I am not a mountaineer.

One of the highlights (for me) of our trip was the Matterhorn Museum. I got to learn about Edward Whymper and his success and tragedy on the first ascent of the Matterhorn. I like hiking. But hiking and mountain climbing are two entirely different animals. And that's fine, even according to Whymper: "Others, again, who are not detractors, find mountaineering, as a sport, to be wholly unintelligible. It is not greatly to be wondered at— we are not all constituted alike." (I'm reading and enjoying his book Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the years 1860-69 (Kindle Locations 3686-3688).

At the Matterhorn Museum, I finally learned what bivying is. My brain chose to not process the idea. I looked at a picture of someone in a tent attached to the side of a mountain, and my brain says, "error. does not compute."

This picture does not even begin to match the one I saw in the museum. Maybe Rod took a picture. IT'S A TENT ATTACHED TO THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN. WHUT?!

Anyhow, you should at least read a little about the first ascent of the Matterhorn. It has a surprise twist at the end!