Matterhorn. Touching the Legend

Climbing Matterhorn. Touching the Legend

Climbing Matterhorn - the story how impossible comes to reality and the sky falls to your feet. Alex Trubachev narrates about one of his best climbs ever done!!

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Our Matterhorn climbing program here!

Time for the the mountains and people flows in different ways, human century - it is only seconds to the undisturbed stone giants. People come and go, generation replaces generation, the history of mankind as the wind washes the cold granite, leaving no trace on it ... Only in the brief moment it is impossible to retain the stone hands warm, mountain echo momentarily extend the sound of the live voice. And everything calms down again. The mountains were to man, and will be after him, unchanging in its cold majesty, impregnable guard of eternity ...

The middle of the 19th century. Europe is taking a step into the future - inventing the airplane, the telegraph, dynamite. Russia abolishes serfdom America beats in hysterics civil strife ... The reforms are changing the way of life of millions of people. Over the thunder of the great achievements of the world is lost at first glance inconspicuous, modest achievement - a few brave people together to solve complex problems for the time and work together to achieve success. At the top of the most difficult and inaccessible Alpine mountains set foot man ... Once in 1786, a handful of adventurers, climbing Mont Blanc, proved to the world that the snowy mountain peaks for climbing are available, it took almost a century. Mountaineering has found its adherents, it has become a fashionable sport. In civilized Alps remained only one unresolved issue - the Matterhorn.

To this day, this giant rock teeth, grinning greedily into the sky, does not leave indifferent those who by fate has been given the opportunity to witness this grand spectacle ... July 14, 1865 on the route now known as Hornli Ridge start climbing team of seven people led by the famous climber and traveler, the Englishman Edward Whymper. According to another route, from Italy, at the same time he raised one more team, led by Italian Jean-Antoine Carrel. The reason for the simultaneous ascent became prisoners on the eve of a bet on who will rise to the top of the first. Route from Switzerland, through which went Whymper was suddenly much easier route selected Carrel. The Englishman won the bet, he ascended to the summit three days before his rival. But it's hard to call this gain victory ... Of the seven members of the climb, descend only managed three. Four climbers died during the descent. According to the official version offered by Whymper, a rope, which were all linked, it broke at failure of one participant, entailing a total drop. But at the bottom, not all believe such an explanation. It was claimed that the rope was cut, too look flat edge of the precipice. But to find the truth and failed. Silent Witness this long tragedy, disheveled piece of that same rope, still carefully preserved in the museum of mountaineering in Zermatt.

... At the same time the team Carrel reached the summit and descended in full strength, having a route for a long time remained the most difficult climbing routes of the Alps. Climbing the Matterhorn on this route in our days, when the level of technological progress has made the impossible possible, using the most modern climbing equipment, an easy and warm clothing designed specifically for climbing, sleeping in a comfortable cabin, equipped with solar panels, could not help think about the people. How do they do it? What is the power of the spirit led them up through the snow, cold, steep ice-covered rock? This is the question that most interests me. I do not think that the value of human life somehow changed ... has not changed, in my opinion, the motivation and mountaineering. But such self-sacrifice, such purity aspirations are no more, no more, and people like that. Against the background of their feat pygmy feel helpless hothouse plant. Here, I stumble on another idea - does not involve any progress Technical spiritual regression, the weakening of the spirit? But that is another topic, far away from my story threads.

August 26, 1891 Jean-Antoine Carrel, the best guide Italy brilliant climber, behind which there were dozens of first ascents hardest climbing routes, sport climbing founder, dies of exhaustion on the slopes of Testa di Lione during the descent from the Matterhorn ... Today, the Matterhorn or Mont Chervin, as they call this mountain in Italy, is one of the most popular for climbing alpine peaks, coveted goal of many thousands of climbers. Plans collapsed due to stable weather. Traverse Monte Rosa - a beautiful route in the Alps had to cut and limit multiple ascents in the absence of visibility, climbing in a blizzard on the Mont Blanc has not delivered the expected pleasure. The next stage of our program was the Matterhorn. Well aware of the nature of this summit, I had no illusions about trying to climb up on it in bad weather ...

... In the light of lanterns, climbing inside Carrel hut situated at an altitude of 3820 meters above sea level on a steep south-eastern edge of the Matterhorn begins swarming morning. Four people, awakened neither light nor dawn, preparing breakfast and packed assault backpacks. To keep in reserve a maximum of daylight, we are already bound and wrapped in cats go on climbing, as soon as the first signs of the cliffs dawn ... Pre-dawn twilight. Horizon takes on a pale pink shade, its dark broken line is separated from the growing brighter sky, it becomes more clear, a contrast. No clouds. The air is calm and motionless, mountains yet asleep, smiling like children ... It looks like the weather finally relented and gave us a chance, to which all had hoped for! Now only upwards.

First on the easy rocks, a long traverse we climb along the heavily damaged, rugged crest of the gendarmes. I recognize the familiar outlines of the relief. I have passed here in the winter, during his unsuccessful attempt to climb solo. Traverse outputs to the base 60-meter sheer wall. There hangs a long chain stretching far up, bend over the cornice - it would be bad enough without her ... At the beginning of the chain nailed a few plaques. Someone here has paid with his life for his commitment to the top ... hand over hand firmly enshrined steel links, I thought about how pioneers were here. After all of the equipment they had a strong hand so relentless desire to succeed ...

From the southeast to the Matterhorn adjacent narrow rocky shoulder, the so-called peak Tyndall, whose height is 250 meters less than the height of the Matterhorn. From here begins the most interesting part of the route - a smooth cliff, bathed in the upper part of the ice has melted the snow cap on top. The rest of the path is visible at a glance - first upwards, then slightly to the right, then back up and traverse to the left coming out on top. However, these 250 meters are a key portion of the route and its most difficult part, for the passage of which is necessary to mobilize all the remaining forces. Vertex. Suddenly unfolded over the head vault space causes dizziness. Horizon opened a full 360 degrees, there is nothing difficult to review. In the north - the green valleys and snow-white peaks of the Swiss Alps, in the south - in the light haze of the whole of Italy to the Mediterranean Sea ...

I stand at the edge of a two-kilometer rock needle, under the bottomless blue dome of the sky, free from everything. The feeling that freedom is alien to human nature, it can not save, to carry with them down. Perhaps this is one reason why people again and again climb the highest mountains, risking their lives for a few short moments ... At Matterhorn two peaks separated by a small saddle. One of them "owns" Italy, another - Switzerland. That's funny. 50-meter climbing rope attached to the top of the Italian, just enough to dolezt to the Swiss! At the end of the last century-foot iron cross was mounted on the top of the Italian. It looks very impressive, especially when you think that the helicopters had not been ...

... Time for the mountains and flows of people in different ways, human century - it is only second to the undisturbed stone giants. People come and go, generation replaces generation, the history of mankind as the wind washes the cold granite, leaving no trace on it ... Time seemed frozen in stone agony. If you touch it, touch the roughness of stone, trace frozen all nervous fingers twisting pattern rock cracks, comes a feeling similar to what one experiences, holding the hands of a dusty, ancient book ... The feeling of closeness to something very distant, touching Legend .