 Eventually they will break or wear out, and then nothing else will be left for you to do than to throw them away".In September 1911 Preuss's essay "Artificial Aids on Alpine Routes" appeared in the "Deutsche Alpenzeitung".This essay, an incendiary polemic against the increasing use of artificial aid in the Alps, sparked off a series of published exchanges from such renowned alpinists of the day as Tita Piaz and Franz Nieberl.