Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Shepherd, hunter, farmer and craftsman, but above all great climber, the first Valle d'Aosta man whose summit conquering spirit became legendary.
.Shepherd, hunter, farmer and craftsman, but above all a great climber, the first Valle d'Aosta whose summit conquering spirit became legendary. Born in 1829 in the village of Avouìl in the municipality of Valtournenche, his youthful years were marked by military service, which coincided with the Wars of Independence (1848 - 1859): he fought at San Martino and received the rank of sergeant; from then on, he was 'the bersagliere' for his villagers.
The nickname was well suited to a person who was actually a leader by nature, proud but serious and reliable: he had made the conquest of the Matterhorn the aim of his life and considered the challenge to this mountain somewhat of a personal affair.
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There was a first, half-hearted attempt in 1857 in the company of Jean-Jacques Carrel and a young seminarian named Amé Gorret. This resulted in the first ascent of the Lion's Head. In 1861, the Englishman Edward Whymper also 'fell in love' with the Becca and contacted Carrel to climb it, but they could not reach an agreement because Jean-Antoine also wanted Jean-Jacques with him. Whymper tried anyway with a Bernese guide, reaching a point that had never been touched before, but the two Carrels, in order to prove their skills, surpassed the Englishman's record and reached the Crête du Coq (4032 m) where they carved an inscription in the rock.
1862 was the year of the famous attempt by John Tyndall, who with two Swiss guides and Carrel as porter climbed what became the Pic Tyndall, stopping at the passage known as the Enjambée. Tyndall asked Carrel's opinion, since the Swiss guides (who had previously proved to be very haughty) proposed to give up going further, but the proud Valdostan replied: 'ask your guides, I am but a porter'. For the record, the Englishman did not really appreciate this burst of parochialism and in the years that followed, he expressed less than gratifying judgements on Carrel's account.
The Matterhorn received other assaults.
The Matterhorn received other assaults in the following years, all of them repulsed by bad weather, but in July 1865, while he was at high altitude equipping the route for a probable 'premiere' of the then minister Quintino Sella, the first conquerors appeared on the summit: Carrel recognised Whymper's white trousers and, overcome with despondency, retreated with all his men. It took all the eloquence of the 'Grand' Gorret and the engineer Giordano (Quintino Sella's plenipotentiary for the occasion) to convince him to at least attempt the first of the south-west face, the Italian one, which two days later was duly conquered, despite the technically greater difficulties than those faced by the first conquerors who climbed the Swiss side.
The relationship with Whymper, who had been a member of the team for many years, was not easy.
The relationship with Whymper, which had become strained in the middle of the competition for the summit of the Matterhorn, was also restored by virtue of the profound esteem that the Englishman had for the Aosta Valley guide: in fact, he hired him for an expedition to the Ecuadorian Andes. Together they made the first ascent of Chimborazo (6130m) and the fifth of Cotopaxi (5943m), plus various other peaks between 4000 and 5000 metres. During this expedition, the two mountaineers also became acquainted with altitude sickness, which our champion refused to treat with drugs, believing that a little good old mulled wine was more than enough. On his return to England, Whymper lavished great praise on the Valdostan guide, who humbly returned to his main occupation as a farmer, as he could not make a living as a guide, especially with twelve children to look after.
In 1890, Carrel made his 51st ascent of the Matterhorn, in the company of Leone Sinigaglia and Charles Gorret. The return trip was difficult due to bad weather: having rescued his climbing companions, Jean-Antoine collapsed and died at the place where the so-called Carrel Cross now stands.
The hunter Jean-Antoine, who was also a hunter, was the first to climb the Matterhorn.
A shepherd, hunter, farmer and craftsman, but above all a great climber, the first Valle d'Aosta mountaineer whose summit conquering spirit became legendary. Born in 1829 in the village of Avouìl in the municipality of Valtournenche, his youthful years were marked by military service, which coincided with the Wars of Independence (1848 - 1859): he fought at San Martino and received the rank of sergeant; from then on, he was 'the bersagliere' for his villagers.
The nickname was well suited to a person who was actually a leader by nature, proud but serious and reliable: he had made the conquest of the Matterhorn the aim of his life and considered the challenge to this mountain somewhat of a personal matter.
There was a first attempt, with little conviction, in 1857 in the company of Jean-Jacques Carrel and a young seminarian named Amé Gorret. This resulted in the first ascent of the Lion's Head. In 1861, the Englishman Edward Whymper also 'fell in love' with the Becca and contacted Carrel to climb it, but they could not reach an agreement because Jean-Antoine also wanted Jean-Jacques with him. Whymper also attempted it with a Bernese guide, reaching a point that had never been reached before, but the two Carrels, in order to prove their skills, surpassed the Englishman's record and reached the Crête du Coq (4032 m) where they carved an inscription in the rock.
1862 was the year of John Tyndall's famous attempt, who with two Swiss guides and Carrel as porter climbed what became the Pic Tyndall, stopping at the passage known as the Enjambée. Tyndall asked Carrel's opinion, since the Swiss guides (who had previously proved to be very haughty) proposed to give up going further, but the proud Valdostan replied: 'ask your guides, I am but a porter'. For the record, the Englishman did not really appreciate this burst of parochialism and in the following years expressed less than gratifying judgments about Carrel.
The Matterhorn received other assaults in the following years, all repulsed by bad weather, but in July 1865, while he was at high altitude equipping the route for a probable "premiere" of the then minister Quintino Sella, the first conquerors appeared on the summit: Carrel recognised Whymper's white trousers and, overcome with despair, retreated with all his men. It took all the eloquence of the 'Grand' Gorret and the engineer Giordano (Quintino Sella's plenipotentiary for the occasion) to convince him to at least attempt the first of the south-west face, the Italian one, which two days later was duly conquered, despite the technically superior difficulties to those faced by the first conquerors who climbed the Swiss side.
The relationship with Whymper, which had become strained in the midst of the competition for the summit of the Matterhorn, was also recomposed by virtue of the profound esteem that the Englishman had for the Valle d'Aosta guide: in fact, he hired him for an expedition to the Ecuadorian Andes. Together they made the first ascent of Chimborazo (6130m) and the fifth of Cotopaxi (5943m), plus various other peaks between 4000 and 5000 metres. During this expedition, the two mountaineers also made the acquaintance of altitude sickness, which our champion refused to treat with drugs, believing that a little good old Vin brulé was more than enough. On his return to England, Whymper lavished great praise on the guide from Valle d'Aosta, who humbly returned to his main occupation as a farmer, as he could not make a living as a guide, especially with twelve children to look after.
In 1890, Carrel made his 51st ascent of the Matterhorn, in the company of Leone Sinigaglia and Charles Gorret. The return trip was difficult due to bad weather: having rescued his climbing companions, Jean-Antoine collapsed and died at the place where the so-called Carrel Cross now stands.