Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860–69 · Chapter
The First Passage of the Col Dolent explained
Whymper and his party attempt a new pass over the Col Dolent, hoping for a quicker route from Courmayeur to Chamounix.
What happens
Whymper and his party attempt a new pass over the Col Dolent, hoping for a quicker route from Courmayeur to Chamounix. The ascent is straightforward, but the descent on the Argentière side reveals a treacherous ice slope at a 50° angle. The guides laboriously cut steps and navigate crevasses and schrunds, using ropes and ice-axes. After seven hours of descent, they reach the Argentière Glacier and arrive at Chamounix late at night, exhausted but successful.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the story's dramatic climax because it presents the irreversible turning point where the gu…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Exploration and Discovery
The party attempts a new, untested pass (Col Dolent) to find a quicker route, embodying the spirit of alpine exploration.
- Danger and Mortality
The descent on a 50° ice slope with risk of slipping and falling highlights the constant danger and potential for fatal accidents.
- Scientific Observation
Whymper provides detailed observations on ice-axe design, step-cutting techniques, and the behavior of ice and snow slopes.
Characters to notice
- Edward Whymper
Leader and narrator; sketches the view while guides work; descends the icy staircase and joins the others.
- Michel Croz
Leads the descent, cutting steps and anchoring to rocks; first to go down the ice slope.
- Christian Almer
Works with Biener to cut steps and pay out rope; descends the ice slope with steadiness.
- Franz Biener
Assists Almer in cutting and rope work; descends to join Croz after being attached to the rope.
Key passages
“Freethinking mountaineers have been latterly in the habit of going up one side of an Alp and coming down the other, and calling the route a pass.”
Some climbers now consider crossing a mountain from one side to the other as a valid pass.
Whymper humorously critiques the evolving definition of a mountain pass.
“For the first time in my life I looked down a slope more than a thousand feet long, set at an angle of about 50°, which was a sheet of ice from top to bottom.”
Whymper saw a continuous ice slope over 1,000 feet long at a 50° angle, unlike anything he had encountered before.
Describes the extreme and dangerous ice slope on the descent.
“I do not believe that the use of the rope, in the ordinary way, affords the least real security upon ice-slopes.”
Whymper argues that a rope provides no real safety on ice slopes.
Reflects his skepticism about standard rope techniques on steep ice.
