Note 2 — Chapter VII · CAUGHT IN AN AVALANCHE ON THE MATTERHORN

The exact origin of the föhn wind is still disputed. It is thought to have no connection with the sirocco, a wind which in Europe blows always from the south, bears with it sometimes particles of sand, and is impregnated with damp from its passage over the Mediterranean. The föhn blows from any quarter (though usually from the south), and is a dry, warm wind, which causes the snow to melt rapidly. In German Switzerland it is called the Schneefresser, or Snow Devourer, and it has been said that if no föhn visited the Alps, Switzerland would still be in the glacial period.