Matterhorn Hike Celebrates Conquest of Peak

Travelers between the ages of 16 and 30 are invited to join a special hike to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn in Switzerland.

The famous “bent pyramid” peak was conquered in 1865 by English mountaineer Edward Whymper, but his team paid a very high price. Four members slipped to their deaths. Only a broken rope saved Whymper and two of his guides.

Today climbing the Matterhorn has become almost commonplace. During summer more than 600 people per season hire guides at 520 Swiss francs (about $338 U.S.) to attempt the climb.

It’s still serious business, though, and recklessness, plus weather shifts, result in about a dozen deaths a year.

The special anniversary hikes next July and August, however, do not involve climbing to the famous summit. Instead, it’s a walking tour of that spectacular region of the Swiss Alps.

Don’t be misled by the term “walking tour.” It has been my experience that the Swiss definition of “walking” and the American concept of the term are often at least half a world apart. Five to nine hours a day of mountain hiking, with a pack, at altitudes your body is not accustomed to, can be quite an eye-opener for the inexperienced.

The program is scheduled to start in Grindelwald. From there the group will ride by train up to Jungfraujoch. The hiking route includes the 14-mile Aletsch Glacier (Europe’s largest) and on to the Simplon Pass.

One night is spent in the car-free town of Saas Fee. Glaciers reach to within 1,640 feet of this mountain village, and nine miles of slopes are open throughout the summer for skiing. It’s a favorite area for national ski teams to train.

Nights are spent at youth hostels, mountain huts and the Swiss Alpine Club huts. SAC promotes mountaineering and ski tours in the high mountains, and organizes rescue services. SAC huts have bunk rooms for 10 to 20 people (blankets included). Expect gas lighting and a fireplace.

After reaching Zermatt on the sixth day the group will rest for a night before visiting Schwarzsee and Horlihutte at the foot of the Matterhorn. A two-hour walk from the Schwarzsee cable-car station is the hut where Matterhorn mountaineers spend the night before their ascent.

The program is being organized by Jugi Tours, the travel service of the Swiss Youth Hostel Assn. Restrictions apply, and participants who have had some mountain walking experience are preferred.

Departures will be July 14, July 28 and Aug. 11. The cost is 565 francs (about $368 U.S.). That price includes accommodations, breakfasts and dinners (you can buy packed lunches), necessary bus and train travel and the services of a mountain guide and tour escort.

For more details, contact Jugi Tours at Neufeldstrasse 9, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.

If this is out of your budget range, you can always base yourself at one of the more than 90 Swiss Youth Hostels, and get information from the local tourism office about hikes in the area. Switzerland has more than 30,000 miles of well-kept, marked paths. Hostel accommodations average less than 15 francs a night. At Swiss youth hostels, preference is shown to travelers under age 25 during busy periods.

For general information on travel to Switzerland, contact the Swiss National Tourist Office, 250 Stockton St., San Francisco 94108, (415) 362-2260.