Matterhorn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cervino redirects here. For the Italian town, see Cervino (CE). For the Disneyland attraction, see Matterhorn Bobsleds.

Matterhorn
The Matterhorn, seen from Zermatt
Elevation	4,478 metres (14,693 feet)
Location	Switzerland-Italy
Range	Pennine Alps
Prominence	1,029 m
Coordinates	45°58′N 7°39′E
First ascent	14 July 1865 by Edward Whymper and party
Easiest route	scramble

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 town of Zermatt and the Italian town 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.

Contents 1 Climbing 2 Prominence 3 Cultural references 4 Other 'Matterhorns' 5 See also 6 References 7 External links 8 Gallery

[edit] Climbing

The Matterhorn was the last mountain of the Alps to be climbed, not because of its technical difficulty, but because of the fear it inspired in early mountaineers. The first serious attempts began around 1858, mostly from the Italian side; but despite appearances, the southern routes are harder, and parties repeatedly found themselves on difficult slippery 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 thousands up the Hörnli route each summer. By modern standards, the climb is technical (AD Difficulty rating) but not difficult for skilled mountaineers. There are fixed ropes on parts of the route to help. Still, because of 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 F. and T. Schmid on 31 July–1 August 1931).

[edit] Prominence

Despite its prominence in a general 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.

[edit] Cultural references

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

The Matterhorn is pictured on the front cover of Construction Time Again, an album from the English alternative band Depeche Mode.

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 lead character Vincent Chase turns down.

A picture of the Matterhorn is featured on Goldfrapp's debut album, Felt Mountain.

[edit] Other 'Matterhorns'

Many other prominent mountains around the world are nicknamed the 'Matterhorn' of their respective countries or mountain ranges. Examples include Cnicht ('the Matterhorn of Wales'), Mount Assiniboine ('the Matterhorn of the Rockies'), Innerdalstårnet ('Norway's Matterhorn'), Machhapuchhare ('the Matterhorn of Nepal'), Shivling ('the Matterhorn of India'), Ama Dablam ('the Matterhorn of the Himalaya') and Mount Aspiring in New Zealand ('the Matterhorn of the South'). Matterhorn Peak (12,264') in California's Sierra Nevada range and Matterhorn Peak (13,590') in Colorado's San Juan Mountains are other notable summits with this eponym.

The 'Mini Matterhorn' is the unofficial name of a 75-cm piece of Martian rock immediately east-southeast of the Mars Pathfinder lander. [1]

Parascotopetl, the fictional 'Matterhorn of the Andes', appears in H. G. Wells's short story "The Country of the Blind" (1904).

[edit] See also

• The Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt
• List of mountains of the Alps

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Matterhorn

• Virtual ascent of the Hörnli Ridge with 360 degree panoramas
• Alpinist Magazine Mountain Profile - Issue 16
• Matterhorn Webcams
• Matterhorn on Summitpost
• PeakWare info on Matterhorn
• Matterhorn on 4000er.de
• Walt Disney and Zermatt
• Chronology of climbs - in German

[edit] Gallery

View from Riffelalp	Matterhorn - Sunrise	View from Gornergrad	East and north face
The Matterhorn reflected in The Riffelsee	The east and north faces viewed from Zermatt	South face viewed from Skigebiet Breuil-Cervinia	East and north face viewed from Rothorn
The Matterhorn and the Swiss town of Zermatt	The Matterhorn reflected in the Riffelsee again	Matterhorn Flyby (1/8)	Matterhorn Flyby (2/8)
Matterhorn Flyby (3/8)	Matterhorn Flyby (4/8)	Matterhorn Flyby (5/8)	Matterhorn Flyby (6/8)
Matterhorn Flyby (7/8)	Matterhorn Flyby (8/8)	Another Matterhorn flyby (1/1)