ONE of mountaineering’s most infamous episodes will be the subject of a literary discussion in Fishguard next week, as a precursor to the town’s eagerly-anticipated Ar Ymyl y Tir 2024/On Land’s Edge Festival.

In July 1865 a seven-man British party led by Edward Whymper raced a rival Italian team to the top of the Matterhorn, the iconic peak situated on the Swiss-Italian border.

Although Whymper’s party prevailed, tragedy struck on the way down when Rev Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, Douglas Hadow and Michel Croz plunged to their deaths when the rope broke.

The disaster is recalled in a new novel ‘The Icarus Ascent: Ghosts of the Matterhorn’ by Cardigan author Mike Lewis, a fictional re-imagining of the story as seen through the eyes of the dead climbers themselves.

Mike will be interviewed by local writer and historian Anne Garside at Peppers on Saturday, September 7, in a pre-event for Ar Ymyl y Tir 2024/On Land’s Edge.

“The fall on the Matterhorn remains one of the most notorious incidents in mountaineering history,” he said.

“What particularly interested me was how Whymper’s own account of what happened is accepted as gospel, when the testimonies of his two fellow survivors – humble Swiss mountain peasant farmers – differ considerably.

“Theirs was an expedition thrown together at the last minute through circumstances riven with tensions and strife which undoubtedly contributed to its horrific outcome.”

*Although this is a free event booking is required through Theatr Gwaun’s Box Office as places are limited.

A two-course Swiss-inspired menu is available post-talk at Peppers for £20: please book direct at Peppers for this.