Page 40 - 20145 AMA Spring

A Guide’s guide to The Matterhorn
by Dougal Tavener
Few mountains in the world are as instantly recognisable or inspiring as the Matterhorn (4478 metres) on the Swiss-Ital- ian border. It’s easy to understand why its summit is on the
wish-list of any mountaineer. This year is the 150th anniversary of its historic first ascent by Edward Whymper and his team on the July 14th 1865. Only three of them survived the descent.
Dougal Tavener, in his work as a UIAGM guide, has climbed all the classic routes many times. Below, he outlines what is involved and gives some advice on preparing for tackling the Matterhorn by its most popular and easiest route, the Hörnli Ridge.
“Firstly, to climb the Hörnli ridge in a safe and enjoyable manner I think it’s really important to have more than enough experience for the route. Give this mountain the respect it deserves. The Hörnli is well over a 1000 metres long and despite being technically straight- forward the route shouldn’t be underestimated.
When you’re high up on that mountain you appreciate how far from home you are. There is a good reason it took so long for this mountain to be climbed!
Preparation
You should be comfortable with exposed AD (III) – ridge terrain. This is equally important in both ascent and descent; with and without crampons. Experience of route finding on complicated alpine ridges is necessary as this is one of the hardest things about the Hörnli.
Also, knowing what to do with the rope and making sure whatever you are doing with it, is safe. To climb the Hörnli safely in a reasonable time you need be nothing less than a short-roping Jedi, being able to make quick decisions between fixing the rope or moving together. You should never actually feel that you need the
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rope, but it should always be there and used in a way that would protect you in the worst case scenario.
Being fit enough and acclimatised for a route like the Hornli can mean a much more enjoyable and safer experience. Without a guide the Hörnli ridge can take around 12 hours and all of this on exposed scrambling terrain.
The best training would involve focusing on moving over this kind of terrain fluently and safely. Being efficient can make a massive difference over 12 hours! An ice axe martial art course might come in handy in case you try and overtake a Swiss guide!
Good training routes for this would be things like: Cosmiques ridge, Traverse of the Aiguilles Marbrées and the Aiguille d’Entrèves Traverse.
On the Route
Due to the popularity of the Hörnli, the Zermatt guides have devised a ‘pecking order’ for safety and to minimise queues. The rules are: Zermatt guides leave the hut first, then other mountain guides and then independent climbers. At first I thought this was unfair, but actually now I think it’s essential. If the first teams to leave the hut are slow or take a bad route it can cause problems with other parties following and going the wrong way. This can cause frustration and potentially dangerous traffic jams.
The Zermatt guides climb the Hörnli ridge with clients ‘back to back’ most of the season and know the ‘up-to-date route’ better than anyone. They also have a strict turn around time, meaning that generally it is unlikely that they will slow you down too much. Usually if they have not reached the Solvay Hut within 2.5/3 hours they will turn around. No matter how slow they are, they might not be particularly forthcoming in letting you pass.