Solvayhütte

The Solvayhütte is a small emergency bivouac of the Swiss Alpine Club at 4,003 m on the Hörnli ridge of the Matterhorn, around two thirds of the way between the Hörnlihütte and the summit above Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It is considered the highest hut of the SAC and, as a simple bivouac hut, is expressly intended only for emergencies such as sudden falls in the weather or severe delays during a Matterhorn ascent, not as a regular overnight destination. Inside, it offers around ten simple sleeping places and an emergency radio, but no hut warden, no reservations, no food and no standard sanitary facilities; anyone seeking shelter here must be fully equipped themselves. The Solvay hut can only be reached as part of a high-alpine ascent: The mountain railroad takes you from Zermatt to Schwarzsee, from there a mountain path leads to the Hörnlihütte at 3,260 m, where the normal route over the Hörnli ridge begins; you pass the bivouac on this exposed ridge path on the ascent and descent. The most favorable time for this is usually the high-altitude touring season from mid-July to early or mid-September, when the ridge is mostly free of snow; outside this window, the route and bivouac are often wintry and much trickier. As the weather and conditions on the Matterhorn can change quickly, mountaineers should always check the latest status reports, any closures and the weather forecast and, in case of doubt, refrain from an ascent. The hut was built between 1915 and 1917 with the help of a temporary cable car from the Hörnlihütte, after the Belgian chemist and industrialist Ernest Solvay made a generous donation for an emergency bivouac on the Matterhorn in 1904. The small box was renovated in 1966 and an emergency telephone or radio was added in 1976. To this day, the Solvay Hut is the only bivouac directly owned by the SAC Central Association and a quiet, often life-saving base on what is probably Switzerland's most famous mountain.