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, hottest summer on record in parts of Europe but of course the week before our departure it rained and snowed heavily across Italy and Switzerland. We were certain that once again this summit would be out of reach but decided to give it a go anyway. Our hopes were bolstered by a video posted by Amateur fan @adventurestothemax who climbed the Matterhorn 2 weeks before our arrival in conditions we hoped would be similar.
I mention in the video choices that we made that worked out FOR US. I was referring to the Decision to start late in the morning and to not put on our crampons until further up the mountain. When we got to Zermatt at 12:30am we debated starting late or waiting until the following morning (we even went as far as to get a reservation at the Hornlihut the following day). In the end we decided to start late. Our thinking was that starting late would give the ice time to thaw since the forecast called for warm conditions and sun. We also thought starting late would allow those who started early to clear off the summit and technical sections by the time we arrived at that point. For the most part both those predictions came true and we only encountered about an hour to an hour and a half of delay due to crowding on the route. The snow and ice was relatively soft until 14,000ft and that meant we could go crampon free for most the mountain. Being crampon free resulted in a faster pace. In the end these were decisions that worked well FOR US and it made for an awesome day. For some these choices could result in death or an expensive rescue.
Again neither mediocre nor amateur
I firmly believe there has never been a better time in history to be a wannabe mountaineer stuck behind a computer doing a day job. Just between MA and the Fifty, the quality of content coming out on a weekly basis is unreal! Thanks for giving us computer dwellers something to look forward to every other week and giving us hope that we can do it ourselves one day!
Awesome, You Guys!
Your collective calm in the obvious ‘spicy’ areas continues to blow my mind. 👊🏻
As someone who both loves being in the mountains, but has a fear of shear drops, I'm in awe of you guys just WALKING up the Matterhorn. Thanks so much for the video, you guys are amazing!
Not only doing these adventures...but also filming and narrating the entire experience...Thanks for the constant inspiration guys!
Thanks for taking us along on your adventures. You guys go places that I would never be able. What an amazing accomplishment. You guys are the best!
For a group of people who continuously completes insane and awesome challenges, seeing the pure stoke from everyone is heartwarming and inspiring. Way to go and thank you for sharing all the adventures (and especially the misadventures!)
I'll never have the guts to do what you guys do, but I love watching you guys crush these peaks. Your videos have given me the motivation to speed up my hikes to a point where I can do my version of trail running. The motivation shows me that with a lot of effort I will be able to do a small percentage of what you can do. Keep at it and stay safe
Congrats on making the Matterhorn! Some info for all viewers of this clip - you were actually doing more or less free climbing on the wall and this is the reason why you managed to do it fast. It is more common to do a an alipine belaying style on such climbs -> its much more safer. I would consider your climbing style rather little risky and not suitable for beginners/complete amateurs. Just FYI
Wow! I literally felt like I was there with you! Never had that experience before! Love ALL your videos but this was definitely something special and that's on you guys! Thank you so much!! ❤️
Wow, you're last 2 videos have been amazing. Thank you so much for sharing them. You are inspiring to this old wannabe. While my goals may not be as big as the Matterhorne, you inspire me to continue striving towards completing them and setting new ones.
Wow! Stunning footage, I've skied in Zermatt many times, and always wanted to see what the great Matterhorn looked like from a climbers point of view , well this has done it, absolutely awesome guys thanks !
So psyched for y'all! Thanks for the awesome vid!
I respect how you got up there so quickly and agile. But for me it's a double sided sword to go up there without using ropes once. Not many people do that and that's for a reason. You guys might be certainly good and experienced enough, but a small disclaimer at the end wouldn't be a bad thing so people don't underestimate such a dangerous mountain. But your channel is godlike nonetheless. 🙏
My favorite part of this channel is the commentary. Thank you for showing us the awesome views and explaining things along the way!
🎉 congrats on this summit! Danny, we chatted in 2020 about camera/video equipment while I was preparing for my Matterhorn summit. But seeing how you captured this glorious climb, it’s 1000x better than what I got! I’ll be sure to show people THIS video next time I’m asked what climbing the Matterhorn feels like. Cheers and stay well!
What an incredible achievement and video. Congratulations to y’all. Much respect for taking us along with you 🤘
Amazing you guys are so light on your feet and seemingly fearless, well done.
Awesome achievement guys, so iconic...congrats...You all make it look so easy!