(•) – The-Lockheed-Martin-HC-130-P/N-Hercules-The-Combat-K.I.N.G-1-I-is an extended-range version of the C-130 Hercules transport. HC-130 crews provide expeditionary, all weather personnel recovery capabilities to our Combatant Commanders and Joint/Coalitions partners worldwide.

 

Mission

The mission of the HC-130P/N "King" is to rapidly deploy to austere airfields and denied territory in order to execute , all weather personnel recovery operations anytime...anywhere. King crews routinely perform high and low altitude personnel & equipment airdrops, infiltration/exfiltration of personnel, helicopter air-to-air refueling, and forward area refueling point missions.

When tasked, the aircraft also conducts humanitarian assistance operations, disaster response, security cooperation/aviation advisory, emergency aeromedical evacuation, casualty evacuation, noncombatant evacuation operations, and, during the Space Shuttle program, space flight support for NASA.

 

Features

Modifications to the HC-130P/N are improved navigation, threat detection and countermeasures systems. The aircraft fleet has a fully-integrated inertial navigation and global positioning systems, and night vision goggle, or NVG, compatible interior and exterior lighting. It also has forward-looking infrared, radar and missile warning receivers, chaff and flare dispensers, satellite and data-burst communications.

 

The HC-130 can fly in the day; however, crews normally fly night at low to medium altitude levels in contested or sensitive environments, both over land or overwater. Crews use NVGs for tactical flight profiles to avoid detection to accomplish covert infiltration/exfiltration and transload operations. To enhance the probability of mission success and survivability near populated areas, crews employ tactics that include incorporating no external lighting or communications, and avoiding radar and weapons detection.

 

Drop zone objectives are done via personnel drops and equipment drops. Rescue bundles include illumination flares, marker smokes and rescue kits. Helicopter air-to-air refueling can be conducted at night, with blacked out communication with up to two simultaneous helicopters. Additionally, forward area refueling point operations can be executed to support a variety of joint and coalition partners.

Background

 

The HC-130P/N is the only dedicated fixed-wing combat search and rescue platform in the Air Force inventory. The 71st and 79th Rescue Squadrons in Air Combat Command, the 550th Special Operations Squadron in Air Education and Training Command, the 920th Rescue Group in Air Force Reserve Command and the 106th Rescue Wing, 129th RQW and 176th Wing in the Air National Guard operate the aircraft.

First flown in 1964, the aircraft has served many roles and missions. It was initially modified to conduct search and rescue missions, provide a command and control platform, in-flight-refuel helicopters and carry supplemental fuel for extending range and increasing loiter time during search operations.

 

In April 2006, the continental U.S. search and rescue mission was transferred back to Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va. From 2003 to 2006, the mission was under the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Previously, HC-130s were assigned to ACC from 1992 to 2003. They were first assigned to the Air Rescue Service as part of Military Airlift Command.

They have been deployed to Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in support of operations Southern and Northern Watch, Allied Force, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. HC-130s also support continuous alert commitments in Alaska and the Horn of Africa.

 

General Characteristics

Primary function: Rescue platform

Contractor: Lockheed Aircraft Corp.

Power Plant: Four Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines

Thrust: 4,910 shaft horsepower, each engine

Wingspan: 132 feet, 7 inches (40.4 meters)

Length: 98 feet, 9 inches (30.09 meters)

Height: 38 feet, 6 inches (11.7 meters)

Weight: 83,000 pounds (37,648 kilograms)

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 155,000 pounds (69,750 kilograms)

Fuel Capacity: 73,000 pounds (10,724 gallons)

Payload: 30,000 pounds (13,608 kilograms)

Speed: 289 miles per hour (464 kilometers per hour) at sea level

Range: beyond 4,000 miles (3,478 nautical miles)

Ceiling: 33,000 feet (10,000 meters)

Armament: countermeasures/flares, chaff

Crew: Three officers (pilot, co-pilot, navigator) and four enlisted (flight engineer, airborne communications specialist, two loadmasters). Additional crewmembers include a Guardian Angel team consisting of one combat rescue officer and three pararescuemen

Unit Cost: $77 million (fiscal 2008 replacement cost)

Initial operating capability: 1964

Inventory: Active force, 13; ANG, 13; Reserve, 10

 

I have seen Sholden described as a village between Deal and Sandwich. It is really a suburb of Deal now, as the housing is unbroken between here and St Leonard in Deal, a couple of hundred metres along the man road. Sholden also extends away from the coast into Mongeham, as I described earlier.

 

The church is small, built of flint, and is easily missed, this was my second visit here, and the second of the day, and as we went past I could see the door open, so after finding a place to park, we walked over and inside.

 

We were given a warm welcome by the volunteer, who gave us a very good history of the church, and as always I learned so much more from someone who clearly loved their parish church.

 

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Standing back at a queer angle from the main road, this church has been unlucky over the years. Of thirteenth century origins it had a north aisle which at some stage was demolished in favour of the single roof structure to be found today. This creates an unusually wide interior – not quite as extreme at St Mary at nearby Sandwich, but along the same lines. The chancel has recently (2009) been reordered and simplified with a free standing altar and rose pink carpet – quite a fetching scene – and luckily the nineteenth century reredos has been kept. The War Memorial on the SE corner of the nave is quite a fine construction of rubbed brickwork – almost Lutyensesque in its form. The church was damaged in the War but the stained glass windows in the chancel recording the event (by a Sussex firm) must surely over emphasise the damage as the roof is completely Victorian. All in all this is a delightful little church and one only wishes it was more accessible.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Sholden

 

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Sholden: the parish.

 

In 1176 this little unit of land was known as Shoueldune and since as Seueldon, Schoweldun, Shoueldon; the first form of the name being possibly due to some fancied likeness of the hill to a shovel – shovelhill. It is a topographical unit, a physical unit, a parochial unit and an historical unit. It is small in area as a parish, without a coastal strip, 1813 acres of land, with a population in 1801 of 238, in 1858 it had increased to 465, in1931 to 615 and by 1991 it was 815.

 

As a place, Sholden has taken little part in national affairs or even Kentish history, squeezed as it is between Sandwich and Deal. Historically it has been an ecclesiastic unit with its own priest from time immemorial, although under its richer neighbour, Northbourne, from which it could not branch out independently. Northbourne itself was only a unit, until the Reformation, of the great Abbey of St.Augustine at Canterbury. In fact Sholden was a necessary offshoot of Northbourne, as it possessed that great area of marsh with its dykes which were a valuable summer grazing ground for the Abbey cattle.

 

The early topographers, Leyland in Henry VIII’s reign, Lambard and William Camden, who might have been expected to mention us say nothing. First comments are in 1659, but then all that Richard Kilburne of Hawkshurst could say was that Sholden “lieth at the E. end of the County, adjoining to the sea, about 3 miles towards the SE distant from Sandwich: in the bailiwick of Eastry, hundred of Cornilo; Lath of St.Augustines”.

 

From 1128 the church of Northbourne, with its chapels at Cotmanton (Cottington) and Sholden, was attached to the manor of Northbourne, and so to the Abbey of St.Augustines.

In 1272-3, the first year of the reign of Edward I, the vicarage of Northbourne, the chapels was endowed with all the small tithes by the Abbey. It was also agreed that the vicar should have a house and garden with two acres of land. In Hasted’s time (1800) there was also nine acres of glebe. With these allowances, as the vicar was only a nominee of St.Augustines, the burden of the repairing and rebuilding the chancel of Northbourne church, and that of Sholden, and of finding and repairing the books, vestments and ornaments of the chapel, and of the chapel of Sholden, should be acknowledged as the duty of the Abbey forever.

 

Earlier references to the parish include the following:

Thornes Chronicle of St.Augustines Abbey (Davis’ Translation 1934 p18) records that Edbald, who had been a pagan, after his conversion by Archbishop Laurentinus, endowed in 618 the Abbey with the manor of Northbourne, with which went Sholden.

 

Letters relating to the condition of the church in Kent during the primacy of Archbishop Sandcroft were written by Dr.Henry Ullock, who had been appointed Rural Dean of Sandwich. The report on the vicar, Mr Balderson, is that he “hath Northbourne and Shoulden which is annexed to it, lives at Northbourne, officiates at both places, is Master of Arts, was bred in Emanuel College, is not married”. He died in 1702.

 

The sole literary reference to a Sholden family that has been unearthed is that Colonel William Wyborn, the eldest son of Daniel who altered Hull Place, was one of the subscribers in 1758 to Elizabeth Carter great quarto translation of the Greek philosopher, Epictetus.

 

Sholden: the church.

 

The church, dedicated to St.Nicholas, is an undistinguished example of the thirteenth century in its present state. It is built of flint with Caen stone dressings and Hythe stone buttresses. It shows in the flint work patches of reconstruction. Of its foundation a single fragment of moulding built in as a top stone of a putt log hole high up in the north wall might be 12th century work and so suggest that there was a small church of that date.

The original Deal to Sandwich road passed the church through what is now the present graveyard with the doorway being on the north side of the church. This doorway has been enclosed and is now the vicar’s vestry. The current road or turnpike was approved by parliament in 1795 and it was constructed shortly afterwards deviating from the old path at Jenkins Well. This is between the public entrance to Warden House School and the hairdressers.

 

The following is a copy of the first Quinquennial Report to be produced after the Second World War during which the building was substantially damaged on Saturday 19th April 1941 by a parachute mine which landed in what is now Five Ways Rise. Services were held in the Baptist Chapel in the village and did not begin again in the church until November 1947.

 

The church is built of knapped flint with stone quoins and comprises chancel, nave, western tower and vestries on the north and northwest angle. The roof is of old Kent tile. The whole of the external flintwork appears to be 19th century cladding except the recent rebuilding which is the top part only. Nearly all the quoins are 19th century. The vicar’s vestry is the old North Porch converted and now it contains a Victorian window with a 15th century label but still has the original 15th century doorway which is considered to be “very fine”. The choir vestry is a post war addition. The East end of the Nave has some Norman quoins above the buttresses. The West door to the Tower is 19th century and in good condition and the windows in the Tower are of the same period but have severely weathered. On the North side of the Tower there are two original windows, one is older than the other, but both are about 13th century and in good condition.

 

The window on the North side of the Chancel is 19th century and transitional in style whereas at the East end of the Chancel the window is of the same period but Early English in style. The label of the East window would seem to be 13th century and both North and South windows appear to have been lowered, maybe following the post-war rebuild. {These now depict before and after the night of the bombing}.

The windows on the South side of the Nave are1 9th century in a 15th century style and in fairly good condition.

The South door is 19th century and in quite good condition.

The Transitional window on the East side of the Tower is original.

The basin of the Font is of Kentish Rag and probably 14th century on a perpendicular stem of the 15th century but the base and step are both 19th century.

The pulpit and the pews are of pitch pine and the lectern of oak and all are 19th century.

The rerados and tilling behind the altar are Victorian.

The mid 13th century tower is divided into 3 unequal stories:-

Bellchamber

Ringing chamber

Base of tower.

The bellchamber; the walls are of flint and the windows have slate louvers. The floor is Tudor with chamfered joists borne on stone corbels.

The ringing chamber is actually no longer used as such as the bells are rung from the base of the tower. The floor was replaced in Victorian times and is in fair condition. The walls are of flint and in good condition. The whole of the East wall in this chamber is rendered with what one must call external rendering. There is the clearest evidence that the tower is later date than the Nave, since the tower is not bonded into the West wall of the Nave and therefore the church plan was at one time the simple two compartment type of Nave and Chancel. This West wall also contains a small window, which is undoubtedly very early in date and is probably early Norman or late Saxon much repaired. This window was crudely blocked on the East face of the West wall of the Nave and should be unblocked. It would then look down into the Nave.

The bells are rung from the base of the tower and it is in sound condition with its Victorian tiled floor. A blocked entry to the now removed gallery remains high above the Tower door.

 

NB. The bells and tower were renovated in the early 1980’s and therefore some of the foregoing is now inaccurate.

 

www.stleonardsdeal.co.uk/stnicholas.html

 

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Sholden comes from the Old English ‘scofl’ meaning a ‘shovel; shovel shaped strip’ together with ‘dūn’ as a ‘hill’; therefore, a ‘shovel-shaped hill’. The description of Sholden by Edward Hasted in 1800 notes that ‘the upland part of it forms a kind of peninsula westward, which is surrounded on three sides by the wet land and marshes’.

 

Sholden parish church is a Grade: II listed building, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The Normans built the church originally, although, rebuilt it in the 13th century, with the addition of windows and a tower a century later. In 1623, Thomas Bartlett cast two bells, and John Hodson added a third in 1675. In 1800, Edward Hasted described St Nicholas’ church as consisting of a ‘nave and a chancel; it is of a good size and well built, having a square tower steeple at the west end, in which are three bells. The church is ceiled, and kept very neat’. The Victorians carried out a heavy restoration in the 19th century. Bomb damage received in 1941 resulted in the church being out of action until November 1947.

 

www.kentpast.co.uk/sholden.html

 

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After the war and the damage to the church rendering it out of use, services were held in a wooden hut in an area behind the church. It was marked by a cross, but the warden thinks this is now gone.

Estudiantes que representó al país en el Modelo Internacional de las Naciones Unidas, realizado en México, quienes lograron los máximos honores al obtener diez reconocimientos, ellos son: Edwin Hernández, Francisco Mota, Héctor Robles y Katheryn Matos.

 

Foto: Ángel Álvarez Rodríguez/Presidencia República Dominicana

Nota de prensa:

presidencia.gob.do/noticias/hato-mayor-recibe-74-aulas-en...

St. Mary's Church, and what is still known locally as Alverstoke Village, lie within half a mile of the shore of Stokes Bay and near the head of a creek which extends a mile westward from Portsmouth Harbour. Up to the early 19th Century the parish was about 4.5 miles from North to South and 2.5 miles from East to West. It was bounded on the East by Portsmouth Harbour, on the South by the Solent and on the West mainly by the Parish of Rowner. On the North it adjoined Fareham and Titchfield parishes. Large parts of the North and East of the parish were formed into separate parishes between 1840 and 1913. Thus the parish, which was once a large agricultural one containing the villages of Alverstoke and Gosport now comprises a smaller and mainly residential area within the Borough of Gosport. "Alverstoke" is a corruption of the name Alvara, a former Lady of the Manor, and Stoke a settlement on the area known as the Marsh Ground.

St. Mary's Church is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. The first known reference to its existence is dated 1122. There is slender evidence to support the belief that there was a Saxon church at Alverstoke and that this was succeeded by a Norman church entirely rebuilt in 1625. In 1724 the roof was raised and in about 1737 a gallery was built at the West end. In 1834 the nave was rebuilt between the older tower and chancel.

 

The present church was built in three stages. In 1863 the old chancel was demolished and the present chancel extended further east and the first bay of the present nave and aisles were built onto the old nave. In 1885 the remaining four bays of the nave and aisles were built, the roof coming above the top of the old tower.

  

The present tower was built in 1904/5 to commemorate the end of the South African War. (The tower has 8 bells weighing between 183 kg and 681 kg and are in memory of those who fought and fell in the 1914-18 war).

The church is a fine example of Victorian Gothic and is listed by the Ministry of the Environment as a building of special architectural or historic interest.

india.media.mit.edu/workshops/coep2011/index.html

 

Manasvi Tickoo, Parth Patel, Sagar Jadhav, Renuka Sapkal, Prachi Patil

even without a wide-angle lens it's still pretty big ;)

Schweiz / Wallis - Matterhorn

 

seen from Gornergrat

 

gesehen vom Gornergrat

 

The Matterhorn (/ˈmætərhɔːrn/, German: [ˈmatɐˌhɔʁn]; Italian: Cervino, [tʃerˈviːno]; French: Cervin, [sɛʁvɛ̃]; Romansh: Mont(e) Cervin(u)) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points and are split by the Hörnli, Furggen, Leone/Lion, and Zmutt ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast; and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the Roman Era.

 

The Matterhorn was studied by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late eighteenth century, and was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as John Ruskin, in the 19th century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the summit. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was in 1865 from Zermatt by a party led by Edward Whymper, but during the descent, a sudden fall claimed the lives of four of the seven climbers. This disaster, later portrayed in several films, marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is among the three biggest north faces of the Alps, known as "The Trilogy". The west face, the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn, making it one of the deadliest peaks in the world.

 

The Matterhorn is mainly composed of gneisses (originally fragments of the African Plate before the Alpine orogeny) from the Dent Blanche nappe, lying over ophiolites and sedimentary rocks of the Penninic nappes. The mountain's current shape is the result of cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from the peak, such as the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face. Sometimes referred to as the Mountain of Mountains (German: Berg der Berge), it has become an indelible emblem of the Alps in general. Since the end of the 19th century, when railways were built in the area, the mountain has attracted increasing numbers of visitors and climbers. Each year, numerous mountaineers try to climb the Matterhorn from the Hörnli Hut via the northeast Hörnli ridge, the most popular route to the summit. Many trekkers also undertake the 10-day-long circuit around the mountain. The Matterhorn has been part of the Swiss Federal Inventory of Natural Monuments since 1983.

 

Names

 

The name Matterhorn derives from the German words Matte ("meadow") and Horn ("horn"), and is often translated as "the peak of the meadows".

 

In the Schalbetter map, printed by Sebastian Münster in 1545, the valley is labelled Mattertal, but the mountain has the Latin name Mons Silvius as well as the German name Augstalberg, in concord with the Aosta Valley (German Augstal). The 1548 map by Johannes Stumpf gives only Mons Silvius.

 

The French name Cervin, from which the Italian term Cervino derives, stems from the Latin Mons Silvanus (or Mons Sylvanus), where silva means "forest"; this was corrupted to Selvin and then Servin. The change of the first letter "s" to "c" is attributed to Horace Bénédict de Saussure, who thought the word was related to "deer" (French: cerf and Italian: cervo).

 

Josias Simler hypothesized in De Alpibus Commentarius (1574) that the name Mons Silvius was readopted by T. G. Farinetti: "Silvius was probably a Roman leader who sojourned with his legions in the land of the Salassi and the Seduni, and perhaps crossed the Theodul Pass between these two places. This Silvius may have been that same Servius Galba whom Caesar charged with the opening up of the Alpine passes, which from that time onward traders have been wanting to cross with great danger and grave difficulty. Servius Galba, in order to carry out Caesar's orders, came with his legions from Allobroges (Savoy) to Octodurum (Martigny) in the Valais, and pitched his camp there. The passes which he had orders to open from there could be no other than the St. Bernard, the Simplon, the Theodul, and the Moro; it therefore seems likely that the name of Servius, whence Silvius and later Servin, or Cervin, was given in his honour to the famous pyramid." It is unknown when the new name of Servin, or Cervin, replaced the old, from which it seems to be derived.

 

The Matterhorn is also named Gran Bècca ("big mountain") by the Valdôtains and Horu by the local Walliser German speaking people.

 

Because of its recognizable shape, many other similar mountains around the world were named or nicknamed the 'Matterhorn' of their respective countries or mountain ranges.

 

Height

 

The Matterhorn has two distinct summits, situated at either end of a 100-metre-long (330 ft) exposed rocky crest which forms the Italian/Swiss border. In August 1792, the Genevan geologist and explorer Horace Bénédict de Saussure made the first measurement of the Matterhorn's height, using a sextant and a 50-foot-long (15 m) chain spread out on the Theodul glacier. He calculated its height as 4,501.7 m (14,769 ft). In 1868 the Italian engineer Felice Giordano measured a height of 4,505 m (14,780 ft) by means of a mercury barometer, which he had taken to the summit. The Dufour map, which was afterwards followed by the Italian surveyors, gave 4,482 m (14,705 ft) as the height of the Swiss summit. 

 

In 1999, the summit height was precisely determined to be at 4,477.54 m (14,690 ft) above sea level by using Global Positioning System technology as part of the TOWER Project (Top of the World Elevations Remeasurement) and to an accuracy of less than one centimetre, which allows future changes to be tracked.

 

The topographic prominence of the Matterhorn is 1,042 metres (3,419 ft) as the ridge connecting it with a higher summit (in this case the Weisshorn, which is the culminating point of the range west of the Mattertal valley) sinks to a height of 3,436 m (11,273 ft) at the Col Durand, a saddle between the Pointe de Zinal and the Mont Durand. The topographic isolation is 13.9 km (8.6 mi), as the nearest point of higher elevation is the one-metre (3 ft 3 in) higher Western Liskamm

 

Considering mountains with a topographic prominence of at least 300 m (980 ft), the Matterhorn is the sixth-highest summit in the Alps and Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains. It is the fifth-highest summit of Valais and Switzerland and the third highest summit of the Aosta Valley and Italy. Locally, it is the third-highest summit in the municipality of Zermatt and the highest summit in the municipality of Valtournenche. On the official International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation list of Alpine four-thousanders, which also includes subsidiary summits of higher mountains such as the nearby Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn is the 12th highest summit in the Alps.

 

Geography

 

The Matterhorn has a pyramidal shape with four faces nearly facing the four compass points. Three of them (north, east and west) are on the Swiss side of the border and watershed (Mattertal valley) and one of them (south) is on the Italian side of the border (Valtournenche valley). The north face overlooks the Ober Gabelhorn (7 km away) across the Zmutt Glacier and valley (above Zermatt), the east face overlooks the Gorner Glacier system between the Gornergrat and Monte Rosa (respectively 10 and 17 km away) across the Theodul Pass, the west face overlooks the upper basin of the Zmutt Glacier between the Dent Blanche and the Dent d'Hérens (respectively 7 and 4 km away) and the south face fronts the resort town of Breuil-Cervinia and overlooks a good portion of the Valtournenche. The Matterhorn does not form a perfect square pyramid, as the north and south faces are wider than the west and east faces. Moreover, the latter faces do not actually meet on the summit but are connected by a 100-metre-long horizontal west–east ridge between the north and south faces.

 

The Matterhorn's faces are steep, and only small patches of snow and ice cling to them; regular avalanches send the snow down to accumulate on the glaciers at the base of each face, the largest of which are the Tiefmattengletscher to the west, part of the Zmutt Glacier, and the Matterhorn Glacier to the north. Smaller glaciers lie at the base of the south face (the Lower Matterhorn Glacier) and the east face (unnamed). In this area, the border between Switzerland and Italy coincides with the main Alpine watershed, separating the drainage basin of the Rhone on the north (Mediterranean Sea) and that of the Po on the south (Adriatic Sea). The north side is drained by the Zmuttbach (west and north faces) and the Gornera through the Furggbach (east face), tributaries of the Rhone through the (Matter) Vispa. The south side and face is drained by the Marmore torrent, a tributary of the Po through the Dora Baltea (or Doire baltée). The Theodul Pass, located on the watershed between the Matterhorn and the Breithorn, at 3,295 metres, is the easiest passage between the two valleys and countries (the slightly lower Furggjoch not being used as a pass). The pass was used as a crossover and trade route for the Romans and the Romanised Celtic population Salassi between 100 BCE and 400 CE. The area is now heavily glaciated and covered on the north side by the Theodul Glacier.

 

Well-known faces are the east and north, visible from the area of Zermatt, although mostly hidden from the Mattertal by the chain of the Weisshorn. The east face is 1,000 metres high and, because it is "a long, monotonous slope of rotten rocks", presents a high risk of rockfall, making its ascent dangerous. The north face is 1,200 metres high and is one of the most dangerous north faces in the Alps, in particular for its risk of rockfall and storms. The south face, well visible from the Valtournenche, is 1,350 metres high and offers many different routes. The west face, the highest at 1,400 metres, has the fewest ascent routes and lies in a more remote area than the other faces.

 

The four main ridges separating the four faces are the main climbing routes. The least difficult technical climb and the usual climbing route, the Hörnli ridge (Hörnligrat), lies between the east and north faces and is aligned towards the Oberrothorn above Zermatt. To its west lies the Zmutt ridge (Zmuttgrat), between the north and west faces and aligned towards the Wandfluehorn; this is, according to Collomb, "the classic route up the mountain, its longest ridge, also the most disjointed." The Lion ridge (Cresta del Leone / Arête du lion), lying between the south and west faces and aligned towards the Dent d'Hérens is the Italian normal route and goes across Pic Tyndall; Collomb comments, "A superb rock ridge, the shortest on the mountain, now draped with many fixed ropes, but a far superior climb compared with the Hörnli." Finally the south side is separated from the east side by the Furggen ridge (Furggengrat), which is aligned towards the Klein Matterhorn. It is, according to Collomb, "the hardest of the ridges [...] the ridge still has an awesome reputation but is not too difficult in good conditions by the indirect finish".

 

While the Matterhorn is the culminating point of the Valtournenche on the south, it is only one of the many 4000 metres summits of the Mattertal valley on the north. Its height is exceeded by four major summits: the Weisshorn (4,505 m), the Dom (4,545 m), the Liskamm (4,527 m) and the second-highest in the Alps, Monte Rosa (4,634 m). This section of the Pennine Alps, including the Matterhorn, the Zinalrothorn, the Dent Blanche, the Dent d'Hérens, the Breithorn, the Strahlhorn, the Rimpfischhorn and the Alphubel, concentrates most of western Europe's highest mountains and forms a crown of peaks around Zermatt. The deeply glaciated region between the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa (named Dent Blanche-Matterhorn-Monte Rosa) is listed in the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments since 1983.

 

Weather

 

The Matterhorn is an isolated mountain. Because of its position on the main Alpine watershed and its great height, the Matterhorn is exposed to rapid weather changes. In addition, the steep faces of the mountain and its isolated location make it prone to banner clouds formation, with the air flowing around the mountain producing condensation of the air on the lee side and also creating vortices.

 

Geology

 

The Matterhorn's pyramid is composed of Paleozoic rocks, which were thrusted over the Matterhorn's Mesozoic base during the Cenozoic. Quaternary glaciation and weathering give the mountain its current shape.

 

Apart from the base of the mountain, the Matterhorn is composed of gneiss belonging to the Dent Blanche klippe, an isolated part of the Austroalpine nappes, lying over the Penninic nappes. The Austroalpine nappes are part of the Apulian plate, a small continent that broke up from Africa before the Alpine orogeny. For this reason, the Matterhorn has been popularized as an African mountain. The Austroalpine nappes are mostly common in the Eastern Alps.

 

The Swiss explorer and geologist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, inspired by the view of the Matterhorn, anticipated modern theories of geology:

 

What power must have been required to shatter and to sweep away the missing parts of this pyramid; for we do not see it surrounded by heaps of fragments; one only sees other peaks - themselves rooted to the ground - whose sides, equally rent, indicate an immense mass of débris, of which we do not see any trace in the neighbourhood. Doubtless, this is that débris which, in the form of pebbles, boulders, and sand, fills our valleys and our plains.

 

Formation

 

The formation of the Matterhorn (and the whole Alpine range) started with the break-up of the Pangaea continent 200 million years ago into Laurasia (containing Europe) and Gondwana (containing Africa). While the rocks constituting the nearby Monte Rosa remained in Laurasia, the rocks constituting the Matterhorn found themselves in Gondwana, separated by the newly formed Tethys Ocean.

 

100 million years ago the extension of the Tethys Ocean stopped and the Apulian plate broke from Gondwana and moved toward the European continent. This resulted in the closure of the western Tethys by subduction under the Apulian plate (with the Piemont-Liguria Ocean first and Valais Ocean later). The subduction of the oceanic crust left traces still visible today at the base of the Matterhorn (accretionary prism). The orogeny itself began after the end of the oceanic subduction when the European continental crust collided with the Apulian continent, resulting in the formation of nappes.

 

The Matterhorn acquired its characteristic pyramidal shape in much more recent times as it was caused by natural erosion over the past million years. At the beginning of alpine orogeny, the Matterhorn was only a rounded mountain like a hill. Because its height is above the snowline, its flanks are covered by ice, resulting from the accumulation and compaction of snow. During the warmer period of summer, part of the ice melts and seeps into the bedrock. When it freezes again, it fractures pieces of rock because of its dilatation (freeze-thaw), forming a cirque. Four cirques led to the shape of the mountain.

 

Rocks

 

Most of the base of the mountain lies in the Tsaté nappe, a remnant of the Piedmont-Liguria oceanic crust (ophiolites) and its sedimentary rocks. Up to 3,400 metres the mountain is composed of successive layers of ophiolites and sedimentary rocks. From 3,400 metres to the top, the rocks are gneisses from the Dent Blanche nappe (Austroalpine nappes). They are divided into the Arolla series (below 4,200 m) and the Valpelline zone (the summit). Other mountains in the region (Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Dent Blanche, Mont Collon) also belong to the Dent Blanche nappe.

 

Tourism and trekking

 

Since the eighteenth century, the Alps have attracted more and more people and fascinated generations of explorers and climbers. The Matterhorn remained relatively little known until 1865, but the successful ascent followed by the tragic accident of the expedition led by Edward Whymper caused a rush on the mountains surrounding Zermatt.

 

The construction of the railway linking the village of Zermatt from the town of Visp started in 1888. The first train reached Zermatt on 18 July 1891 and the entire line was electrified in 1930. Since 1930 the village is directly connected to St. Moritz by the Glacier Express panoramic train. However, there is no connection with the village of Breuil-Cervinia on the Italian side. Travellers have to hire mountain guides to cross the 3,300-metre-high glaciated Theodul Pass, separating the two resorts. The town of Zermatt remains almost completely free of internal combustion vehicles and can be reached by train only. (Apart from the local police service which uses a Volkswagen car, and the refuse collection lorry, only electric vehicles are used locally).

 

Rail and cable-car facilities have been built to make some of the summits in the area more accessible. The Gornergrat railway, reaching a record altitude of 3,100 metres, was inaugurated in 1898. Areas served by cable car are the Unterrothorn and the Klein Matterhorn (Little Matterhorn) (3,883 m, highest transportation system in Europe). The Hörnli Hut (3,260 m), which is the start of the normal route via the Hörnli ridge, is easily accessible from Schwarzsee (2,600 m) and is also frequented by hikers. The Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia resorts function as separate ski resort all year round and are connected by skilifts over the Theodul Pass. In 2015 it was expected that there would be constructed a cable car link between Testa Grigia (or Tête grise) and Klein Matterhorn. It will finally provide a link between the Swiss and Italian side of the Matterhorn.

 

The Matterhorn Museum (Zermatt) relates the general history of the region from alpinism to tourism. In the museum, which is in the form of a reconstituted mountain village, the visitors can relive the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn and see the objects that belonged to the protagonists.

 

The Tour of the Matterhorn can be effected by trekkers in about 10 days. Considered by some as one of the most beautiful treks in the Alps, it follows many ancient trails that have linked the Swiss and Italian valleys for centuries. The circuit includes alpine meadows, balcony trails, larch forests and glacial crossings. It connects six valleys embracing three different cultures: the German-speaking high Valais, the French-speaking central Valais and the bilingual French/Italian-speaking Aosta Valley. Good conditions are necessary to circumnavigate the peak. After reaching Zinal from Zermatt by the Augstbord and Meiden passes, the trekker crosses the Col de Sorebois and the Col de Torrent before arriving at Arolla. Then the Arolla Glacier and the Col Collon must be crossed on the way to Prarayer, followed by the Col de Valcournera to Breuil-Cervinia. In the last and highest section, the Theodul Pass must be crossed before returning to Zermatt. In total, seven passes between 2,800 and 3,300 metres must be crossed on relatively difficult terrain.

 

As of 2015, almost two million visitors arrive at Zermatt annually. An average of around twelve people per year have died on Matterhorn in the ten years from 2005 to 2015.

 

Climbing history

 

The Matterhorn was one of the last of the main Alpine mountains to be ascended, not because of its technical difficulty, but because of the fear it inspired in early mountaineers. The first serious attempts were all from the Italian side, although, despite appearances, the southern routes are technically harder. The main figures were Jean-Antoine Carrel and his uncle Jean-Jacques Carrel, from the Valtournenche area, who made the first attempts in 1857 and 1858, reaching 3,800 m (12,500 ft) on the latter occasion. In July 1860, three brothers from Liverpool attempted the mountain, Alfred, Charles and Sandbach Parker, but they turned back at about 3,500 m (11,500 ft). In August of the same year, Jean-Jacques Carrel returned to guide, with Johann Joseph Bennen , Vaughan Hawkins and John Tyndall to about 3,960 m (12,990 ft) before turning back. In 1861 the Carrels managed to reach the Crête du Coq at 4,032 m (13,228 ft). In July 1862, Jean-Antoine, together with César Carrel, accompanied as porters (sic) John Tyndall, Anton Walters and J.J. Bennen to Matterhorn's Shoulder at 4,248 m (13,937 ft), which was subsequently named Pic Tyndall in honor of the client.

 

Edward Whymper joined the efforts in August 1861, but in his first 7 attempts with a variety of companions could only reach a maximum height of 4,100 m (13,500 ft). However, on 14 July 1865, in what is considered the last ascent of the golden age of alpinism, he was able to reach the summit by an ascent of the Hörnli ridge in Switzerland, guided by the famed French mountaineer Michel Croz and the Swiss father and son Peter Taugwalder Sr. and Jr., and accompanied by the British gentlemen Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, Douglas Robert Hadow. Upon descent, Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn Glacier, and all but Douglas (whose body was never found) are buried in the Zermatt churchyard.

 

Just three days later, on 17 July 1865, Jean-Antoine Carrel and Jean-Baptiste Bich reached the summit from the Italian side.

 

Before the first ascent

 

In the summer of 1860, Edward Whymper came across the Matterhorn for the first time. He was an English artist and engraver who had been hired by a London publisher to make sketches of the mountains in the region of Zermatt. Although the unclimbed Matterhorn had a mixed reputation among British mountaineers, it fascinated Whymper. Whymper's first attempt was in August 1861, from the village of Breuil on the south side. In Châtillon he hired a Swiss guide, who remained anonymous in his accounts, and in Valtournanche he almost hired Jean-Antoine Carrel as well, but, disliking the looks of Carrel's uncle, he changed his mind. The Carrels decided to give Matterhorn a try by themselves again, and caught up with Whymper at nightfall. Whymper now had "a strong inclination to engage the pair; but, finally, decided against it" and the Carrels went alone to reach a new high on Matterhorn of 4,032 m (13,228 ft) the next day. Whymper and his guide camped one more night on the Col du lion (= Col Tournanche) 3,479 m (11,414 ft) and were forced to turn around only an hour above this pass the day after.

 

In 1862 Whymper made further attempts, still from the south side, on the Lion ridge (or Italian ridge), where the route seemed easier than the Hörnli ridge (the normal route today). On his own, he reached above 4,000 metres, but was injured on his way down to Breuil. In July John Tyndall with Johann Joseph Bennen and another guide overcame most of the difficulties of the ridge that seemed so formidable from below and successfully reached the main shoulder; but at a point not very far below the summit they were stopped by a deep cleft that defied their utmost efforts. The Matterhorn remained unclimbed.

 

Whymper returned to Breuil in 1863, persuading Carrel to join forces with him and try the mountain once more via the Italian ridge. On this attempt, however, a storm soon developed and they were stuck halfway to the summit. They remained there for 26 hours in their tent before giving up. Whymper did not make another attempt for two years.

 

In the decisive year 1865, Whymper returned with new plans, deciding to attack the Matterhorn via its south face instead of the Italian ridge. On 21 June, Whymper began his ascent with Swiss guides, but halfway up they experienced severe rockfall; although nobody was injured, they decided to give up the ascent. This was Whymper's seventh attempt.

 

During the following weeks, Whymper spent his time climbing other mountains in the area with his guides, before going back to Breuil on 7 July. Meanwhile, the Italian Alpine Club was founded and its leaders, Felice Giordano and Quintino Sella, established plans to conquer the Matterhorn before any non-Italian could succeed. Felice Giordano hired Carrel as a guide. He feared the arrival of Whymper, now a rival, and wrote to Quintino Sella

 

I have tried to keep everything secret, but that fellow whose life seems to depend on the Matterhorn is here, suspiciously prying into everything. I have taken all the best men away from him; and yet he is so enamored of the mountain that he may go with others...He is here in the hotel and I try to avoid speaking to him.

 

Just as he did two years before, Whymper asked Carrel to be his guide, but Carrel declined; Whymper was also unsuccessful in hiring other local guides from Breuil. When Whymper discovered Giordano and Carrel's plan, he left Breuil and crossed the Theodul Pass to Zermatt to hire local guides. He encountered Lord Francis Douglas, a Scottish mountaineer, who also wanted to climb the Matterhorn. They arrived later in Zermatt in the Monte Rosa Hotel, where they met two other British climbers — the Reverend Charles Hudson and his young and inexperienced companion, Douglas Robert Hadow — who had hired the French guide Michel Croz to try to make the first ascent. These two groups decided to join forces and try the ascent of the Hörnli ridge. They hired another two local guides, a father and son, both named Peter Taugwalder.

 

First ascent

 

Whymper and party left Zermatt early in the morning of 13 July 1865, heading to the foot of the Hörnli ridge, which they reached 6 hours later (approximately where the Hörnli Hut is situated today). Meanwhile, Carrel and six other Italian guides also began their ascent of the Italian ridge.

 

Despite its appearance, Whymper wrote that the Hörnli ridge was much easier to climb than the Italian ridge:

 

We were now fairly upon the mountain, and were astonished to find that places which from the Riffel, or even from the Furggen Glacier, looked entirely impracticable, were so easy that we could run about.

 

After camping for the night, Whymper and party started on the ridge. According to Whymper:

 

The whole of this great slope was now revealed, rising for 3,000 feet like a huge natural staircase. Some parts were more, and others were less, easy; but we were not once brought to a halt by any serious impediment, for when an obstruction was met in front it could always be turned to the right or left. For the greater part of the way there was, indeed, no occasion for the rope, and sometimes Hudson led, sometimes myself. At 6.20 we had attained a height of 12,800 feet and halted for half an hour; we then continued the ascent without a break until 9.55, when we stopped for fifty minutes, at a height of 14,000 feet.

 

When the party came close to the summit, they had to leave the ridge for the north face because "[the ridge] was usually more rotten and steep, and always more difficult than the face". At this point of the ascent Whymper wrote that the less experienced Hadow "required continual assistance". Having overcome these difficulties the group finally arrived in the summit area, with Croz and Whymper reaching the top first.

 

The slope eased off, and Croz and I, dashing away, ran a neck-and-neck race, which ended in a dead heat. At 1.40 p.m. the world was at our feet, and the Matterhorn was conquered. Hurrah! Not a footstep could be seen.

 

Precisely at this moment, Carrel and party were approximatively 400 metres below, still dealing with the most difficult parts of the Italian ridge. When seeing his rival on the summit, Carrel and party gave up on their attempt and went back to Breuil.

 

After building a cairn, Whymper and party stayed an hour on the summit. Then they began their descent of the Hörnli ridge. Croz descended first, then Hadow, Hudson and Douglas, the elder Taugwalder, Whymper, with the younger Taugwalder coming last. They climbed down with great care, only one man moving at a time. Whymper wrote:

 

As far as I know, at the moment of the accident no one was actually moving. I cannot speak with certainty, neither can the Taugwalders, because the two leading men were partially hidden from our sight by an intervening mass of rock. Poor Croz had laid aside his axe, and in order to give Mr. Hadow greater security was absolutely taking hold of his legs and putting his feet, one by one, into their proper positions. From the movements of their shoulders it is my belief that Croz, having done as I have said, was in the act of turning round to go down a step or two himself; at this moment Mr. Hadow slipped, fell on him, and knocked him over.

 

The weight of the falling men pulled Hudson and Douglas from their holds and dragged them down the north face. The Taugwalders and Whymper were left alive when the rope linking Douglas to the elder Taugwalder broke. They were stunned by the accident and for a time could not move until the younger Taugwalder descended to enable them to advance. When they were together Whymper asked to see the broken rope and saw that it had been employed by mistake as it was the weakest and oldest of the three ropes they had brought. They frantically looked, but in vain, for traces of their fallen companions. They continued their descent, including an hour in the dark, until 9.30 p.m. when a resting place was found. The descent was resumed at daybreak and the group finally reached Zermatt, where a search of the victims was quickly organized. The bodies of Croz, Hadow and Hudson were found on the Matterhorn Glacier, but the body of Douglas was never found. Although the elder Taugwalder was accused of cutting the rope to save himself and his son, the official inquest found no proof of this.

 

Second ascent

 

On 16 July, two days after the first ascent and the catastrophe, Jean-Antoine Carrel set out to crown Whymper's victory by proving that the Italian side was not unconquerable. He was accompanied by Amé Gorret, a priest who had shared with him the first attempt on the mountain back in 1857. Jean-Baptiste Bich and Jean-Augustin Meynet completed the party. Giordano would have joined them, but Carrel refused absolutely to take him with them; he said he would not have the strength to guide a traveller, and could neither answer for the result nor for any one's life. After hearing Sunday mass at the chapel of Breuil, the party started. Amé Gorret has described this ascent with enthusiasm: "At last we crossed the Col du Lion and set foot upon the pyramid of the Matterhorn!" On the following day, the 17th, they continued the ascent and reached Tyndall's flagstaff. "We were about to enter unknown country," wrote Gorret, "for no man had gone beyond this point." Here opinions were divided; Gorret suggested ascending by the ridge and scaling the last tower straight up. Carrel was inclined to traverse to the west of the peak, and thence go up on the Zmutt side. Naturally the wish of Carrel prevailed, for he was the leader and had not lost the habit of command, notwithstanding his recent defeat.

 

They made the passage of the enjambée, and traversed the west face to reach the Zmutt ridge. A false step made by one of the party and a fall of icicles from above warned them to return to the direct line of ascent, and the traverse back to the Lion ridge was one of the greatest difficulty. A falling stone injured Gorret in the arm.

 

At last they reached the base of the final tower. "We stood," wrote Gorret, "in a place that was almost comfortable. Although it was not more than two yards wide, and the slope was one of 75 percent, we gave it all kinds of pleasant names : the corridor, the gallery, the railroad, &c., &c." They imagined all difficulties were at an end; but a rock couloir, which they had hitherto not observed, lay between them and the final bit of ridge, where progress would be perfectly easy. It would have been unwise for all four to descend into the couloir, because they did not know where to fix the rope that would be needed on their return. Time pressed: it was necessary to reduce the numbers of the party; Gorret sacrificed himself, and Meynet stopped with him. Very soon afterwards Carrel and Bich were finally on the top. Meanwhile, Giordano at Breuil was writing in his diary as follows: "Splendid weather; at 9.30 saw Carrel and his men on the Shoulder, after that saw nothing more of them. Then much mist about the summit. Lifted a bit about 3.30, and we saw our flag on the western summit of the Matterhorn."

 

Other ascents

 

Ridges

 

The first direct ascent of the Italian (south-west) ridge as it is climbed today was by J. J. and J. P. Maquignaz on 13 September 1867.Julius Elliott made the second ascent via the Hörnli (north-east) ridge in 1868, and later that year the party of John Tyndall, J. J. and J. P. Maquignaz was the first to traverse the summit by way of the Hörnli and Italian ridges. On 22 August 1871, while wearing a white print dress, Lucy Walker became the first woman to reach the summit of the Matterhorn, followed a few weeks later by her rival Meta Brevoort. The first winter ascent of the Hörnli ridge was by Vittorio Sella with guides J. A. Carrel, J. B. Carrel and L. Carrel on 17 March 1882, and its first solo ascent was made by W. Paulcke in 1898. The first winter solo ascent of the Hörnli ridge was by G. Gervasutti in 1936.

 

The Zmutt (north-west) ridge was first climbed by Albert F. Mummery, Alexander Burgener, J. Petrus and A. Gentinetta on 3 September 1879. Its first solo ascent was made by Hans Pfann in 1906, and the first winter ascent was made by H. Masson and E. Petrig on 25 March 1948.

 

The last of the Matterhorn's four ridges to be ascended was the Furggen (south-east) ridge. M. Piacenza with guides J. J. Carrel and J. Gaspard on 9 September 1911, climbed most of the ridge but bypassed the overhangs near the top to the south. Not until 23 September 1942, during the Second World War, did Alfredo Perino, along with guides Louis Carrel (nicknamed "The Little Carrel") and Giacomo Chiara, climb the complete ridge and the overhangs directly.

 

In 1966, René Arnold and Joseph Graven made the first solo enchainement of the four Matterhorn ridges in 19.5 hours. Beginning at the 3,300m Bossi Bivouac hut, the pair followed the normal route up the Furggen Ridge and then descended the Hornli Ridge. After crossing the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face, they ascended the Zmutt Ridge and then descended the Italian (Lion) Ridge to the village of Breuil. In 1985, Marco Barmasse repeated their achievement, but this time his route included the first solo ascent of the Furggen overhangs. He completed the enchainement, reaching the Abruzzi Hut after 15 hours.

 

On 20 August 1992, Italian alpinist Hans Kammerlander and Swiss alpine guide Diego Wellig climbed the Matterhorn four times in just 23 hours and 26 minutes. The route they followed was: Zmutt ridge–summit–Hörnli ridge (descent)–Furggen ridge–summit–Lion ridge (descent)–Lion ridge–summit–Hörnli ridge (descent)–Hörnli ridge–summit–Hörnli Hut (descent). However the Italian route (Lion Ridge), was not climbed from Duca degli Abruzzi Refuge at 2802 m, but from Carrel Hut, at 3830 m, both uphill and downhill.

 

In 1995, Bruno Brunod climbed Matterhorn from the village Breuil-Cervinia in 2 h 10 min. and from Breuil-Cervinia to Matterhorn and back, in 3:14:44

 

On 21 August 2013, the Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet broke Brunod's record as it took him 1 hour, 56 min to the top from Breuil-Cervinia - a round-trip time of 2 hours 52 minutes to return to his starting point.

 

Faces

 

William Penhall and guides made the first (partial) ascent of the west face, the Matterhorn's most hidden and unknown, one hour after Mummery and party's first ascent of the Zmutt ridge on 3 September 1879. It was not until 1962 that the west face was completely climbed. The ascent was made on 13 August by Renato Daguin and Giovanni Ottin. In January 1978 seven Italian alpine guides made a successful winter climb of Daguin and Ottin's highly direct, and previously unrepeated, 1962 route. But a storm came during their ascent, bringing two metres of snow to Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt, and their accomplishment turned bitter when one of the climbers died during the descent.

 

The north face, before it was climbed in 1931, was one of the last great big wall problems in the Alps. To succeed on the north face, good climbing and ice-climbing technique and route-finding ability were required. Unexpectedly it was first climbed by the brothers Franz and Toni Schmid on 31 July – 1 August 1931. They reached the summit at the end of the second day, after a night of bivouac. Because they had kept their plans secret, their ascent was a complete surprise. In addition, the two brothers had travelled by bicycle from Munich and after their successful ascent they cycled back home again. The first winter ascent of the north face was made by Hilti von Allmen and Paul Etter on 3-4 February 1962. Its first solo ascent was made in five hours by Dieter Marchart on 22 July 1959. Walter Bonatti climbed the "North Face Direct" solo on 18-22 February 1965. The same year, Yvette Vaucher became the first woman to climb the north face. Bonatti's direct route was not repeated solo until 29 years later, in winter 1994 by Catherine Destivelle.

 

Ueli Steck set the record time in climbing the north face (Schmid route) of Matterhorn in 2009 with a time of 1 hour 56 minutes.

 

After Bonatti's climb, the best alpinists were still preoccupied with one last great problem: the "Zmutt Nose", an overhang lying on the right-hand side of the north face. In July 1969 two Italians, Alessandro Gogna and Leo Cerruti, attempted to solve the problem. It took them four days to figure out the unusual overhangs, avoiding however its steepest part. In July 1981 the Swiss Michel Piola and Pierre-Alain Steiner surmounted the Zmutt Nose by following a direct route, the Piola-Steiner.

 

The first ascent of the south face was made by Enzo Benedetti with guides Louis Carrel and Maurice Bich on 15 October 1931, and the first complete ascent of the east face was made by Enzo Benedetti and G. Mazzotti with guides Louis and Lucien Carrel, Maurice Bich and Antoine Gaspard on 18-19 September 1932.

 

Casualties on the Matterhorn

 

The four men lost in 1865 have not been the only fatalities on the Matterhorn. In fact, several climbers die each year due to a number of factors including the scale of the climb and its inherent dangers, inexperience, falling rocks, and overcrowded routes. The Matterhorn is thus amongst the deadliest mountains in the world. By the late 1980s, it was estimated that over 500 people have died whilst attempting its summit since the 1865 ascent, with an average of about 12 deaths each year.

 

In the 2000s, there was a trend of fewer people dying each year on the mountain. This has been attributed partly to a greater awareness of the risks, and also due to the fact that a majority of climbers now use local guides. However, in the summer of 2018, at least ten people died on the mountain.

 

Here is a list of people who died on the mountain whose bodies were not recovered until later:

 

1954 French skier Henri le Masne went missing on the Matterhorn. In 2005 remains were found, identified as le Masne in 2018

1970 Two Japanese climbers missing; remains found after 45 years in 2015

1979 British climber missing; remains found after 34 years in 2014

2014 Japanese hiker missing; remains found 2018

2016 Two British climbers missing; remains found 2016

 

Legacy: beginning of mountain culture

 

The first ascent of the Matterhorn changed mountain culture. Whymper’s book about his first ascent, Scrambles Amongst the Alps, published in 1871, was a worldwide bestseller. Tourists began to visit Switzerland in the summer to see the Alps and often hired locals as guides. With the beginning of alpine skiing in the early 20th century, tourists began traveling to Switzerland in winter also. Mountaineering, in part, helped transform Switzerland’s mountain regions from poor rural areas to tourist destinations. This combination of mountain climbing, skiing and tourism, was used in the western United States, creating Sun Valley, Vail, Jackson Hole, and other mountain towns around the world.

 

Climbing routes

 

Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons, and mountain guides take a large number of people up the northeast Hörnli route each summer. In total, up to 150 climbers attempt the Matterhorn each day during summer. By modern standards, the climb is fairly difficult (AD Difficulty rating), but not hard for skilled mountaineers according to French climbing grades. There are fixed ropes on parts of the route to help. Still, it should be remembered that several climbers may die on the mountain each year.

 

The usual pattern of ascent is to take the Schwarzsee cable car up from Zermatt, hike up to the Hörnli Hut elev. 3,260 m (10,700 ft), a large stone building at the base of the main ridge, and spend the night. The next day, climbers rise at 3:30 am so as to reach the summit and descend before the regular afternoon clouds and storms come in. The Solvay Hut located on the ridge at 4,003 m (13,133 ft) can be used only in a case of emergency.

 

Other popular routes on the mountain include the Italian (Lion) ridge (AD+ Difficulty rating) and the Zmutt ridge (D Difficulty rating). The four faces, as well as the Furggen ridge, constitute the most challenging routes to the summit. The north face is amongst the six most difficult faces of the Alps, as well as ‘The Trilogy’, the three hardest of the six, along with the north faces of the Eiger and the Grandes Jorasses (TD+ Difficulty rating).

 

Overcrowding on the several routes have become an issue and guides and local authorities have struggled with how to regulate the numbers. In 2015 the Hörnli hut became the first mountain shelter in Europe to limit beds.

 

History

 

Aegidius Tschudi, one of the earliest Alpine topographers and historians, was the first to mention the region around the Matterhorn in his work, De Prisca ac Vera Alpina Raethi, published in Basel in 1538. He approached the Matterhorn as a student when in his Alpine travels he reached the summit of the Theodul Pass but he does not seem to have paid any particular attention to the mountain itself.

 

The Matterhorn remained unstudied for more than two centuries, until a geologist from Geneva, Horace Benedict de Saussure, travelled to the mountain, which filled him with admiration. However, de Saussure was not moved to climb the mountain, and had no hope of measuring its altitude by taking a barometer to its summit. "Its precipitous sides," he wrote, "which give no hold to the very snows, are such as to afford no means of access." Yet his scientific interest was kindled by "the proud peak which rises to so vast an altitude, like a triangular obelisk, that seems to be carved by a chisel." His mind intuitively grasped the causes which gave the peak its present precipitous form: the Matterhorn was not like a perfected crystal; the centuries had laboured to destroy a great part of an ancient and much larger mountain. On his first journey de Saussure had come from Ayas to the Col des Cimes Blanches, from where the Matterhorn first comes into view; descending to Breuil, he ascended to the Theodul Pass. On his second journey, in 1792, he came to the Valtournanche, studying and describing it; he ascended to the Theodul Pass, where he spent three days, analysing the structure of the Matterhorn, whose height he was the first to measure, and collecting stones, plants and insects. He made careful observations, from the sparse lichen that clung to the rocks to the tiny but vigorous glacier fly that fluttered over the snows and whose existence at such heights was mysterious. At night he took refuge under the tent erected near the ruins of an old fort at the top of the pass. During these days he climbed the Klein Matterhorn (3,883 metres), which he named the Cime Brune du Breithorn.

 

The first inquirers began to come to the Matterhorn. There is a record of a party of Englishmen who in the summer of 1800 crossed the Great St. Bernard Pass, a few months after the passage of Bonaparte; they came to Aosta and thence to Valtournenche, slept at the chalets of Breuil, and traversed the Theodul Pass, which they called Monte Rosa. The Matterhorn was to them an object of the most intense and continuous admiration.

 

The Matterhorn is mentioned in a guide-book to Switzerland by Johann Gottfried Ebel, which was published in Zürich towards the end of the eighteenth century, and translated into English in 1818. The mountain appeared in it under the three names of Silvius, Matterhorn, and Mont Cervin, and was briefly described as one of the most splendid and wonderful obelisks in the Alps. On Zermatt there was a note: "A place which may, perhaps, interest the tourist is the valley of Praborgne (Zermatt); it is bounded by huge glaciers which come right down into the valley; the village of Praborgne is fairly high, and stands at a great height above the glaciers; its climate is almost as warm as that of Italy, and plants belonging to hot countries are to be found there at considerable altitudes, above the ice."

 

William Brockedon, who came to the region in 1825, considered the crossing of the Theodul Pass from Breuil to Zermatt a difficult undertaking. He gave, however, expression to his enthusiasm on the summit. When he arrived exhausted on the top of the pass, he gazed "on the beautiful pyramid of the Cervin, more wonderful than aught else in sight, rising from its bed of ice to a height of 5,000 feet, a spectacle of indescribable grandeur." In this "immense natural amphitheatre, enclosed from time immemorial by snow-clad mountains and glaciers ever white, in the presence of these grand walls the mind is overwhelmed, not indeed that it is unable to contemplate the scene, but it staggers under the immensity of those objects which it contemplates."

 

Those who made their way up through the Valtournanche to the foot of the mountain were few in number. W. A. B. Coolidge, a diligent collector of old and new stories of the Alps, mentions that during those years, besides Brockedon, only Hirzel-Escher of Zürich, who crossed the Theodul Pass in 1822, starting from Breuil, accompanied by a local guide. The greater number came from the Valais up the Visp valley to Zermatt. In 1813, a Frenchman, Henri Maynard, climbed to the Theodul Pass and made the first ascent of the Breithorn; he was accompanied by numerous guides, among them J. M. Couttet of Chamonix, the same man who had gone with de Saussure to the top of the Klein Matterhorn in 1792. The writings of these pioneers make much mention of the Matterhorn; the bare and inert rock is gradually quickened into life by men's enthusiasm. "Stronger minds," remarked Edward Whymper, "felt the influence of the wonderful form, and men who ordinarily spoke or wrote like rational beings, when they came under its power seemed to quit their senses, and ranted and rhapsodised, losing for a time all common forms of speech."

 

Among the poets of the Matterhorn during these years (1834 to 1840) were Elie de Beaumont, a famous French geologist; Pierre Jean Édouard Desor, a naturalist of Neuchâtel, who went up there with a party of friends, two of whom were Louis Agassiz and Bernhard Studer. Christian Moritz Engelhardt, who was so filled with admiration for Zermatt and its neighbourhood that he returned there at least ten times (from 1835 to 1855), described these places in two valuable volumes, drew panoramas and maps, and collected the most minute notes on the mineralogy and botany of the region. Zermatt was at that time a quiet little village, and travellers found hospitality at the parish priest's, or at the village doctor's.

 

In 1841 James David Forbes, professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, came to see the Matterhorn. A philosopher and geologist, and an observant traveller, he continued the work of De Saussure in his journeys and his writings. He was full of admiration for the Matterhorn, calling it the most wonderful peak in the Alps, unsealed and unscalable. These words, pronounced by a man noted among all his contemporaries for his thorough knowledge of mountains, show what men's feelings then were towards the Matterhorn, and how at a time when the idea of Alpine exploration was gaining ground in their minds, the Matterhorn stood by itself as a mountain apart, of whose conquest it was vain even to dream. And such it remained till long after this; as such it was described by John Ball twenty years later in his celebrated guide-book. Forbes ascended the Theodul Pass in 1842, climbed the Breithorn, and came down to Breuil; as he descended from the savage scenery of the Matterhorn, the Italian landscapes of the Valtournanche seemed to him like paradise. Meanwhile, Gottlieb Samuel Studer, the geographer, together with Melchior Ulrich, was describing and mapping the topographical features of the Zermatt peaks.

 

Rodolphe Töpffer, who first accompanied and guided youth to the Alps for purposes of education and amusement, began his journeys in 1832, but it is only in 1840 that he mentions the Matterhorn. Two years later Töpffer and his pupils came to Zermatt. He has described this journey of his in a chapter entitled Voyage autour du Mont Blanc jusqu'à Zermatt, here he sings a hymn of praise to the Matterhorn, comparing its form with a "huge crystal of a hundred facets, flashing varied hues, that softly reflects the light, unshaded, from the uttermost depths of the heavens". Töpffer's book was illustrated by Alexandre Calame, his master and friend, with drawings of the Matterhorn, executed in the romantic style of the period. It is an artificial mountain, a picture corresponding rather with the exaggerated effect it produces on the astonished mind of the artist, than with the real form of the mountain.

 

About this time there came a man who studied the Matterhorn in its structure and form, and who sketched it and described it in all its parts with the curiosity of the artist and the insight of the scientist. This was John Ruskin, a new and original type of philosopher and geologist, painter and poet, whom England was enabled to create during that period of radical intellectual reforms, which led the way for the highest development of her civilisation. Ruskin was the Matterhorn's poet par excellence. He went to Zermatt in 1844, and it is to be noticed as a curious fact, that the first time he saw the Matterhorn it did not please him. The mountain on its lofty pedestal in the very heart of the Alps was, perhaps, too far removed from the ideal he had formed of the mountains; but he returned, studied and dreamt for long at its feet, and at length he pronounced it "the most noble cliff in Europe." Ruskin was no mountaineer, nor a great friend to mountaineering; he drew sketches of the mountains merely as an illustration of his teaching of the beauty of natural forms, which was the object of his whole life. In his work on Modern Painters he makes continual use of the mountains as an example of beauty and an incentive to morality. The publication of Ruskin's work certainly produced a great impression at the time on educated people in England, and a widespread desire to see the mountains.

 

It is a fragment of some size; a group of broken walls, one of them overhanging; crowned with a cornice, nodding some hundred and fifty feet over its massive flank, three thousand above its glacier base, and fourteen thousand above the sea, — a wall truly of some majesty, at once the most precipitous and the strongest mass in the whole chain of the Alps, the Mont Cervin.

 

Other men of high attainments followed, but in the years 1850 scientists and artists were about to be succeeded by real climbers and the passes and peaks around Zermatt were explored little by little. In the preface to the first volume of the Alpine Journal, which appeared in 1863, the editor Hereford Brooke George wrote that: "While even if all other objects of interest in Switzerland should be exhausted, the Matterhorn remains (who shall say for how long?) unconquered and apparently invincible." Whymper successfully reached the summit in 1865, but four men perished on the descent. The English papers discussed it with bitter words of blame; a German newspaper published an article in which Whymper was accused of cutting the rope between Douglas and Taugwalder, at the critical moment, to save his own life.

 

In 1890 the Federal Government was asked simultaneously by the same contractor for a concession for the Zermatt-Gornergrat railway, and for a Zermatt-Matterhorn one. The Gornergrat railway was constructed in 1896-1898 and has been working since August 1898, but there has been no more talk of the other. The project essentially consisted of a line which went up to the Hörnli, and continued thence in a rectilinear tunnel about two kilometres long, built under the ridge, and issuing near the summit on the Zmutt side. Sixty years later in 1950, Italian engineer Count Dino Lora Totino planned a cable car on the Italian side from Breuil-Cervinia to the summit. But the Alpine Museum of Zermatt sent a protest letter with 90,000 signatures to the Italian government. The latter declared the Matterhorn a natural wonder worthy of protection and refused the concession to the engineer.

 

2015 marked the 150th anniversary of the first ascent. Events and festivities were held throughout the year. A completely renewed Hörnli Hut opened the same year in the month of July.

 

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, light artist Gerry Hofstetter started projecting country flags and messages of endurance onto the mountain peak as part of a nightly series designed to show support and spread hope for everyone suffering and those fighting the pandemic.

 

Other mountains

 

Hundreds of other mountains have been compared with the Matterhorn, either for their resemblance to it or because of their apparent inaccessibility.

 

Mountains named after the Matterhorn

Little Matterhorn (1,480 m), Australia

Matterhorn (1,600 m), in Antarctica

Matterhorn (3,305 m), in Nevada

Matterhorn Peak (3,744 m), in California

Matterhorn Peak (4,144 m), in Colorado

Matterhorn Peak (2,636 m), in British Columbia

Neny Matterhorn (1,125 m), Antarctica

 

In culture

 

During the 20th century, the Matterhorn and the story of the first ascent in particular, inspired various artists and film producers such as Luis Trenker and Walt Disney. Large-scale replicas can be found at Disneyland and Window of the World. In 2021, a Matterhorn-related attraction opened in the Swiss Museum of Transport, enabling visitors to climb it virtually from the Solvay Hut to the summit.

 

Designed in 1908 by Emil Cardinaux, a leading poster artist of the time, the Matterhorn poster for the Zermatt tourist office is often considered the first modern poster. It has been described as a striking example of a marriage of tourism, patriotism and popular art. It served as decoration in many Swiss military hospices during the war in addition to be found in countless middle-class living rooms. Another affiche depicting the Matterhorn was created by Cardinaux for the chocolate brand Toblerone in the 1920s. The image of the Matterhorn first appeared on Toblerone chocolate bars in 1960. Since then, the Matterhorn has become a reference that still inspires graphic artists today and has been used extensively for all sort of publicity and advertising.

 

Paintings

 

The Matterhorn (1849), John Ruskin

The Matterhorn (1867), Albert Bierstadt

Matterhorn (1879), Edward Theodore Compton

Le Cervin (1892), Félix Vallotton

 

Filmography

 

Struggle for the Matterhorn (1928)

The Mountain Calls (1938)

The Challenge (1938)

Climbing the Matterhorn (1947)

Third Man on the Mountain (1959)

Im Banne des Berges (2015)[90]

Soarin' Around the World/Soaring Over the Horizon (2016)

The Horn (2016) - Documentary series following the mountain rescue teams in the Swiss Alps.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Das Matterhorn (italienisch Monte Cervino oder Cervino, französisch Mont Cervin oder Le Cervin, walliserdeutsch Hore oder Horu) ist mit 4478 m ü. M. einer der höchsten Berge der Alpen. Wegen seiner markanten Gestalt und seiner Besteigungsgeschichte ist das Matterhorn einer der bekanntesten Berge der Welt. Für die Schweiz ist es ein Wahrzeichen und eine der meistfotografierten Touristenattraktionen.

 

Der Berg steht in den Walliser Alpen zwischen Zermatt und Breuil-Cervinia. Ost-, Nord- und Westwand liegen auf schweizerischem, die Südwand auf italienischem Staatsgebiet.

 

Wissenswertes über das Matterhorn vermittelt das Matterhorn Museum in Zermatt.

 

Geschichte des Namens

 

Im Allgemeinen kamen im Gebirge die Bergspitzen erst spät zu ihren Namen, die daruntergelegenen Passübergänge und Alpen jedoch meist früher. So nannte Johannes Schalbetter 1545 den heutigen Theodulpass als «Mons Siluius» (deutsch übersetzt Salasser-berg) oder deutsch Augsttalberg. Mit Augsttal ist dabei das Tal von Aosta (lateinisch Augusta Praetoria Salassorum) gemeint, das Aostatal.

 

«Siluius» wurde dann sehr wahrscheinlich volksetymologisch falsch interpretiert über vermeintlich lateinisch «silvius» und «silvanus» zu französisch und italienisch «Cervin/Cervin(i)». 1581 wurde das Matterhorn erstmals als Mont Cervin erwähnt, wie später Mons Silvanus und Mons Silvius. Im Jahr 1682 nannte Anton Lambien das heutige Matterhorn Matter Dioldin h[orn] (Matterhornspitze) zur Abgrenzung vom gleichnamigen Pass, der bis Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts (beispielsweise auf der Dufourkarte) noch «Matterjoch» genannt wurde.

 

In der Lokalbevölkerung wird der Berg auch einfach ds Hore («das Horn», Zermatter Dialekt) oder ds Horu («das Horn», Oberwalliser Dialekt) genannt.

 

Geologie

 

Das Matterhorn ist ein Karling, und seine charakteristische Form entstand durch Erosion und Gletscherschliff in den Eiszeiten. Das Matterhorn ist Teil der Dent-Blanche-Decke des Unter-Ostalpins, also eines weit nach Westen auf die penninischen Decken der Westalpen aufgeschobenen Trümmerstücks eines ostalpinen Deckgesteins. Die untere Gesteinsschicht des Matterhorns, die bis zur Höhe der Hörnlihütte reicht, ist penninisch, also westalpin. Das im Vergleich dazu kleine Horn selbst sitzt auf dieser Basis auf und gehört zur Dent-Blanche-Decke, und zwar der untere Teil bis zur «Schulter» zur Arolla-Serie aus Orthogneisen und Metagabbros und der oberste Teil zur Valpelline-Serie aus hochmetamorphen Paragneisen der Dent-Blanche-Decke. Einfach ausgedrückt, besteht das Matterhorn aus zwei verschiedenen, schräg aufeinanderliegenden Gesteinspaketen. Der heutige Matterhorngletscher entstand erst wieder im Pessimum der Völkerwanderungszeit nach dem Optimum der Römerzeit.

 

Eine Besonderheit ist die charakteristische «Matterhorn-Wolke». Sie ist ein herausragendes Beispiel für einen Wolkentyp, den Meteorologen als Bannerwolke bezeichnen: Wie eine mächtige Fahne bildet sich die Wolke auf der windabgewandten Seite (Lee-Seite) des Gipfels als fast ständiger Begleiter des Berges. Die plausibelste Erklärung für ihr Entstehen ist die folgende: Das Matterhorn überragt das umgebende Gebirge wie ein Turm, so dass sich an ihm Leewirbel bilden, die feuchte Luft aus dem Tal nach oben führen, wo es zur Kondensation und Wolkenbildung kommt. Ist das Gipfelniveau erreicht, so wird die Wolke von einem waagerechten Ast des Leewirbels erfasst, der zu der typischen Fahnen-Form führt (Leewirbel-Hypothese).

 

Erstbesteigungen

 

Seit 1857 wurden mehrere erfolglose Versuche unternommen, das Matterhorn zu besteigen, zumeist von der italienischen Seite her. 1862 erstieg John Tyndall mit den Führern Johann Josef Benet, Anton Walter, Jean-Jacques und Jean-Antoine Carrel erstmals die Südwestschulter, den heutigen Pic Tyndall. Die Fortsetzung des Aufstiegs entlang des Liongrates erschien ihnen unmöglich.

 

Dem Erstbesteiger des Matterhorns, Edward Whymper, erschien der Liongrat weiterhin als nicht machbar. Insgesamt war er bereits sieben Mal gescheitert und überlebte u. a. einen Sturz über 60 Meter. Whymper versuchte daher, seinen Freund Jean-Antoine Carrel zu einer Besteigung von der Zermatter Seite zu überreden. Carrel beharrte darauf, von Italien her aufzusteigen.

 

Im Juli 1865 erfuhr Whymper zufällig von einem Gastwirt in Breuil-Cervinia, dass Carrel sich – ohne Whymper zu benachrichtigen – wieder zum Liongrat aufgemacht hatte. Whymper fühlte sich getäuscht und eilte nach Zermatt, um dort eine Gruppe für einen sofortigen Versuch über den Hörnligrat zusammenzustellen. Am 14. Juli 1865 gelang der 7er-Seilschaft Whympers die Erstbesteigung. Die Gruppe stieg über den Hörnligrat auf die Schulter; weiter oben, im Bereich der heutigen Fixseile, wich sie in die Nordwand aus. Edward Whymper erreichte als erster den Gipfel, weil er sich vor dem Gipfel vom Seil losschnitt und vorauslief. Ihm folgten der Bergführer Michel Croz (aus Chamonix), Reverend Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, D. Robert Hadow (alle aus England) sowie die Zermatter Bergführer Peter Taugwalder Vater und Peter Taugwalder Sohn. Sie sahen Carrel und seine Gruppe weit unterhalb am Pic Tyndall.

Beim Abstieg der Erstbesteiger stürzten die vorderen vier der Seilschaft (Croz, Hadow, Hudson und Douglas) noch oberhalb der «Schulter» über die Nordwand tödlich ab. Josef Marie Lochmatter brach ab dem 15. Juli 1865 mehrmals mit Rettungsmannschaften auf, um den vier Abgestürzten Erste Hilfe zu leisten. Am 19. Juli barg ein Bergungstrupp die Leichen von Croz, Hadow und Hudson auf dem Matterhorngletscher. Douglas' Leiche wurde nie gefunden.

 

Am 17. Juli gelang auch Carrel zusammen mit Jean-Baptiste Bich und Amé Gorret der Aufstieg über den Liongrat bis zum Gipfel. Die drei traversierten vom Nordende der italienischen Schulter durch die oberste Westwand auf den Zmuttgrat (sog. Galleria Carrel) und schlossen die Besteigung über diesen ab.

 

Runde Jahrestage der Erstbesteigung des Matterhorns sind feierlich begangen worden. So zeigte das Schweizer Fernsehen zum 100. Jahrestag am 14. Juli 1965 eine internationale Live-Sendung einer Matterhornbesteigung mit Beteiligung von Berg-Reportern der BBC und der RAI. Am 30. Juni 1965 zeigte das Schweizer Fernsehen den eigens produzierten Dokumentarfilm Bitterer Sieg: Die Matterhorn Story (Regie: Gaudenz Meili). Anlässlich des 150. Jahrestages wurde am 14. Juli 2015 auf dem Bahnhofplatz in Zermatt eine Countdown-Uhr aufgebaut, im Dezember 2014 wurde im Zentrum der Stadt («Matterhorn Plaza») ein Treffpunkt für das Jubiläumsjahr ins Leben gerufen.

 

Am 22. Juli 1871, sechs Jahre nach Whymper, bestieg die britische Alpinistin Lucy Walker als erste Frau das Matterhorn. 1869 hatten Isabella Straton und Emmeline Lewis Lloyd als reine Frauenseilschaft die Besteigung versucht; sie scheiterten kurz vor dem Gipfel. 1871 bestieg auch Anna Voigt aus Frankfurt das Matterhorn; sie war damals eine der ersten Frauen in der Sektion Frankfurt am Main des Deutschen Alpenvereins. Yvette Vaucher (* 1929) ist die erste Frau, die die Nordwand des Matterhorns bestiegen hat.

 

Routen

 

Der am weitaus häufigsten begangene Aufstiegsweg ist der Hörnligrat von Zermatt aus über die Hörnlihütte (Nordostgrat, ZS+). Er stellt den sogenannten Normalweg, also den leichtesten Aufstieg, dar. Auf 4003 Metern Höhe, nordöstlich unterhalb des Gipfels, gibt es als Biwak für Notfälle, wie Wettersturz und Zeitverzug, die von der Hörnlihütte aus betreute Solvayhütte mit zehn Notlagern. Weitere Aufstiegsrouten gibt es am Südwestgrat über den kirchendachartigen Pic Tyndall (auch Liongrat oder Italienerweg genannt, ZS+), am Nordwestgrat (Zmuttgrat, S) und am Südostgrat (Furggengrat, SS, wenig begangen). Auch durch die abweisende Nordwand verläuft eine Aufstiegsroute, die hin und wieder von Spezialisten, z. B. Walter Bonatti, gewählt wird.

 

(Wikipedia)

india.media.mit.edu/workshops/coep2011/index.html

 

Manasvi Tickoo, Parth Patel, Sagar Jadhav, Renuka Sapkal, Prachi Patil

 

without clamp top and bottom

youtu.be/e-k83EfFDgg

 

In this video I show two models with different curve:

(Curved Structural Folding. Combined the straight and curved folds. Ball Cylinder Star)

 

1) Paper Fold with Reduced Curved

youtu.be/e-k83EfFDgg

2) Paper Fold with Extended curved

youtu.be/e-k83EfFDgg?t=3m15s

 

Virtual 3D Model

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx7y27Vg9OI

 

I found it difficult to design and fold these models. Excuse the wrinkles in the models. Working with a larger scale are obtained fewer wrinkles. But this scale is the limit of what can be folded with my hands and materials.

 

Me resulto difícil diseñar y doblar estos modelos, no estoy acostumbrado a los pliegues curvos. Disculpen las arrugas en los modelos. Al Trabajar con una escala mayor se obtienen menos arrugas, pero esta escala es el límite de lo que puedo doblar con mis manos y los materiales que dispongo. Ahora en base a este patrón si se incrementa las secciones de pliegue de 6 a 8 se puede obtener una forma más fluida pero no sé si sería fácil de plegar el modelo, en el futuro espero poder comprobar esto.

extended version

post - metamorphosis

DADA turbo haute-couture knittwear

new joint via crocheted wind wheel

joyful avantguarde

for playful individuals

offering multiple wearing options

as usual

The Wayfarers Walk extends 70 miles between the coast near Portsmouth and Inkpen Beacon just across the Berkshire border. It connects with other long distance paths at Emsworth (the Sussex Border Path), at Bedhampton (the Solent Way) and at Inkpen Beacon (the Test Way).

 

Linking with the Wayfarers Walk are six circular walks each consisting of a network of paths of varying distances. Near the villages of Burghclere and Kingsclere the Wayfarer's Walk traverses Watership Down (just over a mile to the west of this position), the setting for Richard Adams' best-selling book of the same name about a community of rabbits. The author still lives nearby.

 

Walking on footpaths and tracks is the best way to enjoy Hampshire's lovely and diverse countryside. The Wayfarers Walk takes you into the heart of Hampshire - It traverses the eastern and northern parts of the County only, but still provides a fine selection of the coastline, woodlands, gentle rolling hills and rich green valleys for which Hampshire is renowned.

 

The Wayfarers Walk follows some of the old tracks used by shepherds driving their animals to sheep fairs in Farnham and New Alresford. But today "corn and cows" aptly describes farming in Hampshire, half of the agricultural land growing cereals and half growing grass eaten mainly by dairy cows.

 

www3.hants.gov.uk/walking/longdistance/wayfarers-walk.htm

Top view With Clamp Top And Bottom

youtu.be/e-k83EfFDgg

 

In this video I show two models with different curve:

(Curved Structural Folding. Combined the straight and curved folds. Ball Cylinder Star)

 

1) Paper Fold with Reduced Curved

youtu.be/e-k83EfFDgg

2) Paper Fold with Extended curved

youtu.be/e-k83EfFDgg?t=3m15s

 

Virtual 3D Model

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx7y27Vg9OI

 

I found it difficult to design and fold these models. Excuse the wrinkles in the models. Working with a larger scale are obtained fewer wrinkles. But this scale is the limit of what can be folded with my hands and materials.

 

Me resulto difícil diseñar y doblar estos modelos, no estoy acostumbrado a los pliegues curvos. Disculpen las arrugas en los modelos. Al Trabajar con una escala mayor se obtienen menos arrugas, pero esta escala es el límite de lo que puedo doblar con mis manos y los materiales que dispongo. Ahora en base a este patrón si se incrementa las secciones de pliegue de 6 a 8 se puede obtener una forma más fluida pero no sé si sería fácil de plegar el modelo, en el futuro espero poder comprobar esto.

Estudiantes se muestran felices por la entrega de estos planteles escolares, quienes se beneficiarán de laboratorios de ciencias y de Informática, así como de bibliotecas, comedores, cocinas, paneles solares y rincones tecnológicos, entre otros espacios.

 

Foto: Ángel Álvarez Rodríguez/Presidencia República Dominicana

Nota de prensa:

presidencia.gob.do/noticias/hato-mayor-recibe-74-aulas-en...

Old school beta secondlife

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Finally, I extended the rage of my GI radio slave transmitter. Read all 'bout it here.

DOT Art partnered with Uptown Grand Central to present a vinyl construction banner wrap by Gera Lozano, also known as GERALUZ, along the fencing surrounding the re-construction of the 125th Street Plaza at Park Avenue in Manhattan. In 2015, GERALUZ painted a mural on the comfort station within the plaza through the DOT Art Program in partnership with Uptown Grand Central and Creative Art Works. The mural featured images of sunrises and sphinxes to symbolize Harlem's rich heritage. Uptown Grand Central invited GERALUZ back to the site to incorporate similar motifs within the banner to uplift the surrounding community during the plaza renovation. The banner design created a point of connection for the community and continued to symbolize the bright future of the neighborhood.

 

NYC DOT Art Program, Special Projects (2019)

In partnership with Uptown Grand Central

Harlem Sunrise Extended by Gera Lozano

Construction Fence at 125th Street Plaza, Manhattan

www.nyc.gov/dotart

www.uptowngrandcentral.org

www.geralozano.com

 

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender?

one of the benefits of having kids

Longridge extend their lead at the top with a win against 2nd place Avro with all three goals coming from Richie Allen.

The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.

 

The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.

 

The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakom, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.

 

Many unique species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers, water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape.

 

Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km², and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. Alleppey, "Venice of the East", has a large network of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad is India’s longest lake.

 

HOUSE BOATS

The kettuvallams (Kerala houseboats) in the backwaters are one of the prominent tourist attractions in Kerala. More than 2000 kettuvallams ply the backwaters, 120 of them in Alappuzha. Kerala government has classified the tourist houseboats as Platinum, Gold and silver.

 

The kettuvallams were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Thatched roof covers over wooden hulls, 30 m in length, provided protection from the elements. At some point in time the boats were used as living quarters by the royalty. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having a sleeping area, with western-style toilets, a dining area and a sit out on the deck. Most tourists spend the night on a house boat. Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff – mostly having a flavour of Kerala. The houseboats are of various patterns and can be hired as per the size of the family or visiting group. The living-dining room is usually open on at least three sides providing a grand view of the surroundings, including other boats, throughout the day when it is on the move. It is brought to a standstill at times of taking food and at night. After sunset, the boat crew provide burning coils to drive away mosquitoes. Ketuvallams are motorised but generally proceed at a slow speed for smooth travel. All ketuvallams have a generator and most bedrooms are air-conditioned. At times, as per demand of customers, electricity is switched off and lanterns are provided to create a rural setting.

 

While many ketuvalloms take tourists from a particular point and bring them back to around the same point next morning there are some specific cruises mostly in the Alappuzha area, such as the one night cruise from Alappuzha to Thotapally via Punnamada Lake two nights cruise from Alappuzha to Alumkavadi,[8] one night cruise from Alappuzha to Kidangara, and one night cruise from Alappuzha to Mankotta. There are numerous such cruises.

 

Beypore, located 10 km south of Kozhikode at the mouth of the Chaliyar River, is a famous fishing harbour, port and boat building centre. Beypore has a 1,500 year-tradition of boatbuilding. The skill of the local shipwrights and boat builders are widely sought after. There is a houseboat-building yard at Alumkadavu, in Ashtamudi Kayal near Kollam.

 

FERRY SERVICES

Regular ferry services connect most locations on both banks of the backwaters. The Kerala State Water Transport Department operates ferries for passengers as well as tourists. It is the cheapest mode of transport through the backwaters.

 

ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

Connected by artificial canals, the backwaters form an economical means of transport, and a large local trade is carried on by inland navigation. Fishing, along with fish curing is an important industry.

 

Kerala backwaters have been used for centuries by the local people for transportation, fishing and agriculture. It has supported the efforts of the local people to earn a livelihood. In more recent times, agricultural efforts have been strengthened with reclamation of some backwater lands for rice growing, particularly in the Kuttanad area. Boat making has been a traditional craft, so has been the coir industry.

 

Kuttanad is crisscrossed with waterways that run alongside extensive paddy fields, as well as fields of cassava, banana and yam. A unique feature of Kuttanad is that many of these fields are below sea level and are surrounded by earthen embankments. The crops are grown on the low-lying ground and irrigated with fresh water from canal and waterways connected to Vembanad lake. The area is similar to the dikes of the Netherlands where land has been reclaimed from the sea and crops are grown.

 

WIKIPEDIA

  

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A United States Air Force KC-10 sits on the tarmac at Prestwick Airport.

 

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celtic key pattern variation

3312 Midwest Road, Oak Brook, Il

An ancient megalithic structure

 

Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1,831,000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese (as well as Spanish) for "flowers".

 

Flores is located east of Sumbawa and Komodo and west of Lembata and the Alor Archipelago. To the southeast is Timor. To the south, across the Sumba strait, is Sumba and to the north, beyond the Flores Sea, is Sulawesi.

 

On 12 December 1992, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred, killing 2,500 people in and around Maumere, including islands off the North coast.

 

HOMO FLORESIENSIS

In September 2004, at Liang Bua Cave in western Flores, paleoanthropologists discovered small skeletons that they described as a previously unknown hominin species, Homo floresiensis. These are informally named hobbits and appear to have stood about 1 m tall. The most complete individual (LB1) is dated as 18,000 years old.

 

HISTORY

Portuguese traders and missionaries came to Flores in the 16th century, mainly to Larantuka and Sikka. Their influence is still discernible in Sikka's language, culture and religion.

 

The Dominican order was extremely important in this island, as well as in the neighbouring islands of Timor and Solor. When in 1613 the Dutch attacked the Fortress of Solor, the population of this fort, led by the Dominicans, moved to the harbor town of Larantuka, on the eastern coast of Flores. This population was mixed, of Portuguese and local islanders descent and Larantuqueiros, Topasses (people that wear heats) or, as Dutch knew them, the 'Black Portuguese' (Swarte Portugueezen).

 

The Larantuqueiros or Topasses became the dominant sandalwood trading people of the region for the next 200 years. This group used Portuguese as the language for worship, Malay as the language of trade and a mixed dialect as mother tongue. This was observed by William Dampier, an English privateer visiting the Island in 1699:

 

These [the Topasses] have no Forts, but depend on their Alliance with the Natives: And indeed they are already so mixt, that it is hard to distinguish whether they are Portuguese or Indians. Their Language is Portuguese; and the religion they have, is Romish. They seem in Words to acknowledge the King of Portugal for their Sovereign; yet they will not accept any Officers sent by him. They speak indifferently the Malayan and their own native Languages, as well as Portuguese.

 

In 1846, Dutch and Portuguese initiated negotiations towards delimiting the territories but these negotiations led nowhere. In 1851 the new governor of Timor, Solor and Flores, Lima Lopes, faced with an impoverished administration, agreed to sell eastern Flores and the nearby islands to the Dutch in return for a payment of 200,000 Florins. Lima Lopes did so without the consent of Lisbon and was dismissed in disgrace, but his agreement was not rescinded and in 1854 Portugal ceded all its historical claims on Flores. After this, Flores became part of the territory of Dutch East Indies.

 

During World War II a Japanese invasion force landed at Reo on 14 May 1942 and occupied Flores.

 

After the war Flores became part of independent Indonesia.

 

ADMINISTRATION

Flores is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province. The island along with smaller minor islands are split into eight regencies (local government districts); from west to east these are: Manggarai Barat (West Manggarai), Manggarai Tengah (Central Manggarai), Manggarai Timur (East Manggarai), Ngada, Nagekeo, Ende, Sikka and Flores Timur (East Flores). Flores has 39.1% of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial population as of 2010, and the most Indonesians of all islands in the province.

 

It is the island with the 9th most Indonesians. Among all islands containing Indonesian territory, it is the 10th most populous after Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Bali, Madura, Lombok, and Timor.

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

The west coast of Flores is one of the few places, aside from the island of Komodo itself, where the Komodo dragon can be found in the wild, and is part of Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kelimutu National Park is the second national park designated on Flores to protect endangered species. The Flores giant rat is also endemic to the island, and Verhoeven's giant tree rat was formerly present. These giant rodents are considered examples of island gigantism.

 

Flores was also the habitat of several extinct dwarf forms of the proboscidean Stegodon, the most recent (Stegodon florensis insularis) disappearing approximately 12,000 years ago. It is speculated by scientists that limited resources and an absence of advanced predators made the few megafaunal species that reached the island subject to insular dwarfism.

 

CULTURE

There are many languages spoken on the island of Flores, all of them belonging to the Austronesian family. In the centre of the island in the districts of Ngada, Nagekeo, and Ende there is what is variously called the Central Flores Dialect Chain or the Central Flores Linkage. Within this area there are slight linguistic differences in almost every village. At least six separate languages are identifiable. These are from west to east: Ngadha, Nage, Keo, Ende, Lio and Palu'e, which is spoken on the island with the same name of the north coast of Flores. Locals would probably also add So'a and Bajawa to this list, which anthropologists have labeled dialects of Ngadha.

 

The peoples of Flores are almost entirely Roman Catholic Christians, whereas most other Indonesians are Muslim. As a consequence, Flores may be regarded as surrounded by a religious border. The prominence of Catholicism on the island results from its colonisation by Portugal. In other parts of Indonesia with significant Christian populations, such as the Maluku Islands and Sulawesi, the geographical divide is less rigid and Muslims and Christians sometimes live side by side. Flores thereby also has less religious violence that has sporadically occurred in other parts of Indonesia. There are several churches on the island.

 

TOURISM

The most famous tourist attraction in Flores is Kelimutu, a volcano containing three colored lakes, located in the district of Ende close to the town of Moni. These crater lakes are in the caldera of a volcano, and fed by a volcanic gas source, resulting in highly acidic water. The colored lakes change colors on an irregular basis, depending on the oxidation state of the lake from bright red through green and blue.

 

There are snorkelling and diving locations along the north coast of Flores, most notably Maumere and Riung. However, due to the destructive practice of local fishermen using bombs to fish, and locals selling shells to tourists, combined with the after effects of a devastating tsunami in 1992, the reefs have slowly been destroyed.

 

Labuan Bajo (on the western tip of Flores) is a town often used by tourists as a base to visit Komodo and Rinca. Labuanbajo also attracts scuba divers, as whale sharks inhabit the waters around Labuanbajo.

 

The Luba and Bena villages include traditional houses in Flores, Bena is also noted for its Stone Age megaliths.

 

Larantuka, on the isle's eastern end, is known for its Holy Week festivals.

 

ECONOMY

In addition to tourism, the main economic activities on Flores are agriculture, fishing and seaweed production. The primary food crops being grown on Flores are rice, maize, sweet potato and cassava, while the main cash crops are coffee, coconut, candle nut and cashew. Flores is one of the newest origins for Indonesian coffee. Previously, most Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) from Flores was blended with other origins. Now, demand is growing for this coffee because of its heavy body and sweet chocolate, floral and woody notes.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Ethiopia.

Traveling from Arba Minch to Konso.

All the woman in this village were wearing lots of colourful bead necklaces and this type of metal necklace. It looked a bit like an extended bracelet of a wristwatch.

El Mandatario también dejó en servicio las escuelas Luis Ramírez, en el kilómetro 15 de Azua; la Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, en la carretera Azua-Peralta, y el plantel de El Higüero, en la carretera Sánchez.

 

Foto: Presidencia República Dominicana

Nota de prensa:

presidencia.gob.do/noticias/en-azua-danilo-medina-inaugur...

Estudiantes se muestran felices por la entrega de estos planteles escolares, quienes se beneficiarán de laboratorios de ciencias y de Informática, así como de bibliotecas, comedores, cocinas, paneles solares y rincones tecnológicos, entre otros espacios.

 

Foto: Ángel Álvarez Rodríguez/Presidencia República Dominicana

Nota de prensa:

presidencia.gob.do/noticias/hato-mayor-recibe-74-aulas-en...

india.media.mit.edu/workshops/coep2011/index.html

 

Manasvi Tickoo, Parth Patel, Sagar Jadhav, Renuka Sapkal, Prachi Patil

for bar spins.

 

head tube extender, made by tsukumo cycle

www.kalavinka-bikes.com/

Painted on an iPad with Glitchbeam, Sketchbook Pro

Georgia National Guard Soldiers assist local police and Georgia State Patrol in securing locations across Metro Atlanta May 30, 2020, as peaceful protests gave way to violent demonstrations across the state. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. William Carraway)

William, watson, mywriterheart, my writer heart, luz, amor, transmutar, camino, elevarse, crecer, renunciar, libertad, librarse, extender, amarse, amar, esencia, ser

Early railways in South Australia headed out from the ports inland to the farming areas and one was from Port Pirie to Crystal Brook in 1874. This line was significant for Peterborough in January 1881.Meanwhile, the railway from Burra (it reached there in 1870) and been extended to Hallett in 1878. But as early as 1874 the premier, Mr Boucaut was talking about running the line north from Hallett to connect to Port Augusta via Quorn. The line up to Burra from Adelaide was broad gauge- 5 feet 3 inches, but the line up from Port Pirie to Peterborough was narrow gauge - 3 feet 6 inches. The first surveys for this great northern line were made in 1876 and the township of Lancelot was fixed as the point where the broad gauge line would end and the narrow gauge line to Peterborough and Quorn would begin. Not long after this, the government made a new decision to terminate the broad gauge line at Terowie (and not at Lancelot) and create a junction at section 216 north of Terowie to have a spur line across to the existing line at Jamestown. As soon as the owner of section 216 heard of this plan he subdivided his land, auctioned it off, and created a township at the rail junction which he called Petersburg after his German friend Peter Doecke. The narrow gauge line from Jamestown reached Peterborough (then Petersburg) in January 1881. At the same time the broad gauge line was opened from Hallett to Terowie.

Contracts for the construction of the line from Terowie to Quorn were let almost immediately and the line reached Peterborough from Terowie in June of 1881 thus linking the southern and Pirie rail systems. The line north from Peterborough to Quorn opened in stages with the first stage to Orroroo open in late 1881. The line reached Quorn in 1882 and later in that year the first connecting rail service from Adelaide to Port Augusta was operated. After federation Port Augusta was linked with Kalgoorlie in Western Australia in 1917 and the rail service from the eastern states to Perth passed through Peterborough then Quorn, Port Augusta and on to Perth. This main national railway line passed through Peterborough until mid 1937 when the new line was opened across the Adelaide Plains from Salisbury to Port Pirie and on to Port Augusta and Perth.

 

Peterborough’s importance as a rail junction and centre was strengthened in 1884 with the discovery of the world’s richest silver, lead and zinc deposit at a site which became known as Broken Hill. The South Australian government in 1886 passed an Act authorising the construction of a new railway from Peterborough to the SA border location closest to Broken Hill. The government could see that the riches of the mines could assist SA as it had the closest port, and wharf facilities. The terminus of the line was at Cockburn on the border which was reached by January 1887. The NSW government, in typical fashion, had refused permission for SAR to build a line to Broken Hill, so a private railway was built for the last 30 miles into Broken Hill called the Silverton Tramway Company. SAR operated and provided rolling stock etc for the Silverton Tramway Company for some time after the line opened! This northern railway division was known as the Peterborough Division and the town blossomed as the administrative, workshop and rail centre for the top half of the settled areas of South Australia. In later years the line north from

Gladstone to Wilmington (1915) was added to the division and it also controlled the line north from Quorn to Farina.

 

More recently the narrow gauge line from Port Pirie was converted to standard gauge through to Broken Hill in 1970. At the same time the line from Terowie to Peterborough was converted to a broad gauge line. This then meant that Peterborough had three gauges. But it was not too long after that the rail passenger service from Adelaide via Terowie ceased as the new standard gauge line between Adelaide and Crystal Brook (and consequentially Peterborough and Sydney) was opened in 1982. Services south from Peterborough to Adelaide though Terowie ceased not long after in 1986. In 1957 a railcar service between Peterborough and Quorn had commenced but this ceased operating in 1980 with a reduced service just to Orroroo remaining. That stopped a year later. Steam Town Society began in 1981 to preserve the Old Round House rail turntable and workshops and the steam locomotive services of the district. SAR was taken over by the Commonwealth Government in 1974 and became part of Australian National with a consequent demise of the workshops and numbers of rail employees in Peterborough.

 

The original town of Winchelsea was founded probably as a Saxon fishing settlement sometime after 800AD. It was built on a massive shingle bank that extended northeast from Fairlight Head to Hythe, across the ancient bay within which Romney Marsh now lies. This location is at the root of Winchelsea’s name. The suffix -chelsea comes from the Saxon word chesil, which refers to a shingle beach or embankment. The prefix Win- may be derived from the word gwent meaning a level and refers to the marshland behind the old town. The historian Cooper reported the unlikely proposition that the prefix was derived from the word wind and referred to Old Winchelsea’s exposed position on the coast. Other authors have favoured wincel- meaning corner (of the great shingle bank) and win- derived from market.

 

Behind the great shingle bank on which Old Winchelsea was sited, a wide shallow bay called the Camber (from chamber) was formed by the estuaries of the Rivers Brede, Rother and Tillingham. The Camber reached the sea through a breach in the great shingle bank that was opened sometime between 700AD and 800AD. It provided a large tidal anchorage sheltered from the sea. Ships would have anchored stem-to-stern along the channels and creeks, lying in the mud at low tide, as at Rye today. On a hill on the northern side of the Camber stood Rye, and to the north and east, protected by the shingle bank, was the Walland Marsh and beyond that Romney Marsh.

 

The first documentary evidence for the existence of Old Winchelsea may be in the Domesday Book (1086), which recorded that the vast Manor of Rameslie, which extended from Hastings to Rye, included a novus burgus or new town with 64 burgesses. Some historians believe that this new town was Old Winchelsea, but others look to Rye. The Pipe Rolls (royal accounts) of 1131 and 1164-65 mention both Winchelsea and Rye, showing that these had become significant ports by those dates. The earliest surviving royal charter to the two towns dates from 1191, but this confirms liberties given earlier by Henry II (1154-89).

 

www.winchelsea.net/visiting/winchelsea_history.htm

 

Old Winchelsea rapidly developed into a major port and was soon recruited into the Confederation of Cinque Ports (pronounced ‘sink’ --- in the Norman French fashion --- and originally written as cinq). This was the alliance of Sussex and Kent ports that was formed in Saxon times to provide ships and men to the Crown in time of war (up to 56 ships and men for up to 15 days a year). Merchant vessels of the time could be readily converted to warships by the erection of castles on the forecastle and stern, as seen on the seals of Winchelsea and other Cinque Ports. In exchange for this ship service, the ports received privileges such as their own courts, exemption from many royal taxes, the right to tax goods passing through their ports, and the right to wrecks and salvage.

 

At first, Winchelsea and Rye were subsidiaries or limbs of the Cinque Port of Hastings, which was a Head Port of the Confederation (one of the original five). Hastings was the first to suffer from the problem that has subsequently faced all the Cinque Port towns: the gradual eastward shift of shingle in the Channel.

 

This material had been deposited in the Channel by the erosion of the chalk Downs in Dorset and Hampshore by seasonal melt-water rivers running with great force off the glaciers down to the much lower seabed during the last Ice Age. More shingle may have been blasted down into the Channel from the North Sea when the chalk land bridge between England and France cataclysmically fractured in about 6100 BC. With the rise in sea level following the end of the last Ice Age, the shingle has been gradually swept by the prevailing current eastwards, back towards the North Sea, in a process know as longshore drift. Initially, this created the shingle bank or barrier beach behind which Romney Marsh was formed. Subsequently, it formed the massive shingle bank on which Old Winchelsea was built and began to block the harbour of Hastings to the benefit of the new settlement. As its harbour began to fail, Hastings had to recruit neighbouring Winchelsea and Rye to meet its ship service obligations and help preserve its privileges. Soon Winchelsea was contributing more ships than Hastings.

 

By 1190, the status of Winchelsea and Rye in the Cinque Ports Confederation had been elevated to the Two Ancient Towns (sometimes misspelt Antient Towns, which means worthy of veneration), equivalent in standing to the original five Head Ports.

 

www.winchelsea.net/visiting/winchelsea_history_pt1.htm

Spork is a porcupine at the Elmwood Park Zoo. He was born into human company and loves to interact! He follows the zookeepers around when they enter his enclosure. They often feed him by hand.