The Ascent of the Matterhorn
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Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. As a climber and sometime mountaineer, the first ascent of the Matterhorn, the most spectacular peak in the Alps, is of great significance to me, as I have visited Zermatt, seen a monument dedicated to him in the graveyard, and climbed a neighboring peak called the Breithorn for a thrilling vista.
Mountaineering literature as a genre contains many classics, often showcasing exceptional writing and true accounts by mountaineers describing their remarkable athletic feats which represent the absolute manifestation of human fortitude in one of nature's most unforgiving realms, with the glory of success, and the pain of tragedy integral to their stories. This book is one of the classics without doubt, and should be on any mountaineer's book list, especially if they have climbed in the Alps.
For readers who enjoy adventure, historical or travel writing, again this will be of interest, although some of the places and technical details will not be imbued with the same meaning as to mountaineers. The book covers several years of trips to the Alps in France and Switzerland, in which he describes many first ascent of peaks, the names of which are admired and feared by mountaineers around the World.
It is fascinating to imagine the means of travel and way of life in the 19th Century, from these immersive descriptions, stirring powerful memories of my own adventures in these mountains in my 20s. He attempts the Matterhorn again and again, yet fails repeatedly, often in competition with other mountaineering parties.
Eventually he succeeds from a different ridge with a large party, but tragedy befalls one of the men on the descent, and his favorite guide is sacrificed along with two more of the party. Whymper is an expressive writer, at times philosophical, honest, and witty, and he is clearly influenced by Romanticism and Englightenment thinking popular to naturalists in the Victorian era. It is disappointing that there are no illustrations on the free kindle version, but the book still deserves five stars in my opinion, because Edward Whymper was a remarkable writer, and this is gripping account of the tragic ascent should be read by future generations.
At first it seemed not to have downloaded to my Kindle app but I restarted my iPad and download occurred. BUT the result was text, no maps or illustrations. You get what you pay for, it seems! One person found this helpful. I'm sure that Edward Whymper was a fine man and author and The Ascent of the Matterhorn is a good book, but this particular edition of it is not readable.
It is extremely heavily laden with typoes, rendering it difficult to read. See all 4 reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. Whymper made himself known to him, and learnt that he was Lord Francis Douglas , who had lately ascended the Ober Gabelhorn ; he told him the whole story, and confided his plans to him.
Douglas, declaring himself in his turn most anxious to ascend the Matterhorn, agreed to give him his porter, and on the morning of the 12th they started together for the Theodul pass. They descended to Zermatt, sought and engaged Peter Taugwalder , and gave him permission to choose another guide.
They had come to Zermatt with the same intention, to attempt to ascend the Matterhorn. Hudson and his friend Douglas Hadow decided to join Whymper and Douglas and that same evening everything was settled; they were to start immediately, the very next day. The party started from Zermatt on 13 July at half-past five. The eight members included Peter Taugwalder and his two sons, Peter and Joseph, who were acting as porters. They continued along the ridge and at half past eleven they reached the base of the peak. Then they left the ridge and proceeded for half an hour on the east face.
Before twelve o'clock they had found a good position for the tent, and at a height of 3, metres they set the bivouac. Meanwhile, Croz and young Peter Taugwalder went on to explore the route, in order to save time on the following day. They turned back before 3 p. On the morning of the 14th, they assembled together outside the tent and started directly at dawn.
Young Peter Taugwalder came on with them as a guide, and his brother, Joseph, returned to Zermatt. They followed the route which had been explored on the previous day, and in a few minutes came in view of the east face: The whole of this great slope was now revealed, rising for 3, feet like a huge natural staircase. Some parts were more, and others were less, easy; but we were not once brought to a halt by any serious impediment, for when an obstruction was met in front it could always be turned to the right or left.
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For the greater part of the way there was, indeed, no occasion for the rope, and sometimes Hudson led, sometimes myself. They went up unroped and, at 6. After a half-hour break they proceeded until 9. They had arrived at the foot of the much steeper upper peak that lies above the shoulder.
Accessibility Navigation
Because it was too steep and difficult they had to leave the ridge for the north face. At this point of the ascent Whymper wrote that the less experienced Hadow "required continual assistance". Having overcome these difficulties the group finally arrived near the summit. When they saw that only two hundred feet of easy snow remained, Croz and Whymper detached themselves and reached the top first. The slope eased off, and Croz and I, dashing away, ran a neck-and-neck race, which ended in a dead heat. Not a footstep could be seen. After having checked that no foot traces were present on the other extremity of the summit, that might have been reached by the Italian expedition, Whymper, peering over the cliff, saw Carrel and party at a great distance below.
They were precisely at this moment metres below, still ascending and dealing with the most difficult parts of the ridge. Whymper and Croz yelled and poured stones down the cliffs to attract their attention.
When seeing his rival on the summit, Carrel and party gave up on their attempt and went back to Breuil. A note appears in Felice Giordano's diary, in which, dated 14 July, is the following note: Dear Quintino, Yesterday was a bad day, and Whymper, after all, gained the victory over the unfortunate Carrel.
Whymper, as I told you, was desperate, and seeing Carrel climbing the mountain, tried his fortune on the Zermatt slope. Every one here, and Carrel above all, considered the ascent absolutely impossible on that side; so we were all easy in our minds. On the 11th Carrel was at work on the mountain, and pitched his tent at a certain height. On the 13th little work was done, and yesterday Carrel might have reached the top, and was perhaps only about or feet below, when suddenly, at about 2 p. Whymper and party stayed an hour on the summit.
Matterhorn ascent
Then they began their descent. They climbed down with great care, only one man moving at a time. When they were barely an hour from the summit and were all on the rope, Hadow slipped and fell on Croz, who was in front of him. Croz, who was unprepared, was unable to withstand the shock; they both fell and pulled down Hudson and Douglas. On hearing Croz's shout, Whymper and Taugwalder clasped the rocks; they stood firm but the rope broke.
Whymper saw them slide down the slope, trying with convulsive hands to stop themselves, and then falling from rock to rock and finally disappearing over the edge of the precipice.
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In a letter to the Times Whymper wrote: As far as I know, at the moment of the accident no one was actually moving. I cannot speak with certainty, neither can the Taugwalders, because the two leading men were partially hidden from our sight by an intervening mass of rock.
Poor Croz had laid aside his axe, and, in order to give Mr. Hadow greater security, was absolutely taking hold of his legs and putting his feet, one by one, into their proper positions. Hadow slipped, fell on him, and knocked him over. I heard one startled exclamation from Croz, then saw him and Mr. Douglas immediately after him. For two or three seconds we saw our unfortunate companions sliding downwards on their backs, and spreading out their hands endeavouring to save themselves; they then disappeared one by one and fell from precipice to precipice on to the Matterhorn glacier below, a distance of nearly 4, feet in height.
From the moment the rope broke it was impossible to help them.
After they could fix some rope on firm rocks and secure themselves they were able to proceed and continue the descent. They finally reached a safer place on the ridge towards 6.
The first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865
They looked for traces of their companions and cried to them but in vain. After having seen a curious weather phenomenon in the form of an arch and two crosses later determined as a fog bow by Whymper , they continued the descent and found a resting place at 9. They could resume the descent at daybreak and reach Zermatt on the morning of Saturday, 15 July. On Saturday, a group of people from Zermatt had started to ascend the Hohlicht heights, above the Zmutt valley, which commanded the plateau of the Matterhorn Glacier. They returned after six hours, and reported that they had seen the bodies lying motionless on the snow.
They proposed that the rescuers should leave on Sunday evening, so as to arrive upon the plateau at daybreak on Monday. M'Cormick decided to start on Sunday morning. The guides of Zermatt, threatened with excommunication by their priests if they failed to attend the early mass, were not willing to go. Other people came to help: Niklaus in the canton Valais and Franz Andenmatten.
Other guides Frederic Payot and Jean Tairraz also volunteered. Shortly after they discovered the bodies of Croz, Hadow and Hudson. Of Douglas only a pair of gloves, a belt and boot were found. The bodies were left on the glacier. The bodies were recovered later on 19 July after an order of the administration.
Customers who bought this item also bought. Having rolled up his tent and packed his luggage, Whymper wished to hasten to Zermatt to attempt to reach the summit from that side, but he could find no porters. Trockener Steg 2, m. Having overcome these difficulties the group finally arrived near the summit. Comment on this Story. Description On the day before the climb, one takes the cable car from Zermatt 1, m to Schwarzsee 2, m. The ascent followed a long series of usually separate attempts by Edward Whymper and Jean-Antoine Carrel to reach the summit.
This task was done by 21 men from Zermatt. Croz, Hadow and Hudson were buried near the Church of Zermatt.