The Editor,

The Journal of Glaciology

Sir,

Will you kindly afford space in the Journal for a reply to some of the criticisms put forward by Mr. Side in his review of my book Alpine Glaciers in Vol. 2, No. 12, of the Journal? He incorrectly suggests that I have erred in stating the total length of the Great Al etsch Glacier as being 15 miles, owing to my having overlooked the fact that the upper reaches consist of the Jungfraufirn and the Grosser Aletschfirn. As a matter of fact my statement was really intended to indicate the approximate length of the whole glacier system from snout to bergschrund, the upper portions, the firn, being treated and named as part of the glacier as a whole, as is frequently the procedure in the case of a river, the original rill at the source of which bears the name of the larger stream into which it eventually develops. The portion known as the Great Aletsch Glacier proper, commencing at the Lötschenlücke, is certainly not more than about miles in length, but the inclusion of the Jungfraufirn, or of the even longer tributary the Ewigschneefeld, would bring the total length up to the 15 miles stated.

As to statements which might be misleading to mountaineers, the book contains only such information as I have gathered from my own experience, and my guides have always been of high repute.

In his concluding paragraph Mr. Side generously acknowledges that the book accomplishes the purpose for which it was intended. It is a pity that it should receive adverse criticism on account of my having used a term in its widest application, or on points which are really controversial.