Matterhorn via Lion Ridge
Peak of Matterhorn / Monte Cervino is undeniably a dream target for every accomplished alpinist thanks to its nearly perfect pyramidal shape and the legend accompanying its first ascent. Because of that mentioned pyramid shape there are four ridges that can be used to get to the top. Hörnli ridge , running from the Swiss side is considered to be the 'normal' route mostly due to the fact it is the easiest one and Matterhorn looks best when approached using it. That said it is not without some major drawbacks which would include some of the following:
Overcrowding of the ridge - leads to traffic jams and slows down ascent/descent.
More commercial climbers with guides - decreases the pleasure of the climb because guides have a priority on leaving the Hörnli mountain hut (in theory you can't leave the place before them in order to not stress their clients! ) and they sometimes behave like assholes on the way.
Rock is a bit brittle - combining two above-mentioned we have a bigger chance to hit/get hit with a rock.Orientation is a bit more problematic - although on a ridge there are said to be variants in places that will make you lose time or confidence when ending up in greater difficulties.
Logistic overhead - you can't leave for Hörnli mountain hut leaving your car in Zermatt since cars are forbidden in there, you need to take a train from Täsch to get Zermatt first.
Costs - overnight stay at Hörnli hut costs 150 CHF compared to 90 EUR on Italian side (2025) and you don't even have warm water included. Add the cost of train and parking and get a nice sum. This might change a bit once Carrel hut renovation is completed as it won't be an unattended bivouac anymore and the prices are expected to rise.
Anyway, these were the reasons I wasn't really keen on venturing Matterhorn from the Swiss side. Lower accommodation price, better rock quality and less probability for jams on the way won over the fact that I won't be seeing the iconic mountain side while approaching. Also, since the Carrel hut was closed we had to start from Oriondé-Duca degli Abruzzi hut and deal with 1700 meters of ascent which is quite challenging taking into account the difficulties and the altitude.
Starting from Breuil-Cervinia we take trail no. 13 and climb up mild slopes to the mountain hut of Oriondé-Duca degli Abruzzi located at 2810 meters. No difficulties here, just making room for waves of tourists going down. The mountain hut can be also reached by hut - taxi that costs 20 EUR for a person, saw people using ebikes - less deplorable option. During your stay at Oriondé-Duca degli Abruzzi try to find people who summited that day and ask them for current conditions. It might be a bit of a gamble but taking low shoes could pay off really nicely. Wish I had them myself since the ridge was completely free of snow. Plus you won’t need to carry pickaxe and crampons. A big win.
We set off from Oriondé-Duca degli Abruzzi hut at 3 am, there were teams going before and after us but from my observation that day it was a rather later start with some people already on Col du Lion pass. It did not affect our climb in any way though as the weather was stable and thanks to a long day we were back in Breuil-Cervinia before sunset. Starting from the hut first follow the trail no. 13 west, it runs as far as Carell cross at 2950 meters. Here the marking ends and we need to follow the path and look for the cairns. The path is not the easiest to follow in the dark, most important thing to remember is to make sure we enter a gully with Carrel bivouac board. This gully is on the left side when we face a rocky wall in front of us. There is a path to the right here that goes through the pass gully (check topo )but that route is not advised due to rockfall danger. So we continue turning left up that mentioned gully and then zigzag up, first on nice plates, then some passages with more loose rock await us. Like that we reach Testa del Leone traverse (some snowfields to cross ) and land on Col du Lion (3579m) pass. From the pass we won’t have to worry with brittle rock anymore but it’s not the time to hide hiking poles yet, one will still be helpful as there is a bit of scramble and walking till Carrel bivouac.
This part is rather pleasant and not that steep plates already give idea how the rest of the ridge will look like. There are fixed cannabis ropes in place where needed. Just below the bivouac there’s a vertical wall that would need climbing shoes to be climbed if not for these ropes. Personally that was the hardest spot on the whole ridge.
During our climb the Carrel bivouac was under renovation, estimated time for reopening is 2026. We passed the building from the left side. Now the main climb begins, first we use chains to ascend to the right of the big tower above the bivouac, next we continue the traverse on the right side (pleasurable !), climb up again, traverse with via-ferrata like cables and finally approach serie of chains that take us the ridge (chains are quite vertical). Now the difficulties ease off a bit and we follow the ridge line (directly or sometimes by-pass on the western, left side) up to Pic Tyndall (4241 m) peak. There is a serie of towers that we need to cross and down-climb - they are not that difficult and have lots of good, firm holds to support us. We don’t really descent much in terms of losing elevation. Rappelling is also an option in here, there are fixed bolts for that.
After crossing all of Pic Tyndall towers the final part of climb awaits us. Here technical difficulties shine because elevation gain and altitude kick in really hard. Operating with these thick ropes is kinda painful, try to use the rock as much as possible. Also, use the ladder on the right. It is a bit overhanged but still better than exposed and vertical option with ropes only. There’s also a biggest chance for jams in here but I did not complain about having to wait a little, could finally even my breath. After 200m of climb we land on the Italian peak (4476m) and 2 minutes of walk separate us from the Swiss one. Congratulations, dream come true.
As much as going up to the peak was a physical effort and quite a considerable one, the descent seemed more of a mental one. Sharp focus is needed at least as far as Carrel bivouac - and that is something around 5 hours, time that we also needed to take. Route down is not that obvious as the one up, on the ridge there are more variants to be taken sometimes. Then there is also a dilemma of rappelling, most of the spots can really be climbed down, however fixed points are in place and are commonly used by guides. These are the pain points that you can get stuck a bit. In the end we rappelled only once - below Carrel bivouac. 30 meter rope is enough for that. If you aim for more frequent abseiling then I would suggest a longer rope, maybe 60m - some abseiling points can be combined in one shot then. With 30m it wouldn’t make much more sense and would be counterproductive time-wise.
Western wind with gusts up to 30km/h was still tolerable but making the ascent a bit less pleasant, especially in combination with partly clouded sky in the morning. Wind could be felt only on the western, exposed part of the ridge. Eastern side provided good cover and thanks to sunshine around noon time it was possible to drop windproof jackets. According to forecast it was around -4 degrees on top.
Part of the way up is a tourist trail and is marked nicely, up to Col du Lion (3579m) pass there is a bit of loose rock to deal with, above it - just a pure bliss of compact rock on the way.
Path is rather easy to find as on the ridge we don't really have much alternatives. Wouldn't look too much for cairns, they don't come in plenty - watching scratches on the rock and belaying/protection points is a better idea. There were other people on the ridge but it was not overcrowded. Wouldn't call occasional pauses as jams.
Starting point reached by car, there is a big parking available, free of charge.
Links:Parking lot
Links:Topo (from Bergsteigen)
Matterhorn has claimed more than 500 human lives till today (2025) which makes the mountain stand out in comparison with other 4-thousanders in the Alps. This tragic number is however a result of the volume of the alpinists that try to conquer it and does not come from the character of the mountain itself. Lion ridge is still as a dangerous route as any other taking us to the top of the mountain of comparable height and difficulties. No need for negative mental setting beforehand. Having said that we can't forget though we are dealing with serious alpinistic challenge here.
Ridge is exposed and emergency descent won't be hasty unless you are Killian Jornet. Stable, storm-free and preferrably wind-free weather is absolutely necessary.
Ascent takes 8 hours by the book, exhaustion is a probable scenario in that case - especially that hardest stretches start around 4250 meters. Keep in mind the descent which takes around 5 hours back to Carrel hut and requires all your focus. Prepare well and acclimatize earlier.
Rockfall from above is rather unlikely to happen, make sure not to enter the gully below Col du Lion (3579m) pass
20L rucksack, poles, 30m twin rope, personal climbing set, couple of loops, helmet, crampons, pickaxe, mountaineering boots
