Zermatt

The First Ascent of the Matterhorn Killed Four of the Seven Climbers – and the Broken Rope Is Still On Display in Zermatt

On July 14, 1865, Edward Whymper’s team reached the Matterhorn’s summit first. On the descent, a rope broke and four climbers fell 1,200 metres to their deaths. The knotted rope is displayed in the Matterhorn Museum in the village, and the graves of those who died are in the churchyard of St Mauritius on the main street. Zermatt has always lived at close quarters with serious risk, and that history saturates the atmosphere of a place that exists entirely because of one mountain.

The Matterhorn at 4,478 metres is not the highest peak in the Alps – Mont Blanc is – but it is the most visually dramatic: a near-perfect pyramid of dark gneiss rising almost vertically from its glacier base. The four faces catch different hours of light, and the mountain looks different from every direction. Zermatt has organised itself entirely around that fact. The streets are car-free by law. No combustion engines except service vehicles. You arrive by train from Tasch, the end of the public road 5 kilometres downhill. The absence of traffic means you can hear mountain streams, and on certain still mornings, the distant sound of ice moving on the Gorner Glacier.

Getting Up

The Gornergrat Bahn, opened in 1898, climbs 1,469 metres in 33 minutes from the village (1,608m) to Gornergrat (3,089m). At the top, 29 four-thousand-metre peaks are visible simultaneously including Monte Rosa, the Lyskamm, and the Matterhorn itself rising from the other side. Take the earliest train in summer for sunrise light on the Matterhorn’s east face.

Since July 2023, the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing connects Zermatt to Breuil-Cervinia in Italy by cable car: eight gondola and cable car stages crossing the border at nearly 3,500 metres, the highest border crossing in the Alps. The cabins were designed by Pininfarina with glass floors showing the glacier below. Return tickets run CHF 190 to 250 depending on season. The crossing makes a day trip to Cervinia for Italian food and a south-face view of the Matterhorn entirely practical – you see the same mountain from a completely different angle.

The Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car reaches 3,883 metres, the highest cable car station in Europe, with a glacier palace cut into the ice.

Hiking

The 5-Seenweg (Five Lakes Walk) from Blauherd is 9 kilometres linking five alpine lakes with constant Matterhorn views. The Riffelsee tarn at Rotenboden on the Gornergrat railway has the classic still-water reflection of the Matterhorn in calm morning conditions – arrive early before wind disturbs the surface.

The Matterhorn Glacier Trail runs 6 kilometres along the mountain’s base from Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee with interpretive panels on glaciology. The glacier has retreated measurably in recent decades and the panels acknowledge this directly, which is more honest than most ski resorts manage.

Eating

Valaisian cuisine: fondue with Gruyere and Vacherin Fribourgeois. Raclette – a half-wheel scraped melted over boiled potatoes with cornichons. Alpermagronen (alpine macaroni with potatoes, cream, cheese, and bacon, served alongside apple puree) is the mountain hut staple and more satisfying than its description suggests. Chez Vrony above Findeln and Fluhalp on the Sunnegga side are mountain hut restaurants with glacier views that justify the cost.

Practical Notes

Park at Tasch; the shuttle train runs every 20 minutes. From Zurich by Swiss Rail via Visp takes about three hours. The village sits at 1,608 metres: altitude effects are noticeable if you ascend quickly to 3,000-plus-metre stations. Book accommodation 6 to 12 months ahead for Christmas-New Year and peak ski season. Early June and late September give excellent weather odds with lower prices.