Matterhorn Hornli - Zermatt Guides head start?

[tiaga]

I've heard that on the Matterhorn's Hornli Ridge local Zermatt guides are give a head start over all other parties in leaving the hut. Is this true?

 

I've been shoping for a guide service and this gives me some concern when thinking about hiring a service from outside of Zermatt.

 

Thanks for you help!

[Kyle_Flick]

When I climbed it several years ago during our family vacation, I used a guide and don't recall any discussion that would keep those without a guide from climbing earlier. My guide was from outside the area (Canada), and we just kept up with the Swiss guides on the ascent and figured it out for ourselves on the descent.

[AlpineK]

I was in Zermatt back a few years ago by myself. At the resort I checked out folks skiing up Monte Rosa. It looked pretty straightforward, so I decided to go for it on my own. I didn't make it all the way to the summit, but I did get pretty high up. The ski down was great.

 

I don't know all the tours up there, but the one I did was pretty easy to figure out without a guide. A few days skiing in the resort with some time scoping the slopes and I bet you can come up with something that you don't need a guide for.

[Bill Slugg]

My experience in the Hornli Hutte dates from 36 years ago. The hut was extremely crowded. Each bunk is the width of the hut. 30 people lie on their side in the spoon position. Every 20 minutes, the person at the end will turn over and a wave will propagate to the other end. Every time you wake up, you check your watch. When your time arrives, you get up and go.