The Unfortunate Hopkinson Family
There is a rather short Wikipedia page on John Hopkinson. He is said to have been a British physicist, electrical engineer who invented the three-wire (three-phase) system for the distribution of electrical power. At the end of the page there is a sentence that draws our attention: “Hopkinson and three of his children, John Gustave, Alice and Lina Evelyn, were killed in 1898 in a mountaineering accident on the Petite Dent de Veisivi, Val d'Herens, in the Pennine Alps, Switzerland.” What happened?
The Hopkinson family had spent several summers together in the Alps climbing a number of peaks. The mountains were like a family affair to them with the father being a distinguished member of the Alpine Club. In this summer 1898 the family already had ascended impressive mountains like Rouges d’Arolla (3646 m) and Mont Collon (3637 m).
Before returning to England they decided to climb Petite Dent de Veisivi (3183 m). This is neither a distant nor a particular high peak but still offers serious rock climbing. Hopkinson and three of his children, all around twenty, left the village Arolla half past seven in the morning Saturday the 27 August. This rather late start was possible since the approach did not include any glacier crossing with softening snow bridges. On their way to the foot of the mountain they caught glimpses of both the mighty Dent Blanch and the snow cowered Dent d’Herrens.
The father uncoiled the rope. They were not used to climb in two parties so all four tied in the same rope, Jack leading, Lina as second followed by the father. At the end came Alice, the older daughter. They started up the steep rock making use of their steel-shod boots.
Mrs Hopkinson and their youngest son had spent the day playing tennis. In the evening dinner was served in the large dining-room of the Hotel du Mont-Collon at Arolla. At a table for six four places were unoccupied which attracted attention. “There is no need to worry”, someone said adding “Climbers, madam, are just like artists; they can never return in time for their meals”. But as the hours went by the seats stayed unoccupied.
Finally at midnight it was decided to organize a search party. Early on Sunday morning in the grey light of dawn the bodies were found. At the base of the wall under the summit the Hopkinson family lay all roped together. They had fallen about 200 meter from a point close to the summit.
The grave of unfortunate members of the Hopkinson family is found in cemetery at the village Territet, close to Montreux at the shore of Lake Geneva. The inscription on the head stone ends:
“In their lives and in their death they were not divided”
The Hopkinson family had spent several summers together in the Alps climbing a number of peaks. The mountains were like a family affair to them with the father being a distinguished member of the Alpine Club. In this summer 1898 the family already had ascended impressive mountains like Rouges d’Arolla (3646 m) and Mont Collon (3637 m).
Before returning to England they decided to climb Petite Dent de Veisivi (3183 m). This is neither a distant nor a particular high peak but still offers serious rock climbing. Hopkinson and three of his children, all around twenty, left the village Arolla half past seven in the morning Saturday the 27 August. This rather late start was possible since the approach did not include any glacier crossing with softening snow bridges. On their way to the foot of the mountain they caught glimpses of both the mighty Dent Blanch and the snow cowered Dent d’Herrens.
The father uncoiled the rope. They were not used to climb in two parties so all four tied in the same rope, Jack leading, Lina as second followed by the father. At the end came Alice, the older daughter. They started up the steep rock making use of their steel-shod boots.
Mrs Hopkinson and their youngest son had spent the day playing tennis. In the evening dinner was served in the large dining-room of the Hotel du Mont-Collon at Arolla. At a table for six four places were unoccupied which attracted attention. “There is no need to worry”, someone said adding “Climbers, madam, are just like artists; they can never return in time for their meals”. But as the hours went by the seats stayed unoccupied.
Finally at midnight it was decided to organize a search party. Early on Sunday morning in the grey light of dawn the bodies were found. At the base of the wall under the summit the Hopkinson family lay all roped together. They had fallen about 200 meter from a point close to the summit.
The grave of unfortunate members of the Hopkinson family is found in cemetery at the village Territet, close to Montreux at the shore of Lake Geneva. The inscription on the head stone ends:
“In their lives and in their death they were not divided”