The Matterhorn
The Matterhorn is one of the most recognisable mountains in the world. Its near-perfect four-sided pyramid shape, towering above the Swiss village of Zermatt, has made it the most photographed peak in the Alps. The Matterhorn is also famous for its dramatic first climb in 1865, when four of the seven climbers died on the descent.
- Height4,478 mEleventh tallest in the Alps
- CountriesSwitzerland and ItalyOn the border between them
- ShapeFour-sided pyramidCarved by glaciers from four directions
- First climbed1865By Edward Whymper and a team of 7
- Famous forThe Toblerone logoAnd almost every Alpine postcard
- Climbers/yearapprox. 3,000Plus thousands more cable-car tourists
Matterhorn compared to other Alpine peaks
The Matterhorn is not the tallest of the Alps (Mont Blanc holds that title) but it is by far the most recognisable. Its near-perfect pyramid shape sets it apart from any other major peak.
What is the Matterhorn?
The Matterhorn (called Cervino in Italian) is a pyramid-shaped peak straddling the border between the Swiss canton of Valais and the Italian region of the Aosta Valley. Its unique shape is the result of glaciers eroding the mountain from four different directions at once, leaving four steep ridges separated by four steep faces. Mountaineers call this kind of peak a horn, and the Matterhorn is the most perfect example.
How did it get its shape?
During the last ice age, four separate glaciers flowed down from the high ground around the Matterhorn. Each glacier carved out a hollow called a cirque on its own side of the mountain. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the cirques deepened and the rock between them was eroded away from all four sides at once. What remained was a sharp central pyramid: the Matterhorn. The glaciers are still there but are much smaller than they were at the height of the ice age.
The dramatic first ascent
The Matterhorn was one of the last great Alpine peaks to be climbed. Its steep faces and frequent rockfalls made it terrifying for early climbers. For years a competition raged between the British climber Edward Whymper and the Italian climber Jean-Antoine Carrel, both determined to be first to the summit.
On 14 July 1865, Whymper's team of seven beat Carrel to the top by a matter of days. Whymper himself was the first up the final pitch. The team rested at the summit and then started down. On the descent, the rope between four of the climbers broke, and they fell over 1,200 metres to their deaths. Whymper and two Swiss guides survived. The disaster shocked Britain and led Queen Victoria to consider banning Alpine climbing.
Three days after Whymper's climb, Carrel made the second ascent from the Italian side. The rivalry was won by the British, but the Italian achievement was nearly as great. Both sides celebrate annually.
Climbing today
Around 3,000 people climb the Matterhorn each summer. It is a serious mountaineering challenge that requires technical climbing skills and a guide for most non-experts. The standard Hörnli ridge route takes most climbers two days, with an overnight stop at the Hörnli Hut at 3,260 metres. Despite being far shorter than the Himalayan giants, the Matterhorn has claimed over 500 lives since the 1865 disaster, more than any other mountain in the Alps.
Deeper dive: glacial pyramids, Zermatt and Whymper's lifetime
The Matterhorn is the most famous example of a glacial horn, but the same process has created many similar peaks around the world. Other notable horns include the Wetterhorn in Switzerland (where the term originated), Mount Assiniboine in the Canadian Rockies (often called the "Canadian Matterhorn"), and the Ama Dablam in the Himalayas. All formed in the same way: four or more glaciers carving out cirques from a central high point until only a sharp pyramid remains. Horns can only form where there is enough snow accumulation to maintain glaciers on multiple sides of a mountain for long enough.
The village of Zermatt at the foot of the Swiss side of the Matterhorn has become one of the most famous mountain resorts in the world. The village banned cars in 1947, partly for environmental reasons and partly to maintain its picturesque traditional character. Visitors arrive by train from the lowland town of Visp; from Zermatt you can take the Gornergrat cog railway up to 3,089 metres for the classic view of the Matterhorn. The village has around 5,800 permanent residents and over 13,000 hotel beds.
Edward Whymper, the leader of the first Matterhorn ascent, was just 25 years old at the time of the disaster. He spent the rest of his life haunted by the deaths of his companions, even though no formal blame was attached to him. He went on to make first ascents of major peaks in the Andes and Canadian Rockies (Mount Whymper in the Canadian Rockies is named after him), wrote successful books about his adventures, and became one of the most famous British mountaineers of the Victorian era. He died of stroke in Chamonix, in the shadow of Mont Blanc, in 1911 at the age of 71. The rope that broke in 1865 is now displayed in the Zermatt museum, alongside other relics of the climb.
The countries are Switzerland and Italy. The tallest Alpine peak is Mont Blanc.