The Matterhorn - m. 4,478

The Matterhorn (4,478 meters), called Mont Cervin in French and Monte Cervino in Italian, is considered one of the most famous mountains in the Alps and also one of the most familiar due to its special and accentuated pyramid shape.

Going up the Valtournenche valley you already begin to see the Matterhorn from Antey-Saint-André.

It is located in the Central Alps, on the border between Italy and Switzerland, in the Pennine Alps range where it towers over the other peaks.
it has four faces which face the four compass points: the north face overlooks Zermatt in Switzerland, the west face, the Gorner glacier, the south face towers over Breuil-Cervinia in Italy and the east faces Dent d’Hérens.

After fifteen attempts on the Italian side over the the Lion ridge and almost as many on the Swiss Hornly ridge, on July 14, 1865, Whymper, Hudson, Douglas and Hadow, with Croz and the two Taugwalders as guides, were the first to set foot on the summit.
A few days later, an entirely Italian rope team, led by Jean-Antoine Carrel, climbed it from the Italian side.

Two parties ascended the difficult and treacherous east face in 1932: Luigi Carrel with Antonio Gaspard and Enzo Benedetti, followed by Maurizio Bich, Luciano Carrel and Giuseppe Mazzotti.
The first ascent on the Matterhorn’s west face was completed in 1962 by the Valtournenche guides Giovanni Ottin and Renato Daguin.

In 1953, Walter Bonatti and Roberto Bignami completed the first winter ascent on the Furggen ridge and, three years later, Bonatti completed the first solo ascent on the Matterhorn’s north face.

On September 11, 1985, Marco Barmasse climbed the Matterhorn’s four ridges solo in 15 hours: ascending Furggen, descending Hornly, ascending Zmutt and descending Lion.

Even today expert mountaineers from all over the world try their hand at climbing the Matterhorn.

To admire the Matterhorn up close, it is possible to go up with the Breuil-Cervinia lifts to Plateau Rosa, a winter and summer ski paradise.
The cable car is an experience not to be missed even for those who do not ski and want to enjoy the view, the clear sky and the crisp air.