Biner_Leseprobe

The mountain guides consistently and actively interested in the Matterhorn
were Peter Taugwalder Senior and Peter Perren. They had under their belt
several technically challenging ascents comparable to the Matterhorn’s level
of difficulty. Also, in 1862, they adventurously attempted to climb the Matterhorn
during winter season, together with Thomas Stuart Kennedy. They
assumed that the snow in the east face would provide better stability for
climbing. However, on their way up to the Schwarzsee, the group was surprised
by an avalanche; they barely made it out alive. They then reached
the Chapel at the Schwarzsee, where the pastor allowed them to stay for the
night. They set out for their journey at 6 am, facing bitter cold and stormy
wind. They made their way through the knee-deep snow, over the Hörnli
and up the ridge leading to today’s Hörnli Hut. Then, they continued on, but
they realised that the dispersed powder snow was anything but helpful in
their attempt to climb the mountain. The cold and the wind were so harsh
that they had to abandon their plan. They built a large stone man, 1.8m
tall, and left their names behind on a piece of paper sealed in a bottle. It
remains unclear as to which height they had reached. However, in the first
ascent several years later, the stone man was still visible and his location is
estimated to be at 3,460m; it is more or less the section today called ‘auf
dem Grat’ (‘on the ridge’).
Mountain guide Peter
Perren. Today, a faceless
man – back then, one of
the best mountain guides
in Zermatt.
26 The conquest of the Zermatt Mountains