After the Matterhorn I probably needed something a bit more relaxing, at least in the sense that the way down is not as tough as the the way up, or even worse! And given the fact that big thunderstorms are expected for Sunday and Saturday afternoon, there is not much room for massive routes. One good candidate is the Galenstock, up to which there is a ridiculous number of routes. The south east ridge seems like a really fun route, but it could take quite some time and we are not sure about the thunderstorms...being up on a ridge when thunders are striking all around is not exactly pleasant. So we choose the south east pillar, which is shorter and easier.
We drive up to the pass and sleep in the trunk of the car, which was actually surprisingly comfortable. This allows us to start really early in the morning...even though for some people waking up at 4:00 is still night! A quick breakfast and off we go.
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| Hannibal...yet another item on the to-do list |
There are already other people walking on the same path and this means we won't be alone on the route today. The beginning is a foot path which in theory should follow the bottom of the river, but we take a wrong turn somewhere in the dark and end up going up towards the Sidelenhütte. Not so bad as it's only a 15 minutes de-tour. The walk up to the beginning of the pillar goes through a large snowfield which despite all the heat has still resisted. We go past the very famous Hannibal climbing route (on the right of our way up) and then start zig zagging up on the snow field until we reach the base of the pillar.
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| Almost at the pillar |
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Looking back to the Furka pass
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The very beginning of it is a little bit loose and also still slightly wet from last night drizzle. But after a short time it's all about bomb proof granite all over the place. Finding the route is always quite easy. Maybe only at the beginning we need to stay more on the left, but a couple of bolts help in finding the right way. Our progression is really fast and we overtake a few other people. The sky is looking pretty grey in the distance and we want to be at least back down on the snow field as soon as possible. Unfortunately the super climbing is over way too soon and we are already at the top of the pillar. It was not at all difficult, but also not trivial...once again just the right level to enjoy!
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| On the pillar |
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| Sunbathing |
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| Still on the pillar |
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| At the end of the pillar, and that is the summit |
From the top of the pillar is all about walking in the snow, which despite being tracked and despite being still relatively early is already soft! In a bit more than 40 minutes from the end of the pillar we get to the top! The view is already a little bit closed by the clouds and this is yet another motivation for us to start walking back.
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| From the top of the pillar, looking to Wallis |
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| On the top...hmm, this weather is not looking good |
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| One of the many abseils |
On the way back we walk past the end of the pillar and keep descending along the ridge. Under a big stone man an abseil route starts which can be done also with a 50m. We have to abseil 6 times...which is rather time consuming, but all the stands are really well built and for some of them there are even platforms where to stand. I'm sure this is not very ethic...but anyway!
From the bottom of the abseil route we literally run down to the beginning of the snow field and then back to car at 12:00. It took us 7h 30m for doing the way up and down, which in all honesty is quite quick! Much faster than it took for Matterhorn, but this time I must say the descent was a lot easier!
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