Valais Mountaineering

Ski Touring, Off piste, Mountaineering course, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss

Chamonix Ski Touring without lifts…

Leg powered playground…

No Ski Lifts….

Chamonix is famous for it’s long off-piste runs and ski touring off the lifts. Runs like the Vallée Blanche or the Breche Puiseux ski tour from the Aiguille du midi are world famous Chamonix ski touring outings. This year is a little different as it’s no longer possible to roll out of bed, stroll over to the Aiguille du Midi station and magically arrive at 3800 metres. Yes, the lifts are all closed and the mountains are again wild and inaccessible. This means no rushed powder frenzy, no queues, no lack of parking, no expensive lift pass and best of all no lack of fresh tracks! Of course this is not great for the local economy but it does show the Mont Blanc area in a new, more natural state which is quite cool.

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The only way up is ski touring, good for the legs and lungs!

Small mountains can be fun mountains!

The Aiguille du Midi would be around 3000 metres of height gain as a ski tour and Mont Blanc almost 4000 metres. This is not something you do often unless you’re an ultra marathon type. Luckily there are many lower mountains with great ski touring and with all the bad weather and wind in the early winter the conditions were perfect lower down. We were lucky to have consistent low temperatures with snow at low altitudes allowing us to ski the alpine foothills through fields and villages.

Gliding on the magic carpet in the Aravis mountain range

Ski areas can be perfect touring areas

Early season snowpacks are generally to be treated with some caution and the normally classic off-piste runs of Le Tour, Grands Montets, Brevent and Flegere are easier to manage from an avalanche perspective than some of the more remote areas. They remained pretty untracked powder fields if you were willing to skin for a few hours.

A normally tracked out off piste area of Le Tour…

“Leave the roads; take the trails”

Pythagoras

Would we do it all again?

I guess we’ll be happy when things go back to normal but for the moment we can enjoy nature in the quiet, wild mountains. Places where the Ibex, Chamois and other alpine animals are clearly much more active in open spaces and seem to enjoy the break from the human masses. It’s worth wondering if we’d build these lift systems if we were to start again, or if some areas should be left in their natural state. Couldn’t we all do ski touring and nordic skiing? It’s a great stress-free day and great for your health. Just saying….

Enjoying the freedom of the open spaces.

Matterhorn, Dent d'Herens, Obergabelhorn, Zinalrothorn, Mountaineering course, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss

How to Choose a Mountaineering Objective

So many Mountains!

But which ones to choose?

Alpine panoramas with clouds far below and an aesthetic route stretching out ahead of you with only wind and gravity holding you back. But how to find one’s self in the perfect adventure balancing risk and reward, challenge and preparation, ambition and experience…

 

What do I enjoy?

Be honest with yourself in planning your mountaineering objectives. So often I’ve seen and experienced rope teams with different visions of what is enjoyable. Do you climb for getting things done or to share time with a good friend? These are two important distinctions that can cause a lot of misunderstandings and conflict in rope teams. Some alpinists are very driven and result focused while others are totally happy just getting into the mountains, so long as a good time is had along the way.

Communicate with your partner or guide about your goals. Too often things are assumed and no one ends up happy. Implementing the idea of “win win or no deal” is a good policy here! If it’s going to end in tears don’t get involved regardless of how much you want to get out there.

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Obergabelhorn with a motivated client, we had to track the ridge and then climbed Zinalrothorn the next morning…. Not everyone’s idea of a good time.

The ascent of any route begins in dreams at least the autumn before…

Gaston Rebuffat

Adaptation & Awareness

Are you able to be open to your environment and absorb the signals that the mountains and partners are sending you? It’s often not difficult to interpret problems like when you or your partner are not well, timings have been affected for whatever collection of possible reasons, for example: weather, conditions, warming, crowding or hundreds of other possible signs. What is difficult is being aware enough to observe the signs and communicate your possibly unpopular observations.

Noticing the signs and understanding that plans need to be adapted relate to not not being stressed out, over excited, overly focused, fiddling with gear, overly chilled out or overly attached to your objectives.

Try to be aware of your ability to adapt and build your human weaknesses into you plans. For example: you know you have a tendency to be over excited and focused when taking on alpine objectives. You’ve made your Mountaineering plans for the weekend, checked the weather, gained info on conditions and heard that there could be rockfall at a certain point if you arrive there too late in the day. Communicate a plan to your partner with very specific decision points where you absolutely must stop and discuss timing, whether to continue, do an alternative route, make a new decision point or turn around. Set an alarm on your phone as a reminder if you know you’ll forget.

High on the Dent Blanche with fresh snow and average weather, fun adventure or risky business….

Skills

Fitness

Fitness in mountaineering is generally long endurance mixed with short bursts of high steps or climbing. Acclimatisation is just as important, if you’re fit, altitude will hit you just as hard as an unfit person. Leave enough time to acclimatise. Three or four nights above 2700m will generally acclimatise people enough for most alpine peaks. More is always better and the more you do the better you’ll feel. You can read more about training for mountaineering in the city here.

The fitter you are, the easier everything else becomes.

Rock Climbing

Rock Climbing is a great skill base for alpine climbing but there are problems with being a rock climber in an alpine environment; over confidence being the primary one. Alpine cliffs may not appear to be very difficult to the eyes of a good rock climber. The only issue is that they are often loose, unprotected and bigger than expected. On classic climbs, climbing straight over hard cliffs is generally an error in route finding and will cause you to loose time. Also an indoor or sport climbing style relies on the holds not breaking off, when mountaineering, falling off may be catastrophic so trusting holds too much must be avoided.

The 700m South ridge of the Stockhorn. Being a good, efficient rock climber is essential.

Hiking & Skiing

Hiking and Skiing is also a great base for Mountaineering as you’ll have a good idea of how to keep going all day, look after yourself in tough environments and navigate in the mountains. The limitations would be the lack of technical ability in climbing, scrambling and route finding. I often find that people with a hiking background will carry too much stuff when they start Mountaineering. You need to strip your kit down to the minimum necessary items and they must all be as light as possible! No more enamel cups and thermometres hanging off you backpack!

Being a good hiker translates pretty well to trips like this, the long slog down the Stockji Glacier to Zermatt.

Experience

Experience is the biggest factor in keeping you safe in the mountains. From understanding and being aware of dangers to looking after yourself and managing your energy to route finding to understanding weather and conditions; experience is everything. However experience can also trick one into a false sense of security. The brain can think that it’s seen something similar before and because nothing bad happened in previous experiences, the current experience must be safe… Unfortunately a single human’s experience cannot be great enough to have seen all possible dangers and compute them rationally. Therefore we need to also rely on the experiences of others and data that has been collected, this is especially true with avalanches.

So what to do when you lack experience? Start really small and learn all the basic skills of equipment management, rope skills, movement, fitness, mountain weather and conditions. Then take on easy routes, gain as much information as you can. Consult the local mountain guides and look up all the information you can find, just don’t take all sources as fact. As you get better and more confident you can take on bigger objectives.

The closer peak in the centre is the Ludwigshohe, a good objective for an “easy” alpine climb. Don’t forget that it’s still high and cold with big crevasses!

Sure Thing or Adventure

A crowded classic like the famous Arete des Cosmiques can seem like a good place to start as it’s easy to find the way by following the polished, scratched rock. There are plenty of good topo’s and information but on a busy summer day you’ll have queues of disgruntled people climbing over and around you if you’re not quick. It can be pretty stressful when you’re already just trying to survive the route. Often the biggest danger on any mountain is the other people. Rockfall in the route is most often caused by other rope teams, getting stuck behind a slower team can expose you to storms and nightfall, the stress of others is sometimes very distracting and at worst a falling rope team can floss you off the mountain which does sometimes happen.

The obscure adventure can be a great time but with all the disadvantages that were advantages on the crowded classic. There may be little information, timings and dangers may be relatively unknown. Obscure adventures in the Alps often involve a big approach and often there is a reason routes are left to fall into obscurity. They must be approached with an open mind and multiple attempts may be needed to figure out what it’s all about and what tactics will be required.

Obergabelhorn, Zinalrothorn, Mountaineering course, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss
On high peak at sunrise with no one but your climbing partner in sight is real freedom.

 

Choosing your objectives in the mountains and with who you share your adventures is a personal choice and no one can really tell you how to do it. However, working full time as a guide in the Alps, every year I witness many rope teams split in their motivations and visions. Teams that take on routes they are not at all prepared for and really risk and sometimes lose their lives on what was supposed to be a fun experience is all too common. The mountains are as inspiring and beautiful as they are dangerous so choose your actions carefully, be humble and have fun!


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Mountaineering course, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss

Breithorn East Traverse

Checkout our edit of the Breithorn East Traverse from last week!

Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering

Valais Mountaineering Areas and Options

The Valais

The Valais in French or Wallis in Swiss German is the heart of the high Alps. The Valais is the deep valley of the Rhone river, fed by many big glaciers, including the biggest in Europe, the Aletsch Glacier. The Valais, meaning “valley” is actually made up of many valleys that feed into the main Rhone valley which in turn, feeds into Lac Leman next to Geneva before continuing its course through France.


Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
The Rhone Valley of the Valais with Martigny in the foreground and the mountains of the Bernese Oberland on the horizon.

Mountaineering in the Valais is varied in it’s difficulty and type of experience. The lower Valais is French speaking and has many hidden valleys with remote, beautiful Alpine climbs. The Valais shares the eastern parts of the Mont Blanc range with the Cabane d’Orny and Trient being the starting points for many good alpine rock and mixed climbs in a quieter setting than the French side of the range. The golden granite peaks above the Orny hut are some of the best alpine rock climbs for intermediate difficulty technical climbs of high quality. Relatively non-technical alpine routes like the Aiguille du Tour and Petit Fourche are perfect for learning skills and acclimatising. The Aiguilles Dorées, the Purtscheller or Pitit Clocher du Portalet are great challenging objectives on very good quality rock.

Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
Slacklining at the Trient hut with the Aiguille du Tour and Purtscheller in the background.

The valleys of the Entremont, Val de Bagnes, Val d’Hérens and Anniviers hold some of the the most beautiful, remote routes for classic mountaineering. Mountains like Mont Velan, Mont Blanc de Cheilon, Dent Blanche, Aiguille de la Tsa, Dents des Rosses, Petit Dents de Veisivi or Pigne d’Arolla to name just a few, provide great alpine mountaineering adventures from PD to D in difficulty in quiet, spectacular locations.

Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
Not long after sunrise on the Pigne d’Arolla F, with the mountains of the Valais stretching out to the east.
Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
Traversing the Petit Dents de Veisivi AD with the Dent Blanche behind.

The upper Valais is German speaking and home to the very famous Matterhorn which is the Toblerone mountain that everyone has heard of and many are keen to climb. Zermatt also is the starting point for many other AD climbs such as Zinalrothorn, Obergabelhorn, Weisshorn or the highest peak in Switzerland at 3634m. There are also easier climbs very accessible from the Kleine Matterhorn lift which takes you up to 3900m. The Breithorn is the easiest and most accessible 4000m peak. Pollux and Castor are nice PD climbs. The Riffelhorn has really good alpine multi-pitch rock climbing with some very accessible grades.

Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
The Dufourspitze summit ridge after the a night in the Monte Rosa hut and a huge glacier approach.
Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
Climbing Pollux in the mist but having a good time!
Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
Alpine Multi – Pitch on the Riffelhorn

Saas Fee and Saas Grund is the valley just over from Zermatt and has as many Alpine climbing options with great PD summits like the Weissmies, Strahlhorn, Allalinhorn, nadelhorn and Lagginhorn. There are many AD routes or harder mountaineering routes for the experienced alpinist like Taschhorn, Portschengrat traverse, Lenszspitze – Nadelhorn traverse.

Weissmies, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
Alpenglow sunrise on the Weissmies in the Saas valley

The Northern side of the Valais is actually the southern slopes of the Berneses Oberland. The huge glacier of the Aletch can be accesses from the upper Valais to access peaks like the Aletschhorn or the Finsteraarhorn.

Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
The Aletsch Glacier from above the Konkordia hut with the Dreieckhorn and part of the Aletschhorn visible behind.

Also on the Northern side of the Valais are some smaller valleys with mountaineering gems like the Stockhorn, Bietschhorn, Wiwannihorn or Grand Muveran to name a few.

Valais, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering
Climbing the South ridge of the Stockhorn above the remote Baltschiedertal valley.
Chamonix, Ski touring, freeride, off-piste, backcountry, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss, lyngen alps

Training for the mountains in the city…

How to prepare for this?

Living here…


Living in the mountains, I’ve failed to appreciate the practical reality for people living busy lives in the city. Training for the mountain by actual skiing or climbing is obviously not an option.

Copenhagen is where I found myself this autumn for 6 weeks. It’s flat, cold, rainy and grey in November. Needing to train for my winter guiding season of skiing, touring and alpinism, I too experienced the challenges most city-dwellers face in preparing for the mountains.

Climbing is not a battle with the elements, nor against the law of gravity. It’s a battle against oneself. “Walter Bonatti”

Motivation

Motivation is probably the biggest stumbling block. The solution is to have a goal. Something that will get you out running in the rain, sucking wind on some dark stairs, embracing the suffering. Without anything to aim for its hard to get out and push yourself. Excuses are plentiful and valid; work was tough, you’re tired, the weather sucks, being social is important, and you did have a good training day last week so you can slack off a bit now, etc… The answer is to commit to something that scares you sufficiently to prioritise your preparations. It could be a Haute Route ski tour, a 4000m summit or a skiing trip with friends that love long, hard days on the slopes.

Activities

Activities that you enjoy or at least don’t hate are the best. Have fun! Find some friends to join you and or join a club / class. Choose maybe two things and be realistic about what you’ll actually do. The mountains involve a lot of uphill and require general cardiovascular fitness but also leg power and athleticism.

Guiding, I see people that are good athletes (eg. gymnasts) that don’t have good long cardio and can’t keep walking for 8 hours. I also see people that run multiple marathons that lack the leg power, balance and core strength for high steps, scrambling and changes of pace on the Matterhorn for example. That is why one needs both athleticism and cardiovascular fitness for mountaineering, ski touring and skiing.

When away from the mountains I choose the climbing gym combined with some weights and bodyweight exercises 2-3 days per week for strength and athleticism. For cardio, I do running and interval training on stairs 2-3 days per week. Sometimes both on the same day.

Activity options could include:

  • cross training (cross-fit) + running
  • gymnastics + cycling
  • squash + treadmill and stairmaster
Running laps on the power station / dry ski slope of Copenhill in Copenhagen on a November evening.

Consistency

Consistency is much more important than intensity! The body adapts slowly and if you make training a fun habit rather than a chore then it will pay off. If you set your goals too high for each training session, you simply won’t do them because it seems too much at the end of a long day. Also if you break down your body too much, your recovery will be slow and you’ll quickly loose motivation. Go for a 30 mins run rather than doing nothing at all even if it seems trivial, the consistency will keep you motivated and remind your body to adapt.

Be realistic

Be realistic about the size of the mountains you will be climbing or skiing and the length of time you’ll need to be active. Often ski tours or alpine climbing days can involve 1500m of up-hill and down on rough terrain with a backpack at altitude for multiple days. Running a half marathon on the flat ground at sea level doesn’t necessarily translate to climbing the Dufourspitze or ski touring the Haute Route for example. In training search out rough terrain, sand, hills, stairs etc.

Test yourself

Often days in the mountains will be 6 to 12 hours so from time to time it can be good to do some long endurance sessions to see if your body is prepared for extended efforts. Some endurance test ideas could be:

  • A long hike or run
  • A long cycling trip
  • A gym marathon, just go to the gym and spend 5-6 hours doing easy cardio, some light weights, swimming, it doesn’t matter, just keep going for a long time.

Test yourself uphill because the mountains are brutally steep when you’re not used to it. Possibly try the following:

  • Find stairs that are, say 50m high in altitude gain. Hike / jog 30 laps at a good speed to make 1500m of height gain. See how long it takes you. 500m an hour is decent. Fit alpinists can generally do about 1000m in an hour and top trail runners about 1500m in an hour.
  • Most gyms have a “stairmaster” stepping machine where you can test yourself.
  • Few things are as relevant for mountain fitness as just how good your legs are at stepping you upwards and downwards.

Skills

Skills take time to learn and nothing beats doing the actual thing for skills development. That said; being athletic, strong and having good balance goes a long way in most mountain activities. If you plan on doing alpine climbing then indoor rock climbing is great. For skiing and alpinism some dynamic leg and balance training is helpful.

Consult a professional

These are my opinions from many years of mountain climbing, skiing and guiding. I am not however a personal trainer or sports scientist. It would be advisable to consult a professional before starting any training program.

The greatest danger in life is not to take the adventure “George Leigh Mallory”

Check out the general Fitness, Ski and Climbing level pages on the website. Each trip has the relevant level required.

Mont Blanc, Aiguille du Midi, Aiguille Verte, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering

This summer’s mountains

Its been a summer with much precipitation but also many days alone on nice summits in short weather windows and good snow conditions with little rock-fall danger. Here are a few photos from the sometimes sunny and warm season.

The summer started for me with two trips up Mont Blanc, both of which were cold but with great snow conditions and summit success.

Sunset from the new Refuge du Gouter

Sunset from the new Refuge du Gouter

some are up early for the sunrise shot over the Mont Blanc range

Some are up early for the sunrise shot over the Mont Blanc range

 

In July and August I spent some time in the Swiss Valais, these shots are from the Dufourspitze, Nadelhorn, Mont Blanc de Cheillon, l’Eveque and the Wiessmies:

Climbing on the Rifflehorn, acclimatizing for the Dufourspitze in the background

Climbing on the Rifflehorn, acclimatizing for the Dufourspitze seen in the background on the left with Liskamm to the right

sunset with the Matterhorn and the flag of the Monte Rosa hut silhouetted

Sunset with the Matterhorn and the flag of the Monte Rosa hut silhouetted

arriving at the Dufour summit

The last steps before the Dufour summit

sun rising on faces of Lenzspitze and Nadelhorn

The sun’s first rays on the faces of Lenzspitze and Nadelhorn

the Mischabel hut guardians enjoying a morning stroll on Ulrichshorn

The Mischabel hut guardians enjoying a morning stroll on Ulrichshorn

smiles and photos on the summit of Mont Blanc de Cheillon

Smiles and photos on the summit of Mont Blanc de Cheillon

morning views on the traverse of the Weissmies

Morning views on the traverse of the Weissmies

a party on the summit ridge of the Weissmies

A party on the summit ridge of the Weissmies

some good rock climbing on l'Eveque SW ridge

Some good rock climbing on l’Eveque SW ridge

climbing l'Eveque with the ridge of La Singla behind and Mont Blanc far away to the right

Climbing l’Eveque with the ridge of La Singla behind and Mont Blanc far away to the right

 

Some trips to the quieter areas of the Mont Blanc range, finished off the summer guiding for me. Here climbing on some of the granite in the Orny area.

Fun scrambling on the Aiguille de l'Arpette

Fun scrambling on the Aiguille d’Arpette

Laurie getting stuck into some perfect granite

Laurie getting stuck into some perfect granite

 

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Great climbing on sunny aspects of the Purtscheller.

 

P1030614

Don’t forget your chimneying skills!

We then started on some mountain ice and mixed, in great condition after the snowy summer:

abseiling down to climb up to the Aiguille du midi again...

Abseiling down to climb up to the Aiguille du midi again…

climbing the profit-perroux gully, high above the Chamonix valley

The profit-perroux gully, high above the Chamonix valley

Laurie exiting the crux pitch

Laurie exiting the crux pitch

enjoying the last pitches up the Arete des Cosmiques

Enjoying the last pitches up the Arete des Cosmiques

Guillaume in a mixed route on the Tacul triange

Guillaume in a mixed route on the Tacul triange

...some traffic on the Schmid route on the Matterhorn.

Some traffic on the Schmid route on the Matterhorn.

...the suns rays interrupted by the Hornli ridge.

The morning’s rays interrupted by the Hornli ridge

...the view down the Hornli ridge with Zermatt below and the north face to the left.

The view down the Hornli ridge with Zermatt below and the north face to the left

 

Thanks to everyone I climbed with for a good, safe season, hope to see you again next year!

 

 

 

 

Mont Blanc range, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering

autumn sunrise

There is something special about the moments when the sun rises and sets, the change from light to darkness or from the chilling early hours of the morning to the first glowing rays of warmth cast from the distant horizon promising clarity and comfort. As people who enjoy being outside in the mountains we often have the pleasure of witnessing these moments when the rotation of the earth combined with the light of a star passing through the earth’s atmosphere paints some of the most beautiful pictures.

morning light on the Chamonix granite from the Noire de Peuterey to the Mont Blanc du Tacul

morning light on the Chamonix granite from the Noire de Peuterey to the Mont Blanc du Tacul

 

The sun wakes up Italy from the Dent du Geant

The sun wakes up Italy from the Dent du Geant

Sunset over from the cliffs of Kalymnos

Sunset over from the cliffs of Kalymnos

 

The sun goes down in a blaze in Chamonix

The sun goes down in a blaze in Chamonix

The same sunset a few minutes later

The same sunset a few minutes later

 

Weissmies, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering

End of season summits: Weissmies traverse, Mt. Blanc de Cheillon traverse, Gran Paradiso

With shadows lengthening and becoming more defined on the alpine landscape, fresh snow dusts the summits and the leaves change colour as the mornings come with a crisp freshness and the shy sun takes early refuge behind the horizon, leaving the natural world to dance on its last touches of warmth before the darkness lays down its cold, calm blanket.

The autumn can be one of the most pleasant times to climb in the Alps. With decent weather one can climb the classic summer routes and with the new snow and colder temperatures it is often an ideal time to climb some of the steeper ice gullies or north faces in the Mont Blanc range.

The end of the summer and early autumn have included the following ascents:

Weissmies traverse

This is an aesthetic and varied traverse of moderate difficulty on one of the 4000m summits surrounding the Saas valley.

sunrise above the Allmageller Hut, nearing the start of the climbing

sunrise above the Allmageller Hut, nearing the start of the climbing

the Mischabel chain across the valley just after sunrise

the Mischabel chain across the valley just after sunrise

The exceptionally snowy summer makes it possible for teams to gain more height on the snow than is possible in most years.

The exceptionally snowy summer makes it possible for teams to gain more height on the snow than is possible in most years.

The team putting on crampons on the subsiduary summit.

The team putting on crampons on the subsidiary summit.

the summit ridge

the summit ridge

the Weissmies summit

the Weissmies summit

 

Mt. Blanc de Cheillon is one of the less famous summits of the Valais mountain range due to the fact that it doesn’t quite reach 4000m but is a very worthwhile objective with an imposing pyramid form above its plunging north face, bordered by seracs on both ridge lines. The traverse is an excellent journey up the expansive glacier below the Serpentine and along the airy east ridge to the summit, the descent by the west ridge is easier than the ascent. It’s an AD rated climb taking between 6 and 8 hours from hut to hut.

sunrise from below the Serpentine with the Pigne d'Arolla in the foreground and the Matterhorn in the distance

sunrise from below the Serpentine with the Pigne d’Arolla in the foreground and the Matterhorn in the distance

Mont Blanc de Cheillon east ridge

Mont Blanc de Cheillon east ridge

 

Gran Paradiso is the highest summit entirely in Italy, not sharing its summit with France or Switzerland, more importantly it’s an ideal climb for beginner mountaineers, requiring more fitness than technique even though the scramble to the summit virgin Mary is exposed. The view is exceptional and the challenge not negligible.

an autumn afternoon approach to the Rifugio Chabod

an autumn afternoon approach to the Rifugio Chabod

taking in the first views of the objective

taking in the first views of the objective

view from the well equipped winter hut

view from the well equipped winter hut

everyone on top!

everyone on top!

 

 

 

Engelhorner, Switzerland, Mountaineering course, Chamonix ski guide, haute route, chamonix climbing, Chamonix freeride, Chamonix mountain guides, Swiss mountaineering

Plenty of space to play in the Burnese Oberland

The climbing in the Burnese Oberland is slightly different to the other areas of the Alps. The summits are high, with steep limestone on their northern flank, to the south of the watershed its a maze of peaks divided by expansive glaciers really giving the feeling of being in a big, slightly wild place. It is a long range of mountains extending from the Col du Sanetsch in the west to Grimsel Pass in the east with a lifetime of mountaineering and rock climbing possibilities if we start to look at the sub-four thousand metre peaks.

P1020817

View east into the Oberland from the Mutthorn hut with left to right: the Eiger, Junfrau and Abeni Flue dominating the skyline.

Looking west into the Oberland from the Engelhorner. The horizon from left to right: Froschkopf, Kingspitze, Kastor, Rosenhorn, Mittelhorn, Wellhorn and Wetterhorn with the huge face of the Scheideggwetterhorn to the right.

Looking west into the Oberland from the Engelhorner. The horizon from left to right: Froschkopf, Kingspitze, Kastor, Rosenhorn, Mittelhorn, Wellhorn and Wetterhorn with the huge face of the Scheideggwetterhorn to the right.

A few weeks ago the Rosenlauistock and traverse of the Kleine and Grosse Simelistock were the objectives with Laurie from Australia. Here are some photos from these two days of alpine rock climbing in the Engelhorner:

The Rosenlauigletscher behind good limestone climbing.

The Rosenlauigletscher behind good limestone climbing.

P1000941

traversing pitch on the Rosenlauistock with the Wellhorn behind

P1000945

overhanging abseil on the descent

P1000954

taking in the morning views from the Kleine Simelistock

P1000959

great climbing, perfect setting

P1000962

Engelhorn ambiance

P1000965

Another party on the summit of the Kleine Simelistock where we had just come from.

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climbing the ridge up to the Grosse Simelistock

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on the crest

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summit sandwich

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looking back up at the “mountain goat” descent

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relaxing in the meadows below the imposing cirque

 

The Oberland is most famous for its high alpine summits and the biggest glaciers in Europe, here are some photos from the Finsteraarhorn, Hinterfiescherhorn traverse, the Grunegghorn and the Monch in late July.

the Finsteraarhorn in the morning light

the Finsteraarhorn in the morning light

the rimed up summit cross of the Finsteraarhorn

the rimed up summit cross of the Finsteraarhorn

Finsteraarhorn summit view over towards the Aletschhorn, Grosse Grunhorn and the Jungfrau

Finsteraarhorn summit view over towards the Aletschhorn, Grosse Grunhorn and the Jungfrau

the Grosse Wannenhorn with the Valais behind

the Grosse Wannenhorn with the Valais behind

Grunegghorn summit view up the Ewigshneefeld with the Hinter and Grosse Fiescherhorn on the right and the Eiger at the top of the valley.

Grunegghorn summit view up the Ewigshneefeld with the Hinter and Grosse Fiescherhorn on the right and the Eiger at the top of the valley.

sunrise from the Monchjoch hut

sunrise from the Monchjoch hut

The view down the Aletschgletscher from the top of the Monch

The view down the Aletschgletscher from the top of the Monch

The Monch summit ridge

The Monch summit ridge