Biner_Leseprobe

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Nevertheless, Edward Whymper’s mountaineering skills and achievements were excellent. The trail of his first ascents leads from Dauphiné to Chamonix to Zermatt. He was beyond the shadow of a doubt one of the driving forces on the Matterhorn. His merits notwithstanding, all these achievements would not have been possible without the help of the mountain guides. Whymper undertook first ascents in the Ecuadorean Andes with Jean Antoine Carrel as his guide. He had a great interest for the scientific aspects of alpine regions, as can be seen by his numerous analyses of natural phenomena such as glacial movements, of rock layers on the Matterhorn, the effects of a glacial stream, the formation of moraines, etc. Whymper wrote three different versions of his account of the first ascent. The first version was put down on paper by Whymper just a few days after the tragedy and was addressed to Edmund von Fellenberg. It was meant to be published in the Journal de Genève, but that did not happen. An almost identical article appeared in The Times on August 8 of 1865. The second version is part of Whymper’s book Scrambles amongst the Alps, published in 1871. The third version was released in August of 1895 in the Journal de Zermatt. Also, Whymper had added an entry to the visitors’ book at the Hotel Monte Rosa a few days after the accident. This record was later ripped out of the visitors’ book, an outrageous act. When Whymper returned to Zermatt in 1869, he was furious to find the entry missing and added a new one, stating that he had written down an account of the devastating tragedy; an account that had apparently disappeared. As opposed to Whymper’s reports, the statements made by Peter Taugwalder Senior and Junior were barely acknowledged. Taugwalder Senior was interrogated by a judge after the accident, and the transcript of said interrogation remained sealed for 55 years. No one ever found out why. In 1905, Peter Taugwalder Junior described the events leading to the incident to Theophil Lehner, who recorded it on paper – a document that got lost. In 1918, Peter Taugwalder Junior was interrogated once more on behalf of Mr Montagnier. A copy of this account has been preserved in the report of Danger & Blakeney in the Alpine Journal of May of 1957. The original document is filed in the archive of the Alpine Club. 22 The conquest of the Zermatt Mountains
Lyskamm – one of the most dangerous mountains due to its cornices. Peter Perren, among others, was part of the party achieving the first ascent in 1861. The conquest of the Zermatt Mountains 23
Page 1: The Matterhorn and its mountain gui
Page 4 and 5: © 2015, Hermann Biner, Zermatt Pub
Page 7 and 8: Preface The Matterhorn - mystical,
Page 9 and 10: Monte Rosa and Lyskamm with Gorner
Page 11 and 12: On August 13 of 1792, natural scien
Page 13 and 14: Zermatt and the Matterhorn around 1
Page 15 and 16: ·· Johann Zumtaugwald (first asce
Page 17 and 18: Weisshorn from the north. Today sti
Page 19 and 20: First ascents between 1850 and 1865
Page 21: Background on the first ascent of t
Page 25 and 26: Between 1850 and 1865, Zermatt moun
Page 27 and 28: Lord Francis Douglas was guided up
Page 29 and 30: Aiguille Verte. Together with the M
Page 31 and 32: The Matterhorn from the Zermatt sid
Page 33 and 34: After the second ascent of the Aigu
Page 35 and 36: Peter Taugwalder described Whymper
Page 37 and 38: The fall at the Matterhorn. This is
Page 39 and 40: The fall site on the Matterhorn. Fa
Page 41 and 42: The Matterhorn Museum in Zermatt ha
Page 43 and 44: The faulty rope at the Matterhorn M
Page 45 and 46: Interrogating Peter Taugwalder Seni
Page 47 and 48: 30. Please, tell us more about the
Page 49 and 50: 58. Was your son recruited as a gui
Page 51 and 52: The account of Peter Taugwalder Jun
Page 53 and 54: Obergabelhorn south face. Only in 1
Page 55 and 56: The summit of the Matterhorn. Stand
Page 57: of the things we were saying? He di

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