Skip to content

Cookies 🍪

This site uses cookies that need consent.

Learn more

Zur Powderguide-Startseite Zur Powderguide-Startseite
adventure & travel

Matterhorn east flank

Mel Presslaber about a skiing experience on the Matterhorn

by Melissa Presslaber 05/28/2016
The Matterhorn. A mountain steeped in history. The symbol of Switzerland. For me personally, it is probably one of the most beautiful mountains in the Alps. It is definitely the most famous mountain, because it even comes in chocolate form! For years, the Horu, as the locals call it, has exerted a strong attraction on me. Skiing down the east face of the Matterhorn has long been on my ski to-do list. For various reasons, it had never worked out so far...

This winter, I've already been there twice with Nadine Wallner, one of my favorite mountain partners, to ski the 45-degree steep east face, but both times it failed due to the lack of snow. Climbing seemed impossible until the end of April. For the film "Between" by Shades of Winter, the Matterhorn was to appear on the big screen, with a new time slot scheduled for the end of May... But as so often in life, everything turns out differently.

As luck would have it, I was in Chamonix with Lorraine Huber at the beginning of May and we met Giulia Monego (one of the best ski mountaineers in the Alps) and Liv Sansoz (French climber). Roberto Rossi, a mountain guide from the Aosta Valley and an acquaintance of Giulia and Lori, has wanted to climb the Matterhorn for 15 (!) years. Now was the right time. He had asked the two girls a few days ago if they would accompany him. However, he would like to climb from the Italian side. As the lifts there are no longer in operation, I know the Swiss ascent up to the Hörnlihütte, the lifts are still running there and we can spend the night in the cozy winter room of the Hörnlihütte, we don't want to make it unnecessarily difficult and choose the Swiss side, while Roberto starts from Italy.

On 4 May, we drive from Chamonix to Zermatt. I keep my expectations low to avoid another disappointment. We take a leisurely train ride from Täsch to Zermatt in the early morning. We continue by bus to the Matterhorn Railway. Ascent with the gondola. At the Trockener Steg station, we can see the Matterhorn from the front. And we want to go up and down there? It looks quite impressive from this perspective. But the snow conditions look promising.

In order to save a few more meters in altitude, I try to sneak past the turnstile of the drag lift, but the lift man notices us and comes out of his little lift house. I don't get scolded, but he charges me 8 francs for the ride. In the end, only Lori has the exact amount of change for him, Giulia pays 5 francs, Liv 7.50, I dig another 6 francs out of my pocket. Halfway up, we get off and cross the Furg and Theodul glaciers in front of the Matterhorn.

We reach the 3260m high Hörnlihütte, dry our socks in the sun and air out our liners. With the Matterhorn in view, we melt snow and make dinner.

Giulia is on the phone to Roberto. He has climbed up from the Italian side and is now at Bivaco Bossi with two other Italians. They are planning to climb the east face today and spend the night in the Solvay hut. Not an option for us. Around 5 p.m. we can watch the three men as they ascent and make good progress. The conditions look good...

We pack our backpacks and go to bed at around 8pm. It's still light outside and of course I can't fall asleep straight away. My head is also buzzing. I must have drunk too little again. The alarm clock rings at 3.30 am. Wow, I've only just fallen asleep! Get up, have breakfast, get ready and off I go. At this time of day, I'm still mostly working remotely, but I'm working.

At 4.15 am, we leave the winter room, ski down a short section, skin up and climb up to a large rock, where we deposit any superfluous equipment. Crampons on and off we go. Giulia leads the way, Liv follows, then Lori and finally Mel. We belay across the bergschrund in our respective rope teams, then we continue without ropes. We make good progress.

I'm grateful that Giulia and Liv take over the track work. The actual plan - to climb up to the shoulder at 4,200 m via a gully - is abandoned as there is not enough snow. A descent is out of the question here. We cross towards the Solvayhütte and climb up as far as possible. The sunrise on the wall is beautiful. The Matterhorn shines down on us and the view towards Italy is simply sensational. We have to soak up these moments. After all, it's the many individual moments in our lives that make our lives so worth living!

It's 8.15 am when Roberto and the two other Italians enter the east face. I don't quite understand why they don't wait a little longer, because the snow conditions are still hard. The descent is probably not fun yet. Besides, Lori and I are still on the ascent and they loosen some snow from the wall as they go, which slides onto us. Not exactly pleasant. Here's their video, which they put online days later.

At an altitude of 4050m, Giulia prepares a belay below a rock. Liv is already there, Lori and I follow a little later. We get ready for the descent. Giulia asks the group who wants to go first. Of course she should go first, after all, she's done all the trail work!

The first swing is a little hesitant, but she quickly finds her "flow" and strings one swing after the other in a controlled manner. I follow her. I feel good. I'm focused. Everything is fine. It's Liv's first "steep hike experience", so to speak, and then the Matterhorn. But as a former climbing pro and base jumper, that's no problem for her. After all, she's also a great skier! We motivate her a little and then it works out perfectly! Lori follows Liv. She swings down the wall in a controlled manner. We keep stopping to take photos and film each other. We harmonize perfectly as a team and it's fun to share this unique experience with the girls.

The snow conditions are a little changeable, sometimes you come across a few hidden rocks just below the snow surface, you have to stay focused.

After the bergschrund, a cry of joy from all of us: yes! we've skied the Matterhorn! At that point, I don't really realize it yet. We collect the equipment we've left behind, ride together to Furi, where our thighs are really burning and we treat ourselves to some well-deserved rösti and a beer on the sun terrace of a restaurant. What a day! We were simply in the right place at the right time! Thanks girls, it was a great pleasure!

Many thanks to the guys from Whiteroom Productions and especially to Joi, who edited this video from our helmet camera footage. A great memory of the day!

Photo gallery

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

Show original (German)

Comments