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| Applesrudelhorn formerly known as the Matterhorn |
May was unseasonably hot. Properly hot. Too hot, really. June then arrived and quietly corrected things.
Stephen Kellock joined me again from Montreal. Early June has its advantages: fewer people, less noise, and a general sense that you have the mountains to yourself. The downside is that quite a lot of the infrastructure hasn’t got the memo. Huts shut. Lifts idle. Progress slightly theoretical.
We met beforehand for a beer to agree a plan, knowing that the plan never survives contact with reality.
Our first day was Dent du Fenestral, a fine and properly remote climb above Finhaut, not far from the Emosson dam. The approach is long enough to discourage the half-interested, which improves matters considerably.
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| Stephen on crux section of Dent du Fenestral |
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| Summit Cross |
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| Should have brought axe and crampons plus boots |
The next day we climbed in the Saleina valley, beyond Orsières, before moving on to Zermatt.
We stayed at the Base Camp Hotel in Zermatt, which is excellent and worth a mention. Zermatt remains an extraordinary place, though now best described as a long-term construction project with a mountain attached. There appear to be cranes everywhere.
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| Matterhorn and one of the many cranes. |
The following morning we took the Gornergrat railway, getting off at Rotenboden to climb the Riffelhorn. I hadn’t done it for over twenty years and found it noticeably harder than I remembered. This is either a geological shift or a personal one.
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| Rifflehorn |
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| Rifflehorn. |
The weather turned as we descended, and we made it back to town just ahead of a proper soaking. Rain in Zermatt, as ever, meant snow higher up.
The next day we climbed the Breithorn. A clear day with fresh snow—just enough to make things civilised without creating extra work.
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| A contented Stephen on the summit of the Breithorn |
After that we drove round to Saas-Fee and stayed at the Hotel Les Amis. The main issue was that the resort was more or less closed, including the lift we needed for the Allalinhorn. Plan A was quietly retired.
We adopted Plan B, which required less commitment. Being slightly tired by this point, we limited ourselves to the first descent of the season on the three-wheeled trikes from the top of the Hannig cable car. Worth noting that summer lift access is included with a hotel stay, which feels generous until you realise how many lifts are still shut.
Back in Chamonix we drove the MG Midget to the Col des Aravis and climbed the via ferrata just below the col. A sensible day.
On the final day we opted for something shorter and, in my view, the best via ferrata in the Mont Blanc region: the excellent route at Le Buet. We finished with lunch at the Hotel du Buet. Omelette and chips. No obvious way to improve on that, so we didn’t try.
Aiguille Verte seen from Le Buet meadows .
