Matterhorn

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For other uses, see Matterhorn (disambiguation).

Matterhorn

Cervino  (Italian)
Cervin  (French)

East and north faces of the Matterhorn

Highest point

Elevation 4,478 m (14,692 ft)

Prominence 1042 m ↓ Col Durand[note 1]

Parent peak Weisshorn

Isolation 13.8 km → Liskamm-West Top[note 2]

Alpine four-thousanders
Listing Great north faces of the Alps

45°58′35.0″N 7°39′31.0″ECoordinates:  45°58′35.0″N 7°3
Coordinates
9′31.0″E [1]
Naming

Gran Bèca  (Arpitan)
Native name Horu  (Walser)

English (German) "Peak of the Meadows"[2]

translation (Arpitan) "Great Mountain"
 Geography

Matterhorn

Location in the Alps

Location Aosta Valley, Italy

Valais, Switzerland
Parent range Pennine Alps

Topo map swisstopo 1347 Matterhorn

Climbing

July 14, 1865 by

Edward Whymper
Charles Hudson
Francis Douglas
Douglas Robert Hadow
Michel Croz
First ascent Peter Taugwalder (father)
Peter Taugwalder (son)
Easiest route Hörnli ridge (AD, rock/mixed climb)

The Matterhorn (/ˈmætərhɔːrn/,[3][4] German: [ˈmatərˌhɔrn]; Italian: Cervino [tʃerˈviːno]; Fren
ch: Cervin [sɛʁvɛ]̃ ) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border
between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the
extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres
(14,692 ft) high, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe.[note 3] The
four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points
and are split by the Hörnli, Furggen, Leone/Lion, and Zmutt ridges. The mountain
overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the north-east and the
Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the
Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and
south sides, and a trade route since the Roman Era.
The Matterhorn was studied by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late eighteenth
century, who was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as John
Ruskin, in the 19th century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine
peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the
summit. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was in 1865 from Zermatt by a party led
by Edward Whymper; it ended when four of its seven members fell to their deaths on
the descent. This disaster, later portrayed in several films, marked the end of the golden
age of alpinism.[5] The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is among the
three biggest north faces of the Alps, known as "The Trilogy". The west face, which is
the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is
estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn, making it one of the
deadliest peaks in the world.[6][unreliable source?]
The Matterhorn is mainly composed of gneisses (originally fragments of the African
Plate before the Alpine orogeny) from the Dent Blanche nappe, lying
over ophiolites and sedimentary rocks of the Penninic nappes. The mountain's current
shape is the result of cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from the peak,
such as the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face. Sometimes referred to as
the Mountain of Mountains (German: Berg der Berge),[7] the Matterhorn has become an
iconic emblem of the Alps in general. Since the end of the 19th century, when railways
were built in the area, the mountain has attracted increasing numbers of visitors and
climbers. Each year, numerous mountaineers try to climb the Matterhorn from the Hörnli
Hut via the northeast Hörnli ridge, the most popular route to the summit. Many trekkers
also undertake the 10-day-long circuit around the mountain. The Matterhorn has been
part of the Swiss Federal Inventory of Natural Monuments since 1983.