First Ascent of the Matterhorn

In July 1865, a party led by the English illustrator and engraver Edward Whymper became the first to reach the summit of the Matterhorn, the sharp pyramid of rock on the border between Switzerland and Italy. The triumph ended in disaster when four of the seven climbers fell to their deaths during the descent. The accident shocked Victorian Britain and Europe, sparked fierce debate about the ethics of mountaineering, and fixed the Matterhorn in the popular imagination as the most dangerous and dramatic of the Alps.

By the early 1860s, most of the major Alpine peaks had been climbed, and the Matterhorn, at about 4,478 meters, stood out as a stubborn exception. Its steep, isolated form made it look unclimbable, and local guides were reluctant to attempt it. Whymper, who first came to the Alps to make sketches, made several unsuccessful attempts, mostly from the Italian side near Breuil. Meanwhile, a rival effort was under way from Italy, led by the guide Jean-Antoine Carrel, who had earlier worked with Whymper. The contest took on a competitive, partly national character.

Whymper switched to the Swiss side, starting from Zermatt, where the northeast ridge proved less forbidding than it appeared. His party included the guide Michel Croz, the veteran guide Peter Taugwalder and his son, the clergyman Charles Hudson, the young Douglas Hamilton Hadow, and Lord Francis Douglas. They set out in mid-July and reached the summit, apparently just ahead of Carrel's Italian party, who were still climbing on the other side. Whymper's group spent only a short time at the top before beginning the descent.

During the descent, on a difficult section, one or more of the less experienced climbers slipped. Accounts agree that Croz, Hadow, Hudson and Douglas fell down the north face when the rope linking them to the others broke. Whymper and the two Taugwalders were left on the ledge, watching helplessly. The rope's failure became controversial. Some suspected it had been cut, though an inquiry found no evidence of that, and the Taugwalders were not charged. Douglas's body was never found, and the others were recovered from the glacier below.

The tragedy prompted newspaper outrage, and there were even calls in Britain to restrict or ban climbing. Instead, mountaineering continued to grow, and Zermatt developed into a major mountain resort. Whymper recounted the events in his book Scrambles Amongst the Alps, which helped shape the romantic image of the sport. Many historians regard the Matterhorn climb as marking the end of the so-called golden age of alpinism, as the focus shifted from first ascents of major peaks toward harder routes and new challenges.