Edward and the Matterhorn

Most in the climbing fraternity will be familiar with the sight of the Matterhorn. It has long captured the imagination of visitors to the Alps and the nearby village of Zermatt, less will be familiar with the tragedy that struck the first accent by an Englishman named Edward Whymper. Here is a short article on the events that unfolded that July evening in 1865.

“Every night, do you understand, I see my comrades of the Matterhorn slipping on their backs, their arms outstretched, one after the other, in perfect order at equal distances -Croz the guide, first, then Hadow, then Hudson, and lastly Douglas. Yes, I shall always see them…” – Edward Whymper.

          On the 14^th of July, 1865 an event occurred that shook the mountaineering community.  An event so powerful that it pulled Alpinism from its mighty height and ceased mountaineering throughout Europe. The tragedy of the Matterhorn.

            As a young man, Edward Whymper had an element of stubbornness about him and was not a pleasant man to have as company. He was the son of a water colorist in London and this is what eventually led him to climb – he was assigned to sketch vast areas of the Alps. When he arrived there the spell was cast, the same spell that pulled him there at every chance he got. The spell with an unseen sense of evil.

Whymper had a number of achievements under his belt. First ascents of very respectful mountains; but these were nothing compared to the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn was where the rainbow ended. He had attempted the mountain numerous times before, and had become more frustrated and more obsessed each time. Whymper knew what he had to do; climb the last great problem of the Alps – the Alpine Everest. But how was this possible when even guides refused to attempt the mountain, dubbing its ascent ‘impossible’. In Whymper’s own frustration he attempted the mountain solo, getting further than ever recorded before; it was only a fall of 100ft that halted his attempt. His leg was badly injured and he had taken a hard knock to the head causing unstoppable bleeding, drifting in and out of consciousness he dragged himself down the mountain to safety. Yes, an utterly determined man.

Whymper was not the only man interested in the glory of the Matterhorn, his soon to be Italian rival Jean-Antoine Carrel had similar ideas to Whymper concerning the mountain. Carrel was a guide from the Italian side of the Alps and an established mountaineer. As fate turned out, these men were forced to team up, because there were no other climbers willing to attempt the mountain. In the summer of 1865 Whymper went in search of Carrel for his ninth attempt on the mountain. They agreed that if their first attempt on the Swiss side failed, they would attempt the mountain from the Italian side. That same night Whymper retired to the local inn where he learned that an Englishman had fallen ill in Zermatt (Swiss side of the Matterhorn). After his fall and difficulties in receiving aid, he vowed to himself that he would assist any Englishman who needed it. En route to his patient, Whymper saw Carrel who was carrying equipment for a mysterious ‘foreign gentlemen’ and now, Carrel was no longer available for the attempt due to ‘family commitments’.

Somehow politics worms its way into every subject and climbing is no exception, years earlier the Queen of England had attempted to ban climbing on grounds that it was too dangerous and now we come to learn that Carrels foreign gentlemen was no other than Felice Giordano – right hand man of the government minister Quintino Sella. Sella wished that the Matterhorn should be ascended from Beuil, the Italian side of the mountain, for the ‘glory and honour’ of Italy, and that their plan should be kept secret from Whymper.

When the ill Englishman had returned to good health, Whymper bumped into Carrel again; but nothing had changed, he was still bound to his family commitments. They went for a quick drink in Beuil, and Whymper retired to his room. Whymper had been betrayed. He awoke the next morning to discover Carrel’s plans – a pure Italian ascent from Beuil; he stormed around his room shouting at his own stupidity.

In his anger he stormed over the pass to Zermatt, where he engaged in conversation with Lord Douglas Frances. Another mountaineer with a respectable reputation. Together they decided that they should attempt the mountain from Zermatt, and invite Old Peter Taugwalder and his two sons to accompany them. Frances had known them for some time now and had much faith in their abilities as guides and porters.

Bad weather was beginning to suffocate the mountain, which Whymper hoped would diminish Carrels progress.

The team of five booked into the Monte Rosa Hotel where they found that another team would also be attempting the mountain; Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow and Michel Croz. There was no time for rivalry; they must ally quickly to defeat the Italians. Whymper was reluctant to take young and inexperienced Hadow on the mountain with them but Hudson insisted and Whymper was not in a position to argue.

The next day the party arrived at the mountain’s north-east ridge with ease. They set up camp and the Taugwalders went to see what lay ahead. They came back with the news that no difficulties were in sight. Whymper’s new route was proving a great success. News of Whymper’s latest attempt had reached Carrel who was adamant that the mountain could not be climbed from Zermatt. Whymper’s team pushed on, praying that an Italian flag would not rise before them.

Finally at 2pm on the 16^th July 1865 the summit fell. The Matterhorn recorded its first ascent, under the names of Edward Whymper, Douglas Frances, Michel Croz, Douglas Hadow, Charles Hudson, Old Peter Taugwalder and Young Peter Taugwalder. For a short moment in time, the Matterhorn was beneath Whymper’s feet.

From the summit the Italians were sighted, the victorious team shouted, but the Italians showed no response. Whymper’s team threw handfuls of rocks and stones down the mountain at the Italians, who upon realizing they had been beaten, surrendered and began their retreat. Questions have been raised over the intentions of the team throwing rocks down the mountain, was it out of spite? Whymper maintains it was simply to inform the Italians of their defeat.

The summit team began to descend with Whymper remaining on the summit to leave their names in a bottle. When he caught up with the team he tied onto the rope and saw Taugwalder placing Hadow’s feet in nearly every hold. The mountain was proving too much of a challenge for the young Hadow.

Then tragedy struck.

Hadow made a sudden movement and fell. Croz screamed and Whymper watched as Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas were pulled down the slope by the tight grip of gravity. Whymper and the Taugwalders braced themselves to hold the fall, and as the rope became tight, it snapped. The three men watched their glory slide of the mountain and over the edge, onto the glacier below.

Down in Zermatt a young man ran into the Monte Rosa Hotel shouting that he had witnessed an avalanche on the mountain, but like a boy crying wolf – he was ignored. The remaining members of the team stayed on the mountain another night and returned to Zermatt the next day. As the three men descended down the mountain, a scene of three crucifixes’s crossed the sky, embedded in the fog. Back in London; the maid of Lord Douglas Frances awoke during her sleep believing she had heard him scream her name several times in the night.

A search party led by Whymper was quickly dispatched from Zermatt, heading straight for the Matterhorn’s glacier. A hideous sight awaited them. The bodies of the fallen were scattered over a large area, Whymper found a jaw bone with a cross embedded in the cheek which was Michel Croz. Hudson’s watch was recovered – stopped at 3:45. The body of Lord Frances Douglas was never recovered.

Beuil believed that it was in fact Carrel’s party they had seen on the summit, but when Carrel revealed to Beuil that they had been defeated, Sella received a telegram with the correction; he was distraught. Three days later Carrel finally made the ascent from Beuil and Italy tried to claim some sort of victory. Meanwhile if Whymper’s experience hadn’t already been bad enough, the surviving team were accused of cutting the rope. They were forced to endure months of tribunals and accusations. The local judge concluded that the inexperience of Hadow was to blame for the accident although Whymper begged to differ; it was Hudson who had insisted that Hadow join the expedition.

Still today questions are raised surrounding the incident. Why had Old Peter Taugwalder chosen such a weak rope to tie himself onto the rest of the party when he had the option of much stronger ones? Was it because he predicted the accident? After all Hadow’s inexperience was highly visible. In his own defense, Whymper reported to the press that he too had questioned the use of such a weak rope, but kept his concerns to himself.

The Taugwalders were certainly suspicious characters, after the descent of the mountain they were able to laugh, drink and eat in such an abnormal manner for the circumstances. In 1939 letters written by Whymper discovered he was so suspicious of the men that for the remaining night on the mountain, he slept with his back to the wall, ice axe in hand ready to defend himself.

Most of the questions raised by the incident were never answered and controversy still surrounds the matter, the mountain that Whymper had come to love, he now described as ‘hateful’.

Carrel and Whymper became partners once more after the incident, making numerous first ascents in the Andes, mainly in Ecuador. Whymper went on to give lectures right across the globe and dedicated a lot of his time to science and the effects of altitude on the human body.

Whymper became more resentful after the accident and in 1911 died a lonely death in his room in Chamonix, screaming with pain, but leaving the door locked.    Carrel was caught out by bad weather guiding clients down the Matterhorn and it was not until he had brought them to safety that he collapsed and died, a plaque commemorates his courage on that exact spot.

Whymper’s book, ‘Scrambles Amongst the Alps’, published in 1871 has been translated into several languages and is still in print. It is often regarded as the best mountaineering book of all time. I will leave you with its ever famous ending, which is still quoted by mountaineers many times over today and reflects the risks and the dangers which lead to tragedy throughout the sport and the dedications at the beginning of nearly every mountaineering book. Ladies and gentlemen, the wise words of Edward Whymper:

“… and with this in mind I say, climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime…”