When Whymper set out from Zermatt for the summit of the Matterhorn on 14 July 1865 on his many attempts, he would both achieve success and failure. Of the seven of his team, only Whymper and two Swiss guides would return alive. Disaster struck on the way back down under circumstances still not fully explained. The controversial death of the three British climbers – one of them the 18- year-old heir to an ancient title – spread like wildfire around the world. It made Whymper’s and Zermatt’s fame notorious around the world and Whymper’s book on the ascent the first exploration classic.  Few thought of travelling to the Alps until John Ruskin extolled their rugged beauty in 1842. More than anyone, it was 25-year-old Edward Whymper who imbued them once again with a sense of alarming mystery after his Alpine memoir and first ascent of the Matterhorn. Inspiring the birth of mountain climbing, his book is still as fresh as when he wrote it as a love letter to the unique Alpine world and the fierceness of nature he discovered. Armed with a pick-axe, he climbed in tweeds and leather shoes, alone or with local hunters and craftsmen who carried the ropes, stores, tents and hacked steps in the ice. Even today, the mountain is treacherous and has recorded over 500 deaths since Whymper reached its peak.
As an engraver, Edward Whymper enthusiastically embraced the rapidly advancing art of photography. In 1874, he took a portable camera and plates up the Matterhorn-a first-to turn photographs into engravings for a new edition of his book, and, in 1883, to include as lantern slides with talks (inspiring in teenage Winston Churchill, for one, a lifelong passion for the Alps). In this volume, these photographs are added to Whympers original engravings and Alpine advice, to accompany his dramatic story-and many appear in print for the first time.

Edward Whymper wanted to become Prime Minister but instead became a famous engraver and explorer who gained world fame and notoriety when he conquered the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland. He lectured around the world with a set of slides which were only recently rediscovered. Theresa May MP (Maidenhead) was the Prime Minister of Britain until July 2019 and fascinated by Edward Whymper, whose passion for the Alps she shares.  

Foreword by Theresa May
Edward Whymper
1860-1863
Preface
I Introductory
II The Ascent of Mont Pelvoux
III My First Scramble on the Matterhorn
IV Renewed Attempts to Ascend the Matterhorn
V The Val Tournenche-Direct Pass from Breuil to Zermatt Breuljoch)-Zermatt-First Ascent of the Grand Tournalin
VI Our Sixth Attempt to Ascend the Matterhorn
1864
VII From St. Michel to La Berarde by the Col des Aiguilles dArve, Col de Martignare, and the Breche de la Meije to la Brerarde
VIII The First Ascent of the Pointe des Ecrins
IX From Val Louise to La Berarde by the Col de Pilatte
X The First Passage of the Col de Triolet, and First Ascents of Mont Dolent, Aiguille de Tre la Tete, and Aiguille dArgentiere
XI The First Passage of the Moming Pass-Zinal to Zermatt
XII The First Ascent of the Grand Cornier
XIII The Ascent of the Dent Blanche
XIV Lost on the Col dHerens-My Seventh Attempt to Ascend the Matterhorn
XV The First Passage of the Col Dolent
XVI The First Ascent of the Aiguille Verte
XVII The First Passage of the Col de Talefre
XVIII The First Ascent of the Ruinette-the Matterhorn
XIX The First Ascent of the Matterhorn
XX The Descent of the Matterhorn
Appendix
A The Death of Bennen
B Struck by Lightning upon the Matterhor
C Note on the Highest Mountain in France
D Subsequent History of the Matterhorn
Endnotes
Cross Section of the Matterhorn
Index

* First expanded publication since 1940, with the photos as Whymper planned after a set of Whymper’s original photographs were recently discovered at auction.
* The first adventure bestseller that ignited around the world the obsession with mountains in 1865 and created the popular sport of mountaineering.
* Published in association with the Alpine Club, the world’s first mountaineering club set up in 1857 by leading climbers including Virginia Woolf’s father of which Whymper became a member.

 Unapproachable in Alpine literature... vivid memories of his happy time... you can almost hear the tinkle of bells on the Alps; you breathe the fresh fragrance of the pine trees. THE TIMES; A classic of mountaineering literature and all storytelling. ; DAILY TELEGRAPH; The vigour and power that only personal observation can give. BIRMINGHAM POST; An exceptional book. HERALD (GLASGOW);

Still a better introduction to the Dauphine Alps and some of the finest valleys and high passes of central Europe than from modern climbing guide books. SYDNEY MORNING HERALD