Alpine Gems | Dent Blanche, South Ridge

Among the giants of the Alps, the Dent Blanche is one of the most beautiful and isolated mountains. It rises high above the surrounding peaks at the head of three important valleys: the Val d’Hérens, Val d’Anniviers and Zermatt’s Mattertal. The four ridges are aligned with the cardinal points, and the south ridge is the easiest with the most reliable rock and so is justifiably popular. An excellent introduction to the more severe ridges of the Alps, the south ridge provides sustained climbing and interesting route finding. With only a few minor variations, the route also lends itself well to mixed or even winter conditions.

In January 1862, Thomas Kennedy made an extraordinary, yet unsuccessful attempt to climb the Matterhorn with the guide Peter Taugwalder. “Kennedy conceived the extraordinary idea that the peak might prove less impracticable in January than in June,” sneered Edward Whymper, “but they found that snow in winter obeyed the ordinary laws, and that wind and frost were not less unkind than in summer.” With Taugwalder and his son, again in snowy conditions, Kennedy attempted Dent Blanche by the south ridge on the 12 July. That year was near the apex of the “Golden Age” of alpine climbing, and a swarm of (mainly British) protagonists were harvesting a prestigious crop of first ascents across the Alps.

They were high on the mountain when, as Kennedy writes, “after paying out fifty or sixty feet [of rope], I heard [Taugwalder senior] clattering down, and was surprised to see the weatherbeaten old fellow with a face as white as that of a frightened girl. He seized eagerly upon some spirits of wine we chanced to have, and then told me that when on the top of the rock his foot had slipped, and that for a moment he had thought himself done for. His nerve being entirely destroyed by the fright, I fixed the rope round my own waist, and led the way upwards.” It is typical for this era to only have the word of the wealthy employer to go by, so, if we are to believe Kennedy, after this incident both Taugwalders lost their courage and were obliged to descend. Kennedy persisted and returned a week later with William Wigram and the guides Jean-Baptiste Croz and Johann Kronig to complete the ascent.

ARTICLE CONTINUED IN BMC SUMMIT MAGAZINE