The Ascent of the Matterhorn

´A glorious account.´ BILL BRYSON Armed with a pick-axe, clad in tweeds and hobnailed leather shoes, Edward Whymper was the first to climb the Matterhorn in 1865. It created a scandal, as four of his party fell to their deaths. These vivid memoirs propelled the birth of mountaineering, capturing the triumph and tragedy that would hover over the new sport. Causing over 500 deaths since, the Matterhorn remains treacherous for climbers.