Sir, The first ascent of the Matterhorn was made not by the Italian Jean-Antoine Carrel (report, Sept 7) but by the Englishman Edward Whymper on July 14, 1865. In his book Scrambles in the Alps Whymper talks of throwing stones from the summit towards the Italians below to ensure they knew the summit had been conquered.
The British team did suffer a setback when a rope broke and four members of the team died, but that was on the way down, not on the way up. Perhaps your correspondent should remember Whymper’s closing words in the final chapter of his book: “Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.”
THERESA MAY
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons