 |
| Pizza del'Prevat |
John Young and I had our sights set on the stunning Pizzo de Prevat for a while. We got very excited about climbing the North East Pillar, which ticks all the boxes of what we wanted: The direct line, good rock, very well protected, no one else around and a relatively simple descent from the summit. Plus a good hut to stay in with good food and a guardian who was not hell bent in cramming everyone into the same dorm so that they didnt have to tidy extra dorms.
All was perfect apart from the key cable car which leaves from the valley floor. It was closed for the season for a rebuild. The prospect of walking from the bottom to the hut or more importantly walking back down after the climb was too much. This was last year.
So this year ,with the cable car fully functioning it was back on the agenda. Yet the weather was awful.
We dealt with this challange by driving further south via Milan and then heading to the Bregalia in the pouring rain.
 |
| A wet Piz Balzet in the background. |
We stayed in the beautiful Swiss village of Sils Maria. Then still in the pouring rain walked up to the Abigina Hut, banking on the weather being good for the next day. Despite it being Saturday night very few other people had been as descivse as John and I. It is a lovely hut. Sure enough at around 5.00pm the weather cleared and a hand full of of other people turned up.
 |
| weather clearing after the storm |
 |
| The Hut |
The next morning we left at about 7.00am. We were alone which is how we like it. A brisk but steady walk took us to the foot of the climb in about an hour. Our route was to be the south ridge of the Piz Balzet. The guide book suggested it was about eight pitches, which was wrong by about eight pitches. Still it gave some good climbing on solid rock and splendid situations, never difficult but good.
 |
| All alone. |
 |
| Summit block |
From the summit its a scramble followed by 3 rappels which deposited us in a benign gulley before descending a rather tedious giant boulder field, then rejoing the path which took us back to the hut. A completely different scene from the previous day. Loads of Sunday day trippers up for buckets of fondue, kids playing in the hut sand pit, complete with lots of toys to entertain the children of which there were many.
An hours walk back to the cable car and then another night in the hotel in Sils Maria.
We were now back on our plan of a year ago. The next morning we drove over several mountain passes with lots of fast sweeping "Lamborghini bends' arriving in Rodi. Fiesso. The cable car had indeed been rebuilt and any need for a lift operator or a cash desk had been engineered out of the system. Everything including the buying of the ticket was automatic.
Fifteen minutes later we were deposited above the Lago Tremorgio where there was a convient restaurant for a spot of lunch. We then had an hour and halfs fairly stiff walk to the Capanna Leit[Italian is the language in this region of Switzerland]
Again we were the only climbers in the hut.
The route was as good as the guide book said it was .
 |
| Me on one of the dramatic pitches. |
 |
| John climbing the final section |
It was well bolted on immaculate rock. From the summit it was about an hour back to the hut, then back to the cable car in about another hour.
We needed somwhere to stay, and again by ostensibly "winging it found" our selves in the simple but fantastic in the Hotel Forni bang slap in the center of the town of Airolo. It had a really good restaurent too.
The next day we drove back to Chamonix via the Nufenpass, through to Brig , the Martigny . We finished our time togther by climbing the modern rock classic Cocoa Girls which sits on the Franco/Swiss border high above the frontier of Chatelard. We started early, which was imperative because the route is justafiably popular. We were first on the route and stayed ahead of everyone else, yet by the time we topped out their were parties on every single one of the routes fantastic pitches.
 |
| The final pitch of Cocoa Girls |
 |
| Mt Blanc seen from the route |
