Note 50 — Chapter XV · LOST ON THE COL D’HÉRENS—MY SEVENTH ATTEMPT TO ASCEND THE MATTERHORN

Weathered granite is an admirable rock to climb; its gritty texture giving excellent hold to the nails in one’s boots. But upon such metamorphic schists as compose the mass of the great peak of the Matterhorn, the texture of the rock itself is of no value.