Matterhorn

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"Cervino" redirects here. For the Italian town, see Cervino (CE). For other uses, see Matterhorn (disambiguation).
Cervino - Matterhorn

The Matterhorn, seen from the Gornergrat railway
Elevation 4,478 metres (14,692 ft)
Location Flag of Italy Italy / Flag of Switzerland Switzerland
Range Pennine Alps
Prominence 1,029 m (3,376 ft)[1]
Coordinates 45°58′35″N 7°39′30″E / 45.97639, 7.65833Coordinates: 45°58′35″N 7°39′30″E / 45.97639, 7.65833
First ascent 14 July 1865 by Edward Whymper and party
Easiest route Hörnli ridge (AD, rock/mixed climb)

The Matterhorn (German) or Cervino (Italian), (French: Mont Cervin or Le Cervin) is perhaps the most familiar mountain in the European Alps. On the border between Switzerland and Italy, it towers over the Swiss village of Zermatt and the Italian village Breuil-Cervinia in the Val Tournanche. The mountain derives its name from the German words Matte, meaning meadow, and Horn, which means peak.[2]

The Matterhorn has four faces which face the four compass points: the north and east faces overlook, respectively, the Zmutt Valley and Gornergrat ridge in Switzerland, the south face fronts the resort town of Breuil-Cervinia in Italy, and the west face looks towards the mountain of Dent d'Hérens which straddles the Swiss-Italian border. The north and south faces meet at the summit to form a short east-west ridge. The faces are steep, and only small patches of snow and ice cling to them; regular avalanches send the snow down to accumulate on the glaciers at the base of each face. The Hörnli ridge of the northeast (the center ridge in the view from Zermatt) is the usual climbing route.

Contents

[edit] Climbing

The Matterhorn was one of the last of the main Alpine mountains to be ascended, not because of its technical difficulty, but because of the fear it inspired in early mountaineers. The first serious attempts began around 1857, mostly from the Italian side; but despite appearances, the southern routes are harder, and parties repeatedly found themselves having to turn back. However, on July 14, 1865, in what is considered the last ascent of the golden age of alpinism, the party of Edward Whymper, Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, Douglas Robert Hadow, Michel Croz and the two Peter Taugwalders (father and son) was able to reach the summit from the the Hörnli route in Switzerland. Upon descent, Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn Glacier, and all but Douglas (whose body was never found) are buried in the Zermatt churchyard. Three days later on July 17, the mountain was ascended from the Italian side by a party led by Jean-Antoine Carrel and Jean-Baptiste Bich. Julius Elliott made the second ascent from the Zermatt side three years later in 1868, and later that year the party of John Tyndall, J. J. Maquinaz, and J. P. Maquinaz was the first to traverse the summit. In 1871, Lucy Walker became the first woman to stand on top of the mountain, followed a few weeks later by her rival Meta Brevoort. The difficult north Zmutt Ridge was first ascended by Albert F. Mummery, Alex­ander Burgener, J. Petrus and A. Gentinetta on September 3, 1879, and it wasn't until July 31–August 1, 1931 that the extremely difficult north face route was first ascended by Franz and Toni Schmid.

East face of the Matterhorn reflected in the Riffelsee lake
East face of the Matterhorn reflected in the Riffelsee lake
A panorama of the Matterhorn (photo taken near the Gornergrat)
A panorama of the Matterhorn (photo taken near the Gornergrat)

Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons, and mountain guides take a large number of people up the northeast Hörnli route each summer. By modern standards, the climb is fairly difficult (AD Difficulty rating), but not hard for skilled mountaineers. There are fixed ropes on parts of the route to help. Still, several climbers die each year due to a number of factors including the scale of the climb and its inherent dangers, inexperience, falling rocks, and overcrowded routes.

The usual pattern of ascent is to take the Schwarzsee cable car up from Zermatt, hike up to the Hörnli-hütte (elev. 3,260 m/10,695 ft), a large stone building at the base of the main ridge, and spend the night. The next day, climbers rise at 3:30 am so as to reach the summit and descend before the regular afternoon clouds and storms come in. Other routes on the mountain include the Italian ridge (D Difficulty rating), the Zmutt ridge (D Difficulty rating) and the north face route, one of the six great north faces of the Alps (TD+ Difficulty rating).

[edit] Cultural references

The Disneyland Matterhorn
The Disneyland Matterhorn
  • Parascotopetl, the fictional 'Matterhorn of the Andes', appears in H. G. Wells's short story "The Country of the Blind" (1904).
  • In the 1957 Warner Brothers animated short Piker's Peak, Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam try to beat each other to the summit of the Schmatterhorn, towering high above a fictional Swiss village, with the winner receiving 50,000 cronkites.
  • A miniature imitation of the Matterhorn featuring a bobsled ride is one of the attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Matterhorn Bobsleds opened in 1959 as the world's first tubular steel coaster and partially encloses a 1/100 scale replica (147 feet in height) of the mountain.
  • The peak is featured prominently in the popular 1974 Japanese anime version of Heidi. This attracts thousands of Japanese tourists to the area every year.[3]
  • In an episode of the television show The Simpsons Homer Simpson climbs the highest mountain in Springfield known as the Murderhorn, an obvious play off the Matterhorn.
  • The 'Mini Matterhorn' is the unofficial name of a 75-cm piece of Martian rock immediately east-southeast of the Mars Pathfinder lander. [1]
  • The individual pieces of the chocolate bar Toblerone are claimed by its maker Kraft, to be formed in the likeness of the Matterhorn.[4]

[edit] Other 'Matterhorns'

Many other prominent mountains around the world are nicknamed the 'Matterhorn' of their respective countries or mountain ranges.[5] Examples include:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Despite its prominence in a local sense, the Matterhorn is not among the top 100 mountains in the Alps measured by topographic prominence. This is because several of its close neighbors, including Monte Rosa, the Dom, Liskamm and the Weisshorn, have higher summits. To appreciate this, see a panoramic photograph of the view from Finsteraarhorn, to the north
  2. ^ Swiss Mountains - Names www.swissworld.org Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1562770.stm
  4. ^ Toblerone - Shape & Name www.toblerone.com. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  5. ^ http://www.cervintopmodel.com/news/jouty.html A list of 109 world 'Matterhorns' Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  • Charles Gos, Le Cervin (Attinger, 1948)
  • Edward Whymper, Scrambles Amongst the Alps (1871)

[edit] External links

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