Monte Amaro in invernale con pernotto al bivacco pelino

Come ormai da tradizione quando torno in Italia dalla Svizzera si organizza una qualche gita in montagna...che tipicamente riserva sempre qualche sorpresa. Questa volta, a causa della spalla lussata di mio fratello, non si poteva organizzare nulla di tecnicamente impegnativo. Per cui, si é deciso di andare sul Monte Amaro, pernottare al bivacco pelino a due passi dalla cima, e poi scendere il giorno dopo. Motivazione principale é stata il voler testare il sacco a pelo invernale nuovo di zecca di mio fratello.

   La mattina del 27 Dicembre di parte da Bari alle 4:00. Dopo essersi fermati a Campo di Giove per noleggiare due paia di ciaspole si va fino a Passo San Leonardo e li' si lasciano le macchine. Alle 9:30 ci si mette in cammino. Siamo in 5, uno dei quali non ha mai messo piede sulla neve con le racchette...per cui non si procede troppo velocemente. Per fortuna la giornata é davvero stupenda ed é un piacere passeggiare sulla neve.

Dopo circa un'ora di cammino si giunge ai piedi del canalone della direttissima. Abbiamo scelto di percorrere questa via all'andata e di scendere poi passando dai piani di femmina morta e fonte dell'orso. Il canalone sembra meno ripido di quanto sembrava dal parcheggio di Passo San Leonardo. Di solito é sempre cosi', le montagne sembrano sempre piu' ripide quando viste di fronte e da lontano...di solito!

La salita lungo il canalone procede inizialmente senza problemi, anche se un paio di membri del gruppo hanno dei problemi alle gambe. Il caldo inizia a farsi sentire...Incontriamo tre sci alpinisti che si fermano a circa un terzo del canalone perché non hanno i ramponi per gli sci e ritengono che la neve piu' in alto sia gelata. La cosa un po' mi preoccupa perché le ciaspole che abbiamo non sono del tutto adatte a percorrere grosse pendenze su neve gelata.

La salita comincia a rivelarsi sempre piu' impegnativa e le ciaspole hanno sempre meno aderenza. Ci fermiamo in un punto in cui la neve soffice permetteva di scavare un gradino per sedersi. Vista la difficoltà a procedere con le racchette da neve, si decide di provare ad andare avanti senza racchette da neve. Dopo un piccolo test mi accorgo che con un po' di sforzo si riesce a calciare gradini nella neve che danno molta piu' sicurezza delle racchette da neve in precario equilibrio. L'unico piccolo problema é che io sono l'unico ad avere scarponi adatti a questo mestiere, ovvero procedere su un pendio innevato calciando gradini nella neve. Quindi io sono costretto ad andare avanti tutto il tempo per i rimanenti (quasi) 600m di canalone.

Inizialmente si procede bene e anche molto piu' velocemente che con le racchette...ma poi la neve fresca comincia ad aumentare e si sprofonda abbastanza. La stanchezza aumenta velocemente ma il sole si fa sempre piu' basso all'orizzonte per cui non c'é tempo da perdere. Il canalone diventa anche sempre piu' ripido...Per fortuna la neve fresca si concentra tutta al centro del canalone, per cui scegliendo accuratamente il percorso é possibile evitare in gran parte di sprofondare nella neve. 

   Poco prima dell'uscita del canalone, che si raggiunge voltando a destra una volta sotto i salti di roccia che scendono direttamente dal punto piu' alto, la neve si fa molto dura. Io con i miei scarponi riesco a calciare piccoli gradini laterali che mi sono sufficienti per un decente equilibrio. Visto che pero' gli altri non hanno scarponi altrettanto rigidi sono costretto a scavare piccoli gradini con l'aiuto della piccozza. La pendenza non é elevata, anzi é molto minore del canalone e quindi questo lavoro non é pericoloso, né troppo faticoso. Finalmente si esce dal canalone, con il sole ormai quasi a filo dell'orizzonte. Lo spettacolo é stupendo ma questa volta non ho la mia macchina fotografica DSLR, solo una piccola compatta e quindi le foto non renderebbero giustizia. Personalmente ero convinto che il bivacco fosse praticamente a due passi...ma in realtà eravamo ancora circa 150 metri sotto la cima. Il modo piu' sicuro per arrivare in cima sarebbe stato di fare un bel giro attorno ad una "parete" di circa 40° di pendenza...ma il tempo non ce lo permetteva. Per cui, ho continuato il mio lavoro di calcia e scava anche su questo pendio. Quando cominciavo quasi a perdere le speranze perché il sole era ormai del tutto tramontato e il freddo si stava facendo sentire, la croce di vetta fa capolino e allora siamo sicuri di essere praticamente a due passi dal bivacco. Entriamo nel bivacco dopo il tramonto, ma per fortuna grazie ai riflessi della neve a un po' anche grazie alla luna piena si vede ancora molto bene.

Il bivacco é piu' ospitale di come me lo aspettassi, anche se dentro c'é parecchia neve...probabilmente qualcuno si é dimenticato la porta aperta. Dopo una cena abbastanza veloce si va a dormire visto che tra la sveglia alle 3:15 e le 8 ore di cammino le energie rimaste non sono poi tante.

   Durante la notte la temperatura non va di molto sotto lo zero, nel bivacco. Le bottiglie d'acqua non ghiacciano del tutto e la condensa che si forma sul soffitto cade come goccia d'acqua. Grazie al mio sacco a pelo da -27° passo una notte molto calda...tranne che per quei due minuti in cui sono dovuto uscire per andare in bagno :).

   Il vento infuriava per tutta la notte, ma questo era il meno. La mattina dopo, ci rendiamo conto che non si vede a un passo a causa della nebbia. Questo, oltre al freddo pungente (la percepita sarà stata intorno ai -15°) ci fa un po' preoccupare. Per fortuna abbiamo un piccolo navigatore GPS da montagna con salvato l'itinerario di discesa. Lo seguiamo fedelmente. La via di discesa é ad ogni modo abbastanza ovvia in quanto ci troviamo su una grossa cresta (molto larga) che va seguita. Su entrambi i lati é troppo ripido. Dopo una mezzoretta di cammino il vento comincia a calare e ogni tanto la nebbia si dirada regalando dei bei panorami.

Una volta entrati nella valle sotto femmina morta la nebbia svanisce del tutto, ma resta il vento. L'ultimo ostacolo per la discesa si presenta alla fine di questa valle. Ci troviamo su punto piu' alto di una enorme conca che dobbiamo percorrere per tornare alla strada. I primo 100 metri sono abbastanza ripidi ma per fortuna la neve é buona e permette una buona aderenza con le racchette. I successivi 300-400m sono meno ripidi e grazie alla neve soffice si riesce a scendere senza molta fatica e anche molto velocemente.

Arrivati alla fine di questa conca non resta che seguire delle tracce si sci alpinisti attraverso il bosco, facendo quasi a botte con i mille rametti che sbattevano in faccia. Alle 13:30, finalmente, si raggiunge la strada. Tolte le racchette si cammina sulla strada fino a tornare a Passo San Leonardo, chiudendo cosi' un anello da 22Km. 

   Una cosa buffa é che quando torniamo al negozio dove abbiamo noleggiato le racchette, il negoziante ci dice che non credeva ci avrebbe visto mai piu'! Dalle domande che ci fa intuiamo che lui non conoscesse nessuno che avesse fatto la stessa cosa di inverno, forse solo gente salita e scesa in giornata. Comunque, per lo spettacolo che si gode dalla cima e per la sensazione di solitudine che si gode da lassu', consiglio questa gita a tutti. Un consiglio, in inverno i ramponi e la piccozza possono tornare molto molto utili. Se noi li avessimo avuti avremmo fatto molta meno fatica e saremmo stati anche molto piu' sicuri.

   

Hanwag Approach GTX - review. Best hiking/approach shoes ever?

Here is a short review of the Hanwag GTX approach shoes. I decided to post this after my trip to Nepal a few weeks ago (see previous post). The decision of buying these shoes was driven by the fact that I sometimes suffer from pressure points on my heels, because of a slight form of Haglund syndrome. I guess this was probably also the reason for my injury at the Achilles tendon after the Jungfrau marathon...Anyway, I decide to buy a pair of approach shoes that are low, so let's say below the ankle. I didn't even know about the Hanwag brand, but after a few trials in the shop these shoes feel really good and I decide to buy them. 

   Before leaving for Nepal I go off for a short hike after work carrying a 18Kg backpack and trying to walk uphill on a rugged footpath in the dark, a nice test I should say. They perform really good and I have no pains whatsoever...which is a very good sign. But still the test is not complete because I have only used them for 2 hours, while in Nepal I would have to hike for several days. 

   During the trip in Nepal I wear this shoes on every hiking day, except when I have to be on the glacier. They are absolutely amazing shoes. The sole is quite stiff, similar to a normal hiking boot, so they give a lot of stability when walking on rugged terrains. Also, despite being lower than the ankle I have the feeling that they provide a very good ankle support. I should say that I was hiking almost all the time with walking sticks, so these might help in increasing the general stability, but still I had the feeling that the shoes where very stable. As for every good hiking boot, the tip is hard and if it happens to kick a few rocks your toes won't feel anything. The level of grip is also astonishing, as they could basically grip onto anything other than bare ice. The porters managed to grip onto bare ice with trainers only...but I'm sure they were somehow cheating :). I also find that on the steep paths the fact of not having an ankle support is helpful. This is because I can flex my ankle much more than with a normal hiking boot, and therefore I can keep always the full sole in contact with the ground, hence increasing the grip. My fear was that I was carrying a heavy load, and after a while those shoes might have given me pain or blisters...none of this happened. I had absolutely no pain and not even the shadow of a blister.

   When I reached the base camp of Mera Peak I wanted to give these shoes another test, and I went bouldering for a few hours. The base camp of Mera Peak is a really good place for bouldering...and I managed to spend three hours going from boulder to boulder. The shoes performed wonderfully...really really good. I could stand on really small ledges using only the tip of the shoes and still feel a great stability on the whole foot. Of course you cannot expect to be able to bend these shoes as you would with normal climbing shoes...but I guess this is not a defect of the shoes. So if you are climbing on walls or on boulders that do not require you to use too much friction, I would even dare saying that these shoes are better than the normal climbing shoes. 

   Of course they are also waterproof. I should say I did not have the chance to test them in a bad storm or crossing a river, but I had the chance to get them wet a bit and my feet were always nice and dry.

   A snug fit, very high comfort level, good ankle support and generally a very good feet support...what can you ask more for a hiking shoe? I have never tried those sort of lightweight hiking shoes before, but I could say this is by far the best hiking shoes I ever had. I guess if you really want to find a negative point for them, is that having a low ankle I would be not so nice to walk through deep snow (as you might get some in your shoes). Also, if you are one of those fashionable hiker/climber, you might start complaining that there is no big logo of the brand on these shoes. Differently from La Sportiva where you can normally read the log from miles away, you almost cannot read the log at all. Personally, I find this a good thing!

   In conclusion, if you are looking for a good pair of approach shoes...just go for them, you simply cannot be disappointed! The price might be a bit high, but looking at the material and to the fact that after two weeks of trekking basically no damage appeared on the shoes, I can say that the price is justified.

   Give them a 9,5/10...9,5 only because 10 is perfection and as we all know, perfection does not exist :)

Mera Peak, unfortunately only an attempt

First of all I should say that I have decided to write this post in English because a lot of people I know asked for this, and most of them speak English. Maybe in the future I will write some other posts in English as well so that more people could read and, hopefully, benefit from them.
   Having to get rid of some the holidays from work (new company policy) me and my friend tried to find a nice trek in the late autumn. What better than going to Nepal? And, once there, why not attempting a peak above 6000m? The choice fell on the Mera Peak, which is possibly the easiest peak above 6000m in Nepal. It's basically considered as a trekking peak, despite the fact that crampons, harness and rope are necessary. Only the last 20m are "a bit" difficult, but in total is classified as PD-, so basically a motorway. Anyway, this time the aim was not for something difficult but for something high, also as a test for the altitude sickness.
  The trek starts in Lukla.

This is a small village built around the airport that Hillary wanted to build right in the middle of the mountains. Is a bit a particular airport since the runway is not flat at all, and all pilots landing there must have a specific training. This airport makes it much easier to get into the Himalaya and to start expeditions to Everest and company. However, being in the mountains, the airport is at the mercy of the weather...which basically means that your flight could be delayed even by one week if strong winds persist for long enough. Couple this with the extreme non organization of the Nepali and you will understand why some people are willing to pay even 500 dollars to get an helicopter down to Kathmandu. After the arrival in Lukla we went for a short tea, we met the porters and then off we go. We is myself, Ross and Ingo. We all are colleagues at work, but all come from different countries.
   First day of trek is not so long. We climb from 2800 to 3400 and sleep there in a lodge.

Here we get to try the typical Nepali dish, dal baht. This consist, at least in all the lodges we have been, in a big portion of boiled rice, some stir fry potato and vegetables, and a lentils soup. Quite a nice dish actually. Somebody could say it's not that nice to eat everyday, but I actually did not mind it. In the first evening we start understanding how all the other evenings would have been like...doing nothing because there is no light in the lodges and basically waiting to go to sleep because it's too cold. The only warm place in this trek has been the sleeping bag! Unfortunately we can't talk that much with our guide. He speaks English, but not very good and sometimes we got the impression he replied to questions we never asked. Nonetheless, his English was good enough to understand a little bit of the culture of the local population.
   Morning of the second day we realize that Ingo is sick, very sick. Altitude has already got its first victim. However our guide decides to still go on for that day, but to have a shorter hike. We are "only" going to go to 4100. It takes almost the whole morning to get to the second lodge where we would have spent the night. Ingo is unfortunately really suffering and he has to seek for the help of one the porters to carry his rucksack. Once at the second lodge, me and Ross go off to inspect the path of the next day.

This is a relatively steep ascent up to a pass at 4500m, almost completely covered in snow. It has been snowing a few days ago but due to the cold the snow, and ice, is still there. So we take the ice axe and we go. The path does not seem that difficult and even though sometimes it's useful to cut some steps we can manage without crampons. We see a few porters coming down with huge loads, at an incredible speed for that path. Any person I know, even alpine guides, would have had to slow down on that path...especially on the way down. Not the porters...despite the fact that they were only wearing trainers and not carrying any ice axe or walking stick, they were coming down as if they had crampons. Really incredible. We stop at 100m from the pass and start walking back to the lodge...we don't want to spoil the surprise of looking on the other side of the pass the day before we have to actually cross it.
   This second evening is even colder than the first one and it takes a while before we actually manage to get warm in the sleeping bags. We all hope Ingo is going to feel better the next day so that he can continue trekking with us. Following morning unfortunately his conditions are still unchanged and the guide decides to send him back to Luckla. One porter goes with him and from now on there will only be me, Ross, the guide and one porter. It was quite disappointing that the guide did not let Ingo try and cross the pass, but at the end of this third day, we understood why he did it. The third day was possibly one of the most tiring one. Once we reached the pass at 4500m we realized that there was another, even higher pass, to cross.

This higher pass was "only" 100m higher, but I can tell you that until you are properly acclimatized even 100m can be not exactly a piece of cake. Once we reach the top of the second pass we stop at a tea house on the way to have some quick lunch. Here I ask our guide if the path is from now on only going down hill...and he says yes! Of course he was lying. After the tea house there is a decently long down hill part, but then we have to go up again to another pass. Here we meet another group of trekkers coming back.

They seem to look at us in a bit strange way...and I think I know why. Me and Ross were carrying really big rucksacks, since we decided to carry as much as possible on our own without leaving too many things to the porter. Conversely, most if not all the other people that we met on the trek were carrying basically a day pack of not more than 30 liters. And then you could see the porters loaded like hell. Onc could say "well, in the end is their job". That is true, but giving people the possibility of having a job is one, and exploiting them as hell is another. It would be the same thing as if your boss at work decided to work only 6 hours per day doing almost nothing giving all the work to his employees and to you. Also in that case, that's your job...but would you be happy of doing that? Also, the job of a porter, despite paying quite well, is a rather dangerous one. They do this job not because they love the mountains or whatever, but only because they want to earn enough money to pay the school fee to their children. In such a way they won't have to do the same porter job once grown up. Is there a more noble intention than this one? For this reason I only left to the porter my double layer boots for the glacier, which simply did not fit in the backpack. Anyway, back to the trek. After this pass there was a section slightly exposed and contouring the flank of a mountain up to another pass. After this, finally...and after a long way down, we reached the lodge.

   In the evening we were hosted in the kitchen since it was the only place with a running fire and therefore the only possible place in which to keep slightly warm. It was really nice to spend some time really inside a house of local people. Again the problem was that they were not speaking English, so we could not talk a lot...but nonetheless, a nice thing. Guess what we had for dinner...?
   In the morning our guide wants to cheer us up a bit after the long day we had to through and he says today would be flat...but Nepali flat. Basically Nepali flat means that it's not going up steep by more than 1000m...but it absolutely not flat! We start by going down in the valley up to a river and a nice and relatively big village. We stop here for lunch and for the first and possibly only time we don't feel cold while having our meal. It was really sunny, no wind and no clouds. In this village we could see Mera Peak for the first time.

It looked damn far away, and quite difficult to access from this direction. This gave a small taste of the scale of Himalayan expedition. You gotta walk for days just to get in sight with the mountain you want to climb. Also, we had the great advantage of being able to use the airport, but what about 50 years ago? The first explorers that went into the Himalaya to try and summit 8000m peaks, those were the real adventure people. Basically having to walk for a month only to get to the base camp.
   In the afternoon we leave this village heading along the valley and following the river. The path was never steep but always going up hill, even if very slightly. At the end of the day we got the lodge at almost 4000m. So basically the Nepali flat was starting at 3800, going down to 3400 and then up agin to 4000. Ok, not really a massive altitude gain and loss...but I would not call it flat :). In the lodge, at the end of the day, I start feeling the remoteness of the environment. Not that the other villages were full of people and with an intense night life, not at all...it's just that the surrounding now look much more like an expedition one.

The next morning we start walking up to the base camp of Mera Peak. The guide takes it really easy to give us enough time to acclimatize. It's quite funny to reach the height of Mont Blanc and still being only wearing light trekking boots, and only a long sleeve shirt...far from glaciers and snowy summits. In total it takes 4 hours to walk up to the base camp. The height gain is only 800m, but as I said, the guide made us walk quite slowly. Once at the base camp we have time to relax and to enjoy the sun. Looking around I see lots of big and small boulders...and I just can't resist the temptation to start climbing. I have to say that bouldering at 4900m is much more tiring that in an indoor gym. Sometimes I get the impression that some locals are looking at me like I'm doing something really weird...but I guess they have seen other people doing this before.

Next day is a so called rest day. This means that we will have more time to acclimatize. To help the process we walk up to 5200m, which allows us to enjoy nice views of the whole valley, and then we come back to camp...just in time for lunch. In the afternoon we practice climbing up fixed rope, because apparently there will be at least one on the summit. Later, I put on my Spantiks and start walking around the base camp, in order to get some practice. These boots are absolutely massive...to the point that my crampons had to be extended to the maximum in order to fit them on. They are double layer boots and are supposed to be very good up to 7000m. However, walking in them, requires some practice. At the beginning it feels like wearing blocks of woods. Finally, we start preparing the rucksack for the following two days. The plan is to walk up to the high camp at 5800m, sleep there and the next morning attempt the summit. I'm not so confident in the weather...The sky gets suddenly filled with the typical clouds that, in the Alps, would announce bad weather. However, there is not much we can do...just hope.

Following morning Ross is also suffering from altitude sickness and the guide suggests he goes down to the lower lodge at 4100 and waits there for us. A bit joking, but in reality quite convinced about that because of the weather, I tell him that we would see each other again in the evening.
   Walking up to the glacier is quite tiring. Big boots, big rucksack, and no friend to talk to...but in a couple hours we are there. A group comes down from the summit and tells us that the wind was so strong the previous night that their tents were ripped apart. In fact, even at this lower altitude, the wind can clearly be felt as strong. The guide promptly says that we have to go back.

WHATTTA!!!

I came all this way from Switzerland, walked for 5 days to get up here, risked to take food poisoning at every meal just to get to the beginning of a glacier?? No way! I want at the very least to reach 6000m, if we really can't make it up that day. We finally agree that camping up there is not possible and that we have to leave all the unnecessary stuff there, together with the porter. We will then try and climb as far as possible, until the wind becomes too strong. The climb on the glacier goes really smoothly until we reach the first plateau. But I have never felt so unsafe on a glacier before. There were 3 of us on the rope and we were at a maximum of 3 meters from each other. The first person on the rope (I was in the middle) had all the rope which was than tied with a knot and in his rucksack.

WHATTTA!!!

I ask the guide why we are doing that. I try and tell him that normally on a glacier there are crevasses and that if he falls, we are all going with him...unless someone cuts the rope. Luckily I had my pen knife attached to my harness :). He says that on this part of the glacier there are no crevasses...and he seems sure about that. But I'm sure we have crossed a few, and even if they were very well covered in snow, how can he be so sure one of the bridge is not going to collapse? No No No, this is not the way to do it. On a glacier, if the risk of falling in a crevasse is higher than the risk of slipping and not stopping because too steep, you keep the rope long. And long means at least 8 meters between each person, in case of 3 people on the rope. At least, this is what I have learnt. Once we reach the plateau I feel the greatness of the Himalaya. Even though I'm well above 5000m there are still mountains that look giants from where I stand. Also, there are mountains all over the place, up to where eye can see.

It feels exciting and intimidating at the same time. Exciting because I feel that the possibility of climbing in that region are basically unlimited, and intimidating because I feel like a flea in comparison to these giants (and I was not even close to the really big ones). The excitement  is so much that I start singing the Indiana Jones theme to myself as we keep on ascending the glacier. Wind becomes stronger and stronger by the minute but I feel like nothing can stop me. A short time later though I have to realize that the wind is in fact too strong to keep on going. the guide stops and waves at me. I understand that he wants to go back because the risk of flying away is getting higher. I then take off my backpack, secure it to the ice axe to prevent it from flying away, and start taking pictures. It's too cold and too windy to even look at what I'm taking pictures of. I just move my camera randomly around pushing the button at very high frequency (some pictures must be good at the end, I think to myself). Wind was so strong I had to stay down on my knees while taking pictures. After a couple of minutes the guide waves again at me trying to say we have to start walking down. I felt like I could have gone on for a little while more...but OK, he is the guide and he should know what he is doing. It feels like a great disappointment having to turn back after so much work to actually get there. I mean, I even had to spend a full day on the train just to go to Chamonix (from Zürich) and back in one day just to buy the double layer boots!! I guess the principle according to which reaching the summit is an option and going back home is a must still applies. However, I did not feel that we pushed it really to the limit...we could have gone a bit forward. Anyway...that's life and, more specific, that's what mountaineering is all about :).
   The way down starts pretty quickly and in a much shorter time than what it took to go up we are at the bottom of the glacier. We take all the equipment back and start walking towards the base camp where we have a quick lunch. The plan is to go down to the lower lodges in the afternoon, since at the base camp is getting colder. In the lower lodges I meet Ross again and, again joking, I tell him that he should trust me more! I told him we would have met in the same evening...and in fact we did.
   There's not much to say on the way back to Luckla since it was basically the same as the way to the base camp.

Traversata del Bristen (Sud - Nord)...tentativo

Non mi è mai piaciuto festeggiare il mio compleanno...ma visto che cadeva di sabato (13 Ottobre) ho pensato che un bel giro in montagna sarebbe stato un bel modo di passare la giornata. Per l'occasione ho scelto una montagna relativamente bassa, e dalla quale non ci si aspetterebbe chissà che: il Bristen. Questa è una montagna appena oltre i 3000m molto ben visibile dal treno e dall'autostrada del San Gottardo. Di norma la salita, che di per se è abbastanza lunga, si fa lungo la cresta nord. Qualche passaggio di roccia ma tutto molto facile. Io pero' ho pensato di salire dalla cresta sud e di scendere poi dalla cresta nord. Insomma, una vera e propria traversata. La salita lungo la cresta sud è data come AD con passaggi di III...quindi non esattamente una passeggiata. Il piano prevedeva la salita al rifugio (Etzlihütte) il Sabato e poi la traversata di Domenica. Sapevo che la Domenica sarebbe stata una lunga giornata ma a dire il vero l'unica incognita era la neve. Nei giorni precedenti aveva nevicato un po' e in piu' era prevista neve per la Domenica sera fino a circa 1600m. Comunque, la mia idea è sempre stata quella di andare con (quasi) qualsiasi tempo e poi giudicare le condizioni in giornata e in loco. Inoltre, le previsioni del tempo già non funzionano...figuriamoci in montagna :).
Sabato mattina (neanche tanto presto) si prende il treno per Amsteg e di li' si comincia la salita al rifugio. Ci aspettano ben 1500m di salita, che verranno affrontati in un tempo relativamente breve. All'inizio trovare il sentiero giusto richiede un paio di occhiate alla mappa, ma nulla di difficile. Una volta imboccato il sentiero giusto il tutto procede con calma. Da Amsteg si risale prima seguendo un zig zag abbastanza ripido fino a portarsi all'altezza di alcuni alpeggi. Da li' si continua sempre tendendo a sinistra e senza perdere quota fino a portarsi nella valle dell Etzli. Qui ci si ricongiunge ad una strada sterrata, che è comunque percorribile da auto. La si segue fino ad attraversare il torrente e poi si riprende un sentiero di montagna fino al rifugio. Lungo la strada incontriamo gente che aveva preso il bus con noi fino ad Amsteg, ma che poi aveva continuato fino a Bristen (paese) e fino alla fine della strada guadagnando circa 500 metri sulla salita. Insomma, il nostro solito ritmo blando :).

Arrivati al rifugio ci godiamo un po' ri relax e poi si riparte per andare a testare la palestra di arrampicata. La cosa si rivela piu' difficile del previsto, anche per via della mancanza delle scarpette da roccia...anche se so che questa è solo una scusa :). In compenso pero' possiamo fare belle foto al panorama.

Si ritorna al rifugio in tempo per la cena, che non manca di sorprendere! Addirittura una lasagna!
La domenica mattina si parte alle 7:20 dal rifugio, in quanto non pensavamo che la salita sarebbe durata oltre 10-11 ore. Si segue il sentiero per ancora un po' piu' di un'oretta fino ad arrivare al passo Pörtlilücke e di li' si volge a destra puntando la cresta. Non serve immettersi direttamente sulla cresta ma è sufficiente puntare in direzione N risalendo il pendio.

Dopo circa 40 minuti si arriva all'inizio vero e proprio della cresta. Qui iniziano le preoccupazioni in quanto c'è piu' neve del previsto e nessuno ha ramponi, piccozza o null'altro che sia utile su un terreno simile. Ci si mette l'imbracatura ma per il momento non ci si incorda...e si va avanti. Dopo alcuni passaggetti di roccia si arriva ad una specie di piccola sella, il tutto sempre seguendo il filo della cresta.

A questo punto si decide di incordarsi. La progressione allora si fa un po' piu' lenta, ma piu' sicura. Si raggiunge (dopo qualche non piccola difficoltà causata dalla tanta neve) una seconda piccola sella che congiunge due canali. Da qui si erge sopra di noi un muro quasi verticale di oltre 100m. Il tratto quasi verticale è piu' corto di 100m ma comunque la cosa mette un po' in soggezione. Uno di noi, con molta piu' esperienza di me, si offre volontario di prendere il comando e comincia a scalare. Si procede uno alla volta. Purtroppo non ci sono chiodi in parete e quindi si devono usare le assicurazioni naturali quali speroni di roccia con fettucce e moschettoni. Dopo due tiri da quasi 50m fatti in questo modo, ne facciamo un terzo. Questa volta vado io avanti e procediamo tutti e tre insieme. Il terreno non è piu' cosi' difficile ma occorre sempre la massima attenzione. Riesco a trovare dei punti decenti per fare sicura usando fettucce attorno a speroni di roccia, anche se il piu' delle volte sono costretto a scavare con le mani. Arrivati finalmente alla fine di questa parete ci si rende conto che la cresta prosegue ancora a lungo. Nonostante le difficoltà siano ormai passate decidiamo di tornare indietro. Sono infatti le 3 passate di pomeriggio e stimiamo almeno un paio d'ore per finire la cresta. Il fatto è che la neve rende tutto molto piu' lento, e inoltre uno dei componenti della cordata era quasi allo stremo dele forze (mentali) e non ce l'avrebbe fatta a completare la cresta. Ci caliamo allora a corda doppia fino a raggiungere la seconda sella, quella tra i due canali. Per fare questo dobbiamo fare 5 calate e lasciare altrettanti cordini e/o fettucce....meglio questo di lasciarci le penne :). Raggiungiamo il canale che sono ormai le 5 di pomeriggio e cominciamo a scendere sapendo che alla fine di questo canale e della pietraia alla sua fine, avremmo trovato un sentiero. La discesa è resa difficile dal fatto che la neve ha reso le rocce della pietraia estremamente scivolose. Poco prima che faccia buio (avevamo già le torce accese) riusciamo a trovare il sentiero e lo seguiamo.

Dopo una discesa molto piu' lunga del previsto arriviamo a valle (un po' oltre Bristen paese, alla stazione della funivia Golzern) alle 11 di sera, dopo ben 15 ore di cammino...Stanchi morti proviamo a chiamare un taxi e prenotare un albergo, ma il prezzo fa cambiare idea a me e ad un altro membro della cordata. Cosi' mentre uno dei tre si fa portare a valle da un taxi per passare una breve notte in albergo, noi altri due rimaniamo a dormire sotto un portico. Indossiamo tutti i vestiti che abbiamo, disponiamo la corda a terra come fosse un materasso, piedi nello zaino e buonanotte. Sveglia alle 4:45 per camminare ancora un 'oretta verso valle (sotto un bel diluvio) e via si ritorna a casa. Il tempo di fare una doccia, e si va in ufficio, pronti a raccontare la grande storia di questo bellissimo, anche se un po' rischioso, fine settimana.