Category Archives: Alpine Climbing

Jungfrau and Rothorn warm ups

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Wanting to complete our plans after traversing the Drus last year, Vadim has returned to climb the Grands Jorasses. But the 50+ cenitmeters of fresh snow and high winds, have put an end to that.

We had a few nice climbs at mid elevations, then a couple nice peaks- the Jungfrau above Grindelwald, and the Rothorn, above Zermatt. Both were in great shape, which was a pleasant surprise. It snowed the day we arrived at the Rothorn Hut. But by the next day, most of it had melted from the rocks on the SW ridge, yet stayed put where we needed to crampon. The rock climbing above 4000 meters was on perfect granite!

Today we climbed above Verbier on the Pierre Avoi. 8 pitches of fine limestone has given us the desire for more fun in the hills.

The weather is forecasted to hold for the next 2 days, then turn cooler. High winds are forecasted from Thursday. Not many pictures…

Mont Dolent

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We climbed this pretty summit on the Swiss, French and Italian border under a perfect blue sky. Though not technically difficult, fantastic views abound. We spent the night at the Fiorio bivouac to break the climb into a couple small chunks. It is a cute little hut, reminding me of what most of these alpine huts used to all be like. Take a cook stove, food and a couple of spoons to prepare your own food since this bivi is not guarded.

Rock Climbing near Verbier and Chamonix

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Summer is over and I have not published a thing! Too much time to do too many things!

The weather is back to summer-time temps, reflecting again the in and out weather in the Alps this season. Most recently, we did a couple of real fine climbs on perfect granite. One, up the Val d’Arpette, which many of you know from winter ski season. The other on the Pointe Lachenal above the Chamonix valley.

Olivier Roduit’s route on the Six Carro in the Val d’Arpette is one of the nicest climbs anywhere! The rock is stunning, with all sorts of cool forms, from cracks to knobs. The Contamine Route on the Pointe Lachanel is another supreme route, offering the aspiring, clean, crack climber the opportunity to protect his lead with the sole use of rocks and friends.

Matterhorn 4478- The Hornli Route

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Catherine and I climbed the Hornli Route on the Matterhorn last week, taking advantage of the last good weather of the summer. As fall steps in, those light dustings of snow will begin to stick. But it’s not over yet!

We made it to the summit in a bit over 4 hours, proving how well acclimatized Catherine was. It was so nice that her brother Andrew was there at the same time. It is such a special peak, this one, evoking intense emotions after the colossal struggle to get to the summit. As the saying goes: No pain, no gain! And what a scene it is on this hill. The hut was full of guides and their clients. The sign read, “Breakfast at 4:30, depart for the summit at 4:49”! How’s that for precision? There were so many of us on the climb, but depending on where you were, you may have been alone or with others. Classic Matterhorn climbing!

The weather in the mountains this week has been mixed. It has really cooled off and the Bise was blowing. That made for a few really fine days of sailing on the lake!