The ancient Great St. Bernard Pass runs through the Western Alps, connecting Switzerland to Italy by way of a winding road through the Valais Alps. It was used as long ago as the Bronze Age, and even today you can still see evidence of a Roman road.
It’s cold up there. Lots of snow – so much so that the road is impossible to use from October to May or even June! Nowadays, this isn’t a major problem, thanks to the Great St. Bernard Tunnel which now runs right through the mountains, underneath the road. The tunnel, unlike the original pass, can be used all year round, thanks to special avalanche shelters at either end which stop it becoming blocked by the snow. You do have to pay a hefty toll to use it, but that’s probably preferable to dying of frostbite when you get trapped on a snow-blocked pass, or suffocating under a sudden avalanche.
Such has been the fate of numerous unfortunate beings throughout history, who did not have the option of using the nice dry tunnel (opened in 1964). Avalanches, extreme cold, and drifts of up to 40 feet spelt death for vast numbers of travellers who should probably have stayed at home in front of the fire and watched the soaps, or whatever equivalent pastime they had in those days.
Enter the heroic monks.
In the 10th Century A.D., one St. Bernard of Menthon, having rejected his rich and noble background to preach the Gospel to the people of the Alps, founded a hospice for travellers at the highest point of the pass. Either they named the pass after him in tribute, or his name was a really cool coincidence. In any case, he and his band of merry monks became mountain rescue action heroes of the highest magnitude. Voluntarily, they went out in horrendous snow-storms in search of hapless victims of the unforgiving Alpine weather, giving them food, extra clothing, and assistance back to the warm and cosy hospice. Injured and ill travellers were nursed back to health, and the dead were retrieved to be given respectful burials instead of being lost forever in the white peaks.
Oh, and there were dogs! Guess what they were called? Well, the most famous one was apparently named Barry, but yes, he was indeed a St. Bernard. Barry saved the lives of over 40 people throughout the course of his brave doggy life between 1800 and 1814. He is a national hero, and his body (stuffed, upright and slightly creepy) remains on display to this day in Berne’s Natural History Museum. One tale of his bravery tells of the time that he climbed up to an icy ledge which no human could even attempt to reach, and edged his way across it inch by inch to get to a small boy who was half-buried in the snow. With a series of warm, gentle and persevering licks, he woke up the child, who wrapped his arms around his rescuer’s furry neck and was carefully dragged off to safety. Lassie’s got nothing on Barry.
Sadly, and in closing, I have discovered that the thing about St. Bernard dogs wearing little barrels of brandy around their necks is all made up. Apparently, if a person suffering from hypothermia were to drink alcohol, it would speed up the heat loss rate from their body, thus making the situation much worse.
Damn science – always there to spoil a nice little story…
