The Ascent of the Matterhorn

by Edward Whymper

Now, touching the use of the rope. There is a right way, and there are wrong ways of using it. I often meet, upon glacier-passes, elegantly got-up persons, who are clearly out of their element, with a guide stalking along in front, who pays no attention to the innocents in his charge. They are tied together as a matter of form, but they evidently have no idea why they are tied up, for they walk side by side, or close together, with the rope trailing on the snow. If one tumbles into a crevasse, the rest stare, and say, “La! what is the matter with Smith?” unless, as is more likely, they all tumble in together. This is the wrong way to use a rope. It is abuse of the rope.

It is of the first importance to keep the rope taut from man to man. If this is not done, there is no real security, and your risks may be considerably magnified. There is little or no difficulty in extricating one man who breaks through a bridged crevasse if the [pg 264]rope is taut; but the case may be very awkward if two break through at the same moment, close together, and there are only two others to aid, or perhaps only one other. Further, the rope ought not upon any account to graze over snow, ice, or rocks, otherwise the strands suffer, and the lives of the whole party may be endangered. Apart from this, it is extremely annoying to have a rope knocking about one’s heels. If circumstances render it impossible for the rope to be kept taut by itself, the men behind should gather it up round their hands,[205] and not allow it to incommode those in advance. A man must either be incompetent, careless, or selfish, if he permits the rope to dangle about the heels of the person in front of him.

THE RIGHT WAY TO USE THE ROPE.

The distance from man to man must neither be too great nor too small. About 12 feet between each is sufficient. If there are only two or three persons, it is prudent to allow a little more—say 15 feet. More than this is unnecessary, and less than 9 or 10 feet is not much good.

It is essential to examine your rope from time to time to see that it is in good condition. If you are wise you will do this yourself every day. Latterly, I have examined every inch of my rope overnight, and upon more than one occasion have found the strands of the Manilla rope nearly half severed through accidental grazes.

Thus far the rope has been supposed to be employed upon level, snow-covered glacier, to prevent any risk from concealed crevasses. On rocks and on slopes it is used for a different purpose (namely, to guard against slips), and in these cases it is equally important to keep it taut, and to preserve a reasonable distance one from the other. It is much more troublesome to keep the rope taut upon slopes than upon the level; and upon difficult rocks it is all but impossible, except by adopting the plan of moving only one at a time (see p. 115).

There is no good reason for employing a rope upon easy rocks, and I believe that its needless use is likely to promote carelessness. On difficult rocks and on snow-slopes (frequently improperly called ice-slopes) it is a great advantage to be tied together, provided the rope is handled properly; but upon actual ice-slopes, such as that on the Col Dolent ([p. 240]), or upon slopes in which ice is mingled with small and loose rocks, such as the upper part of the Pointe des Ecrins, it is almost useless, because a slip made by one person might upset the entire party.[206] I am not prepared to say, however, that men should not be tied together upon similar slopes. Being attached to others usually gives confidence, and confidence decidedly assists stability. It is more questionable whether men should be in such places at all. If a man can keep on his feet upon an escalier cut in an ice-slope, I see no reason why he should be [pg 266]debarred from making use of that particular form of staircase. If he cannot, let him keep clear of such places.[207]

There would be no advantage in discoursing upon the use of the rope at greater length. A single day upon a mountain’s side will give a clearer idea of the value of a good rope, and of the numerous purposes for which it may be employed, than any one will obtain from reading all that has been written upon the subject; but no one will become really expert in its management without much experience.