Summer 
That’s it, the most famous first-ascent, on July 14, 1865, in the words of the man, who has spurred them on with enormous ambition and risk to life and limb. The Briton Edward Whymper (1840–1911) makes nine attempts on the Matterhorn (4477.5m), the mighty and seemingly inaccessible obelisk on the Swiss-Italian border, at the back of the Matter Valley.
With the conquest of the Matterhorn by Whymper & Co., the so-called Golden Age of Alpinism comes to an end. This era, in which many of the highest Alpine peaks are climbed for the first time, began on August 1, 1855 with the first ascent of the Dufour Summit (4634 m).
Matterhorn.
"The gradient decreased and we could finally unfasten ourselves, and Croz and I started a neck-and-neck race. At a quarter to two o’clock the world lay at our feet, and the Matterhorn was conquered. Hurrah! Not a single footstep of our Italian rivals could be seen.” This is what Edward Whymper wrote in his diary.
