The Matterhorn, one of the most inaccessible alpine peaks, has a rather nasty reputation. Several climbers die every year while climbing it. So, from 1981 to 2011, 223 people became victims of the Matterhorn, and 203 of them crashed in the fall. Also, deaths were recorded as a result of rockfalls, frostbite. In total, more than 500 people died while trying to conquer the Matterhorn. And this martyrology opens with the names of four climbers who were the first to conquer the deadly mountain.
The top is impregnable
The Matterhorn is a peak in the Pennine Alps, on the border of Switzerland and Italy. Height - 4478 meters above sea level. The mountain has the shape of an irregular four-sided pyramid with very steep walls, almost vertical towards the top. At the end of the 18th century, the Swiss geologist Horace Benedict de Saussure, exploring the Matterhorn, came to the conclusion that climbing this peak was impossible. Since then, it has long been considered impregnable, instilling awe among climbers.
Sometimes there were daredevils who dared to challenge the Matterhorn, but all attempts ended in failure: someone was stopped by the high technical complexity of the ascent, someone was stopped by the vagaries of the weather. By the middle of the 19th century, the Matterhorn remained the last unconquered Alpine four-thousander.
Match England - Italy
Compatriots-climbers did not like Edward Whimper. This young impudent man with transparent cold eyes fell out of the whole established system of British mountaineering. Professor John Tyndall, the recognized leader of the English summit climbers, and his supporters believed that it was necessary to study mountains, comprehend their nature, admire their beauty, but in no way could they turn them into a place of competitions, disputes, bets. Whimper was a very different person. He sought not to study the mountains, but to conquer them, to be the first at any cost. He made eight unsuccessful attempts to climb the Matterhorn. The mountain seemed to push him away, laughing at him. But Whimper pursued his goal with the manic tenacity of a fanatic.
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On July 13, 1865, at 5:30 a.m., a group of climbers consisting of Edward Whimper, Lord Francis Douglas, Douglas Robert Hadow, Charles Hudson, guides Michel Crowe and two Peter Taugwalders (father and son) left the Swiss mountain resort of Zermatthor to climb the Matterhor along the Hurnley ridge. People were in a hurry, they were urged on by the news that a group of Italian climbers intended to start from the opposite side of the mountain almost simultaneously with them. Who will win this peculiar match between England and Italy? Who will the Matterhorn submit to?
The weather was clear and calm. Whimper's group reached the base of the Hurnley Ridge after six hours. At noon, the climbers set up camp at an altitude of about 3350 meters above sea level. The younger Taugwalder and Kro went on a reconnaissance mission to find the best route for the next day and save time. A few hours later they returned happy, assuring their comrades that the further journey was not particularly difficult.
The next morning, barely dawn, the group continued their ascent. The first part of the path was really not very difficult and, according to Whimper, resembled a large staircase. By 10 o'clock in the morning, the climbers reached 4270 meters. Several times they turned off the ridge onto the north wall, where it was easier to pass. The closer to the top, the more difficult it was to advance.
On 14 July at 1:40 pm, Whimper and Crowe simultaneously set foot on the summit of the Matterhorn. First of all, Edward examined the snow cover. It was pristine, no trace. So, he was the first of the people to conquer the mountain, which was considered inaccessible!
After a while the British saw the Italians far below. Those, in turn, noticed rivals at the top - and decided to turn back, considering further ascent pointless. So, 1: 0 in favor of England!
The first victims
Whimper's group was at the summit for about an hour. Having built a pyramid of stones, the climbers began their descent. Michelle Crowe went first, followed by Hadow, Hudson, Douglas, Taugwalder Sr., Whimper and Taugwalder Jr. But the spirit of the Matterhorn was not at all going to let out of their possessions the impudent two-legged, who dared to disturb his centuries-old peace. A few minutes after the start of the descent, Hadou slipped and fell down, knocking Kro off his feet. They pulled Hudson and Douglas into the abyss. The Whimper and the Taugwalders managed to stay on the slope. Straining all their strength, they tried to save themselves and their comrades, but nevertheless inexorably, centimeter by centimeter, slid to the edge of the abyss. At that moment, the rope connecting Taugwalder Sr. and Douglas broke. The four climbers fell into the abyss.
After some time, the survivors, shocked by the tragedy unfolding before their eyes, continued their descent. Not having time to complete it before dark, they were forced to spend the night on the mountainside and returned to Zermatt only the next day. They did not manage to find the place where their comrades fell.
On July 16, a rescue expedition was organized. The bodies of Cro, Hadow and Hudson were found on the Matterhorn glacier more than 1000 meters vertically down from where they fell. Douglas was not among them, only the buckle from his belt was found. Rescuers believed that Douglas was stuck somewhere in the rocks or fell into a deep crack. The search party buried the bodies of three climbers under the snow on the glacier. Three days later, on July 19, they were carried down and buried in the churchyard in Zermatt.
Francis Douglas's mother, the Marquis of Queensberry, and other high-ranking relatives urged him to continue the search. John Tyndall undertook to organize an expedition and take part in it. He bought 900 meters of rope in Geneva with the aim of hanging it from the summit down the north wall, so that rescuers would descend and view all the rocky areas. However, the abbot of the local church, Father Ruden, who was actually the supreme power in that area, forbade local guides to participate in this event. According to the official version - "to avoid new victims." But is that the only reason? Or is there more behind this?
Who's guilty?
This alpine tragedy has haunted researchers for a century and a half. Why did the rope break? Is it an accident, criminal negligence or … willful murder? In his memoir "Climbing the Alps in 1860-69," Edward Whimper blamed the Taugwalders as the culprit, arguing that they hadn't picked up the ropes carefully enough. The rope, which Peter Hadow, the least experienced member of the expedition, pulled through the bindings of the first four climbers, turned out to be too short, because of which he fell, dragging his comrades with him. It is impossible to establish whether this is so, since that rope was not found. It may have wrapped around Douglas's body.
In addition, Whimper writes that the Taugwalders acted like cowards in this situation. Immediately after the fall of the unfortunate conductors froze with fear, “cried like children and trembled all over, as if trying to scare us with the terrible fate of our fellow travelers … several times old Peter looked back at me and with an ashen-white face and shaking all over his body significantly pronounced:“I can not.
What caused this behavior of the guides: shock from what happened, fear that it was they who would be blamed for the death of people?
Gossip spread around Zermatt that Taugwalder Sr. had purposely cut the rope in order to deal with his rival, Cro's guide. It must be admitted that such a version, for all its cynicism, could still have a right to exist. In the middle of the 19th century, the Alps experienced a tourist boom. Mountaineering became a fashion in which the British set the tone. In impoverished Switzerland at that time, which had just experienced a serious military conflict between Catholics and Protestants, people were happy with any kind of earnings, were always ready to serve a rich tourist. There was fierce competition between the mountain guides, they went to all sorts of tricks to lure customers.
But people who knew the Taugwalders well, categorically claim that these are decent people, incapable of deliberate murder. It is possible, nevertheless, that Taugwalder Sr. could cut the rope, saving himself and his son. However, Edwin Hammond, a member of the Alpine Club and a 77-year-old historian specializing in the Alps, believes that this version can only exist with great stretch. If Taugwalder is guilty, it is only that he paid insufficient attention to checking the equipment.
The Swiss writer Hannes Taugwalder (a descendant of a family of guides) believes that Whimper himself is to blame for the death of people: his exorbitant ambitions, fussiness, haste in preparing the expedition, and his desire to overtake the Italians at all costs.
The secret of this alpine tragedy has not yet been revealed and, perhaps, will remain unsolved. And the Matterhorn longs for new victims.
Nikolay SOSNIN