Day 38, July 4 - Zermatt
Today was a day of exploring Zermatt. We started at the Matterhorn Museum – Zermatlantis where we learned about Zermatt’s development from a village of mountain farmers to a world-famous alpine resort. It featured original houses and interiors, and recreations of the world of the inhabitants and of former alpine explorers.
The multimedia room showed excerpts from the film “Der Berg ruft” (“The mountain calls”) by Luis Trenker. It was filmed in Zermatt in 1937/1938 and included scenes of the deadly fall following the first ascent. The first ascent of this 14,692-feet mountain was on July 14, 1860 (nearly 166 years to the day we were there). It was done by Edward Whymper from England and six others including Lord Francis Douglas, a young English climber and Peter Taugwalder and his son. The group successfully reached the summit but tragedy occurred on the descent. As they were going back down the mountain all roped together, one of the group members slipped, fell into another climber and both went over the edge of the mountain. The weight of their bodies dragged two others with them. Whymper and the two Taugwalders, hearing the shout of one of the climbers, planted their feet firmly in the snow, but instead of suspending the fall of their companions, the tension caused the rope to snap, sending the first four climbers thousands of feet downward to their deaths, and leaving Whymper and the Taugwalders alone, turning a triumphal victory into a terrible tragedy. The museum displays the frayed and broken rope used in the first ascent.
The museum also includes information about other record-breaking achievements of mountaineers, and a relief of the Matterhorn shows the different routes to the summit.
Of course, I was more interested in whether any women were among those who ascended the mountain and, indeed, there were mountaineer women! Lucy Walker, a British woman, reached the summit on July 21, 1871, only six years after her compatriot Edward Whymper had become the first man to stand on the top of the mountain. She had a rival: the American Meta Brevoort (1825-1876), who had set herself the same goal. But Meta arrived in Zermatt after Walker’s success on ascending the mountain. Lucy later became president of the “Ladies’ Club Alpine.” She made the climb with her father and four other men, one of whom was the first Zermatt mountain guide who dared to reclimb the Matterhorn after the tragedy of the first climb.
AND, Lucy Walker did the ascent in the long flannel shirt befitting a Victorian lady. Unbelievable. Speaking of dresses, 18-year-old Felicite Carrel attempted an ascent from Italy with a group of mountain guides on Sept 12, 1867. However, she had to turn back at 328 feet from peak because, it is said, her skirt prevented her from climbing further because of the strong wind.
Another interesting fact: in 1985, the Theodul Glacier released the remains of an armed man. He was 5’5” tall, of delicate statures, had brown hair, was between 35 and 45 years old and probably on a journey by horse or mule. It was determined from his shoes and the material of his clothes that he was from the upper levels of society. Perhaps he was a soldier or an officer in the service of a prince.
We then strolled through a narrow alley that is in the old part of the village of Zermatt, known as the “Hinterdorf” (rear village). There are about 30 buildings built in the traditional style of the Valais mountain farmers. The granaries were used to store hay and food such as dried meat. The houses are up to 500 years old and date from the 16th to 18th centuries. They stand on stone stilts to keep mice away and are made of larch wood (the area around Zermatt is full of larches). Rich in resin, the timber is particularly resistant to pests. The houses are roofed with heavy slabs of rock, which compress the timber supporting it and make the construction more robust still. Sunshine and weather darken the wood, and over the course of many years it turns black. As a result, the building becomes much more effective at absorbing and storing heat.
Zermatt is 5,282 above sea level and is surrounded by 22 majestic 13,000-feet peaks. You can see the Mattervispa River from almost everywhere because it flows right through the heart of Zermatt (the locals call it the “Vispa”). It is the result of the union of four large glacial rivers: the Zmutt Glacier, Gorner Glacier, Trift Glacier, Findel Glacier. Zermatt has approximately 5,800 inhabitants and is one of the largest municipalities in Switzerland. It borders Italy, a border that is only passable on foot or on skis due to the glacier. It was the site for the Ski World Cup in November 2022. Believe it or not, but the Matterhorn isn’t the highest mountain in Switzerland; it’s the Dufourspitze at 15,203 feet above sea level. You can see it from Zermatt.
Back to the Matterhorn: It is changing - researchers at ETH Zurich are monitoring it and noting that the rocks are becoming more and more brittle. In the summer of 2022, mountain guides were temporarily advised against climbing the mountain because of the uncertain situation. Research on the Matterhorn also shows how meltwater thaws permafrost and leads to rock slope instability – a consequence of climate change. A rock pillar collapsed in 2023 after years of water ingress, for example.
The Swiss Alps are one of the few places in Europe where the effects of global warming are so visible. Glaciers such as the Fee and Gorner have already visibly receded. In fact, since 1850, Switzerland has lost around half of its glacier area. Matthias Huss, head of the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Program, says that if global warming reaches 1.5°C, only 300 glaciers will remain by 2100, down from 1,400 today.
These dramatic changes to the landscape also have ecological consequences: Glaciers store a large proportion of fresh water, and their retreat contributes to water shortages and rising sea levels.
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