On July 14, 1865, the Matterhorn was conquered

…  within 20 minutes most of the climbing party were dead.

The whole of this great slope was now revealed, rising for 3,000 feet like a huge natural staircase.
Edward Whymper
https://www.alpenwild.com/staticpage/first-ascent-of-the-matterhorn/

Matterhorn Mountain
Issued by Switzerland in 1965
Designer: Edi Hauri

A climbing group made up of Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz and  two Swiss guides, Peter Taugwalder Sr and Jr, began their ascent on July 13.  As evening closed, they set up a base camp for the night. At dawn July 14, they began the second leg of their climb, reaching the peak by 1:40 pm. 

At 1:40 pm, they were at the top, with Whymper and Croz breaking from the group and making a dash across the summit ridge, finally arriving at the highest point in a dead tie. They surveyed the summit snowpack looking for footprints and could see none. Then looking down the Italian side, just 200 vertical meters below the summit they could see Carrell steadily making his ascent. They caught his attention by throwing rocks down at him (which apparently worked without causing injury), and Carrell was so disgusted at seeing their victory that he gave up then and there and returned back down to the valley floor in Italy, only to return and succeed at summiting from Italy three days later. ibid

The description may sound like it was an easy stroll, but mastering the Matterhorn was not for the faint of heart. The first part of the climb was done unroped – a climb that started early and by 6:20 am they reached 3,900 m. That’s 3.9 km worth of climbing without a break. When they hit that point, the group took a 30 min rest and continued climbing for another 3 hours, reaching 4,300 m. At this point a longer break was taken to rest and scout various routes up the last, steeper section of the mountain. 

The arduous climb came down to a race at the last 200 m as Whymper and Croz left the group behind and ran hell bent for leather to the top. When the 7 men gathered at the top of the Matterhorn, the first to do so, they spent an hour on the summit, enjoying their success. 

Matterhorn / Cervino 
Issued by San Marino in 1962
Designer: P. Vicenzo 
FYI: Italy calls the mountain Cervino

The journey down the Matterhorn was a disaster. 7 went up and 3 came down. Douglas,  Hudson,  Hadow,  and  Croz fell to their deaths when Hadow lost his footing and tumbled down, taking his three companions with him.  Whymper and the Swiss guides were further up the mountain, and weren’t part of the roped off group that were tumbling down the mountain. Croz and company were attached only by an inadequate backup rope, which was too thin to hold the weight of 4 fully grown men. As a result, the four men fell 1,200 metres down the Matterhorn. 

Croz … was in the act of turning round to go down a step or two himself: at this moment Mr. Hadow slipped, fell against him and knocked him over. I heard one startled exclamation from Croz, then saw him and Mr. Hadow flying downward: in another moment Hudson was dragged from his steps, and Lord F. Douglas immediately after him. All this was the work of a moment. Immediately we heard Croz’s exclamation, old Peter and I planted ourselves as firmly as the rocks would permit: the rope was taut between us, and the jerk came on us both as on one man. We held, but the rope broke midway between Taugwalder and Lord Francis Douglas.
Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860-69,  Edward Whymper 

Whimper and the Taugwalders made their way back down to safety the following day and were unprepared for the the public response to the deaths. Accusations of carelessness and murder followed both for decades, even after they were exonerated after an inquest into the accident. 

The Matterhorn disaster became a national scandal that reached Queen Victoria herself. The Queen was so outraged with the loss of those young men that she asked the government to consider banning mountaineering. She couldn’t understand risking lives for something she saw as useless.

An official inquiry was opened in Zermatt to determine what happened to the rope. Although the survivors were cleared, the rumors never went away. For years, people whispered that someone might have cut the rope to save themselves, a shadow that followed Whymper and the Taugwalders for the rest of their lives.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2015/jul/14/matterhorn-first-ascent-whymper-1865

Rumours began in Vienna, accusing Whymper of deliberately cutting the rope so he could have the lion’s share of fame. It didn’t help that the Taugwalders and Whymper had a falling out shortly after the accident. Whymper’s book, published 6 years after the accident implied the Taugwalders either cut the rope or were grossly negligent in the equipment they supplied.

 I asked for the rope which had given way, and found, to my surprise—indeed, to my horror—that it was the weakest of the three ropes. It was not brought, and should not have been employed, for the purpose for which it was used. It was old rope, and, compared with the others, was feeble. It was intended as a reserve, in case we had to leave much rope behind attached to rocks. I saw at once that a serious question was involved, and made them give me the end. It had broken in mid-air, and it did not appear to have sustained previous injury. ibid

Whymper further wrote the Taugwalders seemed more interested in the possible excitement from the mountaineering community and making sure the press knew of the successful ascent.  A descendent of the Taugwalders, Hans Taugwalders, disputed the claim and described Whymper an ice-cold  and dangerously ambitious man. Rumours about the father and son didn’t gain traction until Whymper’s book, and at that point their account claimed Whymper had cut up the stronger, good rope earlier in the climb, so only the thin, old rope was available. They laid the blame on Whymper.

Murder or accident? 161 years later the question is still being debated.  

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