The
place was a hollow, the end of the ravine - a bowl, as it were; one way
out of which is the Nufenen, and the other the Gries.
Here it is in a sketch map. The heights are marked lighter and
lighter, from black in the valleys to white in the impassable
mountains. E is where we stood, in a great cup or basin, having just
come up the ravine B. C is the Italian valley of the Tosa, and the
neck between it and E is the Gries. D is the valley of the Ticino,
and the neck between E and it is the Nufenen. A is the Crystal
Mountain. You may take the necks or passes to be about 8000, and the
mountains 10,000 or 11,000 feet above the sea.
We noticed, I say, many disquieting things. First, all, that bowl or
cup below the passes was a carpet of snow, save where patches of black
water showed, and all the passes and mountains, from top to bottom,
were covered with very thick snow; the deep surface of it soft and
fresh fallen. Secondly, the rain had turned into snow. It was falling
thickly all around. Nowhere have I more perceived the immediate
presence of great Death. Thirdly, it was far colder, and we felt the
beginning of a wind. Fourthly, the clouds had come quite low down.
The guide said it could not be done, but I said we must attempt it.
