Colin Braithwaite conquers the Matterhorn!

We proudly share the remarkable achievement of Colin Braithwaite, our Site Manager based in Humberside, England, who recently conquered the Matterhorn!

The Matterhorn is one of the best-known mountains in the Alps, straddling the frontier between Switzerland and Italy and standing at a skyline-dominating elevation of 4478 metres (14,690 feet tall), making it the sixth-highest mountain in Europe.

Colin completed the climb in 12 hours and 55 minutes, starting the ascent at 4am to ensure that there was daylight coming down the mountain due to the exposure, which makes it a challenging climb. The exposure on the mountain means that the climb requires fitness, determination, sure-footedness, and the ability to cope with very intense weather conditions. As such, Colin spent a week with his guide preparing before taking on the challenge.

Of the 20 teams climbing the Matterhorn, only six succeeded, with one having to be rescued off the mountain – making Colin’s accomplishment an impressive achievement.

Colin is an experienced mountain climber, having been a climber for most of his life, and has climbed some of the most iconic mountains across Europe. Colin said: “This was an amazing experience but very challenging! Having completed other climbs, I knew I wanted a challenge to take on a mountain with more altitude, and I have always wanted to climb the Matterhorn. It definitely proved the hardest mountain climb of my life, but it was an extremely rewarding experience to conquer it!”

This is not the end of the challenge for Colin, whose ultimate goal is to climb the Eiger in Switzerland.

Congratulations on this fantastic achievement, Colin!