The recent celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn - known as 'Il Cervino' in Italian - saw people from around the world descend upon Zermatt to honour this very special occasion for 'the mountain of mountains.' 

On 14th July 1865, a seven-member party lead by Englishman Edward Whymper succeeded in the first ascent. During the descent, however, tragedy struck. the front four-member rope team (Michel Croz, Douglas Robert Hadow, Reverend Charles Hudson and Lord Francis Douglas) fell to their deaths over the north wall. Three of the bodies were recovered a few days later on the Matterhorn glacier, but the corpse of Lord Francis Douglas has not yet been found.

150 years later, no mountaineering activity took place on the day of the anniversary in remembrance of over 500 climbers who have died trying to reach the summit.

This video produced by Planetmountain.com specifically for the 150th celebration event features distinguished Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner sharing his thoughts on what the Matterhorn represents for him.

Note: Click on the 'cc' icon in the bottom right hand corner for English subtitles.