The Matterhorn is believed to be 50-60 million years old! According to geologists, it was formed when the African crashed into the European continental plate. This technically means that the Matterhorn is formed from African roc
2. The Matterhorn isn’t the highest mountain in Switzerland! It might be the most famous mountain but, it’s only the 10th highest within the Swiss Alps and the 12th highest peak in Western Europe. Standing 4’478 meters tall it’s one of the 48 Swiss peaks above 4000m.
3. The first ascent of the Matterhorn took place in July 1865. A group of seven people, led by Brit Edward Whymper, started the tour in Zermatt and successfully climbed to the top. Very unfortunately, four of them tragically died on the descent. It remains a mystery what exactly happened.
4. The group that started from Zermatt was not the only one that tried to reach the summit of the Matterhorn that day. There was another group that started from Italy but they had been 200m below the summit when the first successful ascent took place. The Italian climbers withdrew, but only three days later they reached the summit without any tragedy making it the first successful attempt from the Italian side over the Lion Ridge.
5. It took 6 more years until the first woman was able to successfully reach the peak of the Matterhorn in 1871. It was Lucy Walker, same as Edward Whymper who led the group that managed to be the first to reach the top, she was also British. She was also the first woman to summit the Eiger (1864).
6. The Matterhorn is considered to be one of the world’s most dangerous mountains. Since the first ascent in 1865, it’s estimated that over 500 people have died while climbing or descending the Matterhorn. These days, the danger especially comes from its popularity as overeager tourists without experience often try to climb it without a local guide.
The Matterhorn is believed to be 50-60 million years old! According to geologists, it was formed when the African crashed into the European continental plate. This technically means that the Matterhorn is formed from African roc
2. The Matterhorn isn’t the highest mountain in Switzerland! It might be the most famous mountain but, it’s only the 10th highest within the Swiss Alps and the 12th highest peak in Western Europe. Standing 4’478 meters tall it’s one of the 48 Swiss peaks above 4000m.
3. The first ascent of the Matterhorn took place in July 1865. A group of seven people, led by Brit Edward Whymper, started the tour in Zermatt and successfully climbed to the top. Very unfortunately, four of them tragically died on the descent. It remains a mystery what exactly happened.
4. The group that started from Zermatt was not the only one that tried to reach the summit of the Matterhorn that day. There was another group that started from Italy but they had been 200m below the summit when the first successful ascent took place. The Italian climbers withdrew, but only three days later they reached the summit without any tragedy making it the first successful attempt from the Italian side over the Lion Ridge.
5. It took 6 more years until the first woman was able to successfully reach the peak of the Matterhorn in 1871. It was Lucy Walker, same as Edward Whymper who led the group that managed to be the first to reach the top, she was also British. She was also the first woman to summit the Eiger (1864).
6. The Matterhorn is considered to be one of the world’s most dangerous mountains. Since the first ascent in 1865, it’s estimated that over 500 people have died while climbing or descending the Matterhorn. These days, the danger especially comes from its popularity as overeager tourists without experience often try to climb it without a local guide.
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