Matterhorn was first climbed via the Hornli Ridge on 14 July 1865, in what is considered the last ascent of the golden age of alpinism. The tragedy on the descent culminated in 4 out of 7 men dying. They were roped together and slipping one of them made them fall down the mountain. Since then there have been many ascents up this glorious looking mountain.
Even though there is no very difficult climbing part on the route it is still very long and exposed. 1200m of climbing up sometimes polished and crumbling rock make it for a challenging climb. There are also sections with steep fixed ropes where upper body strength is necessary. Top part is usually more or less snowy and feels quite exposed and your crampons skills will help to make a quick ascent.
Descent is a story for itself. We downclimb the ascent route and enjoy the exposure. Lower down we see the parts of the route that were climbed in the dark of the morning. Passing the Hornlihutte we descend down to Schwarzsee and take the cable car to Zermatt. Optionally it is also possible to have another night at Hornlihutte but that has to be reserved in front.
Solitude from the surrounding mountains, striking shape and the shear size of Matterhorn puts it on a bucket list of every avid mountaineer.
Day 1:
Hike from Schwarzsee cable car station 2600m to Hornlihutte 3260m. This takes around 1,5-2h. Dinner is usually at around 6-7 PM.
Day 2:
Early morning starts after breakfast (around 4-5 am). Climbing the ridge passing the first stopping point at 4000m where Solvay Hutte is. At some point on the ridge we put on the crampons and make ascent past the top fixed ropes that are above the Shoulder. After that there is the Roof and the top of Matterhorn. We descend via the ascent route. Usually the ascent takes around 4-5h and we take the same time we needed to come up also for coming down. Quick descend back to Schwarzsee top station and ride down to Zermatt.
Like with all other tours the weather and conditions can be dangerous and do not allow us to finish the tour as planned. In this case Plan B will be proposed. Usually that is climbing Breithorn and Riffelberg. If Plan B is not accepted by the client we take half of the booking fee.
If the client does not meet the standards of speed on the technical terrain the guide will terminate the climb.
We reccomend a good prior acclimatisation. Usually spending 2-3 nights above 3000m is sufficient. Depending on your previous experience.
