Height
4,063 m
First ascent
6 July 1865: Adolphus Warburton Moore, Horace Walker and Jakob Anderegg
Tips for visitors
- Rothorn (cable car)
- Gornergrat (mountain railway)
- Rothornhütte, Zermatt – Alterhaupt (Edelweiss) – Trift – Rothornhütte
- Schwarzsee – Schönbielhütte, Schwarzsee – Schönbielhütte – Stafelalp – Furi
- Mountain guide required
- Normal route: Rothorn Hut - Wellenkuppe – Nordostgrad - Arbengrat
- Reasonably difficult, combined alpine tour
- Two-day tour
Tips for hikers
- Rothornhütte, Zermatt – Alterhaupt (Edelweiss) – Trift – Rothornhütte
- Schwarzsee – Schönbielhütte, Schwarzsee – Schönbielhütte – Stafelalp – Furi
Tips for mountaineers
- Mountain guide required
- Normal route: Rothorn Hut - Wellenkuppe – Nordostgrad - Arbengrat
- Reasonably difficult, combined alpine tour
- Two-day tour
Many ways lead to the summit
The route up to Ober Gabelhorn has two starting points – Zermatt and Zinal. The summit can be reached in different ways – rewarding ridge climbs over the Arbengrat (WSW ridge), the Gabelhorngrat (SE ridge) or the ENE ridge via Wellenkuppe (normal route) offer long days with breathtaking panoramas. The icy north face presents a tough but rewarding challenge and the south face offers a climb across sun-kissed rock. The Arbengrat is by far the most popular for the descent.
Origin of name
The name Gabelhorn comes from the “Gabel (fork)”, that is formed by the summit and a gendarme to the south-west. As there are two other Gabelhorns on the SE ridge, they are differentiated by their height.
History
On the day of the first ascent, there was a race between Adolphus Warburton Moore, Horace Walker and Jakob Anderegg, and the mountain guide Peter Taugwalder with guests Francis Douglas and Joseph Viennin. Peter Taugwalder’s roped party reached the summit one day after the three other alpinists. Peter Taugwalder and Francis Douglas were denied the success of the first ascent of the Ober Gabelhorn, but only a week later they were in the roped party that climbed the Matterhorn for the first time. Francis Douglas died on the Matterhorn during the descent.
