Zermatt is a true paradise for alpinists. Not only Matterhorn but alpinists can reach 38 four thousand meter peaks from Zermatt. If you are an alpinist and looking for an ideal mountain to climb, well you came to the right place. Allalihorn is one of the popular 38 four thousand meter peaks which you can climb.
Allalinhorn is one of the easiest 4000 meter peaks in the Alps to climb, and also one of the most popular. From the summit, climbers see almost the entire sweep of the Wester Alps. The Metro Alpin carries mountains from Saas-Fee up towards the peaks to an altitude of nearly 3500 metes. The summit of the mountain is a climb of about two hours from the top station of the funicular. The summit is located on the Mischable ridge between the Saas and Matter valley where it is part of the Allalin group along wit the Alphubel, Strahlhorn and Rimpfischhorn. The Allalinhorn is a white dome between the mountaineering centers of Saas-Fee and Zermatt.
The height of the mountain is 4027 meters and you can start the hike from Gornergrat or Matterhorn glacier paradise. For hikers who want more hikes, you can try Weg der Stille trail which is from Gornergrat to Kelle to Grunsee or Kristallweg trail which starts from Rothorn to Fluhalp to Stellisee to Blauherd. The hike to Allalihorn is rather easy but mountain guide is necessary.
The name Allalin refers not only to the mountain but also to the area to the east of the summit. The origin of the name is disputed. The emphasis at the end of the word suggests a pre-German origin. On the other hand it is also thought that the name Allalin can be traced back to the Arabic “ala ain” or meaning at the spring. Another explanation derives from the name Allalin from the Celtic “akarnos” or meaning maple. Since there is too many theories and no historical proof there is no definitive explanation to the name yet.
In 1828 by Heinrich Michaelis and a guide crossed the Allalin Pass and thereby opened up the route to the south-west ridge. The first ascent of Allalinhorn via the same ridge only took place 28 years later. On August 28, 1856 the parish priest Johann Josef Imseng from Saas-Grund and his manservant Franz Josef Andenmatten led the Englishman Edward Levi Ames to the summit. Today’s normal route, the north-west ridge was first used on August 1 1860 by Franz-Josef Andenmatten, together with Sir Leslie Stephen, F.W.Short, Frederick William Jacomb, C.Fisher, Moritz Anthamatten, Peter Taugwalder and Johann Kronig. The Bernese high school teacher and historian Heinrich Dubi ascended the summit via the difficult north-east ridge on July 27 1882 with the guides Alphons and Peter Supersaxo and then descended via the Hohlaubgrat ridge. This represented the first crossing of both ridges.
The Hohlaub ridge was conquered as an ascent for the first time five years later on July 12 1887, by Englishmen Harold Ward Topham and C.H.Redall and the guide Aloys Supersaxo. A year earlier Aloys Supersaxo and the Briton C.A.C. Bowlker were the first to climb the south face which is a grade 4 climb. The first winter ascent of the Allalin was the Swiss mountaineer R.Bracken, climbing solo in 1907. The first ascent on skis was on April 17 of the same year by A.Hurter und Max Stahel, both from Zurich, together with the local mountaineers Othmar and Oskar Supersaxo.
