What do you think?
The Ascent of the Matterhorn
By trade a wood engraver, was first sent to the Alps in 1860 as a publisher's illustrator. He had never set foot on a mountain but saw in this assignment the opportunity to prove his ability in exploration. A succession of brilliant climbs, including the ascent of Mont Pelvoux and the conquest of the Pointe des Ecrins, rapidly placed Whymper in the forefront of Alpine mountaineering.
His over-riding ambition was the unconquered, and apparently unassailable, Matterhorn - awesome in its challenge, renowned for its beauty, yet shrouded in superstition. No less than seven attempts were repulsed by the ferocity of the weather and the treacherous terrain before he finally made the summit. He had gained a unique knowledge of the mountain and won a glorious achievement in the face of formidable competition, but victory had been bought at a terrible cost ...
In 'The ascent of the Matterhorn' Edward Whymper published his own, fully illustrated, account of this remarkable story - the culmination of his 'Scrambles in the Alps' and an episode of Alpine mountaineering history which would link the name of Whymper with the Matterhorn forever.
His over-riding ambition was the unconquered, and apparently unassailable, Matterhorn - awesome in its challenge, renowned for its beauty, yet shrouded in superstition. No less than seven attempts were repulsed by the ferocity of the weather and the treacherous terrain before he finally made the summit. He had gained a unique knowledge of the mountain and won a glorious achievement in the face of formidable competition, but victory had been bought at a terrible cost ...
In 'The ascent of the Matterhorn' Edward Whymper published his own, fully illustrated, account of this remarkable story - the culmination of his 'Scrambles in the Alps' and an episode of Alpine mountaineering history which would link the name of Whymper with the Matterhorn forever.
- GenresNonfiction
378 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1880
About the author
Edward Whymper
169 books7 followersBritish mountaineer, explorer, and illustrator best known for making the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 23, 2022
A wood engraver by trade, Edward Whymper was first sent to the Alps in 1860 to produce some illustrations for one of his publishers. This fired his love of the Alps and he scaled many of the peaks and recorded them, with his own wood engraved illustrations, in his book 'Scrambles Among the Alps'. But his big desire was to scale the Matterhorn.
The Matterhorn was one of the last peaks to be conquered in the Alps, and Whymper began his attempts to reach the summit in August 1861, attacking it from the Breil side, but, having reached 12,650 feet he had to abandon the attempt. He tried a further eight times but each time his efforts were thwarted by the ferocity of the weather and the treacherous terrain but he did manage to get nearer the summit on occasions, attaining a height of 13,860 feet in July 1862. He was just 1,132 feet from the summit when, once again, he had to retire from the mountain.
Then along with Lord Francis Douglas, and Messrs Hadow and Hudson, he was determined in July 1865 to reach the summit. And, after many hardships, he did so, becoming the first mountaineer to scale the peak. Alas, tragedy struck on the way down when an avalanche caught the party and his three comrades plus two guides perished. Whymper, who was in the rear with another guide were saved for as he later wrote, 'Immediately we heard Croz's [the guide] exclamation, Old Peter [guide] and I planted ourselves as firmly as the rocks would permit' ... and this did save them. As for his colleagues, 'from the moment the rope broke it was impossible to help them'.
Whymper had one or two other narrow escapes, for instance when he jumped out of an avalanche, but he survived them all and even went back to the Matterhorn in 1874 'for the sake of photography' to photograph the locations of his successful summit nine years earlier.
The first part of the book relates all his adventures as he prepared for the ultimate challenge and even then, when scaling many of the lower peaks he met several hardships and relates some quite harrowing and some quite amusing anecdotes, the latter such as the occasion he and his team were assailed by chamois and the only way he could get rid of him them was feed them drinks of rum after which they quickly hightailed it!
It is an excellent account of Victorian mountaineering when there was no sign anywhere of modern equipment, other than some primitive crampons, or of protective clothing; the mountaineers looked like they were out for a country stroll in some instances!
The Matterhorn was one of the last peaks to be conquered in the Alps, and Whymper began his attempts to reach the summit in August 1861, attacking it from the Breil side, but, having reached 12,650 feet he had to abandon the attempt. He tried a further eight times but each time his efforts were thwarted by the ferocity of the weather and the treacherous terrain but he did manage to get nearer the summit on occasions, attaining a height of 13,860 feet in July 1862. He was just 1,132 feet from the summit when, once again, he had to retire from the mountain.
Then along with Lord Francis Douglas, and Messrs Hadow and Hudson, he was determined in July 1865 to reach the summit. And, after many hardships, he did so, becoming the first mountaineer to scale the peak. Alas, tragedy struck on the way down when an avalanche caught the party and his three comrades plus two guides perished. Whymper, who was in the rear with another guide were saved for as he later wrote, 'Immediately we heard Croz's [the guide] exclamation, Old Peter [guide] and I planted ourselves as firmly as the rocks would permit' ... and this did save them. As for his colleagues, 'from the moment the rope broke it was impossible to help them'.
Whymper had one or two other narrow escapes, for instance when he jumped out of an avalanche, but he survived them all and even went back to the Matterhorn in 1874 'for the sake of photography' to photograph the locations of his successful summit nine years earlier.
The first part of the book relates all his adventures as he prepared for the ultimate challenge and even then, when scaling many of the lower peaks he met several hardships and relates some quite harrowing and some quite amusing anecdotes, the latter such as the occasion he and his team were assailed by chamois and the only way he could get rid of him them was feed them drinks of rum after which they quickly hightailed it!
It is an excellent account of Victorian mountaineering when there was no sign anywhere of modern equipment, other than some primitive crampons, or of protective clothing; the mountaineers looked like they were out for a country stroll in some instances!
May 25, 2025
Desde luego que este libro no es recomendable para todos los públicos: no deja de ser el relato de varias expediciones reales que hizo Edward Whymper hasta conseguir hacer cumbre en el Cervino, escrito a finales del siglo XIX.
Sin embargo, ha sido una lectura que me ha dejado satisfecha. Aunque Whymper da todo lujo de detalles, sobre todo técnicos en ciertos momentos, su historia es dinámica y combina el diario con casi el relato de aventuras. Sus descripciones son en muchos momentos hermosas, consigue transmitirte lo que sentía contemplando esos paisajes. Recuerdo especialmente uno de los momentos críticos, en el que sufrió un accidente por suerte no fatal, que realmente me dejó pensativa y me transmitió su miedo, lo sentí real.
Recientemente pude visitar la zona desde la que iniciaba la mayoría de sus expediciones: Breuil y el valle de Valtournenche. Me fascina ver como se ha conservado intacta la toponimia de todo el lugar, así como la orografía: las descripciones de Whymper las sentí fieles a la realidad, y consiguieron retrotraerme a la sensación de contemplar el Cervino con mis propios ojos. Es muy bonito poder conectar, a través de sus palabras, con alguien que vivió hace más de 100 años y que estuvo en la misma zona que tú.
En definitiva, este libro no es para todo el mundo pero si por alguna razón llegas a él, sea por aficción al alpinismo o haberte enamorado del Cervino (ya sea desde la parte italiana, o del Matterhorn en Suiza), quizá te resulte curioso y entretenido.
Sin embargo, ha sido una lectura que me ha dejado satisfecha. Aunque Whymper da todo lujo de detalles, sobre todo técnicos en ciertos momentos, su historia es dinámica y combina el diario con casi el relato de aventuras. Sus descripciones son en muchos momentos hermosas, consigue transmitirte lo que sentía contemplando esos paisajes. Recuerdo especialmente uno de los momentos críticos, en el que sufrió un accidente por suerte no fatal, que realmente me dejó pensativa y me transmitió su miedo, lo sentí real.
Recientemente pude visitar la zona desde la que iniciaba la mayoría de sus expediciones: Breuil y el valle de Valtournenche. Me fascina ver como se ha conservado intacta la toponimia de todo el lugar, así como la orografía: las descripciones de Whymper las sentí fieles a la realidad, y consiguieron retrotraerme a la sensación de contemplar el Cervino con mis propios ojos. Es muy bonito poder conectar, a través de sus palabras, con alguien que vivió hace más de 100 años y que estuvo en la misma zona que tú.
En definitiva, este libro no es para todo el mundo pero si por alguna razón llegas a él, sea por aficción al alpinismo o haberte enamorado del Cervino (ya sea desde la parte italiana, o del Matterhorn en Suiza), quizá te resulte curioso y entretenido.
January 29, 2026
Un trágico final para años de busqueda en coronar una de las cimas más difíciles de los Alpes. aún libro complicado de leer por la cantidad de detalle y nombres que aparecen en él. Pero muy especial de todos por el protagonista principal de la historia, el Matterhorn.
September 1, 2020
Imprescindible relato de la ascensión que cierra la Edad de Oro del alpinismo, retrato de una época.
Justo antes me leí el de Mummery que me gustó/sorprendió mucho más, pero quizás fuese por tener menores expectativas...
Justo antes me leí el de Mummery que me gustó/sorprendió mucho más, pero quizás fuese por tener menores expectativas...
April 23, 2026
Un relato honesto y sin adornos que transmite la pasión por la montaña y la profesionalidad del propio Whymper. Sirve además para admirar la valía de los alpinistas que en el siglo XIX abrieron camino en cimas inexploradas.
January 31, 2019
Apart from his scintillating prose, it's easy to forget Whymper also (lavishly) illustrated these adventures himself.
November 1, 2022
Uno de mis personajes favoritos de la historia del montañismo, disfruté mucho este libro.
August 11, 2024
Es interesante, pero se debería de tener un conocimiento mínimo de la zona para ser consciente de los esfuerzos que se hacen.
June 25, 2014
Este libro es interesante, en primer lugar, como clásico del alpinismo, producto del siglo XIX. Escrito por uno de los grandes conquistadores de cimas de aquel entonces, Edward Whymper, que nos aporta su saber alpino en consejos muy valiosos, si bien hoy en día más que superados. Whymper era intrépido - y se jacta de ello, con orgullo británico - pero a la vez muy atento a las medidas de seguridad que deben tomarse en las altas montañas; atención que no deja de manifestarse en esta obra, una y otra vez.
La segunda razón de interés, creo yo, viene dada por las circunstancias que rodearon el éxito de la primera ascensión del Cervino; un 'éxito' amargo, empapado por la polémica, pues supuso la gran tragedia de perder a cuatro hombres, despeñados por el abismo. Solo sobrevivieron el propio Whymper y dos guías nativos. La pérdida de un joven Lord (está claro que no todas las vidas valían lo mismo) hizo ruido en Inglaterra y llevó a que incluso la reina Victoria intentara prohibir la práctica del montañismo, medida completamente absurda y desatinada que no llegó a verse realizada. Apenas dedica Whymper un pequeño espacio a escribir sobre esta tragedia. Bastante había tenido que hablar ya de ella. Pero da la sensación de que aprovecha su obra también para justificarse contra los que todavía le acusaban por su obsesión por alcanzar la cumbre del Cervino a toda costa.
La segunda razón de interés, creo yo, viene dada por las circunstancias que rodearon el éxito de la primera ascensión del Cervino; un 'éxito' amargo, empapado por la polémica, pues supuso la gran tragedia de perder a cuatro hombres, despeñados por el abismo. Solo sobrevivieron el propio Whymper y dos guías nativos. La pérdida de un joven Lord (está claro que no todas las vidas valían lo mismo) hizo ruido en Inglaterra y llevó a que incluso la reina Victoria intentara prohibir la práctica del montañismo, medida completamente absurda y desatinada que no llegó a verse realizada. Apenas dedica Whymper un pequeño espacio a escribir sobre esta tragedia. Bastante había tenido que hablar ya de ella. Pero da la sensación de que aprovecha su obra también para justificarse contra los que todavía le acusaban por su obsesión por alcanzar la cumbre del Cervino a toda costa.
January 17, 2016
La crónica de una de las ascensiones (y sus intentos) mas famosas de todos los tiempos, a la ultima cima virgen de mas de 4.000 m en los Alpes, en el siglo XIX, narrada con a veces poético y a veces preciso. Es la segunda vez que la subo, esta vez de manera literaria.
March 14, 2013
i know matterhorn from a japan comic i read and i'm interested about eddy whymper's journey. nice book
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews