It's never a good idea to leave "slamming the door"...and also for a skitouring season it's a bad idea not to close it with a super tour. Previous tour at the Grand Combin was already exceptionally good...but since the conditions and the weather still look promising we decide to try the Dufourspitze!
This time I have to give up on my "principles" of not taking trains or cable cars to cover some of the way up. To try this summit in two days only and in this time of the year there is no way to do it without a train. And there we are in Zermatt on Saturday morning taking the train up to Rotenboden. Here, with a literally obese rucksack we start walking down towards the glacier and the Monte Rosa hütte. The hut is closed and we have to sleep in the winter room. Also the hut warden told us that there might be not enough place and therefore he advices to take sleeping bag and bivy bag with us, together with some cooking stuff. You know, the rucksack would be too late otherwise...The beginning of the path is really comfortable, slowly descending towards the glacier. Then a couple of almost vertical ladders come up and then after some steeper descents on polished rocks we reach the glacier. From here the summer route can be followed by looking at the blue and white poles scattered along the moraines. Basically from the point you start on the glacier first go down towards the river, and then left up to a point where crossing the river is very easy. And from here straight towards the first serrac region of the glacier. Last part is again going steep up zig zaging on very smooth rocks. Going up this kind of terrains with an heavy rucksacks and ski on it is really hard work!
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| View at Rotenboden |
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| The ladders |
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| Almost at the hut |
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| Huge glaciers all around |
Arrived at the hut there are only two other people...so the hut is all for us, and a few kilos of weight have been taken all this way for nothing. Well at least it was good training (always look at the bright side)! Given the bad experience of previous high ski tour, I start melting snow without a break and drink all of it. Also we will need more water for cooking and for tomorrow...so at least I put the gas cooker to a good use. It's incredible to be able to sit outside the hut for dinner at 19:00, with the sun still shining and not feeling cold at all. With the views around to Liskamm, Castor, Pollux...this is a wonderful place for dinner. Together with the other two skiers we decide to put the alarm clock at 1:30 and therefore at 20:30 we are all in bed...but not really sleeping.
After a rather big portion of porridge and several cups of tea at 2:30 we start. Outside the hut the almost full moon is shining and it could be possible to go up without a head torch. It's also rather warm...so in all a good start.
At first we keep slightly to the left and go up to the first slope to get up the Obere Plattje. In summer there are two options to go up there but in "winter" is better to pass by P3109. This first slope is also rather steep and icy to the point that on the very last bit we decide to put the skis on the rucksack...is a long day and we don't want to risk slipping off after less than one hour.
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| Almost time for the sun to come |
Once above the Obere Plattje the route is rather intuitive as it follows (going left and right) the least steep part of the glacier. At this point the glacier is still not really crevassed but we rope up anyway, before it gets too late! While walking up it becomes very very cold, and taking breaks is not so attractive because it means you cool down very quickly...but when the sun starts to shine on the summits all around us there is just no way I'm not going to stop to take a few pictures!
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| This... |
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| ...is... |
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| ...wonderful! |
The sun is already out there in the sky somewhere but we cannot see it because we are in the shade...and it is still rather cold. But once we reach the highly crevassed zone just below the Silbersattel the thought of how to avoid crevasses dominates over the cold. One of the two swiss guys at the hut said that there was basically only one way through the crevasses. And now I understand why. Those holes are absolutely massive, some of them could probably swallow an entire truck without problems. Being roped up in such conditions feels a bit like a psychological safety more than anything else...but better than nothing for sure. We follow the tracks of the people going up the day before and they first aim at the centre of this crevasse region to then go up again to the right. From here they traverse towards left on a "thin" line of ice in between two crevasses and then with a few zig zags up under the biggest one...There is only one little gap to go through and is also quite steep. Luckily there is enough snow and despite being very steep is still possible to have enough grip with the skis. It feels rather awkward because a single mistake could make a huge difference.
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| Still going up |
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| Big holes... |
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| Don't you dare slipping off... |
But after this last huge crevasse the glacier becomes less steep and within a short time we are finally at the Silbersattel, where finally the sun warms us up a little bit. With an effort which does not seem very normal due to the lack of oxygen we put crampons on and get prepared to the final part of the ascent. The whole way up the ridge is secures with bug thick ropes, and without those it must have been a completely different story to get up there. But this is a really famous summit and someone has thought to make it a bit easier. Good that there were only four people in total aiming for the summit today, otherwise going up and down those ropes would have been a huge problem. Once on the ridge is a matter of a few minutes to reach the main summit on the right. The small gendarme can be by-passed on the right (facing the summit) if there is enough snow on the side, but climbing it is surely more fun!
And there we are finally standing on the highest point in Switzerland at 4634m! Sun is warm, almost no wind and is a real pleasure to stay up here and enjoy the absolutely wonderful view! I could almost see my home from here! And it took us almost exactly 7 hours to get up here, which is the guide book time, so not bad! Pictures, hand shakes, again pictures and then we once again realize how little sense all this has. Fighting for such a long time against cold, lack of oxygen, tiredness, crevasses and all the rest just for a few minutes up somewhere. And there is nobody to record this or to give you a prize or whatever. A bit like the conquest of the useless...but we don't give a damn and that's the most enjoyable thing I have ever tried!
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| Capanna Margherita |
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| View from summit |
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| Another view from the summit |
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| Nordend |
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| Yes mate, we made it! |
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| And for once I'm also in a picture! |
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| View towards Italy |
Now the "fun part" starts on the way down. Being the glacier so massively crevassed we decide to ski down roped up. To be honest for a good part of the time we are only sliding down but it works rather well and it also gives a good feeling of safety in case the shit hits the fan, and this would be a lot of shit on a huge fan! After passing the worst part of the glacier the rope is finally put away and we can start enjoying a really nice ski down the hut. The snow is still quite hard and it almost feels like skiing on a piste! And getting to the hut is a real relief because we know that from this point on we are "safe"...but not to forget that there is also all the way down on the glacier and then up the ladders and the path still to go...and what a fight once again. The rucksack becomes again heavy with all the stuff we left behind at the hut and the walk back takes a bit more than 3 hours...or more I really don't remember. I only remember getting back up to Rotenboden at 17:50 after more than 15 hours on the go and so thirsty that I started drinking the not drinkable water out of the sink in the bathroom...
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| A look back at the couloir before skiing |
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| That was steep... |
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| ...ok maybe not too steep...but scary... |
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| Very good snow |
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| Full view of the largely crevassed region |
One look back again to the summit we were on today and for yet again another tiny moment a quick grasp of what the meaning of the word happiness is. And this is going to be the last ski tour for this season...now is time for some summer mountaineering!
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