Travel in the Bernese Oberland

Under these circumstances, mountain travel must not only be generally much easier than traveling on the plains, but also, for the entire process of breathing, and if I may say so, for the continuous drinking of the "vital air," be exceptionally refreshing even for the weak-chested. Indeed, one may say that the air in the mountains presses incomparably less on our vessels from the outside; that they therefore resist the force of the heart less; and that a regular circulation of the blood consequently successfully puts an end to its stagnation and to many accidents of melancholy there.

If we now add the purity, the elasticity, the moderate coolness during the summer, and similar advantages of the air, we can reasonably expect from sustained mountain travel all the benefits of the praised "air bath," which is held in such high regard by many and which serves so powerfully those classes of the people who perform their work mostly in the open air.

It is undoubtedly true, however, that the ascent from the lower air layers is not enjoyable for humans in constant progression. At a point where the barometer sinks to 15, or even to 14 inches, and where one would have ascended 18,192 feet above the surface of the sea, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, swelling of the veins, anxiety, and exhaustion set in, until finally even fainting, malaise, and bleeding from the delicate blood vessels of the lips, eyes, and ears occur, because no external air pressure any longer closes the openings of the delicate little vessels that are covered by a particularly thin epidermis on the mentioned parts of the body *).