An Icelander in the trip where the men fell to their deaths

"I was just there the same day, these were men I had met the day before and we had breakfast together."

This is what Trausti Már Ingason says, an Icelander who started hiking up the Matterhorn in a group of 22 early Wednesday morning last week. Ingason turned back from the walk.

Two climbers died last week when they fell more than a kilometer down the slopes of the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland.

"At first I feared that it was a father and son with whom I had stayed in a room and had gotten to know a little," Ingason says, who first learned of the accident when he got home, through a mbl.is news report.

After some investigation, it turned out that they were two young men from Switzerland. Ingason said he remembers them well. They, the father and son, and Ingason himself were all without a guide, unlike most of the rest of the group that set off up the mountain.

Tried to be with the people

"I felt that I quickly got tired in this atmosphere. You're just not used to this," Ingason says when asked what made him turn around.

He also adds that the group went pretty fast due to the changing weather forecast and that he had a hard time keeping up. The conditions were already not the best because of the wetness and the steep mountain slopes are therefore quite tricky to climb.

He tried to keep up with the two men from Switzerland but go so far behind that he lost sight of them and then decided to return to the mountain hotel.

"There was supposed to be a thunderstorm around three o'clock but it had moved to ten o'clock in the morning so they were obviously in a hurry to get ahead of the weather." So I missed them a bit," he says.

"Although I'm in good shape on the Esja, it was all experienced men who went over there quickly and then I was alone in the dark, not ready on the way, so for me, it was not a question."

The locals were happy with Ingason

Ingason said they had left the mountain hotel the same day and therefore heard nothing of the men's disappearance until he returned to Iceland. He kept going to the next town where he chatted with the locals and told them about his trip.

"I immediately became the main man because I turned around. Not because I reached the top. The local people, who are familiar with the area, thought this made a lot of sense."

It was, of course, a frustrating and difficult decision, as he had put a lot into the expedition, spent a lot of money on it, and traveled from Iceland. However, it is important to listen to common sense and warning bells even if it entails disappointments.

However, the trip did not disappoint him as he was happy with his decision. He has also previously climbed the Matterhorn.

Might not have turned around 20 years ago

"I went there 33 years ago, 23 years old, young and fearless, then it all worked out very well. Then I was lucky with the group and the weather. I'm in better shape today than when I was young, but no doubt I could stand the thin air better then," he says, adding that many people have said that good spirits must be watching over him.

"But if I had been 20 years younger, I might not have turned back."

Asked if he plans to try again, he says no and says he only does mountaineering for himself.

"I don't see myself doing anything like that again. It was just something I wanted to do. I have no obsession with such trips."