author
Edward Whymper
1840–1911
Best known for leading the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, he turned dangerous climbs and far-flung journeys into vivid adventure writing. He was also an illustrator and explorer whose books brought the high mountains to a wide audience.
2 Audiobooks
Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860-69
by Edward Whymper
The Ascent of the Matterhorn
by Edward Whymper
About the author
Born in London in 1840, Edward Whymper trained in his father’s wood-engraving business before being sent to the Alps to make sketches. The mountains quickly became more than a subject for illustration: he became one of the best-known climbers of his age, combining sharp observation, artistic skill, and a taste for difficult routes.
Whymper is most closely linked with the first ascent of the Matterhorn on July 14, 1865. The achievement made him famous, but the descent ended in tragedy when four members of the party were killed, an event that shaped how the climb was remembered. He later wrote about these experiences in Scrambles Amongst the Alps, a classic of mountaineering literature.
His interests reached far beyond the Alps. He explored Greenland and the Andes, carried out scientific observations at high altitude, and wrote books that mixed travel, climbing, and close attention to landscape. By the time of his death in 1911, he had built a reputation not just as a mountaineer, but as a lively chronicler of exploration.