Late season Grimsel climbing

 Taking advantage of the good weather to get in some late-season climbing up near the Grimsel pass.

Saturday

The usual early-morning story to get the train-train-train-bus connection up to Grimsel. The Basel→Spiez train is, unfortunately, going to Milano, so it’s completely crazy. Ah well, since we board in Basel we can actually get seats.

Once in Chunzentannlein we find a likely looking place to set up camp later, drop the bags with the camping stuff, and then head up to the rock.

Sector Crow, Batzi und Bitzi: 4a 4a 4c 4b 5b 4b 3c 5a 5a 5b+ 5c. We simul-climbed up to the 5b, then again until the 5b+. G did the 5b+ and 5c as one pitch. Total climbing time ~1:20. The simul-climbing went really well and all of the rest of it was easy except the last couple of bolts on the 5c, which were scary slab. To get to the foot descent, we crossed over to the last pitch of the neighboring route and then fought through the bush along a faint path from there until getting to the descent trail for Fliegende Teppich.

After a break we headed down a bit and did some scouting to find the routes for Sunday. Since it was still super early we decided to do the first couple pitches of Ameisenrennen - 5c, 5b. Since those were easy, we also did the 6a that followed (A lead). That was also pretty straightforward (and very well protected), but we wanted to save some juice for Sunday, so we abseiled down and went back to set up camp.

Back down at our stuff we do some more scouting around and find a much better camping site near a crazy boulder. The rest of the afternoon is resting and playing on the boulder until it’s time to make dinner and then go to bed.

Sunday

After a nice breakfast we pack up the camping stuff and set out just before 8:00. We stash the camping bags a bit off the trail and then head up, up to the beginning of Letzter Tango (which is next to Ameisenrennen).

Sector Dom, Letzter Tango: 5a+, 4a, 5b, 5c+, 5a, 4a, 3a, 3a, 5a, 5a, 5a+, 5a, 5c, 5a+, 5b+, 5a+

Lovely route, very efficient climbing. The route took just under 3.5 hours. We did simulclimbing through the 4a, 3a, 3a, 5a with A first then switching to G first (he had all the gear by that point) for the 5a and 5a+ (the 5a would have worked too, but he only had 5 express left at that point and wasn’t sure that would work). Then we switched back to pitches for the last bits.

General note: the grading on this and Ameisenrennen was very generous. None of the pitches felt particularly difficult.

After the climb we packed away the gear and enjoyed some food and the views from up top then set off along a nicely marked (with cairns and the occasional yellow marking) use trail down. The view out across the slabs and water flows that lead up towards the Baechlitalhuette was just fantastic, and we got to walk through that awesome landscape. We have tons of time, so we do another break on a comfy slab to enjoy the views and sun. After the break we join the trail to the Baechlitalhuette and head back down, pick up the camping gear, and head back to where we camped for a coffee/tea and cookies break and more rest (as well as a bit more bouldering for G) while waiting for the 16:30 bus.

The bus is super full (as expected), but we have plenty of time in Meiringen for a kebap before starting the train portion of the journey home.

Hiking around the Capanna Cristallina

The forecast calls for rain and thunderstorms on Saturday night, but we want to camp, so we take  our new tent with us and head off to Tessin.

The usual early start from Basel and the train through to Airolo. Bus to the gondola and then the gondola up (with tons of bikes) to save ourselves the first 600-800m of climb. Good to do given the humidity and coming heat.

From the top of the gondola we follow the path for a bit and then head off along one of the service roads for the ski area. Up up and back and forth for a bit until we hit the old marked path leading towards the cliff. Now more steeply up, taking a food break along the way, until getting to the wall itself, a short bit of not-so-nice crossing of a gravelly slab, and then we are on a pretty easy to follow and occasionally marked trail that follows a weak spot in the wall to the top. Nice!

Up on the ridge we enjoy the views and then decide to follow the "trail” down, down the other side towards a herd of cows. Past the cows, another food break, and then onwards to a blue-white path which takes us towards the dam. This heads up a bit and then contours easily along the valley side.  A short break at Lago del Forna to appreciate the loveliness and then onward to Lago di Val Sabbia where we pump a bit of water and scope out potential camp sites. Continuing seems more promising, so on we go.  Down towards Lago del Naret (there is a road up to this and it is pretty busy), along the edge, and then up to Lago del Corbo. Here there are two tents right next to the path, but we continue to the end of the lake and start looking for spots above it. Plenty of good tent sites here! After some scouting we take a promising one and get the  tent set up. The rest of the afternoon is spent enjoying the sun and views, pumping water, etc. By this point the weather forecast has changed and there’s no more rain in the forecast. yay!

After a good dinner we walk up to the next lake and do a bit of sunset-color appreciation and tidying up before going to bed. The plan had been to leave the tent fly rolled up, but given the amount of dew that immediately starts condensing after the sun goes behind the mountains we decide against that… next time!

On Sunday we get take advantage of the early sun (planned for!) and are underway shortly before 8:30 even after a leisurely morning. We rejoin the red-white path and follow it up a bit onto the ridge and then towards the Lago Negro.  Nice trail followed by a particularly nice stretch of talus hopping (what a great surprise!) and then we are at the pass and enjoying the views down to the lake and across to the Basodino. Along and down the nice path above the lake and then a food and planning break with views.

After the break, we’ve decided for the blue-white path along and behind the Lago del Cavagnöö, onwards and upwards towards the Cap. Cristallina. When we get to the pass above the Lago Sfundau and see the hut sitting above it, we decide for a change of plans. Up, up to the hut we go, have a nice lunch at the hut, and then continue down the other side of the pass. On the other  trip to this region we went straight down to Ossasco, but this time after the walk down through the lovely valley we turn off to the right and traverse the valley side until we arrive back at the gondola station.

Gear note: this was the first trip with our new tent, a Sea to Summit Telos TR 2.

Track:

Stats:

• Day 1: 6:41, 14.1km, ~1300m up, ~600m down
• Day 2: 7:24, 21.2km, ~800m up, ~1400m down

Greenland expedition overview post

1. arrival day
2. embarkation day (or not)
3. another holding day, but with a walk
4. setting off
5. the first mountain day
6. mountain climb and boat trip
7. a waiting day
8. another waiting day
9. Yeah! No more rain!
10. a beautiful day and a great ridge
11. another beautiful day and two peaks
12. rest day
13. ridge and peak-attempt
14. back to Kulusuk
15. leaving Greenland

Hiking around Evolene: up towards the Mont de l'Etoile

The day starts much clearer than Saturday: plenty of blue sky, the Dent Blanche in plain view, very nice. The only clouds are on the side of the valley we're planning on heading towards, but we're optimistic that those will clear up.

We catch a bus up the valley at around 8:30 and end up in Arolla shortly past 9. Following the signs to the Aiguilles Rouge we head up and out of town. The path leads up a bit and then parallels the valley wall, nicely through the woods. After not too long of this it becomes pretty clear that we're not really taking the route we originally planned on -- straight up to the Cab. Aiguilles Rouge -- but it's clear that this will take us where we want to go, so onwards we continue. We're not the only one who's made this mistake; we run into a woman intently studying the map who's done the same thing. Ah well. Eventually we get to the attractive, but quite empty, Lac Bleu and then, finally, start to steeply climb. This is another nice trees -> grass -> rocks climb: we start in woods, but by the time we get up around the hut we're in an alpine rock desert. Greg's not feeling 100% fit, so we do a longish food and tea break at the hut before heading off.

The decision to skip the peak is pretty easy: the clouds are at least 100m lower than the peak... not much sense heading up there. Still, we follow the blue-white marked path towards the peak until hitting a unofficial, yellow-white marked, path leading to the north east. This is a great example of a very well marked trail with no visible path. Given the size and frequency of the markings (LARGE PRINT VERSION), it's easy to follow the intended route up to a pass at around 3000m. From here it's an excellent, steep, direttissima descent of ~700m first on rocks/gravel and then on grass before reaching the standard red-white hiking path at around 2300m. This we follow down, down, down, past the Alpage de l'Etoile, past Tsale de la Cretta and Mayens de la Niva, until we hit Evolene and a well-deserved cool beverage.

The clouds kept us off the planned peak, but it was still a great hike.

Hiking around Evolene: up to the Pic D'Artsinol

To take advantage of the the three-day weekend we decided to head down to the Val d'Herens, do some hiking, and hit a couple of the peaks that can be walked to. We also need to try out the new tent before our big trip in September, so we stay at the campground in Evolene.

It's a long trip, so we take an early train from Basel and after a couple of changes end up in Sion where we get on the standing-room only bus towards Arolla. We get off at Evolene, walk through town to the campground, and set up the tent (easy!). We're ready to start hiking at shortly past 10.

The path towards Vernec takes us out of town and then up the valley wall. It's a really nice walk up through the trees with the occasional cloud-limited view back out over the valley. Just past Vernec we pass the tree line and get the first good views up the valley (also somewhat cloud-limited, but the general idea is clear). The path leads us below Vouasson, continuing on upwards. We have a quick lunch break above the ski lift "station" just past P.2197 and enjoy the views of the ridge of the Mt. de L'Etoile (tomorrow's goal), what's left of the Vouasson glacier, and end of the ridge of the Aiguilles Rouges. The clouds are too low to see much else. In fact, the clouds are low enough that the Pic D'Artsinol, our goal for today, is obscured. This isn't so nice, but we decide to keep heading up in the hope that conditions will change.

We continue up, through the Pas d'Arpilles, past a big herd of sheep (complete with shepherd and dog), sometimes seeing the peak, sometimes not. By the time we hit around 2650m, the peak is actually in sun and it seems to be tending towards clear, so we opt to head up the last bit. Steeply up we go, then along the ridge to the peak itself. During this last phase we start encountering other people (it's been completely empty so far); they must have either come up from the other side or taken the higher path on our side, because we hadn't seen anyone on the trail until this point.

We're the only ones on the peak and are not standing in clouds ourselves, but we don't really have much of a view since there are clouds all around. Ah well... this is probably a great viewpoint when the conditions are good. A lot of the time we can hardly even see the dam under the Lac des Dix and the glaciers above it on the other side. No need for a long photo session, so after a short break we head back downwards. We take the higher path down, past la Nouva, and then down to Chemeuille where we opt to do our knees a favor and take the chair lift down the last 700m. If the option is there, we might as well use it, right? :-)

Stechelberg->Obersteinberg->Busengrat

After an early breakfast we break camp and leave the camping stuff at the campground before setting off up the valley. Along a nice constant climb bast Trachsellauenen, then steeply up the valley sides, mostly under trees to the Berggasthaus Tschingelhorn. Really, really nice views of the back side of the Jungfrau and up the valley to the waterfalls and the mountains at the end (Grosshorn, Breithorn, Tschingelhorn). Further along the edge of the valley, enjoying the great views, to the gasthaus at Obersteinberg. There we have coffee and cake (mmm, apricot cake) break before deciding to take an alternate route (original plan was go go around the valley, past the Oberhornsee, and then loop back down) towards Gimmelwald. So up we go towards the rim, along the valley wall to the end. Down a bit to a nice lunch spot with views both towards the Schilthorn and down the valley (Gimmelwald, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen), then through the woods to the steep descent into the Sefinental. From there we follow the river and head back to Stechelberg and the bus to the train to the train back to Basel.

Ahh, too bad we can't just stay up there. :-)

Stechelberg->Eigergletscher

The forecast for the weekend was great, so we headed up to the Lauterbrunnental for a couple of days in the mountains. Unfortunately the hotel in Stechelberg was booked out, but lucky for us there's a campground right next to the bus stop. So: off on Friday afternoon with tent in hand.

Saturday morning we get a reasonably early start and walked along the river, down the valley to Sandbach and then to the trail just across the Trümmelbach from the touristic madness at the Trümmelbachfälle. From there we head steeply up the side of the valley on a nicely rugged trail to a step at about 1100m, then through the gorge cut by the Trümmelbach, across the stream itself on a very cool bridge, further up past Preech to the crossing at Stalden. Very nice views all along of the valley and steadily expanding views of the mountains at the end (Breithorn, Tschingelhorn, Gspaltenhorn, etc.). Really nice. Around the corner on the mostly level dirt road to our first excellent views of the Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger. Further along the road, with more people around now (they're mostly coming from the other direction; doing this part the other way must be one of those highly recommended hikes) to Biglenalp with a lunch stop along the way. From there up a bit more to the crossing above Wixi then up along the ridge to the glacier moraine which we follow to the set of buildings at the Eigergletscher station. After a break for cold refreshment, we head back down the station at Wegnernalp and take the (full!) train down to Lauterbrunnen where we catch the bus back to Stechelberg.

Man oh man is it nice to be back in the mountains.