You will observe that I have marked five clefts or valleys. A is that
of the _Aar,_ and the little white patch at the beginning is the lake
of Brienz. B is that of the _Reuss._ C is that of the _Rhone;_ and all
these three are _north_ of the great watershed or main chain, and all
three are full of German-speaking people.
On the other hand, D is the valley of the _Toccia,_ E of the _Maggia,_
and F of the _Ticino._ All these three are _south_ of the great
watershed, and are inhabited by Italian-speaking people. All these
three lead down at last to Lake Major, and so to Milan and so to Rome.
The straight line to Rome is marked on my map by a dotted line ending
in an arrow, and you will see that it was just my luck that it should
cross slap over that knot or tangle of ranges where all the rivers
spring. The problem was how to negotiate a passage from the valley of
the Aar to one of the three Italian valleys, without departing too far
from my straight line. To explain my track I must give the names of
all the high passes between the valleys. That between A and C is
called the _Grimsel;_ that between B and C the _Furka._ That between D
and C is the _Gries_ Pass, that between F and C the _Nufenen,_ and
that between E and F is not the easy thing it looks on the map; indeed
it is hardly a pass at all but a scramble over very high peaks, and it
is called the Crystalline Mountain. Finally, on the far right of my
map, you see a high passage between B and F. This is the famous St
Gothard.
The straightest way of all was (1) over the _Grimsel,_ then, the
moment I got into the valley of the Rhone (2), up out of it again over
the _Nufenen,_ then the moment I was down into the valley of the
_Ticino_ (F), up out of it again (3) over the Crystalline to the
valley of the _Maggia_ (E). Once in the Maggia valley (the top of it
is called the _Val Bavona),_ it is a straight path for the lakes and
Rome. There were also these advantages: that I should be in a place
very rarely visited - all the guide-books are doubtful on it; that I
should be going quite straight; that I should be accomplishing a feat,
viz. the crossing of those high passes one after the other (and you
must remember that over the Nufenen there is no road at all).
But every one I asked told me that thus early in the year (it was not
the middle of June) I could not hope to scramble over the Crystalline.
No one (they said) could do it and live.
