Hornli Hut Ascent

Monday 29th July 2024

The climb to Hornli Hut at 3,260 m on the flank of the Matterhorn was definitely the highlight of this trip. A fantastic hike, and the hut has such significance in mountaineering circles. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides, Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, on 14 July 1865. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz were killed on the descent when Hadow slipped and pulled the other three with him down the north face. Whymper and the Taugwalder guides, who survived, were later accused of having cut the rope below to ensure that they were not dragged down with the others, but the subsequent inquiry found no evidence of this and they were acquitted. We bought our return tickets from Zermatt to Schwarzsee (2,552m) the night before, and were ready for the first cable car of the day at 8 a.m. The stats for the walk are given separately for the ascent and the descent.

 

Hornli Hut Ascent

Distance	Time		Elevation in meters
Km	Elapsed Hrs-Mins	Moving Hrs-Mins	Gain	Loss	Min	Max
3.49	2H51		680	40	2,559	3,214

Matterhorn Expres Cable Car

Maura and Ken at Schwarzsee 2,583 m

Mick

Cynthia and Maura tackling broken rock

Hirli 2,780m

Cynthia and Maura ready to tackle the steelwork

Ken

Cynthia, Ken and Maura

Mick, looking relaxed!

Maura and Ken setting up for a "Toblerone" commercial!

Mick and Ken

Cynthia and Ken

Maura and Cynthia

First glimpse of Hornli Hut

We did not know it at the time, but the helicopter was recovering the body of a man who
had fallen to his death climbing the Matterhorn. This was the second death in a week.

Hornli Hut

Mick, Cynthia, Maura and Ken celebrating the achievement!

Mick

Cynthia and Ken

Mick

Cynthia, Maura, Ken and Mick

The compulsory selfie