Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix,which had rapidly become popular,Alpine villages tended to be improverished settlements cut off from civilization by the high mountains.
Such inns as there were were generally dirty and flea-ridden;the food simply local cheese accompanied by bread often twelve months old,all washed down with coarse wine.
Often a valley boasted no inn at all,and climbers found shelter wherever they could—sometimes with the local priest(who was usually as poor as his parishioners),sometimes with shepherds or cheese-makers.