Matterhorn

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

Matterhorn
The Matterhorn, seen from Zermatt
Elevation	4,478 metres (14,693 feet)
Location	Italy / Switzerland
Range	Pennine Alps
Prominence	1,029 m
Coordinates	45°58′35″N, 7°39′30″E
First ascent	14 July 1865 by Edward Whymper and party
Easiest route	Hörnli ridge (AD, rock/mixed climb)

The Matterhorn (Italian: Monte Cervino, 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 matt, meaning valley or meadow, and horn, which means peak.^[1]

The Matterhorn has four faces, facing the four compass points, with the north and south faces meeting to form a short east-west summit 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 (in the center of the view from Zermatt) is the usual climbing route.

1 Climbing
2 Prominence
3 Cultural references
4 Other 'Matterhorns'
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Climbing

East face of the Matterhorn reflected in the Riffelsee lake

The Matterhorn was climbed later than most of the main mountains of the Alps, 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 on difficult rock and had to turn back.

It was not until 14 July 1865, after several failed attempts and some nationalistically motivated backstabbing, that the party of Edward Whymper, Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, and Douglas Hadow, with Michel Croz and the two Peter Taugwalders (father and son) tried the Hörnli route and found it considerably easier than expected. On the descent Hadow slipped, knocking Croz off his feet, and dragging Hudson and Douglas with him. The rope connecting them to the other three men broke; the four fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn Glacier 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) below. The bodies of all but Douglas were later found, and are buried in the Zermatt churchyard.

Three days later, on 17 July, a party led by Jean-Antoine Carrel reached the summit from the Italian side. Julius Elliott made the second ascent from the Zermatt side, in 1868, and in the same year John Tyndall traversed the summit, together with J. J. Maquinaz and J. P. Maquinaz. 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.

Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons, and climbing guides take a large number of people up the 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, because of the scale of the climb and inherent dangers, inexperience, falling rocks, and overcrowded routes, several climbers die each year. The usual pattern 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 the climber rises at 4:00 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, first ascent by Jean-Antoine Carrel and Jean-Baptiste Bich on 17 July 1865), the Zmutt ridge (D, first ascent by Albert F. Mummery, A. Burgener, J. Petrus and A. Gentinetta on 3 September 1879) and the north face route, one of the six classic north faces in the Alps (TD+, first ascent by Franz and Toni Schmid on 31 July–1 August 1931).

[edit] Prominence

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.

A panorama of the Matterhorn (photo taken near the Gornergrat)

[edit] Cultural references

A view of the Disneyland Matterhorn.

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 and is a 1/100 scale replica (147 feet in height) of the actual mountain in the Swiss Alps, although not exact. The attraction was one of the first E ticket rides in Disneyland Park, with the Submarine Voyage being the first in the same summer. The Matterhorn is said to be the first roller coaster with tubular metal tracks. While rumoured that there is a basketball court inside (to create a loophole in the California building height restrictions law), there is only a hoop that was installed later by the mountain climbers for their enjoyment between climbs.

The individual pieces of the chocolate bar Toblerone are claimed by its maker Kraft, to be formed in the likeness of the Matterhorn.^[2]

In the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), the Grinch resides on a mountain that several film critics noticed was modelled on the Matterhorn. ^[3] ^[4]

In a 9th-season episode of The Simpsons entitled "King of the Hill", Homer volunteers to climb Springfield's tallest mountain, the Murderhorn.

The Little Einsteins team must journey to the mountain in the episode The Mouse and The Moon. They ski down the Matterhorn, and encounter a series of bumps. They use these bumps, and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) to teach the concept of staccato. Little Mouse climbs to the tip of the Matterhorn and gives the Moon a present of shining stars.

In the HBO television series Entourage, 'Matterhorn' is the title of the studio movie project that lead character Vincent Chase turns down.

The Matterhorn is depicted on the front covers of Construction Time Again (by Depeche Mode) and Felt Mountain (Goldfrapp's debut album). And a deadly climb of the Matterhorn is the subject of a unique Country Gentlemen bluegrass song.

[edit] Other 'Matterhorns'

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

Ama Dablam ('the Matterhorn of the Himalaya')
Cnicht ('the Matterhorn of Wales')
Innerdalstårnet ('the Matterhorn of Norway')
Kurtbashitsa ('the Matterhorn of Bulgaria')
Machhapuchhare ('the Matterhorn of Nepal')
Mount Aspiring in New Zealand ('the Matterhorn of the South')
Mount Assiniboine ('the Matterhorn of North America')
Olomana ('the Matterhorn of Oahu')
Shivling ('the Matterhorn of India')
Ushba ('the Matterhorn of the Caucasus')

Matterhorn Peak (12,264') in California's Sierra Nevada range and Matterhorn Peak (13,590') in Colorado's San Juan Mountains are other notable mountains with this eponym.