Douglas Freshfield
Encyclopedia
Douglas William Freshfield (April 27, 1845 – February 9, 1934) was a British lawyer, mountaineer and author, who edited the Alpine Journal
from 1872 to 1880. He was an active member of the Royal Geographical Society
and the Alpine Club
and served as President of both organizations.
, Freshfield was the only son of Henry Ray Freshfield
and his wife Jane Quinton Crawford. His father was a notable lawyer
and member of the family firm of Freshfields and his mother was the daughter of William Crawford
MP for the City of London (1833–1841), who had made a fortune in the East India Company
. In an interview with Adolfo Hess, Freshfield recalls that his family loved to take long holidays in the summer of up to five weeks. He recalls that when he was 6, they visited Lodore Falls
in the Lake District where he was disappointed that the waterfall was slowed due to a sandbank. The following year they travelled to Scotland. In 1854, they travelled to the Swiss Alps
, going from Basel to Chamonix. His father attached great importance to preserving open spaces for public enjoyment and was active in campaigns to save Hampstead Heath
and Ashdown Forest
.
Freshfield was educated at Eton College
, and University College, Oxford
, where he obtained a degree in civil law
and history
. He was called to the bar in 1870.
Freshfield was a keen traveller and mountaineer. From his childhood acquired a deep love of the mountains and was particularly fond of the Alps. However by his twenties, he was already venturing further afield. In 1868 he made an attempt on Elbrus with his Balkarian guide Akhia Sottaev, and although they failed to reach the higher Western summit, Freshfield was the first foreigner to reach the Eastern Summit.
Freshfield led an exploration of the Caucasus
and was the first man, officially, to conquer Kazbek with guides from the village Gergeti. He described the denuded territories of Abkhazia
in a moving chapter on 'The Solitude of Abkhazia', in The Exploration of the Caucasus published in 1892.
In 1899 Douglas Freshfield travelled to Green Lakes accompanied by the Italian photographer Vittorio Sella
. He conducted expeditions around Kangchenjunga
(Khangchendzonga) and set out with his party to trek in a circle around Kangchenjunga from the North. When he arrived safely in at Dzongri, he lit a big bonfire, which could be seen from Darjeeling and the Governor of Bengal
ordered a Gun Salute to be fired in his honour. He also become the first mountaineer to examine the western face of Kangchenjunga, which rises from the Kanchenjunga Glacier. Freshfield described Siniolchu
as “The Most Superb Triumph of Mountain Architecture and The Most Beautiful Snow Mountain in the World”.
In 1905 he attempted to climb Rwenzori Abruzzi in Uganda
but failed due to bad weather. However the Freshfield Pass on the mountain was named after him.
from 1872 to 1880. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and became its Joint Secretary in 1881. At that time he was living at Stanhope Gardens, and by 1891 at Camden Hill, Hampstead. He was president of the Alpine Club
from 1893 to 1895, Chairman of the Society of Authors
from 1908 to 1909, and President of the Association of Geographical Teachers from 1897 to 1910.
In 1904, he was President of the Geographical Section of the British Association. He was awarded the Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society
in 1903, became a Vice-President of the Society in 1906 and its President from 1914 until 1917. He became a Trustee of the RGS in 1924. University College, Oxford
made him an Honorary Fellow, and he was awarded Honorary degrees of Doctor of Civil Laws at the University of Oxford
and the University of Geneva
They had four daughters and a son Henry Douglas Freshfield who died aged fourteen in 1891. The tragic family loss was turned into a memorial gift for the people of Forest Row
in the form of a building to be used as a parochial hall and institute. The first Freshfield Hall was very short-lived, for it was burnt down on 14 February 1895, the day after the funeral of Henry Freshfield. Douglas Freshfield and his mother wasted no time in having it rebuilt and it reopened on the 17th November 1895. At the reopening Freshfield expressed the wishes of his mother and himself when he hoped the hall would be used by all classes of parishioners, and that it would keep alive the memory of its original founder.
Freshfield became a friend of Violet Needham
a near neighbour at Forest Row. Cultivated and cultured as well as adventurous, Freshfield and Charles Needham have been seen in many Violet Needham heroes.
Freshfield died at Wych Cross Place, Forest Row, Sussex
.
Freshfield's mother considered it important to educate her son in the appreciation of nature and the arts. From an early age his parents took him on journeys which included the English Lake District and Scotland. When he was eight his father started taking the family on holiday in Switzerland
, particularly the Alps
. The ten years of summer holidays in the Swiss and Italian Alps greatly impressed the child. He said, sixty years later, in an interview with Adolf Hess:
Mrs Freshfield was an authoress herself and her publications included "Alpine Byways" and "A Tour of the Grisons". Valeria Azzolini wrote about her in I resoconti di viaggio di Freshfield ("Freshfield's Travel Journals"):
Freshfield believed in good companionship more than the physical exercise when climbing. When he had almost reached the end of his career, he stated:
In his first work, The Italian Alps (1875), he abandoned himself to enjoying the mountains, writing with an elegant descriptive ability. He repeatedly refined his drafts about his excursions and mountaineering, like an ante litteram correspondent. This made him one of the best prepared and finest 19th century linguists in the UK to write about exploring Italy. As an instinctive and inspired narrator, he reported ecstatically on all the mysterious wonders of the Alps. He wanted to ahare these with the rest of Europe
and described the characteristics of the Alps with unrivalled sharpness. His descriptions were from all angles - poetic
, ethnographic
, and scientific
. Letting the reader into the atmosphere of the Giudicarie Alps
he noted:
Nobody who had entered the Giudicarie valleys previously had revealed so much in spite of the humble dolomitic
reality. He dedicated further pages to the familiar Val Rendena
.
These lines recollect a Rendena which no longer exists, but they can still teach those who are passionate about mountains to discover and preserve whatever remains that is still untouched by time or the hand of man.
After his expeditions around Kangchenjunga
Freshfield wrote of Dzongri:
Alpine Journal
The Alpine Journal is the yearly publication of the Alpine Club of London. It is the oldest mountaineering journal in the world.-History:The journal was first published on 2 March 1863 by the publishing house of Longmans in London, with Hereford Brooke George as its first editor...
from 1872 to 1880. He was an active member of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
and the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)
The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...
and served as President of both organizations.
Early life and education
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Freshfield was the only son of Henry Ray Freshfield
Henry Ray Freshfield
Henry Ray Freshfield was an English lawyer and conservationist.Freshfield was the fourth and youngest son of James William Freshfield and his wife Mary Blacket and was born at Lothbury. His father was a lawyer who established the firm of Freshfields...
and his wife Jane Quinton Crawford. His father was a notable lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and member of the family firm of Freshfields and his mother was the daughter of William Crawford
William Crawford (London MP)
Wiliam Crawford was a British Liberal Party politician who represented the City of London in the 19th century.Crawford was born in London the son of Andrew Crawford, formerly of Dunfermline, and his wife Mary Spink. He spent his early life with the Honourable East India Company and made a fortune...
MP for the City of London (1833–1841), who had made a fortune in the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. In an interview with Adolfo Hess, Freshfield recalls that his family loved to take long holidays in the summer of up to five weeks. He recalls that when he was 6, they visited Lodore Falls
Lodore Falls
Lodore Falls is a waterfall in Cumbria, England, close to Derwent Water and downstream from Watendlath. The falls are located on the beck that flows from Watendlath Tarn, and tumble more than over a steep cascade into the Borrowdale Valley...
in the Lake District where he was disappointed that the waterfall was slowed due to a sandbank. The following year they travelled to Scotland. In 1854, they travelled to the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
, going from Basel to Chamonix. His father attached great importance to preserving open spaces for public enjoyment and was active in campaigns to save Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
and Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of tranquil open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England...
.
Freshfield was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, and University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
, where he obtained a degree in civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. He was called to the bar in 1870.
Mountaineering
Freshfield led an exploration of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and was the first man, officially, to conquer Kazbek with guides from the village Gergeti. He described the denuded territories of Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
in a moving chapter on 'The Solitude of Abkhazia', in The Exploration of the Caucasus published in 1892.
In 1899 Douglas Freshfield travelled to Green Lakes accompanied by the Italian photographer Vittorio Sella
Vittorio Sella
Vittorio Sella was an Italian photographer and mountaineer, who took photographs of mountains which are regarded as some of the finest ever made....
. He conducted expeditions around Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
(Khangchendzonga) and set out with his party to trek in a circle around Kangchenjunga from the North. When he arrived safely in at Dzongri, he lit a big bonfire, which could be seen from Darjeeling and the Governor of Bengal
Governor of Bengal
From 1690, a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal, which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers, the nawabs of Murshidabad, who were nominal vassals of the Mughal emperor in Delhi....
ordered a Gun Salute to be fired in his honour. He also become the first mountaineer to examine the western face of Kangchenjunga, which rises from the Kanchenjunga Glacier. Freshfield described Siniolchu
Siniolchu
Siniolchu is one of the tallest mountains of the Indian state of Sikkim. The mountain is considered to be a particularly beautiful mountain, having been described by Douglas Freshfield as "the most superb triumph of mountain architecture and the most beautiful snow mountain in the world"...
as “The Most Superb Triumph of Mountain Architecture and The Most Beautiful Snow Mountain in the World”.
In 1905 he attempted to climb Rwenzori Abruzzi in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
but failed due to bad weather. However the Freshfield Pass on the mountain was named after him.
Alpine Club and RGS
Freshfield wrote extensively about travel and the Alps, editing the Alpine JournalAlpine Journal
The Alpine Journal is the yearly publication of the Alpine Club of London. It is the oldest mountaineering journal in the world.-History:The journal was first published on 2 March 1863 by the publishing house of Longmans in London, with Hereford Brooke George as its first editor...
from 1872 to 1880. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and became its Joint Secretary in 1881. At that time he was living at Stanhope Gardens, and by 1891 at Camden Hill, Hampstead. He was president of the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)
The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...
from 1893 to 1895, Chairman of the Society of Authors
Society of Authors
The Society of Authors is a trade union for professional writers that was founded in 1884 to protect the rights of writers and fight to retain those rights .It has counted amongst its members and presidents numerous notable writers and poets including Tennyson The Society of Authors (UK) is a...
from 1908 to 1909, and President of the Association of Geographical Teachers from 1897 to 1910.
In 1904, he was President of the Geographical Section of the British Association. He was awarded the Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
in 1903, became a Vice-President of the Society in 1906 and its President from 1914 until 1917. He became a Trustee of the RGS in 1924. University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
made him an Honorary Fellow, and he was awarded Honorary degrees of Doctor of Civil Laws at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
Personal
Freshfield married Augusta Charlotte Ritchie (1847–1911) on the 27th November 1869. She was the daughter of the Hon W Ritchie Advocate General of Calcutta and the sister of Sir Richmond RitchieRichmond Ritchie
Sir Richmond Thackeray Willougby Ritchie was an Indian-born British civil servant who spent most of his working life at the India Office, reaching the post of Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India....
They had four daughters and a son Henry Douglas Freshfield who died aged fourteen in 1891. The tragic family loss was turned into a memorial gift for the people of Forest Row
Forest Row
Forest Row is a village and relatively large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles south-east of East Grinstead.-History:...
in the form of a building to be used as a parochial hall and institute. The first Freshfield Hall was very short-lived, for it was burnt down on 14 February 1895, the day after the funeral of Henry Freshfield. Douglas Freshfield and his mother wasted no time in having it rebuilt and it reopened on the 17th November 1895. At the reopening Freshfield expressed the wishes of his mother and himself when he hoped the hall would be used by all classes of parishioners, and that it would keep alive the memory of its original founder.
Freshfield became a friend of Violet Needham
Violet Needham
Violet Needham was the author of 19 popular children's books.She came to writing late in life, publishing her first book, The Black Riders, in 1939, at the age of 63. She was born in England to a privileged but chaotic family. Her father was a gambler and their finances fluctuated considerably...
a near neighbour at Forest Row. Cultivated and cultured as well as adventurous, Freshfield and Charles Needham have been seen in many Violet Needham heroes.
Freshfield died at Wych Cross Place, Forest Row, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.
Writing
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, particularly the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. The ten years of summer holidays in the Swiss and Italian Alps greatly impressed the child. He said, sixty years later, in an interview with Adolf Hess:
I think that, without any interruption, for the following ten years, I went each August to the Alps with my parents, and I experienced not only the easy trips, but also many less usual destinations. We toured the Monte Bianco, the Monte RosaMonte RosaThe Monte Rosa Massif is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Switzerland and Italy...
and the BerninaBerninaBernina can refer to:*the Bernina Range, a mountain range in the Alps.*Piz Bernina, the highest peak of the Bernina Range.*the Bernina Pass in the Bernina Range.*the Bernina Express, a scenic train route through the Bernina Range....
; we went to ArollaArollaArolla is a village in the municipality of Evolène in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.It is situated at the end of the Val d'Hérens south of Sion at 1998m altitude in the Pennine Alps...
, to EvoleneEvolèneEvolène is a municipality in the district of Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:Evolène is first mentioned in 1250 as Ewelina. In 1444 it was mentioned as in loco de Evolena.- Avalanches of the 21st of February, 1999 :...
, to CogneCogneCogne is a town and comune in Aosta Valley, northern Italy with 1469 inhabitants, as of 2005.Cogne is located in the valley with the same name, leading to the Gran Paradiso massif Ibex, wild goat, marmots, royal eagles are easy to see...
, in Val Formazza, in the GlarusCanton of GlarusThe Canton of Glarus is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.The majority of the population identifies as Christian, about evenly split between the Protestant and Catholic confessions.-History:According to legend, the...
Alps, to DavosDavosDavos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
, to LivignoLivignoLivigno is a town and comune in the province of Sondrio, in the region of Lombardy, Italy, located in the Italian Alps.- Geography :Livigno is located 1,816 metres above sea level. Livigno's main river is called Aqua Granda or Spöl. Trepalle, a frazione in the municipality of Livigno, is...
and in the VorderrheinVorderrheinThe Vorderrhein is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment area of is located predominantly in the Canton of Graubünden . The Vorderrhein is about long, thus more than 5% longer than the Hinterrhein...
. Some maps I drew still show our yearly itineraries. We climbed Mount Titlis, the Jazzi Peak, the MittelhornMittelhornThe Mittelhorn is a mountain in the Swiss Alps close to the village of Grindelwald. It is the highest of the three peaks composing the Wetterhorn massif.- External links :* * * *...
, and some other peaks of moderate height. But as those didn't satisfy my ambition, in 1863 I decided to try alone the Gran ParadisoGran ParadisoThe Gran Paradiso is a mountain group between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions of north-west Italy. The peak, the 7th highest mountain in the Graian Alps with an elevation of 4,061 m, is close to Mont Blanc on the nearby border with France. On the French side of the border, the park is...
, where the unforgiving weather stopped me. I was able, anyway, to pass through the Dent du GéantDent du GéantThe Dent du Géant is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy.The mountain has two summits, eighty-eight feet apart and separated by a small col :*Pointe Graham , first ascent by W. W...
, and to climb the Monte Bianco.
The following year I was ready to begin my excursions with two of my schoolmates, and I made the march recorded in Across Country from Thonon to Trent (printed privately)
Mrs Freshfield was an authoress herself and her publications included "Alpine Byways" and "A Tour of the Grisons". Valeria Azzolini wrote about her in I resoconti di viaggio di Freshfield ("Freshfield's Travel Journals"):
Lover of the mountain in the youngest and truest sense, hurry was unknown to her because it wasn't really reaching the top which insterested her, but the captivation of the landscapes she encountered on the path, and thus the hours she spent in that enjoyment.
Apart from the members of the family, there was another protagonist in Mrs Freshfield's narrations: the guideMountain guideMountain guides are specially trained and experienced mountaineers and professionals who are generally certified by an association. They are considered experts in mountaineering.-Skills:Their skills usually include climbing, skiing and hiking...
, Michel Alphonse Couttet. And it was surely in those years that the young Freshfield understood the importance, in every mountain action, of the presence of a good guide.
Freshfield believed in good companionship more than the physical exercise when climbing. When he had almost reached the end of his career, he stated:
My highest ambition has never been to spend my days in strenuous exercises to develop my muscles. No other mountaineering moment was instead more appreciated by me than that in which I could enjoy the landscape, while the others had to open a path.
In his first work, The Italian Alps (1875), he abandoned himself to enjoying the mountains, writing with an elegant descriptive ability. He repeatedly refined his drafts about his excursions and mountaineering, like an ante litteram correspondent. This made him one of the best prepared and finest 19th century linguists in the UK to write about exploring Italy. As an instinctive and inspired narrator, he reported ecstatically on all the mysterious wonders of the Alps. He wanted to ahare these with the rest of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and described the characteristics of the Alps with unrivalled sharpness. His descriptions were from all angles - poetic
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
, and scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. Letting the reader into the atmosphere of the Giudicarie Alps
Giudicárie line
The Giudicárie line is a major geologic faultzone in the Italian Alps, named for the Giudicarie valleys area. It runs from Meran in the northeast as a more or less straight line along the lower part of the Val di Sole, along the Val Rendena and then along the Chiese valley to the Lago d'Idro .The...
he noted:
The low elevation of the valleys, their sunny exposure, and the gentle slope of their hillsides, give the scenery an air of richness rarely found at the base of great snow-mountains. The frequent and gay-looking villages, the woods of chestnuts, the knots of walnut-trees, the great fields of yellow-podded maize, the luxuriant vines and orchards, have the charm which the spontaneous bounty and colour of southern nature always exercise on the native of the more reserved and sober North. No contrast could be at once more sudden and more welcome than that offered by these softer landscapes to the eye fresh from the rugged granite of the Adamello chain.
Nobody who had entered the Giudicarie valleys previously had revealed so much in spite of the humble dolomitic
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
reality. He dedicated further pages to the familiar Val Rendena
Val Rendena
Val Rendena is the valley of the Sarca river in Trentino, northern Italy.Main towns include Spiazzo Rendena and Pinzolo....
.
The road, winding at first high on a woody hillside, commands a charming view of the upper valley as far as PinzoloPinzoloPinzolo is a small town and comune situated in Val Rendena in Trentino in the northern Italian Alps at an altitude of 800 m.It is mainly known as a ski resort during the winter months.-External links:...
. Orchards and cornfields separate the rapidly succeeding hamlets, each of which resmbles its neighbour. The method of construction in this country is peculiar. The lower stories only, containing the living-rooms, are built of stone; from the top of their walls rise large upright beams supporting an immensely broad roof. The spaces between the beams are not filled up, and the whole edifice has the air of having been begun on too large a scale, and temporarily completed, and roofed in.
The great upstairs barn is used as for the storage of wood, hay, corn, and all sorts of inflammable dry goods. The roof being also of wood, the lightning finds it easy enough to set the whole mass in a blaze, and fires arising from this cause are of common occurrence.
Below us lay the smooth level of the Val d'Algone; on one side rose the bare, torn and fretted face of a great dolomite, surrounded by lower ridges scarcely less precipitous, but clothed in green wherever trees or herbage could take root. Towards the south the distant hills beyond the SarcaSarcaThe Sarca is a river springing from the Adamello-Presanella mountains in the Italian Alps and flowing into Lake Garda in Northern Italy. As an emissary of the lake it becomes known as the Mincio....
waved in gradations of purple and blue through the shimmer of the Italian sunshine. A short zigzag through thick copses took us down to the meadows. The large solitary building in their midst is a glass manufactory. At this point a good car-road begins, which branching lower down leads either to TioneTione di TrentoTione di Trento is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 30 km west of Trento...
or StenicoStenicoStenico is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 20 km west of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,119 and an area of 49.8 km²....
.
The loftier dolomites were soon lost to view behind a bend in the valley, and the road plunged down a deep and narrow glen between banks of nodding cyclamenCyclamenCyclamen is a genus of 23 species of perennials growing from tubers, valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves...
s, bold crags, and the greenest of green hillsides.
After his expeditions around Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
Freshfield wrote of Dzongri:
Suddenly you are in the presence of the Snow mountain unless they are indeed as they seem, in the first awestruck moment of beholding, embodied spirits of overwhelming power and malignity. Below you is the Prague Chu Valley; before you on the other side, long line of mountains-a succession of terrible granite spires, running down, one and all so steep and jagged that it seems as if no snow could ever cling to their sides. They have been fearfully searched by winds that mark the course in sweep of the wrinkled drifts and all the scars and lines run downwards giving the mountains an infinitely cheerless and depreciating expression like a sad, worn face.
Works
- Travels in the Central Caucasus and Bashan including Visits to Ararat and Tabreez and Ascents of Kazbek and Elbruz, London, Longmans, Green and Co., 1869
- Italian Alps: Sketches in the Mountains of Ticino, Lombardy, the Trentino, and Venetia, 1875, new ed. 1937
- The Exploration of the Caucasus, London, Edward Arnold, 1896
- 'Round Kangchinjinga (Kangchenjunga)', Alpine Journal, Vol. XX, no. 149, August 1900
- Round Kangchenjunga: A Narrative of Mountain Travel and Exploration, London, Edward Arnold, 1903. Dedicated to Joseph Dalton HookerJoseph Dalton HookerSir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
- Hannibal Once More (1914)
- The Life of Horace Benedict de Saussure (with the collaboration of F. Montagnier), London, Edward Arnold, 1920
- Below the Snow Line, London, Constable and Co., 1923