# XIX: The First Passage of the Col de Talèfre explained — Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860–69

> Chapter companion for Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860–69 by Edward Whymper.

## What happens

Whymper recounts the first crossing of the Col de Talèfre on July 3, 1865, a new pass between the Aiguille de Triolet and the Aiguille de Talèfre, offering a quicker route from Chamounix to Courmayeur than the Col du Géant. The party navigated snow cascades, glissaded down avalanche debris, and completed the crossing in under ten hours.

## Themes in this chapter

### Exploration and Discovery

Whymper identifies and successfully crosses a new pass, the Col de Talèfre, improving upon the known Col du Géant.

### Danger and Mortality

The descent involves dodging snow cascades that could knock climbers over, highlighting the constant risk.

### Scientific Observation

Whymper notes the elevation (11,650 feet) and compares it to the Col du Géant, demonstrating careful measurement.

## Character check-ins

### Edward Whymper

Narrator and leader of the first passage of the Col de Talèfre.

### Mr. Adams-Reilly

Companion during the 1864 reconnaissance that identified the potential pass.

### Rev. Charles Hudson

Mentioned as part of a party crossing the Col du Géant on the same day.

## Key lines

> The person who discovered the Col du Géant must have been a shrewd mountaineer.

Whoever first found the Col du Géant was a skilled climber.

_Whymper acknowledges the skill of earlier explorers while introducing his own discovery._

> Glissading is a very pleasant employment when it is accomplished successfully, and I have never seen a place where it can be more safely indulged in than the snowy valley on the right bank of the Glacier de Triolet.

Glissading is enjoyable when done right, and the snowy valley on the right bank of the Glacier de Triolet is the safest spot for it.

_Whymper humorously describes the joys and perils of glissading._

## Links

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- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/scrambles_amongst_the_alps_in_the_years_1860_69_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/scrambles_amongst_the_alps_in_the_years_1860_69_se/chapters