Weather Woes!
After getting used to the spring heatwave it was a shock last week to be shivering in clouds and fresh snow - the last week of July was the coldest week of the summer (so far) Snow, wind and spectacular rime ice brought tough conditions to the high mountains, challenging mountaineers and confusing the weather forecasters too!
 (Small).JPG "Just below the Allalinhorn summit")
.JPG "Crevasses on Allalinhorn as the clouds parted")
.JPG "The Allalinhorn ladder!")
.JPG "Evening light on the Dent Blanche from Bertol")
.JPG "Sunset over the Dents de Bertol and les Bouquetins")
.JPG "Sunrise over the Mischabel")
.JPG "Lagginhorn summit")
Monte Rosa Dufourspitze
Dufourspitze is the second highest peak in the Alps, the highest point in the Monte Rosa massif and most importantly for the 48 Peaks Later team, the highest land in Switzerland!
.JPG "Pre-dawn start from Monte Rosa hut")
.JPG "High on the summit ridge - the hut is just visible far below on the right!")
The fine summit sits a loooonng way above the Monte Rosa hut - an 1845m ascent finishing with some excellent and very exposed climbing on the final ridge.
.JPG "Nearly there!")
.JPG "The final rock ridge")
.JPG "Spectacular crevasses in the Grenz glacier")
.JPG "The team on the summit")
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Mont Blanc Week #3
The third Frostguiding Mont Blanc week started on a negative note - with poor conditions persisting in the Gouter couloir, it was clearly going to be third time unlucky on Mont Blanc. Of course there is always the "3 Monts" route, but this week marks the 5th anniversary of the death of Roger Payne and 8 other mountaineers on Mont Maudit - a sobering reminder of the dangers of that route.
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Instead we chose to go to the Nadelhorn after "warming up" on a snowy Mont Blanc de Cheilon (at least we climbed 1 Mont Blanc!) This turned out to be a fine plan B, and with a via ferrata day yesterday made for a great week.
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.JPG "Tricky climbing on Mont Blanc de Cheilon with overnight snow.")
.JPG "Looking down the Cheilon normal route")
.JPG "Lenzspitz dawn")
.JPG "Climbing into the sunlight on Nadelhorn (with the Lenzspitz in the background)")
.JPG "Fletschorn, Lagginhorn, Weissmies")
.JPG "Superb positions on the top part of the Nadelhorn ridge")
.JPG "High on the Nadelhorn")
.JPG "Happy team, post Nadelhorn (although Andy looks a bit sad!)")
.JPG "Evolene Via Ferrata")
.JPG "Saillon Via Ferrata")
Mont Blanc Week
Mixed weather and continuing poor conditions on Mont Blanc meant another "failed" Mont Blanc week....but that doesn't tell the whole story...
.JPG "Deserted Pigne d'Arolla summit")
Every week starts with 3 aims...
1: Be Safe!
2: Have fun.
3: Climb the mountain.
...in that order!
.JPG "Descending the Pigne")
By Friday we were still friends and had climbed 3 mountains (although not the big one) and were making plans for the next trip, so despite "failure" we'd had a great week, learned lots, had fun and above all stayed safe. The Big One will still be there next year.
.JPG "Stalked by aliens on the Evolene via ferrata")
.JPG "Sunrise over the Rimpfischorn and Allalinhorn")
.JPG "Sunrise over the Rimpfischorn and Allalinhorn")
.JPG "Weissmies summit")
.JPG "Descending the Weissmies")
.JPG "Another Mischabel dawn")
.JPG "Allalinhorn")
.JPG "Allalinhorn summit")
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