UKC

In this article, Howard Ernest Hesseldine describes an ascent of the Matterhorn via the Hornli Ridge in 1937.

The account gives a fascinating view into the climbing techniques used at the time and the article is comprised of Howard's diary from the climb, accompanied by photos he took along the way.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6611

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Thanks for posting. Fascinating account.

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A great piece!

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That was excellent, thanks.

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I'd like to see more articles like this on UKC (perhaps a separate area?). No doubt the future of british climbing is bright. As this article shows, the past certainly isn't dull. In my opinion.

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Great reading, the thing that struck me was how similar the experience was 70-odd years later, somehow you would think back then you wouldn't have the snake of headtorches ahead of you and so on.. But the descriptions of the early start, struggling to get the breakfast down and forgetting all that once you're underway and the sun comes up, brilliant when I've not been able to get out to the alps this year.

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The panoramic photo was very interesting and I quickly found a more modern equivalent here: http://images.summitpost.org/original/756660.jpg
The difference in glacial cover is quite striking.

I liked the detail about the mountaineering cat. I bet they told everyone that little porky!

Interesting that you say "As was typical of the day he was guided..."
Isn't that still pretty typical?