Hiking the Matterhorn

Filed in archive Mountain Climbing on June 21, 2007

In the fall, I'll be headed back to Europe, more specifically, Switzerland. On previous visits, I admired the Matterhorn from a distance, this time, I'm considering hiking to the summit. And while researching the mountain, I discovered this humorous account on how not to climb the Matterhorn and a few things to consider.

After 45 minutes across a stony meadow, we reached Hirli, a lone building a few hundred feet up. My, how time flies on a mountain. You can see where you are going, yet it takes forever. To match my plodding pace, my husband photographed about 10,000 alpine flowers from every direction.

Then the wind turned brisk, the blue sky ashen gray. Temperatures fell about 20 degrees. We broke out the windbreakers, which held off the freezing rain for five to six minutes tops. I longed for gloves and a hat.

It took about 10 steps for the landscape to turn from alpine meadow to crumbling Lunar rock face. As the sleet turned into stinging hail, the trail disappeared altogether.

The snowstorm struck when we were totally exposed on the switchback ridge. By then I was hyperventilating about the sheer cliffs on either side. I decided it was better to stare at the wet stones beneath my feet.

Ironic, is it not, that we seek out these sweeping mountain vistas, yet when we are there, a glance in any direction sends our hearts racing in fear?

Yet the mind is a marvelous thing. Since the storm limited visibility to six feet, all of a sudden I could not see the plunging cliffs. Death might be a step or two away, but I was oblivious. That's when the fear disappeared.

What did we learn?

-Zermatt and the Matterhorn are must-see destinations.

-Mountain expeditions in capris and bald sneakers are bound to end in disaster.

-The Swiss are nothing if not punctual - do not miss the last tram.

-Over 500 people have died climbing the Matterhorn since 1865, and Swiss tourism authorities say deaths now average about 12 annually. (WHAT? WHAT? A dozen each year? Could someone have mentioned this sooner?) As of early May, six people had died this year.

Read the rest of the article here