difficult the task of returning; in fact, to remount the 2,000 feet of steep, soft snow that afternoon would have been next to impossible. As we progressed, we seemed to become more and more involved and finally found ourselves on a transverse band of ice with the way to the next one apparently barred. Usually, where the intervening fissures are too wide to be jumped, one can get around the ends, but not so here. After much careful consideration the guides determined that to extricate ourselves it would be necessary to enter what may be roughly described as an ice cave, and cut our way up partitions of ice within this cave a distance of some twenty feet. This was attended with some danger owing to the possibility of the chopping on a hot afternoon bringing down portions of the ice above; but as a result of much delicate ice work on the part of the guides we finally emerged in safety on to the next band of ice, whence progress became relatively easy. The descent of the Schwarzthor is not usually accompanied with serious difficulties and those encountered may be ascribed to the abnormal amount of snow, which affected materially the movement and configuration of the lower portion of the Schwärze Glacier.
We were to start at 2 a. m., but so unsettled was the weather that we did not venture to leave until 3.45, at which time it cleared suddenly, and at once it became evident that a beautiful morning was before us. For two and a half hours we followed the Breithorn route, walking over easy, rising snow fields on which there were at least six parties, four of them bound for the Breithorn, one for Castor and one for Pollux, all advancing rapidly. The sun rose on a cloudless sky and its first pale illumination of the splendid peaks surrounding us furnished a most beautiful picture, so beautiful in fact that it seemed as if we should cease walking and devote our whole attention to it. After thus rising for two and a half hours we began skirting the long, southerly face of the Breithorn — a most interesting route — and at 7.15 were at its westerly end, where we halted for breakfast, an hour's walk thereafter bringing us to the foot of the southerly Pollux arête. Usually its ascent presents no particular difficulty, but this was a bad year for rock climbing by reason of the extraordinary amount of snow, which indeed rendered some of the great rock peaks quite unclimbable throughout the whole season. Snow in the rocks operates to conceal or destroy wholly or in part the usefulness of any foot and hand-holds, while offering no proper substitute, especially when soft. We made slow time and were not on the summit until 11. We were then at a height of approximately 13.500 feet. A strong, cold wind was blowing and the atmospheric conditions were generally so disagreeable that we remained on top but two minutes.
As we approached the base of the peak on the descent we noted that banks of fog were rising from Italy, and indeed this fog soon enveloped us, rendering it inadvisable, especially at so late an hour in the day, to attempt to climb the adjoining Castor. The problem before us was how best to reach Zermatt before bad weather should set in, and we selected the shortest route via the Schwarzthor. „Thor“ means gateway, and this was indeed one of magnificent proportions, lying between Pollux and the Breithorn and leading down the Schwarze Glacier to the Gorner Glacier below. Fortunately the Italian fog halted at the Schwarzthor and did not cross the boundary into Switzerland.
The upper portion of the Schwärze Glacier consists of steep slopes of snow, and these were becoming very soft under the influence of a hot sun. ' We literally waded down them, and as we approached the bottom entered a veritable maze of broken and fissured ice, with surrounding ice towers, or seracs, differing however from the ordinary maze in that it sloped downward, which circumstance, taken in conjunction with the softness of the snow, would have rendered very difficult the task of returning; in fact, to remount the 2,000 feet of steep, soft snow that afternoon would have been next to impossible. As we progressed, we seemed to become more and more involved and finally found ourselves on a transverse band of ice with the way to the next one apparently barred. Usually, where the intervening fissures are too wide to be jumped, one can get around the ends, but not so here. After much careful consideration the guides determined that to extricate ourselves it would be necessary to enter what may be roughly described as an ice cave, and cut our way up partitions of ice within this cave a distance of some twenty feet. This was attended with some danger owing to the possibility of the chopping on a hot afternoon bringing down portions of the ice above; but as a result of much delicate ice work on the part of the guides we finally emerged in safety on to the next band of ice, whence progress became relatively easy. The descent of the Schwarzthor is not usually accompanied with serious difficulties and those encountered may be ascribed to the abnormal amount of snow, which affected materially the movement and configuration of the lower portion of the Schwärze Glacier.
Dieses Kapitel ist Teil des Buches My Summer in the Alps, 1913