Bucket List / Adventure Travel Goals
Climb The Matterhorn
Still to do
A pre-dawn start roped to your guide, and by morning you're standing on the most famous summit in the Alps.
The adventure
Few mountains look as much like a mountain as the Matterhorn, a sharp, four-sided pyramid of rock standing alone above Zermatt. Climbing it means a night at the Hörnli Hut, perched on the ridge at 3,260 metres, then a pre-dawn start roped to your guide, scrambling up rock by head torch in a long line of lights.
The Hörnli Ridge is steep, loose in places and relentless, with around 1,200 metres of climbing to the top. You pass the tiny Solvay emergency hut, pull up fixed ropes on the upper slopes and finally step onto the narrow snowy summit at 4,478 metres, with Italy on one side, Switzerland on the other and the Alps spread out in every direction. Then comes the most serious part, because most accidents happen on the way down, just as they did after Edward Whymper's first ascent in 1865, when four of his party fell to their deaths.
Why it’s epic
- Standing on the 4,478-metre summit on the border between Switzerland and Italy.
- Climbing the Hörnli Ridge, the route of the first ascent in 1865.
- A night at the Hörnli Hut, 3,260 metres up at the foot of the ridge.
- Views across the Pennine Alps, including Monte Rosa and, on a clear day, Mont Blanc.
What it is
The Matterhorn's 4,478-metre summit is one of the most famous mountains in the Alps.
How to do it
Most climbers use the Hörnli Ridge with a mountain guide from Zermatt, after preparing on other 4,000-metre peaks.
Top tip
Guides will assess your fitness and skills on a training climb first.
Need to know
- Guides climb one to one with clients and usually want to see you on other 4,000-metre peaks first, moving fast on rock in crampons.
- The season runs roughly from July to September, and the hut needs booking well ahead.
- Insurance must cover mountaineering and helicopter rescue.
- Fly to Geneva or Zurich and take the train to Zermatt, which is car-free.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £2,000 to £5,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 2 days
- Best time to go
- July to September
- Fly into
- GVA airport
Private guide fees, hut nights and the training climbs you'll need beforehand make up most of the cost.
Make it happen
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Why it’s on my list
Not done yet. If you’ve done it and have tips, tell me about it.
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