Day started very cold. Heavy snow on the ground. Had to use snowshoes. When sun rose, it became extremely hot. Down to t-shirts. Intense sun caused avalanche risk. Aborted summit attempt shortly before scramble and began return trek, crossing some pretty sketchy areas. Good safety call on the abort. Will return in the future to re-climb.
★
★
★
Key to this hike is finding informal stock trail that cuts around flanks of Matterhorn to saddle, during descent of Wetterhorn. This saves time and elevation. Where Wetterhorn trail leaves boulder field around 12,400 ft look to the left at the stream between Wetterhorn and Matterhorn. The stock trail starts from the last point before the stream starts to descend into the steep-sided gully.
★
★
★
★
First 14’er for me and wow what a great hike. Great views all the way up. We took a 4x4 up to the upper trailhead which was also a fun little ride in the Jeep (definitely need a 4x4). It’s definitely a little strenuous though and coming from TX I was feeling the altitude a bit afterwards.
★
★
★
★
★
