The Matterhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. 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. 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 northeast; 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, which has been a trade route since the Roman Era.
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
The Breithorn is a mountain range of the Pennine Alps with its highest peak of the same name, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It lies on the main chain of the Alps, approximately halfway between the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa and east of the Theodul Pass. Most of the massif is glaciated and includes several subsidiary peaks, all located east of the main summit: the Central Breithorn, the western Breithorn Twin, the Gendarm and the Roccia Nera. The main summit is sometimes distinguished by the name Western Breithorn. The nearest settlements are Zermatt (Valais) and St-Jacques.
The Matter Valley is located in southwestern Switzerland, south of the Rhone valley in the canton of Valais. The village of Zermatt is the most important settlement of the valley, which is surrounded by many four-thousanders, including the Matterhorn.
The Klein Matterhorn is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At 3,883 metres (12,740 ft) above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway or gondola lift, as well as by any other means of transport. The Klein Matterhorn is part of the Breithorn massif and overlooks on its south side the almost equally high flat glacier named Breithorn Plateau, just north of the international border with Italy. The name "Klein Matterhorn" is a reference to its much larger neighbour, the Matterhorn, which lies 7 km (4.3 mi) away across the Theodul Pass.
The Gornergrat Railway is a mountain rack railway, located in the Swiss canton of Valais. It links the resort village of Zermatt, situated at 1,604 m (5,262 ft) above mean sea level, to the summit of the Gornergrat. The Gornergrat railway station is situated at an altitude of 3,089 m (10,135 ft), which makes the Gornergrat Railway the second highest railway in Europe after the Jungfrau, and the highest open-air railway of the continent. The line opened in 1898, and was the first electric rack railway to be built in Switzerland. The Gornergrat is a starting point for many hikes, as it lies surrounded by 29 peaks rising above 4,000 m (13,123 ft) in the Alps and several glaciers, including the Gorner Glacier. At the end of the line on Gornergrat, the Matterhorn is visible on a clear day. It is also a popular skiing area.
The Matterhorn is a mountain of the Alps.
The Ober Gabelhorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland, located between Zermatt and Zinal.
The Gornergrat is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south-east of Zermatt in Switzerland. It can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway (GGB), the highest open-air railway in Europe. Between the Gornergrat railway station and the summit is the Kulm Hotel. In the late 1960s two astronomical observatories were installed in the two towers of the Kulmhotel Gornergrat. The project “Stellarium Gornergrat” is hosted in the Gornergrat South Observatory.
The Solvay Hut or Solvay Bivouac is a mountain hut located on the north-eastern ridge of the Matterhorn, near Zermatt in the canton of Valais. At 4,003 metres (13,133 ft) it is the highest mountain hut owned by the Swiss Alpine Club, but can be used only in case of emergency. The Hörnli Hut, lying 700 meters below on the same ridge, is the starting point of the normal route to the summit.
The Schönbiel Hut is a mountain hut located north of the Matterhorn. It is situated at 2,694 metres (8,839 ft) above sea level, north of the Zmutt Glacier, a few kilometers west of the town of Zermatt in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The actual hut was built by the Swiss Alpine Club in 1955, after the demolition of an older hut, built in 1909.
The Monte Rosa is a hotel, located in the main street of Zermatt. It was frequented by the members of the Alpine Club, including Edward Whymper who made the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. The hotel is named after the highest mountain near Zermatt, Monte Rosa.
The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides, Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, on 14 July 1865. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz were killed on the descent when Hadow slipped and pulled the other three with him down the north face. Whymper and the Taugwalder guides, who survived, were later accused of having cut the rope below to ensure that they were not dragged down with the others, but the subsequent inquiry found no evidence of this and they were acquitted.
Andreas Steindl is a Swiss mountain climber, ski mountaineer and mountain guide.
Zum See is a hamlet in the canton of Valais. It is located above Zermatt at a height of 1,766 metres (5,794 ft), between the rivers Zmuttbach and Gornera, at the foot the Matterhorn. The hamlet includes a chapel and a gastronomic restaurant.
The Theodul Glacier is a glacier of the Alps, located south of Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It lies on the Swiss side of the Pennine Alps, although its upper basin touches the Italian region of the Aosta Valley. The glacier descends from the west side of the Breithorn and splits into two diverging branches above Gandegg: the Upper Theodul Glacier, spilling on a high plateau near Trockener Steg, together with the Furgg Glacier, and the Lower Theodul Glacier, reaching a height of about 2,500 metres (8,202 ft) above the Gorner Glacier. Both branches are part of the Rhone basin, through the rivers Gornera, Mattervispa, and Vispa. Slightly above the glacier splitting is the Theodul Pass, crossing the border between Switzerland and Italy, and connecting Zermatt to Breuil-Cervinia. On the west, the Theodul Glacier is overlooked by the Matterhorn.
