Matterhorn climbing

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Hallo, My dream is to climb to the top of Matterhorn by Hornli which I think is the easiest way. What do you think, can I go? I'm rather tourist not a professional climber. Greetings. Jack

-- Jacek Starza (norkagrace@yahoo.com), July 23, 2003

Answers

Trying to climb the Matterhorn for a "tourist" would be something like trying to cross the ocean without being able to swim. It is high ground, very exposed, and besides the quality of rock itself is, well, questionable. There are thousands of hikes or shorter and easier climbs in the Alps which you could enjoy. At the very least, if you are determined that you want the Matterhorn or nothing, do hire a mountain guide.

-- F. Sabatini (furs@virgilio.it), July 24, 2003.

You should wear a pair of boots which are comfortable for trail walking yet able to accept crampons. You will find more ice this year since we are experiencing quite a drought. I like the La Sprotiva Trango S But this may be a bit over-kill for what you want. Just be sure the boots are comfortable, yet have a stiff enough sole to hold a crampon.

The climb is possible for anyone in good shape and athletic. One needs to be comfortable with the exposure at alpine altitudes. (I am a mountain guide.) The difficulty with this route, is staying on route, and being able to safely protect it all the way. Most inexperienced people get off route, and do not have the skills to safely move fast enough to get up and down the route in a day.

The basic fee for a guide is around $500.00. I have had good climbs on the mountain with people who had never climbed before, but were in excellent shape, and were comfortable moving about in these Alps.

Hans

-- Hans Solmssen (hans@verbier.ch), August 02, 2003.


Sorry about the last post. Ignore the first paragraph which got pasted in along with the rest of my response.

-- Hans Solmssen (hans@verbier.ch), August 02, 2003.

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