While some prefer to spend the early morning on a holiday in bed or coming back from a fun night out, Daniel Lichy (18) and Matthew Pace (19) chose to climb one of Europe’s highest mountains, the Matterhorn. At the end of August, and one day before Daniel’s 18th birthday, the two friends set out with a guide at 4am to ascend the mountain, which peaks at a staggering 4,478m.
Daniel is the youngest Luxembourger to climb the Matterhorn and Matthew, the second and youngest Maltese to do so.
Family as a driving force
The idea for this project was sparked nearly a year ago, when Daniel’s father showed him and his friend Matthew family pictures of himself climbing Matterhorn in 2013. He then pulled out photos of Daniel’s grandfather, who, in 1976, climbed that same mountain. Thinking of carrying on the family tradition, Daniel and Matthew decided to take on the challenge.
But it was also a family tragedy that pushed the two friends towards completing the adventure: earlier in 2021, Matthew’s 15-year-old cousin Rebecca had passed away from bone cancer, after starting multiple projects to raise funds and awareness for the illness. Matthew and Daniel decided to include this element into their climb, to honour Rebecca and raise awareness for her cause.
“The idea of accomplishing something at 18 was another motivation,” says Daniel, who is of Czech origin and has Luxembourg nationality, in an interview with Delano.
Daniel, smiling on the steep face of one of Europe’s most dangerous mountains. Daniel Lichy.
Ready or not ?
The climb and descent took a total of 10 and a half hours, with a 30-minute break at the top. “It was quite intimidating waking up at 4am and seeing everyone prepare because obviously we hadn’t climbed any other mountain that was that difficult,” says Matthew, who is originally from Malta. Thought they had trained extensively for several months prior to the climb--a challenge considering how flat Luxembourg is--the mountain was both a physical and mental challenge.
Daniel recalls: “Sometimes we just saw stones rolling down from the mountain because the ice was melting due the temperature rising during the day. These stones were sometimes rolling nearly two to five meters besides the other climbers, so it was quite dangerous and scary to see them dodge.” As if the extremely steep, massive drops, exposure to harsh weather conditions, and high altitude weren’t already enough for the average person to bail out.
“It was dark outside, it was cold, the adrenaline was already coursing through our blood, so I think we went with the flow, and as soon as we set foot on the mountain, things just happened automatically,” says Matthew. “It’s mentally challenging because you’re like ‘I got to the top; I just want to get back down.’ It’s a dangerous mountain, and the descent keeps dragging for ever. After five hours, we were very happy to get back down,” he adds.
Regardless of this, both young men were elated to arrive at the top, after months of hard work swimming, running with an oxygen-lowering mask, and learning climbing techniques. Taking plenty of pictures and calling their loved ones, the young men were able to witness the fruit of their effort at a 4.5km altitude, after ascending in low visibility for five hours.
When asked what advice they would give to anyone wanting to attempt the adventure, they said that being realistic and aware of one’s boundaries was needed to train and overcome them.
Matthew Pace, the youngest Maltese to climb Matterhorn, plans on conquering Mount Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc next. Daniel Lichy
Ain’t no mountain high enough
Having had a first taste of mountain climbing, the two friends are looking at new challenges: the Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest mountain, seems like a strong contender for the next project. That, and the Kilimanjaro, which Matthew’s mum hopes to climb, will have to wait until the next summer holidays, after the young men graduate from high school.
“There are a few projects but nothing is fully planned yet. I think we’ll continue this climbing experience,” says Matthew.
And what about the future? To that question--a tough one, they confess--both students plan on going to university to potentially study in the fields of economics or medicine. But ultimately, as Daniel concludes, it’s all about “doing something that makes us happy.”