Solo up the Matterhorn

Hey all! Looking for some advice/questions answered.

I am heading to Switzerland next week and planning on soloing the Matterhorn. Plenty of experience in dry/snow/ice scrambles, climbs, solos, etc. Nothing I have read or watched seems out of my comfort zone.

Questions:

-I've seen length of rope for rapping anywhere from 10m-60m. I was thinking about a 20m or a 40m?

-Same thing with shoes, all over the place on what to bring. I have trail runners and approach shoes that both work with my crampons and am leaning towards approach shoes. Hows conditions right now on the top?

-I plan on sleeping at the hut and then heading down to zermatt after I finish. Has anyone gone up, summitted, and headed back to zermatt without staying at the hut? Hows that like for an option? I'm fine with the endurance of it all, more concerned about running out of light as a possibility. 

Can’t speak on climbing the Matterhorn, but enjoy Zermatt, it’s the tits.  

Post a TR on MountainProject after you go!

Brady Evans wrote:

-I've seen length of rope for rapping anywhere from 10m-60m. I was thinking about a 20m or a 40m?

-Same thing with shoes, all over the place on what to bring. I have trail runners and approach shoes that both work with my crampons and am leaning towards approach shoes. Hows conditions right now on the top?

-I plan on sleeping at the hut and then heading down to zermatt after I finish. Has anyone gone up, summitted, and headed back to zermatt without staying at the hut? Hows that like for an option? I'm fine with the endurance of it all, more concerned about running out of light as a possibility. 

30 m works for the raps, a 40 m is better.

No idea on current conditions. Alps are in a cycle of afternoon storms (I am currently in the Dolomites).

Shoes depend on conditions.

Many finish the climb and are down in time to catch the last car down to the valley.

FWIW, the Swiss side is apt to be very busy as the Carrel Hut on the Italian side is closed this season.

Ping me if you have other objectives as I am heading that way next week as well.

It's not about how fit you are but about knowing the Hornli ridge route well like you know the palm of your hands. Kilian Jornet summited the peak 8 times before his final attempt and set a new WR. He spent a month in the area carefully studying the Lyon Ridge, which is slightly more difficult from a technical perspective but IMO a more straight forward and clearer ridge than Hornli. Easy to get lost in a ridge dominated by loose crappy rock and in certain points of the ridge very easy to detour and enter the no man's land that the East Face is, which means you'll end up adding several hours on top of your expected time to complete the climb/glorified scramble. 

Stay at the hut and pay the Swiss toll (expensive and crowded). 

Have fun bro. ;)