THE MATTERHORN STORY

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It was considered unconquerable. There were tales of evil spirits and mountain demons. Nevertheless, some brave souls tried to climb it. All were doomed to fail. On 14 July 1865, the spell was broken. British mountaineer Edward Whymper conquered the Matterhorn. The first ascent was accomplished. But as so often, success and misfortune went hand in hand: during the descent from the peak, a rope parted and four members of Whymper’s seven-man rope party fell to their deaths.

Subsequently, the story of the mishap spread rapidly around the world, and the legend and fame of the village of Zermatt were born. It was from there that the seven young men had started out on their quest, among them Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, who were from Zermatt.

For Whymper, it was already the sixth attempt to climb the peak. Prior to the successful ascent, almost all the attempts had started from the Italian side via Valtournenche and the Lion ridge. No one thought it possible to climb the peak from any other side. No one except the ambitious Englishman, who set his sights on the north-east ridge. He intended to start out on his perilous adventure from Zermatt, rather than Breuil. And that is just what he did