Gripped Magazine
Matterhorn Sees Winter Ascents, Including a Solo Climb
Rising 4,478 metres on the border of Switzerland and Italy, the Matterhorn was first climbed in 1865 by Edward Whymper and his team. While the mountain sees hundreds of summits in summer, winter ascents remain rare due to extreme cold and harsh conditions. Nevertheless, each winter a handful of climbers make the attempt, and recently the mountain saw summits from both a team and a soloist.
Matteo Della Bordella and Giacomo Mauri climbed the Gogna-Cerutti route, first ascended by Leo Cerutti and Alessandro Gogna in 1969, over two days at the start of March. Bordella said he approached the mountain with a focus on learning rather than achievement. “It’s about getting as much experience as possible climbing in cold, hostile places, in bad weather, with no fixed agenda,” he said. “Just learning something new, enjoying the climbing, testing myself, and building toward bigger plans and a path of personal exploration.”
Battling freezing temperatures, they climbed 800 metres to a cramped bivouac, only two pitches shy of the end of the difficult section. “The next morning, starting to climb at over 4,000 metres with a vicious wind cutting through us was brutal,” Bordella said on Planet Mountain. Eventually, they reached the summit cross, enjoying a brief late-day sun before descending the Hörnli Ridge. “If the rock is clean and you’re well layered up, even at -10°C you can climb properly in rock shoes with bare hands. Clean rock makes all the difference,” he added.
The first winter ascent of the Matterhorn was on March 16, 1882, by J.A. Carrel, J. Baptiste Carrel, and Louis Carrel with guide Vittorio Sella via the Lion Ridge. Other notable early winter ascents include the first Hörnli Ridge in 1911 and the first north face in 1962.
Meanwhile, Giuseppe Vidoni completed a solo ascent of the south face. “The idea had been rattling around in my head for some time,” he said. With favourable weather, he left Cervinia at 6 a.m. and began climbing at 8:30 a.m. The early sections were slow, with snow and a stubborn haulbag forcing constant adjustments, but he eventually reached steeper terrain where progress became smoother. His first bivouac was on a tiny ledge, barely large enough to lie down. “The night was tough,” he said. “I hardly slept, partly because it was so uncomfortable, partly because of the cold. At one point my feet were freezing, so I even put my gloves on them to try and warm them up.”
The following day, Vidoni continued upward, navigating a mix of solid and loose rock. By late afternoon, he reached his planned bivy, where he fixed the next two pitches before settling in for a proper rest. On the final day, he reached the Furggen Ridge and, ultimately, the summit.
“The most special thing about this climb was the feeling that, deep down, I knew I was ready,” he said. “Physically and technically, I felt up to it. The hardest part, really, was the mental side, overcoming the doubts and finding the courage to set off. Once I’d taken that step, everything felt more natural and the climb almost seemed to flow by itself.”
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