DAYS
12
RATIO
2:1/1:1
PRICE
£6,295
Prior technical climbing experience to UK Severe/USA 5.5 on rock and grade II/III in winter is required. The fortnight offers initial training routes in Arolla and instructional sessions to provide essential acclimatisation before tackling the main objectives.
Guides fees for 12 days
Client’s mountain huts and lifts (c.CHF660 with Swiss half tariff card, CHF780 without)
Sample itinerary
Saturday afternoon: Arrival at Evolene accommodation from 2pm. Dinner and guides briefing from 7pm.
Sunday: Traverse les Perrons or the lesser known Luisin ridges.
Monday: Rock climbing in Arolla, then walk to Tsa Hut (2607m).
Tuesday: climb Dent de Tsalion W Ridge and Aiguille de la Tsa (3668m) – a magnificent 600m grade 3 rock climb and scramble; stay in Bertol Hut (3310m).
Wednesday: Traverse the Tête Blanche to the Dent Blanche hut. A beautiful glacier traverse.
Thursday: climb S Ridge of the Dent Blanche (4357m); return to Evolène.
Friday: Miroire d'Argentine for 15 pitches of limestone, or multi-pitch rock climbing somewhere - or even a more relaxed rest day!
The middle Saturday is a real rest day.
Sunday to Tuesday*: Drive to Zermatt, walk up to Hörnli Hut and climb the Matterhorn by the Hörnli Ridge (1:1 guiding ratio).
Wednesday to Friday: Drive to Grindelwald; ascend to Mittellegi Hut and traverse the Eiger by the Mittellegi and South Ridges (1:1 ratio); stay at Mönchsjoch Hut, climb Mönch; return to Evolène.
*The timing of the Matterhorn and Eiger ascents can be varied during the second week according to conditions (subject to hut availability)
Last Saturday morning: Travel home - check out by 9am.
You should already have some Alpine experience, but UK winter grade 3/4 and rock grade Very Severe wouldn't be out of the question. Fitness is crucial. Eiger/Matterhorn routes involve pulling on fixed ropes so arm strength helps - work on this if you're not a rock climber! Both peaks involve lots of down-climbing (an over-looked skill in the UK as we can walk off most climbs) Train by linking scrambles up and down, or by going to Skye where there's no choice! It's usual to have timed "cut-off" points on the Matterhorn - 2.5 hours to Solvay for example. This comes from guiding experience on the route, and is a very good pointer to overall time on the route. The old adage that "the summit is only halfway" is very true on the Matterhorn - in fact it often takes longer to get back down so having some reserve fitness is vital.
Running, cycling and gym sessions (in fact, any regular sport) all provide good fitness training for summer alpine courses, but it's hard to beat good days out in the hills. If you don't have easy access to hills, your gym training will need to be carefully planned - mountain days are long, low-intensity exercise, which is hard to replicate in short gym sessions. Strength exercises (squats, step-ups, stair-climbing with a rucksack) are gaining favour over speed exercises (running, spinning).
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