Matterhorn
Origin of the name Matterhorn
In the 16th century Aegidius Tschudi called the whole glacier region behind the Visp valleys and the Theodulpass «Augstthalerberg» or «Mons Sylvius». From about 1740 these names, no longer in use today, referred only to the Matterhorn. The meaning of the names Matterhorn, Mont Cervin and Monte Cervino has not been explained.[1][2]
Founding of Matterhorn
A 4'478 m pyramid of gneiss, the Matterhorn rises on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Zermatt lies at its foot to the north and Breuil-Cervinia to the south. The mountain has four ridges: Hörnli, Lion, Zmutt and Furggen. With the birth of mountaineering in the mid-19th century, the summit became a goal for climbers. In the 20th century it became a national symbol, widely used in advertising.[1][2]
History of Matterhorn
1859. A plan for a road up the Matterhorn comes to nothing.[1]
1865. On 14 July the Englishmen Edward Whymper, Francis Douglas, Robert Hadow and Charles Hudson, led by Michel Croz of Chamonix and by Peter Taugwalder of Zermatt and his son, reach the summit from the Swiss side. Four men die on the descent.[1][2]
1875. First winter ascent, by the Hörnli ridge, led by the Italian mountain guide Jean-Antoine Carrel.[1]
1880. The Monte Rosa section of the Swiss Alpine Club builds the Hörnlihütte, a hut with 17 beds at the foot of the mountain.[3]
1892. A railway plan is not carried out, any more than the road plan of 1859.[1]
1911. The Burgergemeinde (citizens' community) of Zermatt builds the Berghaus Matterhorn Belvédère next to the Hörnlihütte.[3]
1929. Fritz Herrmann of Vienna climbs the west face alone.[1][2]
1931. The brothers Franz and Toni Schmid of Munich conquer the north face.[1][2]
1962. All four ridges and all the faces of the Matterhorn have now been climbed.[1]
1975. The east face is skied for the first time.[1]
1987. First snowboard descent.[1]
1988. Floodlighting of the mountain is planned but never carried out.[1][2]
2015. In July, 150 years after the first ascent, the rebuilt Hörnlihütte is inaugurated. It has 130 beds instead of 170, to limit the number of climbers.[3]
Historic sites in Matterhorn
Hörnlihütte. At 3'260 m, at the start of the Hörnli ridge, the hut combines the Berghaus Belvédère of 1911 and a modern extension inaugurated in 2015. The old hut of 1880 was demolished, and its foundations serve as a helicopter landing pad.[3]
Climbing routes. Every summer some 1'000 to 1'500 people reach the summit. Record days count 100 to 140 ascents.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Cervin » (Alma Treyer, version du 29.01.2007)
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (version allemande du Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse), « Matterhorn » (Alma Treyer, version du 29.01.2007)
- Walliser Bote (1815.ch), « Neue Hörnlihütte am Fuss des Matterhorns eingeweiht » (14.07.2015)
- geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Matterhorn)
Other villages near Matterhorn
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