Ober Gabelhorn

4,063 m

'Upper fork-horn' in Swiss German — Gabel means 'fork', referring to the V-shaped notch in the ridge below the summit. The Unter Gabelhorn (3392 m, not on the UIAA list) sits lower on the same crest.

Card

Coordinates46.0289° N · 7.6661° E

UIAA rank№ 62 / 82

CountriesSwitzerland

Normal gradeAD · assez difficile

First ascent1865 · A.W. Moore & Horace Walker with Jakob Anderegg

Typical seasonJuly to September

Photo of Ober Gabelhorn — Photo: 4000er · Public domain

Elegant snow-and-rock peak between Zermatt and Zinal. Normal route is typically the south-east ridge from the Rothorn Hut, with a steep snow arête to the summit.

History

First climbed on 6 July 1865 by Lord Francis Douglas with two Zermatt and Zinal guides — the same Lord Douglas who would die nine days later on the descent of the Matterhorn with Whymper. Douglas's party reached the Ober Gabelhorn from the Zinal side; an Anglo-Swiss party from Zermatt arrived only hours later by the opposite ridge, oblivious that the peak had just been claimed. The Ober Gabelhorn's elegant snow pyramid presides over the head of the Val d'Anniviers and is one of the most photographed peaks of the Pennine Alps.

Location

Summit · huts that serve as bases for routes on this peak

Major routes

NE ridge via Wellenkuppe (Normal route from Rothornhütte)

AD · assez difficileTopo ↗

Vertical / summit day1,800 m gain · 6h

The standard ascent. From Zermatt the approach climbs to the Rothornhütte; summit day climbs the snowy Wellenkuppe (3903 m), traverses the airy Gabel notch and continues up the upper NE ridge on rock (III) to the summit. The crux is a short steep slab below the summit. Long round trip, mostly in snow with rocky sections.

Sections

Zermatt (1605 m)→Rothornhütte (3198 m)+1,593 m5h

Rothornhütte→Wellenkuppe (3903 m)+705 m3h

Wellenkuppe→Summit (4063 m)+160 m3h

Huts on this route

Rothornhütte3,198 m

Arbengrat (SW ridge, from Cabane du Mountet)

AD+

Vertical / summit day1,700 m gain · 6h

A sustained rock ridge from the Zinal side, with sustained III–IV climbing on excellent gneiss. Quieter than the Wellenkuppe route and considered one of the finest rock ridges in the Pennine Alps.

Huts on this route

Cabane du Mountet2,886 m

Nearby huts

Cabane de BertolSAC · late June to mid-October3,311 m RothornhütteSAC · late June to mid-September3,198 m Cabane du MountetSAC · mid-June to mid-September2,886 m ArbenbiwakSAC · unstaffed (year-round access)3,224 m

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