UKC

Planning on having a go at the Matterhorn this summer and want to do a full traverse from Italy SW Lion Ridge and down the Hornli, planning on staying at the Carrel hut (Hornli is shut due to refurbishment) If anyone has done this route what did you do in terms of logistics, where's best to park and walk from etc, can the Carrel hut be accessed from the Hornli hut Via the Furggjoch or using the Bossi Bivouac hut? Any advice welcome

In reply to jamie ward:
I did this route about 10 years ago, so someone else might have some more up to date information.

We set off from the Italian side from Cervinia. We took the cable car to the first station, from where you can traverse round to the Abruzzi Hut. Make sure you fill your water bottles when you get the chance as there was no water source at the Carrel Hut.

We considered various options for the return to Italy, but in the end we used the cable car to descend to Zermatt, took the cable car up to the Klein Matterhorn, walked down the piste to Testa Grigia, then cable car back down. This was no doubt the easiest option.

I'm not sure what the route over the Furggjoch is like, but I don't remember it looking that inviting.

JW

In reply to jw:

Thanks JW, I will certainly look at this option, thanks for the heads up regarding the water

In reply to jamie ward:

Are you intending to start from Cervinia or Zermatt?
If from Cervinia I wouldn't bother with lifts and traversing to the Abruzzi, it onlt takes 1.5 hours to walk up to it from Cervinia anyway so you won't save much.
Crossing between the Hornli Hut and Abruzzi Hut via the Furggjoch used to be possible but I've no idea whether things have changed in that area to make it too difficult or dangerous.
There's a bit of info here on the bossi hut but you might have to use google translate if your Italian isn't up to scratch.https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en-GB&source=hp&q=bossi+bivouac+...

In reply to pec:

Not sure where to start from yet, just weighing up the options, I would rather start in Zermatt and get all walking and faffing about done on the way to the Carrel hut before starting the route, the idea of walking back in to Italy after such a big route to pick the car up could be a right ball ache, getting to the Bossi seems like a good option but could do with some up to date info.

In reply to jamie ward:

Hi, I did the traverse Italian to Hornli from Zermatt about 15 years ago. We got the cable car to the Trochener Steg and then walked to the Bossi Bivouac, stayed there overnight then walked to the Carrell hut the next day. I think it might be easier now to get the cable car to the Klein Matterhorn then walking to the Carrell from there; but I haven't done this.

In reply to jamie ward:
Easiest from Zermatt is lift up to Klein Matterhorn, walk down to Testa Grigia, lift down to Plan Maison then walk up past Abruzzi to the Carrel. You could make this cheaper by only going as far as Trockenersteg on the lift then walking up the piste and go through the Theodule pass and walking down to Plan Maison.

As you say this gets the walking out of the way first! Park in Tasch, obviously.

In reply to jamie ward:

I did it last July. We parked in Tasch, took the lift up to Kleine Matterhorn, walked down to Testa Grigia and took the lift down to Plan Maison. We took it easy and stayed in the Abruzzi - beautiful accommodation and amazing food! Went up early to Carrel the next day. Hut was pretty empty but looking like a pigsty. We spent the afternoon cleaning it up! It probably returned to its usual state within a few hours ... there was still a lot of snow outside the hut so water wasn't a problem for us.
We left early at 4am as a couple of returning parties had been out for 13 hours the previous day and had only made it to Pic Tyndall! We summited at 8.10 in beautiful weather and were back down at Hornli hut before 1pm.
If you are interested, I've attached a link to a short video of the climb. Good luck!
youtube.com/watch?v=wwSkCd73HNc&

In reply to Michael:

hi there Im planning a trip up and down the hornli ridge in 2015 do you know what guide book I can find the hornli ridge in or a source for a detailed description of the route ? cheers andrew

In reply to Michael:

Really good video, brings back a few memories, summit shots were excellent..

In reply to nation1:


hi Andrew
Martin Moran's alpine club guide to the 4000m peaks is pretty detailed. To be honest it' so s detailed you'll never remember it - much better to use your instinct on the route, follow the crampon scratches and/ or follow the slipstream of the guided parties. Good luck!
Michael
P.S. I'd really recommend doing the italian (lion) ridge and descending the Hörnli. It's a much better route and typically less crowded though this year could be different with the Hörnli hut being closed.

In reply to Gael Force:


Thanks! It was a lot of fun and amazing to be alone on the route ( at least on the Italian side ...)