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The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It is a large, near-symmetric
pyramidal peak A pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn in extreme cases, is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak which results from the cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from a central point. Pyramidal peaks are often examples ...
in the extended
Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...
area of the
Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy ...
, whose summit is high, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.Considering summits with at least 300 metres prominence, it is the 6th highest in the Alps and Europe outside the
Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
.
The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points and are split by the ''Hörnli'', ''Furggen'', ''Leone''/''Lion'', and ''Zmutt'' ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of
Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast; and the Italian town of
Breuil-Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (french: Breuil; it, Cervinia; Valdôtain: ) is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, and is considered one of the most renowned winter and summer tourist resorts in the Alps. Etymology The name of ''Breuil-Cervini ...
in the
Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...
to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the
Roman Era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
. The Matterhorn was studied by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late eighteenth century, who was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
, in the 19th century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the summit. The
first ascent of the Matterhorn The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides, Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, on 14 July 18 ...
was in 1865 from Zermatt by a party led by
Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
, but during the descent, a sudden fall claimed the lives of four of the seven climbers. This disaster, later portrayed in several films, marked the end of the
golden age of alpinism The golden age of alpinism was the decade in mountaineering between Alfred Wills's ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854 and Edward Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, during which many major peaks in the Alps saw their first ascents. Prom ...
. The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is among the three biggest north faces of the Alps, known as "The Trilogy". The west face, the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn, making it one of the deadliest peaks in the world. The Matterhorn is mainly composed of
gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
es (originally fragments of the
African Plate The African Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes much of the continent of Africa (except for its easternmost part) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It is bounded by the North American Plate and South American Plate ...
before the Alpine orogeny) from the Dent Blanche nappe, lying over
ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found ...
s and
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
s of the Penninic nappes. The mountain's current shape is the result of cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from the peak, such as the
Matterhorn Glacier The Matterhorn Glacier (German: ''Matterhorngletscher'') is a glacier of the Pennine Alps, located at the base of the north face of the Matterhorn (4478m above the sea), south of Zermatt. It has a maximum width of approximately 2.5 km and r ...
at the base of the north face. Sometimes referred to as the ''Mountain of Mountains'' (german: Berg der Berge), it has become an iconic emblem of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
in general. Since the end of the 19th century, when railways were built in the area, the mountain has attracted increasing numbers of visitors and climbers. Each year, numerous mountaineers try to climb the Matterhorn from the
Hörnli Hut The Hörnli Hut ( German: ''Hörnlihütte'') is a mountain hut located at the foot of the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the Matterhorn. It is situated at above sea level, a few kilometres south-west of the town of Zermatt in the canto ...
via the northeast Hörnli ridge, the most popular route to the summit. Many trekkers also undertake the 10-day-long circuit around the mountain. The Matterhorn has been part of the Swiss Federal Inventory of Natural Monuments since 1983.


Names

The name ''Matterhorn'' derives from the German words ''Matte'' ("meadow") and ''Horn'' ("horn"), and is often translated as "the peak of the meadows". In the Schalbetter map, printed by
Sebastian Münster Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, ' ...
in 1545, the valley is labelled ''Mattertal'', but the mountain has the Latin name ''Mons Silvius'' as well as the German name ''Augstalberg'', in concord with the
Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...
(German ''Augstal''). The 1548 map by Johannes Stumpf gives only ''Mons Silvius''. The French name ''Cervin'', from which the Italian term ''Cervino'' derives, stems from the Latin (or ''Mons Sylvanus''), where ''silva'' means "forest"; this was corrupted to ''Selvin'' and then ''Servin''. The change of the first letter "s" to "c" is attributed to
Horace Bénédict de Saussure Horace Bénédict de Saussure (17 February 1740 – 22 January 1799) was a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology, and considered to be the firs ...
, who thought the word was related to "deer" (French: ''cerf'' and Italian: ''cervo'').
Josias Simler Josias Simmler (Josiah Simler; la, Iosias Simlerus) (6 November 1530 – 2 July 1576) was a Swiss theologian and classicist, author of the first book relating solely to the Alps. Life The son of the former prior of the Cistercian convent of ...
hypothesized in ''De Alpibus Commentarius'' (1574) that the name Mons Silvius was readopted by T. G. Farinetti: "Silvius was probably a Roman leader who sojourned with his legions in the land of the
Salassi The Salassi or Salasses were a Gallic or Ligurian tribe dwelling in the upper valley of the Dora Baltea river, near present-day Aosta (Val d'Aosta), during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''dià Salassō̃n'' (δ ...
and the
Seduni The Seduni were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Rhône valley, around present-day Sion, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Along with the Nantuates, Veragri and Uberi, they were part of the Vallenses, a group of tribes living betwe ...
, and perhaps crossed the Theodul Pass between these two places. This Silvius may have been that same Servius Galba whom Caesar charged with the opening up of the Alpine passes, which from that time onward traders have been wanting to cross with great danger and grave difficulty. Servius Galba, in order to carry out Caesar's orders, came with his legions from
Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; grc, Ἀλλοβρίγων, Ἀλλόβριγες) were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. ...
( Savoy) to
Octodurum Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny (district), Martigny, cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Valais, Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is app ...
(
Martigny Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octoduriens ...
) in the Valais, and pitched his camp there. The passes which he had orders to open from there could be no other than the St. Bernard, the Simplon, the Theodul, and the Moro; it therefore seems likely that the name of Servius, whence Silvius and later Servin, or Cervin, was given in his honour to the famous pyramid." It is unknown when the new name of Servin, or Cervin, replaced the old, from which it seems to be derived. The Matterhorn is also named ''Gran Bècca'' ("big mountain") by the Valdôtains and ''Horu'' by the local
Walliser German Walser German (german: Walserdeutsch) and Walliser German (, locally ) are a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Grisons), Italy (Piedmont, Aosta Valley), Liechtenstein (Triesenberg, Planken), and ...
speaking people. Because of its recognizable shape, many other similar mountains around the world were named or nicknamed the 'Matterhorn' of their respective countries or mountain ranges.


Height

The Matterhorn has two distinct summits, situated at either end of a exposed rocky crest which forms the Italian/Swiss border. In August 1792, the Genevan geologist and explorer Horace Bénédict de Saussure made the first measurement of the Matterhorn's height, using a sextant and a chain spread out on the Theodul glacier. He calculated its height as . In 1868 the Italian engineer
Felice Giordano Felice Giordano (6 January 1825 – 16 July 1892) was an Italian engineer and geologist. Giordano was born at Turin. He had an important role in the organisation of a geological service in the Kingdom of Italy and in the foundation of the Italian ...
measured a height of by means of a
mercury barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
, which he had taken to the summit. The
Dufour map Dufour or ''variant'', may refer to: *Dufour (surname) Places *Dufourspitze or Dufour's peak, in the Swiss Alps *Julia Dufour, a village and municipality in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Other uses *1961 Dufour, main-belt asteroid *Dufour Audit ...
, which was afterwards followed by the Italian surveyors, gave as the height of the Swiss summit. In 1999, the summit height was precisely determined to be at above sea level by using
Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
technology as part of the TOWER Project (Top of the World Elevations Remeasurement) and to an accuracy of less than one centimetre, which allows future changes to be tracked. The
topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of the Matterhorn is as the ridge connecting it with a higher summit (in this case the
Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Val ...
, which is the culminating point of the range west of the
Mattertal The Matter Valley (German: Mattertal, or sometimes ''Nikolaital'') is located in southwestern Switzerland, south of the Rhone valley in the canton of Valais. The village of Zermatt is the most important settlement of the valley, which is surrou ...
valley) sinks to a height of at the Col Durand, a saddle between the
Pointe de Zinal The Pointe de Zinal is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located south of Zinal in the canton of Valais. It is situated east of the Dent Blanche, between the valleys of Zinal and Zmutt (Zermatt). See also *List of mountains of Switzerland ...
and the
Mont Durand Mont Durand (or Arbenhorn) is a mountain in the Swiss Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais. It is located west of the Ober Gabelhorn between the valleys of Zinal and Zmutt. The Glacier Durand flows on its northern side before reaching the larger ...
. The
topographic isolation The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mounta ...
is , as the nearest point of higher elevation is the higher
Western Liskamm The Western Lyskamm (german: Liskamm Westgipfel) is a subsidiary peak of the Lyskamm Lyskamm (german: Liskamm, formerly ''Lyskamm'', literally "comb of the Lys"), also known as Silberbast (literally "silver bast"), is a mountain () in the Pe ...
. Considering mountains with a topographic prominence of at least , the Matterhorn is the sixth-highest summit in the Alps and Europe outside the
Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
. It is the fifth-highest summit of
Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...
and Switzerland and the third highest summit of the
Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...
and Italy. Locally, it is the third-highest summit in the municipality of
Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
and the highest summit in the municipality of
Valtournenche Valtournenche (local Valdôtain: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy, above the sea level. It is named after and covers most of the ''Valtournenche'', a valley on the left side of the Dora Baltea, from ...
. On the official
International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA, lit. ''International Union of Alpine Clubs''), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France ...
list of Alpine four-thousanders This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). All are located within France, Italy or Switzerland, and are often refe ...
, which also includes subsidiary summits of higher mountains such as the nearby
Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...
, the Matterhorn is the 12th highest summit in the Alps.


Geography

The Matterhorn has a pyramidal shape with four faces nearly facing the four compass points. Three of them (north, east and west) are on the Swiss side of the border and watershed (
Mattertal The Matter Valley (German: Mattertal, or sometimes ''Nikolaital'') is located in southwestern Switzerland, south of the Rhone valley in the canton of Valais. The village of Zermatt is the most important settlement of the valley, which is surrou ...
valley) and one of them (south) is on the Italian side of the border (
Valtournenche Valtournenche (local Valdôtain: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy, above the sea level. It is named after and covers most of the ''Valtournenche'', a valley on the left side of the Dora Baltea, from ...
valley). The north face overlooks the
Ober Gabelhorn The Ober Gabelhorn (4063 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland, located between Zermatt and Zinal. Geography The Ober Gabelhorn lies in the Swiss canton of Valais at the southern end of the Zinal valley (part of the Val d'Anni ...
(7 km away) across the Zmutt Glacier and valley (above
Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
), the east face overlooks the
Gorner Glacier The Gorner Glacier (german: Gornergletscher) is a valley glacier found on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif close to Zermatt in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is about long (2014) and wide. The entire glacial area of the glacier rela ...
system between the
Gornergrat The Gornergrat ( en, Gorner Ridge; ) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south-east of Zermatt in Switzerland. It can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway (GGB), the highest open-air railway i ...
and
Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...
(respectively 10 and 17 km away) across the
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
, the west face overlooks the upper basin of the Zmutt Glacier between the Dent Blanche and the
Dent d'Hérens The Dent d'Hérens (4,174 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The mountain lies a few kilometres west of the Matterhorn. The Aosta hut (2,781 m) is used for the normal route. Naming The mou ...
(respectively 7 and 4 km away) and the south face fronts the resort town of
Breuil-Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (french: Breuil; it, Cervinia; Valdôtain: ) is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, and is considered one of the most renowned winter and summer tourist resorts in the Alps. Etymology The name of ''Breuil-Cervini ...
and overlooks a good portion of the Valtournenche. The Matterhorn does not form a perfect square pyramid, as the north and south faces are wider than the west and east faces. Moreover, the latter faces do not actually meet on the summit but are connected by a 100-metre-long horizontal west–east ridge between the north and south faces. The Matterhorn's faces are steep, and only small patches of snow and ice cling to them; regular
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...
s send the snow down to accumulate on the
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
s at the base of each face, the largest of which are the Tiefmattengletscher to the west, part of the Zmutt Glacier, and the
Matterhorn Glacier The Matterhorn Glacier (German: ''Matterhorngletscher'') is a glacier of the Pennine Alps, located at the base of the north face of the Matterhorn (4478m above the sea), south of Zermatt. It has a maximum width of approximately 2.5 km and r ...
to the north. Smaller glaciers lie at the base of the south face (the Lower Matterhorn Glacier) and the east face (unnamed). In this area, the border between Switzerland and Italy coincides with the main Alpine watershed, separating the
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
of the Rhone on the north (
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
) and that of the Po on the south (
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
). The north side is drained by the Zmuttbach (west and north faces) and the Gornera through the Furggbach (east face), tributaries of the Rhone through the (Matter)
Vispa The Vispa is a river in the canton of Valais, located in the Visp area. It is essentially composed of two large branches: the Matter Vispa and the Saaser Vispa, converging at Stalden, then forming the Vispa proper, flowing for less than before ...
. The south side and face is drained by the Marmore torrent, a tributary of the Po through the
Dora Baltea Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duria Bautica''. Strabo called it Δουρ ...
(or ''Doire baltée''). The
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
, located on the watershed between the Matterhorn and the Breithorn, at 3,295 metres, is the easiest passage between the two valleys and countries (the slightly lower Furggjoch not being used as a pass). The pass was used as a crossover and trade route for the Romans and the Romanised Celtic population ''
Salassi The Salassi or Salasses were a Gallic or Ligurian tribe dwelling in the upper valley of the Dora Baltea river, near present-day Aosta (Val d'Aosta), during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''dià Salassō̃n'' (δ ...
'' between 100 BCE and 400 CE. The area is now heavily glaciated and covered on the north side by the Theodul Glacier. Well-known faces are the east and north, visible from the area of Zermatt, although mostly hidden from the Mattertal by the chain of the
Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Val ...
. The east face is 1,000 metres high and, because it is "a long, monotonous slope of rotten rocks",Robin G. Collomb, ''Pennine Alps Central'', London: Alpine Club, 1975, pp. 241–59 presents a high risk of rockfall, making its ascent dangerous. The north face is 1,200 metres high and is one of the most dangerous north faces in the Alps, in particular for its risk of rockfall and storms. The south face, well visible from the Valtournenche, is 1,350 metres high and offers many different routes. The west face, the highest at 1,400 metres, has the fewest ascent routes and lies in a more remote area than the other faces. The four main ridges separating the four faces are the main climbing routes. The least difficult technical climb and the usual
climbing route A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, rock, or ice wall. Routes can vary dramatically in difficulty and grade; once committed to that ascent, it can sometimes be difficult to stop or return. Choice of rou ...
, the Hörnli ridge (''Hörnligrat''), lies between the east and north faces and is aligned towards the
Oberrothorn The Oberrothorn (3,414 m) is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the canton of Valais. Its summit can be easily reached via a trail on its southern flank, from the Unterrothorn cable car station or from Sunnegga. Claims ...
above Zermatt. To its west lies the Zmutt ridge (''Zmuttgrat''), between the north and west faces and aligned towards the Wandfluehorn; this is, according to Collomb, "the classic route up the mountain, its longest ridge, also the most disjointed." The ''Lion'' ridge (''Cresta del Leone'' / ''Arête du lion''), lying between the south and west faces and aligned towards the Dent d'Hérens is the Italian normal route and goes across Pic Tyndall; Collomb comments, "A superb rock ridge, the shortest on the mountain, now draped with many fixed ropes, but a far superior climb compared with the Hörnli." Finally the south side is separated from the east side by the Furggen ridge (''Furggengrat''), which is aligned towards the
Klein Matterhorn The Klein Matterhorn (sometimes translated as ''Little Matterhorn'') is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway or ...
. It is, according to Collomb, "the hardest of the ridges ..the ridge still has an awesome reputation but is not too difficult in good conditions by the indirect finish". While the Matterhorn is the culminating point of the Valtournenche on the south, it is only one of the many 4000 metres summits of the Mattertal valley on the north. Its height is exceeded by four major summits: the
Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Val ...
(4,505 m), the Dom (4,545 m), the
Liskamm Lyskamm (german: Liskamm, formerly ''Lyskamm'', literally "comb of the Lys"), also known as Silberbast (literally "silver bast"), is a mountain () in the Pennine Alps lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It consists of a five-kilom ...
(4,527 m) and the second-highest in the Alps,
Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...
(4,634 m). This section of the
Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy ...
, including the Matterhorn, the
Zinalrothorn The Zinalrothorn (4,221 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. Its name comes from the village of Zinal lying on the north side and from the German word ''Rothorn'' which means ''Red Peak''. When it was first climbed in 1864 the mo ...
, the Dent Blanche, the
Dent d'Hérens The Dent d'Hérens (4,174 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The mountain lies a few kilometres west of the Matterhorn. The Aosta hut (2,781 m) is used for the normal route. Naming The mou ...
, the Breithorn, the Strahlhorn, the Rimpfischhorn and the
Alphubel The Alphubel (4,206 m) is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located between the valleys of Zermatt and Saas in the canton of Valais. It is part of the Allalin Group, a subgroup of the Mischabel Group, which culminates at the Dom (4,545 m). T ...
, concentrates most of western Europe's highest mountains and forms a crown of peaks around Zermatt. The deeply glaciated region between the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa (named ''Dent Blanche-Matterhorn-Monte Rosa'') is listed in the
Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments The ''Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments'' in Switzerland aims to protect landscapes of national importance. The inventory is part of a 1977 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of ...
since 1983.


Weather

The Matterhorn is an isolated mountain. Because of its position on the main Alpine watershed and its great height, the Matterhorn is exposed to rapid weather changes. In addition, the steep faces of the mountain and its isolated location make it prone to banner clouds formation, with the air flowing around the mountain producing condensation of the air on the lee side and also creating vortices.


Geology

The Matterhorn's
pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
is composed of
Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
rocks, which were thrusted over the Matterhorn's
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
base during the Cenozoic.
Quaternary glaciation The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial and interglacial periods during the Quaternary period that began 2.58 Ma (million years ago) and is ongoing. Although geologists describ ...
and
weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement) ...
give the mountain its current shape. Apart from the base of the mountain, the Matterhorn is composed of
gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
belonging to the Dent Blanche klippe, an isolated part of the Austroalpine nappes, lying over the Penninic nappes. The Austroalpine nappes are part of the
Apulian plate The Adriatic or Apulian Plate is a small tectonic plate carrying primarily continental crust that broke away from the African Plate along a large transform fault in the Cretaceous period. The name Adriatic Plate is usually used when referring ...
, a small continent that broke up from Africa before the Alpine orogeny. For this reason, the Matterhorn has been popularized as an African mountain. The Austroalpine nappes are mostly common in the Eastern Alps. The Swiss explorer and geologist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, inspired by the view of the Matterhorn, anticipated modern theories of geology:


Formation

The formation of the Matterhorn (and the whole Alpine range) started with the break-up of the
Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million y ...
continent 200 million years ago into Laurasia (containing Europe) and Gondwana (containing Africa). While the rocks constituting the nearby
Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...
remained in Laurasia, the rocks constituting the Matterhorn found themselves in Gondwana, separated by the newly formed
Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...
. 100 million years ago the extension of the Tethys Ocean stopped and the Apulian plate broke from Gondwana and moved toward the European continent. This resulted in the closure of the western Tethys by subduction under the
Apulian plate The Adriatic or Apulian Plate is a small tectonic plate carrying primarily continental crust that broke away from the African Plate along a large transform fault in the Cretaceous period. The name Adriatic Plate is usually used when referring ...
(with the
Piemont-Liguria Ocean The Piemont-Liguria basin or the Piemont-Liguria Ocean (sometimes only one of the two names is used, for example: Piemonte Ocean) was a former piece of oceanic crust that is seen as part of the Tethys Ocean. Together with some other oceanic basi ...
first and
Valais Ocean The Valais Ocean is a subducted oceanic basin which was situated between the continent Europe and the microcontinent Iberia or so called Briançonnais microcontinent. Remnants of the Valais ocean are found in the western Alps and in tectonic win ...
later). The subduction of the oceanic crust left traces still visible today at the base of the Matterhorn ( accretionary prism). The orogeny itself began after the end of the oceanic subduction when the European continental crust collided with the Apulian continent, resulting in the formation of
nappe In geology, a nappe or thrust sheet is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than or above a thrust fault from its original position. Nappes form in compressional tectonic settings like continental collision zones or on the o ...
s. The Matterhorn acquired its characteristic pyramidal shape in much more recent times as it was caused by natural erosion over the past million years. At the beginning of alpine orogeny, the Matterhorn was only a rounded mountain like a hill. Because its height is above the
snowline The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow wil ...
, its flanks are covered by ice, resulting from the accumulation and compaction of snow. During the warmer period of summer, part of the ice melts and seeps into the bedrock. When it freezes again, it fractures pieces of rock because of its dilatation (
freeze-thaw Frost weathering is a collective term for several mechanical weathering processes induced by stresses created by the freezing of water into ice. The term serves as an umbrella term for a variety of processes such as frost shattering, frost wedg ...
), forming a cirque. Four cirques led to the shape of the mountain.


Rocks

Most of the base of the mountain lies in the Tsaté nappe, a remnant of the Piedmont-Liguria oceanic crust (
ophiolites An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found i ...
) and its sedimentary rocks. Up to 3,400 metres the mountain is composed of successive layers of ophiolites and
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
s. From 3,400 metres to the top, the rocks are gneisses from the Dent Blanche nappe (Austroalpine nappes). They are divided into the Arolla series (below 4,200 m) and the Valpelline zone (the summit). Other mountains in the region (Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Dent Blanche, Mont Collon) also belong to the Dent Blanche nappe.


Tourism and trekking

Since the eighteenth century, the Alps have attracted more and more people and fascinated generations of explorers and climbers. The Matterhorn remained relatively little known until 1865, but the successful ascent followed by the tragic accident of the expedition led by
Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
caused a rush on the mountains surrounding
Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
. The construction of the railway linking the village of Zermatt from the town of
Visp Visp (french: Viège) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Geography Visp lies in the Rhône valley, at the confluence of the Vispa and the Rhône, west of Brig-Glis. Visp has an area, , of . Of ...
started in 1888. The first train reached Zermatt on 18 July 1891 and the entire line was electrified in 1930. Since 1930 the village is directly connected to St. Moritz by the
Glacier Express The Glacier Express (GEX) is a direct train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Swiss Alps. The train is not an "express" in the sense of being a high-speed train ...
panoramic train. However, there is no connection with the village of
Breuil-Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (french: Breuil; it, Cervinia; Valdôtain: ) is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, and is considered one of the most renowned winter and summer tourist resorts in the Alps. Etymology The name of ''Breuil-Cervini ...
on the Italian side. Travellers have to hire mountain guides to cross the 3,300-metre-high glaciated
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
, separating the two resorts. The town of Zermatt remains almost completely free of internal combustion vehicles and can be reached by train only. (Apart from the local police service which uses a Volkswagen car, only electric vehicles are used locally). Rail and cable-car facilities have been built to make some of the summits in the area more accessible. The
Gornergrat railway The Gornergrat Railway (german: Gornergrat Bahn; GGB) is a mountain rack railway, located in the Swiss canton of Valais. It links the resort village of Zermatt, situated at above mean sea level, to the summit of the Gornergrat. The Gornergr ...
, reaching a record altitude of 3,100 metres, was inaugurated in 1898. Areas served by cable car are the
Unterrothorn The Unterrothorn (or simply ''Rothorn'') is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It is located west of the Oberrothorn, on the range north of the Findel Glacier. The summit can be reached by cable ...
and the
Klein Matterhorn The Klein Matterhorn (sometimes translated as ''Little Matterhorn'') is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway or ...
(''Little Matterhorn'') (3,883 m, highest transportation system in Europe). The
Hörnli Hut The Hörnli Hut ( German: ''Hörnlihütte'') is a mountain hut located at the foot of the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the Matterhorn. It is situated at above sea level, a few kilometres south-west of the town of Zermatt in the canto ...
(3,260 m), which is the start of the normal route via the Hörnli ridge, is easily accessible from
Schwarzsee Schwarzsee () or Lac Noir (; en, "Black Lake"; rarely ; frp, Lèc d'Omène ), is a small lake in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland with an area of . The lake in the Swiss Prealps is bordered by the peaks of Schwyberg (1,628 m) in the West ...
(2,600 m) and is also frequented by hikers. The Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia resorts function as separate ski resort all year round and are connected by skilifts over the Theodul Pass. In 2015 it was expected that there would be constructed a cable car link between Testa Grigia (or ''Tête grise'') and Klein Matterhorn. It will finally provide a link between the Swiss and Italian side of the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn Museum (Zermatt) relates the general history of the region from alpinism to tourism. In the museum, which is in the form of a reconstituted mountain village, the visitors can relive the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn and see the objects that belonged to the protagonists. The Tour of the Matterhorn can be effected by trekkers in about 10 days. Considered by some as one of the most beautiful treks in the Alps, it follows many ancient trails that have linked the Swiss and Italian valleys for centuries. The circuit includes alpine meadows, balcony trails, larch forests and glacial crossings. It connects six valleys embracing three different cultures: the German-speaking high Valais, the French-speaking central Valais and the bilingual French/Italian-speaking Aosta Valley. Good conditions are necessary to circumnavigate the peak. After reaching
Zinal Zinal is a village in Switzerland, located in the municipality of Anniviers in the canton of Valais. It lies at an elevation of above sea level in the Swiss Alps in the ''Val de Zinal'', a valley running from the Zinal Glacier, north of Dent ...
from Zermatt by the Augstbord and Meiden passes, the trekker crosses the Col de Sorebois and the Col de Torrent before arriving at
Arolla Arolla is a village in the municipality of Evolène in the Swiss canton of Valais. It is situated at the end of the Val d'Hérens, south of the cantonal capital, Sion. Geography Arolla is situated at 1998 m above sea level, at the foot o ...
. Then the
Arolla Glacier The Arolla Glacier (french: Glacier d'Arolla) is a long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . The Glacier d'Arolla is in fact composed of two glacier: the ''Glacier du Mo ...
and the Col Collon must be crossed on the way to Prarayer, followed by the Col de Valcournera to Breuil-Cervinia. In the last and highest section, the
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
must be crossed before returning to Zermatt. In total, seven passes between 2,800 and 3,300 metres must be crossed on relatively difficult terrain. As of 2015, almost two million visitors arrive at Zermatt annually. An average of around twelve people per year have died on Matterhorn in the ten years from 2005 to 2015.


Climbing history

The Matterhorn was one of the last of the main
Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...
mountains to be ascended, not because of its technical difficulty, but because of the fear it inspired in early
mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...
. The first serious attempts were all from the Italian side, although, despite appearances, the southern routes are technically harder. The main figures were
Jean-Antoine Carrel Jean-Antoine Carrel (1829 – August 1891) was an Italian mountain climber and guide. He had made climbs with Edward Whymper and was his rival when he attempted to climb the Matterhorn for the first time. Whymper ultimately succeeded in making th ...
and his uncle Jean-Jacques Carrel, from the
Valtournenche Valtournenche (local Valdôtain: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy, above the sea level. It is named after and covers most of the ''Valtournenche'', a valley on the left side of the Dora Baltea, from ...
area, who made the first attempts in 1857 and 1858, reaching on the latter occasion.Pierre Staelen: La Conquête du Cervin
Retrieved 2010-01-18
In July 1860, three brothers from Liverpool attempted the mountain, Alfred, Charles and Sandbach Parker, but they turned back at about . In August of the same year, Jean-Jacques Carrel returned to guide, with , Vaughan Hawkins and John Tyndall to about before turning back. In 1861 the Carrels managed to reach the ''Crête du Coq'' at . In July 1862, Jean-Antoine, together with César Carrel, accompanied as porters (sic) John Tyndall, Anton Walters and J.J. Bennen to Matterhorn's ''Shoulder'' at , which was subsequently named Pic Tyndall in honor of the client.
Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
joined the efforts in August 1861, but in his first 7 attempts with a variety of companions could only reach a maximum height of . However, on 14 July 1865, in what is considered the last ascent of the
golden age of alpinism The golden age of alpinism was the decade in mountaineering between Alfred Wills's ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854 and Edward Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, during which many major peaks in the Alps saw their first ascents. Prom ...
, he was able to reach the summit by an ascent of the Hörnli ridge in Switzerland, guided by the famed French mountaineer
Michel Croz Michel Auguste Croz (22 April 1830 in Le Tour, Chamonix valley – 14 July 1865, on the Matterhorn) was a French mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains in the western Alps during the golden age of alpinism. He is chiefly reme ...
and the Swiss father and son Peter Taugwalder Sr. and Jr., and accompanied by the British gentlemen Charles Hudson,
Lord Francis Douglas Lord Francis William Bouverie Douglas (8 February 1847 – 14 July 1865) was a novice British mountaineering, mountaineer. After sharing in the first ascent of the Matterhorn, he died in a fall on the way down from the summit. Early life Born ...
,
Douglas Robert Hadow Douglas Robert Hadow (30 May 1846 – 14 July 1865) was a British novice mountaineer who died on the descent after the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Family Hadow was born in 1846 at 49 York Terrace, Regent's Park, London, the son of Patrick Do ...
. Upon descent, Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas fell to their deaths on the
Matterhorn Glacier The Matterhorn Glacier (German: ''Matterhorngletscher'') is a glacier of the Pennine Alps, located at the base of the north face of the Matterhorn (4478m above the sea), south of Zermatt. It has a maximum width of approximately 2.5 km and r ...
, and all but Douglas (whose body was never found) are buried in the Zermatt churchyard. Just three days later, on 17 July 1865, Jean-Antoine Carrel and Jean-Baptiste Bich reached the summit from the Italian side.


Before the first ascent

In the summer of 1860, Edward Whymper came across the Matterhorn for the first time. He was an English artist and engraver who had been hired by a London publisher to make sketches of the mountains in the region of
Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
. Although the unclimbed Matterhorn had a mixed reputation among British mountaineers, it fascinated Whymper. Whymper's first attempt was in August 1861, from the village of Breuil on the south side. In Châtillon he hired a Swiss guide, who remained anonymous in his accounts, and in Valtournanche he almost hired Jean-Antoine Carrel as well, but, disliking the looks of Carrel's uncle, he changed his mind. The Carrels decided to give Matterhorn a try by themselves again, and caught up with Whymper at nightfall. Whymper now had "a strong inclination to engage the pair; but, finally, decided against it" and the Carrels went alone to reach a new high on Matterhorn of the next day. Whymper and his guide camped one more night on the ''Col du lion'' (= Col Tournanche) and were forced to turn around only an hour above this pass the day after. In 1862 Whymper made further attempts, still from the south side, on the Lion ridge (or Italian ridge), where the route seemed easier than the Hörnli ridge (the normal route today). On his own, he reached above 4,000 metres, but was injured on his way down to Breuil. In July John Tyndall with Johann Joseph Bennen and another guide overcame most of the difficulties of the ridge that seemed so formidable from below and successfully reached the main shoulder; but at a point not very far below the summit they were stopped by a deep cleft that defied their utmost efforts. The Matterhorn remained unclimbed. Whymper returned to Breuil in 1863, persuading Carrel to join forces with him and try the mountain once more via the Italian ridge. On this attempt, however, a storm soon developed and they were stuck halfway to the summit. They remained there for 26 hours in their tent before giving up. Whymper did not make another attempt for two years. In the decisive year 1865, Whymper returned with new plans, deciding to attack the Matterhorn via its south face instead of the Italian ridge. On 21 June, Whymper began his ascent with Swiss guides, but halfway up they experienced severe rockfall; although nobody was injured, they decided to give up the ascent. This was Whymper's seventh attempt. During the following weeks, Whymper spent his time climbing other mountains in the area with his guides, before going back to Breuil on 7 July. Meanwhile, the
Italian Alpine Club The Club Alpino Italiano is the senior Italian alpine club which stages climbing competitions, operates alpine huts, marks and maintains paths, and is active in protecting the Alpine environment. It was founded in Turin in 1863 by the then finan ...
was founded and its leaders,
Felice Giordano Felice Giordano (6 January 1825 – 16 July 1892) was an Italian engineer and geologist. Giordano was born at Turin. He had an important role in the organisation of a geological service in the Kingdom of Italy and in the foundation of the Italian ...
and
Quintino Sella Quintino Sella (; 7 July 1827 – 14 March 1884) was an Italian politician, economist and mountaineer. Biography Sella was born at Sella di Mosso, in the Province of Biella. After studying engineering at Turin, he was sent in 1843 to study mi ...
, established plans to conquer the Matterhorn before any non-Italian could succeed. Felice Giordano hired Carrel as a guide. He feared the arrival of Whymper, now a rival, and wrote to Quintino Sella: Just as he did two years before, Whymper asked Carrel to be his guide, but Carrel declined; Whymper was also unsuccessful in hiring other local guides from Breuil. When Whymper discovered Giordano and Carrel's plan, he left Breuil and crossed the
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
to Zermatt to hire local guides. He encountered
Lord Francis Douglas Lord Francis William Bouverie Douglas (8 February 1847 – 14 July 1865) was a novice British mountaineering, mountaineer. After sharing in the first ascent of the Matterhorn, he died in a fall on the way down from the summit. Early life Born ...
, a Scottish mountaineer, who also wanted to climb the Matterhorn. They arrived later in Zermatt in the Monte Rosa Hotel, where they met two other British climbers — the Reverend Charles Hudson and his young and inexperienced companion,
Douglas Robert Hadow Douglas Robert Hadow (30 May 1846 – 14 July 1865) was a British novice mountaineer who died on the descent after the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Family Hadow was born in 1846 at 49 York Terrace, Regent's Park, London, the son of Patrick Do ...
— who had hired the French guide
Michel Croz Michel Auguste Croz (22 April 1830 in Le Tour, Chamonix valley – 14 July 1865, on the Matterhorn) was a French mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains in the western Alps during the golden age of alpinism. He is chiefly reme ...
to try to make the first ascent. These two groups decided to join forces and try the ascent of the Hörnli ridge. They hired another two local guides, a father and son, both named Peter Taugwalder.


First ascent

Whymper and party left Zermatt early in the morning of 13 July 1865, heading to the foot of the Hörnli ridge, which they reached 6 hours later (approximately where the Hörnli Hut is situated today). Meanwhile, Carrel and six other Italian guides also began their ascent of the Italian ridge. Despite its appearance, Whymper wrote that the Hörnli ridge was much easier to climb than the Italian ridge: After camping for the night, Whymper and party started on the ridge. According to Whymper: When the party came close to the summit, they had to leave the ridge for the north face because "
he ridge He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
was usually more rotten and steep, and always more difficult than the face". At this point of the ascent Whymper wrote that the less experienced Hadow "required continual assistance". Having overcome these difficulties the group finally arrived in the summit area, with Croz and Whymper reaching the top first. Precisely at this moment, Carrel and party were approximatively 400 metres below, still dealing with the most difficult parts of the Italian ridge. When seeing his rival on the summit, Carrel and party gave up on their attempt and went back to Breuil. After building a cairn, Whymper and party stayed an hour on the summit. Then they began their descent of the Hörnli ridge. Croz descended first, then Hadow, Hudson and Douglas, the elder Taugwalder, Whymper, with the younger Taugwalder coming last. They climbed down with great care, only one man moving at a time. Whymper wrote: The weight of the falling men pulled Hudson and Douglas from their holds and dragged them down the north face. The Taugwalders and Whymper were left alive when the rope linking Douglas to the elder Taugwalder broke. They were stunned by the accident and for a time could not move until the younger Taugwalder descended to enable them to advance. When they were together Whymper asked to see the broken rope and saw that it had been employed by mistake as it was the weakest and oldest of the three ropes they had brought. They frantically looked, but in vain, for traces of their fallen companions. They continued their descent, including an hour in the dark, until 9.30 p.m. when a resting place was found. The descent was resumed at daybreak and the group finally reached Zermatt, where a search of the victims was quickly organized. The bodies of Croz, Hadow and Hudson were found on the
Matterhorn Glacier The Matterhorn Glacier (German: ''Matterhorngletscher'') is a glacier of the Pennine Alps, located at the base of the north face of the Matterhorn (4478m above the sea), south of Zermatt. It has a maximum width of approximately 2.5 km and r ...
, but the body of Douglas was never found. Although the elder Taugwalder was accused of cutting the rope to save himself and his son, the official inquest found no proof of this.


Second ascent

On 16 July, two days after the first ascent and the catastrophe,
Jean-Antoine Carrel Jean-Antoine Carrel (1829 – August 1891) was an Italian mountain climber and guide. He had made climbs with Edward Whymper and was his rival when he attempted to climb the Matterhorn for the first time. Whymper ultimately succeeded in making th ...
set out to crown Whymper's victory by proving that the Italian side was not unconquerable. He was accompanied by
Amé Gorret Amé Gorret (1836-1907), known in his native Aosta Valley as the "Abbé Gorret" (''"Father Gorret"''), was a priest and Alpinist (mountaineer). He was a member of the group which in 1865 undertook the second successful ascent of the Matterhorn, ...
, a priest who had shared with him the first attempt on the mountain back in 1857. Jean-Baptiste Bich and Jean-Augustin Meynet completed the party. Giordano would have joined them, but Carrel refused absolutely to take him with them; he said he would not have the strength to guide a traveller, and could neither answer for the result nor for any one's life. After hearing Sunday mass at the chapel of Breuil, the party started. Amé Gorret has described this ascent with enthusiasm: "At last we crossed the Col du Lion and set foot upon the pyramid of the Matterhorn!" On the following day, the 17th, they continued the ascent and reached Tyndall's flagstaff. "We were about to enter unknown country," wrote Gorret, "for no man had gone beyond this point." Here opinions were divided; Gorret suggested ascending by the ridge and scaling the last tower straight up. Carrel was inclined to traverse to the west of the peak, and thence go up on the Zmutt side. Naturally the wish of Carrel prevailed, for he was the leader and had not lost the habit of command, notwithstanding his recent defeat.Guido Rey, ''The Matterhorn'' (translated J. E. C. Eaton), London, 1908, p. 140 They made the passage of the ''enjambée'', and traversed the west face to reach the Zmutt ridge. A false step made by one of the party and a fall of icicles from above warned them to return to the direct line of ascent, and the traverse back to the Lion ridge was one of the greatest difficulty. A falling stone injured Gorret in the arm. At last they reached the base of the final tower. "We stood," wrote Gorret, "in a place that was almost comfortable. Although it was not more than two yards wide, and the slope was one of 75 percent, we gave it all kinds of pleasant names : the corridor, the gallery, the railroad, &c., &c." They imagined all difficulties were at an end; but a rock
couloir A ''couloir'' (, "passage" or "corridor") is a narrow gully with a steep gradient in a mountainous terrain.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p. 121. . Geology A couloir may be a seam, scar, or fissu ...
, which they had hitherto not observed, lay between them and the final bit of ridge, where progress would be perfectly easy. It would have been unwise for all four to descend into the couloir, because they did not know where to fix the rope that would be needed on their return. Time pressed: it was necessary to reduce the numbers of the party; Gorret sacrificed himself, and Meynet stopped with him. Very soon afterwards Carrel and Bich were finally on the top. Meanwhile, Giordano at Breuil was writing in his diary as follows: "Splendid weather; at 9.30 saw Carrel and his men on the Shoulder, after that saw nothing more of them. Then much mist about the summit. Lifted a bit about 3.30, and we saw our flag on the western summit of the Matterhorn."


Other ascents


Ridges

The first direct ascent of the Italian (south-west) ridge as it is climbed today was by J. J. and J. P. Maquignaz on 13 September 1867. Julius Elliott made the second ascent via the Hörnli (north-east) ridge in 1868, and later that year the party of John Tyndall, J. J. and J. P. Maquignaz was the first to traverse the summit by way of the Hörnli and Italian ridges. On 22 August 1871, while wearing a white print dress, Lucy Walker became the first woman to reach the summit of the Matterhorn, followed a few weeks later by her rival
Meta Brevoort Marguerite "Meta" Claudia Brevoort (November 8, 1825 – December 19, 1876) was an American mountain climber. Brevoort was born on November 8, 1825, and spent her early years in a Paris convent school. She made a number of important ascents in t ...
. The first winter ascent of the Hörnli ridge was by Vittorio Sella with guides J. A. Carrel, J. B. Carrel and L. Carrel on 17 March 1882, and its first solo ascent was made by W. Paulcke in 1898. The first winter solo ascent of the Hörnli ridge was by G. Gervasutti in 1936. The Zmutt (north-west) ridge was first climbed by
Albert F. Mummery Albert Frederick Mummery (10 September 1855, Dover, Kent, England – 24 August 1895, Nanga Parbat), was an English mountaineer and author. Although most notable for his many and varied first ascents put up in the Alps, Mummery, along with ...
,
Alexander Burgener Alexander Burgener Alexander Burgener (10 January 1845, Saas Fee – 8 July 1910, near the Berglihütte) was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains and new routes in the western Alps during the silver age of alpinis ...
, J. Petrus and A. Gentinetta on 3 September 1879. Its first solo ascent was made by Hans Pfann in 1906, and the first winter ascent was made by H. Masson and E. Petrig on 25 March 1948. The last of the Matterhorn's four ridges to be ascended was the Furggen (south-east) ridge. M. Piacenza with guides J. J. Carrel and J. Gaspard on 9 September 1911, climbed most of the ridge but bypassed the overhangs near the top to the south. Not until 23 September 1942, during the Second World War, did Alfredo Perino, along with guides Louis Carrel (nicknamed "The Little Carrel") and Giacomo Chiara, climb the complete ridge and the overhangs directly. In 1966, René Arnold and Joseph Graven made the first solo enchainement of the four Matterhorn ridges in 19.5 hours. Beginning at the 3,300m Bossi Bivouac hut, the pair followed the normal route up the Furggen Ridge and then descended the Hornli Ridge. After crossing the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face, they ascended the Zmutt Ridge and then descended the Italian (Lion) Ridge to the village of Breuil. In 1985, Marco Barmasse repeated their achievement, but this time his route included the first solo ascent of the Furggen overhangs. He completed the enchainement, reaching the Abruzzi Hut after 15 hours. On 20 August 1992, Italian alpinist
Hans Kammerlander Hans Kammerlander (born 6 December 1956, Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy) is an Italian mountaineer, living in Ahornach, a hamlet nearby Sand in Taufers. He has climbed 13 of the 14 8000m peaks. In 1984, together with Reinhold Messner he was the ...
and Swiss alpine guide Diego Wellig climbed the Matterhorn four times in just 23 hours and 26 minutes. The route they followed was: Zmutt ridge–summit–Hörnli ridge (descent)–Furggen ridge–summit–Lion ridge (descent)–Lion ridge–summit–Hörnli ridge (descent)–Hörnli ridge–summit–
Hörnli Hut The Hörnli Hut ( German: ''Hörnlihütte'') is a mountain hut located at the foot of the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the Matterhorn. It is situated at above sea level, a few kilometres south-west of the town of Zermatt in the canto ...
(descent). However the Italian route (Lion Ridge), was not climbed from Duca degli Abruzzi Refuge at 2802 m, but from Carrel Hut, at 3830 m, both uphill and downhill. In 1995, Bruno Brunod climbed Matterhorn from the village
Breuil-Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (french: Breuil; it, Cervinia; Valdôtain: ) is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, and is considered one of the most renowned winter and summer tourist resorts in the Alps. Etymology The name of ''Breuil-Cervini ...
in 2 h 10 min.Ascent Races and Records - ISF/FSA recognised
skyrunning.com
and from Breuil-Cervinia to Matterhorn and back, in 3:14:44Races and Records - ISF / FSA recognised
skyrunning.com
On 21 August 2013, the Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet broke Brunod's record as it took him 1 hour, 56 min to the top from Breuil-Cervinia - a round-trip time of 2 hours 52 minutes to return to his starting point.


Faces

William Penhall William Penhall (27 October 1858 – 3 August 1882) was an English mountaineer. Life and family The son of Dr John Penhall MRCS LSA (born 1833 at St Pancras, Middlesex, in 1871 a general practitioner in Hastings, Sussex), Penhall was educated ...
and guides made the first (partial) ascent of the west face, the Matterhorn's most hidden and unknown, one hour after Mummery and party's first ascent of the Zmutt ridge on 3 September 1879. It was not until 1962 that the west face was completely climbed. The ascent was made on 13 August by Renato Daguin and Giovanni Ottin. In January 1978 seven Italian alpine guides made a successful winter climb of Daguin and Ottin's highly direct, and previously unrepeated, 1962 route. But a storm came during their ascent, bringing two metres of snow to Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt, and their accomplishment turned bitter when one of the climbers died during the descent.Herve Barmasse and Luca Maspes, July 2006, "The Matterhorn", '' Alpinist'', 16 The north face, before it was climbed in 1931, was one of the last great big wall problems in the Alps. To succeed on the north face, good climbing and ice-climbing technique and route-finding ability were required. Unexpectedly it was first climbed by the brothers Franz and Toni Schmid on 31 July – 1 August 1931. They reached the summit at the end of the second day, after a night of bivouac. Because they had kept their plans secret, their ascent was a complete surprise. In addition, the two brothers had travelled by bicycle from Munich and after their successful ascent they cycled back home again. The first winter ascent of the north face was made by Hilti von Allmen and Paul Etter on 3-4 February 1962. Its first solo ascent was made in five hours by Dieter Marchart on 22 July 1959.
Walter Bonatti Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountain climber, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru ...
climbed the "North Face Direct" solo on 18-22 February 1965. The same year,
Yvette Vaucher 200px, Yvette Vaucher in 2018 Yvette Vaucher (née Pilliard; born 1929) is a Swiss mountaineer and parachutist. Credited as Switzerland's first female parachutist, she was also the first woman to climb the Matterhorn's north face. Biography Vauch ...
became the first woman to climb the north face. Bonatti's direct route was not repeated solo until 29 years later, in winter 1994 by
Catherine Destivelle Catherine Destivelle (born 24 July 1960) is a French rock climber and mountaineer who is considered one of the greatest and most important female climbers in the history of the sport. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s for sport climbing ...
. Ueli Steck set the record time in climbing the north face (Schmid route) of Matterhorn in 2009 with a time of 1 hour 56 minutes. After Bonatti's climb, the best alpinists were still preoccupied with one last great problem: the "Zmutt Nose", an overhang lying on the right-hand side of the north face. In July 1969 two Italians, Alessandro Gogna and Leo Cerruti, attempted to solve the problem. It took them four days to figure out the unusual overhangs, avoiding however its steepest part. In July 1981 the Swiss Michel Piola and Pierre-Alain Steiner surmounted the Zmutt Nose by following a direct route, the Piola-Steiner. The first ascent of the south face was made by Enzo Benedetti with guides Louis Carrel and
Maurice Bich Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...
on 15 October 1931, and the first complete ascent of the east face was made by Enzo Benedetti and G. Mazzotti with guides Louis and
Lucien Carrel Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...
, Maurice Bich and
Antoine Gaspard Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...
on 18-19 September 1932.


Casualties on the Matterhorn

The four men lost in 1865 have not been the only fatalities on the Matterhorn. In fact, several climbers die each year due to a number of factors including the scale of the climb and its inherent dangers, inexperience, falling rocks, and overcrowded routes. The Matterhorn is thus amongst the deadliest mountains in the world. By the late 1980s, it was estimated that over 500 people have died whilst attempting its summit since the 1865 ascent, with an average of about 12 deaths each year. In the 2000s, there was a trend of fewer people dying each year on the mountain. This has been attributed partly to a greater awareness of the risks, and also due to the fact that a majority of climbers now use local guides. However, in the summer of 2018, at least ten people died on the mountain. Here is a list of people who died on the mountain whose bodies were not recovered until later: *1954 French skier Henri le Masne went missing on the Matterhorn. In 2005 remains were found, identified as le Masne in 2018 *1970 Two Japanese climbers missing; remains found after 45 years in 2015 *1979 British climber missing; remains found after 34 years in 2014 *2014 Japanese hiker missing; remains found 2018 *2016 Two British climbers missing; remains found 2016


Legacy: beginning of mountain culture

The first ascent of the Matterhorn changed mountain culture. Whymper’s book about his first ascent, ''Scrambles Amongst the Alps'', published in 1871, was a worldwide bestseller. Tourists began to visit Switzerland in the summer to see the Alps and often hired locals as guides. With the beginning of alpine skiing in the early 20th century, tourists began traveling to Switzerland in winter also. Mountaineering, in part, helped transform Switzerland’s mountain regions from poor rural areas to tourist destinations. This combination of mountain climbing, skiing and tourism, was used in the western United States, creating Sun Valley,
Vail Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numer ...
,
Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unit ...
, and other mountain towns around the world.


Climbing routes

Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons, and
mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...
s take a large number of people up the northeast Hörnli route each summer. In total, up to 150 climbers attempt the Matterhorn each day during summer. By modern standards, the climb is fairly difficult (AD Difficulty rating), but not hard for skilled mountaineers according to French climbing grades. There are
fixed rope In mountaineering, a fixed rope or fixed line is the practice of fixing in place bolted ropes to assist climbers and walkers in exposed mountain locations. They are used widely on American and European climbing routes, where they may be called via ...
s on parts of the route to help. Still, it should be remembered that several climbers may die on the mountain each year. The usual pattern of ascent is to take the
Schwarzsee Schwarzsee () or Lac Noir (; en, "Black Lake"; rarely ; frp, Lèc d'Omène ), is a small lake in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland with an area of . The lake in the Swiss Prealps is bordered by the peaks of Schwyberg (1,628 m) in the West ...
cable car up from Zermatt, hike up to the
Hörnli Hut The Hörnli Hut ( German: ''Hörnlihütte'') is a mountain hut located at the foot of the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the Matterhorn. It is situated at above sea level, a few kilometres south-west of the town of Zermatt in the canto ...
elev. , a large stone building at the base of the main ridge, and spend the night. The next day, climbers rise at 3:30 am so as to reach the summit and descend before the regular afternoon clouds and storms come in. The
Solvay Hut The Solvay Hut or Solvay Bivouac (German: ''Solvayhütte'') is a mountain hut located on the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the Matterhorn, near Zermatt in the canton of Valais. At it is the highest mountain hut owned by the Swiss Alpine ...
located on the ridge at can be used only in a case of emergency. Other popular routes on the mountain include the Italian (Lion) ridge (AD+ Difficulty rating) and the Zmutt ridge (D Difficulty rating). The four faces, as well as the Furggen ridge, constitute the most challenging routes to the summit. The north face is amongst the six most difficult faces of the Alps, as well as ‘The Trilogy’, the three hardest of the six, along with the north faces of the Eiger and the
Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by Ho ...
(TD+ Difficulty rating). Overcrowding on the several routes have become an issue and guides and local authorities have struggled with how to regulate the numbers. In 2015 the Hörnli hut became the first mountain shelter in Europe to limit beds.


History

Aegidius Tschudi Aegidius (or Giles or Glig) Tschudi (5 February 150528 February 1572) was a Swiss statesman and historian, an eminent member of the Tschudi family of Glarus, Switzerland. His best known work is the Chronicon Helveticum, a history of the earl ...
, one of the earliest Alpine topographers and historians, was the first to mention the region around the Matterhorn in his work, ''De Prisca ac Vera Alpina Raethi'', published in Basel in 1538. He approached the Matterhorn as a student when in his Alpine travels he reached the summit of the
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
but he does not seem to have paid any particular attention to the mountain itself.Rey, Guido, The Matterhorn (translated J. E. C. Eaton), London, 1908. Available on th
Internet Archive
/ref> The Matterhorn remained unstudied for more than two centuries, until a geologist from Geneva, Horace Benedict de Saussure, travelled to the mountain, which filled him with admiration. However, de Saussure was not moved to climb the mountain, and had no hope of measuring its altitude by taking a barometer to its summit. "Its precipitous sides," he wrote, "which give no hold to the very snows, are such as to afford no means of access." Yet his scientific interest was kindled by "the proud peak which rises to so vast an altitude, like a triangular obelisk, that seems to be carved by a chisel." His mind intuitively grasped the causes which gave the peak its present precipitous form: the Matterhorn was not like a perfected crystal; the centuries had laboured to destroy a great part of an ancient and much larger mountain. On his first journey de Saussure had come from Ayas to the Col des Cimes Blanches, from where the Matterhorn first comes into view; descending to Breuil, he ascended to the Theodul Pass. On his second journey, in 1792, he came to the Valtournanche, studying and describing it; he ascended to the Theodul Pass, where he spent three days, analysing the structure of the Matterhorn, whose height he was the first to measure, and collecting stones, plants and insects. He made careful observations, from the sparse lichen that clung to the rocks to the tiny but vigorous glacier fly that fluttered over the snows and whose existence at such heights was mysterious. At night he took refuge under the tent erected near the ruins of an old fort at the top of the pass. During these days he climbed the
Klein Matterhorn The Klein Matterhorn (sometimes translated as ''Little Matterhorn'') is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway or ...
(3,883 metres), which he named the ''Cime Brune du Breithorn''. The first inquirers began to come to the Matterhorn. There is a record of a party of Englishmen who in the summer of 1800 crossed the
Great St. Bernard Pass it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard , photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg , photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background , elevation_m = 2469 , elevation_ref = ...
, a few months after the passage of Bonaparte; they came to Aosta and thence to
Valtournenche Valtournenche (local Valdôtain: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy, above the sea level. It is named after and covers most of the ''Valtournenche'', a valley on the left side of the Dora Baltea, from ...
, slept at the chalets of Breuil, and traversed the
Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , ( German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss c ...
, which they called ''Monte Rosa''. The Matterhorn was to them an object of the most intense and continuous admiration. The Matterhorn is mentioned in a guide-book to Switzerland by Johann Gottfried Ebel, which was published in Zürich towards the end of the eighteenth century, and translated into English in 1818. The mountain appeared in it under the three names of ''Silvius'', ''Matterhorn'', and ''Mont Cervin'', and was briefly described as one of the most splendid and wonderful obelisks in the Alps. On
Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
there was a note: "A place which may, perhaps, interest the tourist is the valley of Praborgne (Zermatt); it is bounded by huge glaciers which come right down into the valley; the village of Praborgne is fairly high, and stands at a great height above the glaciers; its climate is almost as warm as that of Italy, and plants belonging to hot countries are to be found there at considerable altitudes, above the ice."
William Brockedon William Brockedon (13 October 1787 – 29 August 1854) was a 19th-century English painter, writer and inventor. Early life Brockedon was born at Totnes on 13 October 1787, son of a watchmaker. He was educated at a private school in Totnes, bu ...
, who came to the region in 1825, considered the crossing of the Theodul Pass from Breuil to Zermatt a difficult undertaking. He gave, however, expression to his enthusiasm on the summit. When he arrived exhausted on the top of the pass, he gazed "on the beautiful pyramid of the Cervin, more wonderful than aught else in sight, rising from its bed of ice to a height of 5,000 feet, a spectacle of indescribable grandeur." In this "immense natural amphitheatre, enclosed from time immemorial by snow-clad mountains and glaciers ever white, in the presence of these grand walls the mind is overwhelmed, not indeed that it is unable to contemplate the scene, but it staggers under the immensity of those objects which it contemplates." Those who made their way up through the Valtournanche to the foot of the mountain were few in number. W. A. B. Coolidge, a diligent collector of old and new stories of the Alps, mentions that during those years, besides Brockedon, only Hirzel-Escher of Zürich, who crossed the Theodul Pass in 1822, starting from Breuil, accompanied by a local guide. The greater number came from the
Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...
up the
Visp Visp (french: Viège) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Geography Visp lies in the Rhône valley, at the confluence of the Vispa and the Rhône, west of Brig-Glis. Visp has an area, , of . Of ...
valley to
Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
. In 1813, a Frenchman, Henri Maynard, climbed to the Theodul Pass and made the first ascent of the Breithorn; he was accompanied by numerous guides, among them J. M. Couttet of Chamonix, the same man who had gone with de Saussure to the top of the
Klein Matterhorn The Klein Matterhorn (sometimes translated as ''Little Matterhorn'') is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway or ...
in 1792. The writings of these pioneers make much mention of the Matterhorn; the bare and inert rock is gradually quickened into life by men's enthusiasm. "Stronger minds," remarked
Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
, "felt the influence of the wonderful form, and men who ordinarily spoke or wrote like rational beings, when they came under its power seemed to quit their senses, and ranted and rhapsodised, losing for a time all common forms of speech." Among the poets of the Matterhorn during these years (1834 to 1840) were Elie de Beaumont, a famous French geologist;
Pierre Jean Édouard Desor Pierre Jean Édouard Desor (13 February 1811, Friedrichsdorf, Grand Duchy of Hesse23 February 1882) was a German-Swiss geologist and naturalist. Biography Desor studied law at Giessen and Heidelberg, was compromised in the republican movements ...
, a naturalist of Neuchâtel, who went up there with a party of friends, two of whom were Louis Agassiz and
Bernhard Studer Prof Bernhard Studer HFRSE (August 21, 1794May 2, 1887), was a 19th-century Swiss geologist. Biography He was born at Buren an der Aare near Bern in Switzerland on 21 August 1794. He was educated to become a clergyman, but his interests later ...
. Christian Moritz Engelhardt, who was so filled with admiration for Zermatt and its neighbourhood that he returned there at least ten times (from 1835 to 1855), described these places in two valuable volumes, drew panoramas and maps, and collected the most minute notes on the mineralogy and botany of the region. Zermatt was at that time a quiet little village, and travellers found hospitality at the parish priest's, or at the village doctor's. In 1841 James David Forbes, professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, came to see the Matterhorn. A philosopher and geologist, and an observant traveller, he continued the work of De Saussure in his journeys and his writings. He was full of admiration for the Matterhorn, calling it the most wonderful peak in the Alps, unsealed and unscalable. These words, pronounced by a man noted among all his contemporaries for his thorough knowledge of mountains, show what men's feelings then were towards the Matterhorn, and how at a time when the idea of Alpine exploration was gaining ground in their minds, the Matterhorn stood by itself as a mountain apart, of whose conquest it was vain even to dream. And such it remained till long after this; as such it was described by John Ball twenty years later in his celebrated guide-book. Forbes ascended the Theodul Pass in 1842, climbed the Breithorn, and came down to Breuil; as he descended from the savage scenery of the Matterhorn, the Italian landscapes of the Valtournanche seemed to him like paradise. Meanwhile,
Gottlieb Samuel Studer Gottlieb Samuel Studer (5 August 1804, Langnau im Emmental – 22 December 1890, Vienna) was a Swiss mountaineer, notary public and draughtsman. Studer was the son of Sigmund Gottlieb Studer. After the death of his father, the Studer family mo ...
, the geographer, together with Melchior Ulrich, was describing and mapping the topographical features of the Zermatt peaks.
Rodolphe Töpffer Rodolphe Töpffer ( , ; 31 January 1799 – 8 June 1846) was a Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist. He is best known for his illustrated books (''littérature en estampes'', "graphic literature"), which are possibly ...
, who first accompanied and guided youth to the Alps for purposes of education and amusement, began his journeys in 1832, but it is only in 1840 that he mentions the Matterhorn. Two years later Töpffer and his pupils came to Zermatt. He has described this journey of his in a chapter entitled ''Voyage autour du Mont Blanc jusqu'à Zermatt'', here he sings a hymn of praise to the Matterhorn, comparing its form with a "huge crystal of a hundred facets, flashing varied hues, that softly reflects the light, unshaded, from the uttermost depths of the heavens". Töpffer's book was illustrated by Alexandre Calame, his master and friend, with drawings of the Matterhorn, executed in the romantic style of the period. It is an artificial mountain, a picture corresponding rather with the exaggerated effect it produces on the astonished mind of the artist, than with the real form of the mountain. About this time there came a man who studied the Matterhorn in its structure and form, and who sketched it and described it in all its parts with the curiosity of the artist and the insight of the scientist. This was
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
, a new and original type of philosopher and geologist, painter and poet, whom England was enabled to create during that period of radical intellectual reforms, which led the way for the highest development of her civilisation. Ruskin was the Matterhorn's poet par excellence. He went to Zermatt in 1844, and it is to be noticed as a curious fact, that the first time he saw the Matterhorn it did not please him. The mountain on its lofty pedestal in the very heart of the Alps was, perhaps, too far removed from the ideal he had formed of the mountains; but he returned, studied and dreamt for long at its feet, and at length he pronounced it "the most noble cliff in Europe." Ruskin was no mountaineer, nor a great friend to mountaineering; he drew sketches of the mountains merely as an illustration of his teaching of the beauty of natural forms, which was the object of his whole life. In his work on Modern Painters he makes continual use of the mountains as an example of beauty and an incentive to morality. The publication of Ruskin's work certainly produced a great impression at the time on educated people in England, and a widespread desire to see the mountains. Other men of high attainments followed, but in the years 1850 scientists and artists were about to be succeeded by real climbers and the passes and peaks around Zermatt were explored little by little. In the preface to the first volume of the ''
Alpine Journal The ''Alpine Journal'' (''AJ'') is an annual publication by the Alpine Club of London. It is the oldest mountaineering journal in the world. History The magazine was first published on 2 March 1863 by the publishing house of Longman in London ...
'', which appeared in 1863, the editor Hereford Brooke George wrote that: "While even if all other objects of interest in Switzerland should be exhausted, the Matterhorn remains (who shall say for how long?) unconquered and apparently invincible." Whymper successfully reached the summit in 1865, but four men perished on the descent. The English papers discussed it with bitter words of blame; a German newspaper published an article in which Whymper was accused of cutting the rope between Douglas and Taugwalder, at the critical moment, to save his own life. In 1890 the Federal Government was asked simultaneously by the same contractor for a concession for the Zermatt-Gornergrat railway, and for a Zermatt-Matterhorn one. The Gornergrat railway was constructed in 1896-1898 and has been working since August 1898, but there has been no more talk of the other. The project essentially consisted of a line which went up to the Hörnli, and continued thence in a rectilinear tunnel about two kilometres long, built under the ridge, and issuing near the summit on the Zmutt side. Sixty years later in 1950, Italian engineer Count Dino Lora Totino planned a cable car on the Italian side from Breuil-Cervinia to the summit. But the Alpine Museum of Zermatt sent a protest letter with 90,000 signatures to the Italian government. The latter declared the Matterhorn a natural wonder worthy of protection and refused the concession to the engineer. 2015 marked the 150th anniversary of the first ascent. Events and festivities were held throughout the year. A completely renewed
Hörnli Hut The Hörnli Hut ( German: ''Hörnlihütte'') is a mountain hut located at the foot of the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the Matterhorn. It is situated at above sea level, a few kilometres south-west of the town of Zermatt in the canto ...
opened the same year in the month of July. In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, light artist Gerry Hofstetter started projecting country flags and messages of endurance onto the mountain peak as part of a nightly series designed to show support and spread hope for everyone suffering and those fighting the pandemic.


Other mountains

Hundreds of other mountains have been compared with the Matterhorn, either for their resemblance to it or because of their apparent inaccessibility.


Mountains named after the Matterhorn

* Little Matterhorn (1,480 m), Australia *
Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...
(1,600 m), in Antarctica *
Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...
(3,305 m), in Nevada *
Matterhorn Peak Matterhorn Peak is located in the Sierra Nevada, in California, at the northern boundary of Yosemite National Park. At elevation, it is the tallest peak in the craggy Alps-like Sawtooth Ridge and the northernmost peak in the Sierra Nevada. T ...
(3,744 m), in California *
Matterhorn Peak Matterhorn Peak is located in the Sierra Nevada, in California, at the northern boundary of Yosemite National Park. At elevation, it is the tallest peak in the craggy Alps-like Sawtooth Ridge and the northernmost peak in the Sierra Nevada. T ...
(4,144 m), in Colorado *
Matterhorn Peak Matterhorn Peak is located in the Sierra Nevada, in California, at the northern boundary of Yosemite National Park. At elevation, it is the tallest peak in the craggy Alps-like Sawtooth Ridge and the northernmost peak in the Sierra Nevada. T ...
(2,636 m), in British Columbia * Neny Matterhorn (1,125 m), Antarctica


In culture

During the 20th century, the Matterhorn and the story of the first ascent in particular, inspired various artists and film producers such as Luis Trenker and
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
. Large-scale replicas can be found at
Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
and
Window of the World Window of the World () is a theme park located in the western part of the city of Shenzhen in the People's Republic of China. It has about 130 reproductions of some of the most famous tourist attractions in the world squeezed into 48 hectares ...
. In 2021, a Matterhorn-related attraction opened in the
Swiss Museum of Transport The Swiss Museum of Transport or Verkehrshaus der Schweiz (literally "Transportation House of Switzerland") in Lucerne opened in July 1959 and exhibits all forms of transport including trains, automobiles, ships and aircraft as well as communicati ...
, enabling visitors to climb it virtually from the
Solvay Hut The Solvay Hut or Solvay Bivouac (German: ''Solvayhütte'') is a mountain hut located on the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the Matterhorn, near Zermatt in the canton of Valais. At it is the highest mountain hut owned by the Swiss Alpine ...
to the summit. Designed in 1908 by Emil Cardinaux, a leading poster artist of the time, the Matterhorn poster for the Zermatt tourist office is often considered the first modern poster. It has been described as a striking example of a marriage of tourism, patriotism and popular art. It served as decoration in many Swiss military hospices during the war in addition to be found in countless middle-class living rooms. Another affiche depicting the Matterhorn was created by Cardinaux for the chocolate brand
Toblerone Toblerone ( , ) is a Swiss chocolate brand produced in Bern. Toblerone is known for its distinctive shape, a series of joined triangular prisms and lettering engraved in the chocolate. Since 2012, the brand has been owned by US company Mondele ...
in the 1920s. The image of the Matterhorn first appeared on Toblerone chocolate bars in 1960. Since then, the Matterhorn has become a reference that still inspires graphic artists today and has been used extensively for all sort of publicity and advertising.


Paintings

*''The Matterhorn'' (1849),
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
*''The Matterhorn'' (1867),
Albert Bierstadt Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was not ...
*''Matterhorn'' (1879),
Edward Theodore Compton Edward Theodore Compton, usually referred to as E. T. Compton, (29 July 1849 – 22 March 1921) was an English-born, German artist, illustrator and mountaineering, mountain climber. He is well known for his paintings and drawings of alpine ...
*''Le Cervin'' (1892),
Félix Vallotton Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as . He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...


Coins

File:Swiss-Commemorative-Coin-2004-CHF-10-obverse.png, Swiss Commemorative coin 2004 CHF 10 File:Swiss-Commemorative-Coin-2004b-CHF-50-obverse.png, Swiss Commemorative coin 2004 CHF 50


Filmography

*'' Struggle for the Matterhorn'' (1928) *'' The Mountain Calls'' (1938) *'' The Challenge'' (1938) *''
Climbing the Matterhorn ''Climbing the Matterhorn'' is a 1947 American short documentary film directed by Irving Allen. It won an Oscar at the 20th Academy Awards The 20th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1948, to honor the films of 1947. It is notable for b ...
'' (1947) *'' Third Man on the Mountain'' (1959) *''Im Banne des Berges'' (2015) *'' Soarin' Around the World/Soaring Over the Horizon'' (2016) *'' The Horn'' (2016) - Documentary series following the mountain rescue teams in the Swiss Alps.


Bibliography

* Guido Rey
The Matterhorn
' (translated J. E. C. Eaton), London, 1907Rey's ''Il Monte Cervino'' was first published in
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
and appeared in English in 1907, in a translation by J. E. C. Eaton; a revised edition, with two further chapters by R. L. G. Irving, was published in Oxford by
Basil Blackwell Sir Basil Henry Blackwell (29 May 18899 April 1984) was born in Oxford, England. He was the son of Benjamin Henry Blackwell (18491924), founder of Blackwell's bookshop in Oxford, which went on to become the Blackwell family's publishing and books ...
, 1946, and reprinted in 1949
* Beat P. Truffer: ''Matterhorn-DVD'', 1:18 Film, 1'001 Photos, 17 E-Books, 1 Audiobook, Aroleit-Verlag, Zermatt 2015, , www.matterhornworld.ch * Charles Gos, ''Le Cervin'' (Attinger, 1948) * Yvan Hostettler, ''Matterhorn: Alpine Top Model'' (Olizane Edition, Geneva, 2006). The use of the Matterhorn in advertisement, publicity, movies, painting and arts * R. L. G. Irving, ''Ten Great Mountains'' (London, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1940)The climbing history up to 1939 of the Matterhorn, Snowdon,
Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...
,
Ushba Ushba ( ka, უშბა) is one of the most notable peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. It is located in the Svaneti region of Georgia, just south of the border with the Kabardino-Balkaria region of Russia. Although it does not rank in the 10 high ...
, Mount Logan,
Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
,
Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
, Kanchenjunga, Mount Cook and
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...
* Beat P. Truffler, ''The History of the Matterhorn: First Ascents, Projects and Adventures'', 7th ed., (Aroleit-Verlag, Zermatt, 2015). . Translation of ''Die Geschichte des Matterhorns'' from the German by Mirjam Steinmann *
Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
, ''Scrambles Amongst the Alps'' (1871) * The book, Banner in the Sky, by James Ramsey Ullman is based on Edward Whympers ascent.


Notes and references


Notes


References


La conquête du Cervin, Pierre Staelen


External links


Matterhorn
from the Zermatt Tourism official website
150th anniversary
from the Zermatt Tourism official website

from the Breuil-Cervinia Tourism official website
Virtual ascent of the Hörnli Ridge with 360 degree panoramas

Landscape Artist Attempts to Climb Matterhorn (detailed story of the first ascent)


;Climbing and trekking
Matterhorn on Summitpost



Matterhorn on Hikr
*
Matterhorn on 4000er.de

2018 BBC story of skier lost near Matterhorn 1954; found 2005; identified 2018 BBC July 29, 2018
;Videos *
subtitles in French
- film based on the first ascent story * - remake of ''Der Berg ruft!'' * - documentary featuring the climb on the Hörnli ridge * - traverse of the very sharp summit ridge by two Polish climbers (A.Wójcik, Y.Trokhymenko) {{Authority control Alpine four-thousanders Articles containing video clips Four-thousanders of Switzerland Great north faces of the Alps International mountains of Europe Italy–Switzerland border Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Aosta Valley Mountains of Valais Mountains of Switzerland Pennine Alps Tourist attractions in Switzerland