Page 63 - BBC Knowledge - October 2017 IN

“Climbing mountains, it was argued,

trained Englishmen to follow
the call of duty, and contributed ACCIDENTS

to military prowess, and AT

scientific knowledge” ALTITUDE
The history of climbing
is littered with the bodies
after the Matterhorn accident. of unfortunate mountaineers
“Some experience of distinct peril,
and the acquirements of quick and their guides
and calm action in its presence, are
necessary elements at some period of life, THE ‘HAMEL
in the formation of manly character.”
Whymper made similar points in CATASTROPHE’
Scrambles Amongst the Alps (1871), Mont Blanc, 1820
a lavishly illustrated account of his climbs The insistence of Dr Joseph Hamel,
during the 1860s that remains a touchstone a Russian naturalist, on climbing Mont Blanc
of mountaineering literature. He closed after a heavy snowfall – against his guides’
his account of that fateful climb by advice – proved disastrous. On August 20,
tallying the benefits of mountaineering an avalanche killed three of his Chamonix
beyond enjoying physical fitness and guides, a tragedy sometimes cited as the first
notorious Alpine mountaineering accident.
the beautiful scenery: “We value more The deaths led in 1821 to the creation of
highly the development of manliness, the Company of Guides of Chamonix to
and the evolution, under combat with regulate pay, provide compensation for
difficulties, of those noble qualities of families, and ensure guides have authority to
make decisions during ascents. The victims
human nature – courage, patience, became entombed in the slow-moving
endurance, and fortitude.” Bossons Glacier; their remains only emerged
In 1867, Whymper set out to explore from the ice during the 1860s.
the interior of Greenland, but later plans
to climb in the Himalayas were stymied THE MALLORY MYSTERY
by political conditions. Instead, he travelled Mount Everest, 1924
to Ecuador with Jean-Antoine Carrel,
his erstwhile Matterhorn partner and rival. English mountaineers George Mallory and
During 1879 and 1880, they collected Andrew Irvine were last seen alive on June 8,
scientific specimens, researched altitude 1924, sighted through a break in the clouds as
they ascended towards the summit of Everest.
sickness, and climbed Chimborazo Their disappearance so close to the top
(6,268 metres), among other peaks. formed the dramatic climax to the expedition
“The real effect of the accident itself,” film The Epic of Everest, and sparked years
the Saturday Review wrote in 1865, of speculation: had they completed the
first ascent before their deaths?
“has been to stimulate enterprise and In 1999, Mallory’s frozen body was discovered,
to crowd Zermatt to overflowing.” presumably at the spot where he fell and died.
Crowds have only grown over the 150 There was no sign of Irvine, and no proof
years since then: Zermatt has become that they had reached the summit before
one of the most popular Alpine resorts. the fatal accident.
A new and enlarged base-camp lodge,
the Hörnlihütte, has been set up near AVALANCHE ON EVEREST
the spot where Whymper and his party Mount Everest, 2014
slept before that first ascent in 1865.
On April 18, 2014, a large block of ice
On July 14, the peak remains closed to all collapsed onto the Khumbu Icefall, the most
climbers in remembrance, and to honour hazardous section of the most popular route
the people – more than 500 of them – up Everest, killing 16 Nepali expedition
who have died on the Matterhorn workers, most of them ethnic Sherpas. Thirteen
since that tragic day in 1865. bodies were recovered, but three remain
trapped in the ice. The high death toll led
to protests by local workers at Everest Base
PETER H HANSEN is professor of history The men who fell 1,200 metres to their deaths during the Camp, demanding better regulation,
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Matterhorn descent (From top): Michel Croz, Douglas compensation for families and the cancellation
Massachusetts, the United States of America. Hadow, Francis Douglas and Charles Hudson of further climbs that year as a mark of respect
for the victims.