http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxSZR0mvbuE
On The 8th of April, 2011, The North face® athlete, Hervé Barmasse successfully opened a new route on the Italian face of the Matterhorn-Cervino during a solo climb in original alpine style by Italian mountaineer.
Taking a previously un-climbed route via the Picco Muzio peak (4,235m) in the Aosta Valley, the first 500 metres covered a steep, icy couloir, followed by 700 metres of rotten, crumbling Matterhorn rock, which made the ascent particularly difficult. Despite 60km/hour strong winds, fair, dry cold weather prevailed throughout the five days spent alone on the wall.
“When I reached Picco Muzio, all the stress and the fear of not making it or dying under a rock fall suddenly disappeared; it was just joy and peace of mind. I was aware that something hard and unique had happened, but my great happiness was the fact that I didn’t have to climb that rotten and crumbling rock anymore. Above my helmet there was only the sky and the first stars of the night,” stated a relieved Barmasse.
Barmasse’s Matterhorn ascent is the first of the trilogy of climbs within The North Face® expedition, Exploring The Alps. The project comprises three new routes, up three of the highest mountains in the Alps, in three different ascent styles, with the aim to push the limits of mountaineering in the Alps where alpinism was born.
The Matterhorn (4,478m) lies on the Swiss-Italian border overlooking Cervinia, Aosta Valley and Zermatt in the Swiss German canton of Valais.
