The Ascent of the Matterhorn

The ascent of the Matterhorn by the Hornli Ridge, filmed in July 1913 by Frederick Burlingham. The team, composed of Burlingham and four mountain guides from Zermatt, carried the 15-kilo camera and the 10-kilo tripod to the top the mountain to film the summit of the Matterhorn. Frederick Burlingham, known at the time as 'The man who kinomatographed the Matterhorn', was a traveller cinematographer and one of the mountain film pioneers. Continuing the mountain film tradition established by Ormiston-Smith, Burlingham filmed several mountaineering films largely in Switzerland, taking mountain film in a new direction of immediacy and perceived peril.

Director: Frederick Burlingham