Ulrich Inderbinen, mountain guide

Died: 14 June, 2004, in Switzerland, aged 103

ULRICH Inderbinen was a Swiss mountain guide who was known as the "King of the Alps" by admiring foreign tourists. He climbed the Matterhorn - "the most beautiful mountain in the world" - at least 370 times, making his final ascent at the age of 90.

Inderbinen, the country’s best-known mountain guide, only stopped work at the age of 95. Even in his 90s, he frequently climbed peaks of more than 13,200ft. "I have never felt bored," he once said in an interview. "That is unless my clients walk too slowly."

Inderbinen was born into a family of nine children tending animals in the mountains above Zermatt, which at that time was still an impoverished farming community rather than a top international resort.

He made his first ascent of the 14,690ft Matterhorn in September 1921 with his younger sister - who wore the traditional long skirt and nailed boots. He got his first job as a mountain guide four years later.

"Mr Inderbinen showed himself thoroughly safe and reliable, so I hope to climb with him more frequently," wrote his first customer, a German doctor, in comments that were subsequently echoed by hundreds more climbers.

During the course of his 70-year career as mountain guide, Inderbinen took time off only once: when he was grounded for ten days with a shoulder injury after slipping on an icy path. Such was his physical health that he had his first dental appointment when he was 74. He never needed glasses, even late in his 90s.

"My good health I attribute to my positive attitude to life, my enjoyment of nature and my profession. As a child I learnt to be satisfied with little, to make no demands on life and always to work," he said in a 1996 biography entitled As Old As The Century.

"Stress and haste are unknown to me. I live as I climb mountains: at a pace that is slow and deliberate but also purposeful and regular. Among my colleagues I am known for not liking to stop before I reach my destination," he said.

Inderbinen said one of the best periods of his life came after his 80th birthday, when he started competing in skiing races for fun. He always won as he was the only competitor in his age category.

He was given a pair of skis for his 90th birthday - a gift he put to regular use - and a mountain-climbing ice axe when he turned 95.

A devout Roman Catholic, he fulfilled a life-long dream by travelling to Rome to receive Pope John Paul II’s blessing when he was 96.

Despite his international reputation, Inderbinen remained modest. Foreign television crews wanting to interview the living legend found he was a man of few words.

He rarely took vacations and never saw the sea. He never owned a car or bicycle.

"I am the only person in Zermatt without a telephone," he would say, proudly. Clients wanting to make contact with him knew they could meet him in Zermatt’s church square in the early evening.

Throughout his life he remained under the spell of the Matterhorn, Switzerland’s most famous landmark.

"It’s simply a fascinating mountain which was as appealing to me on my last climb as it was on my first."

If anyone asked him of any regrets, he would reply that his family vetoed his plans to climb Tanzania’s Mt Kilimanjaro at the age of 92.

"I’ve really no idea why they were all against it," he sighed.

He was once asked by a journalist if he was afraid of dying.

"Not really," he replied. "When I look at the death notices in the paper I scarcely see anyone of my own age."