Friday, August 26, 2011

Conquering A New Solo Route On The Matterhorn


Yesterday I posted a story about three climbers putting up a new route on Mount Blanc at the beginning of the month. In that story, I mentioned that one of the climbers, Hervé Barmasse, had also completed a solo climb along a new route on the Matterhorn back in April. Today, I found a beautiful video of that climb that I think you'll enjoy.

With its sharp, distinctive peak, the Matterhorn is one of the most recognizable mountains in the entire world. Rising 4478 meters (14,692 ft), the mountain sits along the border of Italy and Switzerland. It was amongst the final big European mountains to be climbed, with the first summit coming in 1865, and has remained a proving ground for many alpine climbers in the decades that followed.

Barmasse climbed it as part of his Exploring The Alps expedition, during which he's attempting to open new routes on three peaks in the Alps. With the Matterhorn and Mount Blanc already under his belt, he'll next turn his attention to Mount Rosa, the highest peak in Switzerland.

Enjoy the video.



Hervé Barmasse, New route solo on the Matterhorn/ Hervé Barmasse, nuova via solitaria sul Cervino from Hervé Barmasse on Vimeo.