Time has stopped. A man grips a fragment of frayed rope in his hands as he helplessly watches four men fall thousands of feet to their death on the glacier. He looks down at what’s left of the rope that seconds before was the lifeline support for his fellow climbers. What a steep price to pay for the personal glory of winning a race to the top of a mountain.
This is the story of the first ascent of the Matterhorn.
Edward Whymper, a young British illustrator, wrangles an assignment in the Swiss Alps. The majestic Matterhorn enthralls him at first sight. Hearing the mountain is cursed and un-climbable, he can’t stop thinking about it. When he learns an Italian guide, Jean-Antoine Carrel, plans to ascend the mountain from Italy, he becomes determined to be the first to summit the Matterhorn – for himself and for his country. His drive becomes an obsession.
He falls in love with Christy, a young Swiss climber. She wants to climb with him. She’s very good, but no one will climb with a woman. Edward refuses, and she leaves him for Carrel, who invites her to climb with him.
Through Carrel’s deceit, his Italian team gets a jump on Whymper and climbs half-way up the southern route before Whymper can even start. Desperate to beat Carrel, Whymper throws together a team of British climbers and Swiss guides to rush up the untried north-eastern ridge. The two teams race each other up the dangerous mountain from opposite sides. Whymper sprints up the final icy ridge to win the race, and celebrates his victory over the Italians.
His victory is short-lived. One man slips, the rope snaps, four men fall, and Whymper is left holding the ragged end of the rope. The celebration in Zermatt turns to mourning, then rage. The town blames Whymper for the tragedy. On trial for murder, he faces hanging, if convicted. He is accused of cutting the rope. The rope was left on the mountain. Christy pleads with Carrel to search for the rope with her to prove Whymper’s innocence.
Based on history, this is a story of Whymper’s obsessive ambition in pursuit of personal glory and national honor. It portrays both a clash and a collaboration of cultures, a struggle for gender equality, and the journey of one man to take responsibility for his choices and find meaning in his life.