Weissmiess south ridge, Lagginhorn south ridge, Nadelhorn normal route and a couple more summits

This year I think I have found the definition of holiday...alpine climbing all the time...this time with my brother. The plan is pretty simple. Take a car (we had to rent one) and a tent and set somewhere in the valley next to some nice big mountain waiting for good weather. Despite the weather has been rather bad the whole summer, we got quite lucky with the weather so there was not much sitting around.

Saturday 23.08

First objective is the south ridge of the Weissmiess, a route which I already did two years ago, but it was good to get my brother used to alpine routes. We start in Saas Almagell and walk up all the way to the hut...no chance we were going to take a cable car. The hut is suprisingly full, to the point that two turns have to be organized for dinner. I have to say it is not so much fun to go in the mountains when there are so many people around...but this is an easy and famous route, plus the forecast for Sunday is good. 

View from the hut, Allalinhorn in the middle 

Sunday 24.08 - Weissmiess from the South Ridge - PD+ 4023m

In the morning there are so many people outside the hut like I've never seen before, but at least there is no risk of getting lost. From the hut the route follows the path up to the pass, which I find is a good way to either wake up or warm up before the "real stuff" begins. Up on the pass is rather cold, and the wind is really strong. After traversing a bit to the left we need to put on crampons, harness and rope up. At this point my fingers get really cold because of the wind but best approach is not to think to much about it and start to get going as soon as possible to get warm again. There are people everywhere...and everyone seem to take his/her own track. We decide to zig-zag up the snow field until a "flat" part of the ridge with few rocks. Once up here the wind has gone down a little and due to the physical effort it feels a little bit warmer too. Take off the crampons because not much snow on the ridge and start walking up. Climbing up on the ridge is very easy and fun, maximum II. But because of so many people it's a bit of a mess. People are trying to overtake at any single moment, and even passing in between your legs if you don't pay attention. Also it's not really possible to stop to take a rest without stopping dozens of people. Route finding is not that difficult.
Finally though we reach the snowy part of the ridge and here the ridge gets a bit larger and we can take a good break for putting on crampons. From this point onwards the route is again very easy even though the snowy ridge might be a little bit thin in places...but it depends on what you are used to...if you believe this one is thin than you probably need some more experience :). 
Getting to the top, even if the route is easy, is always a good feeling...especially if it's a 4000m summit. The summit plateau is very busy and the normal route on the west face looks like a pilgrimage of people. But in this case that's probably good news since the path will be really well trodden. In less than one hour we reach the bottom, after having basically run in the lower part to avoid the danger of the overhanging seracs.

At the beginning of the ridge

Somewhere on the ridge

Last part of the snowy ridge

My brother on his first 4000m summit!

On the way down, looking at tomorrow's objective

Looking back at the way down...quite windy up there

Monday 25.08 - Lagginhorn from the South Ridge - AD- 4010m 

After the warm up trip it's time to do something a little bit more "serious". The weather for the day is not looking really awesome, but not that bad...so we give it a try. From the Hohsaas restaurant we start walking directly towards east and then towards north in direction of point 3329. We don't follow the path under the small ridge that goes up to the 3329 point, but instead follow the snow field which is a little bit longer but much easier to find the way. From point 3329 we traverse at an approximately constant height on the  Hohlauggletscher until the Lagginjoch. Once on the ridge the good fun starts. It's still rather cold, but not that bad. In the initial part the climbing is rather easy and the route is not that difficult to find. In some places there are friends stuck into cracks...you never know whether to trust this things, but at least they indicate what could be the right way. 
Things start to get a little bit more tricky on the first steep part of the ridge, where we have to start traversing to the left before going up. Once again, bunches of rope loops are a good indication that we are on the correct route. After the first steep part of the ridge we reach the point where one of the west ridges is joining the south one. Here things start to get a little but more tricky because the amount of snow is considerable. Crampons have to get back on our boots and they will stay there for the rest of the route. 
Finding the route is never difficult, but good care is recommended in some places due to ice and snow. Weather starts also to deteriorate and could close in...not that fun anymore I must say. The route however is always quite easy to find as it's always on the ridge. Towards the end there is one section where the ridge goes down again towards a small saddle. Here there is one bolt at the top of a 3a slab from which abseiling is possible. This is located on the right side of the ridge (looking towards the top). I preferred to lower the other two and then downclimb the slab. A fall would have probably been fatal because is more than 20m downclimimbing...but it felt pretty safe. Once on the saddle you have to shortly downclimb once again (always on the right hand side) and then traverse using some fixed ropes until the other side of the saddle. From here onwards the ridge goes up rather steeply and then almost flat until the end. Before the end it is advisable to go to the left before climbing up. 
View from the summit should be amazing as always...but we are wrapped inside the clouds and apart from the summit cross there is little else to see.
Descent is from the normal route which follows the west ridge. The rather high amount of snow makes the descent a bit easier because it's all tracked quite well. Once back on the rocks the route should be really easy with some short sections of downclimbing. Unfortunately it started raining on the way down and this made all the rocks incredibly slippery. So also the way down takes longer than expected until we finally reach the snowfield at the bottom of the west face. From here onwards we traverse on the Lagginhorngletcher aiming for the point 3123 and the marked footpath that leads directly yo Hohsaas. An incredibly long day, in quite bad conditions...but still a good day out.

On the first part of the ridge

Still having fun

Somewhere higher...cold starts to kick in

Hang on...is this summer or winter??

Wednesday 27.08 - Hike up to Rothornhut

The plan for 27 and 28 was originally to try the Obergabelhorn or the Zinalrothorn. But we changed our mind and decided to go only for the Wellenkuppe, which is still above 4000m, but a much shorter climb compared to the other two. The hike up to the Rothorn hut starts in Zermatt, from the city centre. It's probably one of the longest hut approach that I have ever done, but quite nice indeed. There are two restaurants on the way, and in the middle the path gets much more gentle and almost flat, allowing for some "rest". However, the last part up the moraine is really killing the legs and the feet...but hey, we are not here to have fun, are we??

Hotel Trft, more or less half way up the hut

Well...this is a view

Thursday 28.08 - Ober and Unter Aeschhorn

Weather forecast for today are very good but once outside the hut after breakfast it's snowing and we even see some thunders in the distance. This is very similar to what I saw last summer before attempting the Matterhorn, and that time I had to climb back because of bad weather on the route. Not willing to make the same mistake twice I decide not to trust the weather forecast and to aim for a different objective, the Aeschhorn. Those are two little summits not that far from the hut and most of the route is on a rather flat glacier. Therefore a retreat in case of bad weather would be quite easy. We first aim for point 3550 on the saddle between the two Aeschhorn summit, then to the Ober first. This route allows for some interesting climb at the beginning and then it's all scrambling on relatively easy terrain. We climb back along the ridge and then follow the snow ridge to the summit of the Unter. At this point during the day the weather has prefectly cleared and the view is simply magnificent...absolutely stunning. 

What to say, the weather forecast were correct and we "wasted" a good chance for another 4000m summit. But nevertheless it was a nice day with quite relaxed climbing and wonderful views.

View from the Ober Aeschhorn, just before the clouds vanish

Ridge to the Unter Aeschhorn

Poetic?

The ridge towards the Unter Aeschhorn

Stunning!

Saturday 30.08 - Hike up to the Mischable hut

The plan for the next two days is to attempt the Nadelhorn from the normal route. So the starting point is the Mischable hut. I thought the hike up to the Rothorn hut was the tough one...but this one...is a real killer. From the centre of Saas Fee we follow the sign posts and we reach the hut in a rather fast time, 3h 15m including breaks. But this foot path is really a tough one. Steep, steep and again steep from the beginning until the end with never a single break. And towards the end there is even a sort of via ferrata that makes things a bit more interesting. Once at the hut we feel like having reached another 4000m summit, so tough it was to walk up. Weather is not looking very good. Clouds surround everything and it's not looking like it will get any better...let's see what happens in the morning.

Sunday 31.08 - Nadelhorn normal route - PD+ 4327m

In the morning the weather is in fact not that good, and very cold and windy. Well who cares, until the beginning of the ridge the route is really easy to find and does not present that many problems so we decide to start and see what happens during the day. The route follows the ridge until point 3620 and then veers right on the glacier. Once on the glacier the route keeps a rather constant height until under the slope that leads up to the Windjoch. This slope can be easily overcome by two or three zig-zags. As the guidebook says, the windjoch is really wind and here it feels really cold. But the weather still seems quite good and we decide to keep on going. From this point onwards the route simply follows the ridge until the summit, and getting lost is basically impossible, aslo because it's all quite tracked. the conditions however look like winter rather than end of summer.
Until the very last bit of the ridge there are almost no rocks as it's all covered in snow. And even on the last section where we expected to climb a little bit on rocks it's all still covered in snow. It's not so hard this snow and it does not feel very safe, especially because there are many people on the same route and if someone slips it can be quite critical. However, slowly progressing on very short and tight rope we finally manage to reach the last short and almost flat section of the ridge. And there we are, on the summit of the third 4000m summit in this week. Views are again magnificent even though mostly covered in clouds. The Dom looks absolutely immense seen from here. 
All the excitement and the adrenaline are not enough to cope with the very cold temperatures. And seeing all the people still aiming for the summit along the normal route we decide to quickly turn back down and get to safety. Downclimbing the first sections of the ridge on steep soft snow is not that much fun, especially because of too many people going upo and down at the same time. But in a short time we are again on the glacier and then on the ridge back to the hut.

On the top!!

The magnificent Dom

Looking back at the ridge

 The Lenzspitze north face

This was an incredible week. A total of 3 4000m summits plus two little ones in between. I lost approximately 5 kg in this week even though we kept eating a lot...and this says a lot on the level of effort and how cold it was. The original plan was to attempt the Matterhorn and also other more technical routes, but technical skills of someone and bad conditions on the mountains forces us to change the plans. Nevertheless, fun, excitement, adreanaline and magnificent views were all the ingredients of this good 9 days in the Alps.

6 Giorni nell'Oberland per il Corso Capi Gita CAS 2014

Quest'anno il corso capi gita del CAS si svolge in italiano, e quindi non ci si lascia sfuggire l'occasione. Praticamente tutti i partecipanti tranne uno sono del CAS Ticino. Il corso si svolge nell'Oberland Bernese nelle capanne Bächlitalhütte e Lauteraarhütte, tre giorni nella prima e tre nella seconda. Partenza è prevista per la Domenica 13 Luglio dal Grimsel Hospiz. Qui di seguito il racconto di questa bellissima esperienza. 

GIORNO I

La meteo non è poi il massimo visto che Domenica piove praticamente in tutta la Svizzera, ma le previsioni danno un netto miglioramento a partire da Martedi'. L'avvicinamento alla Bächlitalhütte avviene sotto una pioggia leggera intermittente, che non dà fastidio piu' di tanto. Arrivati in capanna non si puo' far molto se non aspettare che smetta di piovere per poi andare fuori sotto una parete leggermente strapiombante e provare tutti i nodi, giusto per essere sicuri che tutti siano sullo stesso livello almeno per queste cose. Un commento alla Bächlitalhütte è d'obbligo. Una capanna veramente bella e confortevole. Avendo a disposizione acqua a volontà e molto probabilmente anche una bella turbina la corrente elettrica non manca quindi la capanna è molto ben riscaldata e le luci accese non rappresentano un problema. Inoltre, sembra essere anche un ottimo punto di partenza per gite col le pelli di foca, e visto che l'avvicinamento dura solo un paio d'orette...penso che rimarrà nella mia lista delle cose da fare per questo inverno. 

GIORNO II

  Il secondo giorno la meteo è ancora un po' incerta e allora invece di andare su per le varie vie d'arrampicata in zona decidiamo di andare a fare un po' di pratica di ancoraggi su neve e ghiaccio, recupero da crepaccio e scivolate su neve...tutte cose che anche in condizioni di tempo non proprio perfette possono sempre essere fatte senza grossi problemi. Alla fine la giornata si rivela molto piena e le due guide non mancano di rivelare un paio di trucchi e astuzie per risparmiare moschettoni. Ad esempio il "barcaiolo infilato" e lo strozzare la fettuccia direttamente sotto la testa della vite da ghiaccio prima di darle gli ultimi due giri. La meteo rimane abbastanza clemente e comincia a piovere esattamente quando rientriamo in capanna...e cominciamo una delle poche sedute di teoria, questa volta su pianificazione di una gita.

GIORNO III

Il terzo giorno si comincia a fare sul serio...veniamo divisi in due gruppi che poi rimarranno sempre gli stessi per motivi di convenienza...5 con una guida (Florian) e 5 con l'altra guida (Patou). Io sono nel gruppo con Florian e la meta di oggi è l'Alplistock. Dalle topografie che abbiamo visto in capanna la sera prima ci aspetta proprio una bella cresta, con tiri fino al IV grado. L'avvicinamento è anche interessante in quanto si deve percorrere un sentierino non sempre evidente e alla fine anche un mezzo canale ancora innevato. All'arrivo in cresta ci si incorda, io sono con Florian, e si parte.

Canalino per accesso in cresta

I primi metri fino alla cima Ovest non presentano grosse difficoltà, se non forse un piccolo traverso. Tuttavia sono presenti alcuni chiodi che facilitano il passaggio. Dalla cima Ovest alla cima Est invece...ci sarà di che divertirsi. All'inizio si presenza un bel gendarme con un tiro di 4a in placca per scavalcarlo. Ci sono anche tre chiodi e arrivati su in cima si puo' facilmente integrare con nuts o fettucce. Alla fine le altre due cordate aggireranno il gendarme da entrambi i lati, e in effetti la discesa dal gendarme mi porta esattamente dove gli altri finiscono il traverso. Comunque un gran bel passaggio di arrampicata con appigli sempre presenti, anche se non proprio grandi...soprattutto per i piedi. Incredibile quanto tengono gli scarponi su delle tacchette millimetriche. Il tiro (a dire il vero sono anche piu' di un tiro) chiave si trova a partire dal secondo grande gendarme che va obbligatoriamente salito. Anche questa volta sono il primo a passarci su e non nascondo di essermi un po' preoccupato per la strana assenza di chiodi...in realtà una volta cominciato a scalare si trova un secondo chiodo in mezzo ai due visibili dal basso che rende le cose psicologicamente piu' facili. Dopo questo gendarme c'è un traverso in discesa che definire esposto è poco. Una bellissima serie di traversi su placca che tengono molto alta la tensione, ma che tutti in un modo o nell'altro riescono a fare. Alla fine di questo traverso ci sarà anche una bella discesa a corda doppia da una sosta non proprio in posizione comodissima. A questo punto il percorso sembra staccarsi dalla cresta per procedere lungo il lato Nord. Non so se per fortuna o per sfortuna. Poco piu' avanti lungo la cresta si trova un gendarme spaventosamente bello, letteralmente un dito inquisitorio che sfida chiunque a scalarlo. Florian prova a rientrare in cresta prima del gendarme ma la cosa non sembra possibile. Il traverso a lato della cresta non è proprio piacevole in quanto la roccia non è un granchè...come sempre quando non in cresta...e anche perchè si trova ancora neve da questo lato. Sarà un po' il motto di Florian di restare sempre in cresta!! Alla fine pero' il rientro in cresta è possibile e l'aver trovato ancora dei chiodi ci dice che siamo ancora una volta sulla giusta strada. Qualche altro passaggio in cresta, ancora esposto ma piu' facile di prima, ci porta alla fine di questa bellissima traversata. Tuttavia la discesa non è ancora finita in quanto si dovrà fare ancora una calata, questa volta da 50m, e poi cercare la strada del ritorno in un complicato sistema di cenge. In realtà non era complicato...è solo che abbiamo avuto problemi noi a trovare la strada :)...ma alla fine siamo qui per imparare anche queste cose.

E qui dove si passa??

Bellissimo gendarme...obbligatorio

Minchia se è esposto

Quel dito inquisitorio mette un po' di paura...noi non lo saliremo

Come avrete notato la descrizione della via non è nulla di che...ma ci rinuncio a farne una come si deve perchè nonostante avessimo letto due guide diverse e consultate altrettante topografie un bel po' di cose erano "inaspettate" e altre non sono state proprio trovate. Fatto sta, che è un giro che consiglio a tutti!


GIORNO IV

Il giorno seguente il programma prevede lo spostamento alla Lauteraarhütte. Inizialmente si pensava di fare la traversata del Diamantstock prima di andare...il che avrebbe significato un giornatone di quelli che non si scordano. La motivazione che fa cambiare a tutti idea è che, a quanto pare, un gruppo di ben 14 Inglesi ha intenzione di fare la traversata il giorno dopo...e quindi vorrebbe dire trovare belle code nei passaggi chiave, con tanto di biglietto e lista d'attesa con al panificio. Per quanto mi riguarda si sarebbe potuti partire un'ora prima degli altri per evitare tutto cio'...ma l'idea di alzarsi alle 3:00 e di essere in giro per almeno 12 ore non va proprio a genio...per cui si opta per una "semplice" traversata passando dalla Fellenberglücke. La salita lungo in ghiacciaio avviene senza grossi problemi, anche se bisogna fare un po' di attenzione ad evitare qualche crepaccio. Il problema serio è che non tira un filo di vento e il caldo, anche se è ancora relativamente presto, si fa sentire non poco. Per la salita in bocchetta sono ben evidenti delle tracce di pittura bianca sulle rocce. Arrivati su in cima alla bocchetta la vista sull'Oberland Bernese è semplicemente grandiosa! Ma Florian non si perde troppo in chiacchiere e si comincia subito a scendere. Prima si traversa verso sinistra (avendo la bocchetta alle spalle) su una specie di sentiero attrezzato e poi si scende lungo un canalino non troppo ripido...ma dove le rocce vengono giu' come la pioggia a Novembre. Dopo il canalino si traversa ancora sulla sinistra fino a riportarsi sul nevaio. Ancora verso sinistra si traversa fino alla fine del nevaio incontrando una serie di ometti che permettono di trovare un piccolo sentiero. Dal sentiero si sorpassa il salto di roccia sul quale si trova il nevaio e poi si traversa questa volta verso destra (sempre avendo alle spalle la bocchetta) cercando di mantenersi piu' o meno ad una quota costante. Raggiunta poi la base della cresta della cresta del Bächlistock si trovano ancora ometti che indicano un sentiero piu' o meno evidente. Il sentiero scende fino a traversare il Triftbach e poi diventa molto evidente fino in capanna. Insomma niente di troppo tecnico ma una gita che richiede decenti capacità di orientamento e di lettura  della carta.
Arrivati in capanna ci si dedica ad un po' di relax e perchè no...anche ad un paio di corte vie d'arrampicata appena fuori dalla capanna.

Ancora una meteo da cartolina

Cosa c'è di meglio per rilassarsi in capanna che un po' di arrampicata?

GIORNO V

Oggi l'obiettivo non è fare roba troppo tecnica, ma piu' che altro lungo e con itinerario non proprio ovvio. Il nome di questa cima non l'imparero' mai...Scheuchzerhorn. Si parte poco dopo le 4:30, quindi per la prima volta dall'inizio della settimana cone le pile frontali accese. E questa è cosa molto buona. La cosa brutta è che si comincia la gita andando verso il basso...eh si, perchè bisogna scendere fin sul ghiacciaio Unteraargletscher tramite una serie che sembra quasi infinita di scale metalliche. Arrivati sul ghiacciaio si punta al fiume che scende dal ghiacciaio proprio sotto la nostra cima. All'inizio, avendo alle spalle la capanna, ci si tiene sulla sinistra e poi intorno ai 2400m, appena il fiume si allarga un po', lo si attraversa. Da questo punto si trova anche una traccia di sentiero con qualche ometto che punta alle piccole cascate piu' in fondo nella valletta. Qui si volge verso la destra (sempre avendo la capanna alle spalle) e si sale per la via piu' facile...che dipende dalle condizioni. Nel nostro caso c'era ancora della neve e quindi seguirla rendeva la salita abbastanza confortevole. In assenza di neve trovare una via attraverso le placchette puo' non essere evidente, ma comunque non difficile. Una volta raggiunto il ghiaccio ci si porta sotto al cresta che scende dalla cima e si risale fino ad incontrare un evidente canale abbastanza ripido. Se ancora nelle giuste condizioni è possibile usare questo canale per risalire in cresta. Nel nostro caso le condizioni erano buone se non fosse per l'uscita dove una cornice di neve ha presentato qualche piccolo problema. In mancanza delle giuste condizioni si puo' seguire la via descritta per la discesa. Raggiunta la cresta il panorama diventa molto piu' bello e finalmente si esce da quella conca che cominciava ad assumere le sembianze di un forno non ventilato. Il percorso di qui in poi non presenta difficoltà in termini di orientamento, ma il tratto finale di cresta potrebbe risultare un po' stretto se non si è abituati. Per fortuna la neve tiene abbastanza bene quasi ovunque ma ogni tanto un bell'affondo fino al ginocchio non fa male...La discesa la si fà dapprima scendendo direttamente verso sud e poi voltando ad est. Una calata su di un sasso è necessaria per oltrepassare un saltino di neve. Percorrendo il ghiacciaio si arriva alla bocchetta dello Scheuchzerjoch e di li' si segue ancora il ghiacciao, poi nevaio, fino a ritrovare le tracce della salita. Tutto procede bene in discesa se non fosse per le scalette (tante...forse troppe) che dopo una lunga giornata vanno ancora risalite prima di poter tornare in capanna.

Paesaggi stupendi

Lauteraarhütte

GIORNO VI

Ultimo giorno, e si torna a fare qualcosa di tecnico in cresta, anche se sappiamo fin da principio che questa cresta non sarà tanto difficile come quella che abbiamo affrontato sull' Alplistock. Il programma è di fare l'Hinderstock dalla cresta Ovest, anche non si sa se arriveremo fino alla cima centrale a 3307 o ci fermeremo prima su quella a 3306 (io sono ingegnere per cui per me quelle due cime sono alte uguali...). Si procede dapprima sul sentiero che sale su verso il Rothoren e poi, raggiunta la base della parete si volta a sinistra seguendo la traccia di sentiero (anche ben marcata). A causa dell'abbondante innevamento cominciamo a trovare neve fin da subito non appena si super la parete del Rothoren. All'inizio si scavano scalini con la picca e poi ci si rende conto che i ramponi sarebbero comunque serviti dopo...e allora si calzano direttamente. L'obiettivo ora è la cresta davanti a noi. La vecchia via di salita andava un po' sulla destra fino andare a prendere il punto piu' basso della cresta stessa. Tuttavia a causa di un crollo questa via non è piu' frequentabile e si opta per la variante che passa per la Hubellücke. Il terreno man mano che ci si avvicina comincia a farsi piu' ripido e incordarsi sarebbe potuta essere una buona idea (almeno cosi' ci dirà Florian piu' tardi). L'ultimo tratto su roccia è aiutato da una scaletta, anzi due. Alla fine della seconda pero' la cosa è un po' sketchy come direbbero gli inglesi in quanto tutto coperto di neve che non tiene un granchè. Per fortuna Florian ci precede e ci assicura tutti dall'alto. Da qui, dopo aver costeggiato la cresta sulla neve ed aver attraversato un terminale, si ricomincia l'arrampicata in cresta. Mai troppo difficile ma una paio di passaggini in aderenza ci sono e ci si diverte. Trovare la via anche non è un problema...basta rimanere in cresta. Arrivati in cima ci si gode l'ultimo panorama dall'alto di questa bellissima settimana, niente vento, niente nuvole ma solo tanto sole. Poi si ridiscende seguendo la cresta del Rothoren, attraversando un molto poco stabile pendio nevoso visto l'orario e la forza del sole, fino a raggiungere un punto di calata da 50m che riporta sulla conca nevosa. Anche questa molto poco stabile e con piccolissime valanghe bagnate che vengono giu' ad ogni passo...ma per fortuna la pendenza non è tanta e la cosa non è pericolosa. Arrivati in territorio sicuro, ovvero su di un grosso sasso, ci si riorganizza, si tolgono imbrago, ramponi e quant'altro e si torna in capanna.

Scaletta

Il terminale

La cresta a tratti è molto facile

Sempre ottima arrampicata

Qui ci si gode un ottimo aperitivo a base di vino bianco, prosciutto e formaggio per festeggiare il fatto che siamo tutti da ora in poi capigita ufficiali del CAS!!

Complimenti a tutti i neo-capigita!!

Altmann (...again???) this time via the East Ridge

Partly due to the weather forecast, uncertain on the higher mountains, and also partly because I only had Sunday free...I decide to go once again to the Altmann, but this time via the East Ridge. Via Kletterportal I find someone that comes with me, which is good!

From the topo it looks quite easy, but we still decide to take with us several friends and nuts just to practice using them a little bit. 

Approach walk is similar to the one I did one month ago, except that this time from the Zwillingpass we traverse a bit to the east to get directly at the bottom of the ridge. In all honesty, while getting there, the ridge looks actually quite steep...but this is only an "optical" effect which is quite normal. Mountains most of the times look steeper than they actually are from the distance...and when you get close they looks much less steep. Sometimes...they look even steeper when you get close to them...and then you might have a problem!!

View of the Churfirsten

There it is...for the moment not in the clouds

The beginning of the ridge...just before the clouds came...

A few minutes (OK...a bit longer than that) to prepare and then we start. In the meanwhile clouds are surrounding us...and they will never leave us until we get back down to the base of the mountain. I take the lead of the first pitch and it become immediately clear that the climbing is not difficult...but there are not that many bolts...even though it's quite easy to integrate with nuts, slings and eventually even friends. At the beginning route finding is not really an issue. Sometimes is a bit dubious but a careful look up high is enough to see where the next bolt is. The stands consist all of one single large ring. For sure that single ring would hold a very large weight...but nevertheless we try whenever possible to integrate a second piece of protection and then to link the two. Unfortunately my climbing partner drops one of his friends while doing this...maybe one of you will find it!

Me on the second pitch

On the 3rd pitch...I think!

The second pitch is the most difficult one and we both have the impression that the III+ grade reported on the topo is a little bit low. Surely the climb is always easy, but I'd say is closer to a IV in places...even though these differences are sometimes down to the personal judgement. I get a bit envious that my climbing partner gets to lead the second, hardest, pitch...but I get my "revenge" shortly afterwards. The beginning of the 5th pitch is, in fact, the nicest one. Up to the third bolt one has to climb on a rather narrow ridge with quite a drop on the left side. The feeling is really good! However, after the third bolt on this pitch the route goes to the right and it basically becomes a T5 path...After spending a very long time looking for the stand I just make one myself using two friends (always good to practice this kind of things). 

Me on the 5th pitch

After this pitch we start walking together to try and see where the route continues. The terrain is really easy now and having fixed points in between is not really needed. Finally after a long search we spot a bolt and we know the route continues that way. This is actually the end of the 6th pitch. One more pitch to go and we finish the rock climbing part. Again there is no stand at the end of the 7th pitch but for a good reason. The pitch finishes on a terrace with a huge spike that can be easily used as an anchor point. 

From now on is only walking straight up following the ridge over a series of large and comfortable steps (mainly covered in grass). This time there is no view from the summit because we it's all still covered in clouds. The time to eat something and we start descending following the normal route. Without snow and ice is a bit easier...but still not really a walk in the park. Taking care at where you put your feet is always good. Once the Altmannsattel is reached is just walking walking walking back to Wildhaus.

A really nice trip! Unfortunately not many pictures taken...but in the end it was all grey because of the clouds. It took a lot longer than expected to do the rock climbing part, but mainly because of route finding issues. Not difficult, but quite nice to get some training in being "exposed" and to train in using friends and nuts...and also slings. Now I've done this mountain twice in a month time...so I think I will take a break for a while :)...but I will come back for sure because there are several other nice routes especially on the south face.

Eiger West Face...the easiest route...but not that easy in the end

 One day looking at Hikr.org I come across a picture with a very interesting route drawn on it...and the interest rises immediately. That was the Eiger west face and the route was the winter-spring one, which is also used a ski touring route or as the descent route for those climbing the north face in winter and spring. The route is basically a very long snow and possibly ice ascent, with the steepest section at around 50°, graded as AD. It's the easiest route up this mountain. Nowhere close as famous as the North Face but that is still too difficult for my technical level...but one day I'm going to try that one also!

The plan is simple. Sleep at the train station Eiger Gletscher and start early in the morning for this long ascent (and descent). I was ready to go on my own but luckily I find someone else via Kletterportal.ch that wants to come with me. Since we are two, I also take a 30m rope and some basic gear in case of a tricky ice/rocky section. They will never be used...only dragged up and down. But I guess that can be considered as good training.

After an 80km bike ride on Saturday morning (always good to warm up before a long climb) get the train direction Kleine Scheidegg and walk up to the Eiger Gletscher train station, where I arrive around 19:00. Quick "dinner" and then in bed...before it was even dark. 

A short breach in the clouds on the walk up to Eiger Gletscher

Another breach in the clouds

   Wake up call is at 3:30 am, and at 4:15 we are outside making our way (hopefully) to the top. The trail starts just to the right of the railway tunnel that goes inside the Eiger. It follows the blue and white marks that lead to the Rotstock summit. In the dark and with the snow is difficult to see the signs and we only manage to see one of the many fixed ropes...so we end up making our own way up above all the ledges. The snow at this point is frozen on the surface but does not hold very well...let's hope it gets better later on. At around 2600m close to the notch of the West Ridge of the Eiger we see a tent of two swiss guys that camped here for the night...quite a nice spot actually. And we can also see them making their way up, no so far ahead. In a short distance from this point the large couloir under the huge serac starts. Until a certain point is possible to walk on the left hand side, having shelter under a rock face. At the end, one must get into the couloir, being completely exposed to the serac. Before doing this we take a short break because we know we cannot stop in the couloir for any reason whatsoever. Apparently there has been a recent serac fall and in fact avalanche traces are very visible all over the place. Therefore it should be "safe"...but you know...better safe than sorry. Getting inside the couloir and looking up at this large serac makes me feel strange. It's a bit like feeling at the mercy of chance...one can try to reduce the risk by being fast and crossing this before it gets hot during the day...but in the end a serac is always moving and it could fall at any time. I guess that's what mountaineering it's all about.

Look at that...

During the short break before entering the couloir there is the chance to admire the spectacle of the sun firing up the summits all around..."a million bright ambassadors of morning" (guess who's quote is this) which tinge of orange the summits covered in snow. 

Luckily no issue in the couloir. The route goes up almost to the bottom of the rock wall underneath the serac, and then turns left. I guess the exact traversing point cannot be defined as it depends on conditions. In our case there was still plenty of snow and no ice, so it was rather comfortable. The serac can then be overcome on the left, on relatively gentle slope. Once above it, the temptation would be to aim straight for the ridge in front...but that is not a good idea. The route once again depends on the conditions, but this is what we did. We went up straight above the serac up to approximately 3500m and then started traversing to the left. The traverse is first at a constant height and then starts going up aiming directly for the summit ridge. At this point, finally, the second ice axe comes into the game. Not that it was really necessary...but I carried it all this way, and now the terrain starts to get steeper. 

My climbing partner is following

The other rope party...roped up unlike us and making nice tracks :)

The snow is not as much as in one of description that I have read (http://www.chmoser.ch/trips/berichte/tourendetail.php?TourId=671) and we have to take a slightly different route, including a couple of short traverses on rubble barely covered in snow. Finally we reach the last slope where the conditions of the snow are absolutely perfect. It is evident that there is a new layer of snow (given the fact that it snowed one week before) on some older ice/really hard snow. With my two Petzl Quarks and crampons is a real pleasure to get up this 45°/50° snow slope...until the ridge is finally reached at around 3900m. 

The very last few meters...the other two already on the summit

Looking back on the face, steep but not too much

Nice GoPro shot!

Sun glasses are finally worn because the sun has just risen beyond the summit and it starts shining on the west face. I can see the other rope party already on the summit, and I know it's not that far. On the ridge there is more fresh snow, and I try to stay away of the actual ridge as much as I can to try and avoid cornices. All the physical fatigue, thirst and so on just vanish all of a sudden once the summit is within reach...and within a few minutes I finally stand on the summit! Wow...what a view...how could you not be absolutely staggered by this? The wind is rather weak and the sun shines with very little clouds in the sky...and I could just take a deck chair and enjoy all this for hours. 

What can I say...

Almost as soon as I get on the summit two alpinists are making their way on the summit ridge, coming from the North Face!! I look at them like if they were superheroes. The Eiger North Face is in my opinion THE North Face and being able to do it is a clear proof of really good mountaineering skills. One day, I promise...I will try it too. 

These guys...

...just did the North Face

Grindelwald...only a FEW hundreds meters below...

Looking back on the West ridge from the summit...and people ski this stuff...

After having extensively enjoyed the view from the summit we start to go down...never forget that the summit is only half way! Several sections are "down climbed" meaning that we walk backwards. The two alpinists that did the North Face just walk down almost everything, except the really steepest bit...and they seem to be walking in the park. Clearly, a lot more experienced than me! However, even backward walking is quite fast because the snow is still in decent conditions. Only dangerous moment is when I'm once again under the serac. Now it almost midday and is very hot. I know there was a serac fall recently, but this does not make me feel any safer and I try to walk down the coluoir under the serac as fast as I possibly can. Once I'm out of the serac fall line I take a break rest...snow is getting quite soft and I sink more and more at every step. With the help of daylight is much easier to find all the fixed ropes and the way down on the last section proceeds really quickly until the train station of Eiger Gletscher is finally reached.

Again the steep section...this time going down

Still a long way...

What an experience. Technically not that difficult but considering that me and my climbing partner never roped up, and were also quite apart from each other almost all the time, it's like if I did the whole thing on my own. I never felt "scared" or exposed and finally I've properly baptised my two technical ice axes! Thanks to the good conditions there were no technical difficulties, but still it was physically quite tough since it involved almost 1700up and down in a single day, getting to 3970m. This time I took the easiest route up this mountain...but next time it will be the North Face...or at least the Mittellegi!