The Whymper Apparition

[knocker]

The Matterhorn lies on the Swiss–Italian border above Zermatt, Switzerland. It has a spectacular pyramidal form rising 1000 m from its base. Its first ascent was accomplished by a party of seven that included Edward Whymper on 14 July 1865. High on the NE (Hornli) ridge is a rocky shoulder that is the hardest part of the climb. It was here, during the descent that the least experienced member of the

team slipped. His companions on the rope were dragged with him. Whymper and his two Swiss

guides, the Taugwalders, were at the rear of the party. They momentarily held the fall but the section

of rope attaching them to the front four climbers broke under the strain and Whymper and the guides

watched helplessly as their four companions fell to their deaths down the precipitous north face. The

survivors continued their descent, and soon after the disaster they saw an apparition in the form of a huge bow and crosses in the sky. It was included as the frontispiece of Whymper’s classic “Scrambles

amongst the Alpsâ€1 and is shown in Fig. 1. In this paper, we review the description of the apparition, its

veracity, and previous explanations found in the literature, and we discuss features of more recent simulations.

http://www.ral.ucar.edu/staff/knievel/pubs/hardwick_knievel_ao_2005.pdf