Famous mountains beckon climbers for various reasons. Everest, because it's the highest. K2, because of its deservedly fearsome reputation.

For the Matterhorn, it's the mountain's sheer beauty, a rock pyramid so perfectly shaped that it instantly imprints itself on the subconscious of anyone who sees it.

At 14,691 feet, it is only half as high as Everest, and it doesn't even begin to approach the same league of difficulty as K2. Yet, the Matterhorn attracts climbers with its powerful character and notoriety, silently daring them as it towers majestically into the ether of the Swiss Alps.

This siren call, coupled with its easy access amidst the population centers of Europe, also makes the Matterhorn a killer.

While Everest has taken approximately 170 lives, and K2 considerably less than that, the Matterhorn has killed over five hundred climbers since it was first summited, and even that initial conquest took a deadly toll.

Due to the vertical appearance of its glacially sculpted walls, the peak was long thought to be unclimbable.

Some eighteen expeditions had met with failure when finally a party of seven, led by British climber Edward Whymper, reached the summit on July 14th, 1865.

On the descent, however, one of the less experienced members of the party lost his footing, and pulled three roped companions along with himself tumbling to their deaths over 3,000 feet down the north wall of the mountain.

Miraculously, only a break in the rope saved Whymper and the Taugwalders, father and son members of the climbing party, from also being pulled down into the depths. (The broken rope, actually only a length of cord, is on display in the Alpine Museum in nearby Zermatt.)

In a testament to the odd fascination human psychology has with death, this tragedy fixed itself, unbreakably, in a timeless bond to the mountain, only serving to draw more to the Matterhorn's seductive challenge.

Those compelled to stand atop the peak would do well to first visit Zermatt's three cemeteries where a daunting number of gravestones attest to the many lives cut short by this allure.

Like an incoming tide, climbers stream through Zermatt daily on their pilgrimage to the mountain. Considering the tragedy surrounding the 1865 Whymper climb, the number of climbers on the Matterhorn nowadays seems vaguely sacrilegious.

On a single morning last August, there were over seventy climbers clamboring up its walls. A couple of days later, a group of Korean climbers, clad in $400 red Gore-Tex parkas emblazoned with the words, Matterhorn Expedition 2004, arrived in Zermatt's train station to conquer the once unclimbable mountain.

While no walk in the park, the Matterhorn would not be considered a difficult summit by any world class climber. Before he charged up San Juan Hill, Teddy Roosevelt made it to the top to show the Brits at his hotel "that a Yankee could do it too."

Still, as author Richard Goedeke states in The Alpine 4000 Meter Peaks by the Classic Routes, "The Matterhorn has one of the most demanding ordinary routes in the Alps, less for the difficulty of individual pitches than for the length of the climb and care demanded."

The high level of respect the climb demands is further underlined by the occasional (and unsettling) small plaques, some rusty, others relatively new looking, bolted on the walls of the mountain commemorating the deaths of individual guides. Of the many anecdotes pointing to the fact that the peak shouldn't be taken lightly, the one author B.P. Truffer notes in his book The History of the Matterhorn about a German couple who wanted to spend their wedding night on the summit stands out. Both fell to their deaths during the climb.

Whether you're contemplating making the Matterhorn part of your own wedding plans or not, once in Zermatt you can sign up at the Alpine Center in the center of town for the climb. Climbers should be in top physical shape and have experience with multi-pitch climbing on mixed snow and rock, with familiarity in the fundamental uses of an ice axe and crampons. Aside from that, all it takes is a short evaluation-acclimatization climbing jaunt with one of the Swiss guides and 1,120 Swiss francs, about 900 bucks.

Other certified German, French, Italian, and American guides are independently available as well at varying rates. Though not meaning to suggest that you won't make it back, guides usually require payment in advance. In contrast to most other climbs in the Alps, and in a particular nod to safety, all guide to client ratios on the Matterhorn are strictly on a one to one basis. The best time of the year to climb is during the summer months, depending on weather conditions.

The climb itself takes two days, and involves an approach hike up to the Hornli climbers' hut at 10,600 feet, then a 4:00 A.M. start with helmets and headlamps the following morning on the Hornli Ridge, by far the most frequently used of the four primary routes up the mountain. With so many climbers, the start up the ridge can remind you of those old Westerns depicting an Oklahoma land rush.

The way to the summit entails a mixture of belayed climbing and scrambling over spiny, fragmented rock at pretty much a full-tilt pace over five or six sustained hours. After ascending the nearly vertical Moseley Slab, named after an American doctor killed at this point in 1879, a momentary break is normally taken at the Solvay Hut, a simple emergency shelter a bit more than midway up. Occasionally, and thankfully, short breaks may be had while standing on a ledge waiting for another party to climb a particular pitch.

Curiously, while the precipitous drop is a constant presence, you don't notice it all that much. Other than wiping dripping sweat off the end of your nose, and taking an occasional quick gulp from your water bottle, your whole focus, your entire world consists of the immediate two to three square feet in front of you as you climb steadily up the peak.

The reason for the hurry is efficiency. As Alois Viehover, a professional climbing guide with extensive experience in the Alps states, "When the sun melts ice and snow later in the day, the chances of rockfall increase, not to mention the possibility of violent late afternoon thunder storms which often rake the Alps." Not mincing his words, Viehover says, "On the Matterhorn, speed is safety."

Though not the stuff of high-wire narrative, fixed ropes and belay anchors give climbers an extra measure of security on a couple of fairly dicey pitches as they hesitantly peer down from the dizzying heights on the upper reaches of the peak.

Fatigue at the top is counterbalanced by the adrenaline laced elation of making it, and the indescribable, almost overwhelming, beauty of the surrounding snow covered Alps appearing and disappearing like apparitions through swirling clouds.

After flashing toothy grins and exchanging handshakes on the approximately sixteen by five foot summit block, you slowly begin to feel the chill of the altitude, as the elation of the moment gradually gives way to the realization that you have another four to five hours' worth of downclimbing and rappelling. (According to the Alpine Museum, the record round trip to the top is a truly incredible three hours.)

Aside from the ability to move quickly on the climb, knowledge of the mountain is essential, and the best way to scale the peak, whether you're an expert climber or not, is to employ a guide. Not that having a guide guarantees absolute safety, as the aforementioned memorial plaques indicate, but it's usually those without a guide, frankly...those who aren't smart enough to know what they don't know who most often perish.

They die a hundred different ways. Lack of proper equipment, insufficient training, rock fall, ice fall, rope entanglements on the crowded walls, hypothermia, freak snowstorms, lightning, and being hit by falling climbers are but a few of the ways they go.

The cause of most fatalities is by far poor climbing conditions. Quite often, young climbers, their youthful enthusiasm, self-image of immortality, along with usually tight budgets, making them less apt to turn back, attempt to bag the peak despite unsafe climbing conditions. Some get away with it, others don't.

Last summer, for instance, June and July were pretty much closed out for climbing the mountain due to too much snow and ice. Yet, as happens every season, a young solo climber decided to go up anyway.

According to a worker in the Hornli Hut, after the climber went missing, a search party first found his diary in his tent, and soon afterward located his body near the base of the mountain. Against the untold devastation this tragedy inflicted upon this young climber's loved ones, a climb of this great mountain without proper care seems hollow and absurd.

The words of Teddy Roosevelt in a letter to his sister, Anna, shortly after his climb in 1881 hold true today. - "The mountain is so steep that snow will not remain on the crumbling, jagged rocks, and possesses a certain somber interest from the number of people who have lost their lives on it. Accidents, however, are generally due to either rashness or else a combination of timidity and fatigue. A fairly hardy man, cautious but not cowardly, with good guides, has little to fear."

* Photographer/writer, Scott Shelton climbed the Matterhorn with a good guide in August of 1999.

Useful Facts:

Getting There: Round-trip air from Washington, Dulles to Geneva, Switzerland via Frankfurt costs approximately $1,182 on United Airlines. Then, a three to four hour, $100 one way fare, train trip from Geneva with a change of trains at Visp, will have you in Zermatt.

Climbing Arrangements: Berge und Mehr Guides, Alois Viehover Tel, 07 61/28 69 19 E-Mailpicos.f@picos-online.de OR The Zermatt Alpine Center Tel. ++41 (0) 27 966 24 60 FAX ++41 (0) 27 966 24 69 or E-Mail; alpinecenter@zermatt.ch. *As mentioned in the article, you should be in top physical shape and have at least intermediate climbing experience to make the climb.

Necessary Gear: Ice axe, climbing boots, crampons, gaiters, helmet, headlamp, rope, harness & carabiners, etc., climbing pack, water bottles, mountain parka and warm clothing, gloves, sunglasses and sunscreen.

When to go: July to mid-September is usually the best time to make the climb, depending on the amount of snow and ice on the mountain.

Where to Stay: As noted, one night is usually spent in the Hornli Hut on the Matterhorn during the climb. Otherwise, Zermatt is loaded with hotels. Search the Zermatt, Switzerland home page for additional information.