Let’s climb Matterhorn - part 4

Matterhorn was a dream for a friend of mine, that I met on a climbing course. My dream was skydiving, so we decided to share and exchange our dream adventures - he came with me and take an AFF course and I climbed Matterhorn with him. I took zero participation in the whole organization process, had no idea where I was going and didn’t bother even to read a line about this famous peak. I didn’t want to get some false expectations by reading about it and the opinion of our climbing teacher in Bulgaria that I was prepared to do it was enough for me. The same climbing teacher ( and our friend) - G., was going to guide my friend, and for me he found another guy(a great alpiniste) that I met for the first time several days before our mountain adventure in a restaurant in Bulgaria. I remember I was with a dress, high wedges, perfect curls and manicure(at least in Bulgaria climbers usually have a different outlook) laughing and drinking wine when M(my guide) came and I could almost see his disappointment and confusion because with such an unreliable client he would miss reaching the top too. I didn’t look like a typical mountaineer but more like some enthusiast who didn’t know exactly what he was about to do and it was actually the truth.
It would be the first ascent of Matterhorn for him also, and the other guide - G, had done it but through its Italian ridge.
M turned out quite a nice guy and after spending several days together, trekking traveling and sharing the sufferings from the altitude sickness in Margherita Hut, we were already like close friends - that’s part of the magic of the sports and the mountains, it’s so easy to connect with people when you share the same passion.

In the Hörnli Hut there is a strict rule about the climbing order - first the people with guides from Zermatt leave the hut and start the ascent, than the people with guides from other alpine clubs, and the last ones are these like us independent or unassisted climbers. G. definitely wasn’t a fan of this order and he talked a lot about how unfair it is and how the reason is only all climbers to prefer to hire Zermatt guides, so I used to also think so, and maybe it is some part of the truth. But actually it is quite reasonable, the Zermatt guides know well the route, and independent climbers could go in wrong direction, mislead others too, cause traffic jams. “Any climber straying from the official route becomes a hazard for those below, in case of rockfall.”
It’s a different question thet the route is so hard to find that it’s definitely part of their way to make people hire the Zermatt guides. Couldn’t be either, it was like nothing else in the tidy Switzerland, Swiss way of doing the things is just different from that. We got lost or confused countless time, and G. told us that the Italian route to the top was absolutely clear, well marked, with zero chance to miss it.

The good thing about that pecking order was some few more minutes for sleeping, the bad - almost nothing left in the breakfast buffet. Not that I could eat by any chance 30 minutes after waking up( at 4 Am), but my friend was definitely devastated. Climbing Matterhorn without a breakfast wasn’t part of his dream 😂😂.
The atmosphere was intense in the morning and the tough looking guys from the previous evening weren’t looking so tough anymore, most of them looked quite nervous (except the guides of course, they were still tough), everyone was in a hurry to start earlier the ascent than the others in his category. M and G(our guides) decided that it didn’t worth it and it was better to start some little time later, so we were the last group.
Since the ascent always starts before dawn each climber has a head torch on his helmet.
When the weather is stable up to 200 people tackle the peak and they form the famous “head torch parade” visible even from Zermatt. The previous day I observed some climbers from Zermatt but that day I was part of the parade with luckily only around 40 other people.
I was tied to M. with a rope, he climbed some part, stopped at a secure place and then it was my turn. It didn’t start so well because even in the beginning we got confused, went in a wrong direction and had to pass through a little difficult short travers with a giant abyss below us. I just couldn’t do it at first, I was standing there hesitating in the dark, M was encouraging me, G was more angry than encouraging and push me to go. Anyway I passed it, but this short situation, that moment of fear affected me quite negatively. My mind just started to sabotage me and it was at the very beginning! “What the hell am I doing here? Am I crazy? That’s not for me! I want to go back!”. That was not possible of course.

First impressions.

it was finally light, although I was not sure at these moments which one is better - to climb in the dark, hardly seeing where to place my feet , or to see the rocks and beauty around me, everything.. including the scary abyss below me.

It’s worth it for such views