Facts worth knowing about the Berghaus Matterhorn

The Berghaus Matterhorn is situated at an altitude of approx. 3260 metres a.s.l.

It is only open during the summer in the mountain climbing season.

The summer season is short, but intensive. During the approx. 80 days in which the mountain inn is open, around 30 tonnes of foodstuffs are consumed. Around 4 tonnes are transported back into the valley again as waste.

Earlier, all of the supplies for the mountain inn used to be transported up by mules, which, from an ecological viewpoint, would certainly rank as the most ecofriendly mode of transportation.

The sheer volume of presentday supplies no longer makes this feasible. All of the supplies are now flown up to the mountain inn by helicopter as this is far more efficient and simple.

However, supplying the mountain inn with sufficient water presents a far greater challenge than hauling up its supplies.

The Berghaus Matterhorn was built on a mountain ridge. At an altitude of 3260 metres above sea level there are no natural springs or watercourses that can be tapped. Even costly projects to drill for ground water over recent years have proven fruitless.

This leaves the route to the Hörnligrat, around 200 metres from the hut, as the only remaining place where water can be obtained. Snow and glacier melt water is collected here and carried back to the hut via aboveground pipelines. In instances where there is insufficient melt water, the water in the hut needs to be rationed.

The quality of this melt water is too poor for drinking and all of the water required for the kitchen therefore firstly needs to be boiled.

The availability in the mountain inn of water for cooking and washing certainly shouldn't be taken for granted.