Hornli Ridge – Matterhorn AD, III-

Hornli Ridge – Matterhorn – Zermatt

The Matterhorn is one of the world’s most recognisable mountains, standing tall and alone above the town of Zermatt in Switzerland. It’s an intimidating peak, with steep faces and ridge lines with no easy route to the summit.

First climbed in 1865, the Matterhorn is steeped in legend and history. The epic story of the first ascent along with the north face are well worth a read. 

The Hornli ridge is the standard route up the mountain, and is essentially a sustained scramble with occasional harder sections. It is a very long route, and the descent often takes longer than the climb. Good fitness, foot work and excellent scrambling skills are essential.  It is normal to start the ascent in the dark using head torches and to arrive at the more technical pitches below the emergency Solvay hut as it is getting light. These are rates II+/III in difficulty and are often abseiled in descent. Above the shoulder it can get snowy and icy, and it is here that the fixed metal gear and the ropes are very useful, although at over 4000m it is still very physical.

After the fixed ropes, the summit snow slopes lead to the final narrow ridge from where you will find an uninterrupted vista of 4000m peaks, from Mont Blanc to the nearby Monta Rosa massif.

Like many mountains the Matterhorn is a victim of its own notoriety. With good conditions in high season there can be many teams on the mountain creating traffic jams and bottlenecks along the route adding to the objective danger and the time spent on the route.

To alleviate potential problems the expensive but excellent Hornli hut operates a unique system in the morning. A local Swiss guide from Zermatt will always be first out of the door with a fast climber. They “set” the correct route and the other guides will follow close behind. This does stop unguided parties from starting early and getting off route and then knocking rocks down. Despite this system it is easy to get separated from other teams and stray off course if you do not know the mountain.

If you want a quieter experience then you can climb slightly out of season or in more snowy conditions, both of which are generally avoided by the Swiss guide companies.

1220m ascent from Hornli Hutte

Normally Mid July to Mid September, but conditions vary every season.

Snow on the route makes it much harder. Look for dry conditions, and stable weather.

Matterhorn History and Background