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Swiss 4000ers (2017)

Overview

The 4th trip on my journey to Everest was a further consolidation of alpine skills in Switzerland (Saas Fee), courtesy of Adventure Base and being guided again by Miha Habjan.

The trip was brilliant and also a useful reminder of when to turn around when conditions aren't right - we ended up having to abandon an attempt along the Weissmies ridge due to a strange, very thin layer of black ice on the rocks which was causing us to slip over sporadically and where crampons weren't effective either. We then went around the mountain and attacked it from the easier snow side the next day.

Later in the trip I also had the flu, so we decided to have an easier final day with an ascent of the Breithorn.

Photos

Trekking up to the Britannia Hut to take on the Allalinhorn the next day

Some skills on the glacier to kill time in the afternoon

We had decided it was too windy to take the ridge route, so came back around the mountain to take on the normal route via the Mittelallalin train

Only the Swiss would have a wooden, properly made crevasse ladder!

Summit of the Allalinhorn

Summit pic 2

Time to descend

Looking back up at our descent

Trekking up to the Almageller Hut

After quite a trek we finally come within view of the Almageller Hut, planning to take on the Weissmies via the rocky ridge the next day

Miha dancing across the rocks outside the hut

Following an alpine start we decided to turn back on the Weissmies and to attack it from the other side the next day. On the way down, however, there were a few easy rock climbing pitches we could play around with, so we did!