Customer Reviews

Scrambles Amongst the Alps (National Geographic Adventure Classics)

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As one of the early mountain climbers, Whymper was not only a dedicated climber but also an astute observer of human nature and the natural environment. His writings reflect a strong will and great intelligence. The artistry of his mountain scenes vividly illustrate his book and combined with his witty prose make for a mountaineering classic

Originally Published in 1871. Whymper details his Alps climbs in the 1860s with many first ascents including Mont Pelvoux in 1861, Barre des Écrins in 1864, Mont Dolent and Aiguille d'Argentière in 1864, and Grand Cornier, Pointe Whymper on the Grandes Jorasses, and Aiguille Verte in 1865. But Whymper will always be remembered for the first ascent of the Matterhorn on July 14, 1865.

The Matterhorn was considered to be mountaineering's biggest challenge at the time, and Whymper met with failure again and again. Finally on his eighth attempt he finally succeeded, becoming the first man to reach the summit on July 14, 1865.

On the descent, tragedy struck when four members of the party slipped and were killed, and only the breaking of the rope saved Whymper and the two remaining guides from the same fate. A controversy ensued as to whether the rope had actually been cut, but a formal investigation could not find any proof.

The accident haunted Whymper: "Every night, do you understand, I see my comrades of the Matterhorn slipping on their backs, their arms outstretched, one after the other, in perfect order at equal distances - Croz the guide, first, then Hadow, then Hudson, and lastly Douglas. Yes, I shall always see them."

I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the book dedicated to climbing and was struck by Whymper's adventurous spirit, and his dedication and perseverance. The book does drag on a bit in a few parts with chapters on the technical details about glaciers and railway tracks. The 130 illustrations, many woodcut by Whymper himself, bring the story to life, and are almost as good as photographs.

I bought the book due to my interest in the period it covers -- early Alpine mountaineering. Edward Whymper was an interesting guy, and certainly one of the foreign pioneers of mountain climbing (including the first climb of Matterhorn). I found him to be less inspiring as an author -- the book's pace is slow, punctuated by various tangential discussions, e.g. geology of glaciers.

It failed to capture my imagination, as other more receint mountaineering books have done -- try Gaston Rebuffat, Walter Bonatti, Chris Bonnington instead.

Nice read when you like climbing stories but not much to learn from it. Entertaining.

I found the book non-descriptal and factual. Written in a matter of fact English Literary form classic of that time period from a Chap. His knowledge is plentiful as he pours forth details of every sense on history of regions, region developement, ecology, geology...etc. But the going is very, very slow. It wasn't one of those books I pick up and read through in a matter of days. It took dedication days and I found it a bit depleting at times. I did rather enjoy his dry humor scattered throughout and his detailed outlook regarding natives of those areas of the time. Read if you're into history of mountaineering but have another book on the side to offset the pace.