a Disney History 101 Exclusive
We have often wondered how Disneyland’s Matterhorn “sized up” against the true-life Matterhorn on Italy and Switzerland’s border. We finally had the opportunity to have our inquiry addressed when former Disneyland Matterhorn Climbers visited the real Matterhorn, and agreed to share their experience with Disney History 101 in the following exclusive!
This is the true-life tale of two brothers (Geoffrey and Brian), and one iconic mountain. The brothers (who grew up in the late 1960s), were aspiring Alpinists. Geoff (the eldest) always had an admiration for the real Matterhorn, though he had never visited it. He remembers : “I had a couple of photos of the Matterhorn in my room growing up, and I think I was in junior high when I started putting dimes in my piggy bank (in order to afford to go to Switzerland and actually climb it. It always evoked a sense of inspiration, and the idea of a challenge.” During the late 1960s Geoff decided to do “the next best thing”, and apply for Disneyland, as one of their Matterhorn Climbers. the duo made regular climbs and descents (six to eight times, daily), on one of the most recognizable man-made mountains in the world - Disneyland’s Matterhorn. Geoff gives an abridged version of his Disneyland Matterhorn-climbing experience : “I was climbing [Disneyland’s Matterhorn] during the summer of 1968…Up and down, six to eight times a day, five days a week in the summer and on weekends…I continued to climb during that winter. You’re talking about a year and a half with possibly the best job I could possibly have.”
“HANS and OTTO” Ascend the Icy Slopes of the Matterhorn : Brian nears the top of the ridge (left), Geoffrey makes his way up the side of the Matterhorn (right), circa 1968
About a year later, Geoff approached his brother with an offer to climb along with him. Brian remembers : “My brother Geoff worked at the Matterhorn and Disneyland before I did. He graduated from UCLA…he was in the ROTC program, went in the navy, and got married all at the same time. So (nepotism at work), he wanted to know if I wanted the job, and I said, ‘sure’. I went and applied, and got hired, and I was there for four years.” Brian would be privileged to go on ascending and descending Disneyland’s own “mighty Matterhorn” from 1969 to 1972!
Geoffrey Poses Near the Perilous Peak for the first time!
“GEOFF MAKES IT TO THE MATTERHORN’S BASE CAMP”
Though Geoff’s time climbing Disneyland’s Matterhorn came to an end during the 1960s, his fascination with mountain climbing did not. Twenty years later, Geoff finally had the opportunity to travel to Switzerland on his own and set eyes on the true-life Matterhorn. Geoff was intent on conquering the mountain that had fascinated him most of his young and adult life!
Geoff remembers : “The first time I touched the Matterhorn was in 1989. It was my 40th birthday, and I went to climb it! I went to Zermatt, did the hike up to the base of Hornli Ridge, and went to the hut that climbers stay in during the night before the climb. I had a meal in the hut, but I wasn’t intending on climbing it because of the bad weather. I had been there in Zermatt about four days, and the weather was bad, and there was no prediction of it clearing up. I just decided I would put the climb on hold, but I (at least) wanted to get up to it. That was as far as I made it, but it was an exciting event.”
“ANOTHER EXPEDITION TO ZERMATT”
Decades later, Disney History 101 had the opportunity to share the Disneyland Climbing experiences of Alan, Geoff and Brian in a featurette entitled “Three Men On The Mountain”. After watching it, you may have also wondered if the climbers would ever see either Matterhorn again. Apparently, the piece motivated Geoff and Brian to plan a journey to Zermatt, and the true-life Matterhorn mountain. So about a year after the featurette debuted, the former Disneyland Matterhorn Climbers Brian and Geoff set off to Italy! They now share their experience for us.
Brian begins : “You can’t drive in Zermatt at all. You drive to the little village that’s below Zermatt. What was exciting, was racing to get there before it got dark. There’s a train that takes you into the village of Zermatt proper…We finally arrived, and this was the first time I was able to see the entire mountain without the clouds. I’ve been to Zermatt about four times. We have plenty of photos of the Matterhorn surrounded with clouds, but not one with a clear sky around it.
Brian points out the perilous peak : “I thought to myself, ‘Wow! Walt did such a great job!’“
“So, we went, and there was a whole dramatic thing because it was supposed to rain, and the Matterhorn is usually covered by clouds. My favorite mountain in the whole world, and I was all set to be disappointed because it was raining. But we were there and the clouds parted, and there it was! It was miraculous. It was just like you could touch it. I felt just like a little kid - it was a life’s dream come true. It was the exact same angle, the exact same feel of the Matterhorn in Disneyland!”
True-Life Memorials of Fallen Climbers Who Challenged the Mighty Matterhorn
Before heading to to the Matterhorn, Brian and Geoffrey made an important, and reflective stop. We are reminded, that the tone and premise of James Ramsey Ulman’s Banner in the Sky, (and Walt Disney’s Third Man on the Mountain) is serious - dealing with the dangers that can befall men who rise to the challenge of climbing the most prominent of the Pennine Peaks. It is believed that more than 500 individuals have tragically lost their life attempting to conquer the Matterhorn. Many could not be retrieved from the mountain, and as a result, the Mountaineer’s Cemetery (in Zermatt, Switzerland) memorializes at least 50 of them with markers. Other Matterhorn climbers who died naturally, are also commemorated. After spending some time here, the two moved on.
The Unchallenged Bucolic Beauty of Zermatt’s Meadows
“The next day we took the cable car up to the base of it. There’s a glacier off to the side [there’s a photo of Geoff and I standing there]. It was wonderful to be there with my brother. We’ve always been close, but to be there at the Matterhorn together - it was a real opportunity for one of those bonding moments!”
Geoffrey previously made several visits to see the Matterhorn on his own, so this time he made a decision : “This time, (with Brian along), we had a great time - just the two of us! Brian hiked up (not to the base of the mountain), but he did hike up quite a way. I decided, not that I was necessarily too old to climb, but that I had done it once before, so I let him [Brian] do it.”
Geoff looks toward the shrouded Citadel.
In personally researching the local topography, they found that there were higher summits in the range (like Weisshorn). Still, the Matterhorn’s summit ranks one of the tallest in the Alps at “precisely 4,477.54 metres high” according to conclusive recent studies conducted in 1999. Top that off with it’s unique four-faced snow-covered summit (composed mostly of dark-gray gneiss), and it isn’t any wonder why the impressive peak “stood above the rest” from Walt Disney’s vantage. Geoff reflects : “Unlike so many mountains that are up on a plateau, or have other mountains around them, the Matterhorn stands all by itself. It’s like a pyramid, and it’s symbolic. It evokes a sense of awe! People forever have gone to Zermatt just to look at it.”
“The actual Matterhorn is a combination of granite and sandstone, and much of it is pretty loose rock. There is granite there, but it’s not a very sturdy climb. You have to be very, very careful. It’s a good idea to wear a helmet, because there’s going to be rock fall. The Matterhorn at Disneyland is real solid.”
BRIAN GETS UP-CLOSE TO THE MATTERHORN’S BASE : “I had my hiking shoes on, I saw some people going up the trail. So I decided that I would take a hike for about an hour, and hike around for a bit. It was wonderful! There are a couple of photographs. I put my hand on a rock, to stage like I was really climbing. Then, we came back down.”
“I was so excited! It was just a life dream, come true. Not only is the Matterhorn my favorite mountain, because of getting to climb it [in Disneyland] - getting paid to do my sport - but ever since I saw Third Man on the Mountain when I was a kid...just the idea of climbing it!”
PLEASE, STEP THIS WAY, and WATCH the full story below!