In reply to jon:
Firstly, apologies to the O.P for hijacking somewhat his thread.
The last time I was in Zermatt ( 2000), the local guides did a half-day "training" trip which was usually the Breithorn traverse. Things change.
Decades of living outside the UK have numbed my senses so perhaps the subtle differences between being English, Scottish or British are lost on me ! You are of course perfectly correct and the title is British Mountain Guide.
As to not undercutting the local rates,there, I would have to disagree, it happens.
The Matterhorn is a very lucrative source of income for many guides and I'm not convinced that many would refuse an unknown client, if, on the face of things they appeared to be capable of the climb. After all, the guide has the last word and if things are not going well, he can decide to abandon the ascension. Whether or not the client gets a partial refund is another matter.
A whole week with a guide would be very expensive indeed and in my opinion, for most, not very realistic. A good option, for someone that has a particular summit in mind is to have a week with an organisation like "Montagnes de la Terre".