Catalin Daniel Pobega

Schmid route, Matterhorn (TD,V,4+,M5,1280m)

Oct 13

catalin pobegaClimbing in Alps cervin, matterhorn, Matterhorn N face, Schmid route 2 Comments

Topo for Schmid route, Matterhorn N face: click here, here and here.

After finding out the route was in excellent condition, the idea of climbing it was discussed at Chamonix’s swimming pool. As we were 4 people, we decided to climb in two teams: Mihnea Radulescu & Pascal/Sorin Nichiforiuc & myself.

So the next day, 1st October 2014, 3 Romanians and one French are happily walking down the streets of Zermatt gazing at the beautiful Mont Cervin.

Logistic: cable car from Zermatt to Schwartzsee Paradise station (2583m), than a hike to refuge Hornli (3260 m) – which at the moment is closed for maintenance.

Our bivy spot at the base of Matterhorn had a nice panoramic view towards SE, with Monterosa, Klein Matterhorn and the ski slopes that were opened at this time of year. There were footprints marking the start of our route and the traverse on the glacier, so we tried to memorize the line, to make it easier for the night start.

We left our bivy at 3.30 am. The climb was nice, not hard in particular, but long. A lots of traversing make it quite easy to get lost, so you have to pay attention all the time. The last 200 m to exit in Zmutt ridge are easy but difficult to protect.

At 7:00 pm we were exiting in Zmutt ridge and then summited Matterhorn (4478m) at 7:43 pm. The descent via Hörnli ridge took us longer than we expected, we got to Solvay hut at 1 am and finally got a good sleep.

Below you will find some photos from our climb. I am grateful that I could share this experience with Mihnea, Pascal and finally, special thanks goes to Sorin Nichiforiuc, who trusted & allowed me to be his partner for this commitment climb. It meant a lot to me.

Equipment: 2 half ropes (50 m), 9 ice screws (short ones are very useful), 1 set of cams (size 00 – 1).

More photos from our climb you may find here.