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BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA - MAY 07: Tomas "Aloned" Diaz Valiente of Team Aze poses at the League of Legends - Mid-Season Invitational Features Day on May 7, 2022 in Busan, South Korea. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
Red Rock Canyon State Park features scenic desert cliffs, buttes and spectacular rock formations. The park is located where the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada converge with the El Paso Range. Each tributary canyon is unique, with dramatic shapes and vivid colors.
Historically, the area was once home to the Kawaiisu Indians, who left petroglyphs in the El Paso mountains and other evidence of their inhabitation. The spectacular gash situated at the western edge of the El Paso mountain range was on the Native American trade route for thousands of years. During the early 1870s, the colorful rock formations in the park served as landmarks for 20-mule team freight wagons that stopped for water. About 1850, it was used by the footsore survivors of the famous Death Valley trek including members of the Arcane and Bennett families along with some of the Illinois Jayhawkers. The park now protects significant paleontology sites and the remains of 1890s-era mining operations, and has been the site for a number of movies.
After wet winters, the park's floral displays are stunning. The beauty of the desert, combined with the geologic features make this park a camper's favorite destination. Wildlife you may encounter includes roadrunners, hawks, lizards, mice and squirrels.
skuba of NRG during VALORANT Champions Shanghai Features Day on September 20, 2026 in Shanghai, China (Photo by Lee Aiksoon/Riot Games)
Features of RUIGE TL-S500HD HD Field monitor:
*What you see is what you get: CANON 5D's 3" Screen can only display %85, but RUIGE TL-S500HD realizes FULL Screen Display.
CAMERA + TALLY: it's designed for Canon 5D mark II. The image in standby and record mode not FULL SIZE because it downgrades the original HD (16:9) image to 480p (4:3) image, and zooms out the image display at the same time, which is hard for cameraman to shoot. After you press CAMERA button, all the output signals will be displayed fully on the screen within the safety marker. And RUIGE TL-S500HD HD Camera Monitor do not drop resolution when you recording on CANON 5D or scale the image up
*Dynamic Zoom via "Linear zoom trigger", which realizes zoom from the center point to assist quick focus.
Canon 5D/7D's zoom-in doesn't work in video playback mode, so videographers cannot check the video details. But RUIGE TL-S500HD can Dynamic Zoom based on RPD technology (Restoration of Pixel Data).
For CANON 5D, RUIGE TL-S500HD monitor Dynamic Zoom during Monitoring & Playback Mode, but can not zoom during Recording.
For CANON 7D, RUIGE TL-S500HD monitor Dynamic Zoom during Monitoring, Recording & Playback Mode.
The reason why RUIGE TL-S500HD Can Dynamic Zoom during Recording with CANON 7D, not with CANON 5D: Dynamic Zoom is used for HD Video at least 720P, CANON 5D output 480P during recording, and Canon 7d output 1080P during recording.
*Safety marker function: 5 scales of safety markers for different shooting requirements.
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*SAMSUNG A+ LCD Panel: REAL 800x480 high resolution, high brightness, and high contrast ratio, so high picture quality.
*3 ways of power supply: a. AC-DC adapter; b. Battery such as SONY F550 or F970; c. D-tap Power cable from a camera.
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Specification Please click here to download introduction document.
Screen size 5'' LCD
Resolution 800(H)×480(V)
Dot pitch 0.130（H）×0.130（V）mm
Display ratio 16:9 / 4:3/AUTO/LETTER BOX
Brightness 350cd/m²
Contrast 500:1
HDMI Input Yes(Only HDMI in, no HDMI out)
Earphone Yes, 3.5mm
Response time 10 ms
Viewing angle Left 70° / right 70° / up 60° / down 60°
Input voltage AC 220V / DC 12V 50/60Hz
Voltage Range 6.5V-36V
Power consumption ≤9W
Cover material ABS+PC
Color Black
Monitor size (L) 147.5×(H) 100.8×(D) 29 mm
Weight 0.45 kg
Accessories
Linear Zoom Trigger 1pcs
HDMI Lock 1pcs
Smart Sunhood 1pcs
1/4" hot shoe mount adapter 1pcs
0.7m Hdmi to mini Hdmi cable 1pcs
AC-DC adapter 1pcs
Manual 1pcs
Product Features
* down/feather
* Polyester; Down, Feather
* Convertible pillow collar
* Zip front pockets
* Dry clean only
* Imported
From the Manufacturer
Michael Kors Outerwear is designed for the modern woman who appreciates great quality with a modern flair. This pillow collar down coat is functional yet elegant. The quilting on this style is flattering and can be worn day to dinner.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - October 31: T1 at the League of Legends World Championship 2024 Finals Features Day on October 31, 2024 in London. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
This lively Roppongi Hills event features traditional Bon Odori dance performed in a purpose-built arena by yukata-clad dancers. Decorations add to the atmosphere, while the surrounding stalls cater to hungry crowds with all the usual festival fare, as well as gourmet choices provided by area restaurants.
Features gold foil behind a clear window with reverse paint. This radio was also sold as a Candle model with the same model number.
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA - MAY 07: Brandon "BioPanther" Alexander of ORDER poses at the League of Legends - Mid-Season Invitational Features Day on May 7, 2022 in Busan, South Korea. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard published by Courrier of Paris which features a young boy dressed as a Pierrot who is either singing or yawning - probably yawning.
Although the card was not posted, it has a name and address written across the undivided back:
Miss Bertha Spiegelhalter,
81, Mile End Road,
London E.,
England.
A Property Holdout
81 Mile End Road is a famous example of a holdout - a piece of property that becomes surrounded by a large development because the owner refused to sell.
In Whitechapel, the construction of the large and impressive department store Wickham's, completed in 1927, was obstructed by the Spiegelhalter Brothers who owned and ran a jewellers store at 81, Mile End Road. The store happened to be near the centre of the Wickhams' plot.
Wickham's with its tall Ionic stone columns was built either side of the low-level shop, and ended up looking like cheaply-repaired bomb damage, or a perfect row of teeth with one missing.
The Spiegelhalter family had lived in the East End of London since about 1828, working as jewellers and clockmakers. Many family members were born at 81 Mile End Road. Bertha was in fact born in 1875, and died in 1967.
Because of anti-German feeling after the Great War, in 1919 the Spiegelhalters changed their name to Salter.
In the end, the Spiegelhalters had the last laugh. Wickham’s closed in the 1960's, whereas the Spiegelhalters held on until 1982. It became an off-licence, and by 2014 had become derelict and roofless.
The Pierrot
The Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne.
The name is a diminutive of Pierre (Peter), via the suffix -ot.
His character in contemporary popular culture—in poetry, fiction, and the visual arts, as well as works for the stage, screen, and concert hall - is that of the sad clown, pining for love of Columbine, who usually breaks his heart and leaves him for Harlequin.
Performing unmasked, with a whitened face, he wears a loose white blouse with large buttons and wide white pantaloons. Sometimes he appears with a frilled collaret and a hat, usually with a close-fitting crown and wide round brim, more rarely with a conical shape like a dunce's cap.
However most frequently, since his reincarnation by Jean-Gaspard Deburau, he wears neither collar nor hat, only a black skullcap. The defining characteristic of Pierrot is his naïveté: he is seen as a fool, often the butt of pranks, yet nonetheless trusting.
It was a generally buffoonish Pierrot that held the European stage for the first two centuries of his history. And yet early signs of a respectful, even sympathetic attitude toward the character appeared in the plays of Jean-François Regnard and in the paintings of Antoine Watteau, an attitude that would deepen in the nineteenth century, after the Romantics claimed the figure as their own.
For Jules Janin and Théophile Gautier, Pierrot was not a fool, but an avatar of the post-Revolutionary People, struggling, sometimes tragically, to secure a place in the bourgeois world.
Subsequent artistic/cultural movements found him equally amenable to their cause:
-- The Decadents turned him, like themselves,
into a disillusioned disciple of Schopenhauer,
a foe of Woman and of callow idealism.
-- The Symbolists saw him as a lonely fellow-
sufferer, crucified upon the rood of soulful
sensitivity, his only friend the distant moon.
-- The Modernists converted him into a
Whistlerian subject for canvases devoted
to form, colour and line.
In short, Pierrot became an alter-ego of the artist, specifically of the alienated artist of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
His physical insularity; his poignant lapses into mutism, the legacy of the great mime Deburau; his white face and costume, suggesting not only innocence but the pallor of the dead; his often frustrated pursuit of Columbine, coupled with his never-to-be-vanquished unworldly naïveté—all conspired to lift him out of the circumscribed world of the commedia dell'arte and into the larger realm of myth.
Much of that mythic quality ("I'm Pierrot," said David Bowie: "I'm Everyman") still adheres to the "sad clown" of the postmodern era.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 11: Evil Geniuses poses during the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN features day on February 11, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
The House Chamber is on the second floor of the Capitol and features magnificent art, including remarkable stained glass windows, splendid murals and original wooden desks. William B. Van Ingen (1858-1955), a Philadelphia native, created 14 stained-glass windows for the House and 10 for the Senate. The 200-pound works of art are four feet in diameter and are framed in 24-karat gold leaf embellishments. Each features a theme, such as "Abundance," "Chemistry," "Natural Gas," "Justice," "Education," and "Bridge Building."
The official floor of the House extends from the Speaker's rostrum to the bronze rail beyond the 210 varnished mahogany desks. On session days the chamber is the busy workshop of 203 legislators and 100 or more clerks, pages and staff assistants. On ceremonial days as many as 1,000 individuals can be accommodated. Leopold Stokowski once conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra from the well of the House.
The House Chamber, a vast room larger than two basketball courts and four stories high, is dominated by five murals by artist Edwin Austin Abbey. Abbey's "Reading of the Declaration of Independence" mural features the first public reading of the document in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. This painting was not completed at the time of Abbey's death in 1911 and was finished by his assistant, Ernest Boyd. Abbey's "Penn's Treaty with the Indians" features William Penn who was granted all the land in Pennsylvania in 1681 by King Charles II of England. Penn and his heirs chose not to sell or settle any of the land without first buying the claims of Indians who lived on it. The painting is dominated by the great tree under which the scene takes place.
The largest mural in the Capitol, "The Apotheosis of Pennsylvania," is located directly behind the Speaker's podium. This enormous central painting on the south wall spans 35 square feet and represents the Genius of State with 50 distinguished sons at her feet. Included in the painting are House members, explorers, pioneers, and intellectual, spiritual, military and industrial leaders. William Penn stands in the center of the work with Representatives Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris. Abbey painted "The Camp of the American Army at Valley Forge" which is hung on the back wall, and his "Passage of the Hours" is displayed on the ceiling.
This headstone, found in the Old Ballaarat Cemetery, features a Bible carved in pass relief, flanked by flowers.
Built across an area of 7 hectares (18 acres), the historical Old Ballaarat Cemetery is located about one and a half kilometres from Ballarat's heart with its boundaries on Macarthur Street, Creswick Road, Lexton Street and Pigah Street.
Ballarat's first public cemetery was recorded in 1856, when the first official cemetery burial took place on the 20th May. Local records indicate that whilst this was the first official burial, ceremonies took place in the area of the Old Ballaarat Cemetery in the late 1840's and thereafter, which was even before the discovery of gold in Ballarat and the subsequent Gold Rushes that drew people to the city from around the world.
Allow the elegant and ornate Victorian gates on the corner of Macarthur Street and Creswick Road to usher you into a world of grand and simple monuments to the dead, and to a slice of Ballarat's fantastic history. The Old Ballaarat Cemetery is filled with historical figures from Ballarat's past as many burials were early settlers who were looking to make their fortune on the goldfields. People mentioned in my own photostream are amongst those buried here; Richard Henry Sutton of Sutton's Music Store in Sturt Street; George and Clara Crocker who dedicated windows in St Peter's Church of England to their sons who died during the Great War; Thomas Stoddart who made Ballarat a city of marble statues; and Henry Richards Caselli who designed so many beautiful and iconic Ballarat buildings. Two important monuments in not just Ballarat's, but Australia's, history were erected in the cemetery following from the armed insurrection of 1854 - the Eureka uprising; the Eureka Diggers' Monument in 1856 and the Officers and Soldiers Monument in 1879.
Situated in the centre of the cemetery, is the original Victorian rotunda built in 1892 to the designs of James and Piper and J. C. Smith. The Rotunda has recently been restored to its original splendour.
Cemetery records show 35,000 interments have taken place since 1856, with 18,000 prior to 1884.
Appropriately for a city, once the wealthiest in the world, because of the Gold Rushes, in 1907 gold was discovered in the Old Ballaarat Cemetery when grave diggers were preparing a grave for a Mr. T. C. Thomas.
The 1920 gatehouse building was restored in 1997.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - AUGUST 27: Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks of FunPlus Phoenix at VALORANT Champions 2022 Istanbul Features Day on August 27, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
The Hayward Public Library’s “Book-to-Action” series features the extraordinary and inspirational story of Infinite Vision: How Aravind Became the World’s Greatest Business Case for Compassion by Pavithra K. Mehta and Suchitra Shenoy. Based in India, the Aravind Eye System is the world’s largest provider of high-quality eye care, with surgical outcomes equal to or exceeding those in the developed world at less than one percent of the cost, treating more than half of its patients free of charge, and taking no grants or donations. Aravind’s model is so successful that it has been the subject of a popular Harvard Business School case study, has garnered multiple prestigious awards, and has been replicated internationally.
The Book-to-Action program is a variation on the traditional library book group – it offers participants not only the opportunity to collectively read and discuss a book and meet a book author, but to put their newfound knowledge or perspective into action by engaging in a community service project related to the book’s topic. Thanks to a grant from the California State Library, the library is offering a limited number of free copies of the book, available to community members interested in participating in this program. Read about Dr. “V”, the man who, in his late 50s, built the Aravind Eye Care System, and explore the distinctive philosophies, practices, and commitments that are the keys to its success.
Book Discussion: Wednesday, March 14
6:30 p.m. @ Hayward Main Library, 835 “C” Street in downtown Hayward
Join local residents to discuss the book, which tells the story of the Aravind eye care system. Share with other readers your favorite aspects of the book, and pose questions you’d like to discuss. Get ideas about how you can get involved in “pay-it-forward” projects in the Bay Area.
Meet Infinite Vision Author and Filmmaker Pavithra K. Mehta
Saturday, March 17, 2 p.m. @ Main Library
Pavithra K. Mehta comes from a family of 21 (and still counting) eye surgeons, including the legendary Dr. V, her granduncle. Pavithra is drawn to the space where service and story-telling meet. She started Aravind’s story archive in 2002, while freelancing on film and writing projects for nonprofits in India. Later she headed the volunteer program at Benetech, an innovative nonprofit in Silicon Valley, which runs the world’s largest digital library of accessible books for people who are blind. She is currently on the board of the Aravind Eye Foundation and Service Space ( www.servicespace.org/ ), an organization rooted in inner change that designs and runs experiments in generosity. She co-leads its inspiring news portal, DailyGood, as well as its pay-it-forward restaurant, Karma Kitchen, and is working on her next book. Pavithra studied English literature and broadcast journalism. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and travels back to Madurai each year.
“Infinite Vision” Film Showing
Monday, March 26 @ 6:30 pm @ Main Library
Enjoy the award-winning documentary Infinite Vision, which follows the life and work of Dr. V, the remarkable eye surgeon from South India who made it his mission to restore sight to the blind and whose work has resulted in one of the world’s most extraordinary models of service delivery. This film traces the inspiring life journey of a visionary dedicated to serving humanity, outlines the evolution of the Aravind model of eye care and affords glimpses into the spirituality that has guided both for over fifty years in service for sight.
Community Service Program: Encourage Literacy for World Book Day
Saturday, April 21, 9 am - 1 pm, Main Library, Front Lawn
Spread your love for a great book in our local community. Get involved with the World Book Day distribution of free books to new or returning readers. Bring a used copy of a book you have read and loved (including your free copy of Infinite Vision or any other favorite selection), to pass on to someone who isn't a regular reader.
For more information about the series, contact librarian Sally Thomas at 510-881-7700 or sally.thomas (at) hayward-ca.gov.
This series is supported in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 19: Jessie "JessieVash" Cristy Cuyco of Team Secret poses during the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN features day on February 19, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
PARIS, FRANCE - October 25: Gen.G and T1 at the League of Legends World Championship 2024 Semi Finals Features Day on October 25, 2024 in Paris. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 10: Ricardas "Boo" Lukasevicius of Team Heretics poses during the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN features day on February 10, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
Portrait of a woman with expressive features and radiant skin in a serene indoor setting during daylight
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BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA - MAY 07: Brandon "BioPanther" Alexander of ORDER poses at the League of Legends - Mid-Season Invitational Features Day on May 7, 2022 in Busan, South Korea. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
Features
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The title says it all.
Help the Gungan Grand Army Harvest the plasma used for their Boomas! Using the harvesting staff and search the waters!
For a Contest on CABG
Visit The Site here:
Wookieipedia:
Summer Daniels (21), junior at Valdosta State University, paints a mural at the VSU Newman Center on September 22, 2016. The Newman Center provides opportunities to serve God and others through many different ways.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 10: Auni "AvovA" Chahade of Team Heretics poses during the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN features day on February 10, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
Frankreich / Provence - Nationalpark Calanques
Massif de Marseilleveyre
Sunset. On the way from Sommet de Marseilleveyre back to Les Goudes.
Sonnenuntergang Auf dem Weg vom Sommet de Marseilleveyre zurück nach Les Goudes.
Calanques National Park (French: Parc national des Calanques; Occitan: Parc Nacional dels Calanques) is a French national park located on the Mediterranean coast in Bouches-du-Rhône, Southern France.
Established in 2012, it extends over 520 km2 (201 sq mi), of which 85 km2 (33 sq mi) is land, while the remaining is marine area. It includes parts of the Massif des Calanques stretching between Marseille's southern arrondissements, Cassis and La Ciotat. Some of the park's best known features include the calanques of Sormiou, Morgiou, Port-Miou, Sugiton, En-Vau, as well as the Cosquer Cave.
History
In 1923, the Comité de défense des Calanques was established with the aim of preventing industrial development at En-Vau. In 1999, the groupement d'intérêt public (GIP) des Calanques was founded to prepare the creation of a national park. Eleven years later, the GIP presented its first draft for a national park; the third draft was approved in 2011. On 18 April 2012, Prime Minister François Fillon signed the decree establishing Calanques National Park.
(Wikipedia)
Dominating the southern districts of Marseille at an altitude of nearly 432 metres, the Massif de Marseilleveyre offers fascinating landscapes. In just a few minutes, you leave the second largest city in France to enter a mineral universe, both wild and grandiose. Marseilleveyre is a masterly gateway to discover the best kept treasures of the Calanques National Park, between sky and sea.
Hiking and outdoor activities
For lovers of nature and outdoor activities, Marseilleveyre is an invitation to go hiking. Numerous itineraries cover its valleys, hills and ridges. A wide variety of landscapes awaits walkers of all levels. There are easy trails for families or walkers who wish to stroll through a remarkable setting. The more experienced walkers can take much more aerial paths, such as those that weave their way between the vertiginous blades of rock tapering from the Goudes summits. Hundreds of kilometres of marked paths await you, and your hike from Marseilleveyre can take you to the most secret corners of the Calanques National Park, from Callelongue to Morgiou, Sugiton or even Cassis.
The white limestone of Marseilleveyre rises to the sky in rocky bars and cliffs, and offers numerous routes of all levels to climbing enthusiasts. From secure sites for beginners to large, challenging routes for thrill-seekers, lovers of vertical climbing meet every year in the hills bordering the south of Marseille.
Cycling and mountain biking enthusiasts can explore some of the tracks and roads of the Marseilleveyre massif. Along the water’s edge or in the middle of the pine trees, cyclists alternate descents, bends and climbs in a beautiful setting.
Nature sports enthusiasts can also discover the marine treasures of the Marseilleveyre massif, which plunges into the Mediterranean Sea. Several service providers offer discovery courses or scuba diving in the protected waters of the Park.
A preserved natural area
To the south of the Marseilleveyre massif, the flora has adapted to the aridity of the area and the salinity of the air. Here you can observe unusual plants such as the Marseille astragalus. The valleys, which are more sheltered from the sun, are home to beautiful holm oak forests or astonishing mantles of sarsaparilla.
The hills are home to many birds, especially birds of prey. The Great Horned Owl, the Short-toed Eagle and Bonelli’s Eagle reign supreme, while several species of bats nest in the caves and rocky crevices. Wild boars, rabbits, foxes, genets and roe deer have also found refuge in this protected area. You might also discover an ocellated lizard or a gecko snoozing in the sun at the bend in the path.
A viewpoint over Marseille and limestone Provence
To the north, the massif borders the city. The Campagne Pastré, the Parc du Roy d’Espagne, the Cayolle district, the Baumettes hamlet and the Luminy estate, with its universities and colleges, follow each other at the foot of the hills. This privileged location, at the gateway to the city, is one of the main assets of Marseilleveyre.
This lilting name can indeed be translated, for some linguists, by the expression “Seeing Marseille”. The name of the second summit of the massif, the Béouveyre, owes its name to the Provençal term for “belvedere”. The etymology pays tribute to the 360 degree view that the hills of Marseilleveyre offer over the city of Marseille, the Mediterranean Sea, the harbour, the islands, the Côte Bleue and the many hills that have surrounded and protected the city for thousands of years.
As you stroll along, you will discover breathtaking views of the different districts of Marseille. The golden statue of the “Bonne Mère” (“Good Mother”), who has watched over the city and its inhabitants from the top of the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica for several centuries, is a real eye-catcher.
Explore Marseilleveyre safely
The Marseilleveyre massif is one of the driest places in France. The paths are potentially steep, and some routes offer conditions similar to those encountered in the mountains or high mountains. We invite you to bring appropriate equipment: sufficient water (at least two litres of water per person in summer), a hat and sunglasses, walking shoes…
The Calanques are a fragile and protected area. You must stay on the marked paths, do not pick plants or flowers, and bring back your rubbish. More detailed information is available on the official website of the Calanques Natural Park.
Access to the massifs may be restricted depending on the weather conditions. A total ban is possible in periods of high heat, drought or strong winds. You should find out the day before your visit on www.myprovence.fr/en/enviedebalade to find out the conditions of access to the Bouches-du-Rhône massifs.
(provence-alpes-cotedazur.com)
Die Calanques, auch bekannt unter den Namen Calanques de Marseille, Calanques de Cassis oder Massif des Calanques, sind ein Mittelgebirge in Südfrankreich, im Départements Bouches-du-Rhône, das zwischen den Städten Marseille und Cassis liegt. Der etwa 20 km lange Küstenstreifen des Mittelmeeres besteht aus einer Aneinanderreihung von tiefen und engen, schluchtartigen Buchten. Solch eine Bucht wird Calanque genannt. Der höchste Punkt der Bergkette ist der Mont Puget mit 565 m, der östlich von Marseille und dem Massif de Marseilleveyre liegt. Die Calanques und die Küste von Cassis bis La Ciotat wurden im April 2012 zum Nationalpark Calanques (Parc National des Calanques) erklärt.
Topographische Lage
Die einzelnen Calanques sind in das Massif de Marseilleveyre und den Mont Puget eingegraben. Sie erstrecken sich von dem Hafenstädtchen Les Goudes im Marseiller Vorort la Madrague de Montredon bis zum Cap Croisette in der Calanque Port-Miou, der einzigen Calanque der Gemeinde Cassis. Von Les Goudes bis Cassis gibt es 27 Calanques. Die 17 größten und bekanntesten sind:
la calanque de Callelongue: Hafen, Restaurant und Tauchzentrum der UCPA;
la calanque de la Mounine: enge Bucht, die hinter dem Col du Sémaphore liegt und das Tal la Mounine abschließt;
la calanque de Marseilleveyre: kleine Bar mit Restaurant, Tauchzentrum, zu Fuß von Callelongue erreichbar;
la calanque des Queyrons: windgeschützter kleiner Kieselstrand;
la calanque de Podestat: Kieselstrand, westlich liegt eine kleine schattige Grotte;
la calanque de Cortiou: Abfluss der Kläranlage von Marseille;
la calanque de Sormiou: Hafen mit kleinem Dorf, eingeschränkte Zufahrt mit dem Auto, bekanntes Klettergebiet;
la calanque de la Triperie: Unterwassereingang zur Grotte Cosquer, kein Zugang;
la calanque de Morgiou: Hafen mit kleinem Dorf, eingeschränkte Zufahrt mit dem Auto, bekanntes Klettergebiet;
la calanque de Sugiton: vielbesuchte, familienfreundliche Bucht, zu Fuß vom Campus de Luminy erreichbar;
la calanque des Pierres-Tombées: FKK-Strand;
la calanque de l’Œil de Verre: schwieriger Zugang nur für erfahrene Wanderer;
la calanque du Devenson: geschützt durch 200 m hohe Felsen, nur mit dem Boot oder durch Abseilen erreichbar;
la calanque de l’Oule: eingebettet zwischen 70 m Felsen, nur mit dem Boot erreichbar;
la calanque d’En-Vau: überlaufen, Kieselstrand, steile Felswände schließen die Bucht ein, bekanntes Klettergebiet;
la calanque de Port-Pin: zu Fuß in 30 Minuten von Cassis erreichbar;
la calanque de Port-Miou: nahe dem Ort Cassis, Jachthafen, östlicher Zugang zum Massif des Calanques.
Auf den vor Marseille liegenden Inseln Ratonneau, Pomègues, Riou und Plane haben sich auch mehrere Calanques gebildet.
Entstehung der Calanques
Das Massif des Calanques besteht aus Kalkstein, der sich im Wesentlichen im Mesozoikum gebildet hat. Das Mesozoikum umfasst die Zeitspanne von vor 250 Millionen Jahren bis vor 65 Millionen Jahren. Das Gestein entstand im Laufe von Millionen Jahren zwischen der Mitte des Jura vor etwa 150 Millionen Jahren und der Kreide vor etwa 110 Millionen Jahren. Dabei entstand Sedimentgestein in tieferen Wasserzonen durch Meeresablagerungen mineralischer und organischer Stoffe, die unter dem Druck von Wasser und jüngeren, darüber liegenden Gesteinsschichten komprimiert und verfestigt wurden. In flachen Wasserzonen bildeten sich Korallenriffe. Fossile Meeresorganismen zeugen von diesen Ablagerungen. Darauffolgende tektonische Aktivitäten führten zu horizontalen Bewegungen und Verwerfungen. Erosion ebnete die Verwerfungen wieder ein.
Während der messinischen Salinitätskrise vor 5,96 bis 5,32 Millionen Jahren wurde das Mittelmeer vom Atlantik isoliert. In der Folge sank sein Wasserspiegel bis zu 1.500 m unter den des Atlantiks ab. Die Flüsse, die ins Mittelmeer flossen, vertieften ihre Täler um Hunderte von Metern. Die fluviale Erosion durch kleinere Bäche und Flüsse schuf wahrscheinlich auch im Massif des Calanques zahlreiche tiefe, steilwandige Täler.
Vor etwa 1,5 Millionen Jahren, zu Beginn des Quartärs, hob sich die gesamte Region, und eine neue Erosionsperiode begann mit den eiszeitlichen Meeresspiegelsenkungen. Während dieser glazialen Niedrigwasserperioden bildeten sich entlang der Mittelmeerküste weitere steilwandige Täler durch die Erosion durch Flüsse, die in das Meer mündeten, welches etwa 100 Meter tiefer lag als heute.
Der Anstieg des Meeresspiegels des Mittelmeers nach den großen Eiszeiten überflutete vor etwa 12.000 Jahren einen Teil der Schluchten, so dass sie heute unter Wasser weit ins Meer hineinreichen. In dieser Zeit wurden auch die äußersten Teile des Festlands zu Inseln. Durch Verkarstung bildeten sich große Höhlen (Saint-Michel d'Eau douce) und unterirdische Flüsse (z. B. in der Calanque de Port-Miou und der Calanque de Sugiton).
Der Norden des Massif de Marseilleveyre und die Hochebene von Carpiagne bestehen aus dem ältesten Gestein, das aus dem Jura stammt, mit einem Alter von 200 Millionen bis 140 Millionen Jahren. Der größte Teil des Massif des Calanques sowie die Inseln bestehen aus urgonischem Kalkstein, etwa 115 Millionen Jahre alt, welcher sehr hart und von weißer Farbe ist und von Korallen in einem flachen warmen Meer aufgebaut wurde. Zwischen Luminy und des Calanque de Sugiton findet man aber auch dolomitische, eher sandige Kalke des Valanginium, die etwa 140 Millionen bis 134 Millionen Jahre alt sind.
Hydrologie
Das Wasser des Mittelmeeres vor der Calanquesküste ist oft kühler als in den umliegenden Meeresregionen. Dies liegt einerseits daran, dass die Klippen im Meer steil abfallen ohne seichtere Küstengewässer. Zum anderen existieren zahlreiche kalte Süßwasserquellen unter der Meeresoberfläche, die durch ein Netzwerk unterirdischer Bäche gespeist werden, die sowohl das Massif de Marseilleveyre als auch die Hochebenen Carpiagne entwässern. Diese Phänomen der Karstquellen ist von allen Kalkküsten des Mittelmeers bekannt, da der Meeresspiegel während der Eiszeiten des Quartärs erst um etwa 135 m sank, bevor er vor etwa 10.000 Jahren wieder das heutige Niveau erreichte und so die Quellen und Bäche überschwemmte.
Ein unterirdischer Fluss mit einer beträchtlichen Fließgeschwindigkeit und einem Volumenstrom von 5 m³/s bis 7 m³/s endet fast auf Meereshöhe in der Calanque Port-Miou. Er kommt wahrscheinlich aus dem Massif de Sainte-Baume und wird von einem 1.000 km² großen Grundwasservorkommen unter der Provence gespeist. Eine solche Durchflussmenge könnte mehr als eine Million Menschen mit Trinkwasser versorgen.
Eine weitere Karstquelle endet einige Dezimeter unter dem Meeresspiegel des Strandes von Bestouan (am Westausgang von Cassis), wodurch das Wasser dieses Strandes selbst im Hochsommer sehr kalt ist.
Klima
In den Calanques herrscht mediterranes Klima mit starker Trockenheit. Die vorhandene Feuchtigkeit stammt im Wesentlichen aus der Verdunstung des Meerwassers sowie aus starken Regenfällen im Herbst und Winter. Die Regenfälle sind jedoch durch lange Trockenperioden getrennt. Aufgrund des Abflusses kommen sie nur sehr bedingt der Vegetation zugute. Die durchschnittliche Niederschlagsmenge liegt bei etwa 600 mm pro Jahr. Das Cap Croisette, das Tor zu den Calanques im Westen, ist mit durchschnittlich 360 mm das trockenste Gebiet Frankreichs. Die Heftigkeit mancher Niederschläge ist extrem. So wurde von Météo-France am 1. Dezember 2003 innerhalb von zwei Stunden eine Niederschlagsmenge von 218 mm in Marseille und von 235 mm in Cassis gemessen.
Zusammen mit hohen Temperaturen hat der Wind einen großen Einfluss auf die Verdunstung, insbesondere an der Küste. Der Mistral und der häufig starke Nordwestwind machen 43 % der windigen Tage aus. An der Meeresoberfläche führen diese Winde zu sehr starken Strömungen und damit zum Aufsteigen von Tiefenwasser. Wenn der Mistral weht, kann die Wassertemperatur an der Oberfläche innerhalb weniger Stunden um bis zu 10 K abnehmen, d. h. von 23 °C – 25 °C auf 13 °C – 15 °C. Dieses aufsteigende Tiefenwasser ermöglicht eine hohe Biodynamik an der Küste durch die Anreicherung des Wassers mit Mineralien.
Lebensräume
In den Calanques gibt es keine Wasserläufe auf Grund der geringen Niederschlagsmengen und der Verkarstung des Untergrundes. In den südseitigen, mistral-geschützten Lagen bildet sich ein Mikroklima aus, bestimmt durch die Wärmeregulierung des Meeres, der Sonneneinstrahlung und den hohen weißen Felswänden. Im Winter sind Temperaturdifferenzen von 10 K zwischen den südseitigen und den nordseitigen Lagen beziehungsweise der Innenstadt von Marseille möglich. Die Bestandsaufnahme der Lebensräume, die im Rahmen der Natura-2000-Studie durchgeführt wurde, weist für die Calanques sechsundzwanzig natürliche Lebensräume aus, zu denen noch vierzig gemischte Lebensräume hinzukommen. Es gibt vier große Gruppen: Felslebensräume mit Klippen und Geröllhalden, Waldlebensräume mit klimatisch bedingten Kiefernwäldern, offene Lebensräume wie Rasen und Garrigue sowie Küstenlebensräume. Natura 2000 hat die geschützten Tiere und Pflanzen in einer Liste zusammengefasst.
Flora
Die Calanques sind ein außergewöhnliches Ökosystem, in dem selbst subtropische Pflanzenarten die Kälteperioden des Quartärs überstanden haben. Es gibt kaum fruchtbare Erde auf dem Karstboden. Die Kalksteinfelsen mit ihren Geröllhalden sind von zahlreichen Rissen und Spalten durchzogen, in denen sich die Wurzeln der Pflanzen verankern können. Aufgrund der trockenen Standorte beziehen die Pflanzen ihr Wasser aus verdunstendem Meerwasser und der mit salzigen Wassertröpfchen angereicherten Meeresluft. Auch morgendlicher Tau trägt zur Wasserversorgung der Pflanzen bei. Die Vegetation der Calanques ist nicht bodendeckend, sondern gedeiht in Form von vereinzelten, relativ niedrigen Büschen. Das Gebiet ist größtenteils von Macchienvegetation bedeckt: Heidekräuter (Erica), Dornpolster aus Astragale de Marseille (Astragalus tragacantha), Lorbeerblättriger Schneeball (Viburnum tinus), Kermes- oder Stech-Eiche (Quercus coccifera), Raue Stechwinde (Smilax aspera) und Wacholder sowie kleinen Wäldchen aus Aleppo-Kiefern. Darüber hinaus kommen endemische Arten vor wie der Skopendien-Farn oder das Sabline de Provence (Arenaria provincialis), eines der Symbole der Calanques. Insgesamt kann man davon ausgehen, dass etwa 83 Arten entweder geschützt sind oder auf der Liste der bedrohten Arten stehen.
Fauna
Die Fauna der Calanques ist entweder angepasst, dies gilt besonders für Insekten, oder ist ein Relikt aus früheren Zeiten wie der Habichtsadler. Die größte europäische Eidechsenart, die Perleidechse, lebt ebenso hier wie die Bulldoggfledermaus. Das Massiv beherbergt einen hohen Anteil an Seevögeln. 30 % der Population der Corysturmtaucher (Calonectris borealis, französisch Puffin cendré) Frankreichs leben hier. Dazu kommen in den Küstengewässern noch Meeresschildkröten und Delfine.
Die hier lebenden Wirbellosen sind gut an den Lebensraum angepasst. Dabei handelt es sich entweder um Coleopteren (Käfer), die Elytren haben, die sie vor dem Austrocknen schützen (z. B. der Große Eichenbock), oder um Schmetterlinge.
Cosquer-Höhle
Südöstlich von Marseille am Cap Morgiou liegt die von Henri Cosquer entdeckte Cosquer-Höhle mit Höhlenmalereien aus der Zeit zwischen 27.000 und 19.000 v. Chr., die Bisons, Pferde, Steinböcke aber auch Meerestiere wie Robben und Alkenvögel darstellen. Ihr Eingang liegt 37 m unter der Meeresoberfläche und ist durch ein Gitter verschlossen.
Tourismus
Im Jahr 2008 verzeichneten die Calanques zwei Millionen Besucher. Zum Schutze der Natur wurde der Nationalpark Calanques nach jahrelanger schwieriger Vorarbeit im April 2012 als zehnter französischer Nationalpark gegründet. Im Jahr 2020 erleben die Calanques einen Besucherrekord mit geschätzten mehr als drei Millionen Besuchern. Die Calanques sind Opfer ihres Erfolgs und des Phänomens des Übertourismus. Die Besucher konzentrieren sich dabei auf die beliebtesten Orte En-Vau, Port-Pin, Morgiou, Sormiou und Sugiton. In der Calanque de Sormiou werden Spitzenwerte von 2.000 Personen/Tag erreicht, in En-Vau von 1.000 Personen/Tag. Die akzeptable Schwelle liegt bei einigen hundert Besuchern pro Tag und Standort.[ In der Calanque de Sugiton sind die Auswirkungen auf die Flora durch wiederholtes Betreten und die dadurch verursachte Bodenerosion unübersehbar. Diese touristische Überlastung existiert aber auch an leicht zugänglichen Kletter-, Tauch- und Bootsankerplätzen.
Didier Réault, der Präsident des Nationalparks Calanques, sprach sich für die Regulierung der Besucherströme aus, nicht für ein Zutrittsverbot, und entschied sich für eine Organisationslogistik der „geringsten Auswirkungen“. Um Autos, Motorräder und Boote zurückzudrängen, beschloss die Nationalparkführung unter anderem die Einführung einer Besucherquote für die Calanque de Sugiton, die am stärksten von der Überfüllung betroffen ist.
Aktivitäten
Wegen Brandgefahr ist der Zugang zum Massif des Calanques vom 1. Juni bis zum 30. September reglementiert (eingeschränkter Zugang bei großer Hitze, vollständiges Verbot bei Wind usw.). Per prefektoralem Erlass werden Dauer und Art der Verbote festgelegt. Diese werden täglich an die Wetterlage angepasst und auf der Website des Nationalparks veröffentlicht.
Obwohl das Massif des Calanques am Meer liegt, birgt es ähnliche Risiken wie Bergwanderungen. Die Wege sind steil, teilweise sehr ausgesetzt und somit riskant für ungeübte Wanderer. Starker Mistral beinhaltet das Risiko bei Böen, das Gleichgewicht zu verlieren, was insbesondere auf Bergrücken und entlang exponierter Pfade gefährlich ist. Wegen der vielen Spaziergänger und Wanderer ist der Boden aus Kalksteinfelsen von den zahlreichen Passagen häufig wie poliert und sehr rutschig.
Als Standardwanderausrüstung wird folgendes empfohlen: gute Wander- oder Trailschuhe, Kopfbedeckung und Sonnencreme (mindestens Lichtschutzfaktor 30 und 50+ für Kinder), Sonnenbrille (100 % UV-Filter und polarisierend), Mobiltelefon, Verpflegung und vor allem Wasser. Im Massif des Calanques gibt es kaum Schatten. Die Mitnahme von 1,5 l Wasser pro Person ist die Basismenge. Jeder Person sollte noch mindestens 0,5 Liter Wasser pro Wanderstunde mitnehmen. Einige Wasserstellen wurden in den Randgebieten des Massivs eingerichtet wie an der Schranke von Luminy, dem Parkplatz von La Cayolle, bei der Busendhaltestelle Madrague de Montredon und am Start des GR 51-98. Vorhandenes Oberflächenwasser ist generell ungenießbar (wie z. B. Grand Malvallon, Fontaine de Voire).
Das Massiv kann auf mehrere Routen von West nach Ost, d. h. von der Calanque de Callelongue bis nach Cassis durchquert werden.
Um alle Calanques so nah wie möglich am Meer zu durchwandern, sind 12 Stunden zu veranschlagen bei einer Weglänge von 28 km.
Der direktere Fernwanderweg GR 51-98 erfordert 6,5 Stunden effektive Gehzeit bei eine Länge von 21 km bis Port-Miou, inklusive 1000 m positivem Höhenunterschied.
Wanderwege und Gehzeiten zu den Calanques sind etwa:[16]
Callelongue → Marseilleveyre (50 min), les Queyrons (1 h) und Podestat (1h 15 min);
Col de Sormiou → l’Escu (1 h);
La Cayolle → Sormiou (1 h) und l’Escu (1 h 20 min);
Les Baumettes → Morgiou (1 h) und Sormiou (50 min);
Luminy → Sugiton (55min) und Morgiou (50 min);
La Gineste / La Gardiole → En-vau (2 h) und Port-miou (1 h 50 min);
Halbinsel Cassis → Port-miou (5 min), Port-pin (25 min), En-vau (1 h 10 min).
Klettern
In den Calanques wird seit über 100 Jahren geklettert. Im Jahre 2004 gab es in der Calanques 3.436 gut dokumentierte Kletterrouten (2.440 Sport- und 996 Abenteuerrouten). Mit meist einfachen Zugängen und einem zu jeder Jahreszeit günstigen Klima sind die Calanques heute eines der bekanntesten und beliebtesten Klettergebiete in Frankreich und Europa. In der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung des Departements Bouches-du-Rhône sind Natursportarten nicht berücksichtigt. Im Nationalpark Calanques werden Kletterer nicht mit „offenen Armen“ empfangen, da die Felsen der Calanques eine außergewöhnliche Biodiversität besitzen. Klettern ist mit größtem Respekt vor der Natur auszuüben. Die Gründung des Nationalparks führte zu einem Verbot der Erschließung neuer Routen und zu Maßnahmen zum Schutze der Fauna und Flora. Die Nationalparkverwaltung bittet, definierte Zugangswege nicht zu verlassen und Betretungsverbote zu Nistklippen einzuhalten.
Die Anfänge des Kletterns
Der Gipfel der Grande Candelle wurde erstmals 1879 von dem britischen Konsul Francis W. Mark bestiegen. Damit begann die Erschließung der Calanques durch lokale Bergsteiger. Diese sahen aber in den Felsen und Türmen nur ein Trainingsgebiet für die Alpen. Ab Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden die entlegenen Orte erkundet wie das Val Vierge oder die Calanque de Devenson, und die wichtigsten Gipfel und Nadeln wurden bestiegen: Rocher des Goudes (1900), Aiguille de Sugiton (1903), Aiguille de Sormiou (1904). In den 1920er Jahren wurden erste große Routen entlang von Graten eröffnet, wie l’Arête de Marseille an der Grande Candelle (April 1927) oder am Rocher Saint-Michel l’Arête de la cordée (Februar 1928).
Die Erschließung des Gebietes
Erst durch die Einführung besserer Sicherungsmittel (Felshaken) wurden Routen durch die Felswände eröffnet. Ab den 1930er Jahren erschlossen Kletterer aus Marseille wie Édouard Frendo (1910–1968) immer schwierigere Routen. Der Schwierigkeitsgrad VI wurde in den Calanques erst 1938 von Duchier und Charles Magol mit der Nordwest-Wand des Rocher des Goudes erreicht. In den folgenden zwei Jahrzehnten wurde die Entwicklung des Kletterns in den Calanques von Gaston Rébuffat (1921–1985) und Georges Livanos (1923–2007) entscheidend mitgeprägt, wobei Livanos, genannt „Le Grec“, etwa 400 Routen in den Calanques erstbeging. Beide haben auch das Klettern im gesamten Alpenraum beeinflusst. Mit einer Mischung und freier Kletterei und technischer Kletterei wurden in praktisch allen Felswänden mehrere Routen eröffnet.[ Ein gutes Beispiel für diese Art Route ist der Éperon des Américains in der Calanque d'En-Vau, 1963 erstbegangen durch die amerikanischen Kletterer Gary Hemming, Royal Robbins und John Harlin. Mit den Jahren, im Geiste der Direttissimas, nahm der Anteil technischer Kletterei an den Routen immer mehr zu. Höhepunkt der technischen Kletterei wurde 1966 durch Mark Vaucher und Le Grec mit der Begehung der Directissime de la Concave erreicht.
Die Zeit des Sportkletterns
Bernard Vaucher konstatierte, dass während der 1970er Jahre die Calanques eine untergeordnete Rolle in der Entwicklung des Kletterns eingenommen haben. Die angesagten Klettergebiete dieser Zeit waren das Klettergebiet Verdonschlucht, Buoux im Luberon und Deux Aiguilles am Fuße des Montagne Sainte-Victoire. Die Calanques-Kletterer wie Francois Guillot, Claude Cassin oder Joel Coqueugniot eröffneten schwere und schlecht gesicherte Abenteuer-Routen („terrain aventure“) an schwer zugänglichen Felsen wie der Sektor La Bidule an der Halbinsel Castelvieil oder Coryphène.
Ende der 1970er Jahre und in den 1980er Jahren wurden sehr viele Routen mit Hilfe von Bohrhaken für das Sportklettern eingerichtet und der Ruf der Calanques verbreitete sich in Frankreich und Europa. Immer schwierigere Freikletterrouten wurden erstbegangen wie Patrick Edlingers „Nymphodalle“ (7c) von 1979 bis hin zu François Legrands „Robi in The Sky“ (9a) von 2000. Ganz im Sinne der Zeit wurden Routen durch alle großen Grotten (La Grotte d’Ours, la Grotte de l’Ermite und das Paroi des Toits) eingerichtet und frei geklettert. Die Erschließung neuer Routen setzte sich in den folgenden Jahrzehnten fort, finanziert von Vereinen und den Gemeinden. Heute gilt an vielen Felsen ein Erschließungsverbot.
Freizeitschifffahrt, Seekajak und Bootstouren
Die vom Meer aus leicht zugänglichen Calanques sind häufig von Besuchern überlaufen. Um vor allem die Auswirkungen von Motorbooten auf Flora und Fauna zu begrenzen, ist der Zugang zu den Calanques vom Wasser aus reglementiert. Jeder gewerbliche wie auch private Bootsvermieter benötigt eine Genehmigung der Parkverwaltung. Diese stellt fünf Genehmigungen pro Jahr für private Vermieter aus, beziehungsweise eine dauerhafte Genehmigung für gewerbliche Vermieter. Folgende Einschränkungen sind von Bootseignern und Bootsmietern zu beachten: Nicht in verbotenen Zonen ankern, Verbotszonen für Motorschiffe respektieren, Zugangsbeschränkungen zu den Calanques d’En-Vau, Port-Pin und Port-Miou berücksichtigen, in einem Streifen von 300 m entlang der Küste gilt die Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung von 5 Knoten.
Die Calanques bieten sich wegen der zahlreichen Felsbuchten zum Küstenpaddeln an. Zudem sind einige kleine Höhlen bei ruhigem Wasser mit dem Boot befahrbar, wie z. B. die Grotte Bleue am Eingang zu der Calanque de Morgiou. Bei Seekajaktouren ist auf gute und stabile Wetterverhältnisse zu achten, besonders auf ruhige Windverhältnisse wegen des starken, ablandigen Windes bei Mistral. Schwimmwesten sind Pflicht. An Steilküsten ist nur an wenigen Uferstellen ein Ausstieg möglich. Sonnencreme, Sonnenbrille und eine Kopfbedeckung sowie Trinkwasser und Proviant sind bei längeren Touren unerlässlich. Neoprenschuhe zu tragen ist beim Anlegen in kleinen Buchten sinnvoll, da der Grund oft voller kantiger und spitzer Steine und Seeigel ist. Anlegen ist verboten, wenn der Nationalpark wegen Brandgefahr geschlossen ist.
Der Besuch der Calanques kann in Rahmen von Bootstouren unterschiedlicher Dauer und Länge erfolgen, die von Schifffahrtsgesellschaften von Marseille oder Cassis aus angeboten werden.
Radfahren und Mountainbiken
Die Calanques sind ein beliebtes Gebiet für Mountainbiker. Routenvorschläge werden auf vielen Online-Plattformen angeboten. Die Benutzung von E-Bikes hat in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. Seit November 2021 ist Radfahren und Mountainbiken in den Calanques reglementiert. Fahrräder dürfen nur auf einem Netz erlaubter Pisten, Wege und Pfade benutzt werden. Außerhalb dieses Netzes ist das Radfahren verboten. Eine Online-Karte der erlaubten Wege ist verfügbar.
Tauchen
Der Nationalpark Calanques beherbergt eine vielfältige und artenreiche Unterwasser-Flora und -Fauna. Auch die Vielseitigkeit der Unterwasserlandschaften ist erheblich mit Höhlen, felsigem Grund, Neptungräsern, Korallenriffen und Unterwasserschluchten. Die zahlreichen Wracks in den Gewässern des Nationalparks machen ihn zu einem Hotspot der Unterwasserarchäologie.
Tauchen ist im Nationalpark erlaubt, aber reglementiert. Die „Tauchercharta“ und die nautischen Vorschriften zum Schutze der Artenvielfalt müssen eingehalten werden. Die Entnahme von archäologischen Artefakten und Überresten ist verboten. Es ist weiter verboten, in den zwei archäologischen Schutzzonen (ZPR) zu tauchen: im Cousteau-Dreieck vor den Inseln Riou und Plane sowie an der Pointe de la Voile am Cap Morgiou. An vielen Tauchspots sind Bojen am Meeresboden befestigt. Es ist empfohlen diese zu benützen, anstatt Anker zu werfen. Der Zugang zu den Bojen ist frei und kostenlos.
In der Calanque de Sormiou entwickelten Jacques-Yves Cousteau („Le Commandant“) und Georges Beuchat die moderne Tauchausrüstung und unternahmen dort ihre ersten Unterwasser-Entdeckungen. Hier wurde das moderne Tauchen geboren.
(Wikipedia)
Das Massif de Marseilleveyre ist ein zerklüftetes, verkarstetes Bergmassiv südlich von Marseille. Seine spektakulären fjordartigen Buchten sind Teil der Calanques.
Geographie
Tief eingeschnittene Täler und Schluchten wie das Grand Malvallon, das Vallon de la Mounine oder das Vallon des Aiguilles führen nur nach Regenfällen Wasser in den Bächen auf dem Talgrund. Zahlreiche Höhlen wie die Grotte de l'Ours, die Grotte de l'Eremite oder der Aven Gombault, Karstquellen wie die Fontaine de Voire oder die Fontaine de Brès und bizarre Felsformationen wie der natürliche Steinbogen Les Trois Arches im oberen Malvallon prägen das Massiv. Zahlreiche Wanderwege und Kletterrouten durchziehen die Berge. Der Col de la Selle und der Col des Chèvres östlich bzw. westlich des Sommet de Marseilleveyre ermöglichen die Überschreitung des Bergmassivs in Nord-Süd-Richtung.
Toponymie
Der Name des Massivs bedeutet Massiv, von dem man Marseille sieht (veyre = okzitanisch 'sehen').
Vegetation
Die natürlich karge Vegetation wird durch wiederkehrende Waldbrände zusätzlich vermindert. Typische Pflanzen sind die Aleppokiefer, die Garrigue und vereinzelte Pinien und Zypressen. Wälder finden sich fast nur noch am nördlichen Fuß des Massivs und im Bois de la Selle unterhalb des Col de la Selle.
Bemerkenswerte Erhebungen
Sommet de Marseilleveyre, 432 m, höchster Punkt des Massivs
Béouveyre, 397 m
Tête de l'Homme, 396 m
Tête de la Mounine, 385 m
Sommet Ouest de l'Homme Mort, 374 m
Tête de la Melette, 362 m
Pointe Callot, 346 m
Les Trois Pics, 335 m
Rocher St. Michel, 322 m
Tête du Trou du Chat, 281 m
Rocher des Goudes, 258 m
(Wikipedia)
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)
The Palacio Nacional features a number of mural paintings by Alfredo Gálvez Suárez, created in 1944. This mural, encuentro de culturas, shows the peaceful encounter between the Spanish colonizers and the indigenous population. In the center we see the ultimate colonial fantasy: a Spanish warrior in full armor uniting with a naked indigenous woman, both protected by a pair of hands. In front is a modern worker, showing the industrial character of modern Guatemala. On the left, Spaniards are instructing indigenous men in the art of European construction. On the right, missionaries are instructing natives in the Catholic faith.
The Palacio Nacional was constructed 1939-1943 as presidential palace in a neo-baroque style. It originally served as the official seat of the President of Guatemala, but now is known as Palacio Nacional de la Cultura and serves as exhibit space.
Features from a bound volume of Australian Women's Budget Magazine, dated July-December 1913. Read more on the blog: chronicallysiobhan.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/a-glimpse-int...
1776 features the Navy digital camo with small, hard to read logos, while 911 screams just like a fire truck!
This minifig features an overmolded M1 Carbine with wire stock, and a olive metal knife from brickarms. Also seen is a trenchcoat that I got at the G.I. Brick Stand at World War Brick 2014. This is a decaled figure with winter styling on front and back torso. (Decals courtesy of Lando from Brickmania)
BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 11: Annitta "Alyssa" Peerwantanagul of X10 Sapphire poses at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2022 Features Day on November 11, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
Features include front steering, rear suspension, rotatable turret, angle adjustment for the machine gun, openable hatch and openable doors.
The design is based on Legohaulic's Humvee!
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 29: G2 Esports at the League of Legends - Mid-Season Invitational Features Day on April 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 11: Brendan "BcJ" Jensen of Evil Geniuses poses during the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN features day on February 11, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - AUGUST 28: FunPlus Phoenix poses at VALORANT Champions 2022 Istanbul Features Day on August 28, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Angel Franco/Riot Games)
The Guardian features Animal Equality's latest foie gras undercover investigation! Read and share: goo.gl/bQ5dl
Health and Consumer Affairs Department of the Basque Country (Spain) fines the third best restaurant - Mugaritz, and shuts down the foie gras supplying farm!
Watch the shocking footage and sign the petition to ban Foie Gras in EU at: www.FoieGrasFarms.org
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 29: Martin "Yike" Sundelin of G2 Esports at the League of Legends - Mid-Season Invitational Features Day on April 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
Park History
Despite the climate and formidable geological features the Grand Canyon area shows evidence of habitation as far back as 2000 B.C. These ancient people pursued a hunter/gatherer existence. At about 500 B.C. a new group of people--the Anasazi ("ancient ones" in Navajo)--appeared on the scene. In 600-700 A.D. the Coconino people also settled the area, but climatic conditions or other factors caused both groups to abandon the area around 1150. One hundred fifty years later the Cerbat people, ancestors of the modern Havasupai Indians, moved into the area, while the Paiutes simultaneously moved to the north rim.
The first whites to see the canyon were members of a battalion of Spanish explorers in 1540. Led by Cardenas and guided by Hopi Indians, these soldiers were searching for fabled golden cities. Cardenas probably reached the canyon somewhere between Moran Point and Desert View. Peering down into the canyon, members of the party were fooled by the immense scale of the geological features. They vastly underestimated the size and scale of the canyon--they thought the river was no more than 6 feet across! Not finding the passage the gold they sought, the party left, and it wasn't for more than 200 years, until 1776, that another Spaniard, missionary and priest Francisco Tomás Garcés, again gazed upon, and this time traveled in, the canyon. Garcés was the first to call the dark silt-heavy river "Colorado" (red).
The first American to visit the area may have been James Ohio Pattie in 1826, although there is some question about whether this visit actually occurred. In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted sovereignty over Arizona and the canyon to the United States. In 1857 a survey party lead by Lt. Joseph Ives sailed up the Colorado to its furthest navigable point and ascended beyond into the canyon on foot. Missionary Joseph Hamblin made a number of visits to the area between 1858 and 1864.
Through the 1870's and 1880's the canyon saw some mining activities. There was also cattle grazing on the Kaibab Plateau north of the rim during this period which unfortunately had devastating effects on the grasslands there which persist to this day. The arrival of the railroad in Flagstaff brought increased tourist interest and activity. In 1858 F. W. von Egloffstein made the first drawings of the canyon, and the work of renowned wilderness artist Thomas Moran, who accompanied a U.S. Geological Survey expedition led by Charles Dutton in 1880-81,also drew attention to the scenic wonders of the area. Henry Holmes, who also traveled with Dutton, made drawings which were less "romantic" than Moran's paintings but more precise and technically accurate.
In the early 1880's the first tourist facilities--a log cabin in the what is now Grand Canyon Village--were built by John Hance. In 1884 the first hotel was built--at the bottom of the canyon. By 1905 Grand Canyon village had begun to grow and the El Tovar hotel had been designed and built.
Efforts to preserve the canyon began before the turn of the century. Senator Benjamin Harrison introduced the first bill to make the Grand Canyon a national park in 1882. Unsuccessful, he introduced similar bills again in 1883 and 1886. Later, as president of the United States, Harrison made portions of the canyon a forest reserve in 1893.
One of the prime factors in preserving the magnificent canyon was president and conservationist Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt first visited the park area in 1903 and was very impressed. His oft-quoted statements include the following:
"Leave it as it is.You cannot improve upon it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do it to keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American...should see."
In 1908 Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon area a national monument under the powers granted to the president by the Antiquities Act. Further unsuccessful bills to make the area a national park were introduced in 1910 and 1911. Finally, in 1917 Representative Carl Hayden and Senator Henry Fountain Ashurst sponsored a bill which would ultimately prove successful.
On February 26, 1919, Woodrow Wilson signed the bill which made the canyon a national park. In 1927 more land including Kaibab forest land on the north rim was added to the park. In 1932 President Herbert Hoover protected additional land in the area as a new Grand Canyon National Monument. Another national monument, Marble Canyon, was created upriver in 1969. In 1975 President Gerald Ford signed a bill which effectively doubled the size of the park, incorporating sections from the Grand Canyon National Monument, Marble Canyon, and the Kaibab National Forest.
The battle to conserve the canyon has never really stopped. In addition to the 1965 Glen Canyon Dam upriver there were plans in the 1960's to dam the river in the canyon itself. The Sierra Club's successful battle against this plan cost it its tax exempt status.
Thursday, September 17, 2009.
Calvert Cliffs State Park in Southern Maryland features a sandy beach, unique fossils, fishing, a freshwater and tidal marshland and 13 miles of hiking trails on 1,079 acres designated as a wild lands area. The massive cliffs, from which Calvert Cliffs State Park was named, dominate the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay for roughly 24 miles. They were formed over 10 to 20 million years ago when all of Southern Maryland was covered by a warm, shallow sea. When the sea receded the cliffs were exposed and began eroding. Today these cliffs reveal remains of prehistoric species including sharks, whales, rays, and seabirds that were the size of small airplanes.
Fossil hunting can be done at the open beach area which is about 2 miles from the parking lot, at the end of the Red Trail. The beach area is a sandy quarter mile stretch near the Calvert Cliffs. Over 600 species of fossils from the Miocene era (10-20 million years ago) have been identified in the Calvert Cliffs, many of which can be found in the park and on the beach. However, the area beneath the cliffs is closed due to dangerous landslides and the potential for injury.
[Source: Maryland Park Service, Department of Natural Resources.]
Gumayusi of T1 at the League of Legends Worlds 2025 Features Day on October 11, 2025 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
Oor Wullie (English: Our Willie) is a Scottish comic strip published in the D.C. Thomson newspaper The Sunday Post.
It features a character called Wullie Russell .
Wullie is the familiar Scots nickname for boys named William.
His trademarks are spiky hair, dungarees and an upturned bucket, which he uses as a seat - most strips since early 1ii937 begin and end with a single panel of Wullie sitting on his bucket.
The earliest strips, with little dialogue, ended with Wullie complaining ("I nivver get ony fun roond here!").
The artistic style settled down by 1940 and has changed little since. A frequent tagline reads, "Oor Wullie! Your Wullie! A'body's Wullie!" (Our Willie! Your Willie! Everybody's Willie!).
Created by Thomson editor R. D. Low and drawn by cartoonist Dudley D. Watkins, the strip first appeared on 8 March 1936.
Watkins continued to draw Oor Wullie until his death in 1969, after which the Post recycled his work into the 1970s.
New strips were eventually commissioned from Tom Lavery, followed by Peter Davidson and Robert Nixon. Ken H. Harrison drew the strip from 1989 until 1997, when Davidson resumed duties.
Between January 2005 and 2006 storylines were written by broadcaster Tom Morton from his home in Shetland, and subsequently they were written by Dave Donaldson, managing director of Thomson's comics division.
The current writer is former Dandy editor Morris Heggie.
The Oor Wullie bucket Trail begins on the 17th June 2019 and is even bigger than the last one 3 years ago.
In 2016 Dundee held a bucket trail with over 50 sculptures all painted with different designs to celebrate 80 years of Oor Wullie.
This was a huge success with the sculptures raising over £800,000 at auction for the local childrens charity.
They have decided to bring it back this year but on a far bigger scale with 150 sculptures and this time you will be able to find them not only in Dundee, but Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and a few dotted in other towns and cities across the country.
At the end of the summer these will once again be auctioned off and the money will be split between 3 childrens charities.
Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail runs for 11 weeks from 17th June 2019 – 30th August 2019, culminating in a series of Farewell Events and nationwide auctions in each of the five host cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Scotland’s first ever national public art trail aims to unite the country as it raises awareness and vital funds for Scotland’s children’s hospital charities.
Funds raised through the trail will support Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity,Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity,and the ARCHIE Foundation, helping children in hospital across the country.
Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail is a Wild in Art event, and would not be possible without the support of DC Thomson Media.
I have taken a keen interest in this event and intend to capture all of the sculptures across the city, posting some of my favourite shots here on Flickr.