Triumph And Disaster On The Matterhorn
Mar. 30th, 2026 08:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphilo I don't climb mountains, I'm not interested in mountaineering but...
In my teens I came across a magazine account of the first ascent of the Matterhorn and it hooked me in- mainly I think because it reproduced this extraordinary image by 19th century superstar illustrator Gustave Dore.
A night or two back the Matterhorn inserted itself into my dreams and ever since I've wanted to share Dore's picture. So, here it is- pretty much for its own sake and apropos nothing really but my admiration and fascination for it.
What happened is this. A party led by Edward Whymper achieved the summit of the Matterhorn in July 1865. On the way back down the least experienced member of the party slipped and took three of his companions with him. The rope broke (some mean people suggested it was cut) and Whymper and the two Swiss guides, father and son, both called Peter Taugwalder, survived. Whymper later wrote that he never shut his eyes to go to sleep without seeing his companions- evenly spaced- one two three, four- sliding down on their backs.
In my teens I came across a magazine account of the first ascent of the Matterhorn and it hooked me in- mainly I think because it reproduced this extraordinary image by 19th century superstar illustrator Gustave Dore.
A night or two back the Matterhorn inserted itself into my dreams and ever since I've wanted to share Dore's picture. So, here it is- pretty much for its own sake and apropos nothing really but my admiration and fascination for it.
What happened is this. A party led by Edward Whymper achieved the summit of the Matterhorn in July 1865. On the way back down the least experienced member of the party slipped and took three of his companions with him. The rope broke (some mean people suggested it was cut) and Whymper and the two Swiss guides, father and son, both called Peter Taugwalder, survived. Whymper later wrote that he never shut his eyes to go to sleep without seeing his companions- evenly spaced- one two three, four- sliding down on their backs.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-30 07:42 am (UTC)I know much less about ascents of the Matterhorn than I do about Everest and I cannot remember ever seeing this illustration before, so I appreciate it.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-30 08:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-30 09:05 am (UTC)If it wasn't painted by Caspar David Friedrich, it looks like it should have been.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-30 03:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-30 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-30 07:25 pm (UTC)