Lucy Walker - First woman on the Matterhorn

The street art on the house facade that you can see as you leave the train station is pays homage to the British woman Lucy Walker (1836-1916). She was one of the strongest female alpinists of her time. Among many other achievements, she was the first woman to climb the 4,000 m Liskamm and the Piz Bernina. Her great dream was to achieve the same on the Matterhorn. But she had a rival, the American Meta Brevoort (1825-1876), who had set herself the same goal.

When Lucy heard about Meta's plan to start her attempt on the Matterhorn from Zermatt, she quickly put together a team and launched her own assault on the mountain. On 22 July 1871, a telegram reached the editors of the Journal de Genève newspaper. Lucy Walker had done it. She was the first woman to reach the summit of the Matterhorn – in the long flannel skirt befitting a Victorian lady.

She had thus achieved a major feat of women's alpinism, only six years after her compatriot Edward Whymper had become the first man to stand on the top of the mountain. Immediately after Lucy's success, Meta arrived in Zermatt and realised she had missed her opportunity – the greatest prize had slipped away. News of the successful assent quickly spread across Europe and beyond.

Source: Caroline Fink, Karin Steinbach: Erste am Seil – Pionierinnen in Fels und Eis.