Skiing the Matterhorn is all in a day's work
ZERMATT, Switzerland -- At 5:30 a.m. on May 4, Chris Davenport made a quick cup of coffee before heading off to work. But this morning, his kitchen was the "winter room" of the Hornlihutte, at 10,695 feet on the northeast ridge of the Matterhorn. And the day's work entailed climbing, then skiing the fabled peak, the iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps.
Davenport, of Aspen, Colo., made history in 2006 by climbing and skiing all of Colorado's "14'ers" -- the state's 54 14,000-foot mountains -- in one calendar year. An overachiever on the extreme-ski scene for more than a decade, he set his sights in 2008 on a different project, climbing and skiing the Alps' four most iconic peaks: the Matterhorn, the Eiger, Mont Blanc, and Monte Rosa.
"I remember as a kid, seeing footage of Jean-Marc Boivin skiing the Matterhorn, and it really affected me," said Davenport. "And now, at this stage of my career, as a ski mountaineer, these classic peaks really speak to my pursuit of the coolest mountains in the world."
Joining him was longtime ski partner and mountain guide Stian Hagen of Chamonix, France, and photographer Christian Pondella of Mammoth Lakes. They targeted a line on the East Face of the Matterhorn, one that would catch the early-morning sun and transform the icy snow into a carveable layer of "corn" snow only an inch or two thick, before the warm spring temperatures ruined it for good.
Steep skiing in the Alps is a game of timing. Late-spring storms deposit sticky snow on the sheer faces, but the window of opportunity is a narrow one, and both patience and luck can play a big role. Some peaks won't be skiable for years, then can change in the matter of one weather cycle. And just as quickly, it can avalanche and be done for the year.
The trio left the hut and began to climb just as the sunrise illuminated the top of the Matterhorn like a birthday candle. Firm snow necessitated the use of crampons and ice axes, and they ascended quickly, straight up the route they would ski.
Two groups of climbers also shared the Hornlihutte, intent on summiting via the normal climbing route, up the Hornli Ridge, first climbed by the ill-fated party of Edward Whymper in 1865. They set off at 5 a.m., hoping to reach the top before the forecasted Fohn wind picked up at midday.
