12.30 - 16.00, 4.5km, 690m. Pennine Alps, Central.
Clear sky, moderate wind. Keith Anderson, Eric Jones Grham McCulloch, and myself. Zermatt to Hörnli Hotel using cable lift to Schwarzsee. Good path from Schwarzsee to Hörnli Hotel.
04.30 -10.00 top, 17.00 at Hotel, 22.30 Zermatt.
Clear sky, light winds; perfect conditions, snow only above the Hörnli shoulder. Two ropes of two. Hörnli Hotel to Matterhorn (4477m) - north-east (Hörnli) ridge - grade AD with short pitches of II, reversed to Hotel, walk back to Zermatt via Schwarzsee. Crampons put on at the shoulder, ice axes rarely needed because of the fixed ropes. Graham McCulloch and I did not rope up for the ascent, giving better freedom of movement amongst the guided parties! For the descent, partners were changed because Eric Jones was suffering from the effects of fatigue and altitude I short roped him down, while K Anderson and G McCulloch did most of it un-roped. First time short roping, mentally very tiring.
