normal route

{{Short description|Most often used route to climb a mountain}}

File:Matterhorn Hörnligrat.jpg route in its own right, the Hörnli ridge (1,220 m, AD III) of the Matterhorn is the "voie normale" that most climbers use to reach the summit.{{cite web | url=https://www.camptocamp.org/waypoints/37558/fr/cervin | title=Cervin | website=camptocamp.fr | language=fr | quote=Arête du Hörnli (voie normale suisse) | date=2023 | accessdate=8 September 2023}}]]

A normal route or normal way ({{langx|fr|voie normale}}; {{langx|de|Normalweg}}) is the most frequently used climbing route for ascending and descending a given mountain peak; it is usually the easiest and often the most straightforward route.{{cite book

| title=The Mountain Encyclopedia: An A to Z Compendium of Over 2,250 Terms, Concepts, Ideas, and People

| first1=Frederic

| last1=Hartemann

| first2=Robert

| last2=Hauptman

| publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing

| date=2005-06-15

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifs2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA158

| isbn=9781461703310}}{{cite web

| url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/destinations/bmg_route_card_voie_normale_-_piz_buin-3540

| title=BMG Route Card: Voie Normale - Piz Buin

| first=Andy

| last=Perkins

| date=2011-03-07

| publisher=UKClimbing

| access-date=2020-12-06}} Other generic names include the tourist route or trade route, and some climbing routes have specific 'normal route' names such as the "Yak Route" on Mount Everest.{{cite book

| first1=Ghazali

| last1=Musa

| first2=James

| last2=Higham

| first3=Anna

| last3=Thompson-Carr

| title=Mountaineering Tourism

| date=2015-06-05

| publisher=Routledge

| page=52

| isbn=9781317668749}}