The Matterhorn // The Most Recognizable Mountain in the World

When I was young some of the first mountains I heard about were Everest, K2, and the Matterhorn. I think I recognized the Matterhorn before I knew the name of most my local mountains. I only recently looked into climbing the Matterhorn. Up until a few years ago I thought it’s pointy summit was unobtainable. Crowds, costs and technical skills made the peak seem out of reach. I had heard that long lines up the Hörnli Route could turn a day out into a horrible 20 hour nightmare. People I spoke with who had climbed it claimed that route finding after the Hörnlihütte was impossible without a guide. A guide in Zermatt lectured me with a strong parental tone about the dangers of climbing it’s 4,000ft razor ridge with even a dusting of snow. All these things can be true but in the back of my mind I kept replaying the video I saw of Killian running down from its summit in shorts. So I rolled the dice for a 3rd time and convinced Chase and Aaron to go out there and give it a shot. It was the driest, hott