Climbing the Matterhorn.

“Scrambles Amongst the Alps,” by Edward Whymper, was a worldwide bestseller in 1871. It changed the way the world looked at mountains and gave birth to a fascination with the Alps that was then passed on to other mountain regions around the world.

Interest driven by the book was the beginning of tourism to the Alpine region. When winter sports became popular at the beginning of the 20^th century, it helped create a ‘Mountain Culture’ that can as easily be recognized in Zermatt as it can in Vail or Jackson Hole.

I love bringing groups to Zermatt and spending a day or two visiting this special place. The main attraction, however, is a temperamental giant, The Matterhorn. With every visit,  the stress levels rise as people hope and pray to catch a glimpse of this frequently cloud covered icon.

This stunning mountain has fascinated climbers since the early days of mountaineering. Towering 14,692 feet (4,478 meters) above Zermatt, The Matterhorn, is one of the highest summits in Europe and the Alps. But the story of the ascent, and the people and families involved, is as interesting as the beauty of the mountain itself.

Early attempts to climb the Mountain.

Traditionally, mountaineering began as a pastime when Horace-Benedict de Saussure decided to climb the 15,771-foot Mont Blanc, in 1760. Since then, the Alps and the Alpine region have attracted generations of explorers and mountaineers. In the following century, almost all Alpine peaks were climbed. However, by 1860, the Matterhorn remained unconquered.

Simply put, this Matterhorn put fear into the hearts of the contemporary mountaineers. Many attempts were made by mountaineers at the time, most notably by Jean-Antoine Carrel, and his uncle, Jean-Jacques, who were among the first to attempt to climb the mountain from the Italian side. Having led and taken part in several attempts as guides, they had made it as high as the shoulder of Matterhorn, 13,937 feet (4,248 meters). However, no one had managed to make it to the top.

Nowadays, the Italian routes are, seen as, the technically more difficult routes and people always wonder why these were the early routes attempted? Personally, I think it boiled down to looks. You must imagine, early mountaineers had to scout out potential routes from below. That meant hiking around the mountain’s lower slopes and glaciers and looking for feasible routes. Simply put, they were using the Italian side because it looked easier, not because it was easier.

The Race is On

In 1860, Edward Whymper, an English artist, came to Zermatt to sketch on behalf of a London publisher. He was captivated by the Matterhorn. In the following years, he organized several attempts on Matterhorn, initially starting as all the others had, with the Italian ridge route. All these attempts failed, often due to the weather, or accidents and rockfall.

1863, saw the foundation of the Italian Alpine Club. Two of its leaders, Felice Giordano and Quintino Sella, made it their mission to climb the Matterhorn before any non-Italian did. They started planning and recruiting for another attempt on the Italian ridge.

However, in 1865, things changed. As Felice Giordano leader of the Italian group wrote, “the man whose life seems to depend on the Matterhorn,”  had returned. Whymper came back to Switzerland to try again. This time he planned to go up via the south face. Officially or unofficially, the race was on…

Whymper arrived in Breuil with plans to try the south face rather than the Italian ridge. An early attempt on June 21, had to be called off when his group experienced a large rockfall. After taking a short break from the mountain he returned to town on July 7, only to find that the Italian Alpine Club had a plan to climb the Mountain and had hired all of the best mountain guides.

Whymper immediately set out for Zermatt. On the way he met a fellow mountaineer, Lord Francis Douglas, who was also planning to attempt the Matterhorn. The two joined forces and headed to the Hotel Monta Rosa in Zermatt.

Meanwhile in Zermatt, unbeknown to both of them, the Reverend Charles Hudson, accompanied by a young companion, Douglas Robert Hadow, were staying at the same hotel. They two had the intention of setting out on their first attempt guided by a French guide, Michel Croz.

When Whymper and Douglas arrived in Zermatt, they were introduced to the  Reverend and his companion. The tale goes on to tell of a meeting in the restaurant of the Monta Rosa Hotel, where the groups decided to join forces for the expedition. Whymper set about hiring a pair of local guides, Peter Taugwalder snr, and his son.

The First Ascent

On the on the 13^th of July, 1865, conditions and the weather, seemed good for the climb and both Whymper’s group and the Italian group set out for their climbs. Whymper’s group of mountaineers left Zermatt, taking the six-hour hike to the Hornli ridge. On arrival at the Hornli ridge, they made camp in roughly the same location where the Hornli hut stands today. In his writings of the time, Whymper had the impression that he found the Hornli ridge easier to climb than the Italian ridge.

The next day, the party set out on the main part of the ridge. A natural staircase that although difficult at times, had no ‘serious impediments.’ The group reached 12,800 feet at 6.20 and took a thirty-minute break. At 10, they stopped again for 50 minutes having reached 14,000 feet.

Approaching the summit, the party decided to leave the ridge and use the north face for the final part, as it seemed safer to them. Whymper writes in his book, “that It is here that Douglas Robert Hadow, who was relatively new to mountaineering, needed continual assistance”. This was perhaps a sign of things to come.

On the 14^th of July, 1865, at 1.40 PM, Crotz and Whymper ran up the last small slope to the top of the mountain. 400 meters below them, the Italian group were having difficulties crossing the hardest part of the Italian ridge, a deep cleft just below the summit, which had stopped John Tyndall and Johann Joseph Bennan’s attempts in 1862. Apparently, on seeing Whymper’s group on the summit, they gave up and returned to Breuil defeated.

Disaster strikes.

After spending about an hour on the summit, resting and building a small cairn, the group decided to descend. Due to the difficulties on the final part of the climb up, it was decided that Croz,  Hadow and Hudsons guide, would lead Hadow down and help him. They were followed by Hudson and Douglas. Whymper, with the two Taugwalders to either side of him, brought up the rear of the party. Roped together they started climbing down the mountain.

It is not clear exactly what happened next. Not one of the party could see Croz and Hadow at the time as they were hidden by rock. As was planned, on the way down, Croz was helping Hadow by taking his legs and leading them to the footholds down. In the process, Hadow apparently slipped and fell onto Croz knocking him off the North face.

The momentum of the falling men pulled both Reverend Hudson and Douglas from their holds and drew them both down the rockface. Whymper, and the two Taugwalders, were left clinging to the rock while the four dangled on the rope. The rope snapped and all four fell to their deaths.

The Aftermath

Stunned and shocked, the climbers continued their descent, searching for survivors, through the onset of darkness. At 9.30 PM, they made camp, and the next morning made the rest of the journey to Zermatt. In Zermatt, a search for the victims was hastily organized and the remains of Croz, Hudson and Hadow were found. The body of Lord Francis Douglas was not found.

At the official inquest, many of the facts mentioned above were determined. In particular, the inquest had to determine if Peter Taugwalder, the elder, had cut the rope. The inquest found no evidence of this. In fact, Whymper tells of how when they all were together, having made their way to safer ground, he examined the rope. He established at the time that the group had mistakenly used the oldest and weakest of the ropes they had with them and that it had snapped.

Today

Even though the inquest found an accidental death, and that Peter Taugwalder had not cut the rope, the stories persist to this day. Since the accident, the Taugwalder Family has been haunted and followed by the tale. Knowing some of them, I cannot imagine how it would have been to grow up with the tale almost constantly present in my life.

Every tourist visiting the town wants to hear the story and each wonder if the rope was cut. It must be almost the same today as it was a week after the events. In the 150 years since the climb, many debates have been had and ideas explored, but no real result. The fact is, tests have been done on similar ropes as the original on display in the Matterhorn Museum and they snapped at 300 kilos, or about the weight of 4 men. I am often asked what I believe happened. I personally have come to the conclusion that the rope snapped.

Killer mountain

In the years since the first climb, thousands of climbers have attempted to climb to the top. During this time, all the faces and ridges have been conquered and in all seasons. However, this has come at a price. An average of 12 people die on the mountain each year. Numbers vary, but based on statistics of 1980, that would roughly mean around 850 people have died climbing Matterhorn by 2020, making it one of the deadliest mountains in the world.

For more information on the Museum and other activities and offers see: https://www.zermatt.ch/en