Edward Whymper FRSE was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. Whymper also made important first ascents on the Mont Blanc massif and in the Pennine Alps, Chimborazo in South America, and the Canadian Rockies. His exploration of Greenland contributed an important advance to Arctic exploration. Whymper wrote several books on mountaineering, including Scrambles Amongst the Alps.
Edward Whymper, engraving, 1881
Painting by Lance Calkin
Title page of the 6th edition (1936) of Scrambles amongst the Alps
Commemorative plaque in Zermatt
First ascent of the Matterhorn
The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides, Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, on 14 July 1865. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz were killed on the descent when Hadow slipped and pulled the other three with him down the north face. Whymper and the Taugwalder guides, who survived, were later accused of having cut the rope below to ensure that they were not dragged down with the others, but the subsequent inquiry found no evidence of this and they were acquitted.
Plaque in Zermatt, commemorating the first ascent by Edward Whymper: On 14 July 1865, he set forth from this hotel with his companions and guides, and completed the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn.
The south face. The first attempts took place on the Lion ridge (left)
The east face and Hörnli ridge on the right
The Matterhorn from Zermatt