Pennine Alps
Other Views of Hörnligrat
 Hörnligrat is the right skyline. |
 Hörnligrat is on the right between light and shadow. |
 Hörnligrat is the left skyline. |
Approach / Overnight
Berghaus & Schwarzee from Hörnligrat.
Most climbers will probably opt to take the lifts from Zermatt to Schwarzsee and follow the well marked and maintained trail from there to the hut / hotel. From Schwarzsee to the hut is about 700 meters of vertical and takes about two hours. If one chooses to climb from Zermatt, add another 950 meters and 3 hours to the time.
Some groups camp or bivouac in the area near the hut or very low on the route.
Beghaus Matterhorn
The hut is operated in association with the Berghaus Matterhorn (Formerly Hotel Belvedere).
Vital information:
Berghaus Matterhorn / Hörnlihütte
Kurt Lauber
CH-3920 Zermatt
während den geöffneten Monaten Juli bis September
Telefon +41 27 967 22 64
Fax +41 27 967 54 75
Telefon +41 27 967 27 69 (Hörnlihütte)
während den geschlossenen Monaten Oktober bis Juni
Telefon +41 27 967 54 68
Route Description
Pitch 1 Normally done by headlamp
It is about 1,200 vertical meters with an estimated 1,700 meters of climbing from the Hörnli Hut to the summit. Except for the Moseley Slabs, which are III-, most of the climbing is II with some I. A certain amount of variation is possible, but generally when one gets off the main line a great deal of loose rock is encountered. There is enough traffic up and down that getting too far off route should not be an issue, but it does happen especially on the lower part of the route where some fairly long traverses are made on to the east face.
From the Hörnli Hut one walks horizontally to the first step on the ridge. This is climbed upwards to the left, usually with a fixed rope or chain. From this step a traverse is made left to a small shoulder which is climbed a short ways before traversing left again on to the east face to the second couloir which is climbed for about 25 meters. Then on to the rib to the left, which is followed back to the ridge crest. The ridge crest is followed for about 100 meters before another detour on to the east face via a ledge in yellowish colored rock. From the end of the ledge, one climbs back to the ridge under a large tower where the remains of an old hut are located.
From the rock tower, another swing onto the east face is made to a point more or less directly below the Solvay Hut. One then climbs steepening rock to the base of the famous Moseley Slab, which leads almost directly on to the "balcony" of the Solvay Hut.
From the Solvay Hut, move left and climb the Upper Moseley Slab directly back to the ridge crest, which is then followed closely (turning any difficulties to the left) to the top of the Shoulder and the fixed ropes.
Climb the fixed ropes or very near them and climb the final steep slopes from the top of the ropes to the summit.
ESSENTIAL GEAR
Ice axe, crampons, rope, and several slings & carabiners. A helmet is highly recommended.
Route Photos
 The first pitch. |
 On the East Face at first light. |
 Near the lower red tower. |
 On East Face below Solvay Hut. |
 Lower Moseley Slab. |
 Just below the shoulder. |
 In the fixed ropes. |
 Just below the summit. |
 View down the route from near the summit. |
 Swiss summit. |
 Italian summit. |
Solvay Hut
Solvay Hut (1985)
The Solvay Hut is an emergency shelter located directly on the Hörnligrat at 4,003 meters (about 13,130 feet). It is described as accommodating 10 persons, but will hold more. It is supposed to be used only in true emergencies, but I suspect that it is very frequently misused. (SP Solvay Hut Page)
An emergency shelter was first suggested in the late 1800s because of the great number of accidents occurring on the mountain. A primitive cable car system was built to the site and construction was finally started in August of 1915. It took just five days to complete the original shelter which was named for the wealthy Belgian industrialist Ernest Solvay who financed the project.
The hut was rebuilt in 1966.
External Links
A very nice topo of the route - PDF File:Hörnligrat topo
Additions and Corrections
[ Post an Addition or Correction ]
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| Brian Jenkins | picture topo | |
Hasn't voted | The picture topo link at the bottom is not working (or at least didn't for me). | |
| Posted Jan 22, 2012 7:27 pm | ||
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| Fred Spicker | Re: picture topo | |
Hasn't voted | The site was taken down - correction made. Thanks for the heads up. | |
| Posted Jan 22, 2012 10:56 pm | ||
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| Brian Jenkins | Re: picture topo | |
Hasn't voted | No problem. Hoping to do that route within the next few years. Like your page on it a lot. I did find a pretty cool site here if you are interested: Bergsteigen. | |
| Posted Jan 23, 2012 2:33 pm | ||
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| Fred Spicker | Re: picture topo | |
Hasn't voted | A very nice page - I added it to the route page to replace the one that was taken down. I see two more places of fixed ropes than when I did the route - when I was there, there were only ropes on the initial pitch and the stretch above the shoulder. Thanks much. Fred | |
| Posted Jan 23, 2012 5:04 pm | ||
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