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Historic Ski Descent on the East Face of the Matterhorn

Ossie Khan

25th June 2024 2 min read
Historic Ski Descent on the East Face of the Matterhorn

The imposing east face of the Matterhorn looms over the Swiss village of Zermatt, its sheer wall of rock and ice seemingly impossible to ski. However, in May of 1975, Toni Valeruz defied the odds and made the first ski descent. This year, a team of athletes, predominantly women, saw a rare alignment of snow and weather conditions and decided to attempt the descent.

Nadine Wallner, a 35-year-old fully-certified mountain guide and two-time Freeride World Tour champion from Klösterle, Austria, eyed the Matterhorn while hosting a ski camp for Red Bull athletes in Zermatt. On May 26, she seized a brief window between storms to climb and ski the east face. “It’s really unlikely to find decent conditions to ski the Matterhorn safely,” said Wallner, “the east face is usually full of rock bands and it’s rare that it filled in so well.”

Wallner was joined by Swiss mountain guide Ramona Volken, her friend Valentin Zufferey, and fellow Freeride World Tour champion, Arianna Tricomi from Italy. They began their ascent to the Hörnli Hut on May 25, preparing for the descent. As they climbed, thick clouds enveloped the peak, creating concerns about snow stability. Fortunately, the clouds cleared enough to allow a superficial refreeze, and the team decided to continue.

“We booted up the face with crampons and two axes,” Wallner explained. “We were just in the bubble of the dark. When the sun rose, we reached the Solvay Hut.” This emergency shelter on the Matterhorn’s northeast ridge, at 13,133 feet, is a common starting point for skiing the east face. Above the hut, the peak’s vertical rock walls make skiing from the summit nearly impossible.

The Matterhorn’s east face is rarely skied, and conditions were less than ideal for Wallner’s team. A recent storm had deposited patches of new snow atop the stable spring snow, which warmed quickly in the sunlight, creating dangerous sluff. Wallner had to navigate carefully to link patches of spring corn and avoid the unstable new snow. “It was quite sketchy at some points,” she said. “You had to really watch out where you skied because those powder patches got really hot and would slide. They can definitely catch your skis.”

Reflecting on the descent, Wallner mentioned she wished they had started half-an-hour earlier to avoid increasing avalanche risk. “There were spin drifts from above turning into little stuff slides. When we got back to the [Hörnli] hut, some larger avalanches came down from above.”

Tragically, tricky conditions on the Matterhorn claimed the life of Italian skier Luca Berini a week later on June 4. “I didn’t know him, but it’s so tragic,” Wallner commented on Berini’s fatal fall.

Despite the challenges and risks, Wallner remains undeterred. Even in mid-June, she continues to seek out small windows of clear weather for skiing in the Swiss Alps. “Even if the window is 50/50, if you don’t go you’ll never know,” she said.

This remarkable attempt on the Matterhorn’s east face is a testament to the courage, skill, and determination of Wallner and her team, showcasing the relentless spirit of adventure that drives skiers to tackle some of the most challenging descents in the world.

Source: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/snow-sports/matterhorn-east-face-ski-descent/

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