The Alps [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION They stretch across the heart of Europe, from Nice to Vienna, covering half a dozen countries with a fantastic chaos of rock and ice, trapping the turbulent waters of a host of rivers to form spectacular lakes. They are the watershed of Western Europe. Moreover they separate two climatic zones—north and south. They could even be said to be the frontier, between two worlds, the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin. The remark is also true when we consider Europe in the other direction: in the west the influence of the Atlantic reaches far inland, while the east has a continental climate, the warm air off the Hungarian plains. The Alps Voltaire called them "those haughty mountains which weigh down upon hell, and spUt the heavens". They were long thought of as a frightful place, into which travelers ventured only at their peril, the reahn of death and silence. But there is life hidden among the ice and snow. Hardy shoots of vegetation cUng to the rocky crags at great altitude; grass waves in the wind at the rim of huge abysses. Then we come to the enormous upland pastures, strewn with wild flowers such as gentian, and the great coniferous forests, with their endless interplay of light and shade. The Alps are, with the wealth of their diversity, the quintessential mountain range, forever asso- dated with mountain climbing, to which they have contributed, inter alia, a synonym-alpinism. These awesome mountains are also sublime sources of passions which vary quite as much as the rocky peaks themselves. For the mountain climber they signify action: the view from the top is worth less than the feehng of accomplishment. Staying there for another hour adds nothing to the experience. High mountains tend to overwhelm thought, leaving it fettered and earth-bound. At this frontier between the mineral and Uving worlds—one in which the mineral element hves— we see the truth in Rousseau's remark: "High in the mountains, meditation takes on a grandiose and sublime character a curious tranquil desire wholly lacking in sensuality and pungency". This "tranquil desire" is attuned to the gentle pace of the mountain walker. The kind of thrills which inspire the skier racing down the icy slopes are very different indeed. Whatever the country, the region or the altitude, the Alps offer a greater wealth of deUghts than one could hope to find in any other mountain range. The Mont Blanc massif reflected in the waters of Chamonix, the capital of mountain climbing in France. Below, the famous aiguilles on the massif.