Matterhorn

The Matterhorn: 500 Deaths and Still the Most Beautiful Mountain in the Alps

The Matterhorn has killed more climbers than any other peak in the Alps – over 500 since the first ascent in 1865. It averages about ten fatalities per year. The mountain is not exceptionally technical by alpine standards; experienced alpinists climb it via the Hornli Ridge in good conditions. What kills people is the combination of crowds (the Hornli Ridge can have 150 climbers on it on a busy summer day), loose rock dislodged by those above, rapidly changing weather, and the consistent underestimation of what 4,478 metres actually requires in terms of acclimatisation and technical preparation.

This is relevant context because it establishes the mountain’s character: visually extraordinary, physically unforgiving. The view of it from Zermatt on a clear morning – the near-perfect pyramid rising from the village church spires, catching first light on its east face before dawn has arrived in the valley – is one of the more memorable things available in the Alps without any effort at all.

Getting to Zermatt

Zermatt is car-free. Leave your vehicle at Tasch, 5 kilometres north, and take the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn shuttle (runs every 20 minutes, about 8 CHF per person, 12 minutes). Arriving by Swiss Rail from Brig or Visp gives a direct train without requiring parking. The village is walkable; the main street, Bahnhofstrasse, has most hotels, restaurants, and gear shops within 5 minutes of the station. Electric taxis handle luggage.

The Views

The Gornergratsociety railway ascends to 3,089 metres in about 33 minutes from Zermatt station – the highest open-air cog railway in Europe. At the summit station, 29 four-thousand-metre peaks are visible simultaneously, including the Matterhorn in profile, the Dufourspitze (Switzerland’s highest at 4,634 metres), and the Gorner Glacier below. Clear mornings, particularly in June and early July before summer haze builds, give the best results. The railway costs around 45 CHF return and is included in the Swiss Travel Pass.

The Klein Matterhorn (Matterhorn Glacier Paradise) is reached by cable car to 3,883 metres, the highest cable car station in Europe. An Ice Palace carved into the glacier at depth is illuminated and walkable; the exterior short walk (crampons advised) gives views of the Matterhorn’s Italian south face, which most visitors never see. Journey around 45 minutes each way from Zermatt, approximately 100 CHF.

Hiking

The Five Lakes Walk circles above the village for 3 to 4 hours, passing five mountain lakes that each reflect the Matterhorn at different angles and in different light. It is consistently described as one of the most famous Alpine day walks. Access the start at Blauherd by the Sunnegga cable car. The Matterhorn Glacier Trail runs 6 kilometres from Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee along the foot of the mountain with interpretive information about the glacier’s recession over recent decades – the kind of science that becomes immediately comprehensible when you see the moraine debris where ice was thirty years ago.

Food

Chez Vrony at 2,000 metres on the Findeln ski run is the benchmark mountain restaurant in Zermatt: raclette, tartiflette, and Valais-influenced cooking with direct Matterhorn views. Book ahead in peak season. In the village, Pinte Schneggen does reliable fondue at prices that are reasonable for Zermatt (still Switzerland). The self-service restaurants inside cable car stations are functional and cost roughly half the sit-down rate.

Practical Notes

The Zermatt Peak Pass covers all cable cars and mountain railways and pays for itself quickly. Swiss Travel Pass covers the approach train from Tasch but not the cable cars. Altitude: Klein Matterhorn is nearly 4,000 metres; drink water and go slowly on day one. Temperature at the high-altitude stations is well below zero year-round, including midsummer. Bring a proper warm layer regardless of what the valley temperature suggests.