In my previous essay about Switzerland, I wrote the few lines about the Matterhorn:
First, I would like to visit one of Switzerland’s famous tourist attractions, the Matterhorn, a 14,690-foot mountain, the tenth highest in the country. The name Matterhorn comes from the German words matte ‘meadow’ and horn ‘peak.’ It is an inaccessible mountain and experiences sudden weather changes; 500 have died climbing it since 1865. Although it would be impossible for our family to even get near it, I would still like to take a picture from a distance.
In this essay, I would like to write about this mountain in detail, including information such as its name and history, famous people who have survived or died climbing the mountain, as well as some fun facts. The Matterhorn is the best known mountain in the Alps, located six miles from Zermatt, Switzerland. It has a triangular shape and ascending it is considered a “must-do-before-I-die” activity for climbers. People started to recognize this beautiful mountain in 1865, following the tragedy of Edward Whymper.
Whymper was a famous English illustrator, explorer, and climber, best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 (which is the main reason this mountain became popular among climbers and visitors). He was determined to climb this mountain with Professor John Tyndall, both deciding to reach the summit. John Tyndall had failed about eight times before. Later on, a few others, Hudson, Croz, and the inexperienced Hadow, joined. As they ascended, many accidents occurred. Hadow slipped, which caused him to fall on top of Croz. This knocked Douglas and Hudson to their deaths, but luckily the roped saved the rest. This was the first time someone reached the summit of the Matterhorn.
The Matterhorn has a few interesting features. The rock under the snowy summit has a lime color. You can fit about 1,230,000,000 rolls of toilet paper into the volume in this mountain! Many squirrels also live about 2,000 ft up the Matterhorn. Its four steep sides face the compass directions north, east, south, and west, with only little bits of snow and ice clinging to them.
It will be amazing when I visit Switzerland. I hope this vacation will bring unforgettable memories!
Bibliography (The websites I used):
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