Climbing the Piz Buin

This weekend, Andrea went with the SAC to climb the Piz Buin.
(greg had already left for CA.)

After travelling for a long long time, we started walking in Guarda, in a big group of 13, up the pretty Val Tuoi and reached shortly after a nice lunch break the Chamonna Tuoi.

While some decided to stay at the hut and rest, others went up to the lake underneath the Fuorcla Vermunt for a swim or just a walk. Dark clouds came up and we hurried back down to hut, skipping and dancing along the way. After a somewhat disappointing dinner and some practicing of knots and rope-handling, bed-time came soon.

After breakfast at 5am, we were underway shortly after 5h30, first along the path up around the Cronsel to Plan Rai, then further around the corner over a few snow fields to the notch south-east of the Fuorcla dal Cunfin. We were met by fog and low clouds, roped up and went the short bit over the Ochsentaler Gletscher to the Buinlücke in between Piz Buin Grond and Piz Buin Pitschen. Off with the ropes again and up over rocks to the small saddle on the ridge. Before and after our (big) group lots and lots of other groups came up from a hut on the Austrian side of the mountain, long long ant-trails on the glacier...it's going to be busy up there....

 ....after some waiting but then only a bit of scrambling, the terrain on the ridge was easy enough for walking again, up up up to the peak. A break on the peak, enjoying the views and being both amused and shocked by the masses and masses of people already there and coming up behind us.

Then back down the ridge, roped up over the glacier, un-roped sliding down some snow-fields, around the corner, taking the direct route down some steep gras flank from the Cronsel to the river, we were back at the hut before 2pm. After some cake and a cool drink, we packed up and made our way back down the valley to catch the first bus for a long and hot and crowded ride home.