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The Matterhorn – A Mountain Called Home
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- The Matterhorn – A Mountain Called Home
The Matterhorn – A Mountain Called Home
MatterhornUncategorized March 19, 2020The Matterhorn, to the residents of Antey Saint André, is our home mountain. It accompanies and follows us throughout every day of our lives. When we take a break from working the fields, we look up and enjoy this spectacular view. Every time one drives around the curve at Grand Moulin it appears majestically, nestled like a diamond in the middle of the valley.
Its unique pyramid shape has made it famous worldwide and each year thousands of people from all continents come to our Cervino Valley and the Matterhorn to try to reach its 4478m summit.
The history of classic mountaineering reached its apex in the second half of the 19th century, when wealthy English explorers were the protagonists of our yet unexplored mountains. The great peaks of over 4000m were all conquered and Mount Cervino was ascended for the first time in 1865, a full 79 years after Mont Blanc.
Local residents of the time were very reluctant to approach the roughness of the mountain, as life in the villages and alpine pastures was already hard and difficult enough, so the mountain tops were synonymous with a pointless risk. A small accident like a twisted ankle or, worse still, a fracture, could cost you your life or cause permanent disability.
Due to the requirements of their “professions”, chamois goat and ibex poachers and illegal smugglers of goods (tabacco, salt, sugar, etc.) were the only ones who regularly surpassed 3000m, the minimum altitude where wild animals would “hide” and where several hills and passes with less border patrol by guards could be found.
Edward Whymper, upon advice from the curate of Valtournenche, turned specifically to these characters to help accompany him on his first ascent attempts to reach Gran Becca.
One might say that the mountain guide profession was born in those years, when the ability and knowledge of these high-altitude men was made available to foreign adventurers who dreamed of conquering our mountains, as an adventurous challenge to discover the unexplored.
A Carrel, along with Abbé Gorret and other “Votornéns”, were the first locals to want to climb their home mountain. Carrel stopped accompanying Whymper during his various attempts and, along with the patriotic push of the newborn Italian mountaineering club, secretly planned a roped ascent of exclusively Val d’Aosta residents. When the English realized what was going on, they went to Zermatt in search of Swiss guides and a different ascent route. This choice was successful for Edward Whymper, as the Swiss route proved less arduous than the Italian one and on July 14th, 1865 they reached the summit, beating the Italian team by three days.
Nowadays the Matterhorn ascent is much safer and faster than it was back then, but it still provides the same feelings of adventure and exploration experienced by those first historic alpinists.
Ascending by the normal Italian route along the Lion’s crest is not only alpinism, but also a journey into the past and into the history of a place where every place has a name and an anecdote, and the signs and testimonials left by Edward Whymper and J. A Carrel can still be seen.
But what skills are required to reach the summit of the Matterhorn?
When accompanied by a mountain guide from Cervino everything is much easier. All matters concerning the choice of equipment, ascent safety, choosing the correct route and the client’s comfort, are left to the competency of a mountain professional.
In Carrel Hut there is a special area reserved for Cervino guides and their clients, where it is possible to find water, food and a comfortable bed to rest on…a significant improvement from the common area…
Normally the ascent takes two days: the first day you ascend from Oriondé refuge to Carrel Hut, located at approximately 3800 m. altitude. This first leg can be completed in around 3-4 hours and already presents some mountaineering difficulties which require ropes in the spot known as “Sasso dello zucchero”.
Once you’ve reached the hut, the guide prepares some nice warm tea, and you can rest and admire one of the best panoramas in the Alps.
After a pleasurable dinner, the alarm is set for around 4 am and right after breakfast, using the light from a head torch, you set out towards the summit, which lies around 3-4 hours ahead. The first obstacle, called the “wakeup rope”, puts your mountaineering arms immediately to the test, as you slowly near the peak, alternating between easier walkable portions and more challenging parts where the guide goes first and fastens the ropes above to secure the client.
You will take another nice break at Pic Tyndall, before heading off to the famous Scala Jordan, after which you’re nearly there.
The excitement of reaching the summit is unique every time, even to a guide, so imagine the feeling of someone who is reaching it for the first time.
All of a sudden you reach the apex of the pyramid and there is no more ice or rock left to climb. Everything lies below your feet. On one side is Switzerland, on the other, our beautiful Valtournenche. Touching the cross on the peak is a unique feeling, a moment that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
At this point, you are half-way done and the goal is to reach the village to toast to a very important day.
Once you have been up to the top, admiring the Matterhorn will take on a whole new meaning.
You have to try for yourself to believe it…
Jules Pession Cervino Mountain Guide