First Ascent of Matterhorn

Date: July 14, 1865 • Location: Rome, Italy

A seven-man mountaineering team made the first ascent of the Matterhorn, marking the end of the golden age of alpinism.

The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition of the Matterhorn 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 to ensure that they were not dragged down with the others, but the subsequent inquiry found no evidence of this and they were acquitted.