Carrel’s story
A long-standing legacy of passion and tradition has made the Carrel name inseparably bound to the mountains.
It all began with great-grandfather Jean Joseph Carrel, who, in 1911, together with Joseph Gaspard and Mario Piacenza, was among the first to climb the Furggen Ridge on the Matterhorn.
His son, Luciano Carrel, also an accomplished Alpine Guide, continued this extraordinary family tradition. In 1932, he made the first ascent of the Matterhorn’s East Face by the direct route, alongside five other climbers, including his brother Luigi Carrel, affectionately known as Carrellino.
Luigi would go on to be regarded as one of the greatest guides ever to have climbed the Matterhorn. Throughout his career, he completed numerous pioneering first ascents, many of them remarkable achievements that helped shape the history of mountaineering in an era when the Alps still represented the ultimate frontier of exploration and adventure.
Generation after generation, the Carrel family has carried forward this profound connection with the mountains—a heritage built on courage, passion, knowledge and an enduring respect for the alpine world.
