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HORACEBENE CT DE SA URE.

1740-1799

The young Horace- Gabriel Paccard-and some of his ascent in wonderful the age of 22 Saussure
weeks later the two men copperplate handwriting. became professor of
Bénédict de Saussure
succeeded in reaching the As a result of this both philosophy at the Academy
visited Chamonix in 1760
top of the mountain. Four Beaufroy and Saussure of Geneva, a post he held
and developed the ambition
days later Balmat set out for were made honorary for twenty-four years. His
to stand on top of Mont
Geneva to find Saussure members of the Royal early interest in botany led
Blanc or at least to be
and claim the reward. Society in London. Those him to carry out solitary
responsible for it being
Saussure was now deter- who took part in these early expeditions to the Salève
climbed. For this purpose
mined to reach the summit expeditions were ill and the Alps looking for
he posted notices in all the
himself, but it was not until equipped and suffered plants, but he soon began to
surrounding villages offer-
1 August of the following severely from fatigue, focus on the structure of the
ing a reward to the first per-
year that the weather condi- sunburn, sun-blindness, mountains. As a practical
son to reach the summit of
tions were right. Balmat led nausea and thirst. and theoretical geologist,
White
"Great
the
the team of seventeen he turned out to be
Mountain" at 4,807 metres,
guides carrying a ladder to Saussure's family formed enthusiastic, persevering
but it would be twenty-six
cross the crevasses, taking part of the wave of and brilliant. On every trip
years before anyone
with them Saussure's son, Protestant refugees that had he filled notebooks with
claimed the prize. In 1785
tent observations: the actual
and moved from Lorraine to
scientific
he had a small hut built
instruments. Saussure was Geneva in the sixteenth date, time, place, height,
high on the mountain as a
as much interested in mak- century. His family was longitude/latitude,
refuge and made an attempt
ing geological and meteor- rich and formed part of the temperature, air pressure,
on the summit himself, but
ological observations as in nobility. As a young man humidity-sometimes even
had to turn back due to bad
exchanged
his expenditure. His elegant
reaching the summit. Saussure
weather.
numerous letters with writing often includes
Five days later an Albrecht de Haller, a descriptions of the way of
Finally, in 1786 a mountain
Englishman, Colonel Mark famous Swiss doctor, life, customs and well-
guide called Jacques
Beaufroy, accompanied by botanist and naturalist being of the people living in
Balmat found a viable route
ten guides, followed living in Berne, who the high mountains. He
to the summit. He shared
Saussure's route to the top. encouraged him to study paid the closest attention to
his discovery with a
Beaufroy wrote an account the plant-life of the Alps. At the geology in a way that
Chamonix doctor-Michel-
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