14-Hour Rescue on the Matterhorn

On Monday morning, shortly after 7:00 AM, rescuers in Zermatt received an emergency call that two climbers from Vietnam were in distress on the Matterhorn. At that time, the weather was so bad that a rescue by air or by foot was not possible. At 1:00 PM, three rescue specialists from the Zermatt rescue station decided to climb the Matterhorn on foot to reach the accident site. Zermatt Bergbahnen was able to transport the rescuers to Schwarzsee, from where they continued their journey on foot. They were exposed to snow, wind, ice, fog, and cold. At an altitude of over 3500 meters, the rescue specialists found the two climbers in distress.

Light Shoes and Sweatpants 

The climbers were trapped in difficult terrain below the normal route. Inadequately equipped with light shoes and thin sweatpants, the climbers were also severely hypothermic. Due to the adverse weather conditions, the climbers could not be airlifted out of the Matterhorn wall at that time. The rescue specialists had to rappel down to the stranded climbers and then pull them back up to the normal route using a rope system.

Air Zermatt Crew Ready 

This was followed by an extremely difficult descent to the winter shelter at the Hörnli Hut. Fresh snow and ice made the rescue operation an enormous challenge for the rescuers. Upon reaching the winter shelter at the Hörnli Hut, the rescuers and the climbers in distress were able to take refuge. Meanwhile, Air Zermatt was on standby with a helicopter, ready to evacuate the climbers if there was a break in the weather. At 2:00 AM, the helicopter crew took off towards the Matterhorn and, in two flights, was able to bring both the climbers and the rescuers to safety.

The rescuers operated under extremely challenging conditions. Without their efforts, the two Vietnamese climbers would likely not have survived the harsh conditions and would have succumbed to the cold. After a medical examination by the Air Zermatt doctor, the two exhausted climbers returned home.