chapter9
Zermatt, August 1923
19-year-old Ulrich lay down to rest. It was a hot day and hed been working all morning in the family fields high above the village. The sheep and cows were spread over a wide area, enjoying their freedom. Ulrich had spent the morning carrying huge bundles of dry grass on his back uphill to the summer hut. There his mother and sister were busy making the cheese that would last the family throughout the winter The sun was strong and he was tired. He raised his head. slightly and looked over towards the Matterhorn. His up there, guiding two American climbers. Ulrich went into the hut and got the binoculars. He thought that Otto might possibly have reached the shoulder' by now one of the most difficult places to climb on the whole mountain. He thought he could see three little dots yes, they were definitely movin Ulrich's heart was racing as he watched their slow progress. He wished he was up there with them. It was a perfect day for climbing. He himself had been a guide for a year now and had climbed to the top five times. He knew that however many times he was going to climb the in the future he would never tire of it. It was different from all the other mountains around; not just because it was so high but because it was the most magnificent and mysterious. His ancestors had believed that the mountain was sacred, that the gods lived there and it was an unvisited place. Since it had been first climb in 1865, many people had lost their lives on it, including his father four years ago. Ulrich had started climbing with his father the most respected guide of his generation in Zermatt. It was quite normal for fathers and sons to work together, and Grunwalder Senior was pleased that his son would soon be old enough to join him, guiding the wealthy foreigners up the high mountains. This dream had been cut short when Grunwalder Senior had died helping a not very experienced Englishman come down the 'shoulder' of the Matterhorn. The whole village had come together for the funeral of his father. He was buried, with all the other local guides who had met a similar end, in a special corner of the cemetery near the church. His father's death had not changed Ulrich's mind he too wanted to be the most respected guide of his generation. He also knew that as the only male in the family it was his duty to provide for his mother and his sister, Marianne, until she got married, so he needed as much work as possible "Uli. "Marianne had crept up beside him with a Esen!' plate of bread and cheese. He jumped, and took the plate from his sister. Ulrich, Marianne and their mother sat together on the grass eating their lunch. Twenty-three-year-old Marianne suddenly announced that she was going back down to the village later that afternoon. Her cousin, who managed one of the hotels, wanted her to look after the little daughter of one of the guest families for a few days. Ulrich looked in surprise at his sister. It was unusual for Marianne to leave the hillside hut in the summer, unless she really had to. She was one person in the family who particularly loved their summer life away from the village. Every year she used cry when they brought the animals down from the uplands at the end of the summer. She saw it as the end of her own freedom; she would be stuck in the house in the village for the long months of the dark, cold winter "Why are you looking at me like that?' asked Marianne "You've surprised me," said Ulrich. "Did you know she was going, Mama? His mother nodded. "Well, this little girl must be very special, or Cousin Hermann must be very persuasive, or something,' said Ulrich, noticing that his sister was now embarrassed. "Don't be silly,' replied Marianne. "You know we can get good tips from the foreign guests. I can't turn down the chance to earn some money. All the visitors will be gone in a couple of months and that'll be that until next year. I'm probably going to be working next week there's an Englishman who wants to do some climbing on the Gornergrat so we'll get some money from that. Ulrich felt the responsibility for providing money for the f was his. "You don't need to do this for Cousin Hermann if you don't want to," he added. "I know how much you hate going down to the village in the summer "Thank you, Uli, but I've said I'll do it, and I will. Well, if you're both going to be away, I shall have bit of peace up here for a few days,' said their mother. I'll walk back with you,' said Ulrich to his sister. "I want to make sure that Englishman is really serious about climbing next week. And if he is, I don't want him to employ any other guide. Is that all right with you, Mama? I'll be back tomorrow morning. Of course. And take as much hay down as possible, both of you," replied his mother. Later that afternoon, Ulrich and Marianne tied large bundles of hay together and lifted them onto their backs They set off down towards Zermatt. An hour and a half later they entered the village, left