Once this terrible gap crossed, I began to breathe again. We descended the gradual slopes which led to the summit of the Corridor. The snow, softened by the heat, yielded beneath our feet; we sank in it to the knees, which made our progress very fatiguing. We steadily followed the path by which we ascended in the morning, and I was astonished when Gaspard Simon, turning towards me, said,—
“Monsieur, we cannot take any other road, for the Corridor is impracticable, and we must descend by the wall which we climbed up this morning.”
I told Levesque this disagreeable news.
“Only,” added Gaspard Simon, “I do not think we can all remain tied together. However, we will see how M. N—— bears it at first.”
We advanced towards this terrible wall! M. N——’s party began to descend, and we heard Paccard talking rapidly to him. The inclination became so steep that we perceived neither him nor his guides, though we were bound together by the same rope.
As soon as Gaspard Simon, who went before me, could comprehend what was passing, he stopped, and after exchanging some words in patois with his comrades, declared that we must detach ourselves from M. N——’s party.
“We are responsible for you,” he added, “but we cannot be responsible for others; and if they slip, they will drag us after them.”
Saying this, he got loose from the rope. We were very unwilling to take this step; but our guides were inflexible.
We then proposed to send two of them to help M. N——’s guides. They eagerly consented; but having no rope they could not put this plan into execution.
We then began this terrible descent. Only one of us moved at a time, and when each took a step the others buttressed themselves ready to sustain the shock if he slipped. The foremost guide, Edward Ravanel, had the most perilous task; it was for him to make the steps over again, now more or less worn away by the ascending caravan.