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All night, I dreamt about standing on top of the Matterhorn, sending a yodel down into the valley, loud enough to be heard in all of Zermatt. And then, suddenly, I was all alone on the summit. I was not able to see the others, and the terror of that woke me up. It was about 2 o’clock and the others had started to wake up, as well. We made some tea after which we started our attack of the enormous peak before us. Of course, we roped up immediately; Croz led the party, followed by Hudson, Whymper and Hadow, then my father, Lord Douglas and I. At about three o’clock, the day began to dawn and the sky in the east was shimmering like pure gold. There was not a single cloud in sight; the only audible sounds were the steps of seven passionate mountaineers and the clattering of the ice picks on the rock. We followed the same route Croz and I had reconnoitred the night before. Everything went smoothly until we reached the bit above the place where the Old Refuge is located today. From that point onward, the level of difficulty started increasing, but we were all of good cheer and able to quickly gain height. About 150 feet above where today’s Solvay Refuge is located, we rested and had a little something to eat in order to restore our strength. Then, we attacked the shoulder, into which Croz carved steps. Douglas, who was in front of me, had great difficulty placing his feet on the steps, and several times he slipped. But for most of the time, I pressed his feet firmly into the steps. Finally, we reached the shoulder. We left our knapsacks and provisions at the very top; nowadays, that is where the fixed ropes begin. We deliberated on the route we should take to overcome the most challenging part of the climb. We knew that it would get easier once we were above the roof. Croz was the one who took the decision to cross over to the west face, the so-called ‘in d’Lätzi’ (‘shady slope’). It was entirely free of snow, and there were small, naturally formed steps about one or two inches wide; we used them to climb our way up. Below us was a 6,000-feet vertical drop, as steep as it gets. Not a word was uttered while we were cautiously and tensely climbing up. We were all very well aware of the seriousness of the situation. Just one wrong movement or one wrong step and our bodies could have ended up down on the glacier, dashed to pieces. I was young and agile and I climbed the mountain like a cat climbs a tree. I was always able to observe the others and to secure Lord Douglas’ feet for him. He was not the best mountaineer. Slowly but surely, we safely made our way up; finally, we reached the bit above the roof. At around 2 o’clock, we reached the summit. 54 The conquest of the Zermatt Mountains
The summit of the Matterhorn. Standing on top of it is an enormous rush. The conquest of the Zermatt Mountains 55
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 and 22: Background on the first ascent of t
Page 23 and 24: Lyskamm - one of the most dangerous
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: Obergabelhorn south face. Only in 1
Page 57: of the things we were saying? He di
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