The story of Matterhorn

Long after most of the great Alpine peaks had been climbed, the Matterhorn was still unconquered, and it became the prize in an international race for the summit. On 14 July 1865 a party led by Edward Whymper finally reached the top from Zermatt. But on the way down a sudden fall took the lives of four of the seven climbers, a disaster that marked the end of the golden age of alpinism.

The mountain rises to 4,478 metres on the border between Switzerland and Italy, a near-symmetrical pyramid with four steep faces, each facing roughly one of the cardinal points. Its north face was not climbed until 1931. The name comes from the German words Matte, meadow, and Horn. In French it is Cervin; the scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure is said to have changed its first letter from s to c, thinking the word was related to deer.

It is estimated that over 500 climbers have died on this mountain.