Peter Taugwalder Sr.

Biographical Record & Archival Chronicle

Born in Zermatt in 1820, Peter Taugwalder grew up in the shadow of the Matterhorn's overwhelming pyramid, a peak that every guide in the village had studied for decades but no one dared to attempt. As a chamois hunter and experienced mountain guide, Taugwalder had learned the technical language of ice and rock from the Hörnli ridge and Zmutt glacier approaches since his youth. By the early 1860s, he had established himself as one of Zermatt's most respected and physically powerful guides. In the summer of 1865, Taugwalder accepted the pivotal role of senior guide on Edward Whymper's Matterhorn team alongside the legendary Chamonix guide Michel-Auguste Croz, Lord Francis Douglas, the Reverend Charles Hudson, and Douglas Hadow. On July 14, 1865, the party of seven departed Whymper's high bivouac at 3,818 metres before dawn and scrambled up the Hörnli ridge's rocky arête. Near the summit, Michel Croz and Whymper raced the last few metres to the top, confirming that Jean-Antoine Carrel's rival Italian team ascending the opposite face had been beaten. The seven men stood triumphant on the summit before beginning the descent. Near a patch of hard snow, the inexperienced Douglas Hadow slipped, pulling Charles Hudson and Michel Croz off their footholds. The connecting rope snapped — almost certainly due to old, lightweight rope used at that section — and four men tumbled silently over the edge. Taugwalder, Whymper, and young Peter Taugwalder Jr. held themselves to the mountain by sheer grip and survived. Taugwalder was subsequently accused in the Swiss press of deliberately cutting the rope to save himself, a charge rigorously investigated and ultimately found to be entirely without foundation by Swiss authorities. The accusation cast a shadow over his final decades, and Taugwalder emigrated to the United States briefly before returning to Zermatt, where he died in 1888.

Notable Milestones & Ascents

• Member of the first ascent team of the Matterhorn (4,478 m) on July 14, 1865, the most celebrated first ascent in Alpine history
• Survived the catastrophic descent rope failure that killed Croz, Hudson, Douglas, and Hadow — preventing the deaths of Whymper, himself, and his son
• Guided numerous significant ascents across the Pennine Alps and Valais peaks throughout his career
• One of Zermatt's most experienced and respected mountain guides of the 19th century