Edward Whymper

“ Great care is of course necessary, but the scramble is by no means of so arduous a nature as entirely to absorb the attention; so that a fine climb, and rock scenery, of grandeur perhaps unparalleled in the Alps, can both be appreciated.
"It was near the end of this arête, close to the place where it abuts against the final peak, that Professor Tyndall's party turned in 1862, [16] arrested by a cleft in the ridge. From the point where they stopped the main tower of the Matterhorn rises in front of the climber, abrupt, magnificent, and apparently inaccessible. ”

“ This furrow was about twelve feet long, and as the snow was good on the other side, we had all come to the false conclusion that the snow was accidentally softer there than elsewhere. Bennen advanced; he had made but a few steps when we heard a deep, cutting sound. The snow-field split in two about fourteen or fifteen feet above us. The cleft was at first quite narrow, not more than an inch broad. ”

“ I marked out a place for excavation, immediately at the summit of the pass, [26] 24 feet long by 5 wide, and the men soon threw out enough snow to protect themselves from the wind. Two walls of the pit were dressed tolerably smooth, a third was left rough, and the fourth was occupied by an inclined plane that led from the surface to the workers. Two men were always at work; one hewing with the pick, and the other throwing out with the shovel. The others rested, and relieved the workers about every fifteen minutes. ”

“ My wrath, however, was somewhat appeased when I went down into the pit. They had struck a layer of ice of much greater thickness than any which had been previously met with. It extended all round the floor of the pit to a depth of 61⁄4 inches. The men went to work again, and soon reached another stratum of ice of formidable thickness; or, rather, three layers which were barely separated from each other. After this, the snow seemed to be no denser than it was above the great layer. ”

“ I know the greater part of the ground over which they passed, and from my knowledge, and from the account of Mr. Grove, I am sure that their route was not only more difficult, but that it was much more difficult than ours.
This was not the opinion in the Val Tournanche at the end of 1865, and the natives confidently reckoned that tourists would flock to their side in preference to the other. It was, I believe, the Canon Carrel of Aosta (who always takes great interest in such matters) who first proposed the construction of a cabane upon the southern side of the Matterhorn. ”

“ The finer strata, on the other hand, frequently died out in short distances, and seldom or never could be traced completely round the walls. The finer strata also were much more numerous towards the surface than towards the bottom of the pit, and they were readily obscured by the drifting snow. It was obvious, yet important to observe, that the strata or layers of pure ice became fewer in number as one descended, and that they constantly, although not regularly, became thicker. ”

“ During the ascent we sank about one foot deep at every step. Bennen did not seem to like the look of the snow very much. He asked the local guides whether avalanches ever came down this couloir, to which they answered that our position was perfectly safe. We had mounted on the northern side of the couloir, and having arrived at 150 feet from the top, we began crossing it on a horizontal curve, so as to gain the E. arête. The inflexion or dip of the couloir was slight, not above 25 feet, the inclination near 35°. ”

“ The four Italians who started from Breil on the 16th of July were absent during 561⁄2 hours, and as far as I can gather from the published account, and from conversation with the men, excluding halts, they took for the ascent and descent 233⁄4 hours. The hotel at Breil is 6890 feet above the sea, so they had to ascend 7890 feet. As far as the end of the 'shoulder' the way was known to Carrel, and he had to find the way over only about 800 feet. All four men were born mountaineers, good climbers, and they were led by the most expert cragsman I have seen. ”

“ R. B. Heathcote, of Chingford, Essex, whilst attempting to ascend the Matterhorn by the southern route, was unfortunately used as a lightning-conductor, when he was within 500 feet of the summit of the mountain. It may be observed that the Matterhorn (like all isolated Alpine rock summits) is frequently struck by lightning. Signor Giordano has pointed out elsewhere that he found numerous traces of electric discharges upon the top of the mountain.] [5]
"On July 30, 1869, in company with Peter Perrn, Peter Taugwalder junior, and Jos. Maquignaz, I commenced the ascent. ”

“ Le pic actuel n'est que le reste d'une puissante formation géologique ancienne, triasique peut-être, dont les couches puissantes de plus de 3500 mètres enveloppaient tout autour comme un immense manteau le grand massif granitoïde et feldspathique du Mont Rose. ”

“ A discussion took place, and the result was they all commenced to descend, and whilst upon the 'cravate' (13,524) they heard our cries from the summit. [8] Upon the 15th they went down to Breil and reported their ill-success to M. Giordano (see p. 392) . That gentleman was naturally much disappointed, and pressed the men to set out again. [9] Said he, "Until now I have striven for the honour of making the first ascent,—fate has decided against me,—I am beaten. Patience! Now, if I make further sacrifices it will be on your account, for your honour, and for your interests. ”

“ This is no doubt correct—the Botzen pinnacles are mostly capped by boulders of considerable dimensions. In the present instance this does not appear to have been exactly the case. Running water has cut the moraine into ridges (shown upon the right hand of the engraving) , and has evidently assisted in the work of denudation. The group of pinnacles here figured, belonged, in all probability, to a ridge which had been formed in this way, whose crest, in course of time, became sharp, perhaps attenuated. ”

“ This tremendous pressure lasted but a short time; I was covered up by snow coming from behind me. My first impulse was to try and uncover my head—but this I could not do, the avalanche had frozen by pressure the moment it stopped, and I was frozen in. Whilst trying vainly to move my arms, I suddenly became aware that the hands as far as the wrist had the faculty of motion. The conclusion was easy, they must be above the snow. I set to work as well as I could ”

“ Les glaciers qui entourent son pied de tous les cotes en emportant d'une manière continue les débris tombant de ses flancs, contribuent pour leur part à maintenir cet isolement de la merveilleuse pyramide qui sans eux serait peut-être deja ensevelie sous ses propres ruines. ”

“ Seiler placed the execution of the work under the direction of the Knubels, of the village of St. Nicholas, in the Zermatt valley; and Peter Knubel, along with Joseph Marie Lochmatter of the same village, had the honour of making the second ascent of the mountain upon the northern side with Mr. Elliott. ”

“ They left Breil at 5 a.m. on Sept. 12, and at 3 p.m. arrived at the hut, where they passed the night. At 7 a.m. the next day they started again (leaving J.-B. Carrel behind) , and proceeded along the 'shoulder' to the final peak; passed the cleft which had stopped Bennen, and clambered up the comparatively easy rocks on the other side until they arrived at the base of the last precipice, down which we had hurled stones on July 14, 1865. They (young woman and all) were then about 350 feet from the summit! Then, instead of turning to the left, as Carrel and Mr. ”

“ A few of the terms originated with the author, but they are chiefly due to the inventive genius of J.-A. Carrel. ↑ This point is marked by the red letter e upon the lower of the two outlines facing p. 83. ↑ I have seen icicles more than a hundred feet long hanging from the rocks near the summit of the Matterhom. ↑ The words of the Abbé. I imagine that he meant comparatively easy. ↑ The pace of a party is ruled by that of its least efficient member. ↑ See pp. 126-9, and pp. 133-4. ↑ A ridge descending towards the Z'Muttgletscher. ”

“ SCALE ONE INCH TO A FOOT.
↑ According to a letter in the Standard, Jan. 6, 1871, there was a mistake in the determination of the length of the tunnel to the extent of sixteen mètres. ↑ The temperature of the interior may, possibly, be reduced by artificial ventilation. ↑ See p. 86. ↑ See p. 175. ↑ Malte-Brun's Annales des Voyages, April 1869. ↑ A place on the final peak, about half-way between the 'Shoulder' and the summit. ↑ We resume here the account of the proceedings of the Italians who started from Breil on the 11th of July 1865. See p. 380. ”