DolomiteSport Zermatt Alpine Climbing | Zinalrothorn

Climbing trip to the Swiss Alps

It had been too long since we had gone into the big mountains for a climbing trip. Thankfully, with the encouragement of our good friend and mountain guide, Alberto De Giuli, we rallied, put the bikes away, and headed for Zermatt in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

The goal was to climb one of the big classic peaks of the Wallis Region. We arrived to great weather but were warned that up to 40cm of fresh snow had recently fallen. It seemed best to do a recon mission so we opted for the easy Breithorn half traverse. The Breithorn may be the easiest 4000 meter peak in Europe thanks to tram access to about 3800 meters. All aboard at 7 a.m. and up we went in a tram filled with the Swiss and Slovenian ski teams headed for the glaciers and training camp. Once on top we parted ways, them swishing down and us plodding up.

Headed for the Breithorn

From the summit ridgeline we immediately recognized that conditions were great on the big, rock alpine peaks to the north; the Zinalrothorn and the Obergabelhorn’s south faces and ridges were free of snow. Janine and I had been on the Zinalrothorn 6 years before, but as we climbed Janine became more and more agitated until we decided it best to go down. She simply said she had bad feelings that day. And so as we were descending the first helicopter flew over to the north ridge where a cornice had collapsed taking two climbers with it. Even with the tragedy, we had been on the mountain and seen its beauty, we knew someday we would have to go back and finish the Southwest Ridge.

Arriving at the Breithorn's West Summit

The day after the Breithorn we packed our bags and began the 4 hour/1500 meter approach to the Rothorn Hut from Zermatt. Sadly, we were carrying our own dinner as all the huts had closed early due to the snowfall and freezing temps. Climbing conditions were perfect but apparently that is not enough in late September to support the huts – so, it was the winter rooms for us. Winter rooms are small areas within the hut, or an older separate building that always remain open for skiers and climbers. Inside are beds, blankets, and a kitchen complete with (hopefully) gas stoves.

Approaching the Rothorn Hut

Hiking up into the alpine world from Zermatt, we were rewarded with brilliant red and orange fall colors, a herd of Ibex, and nobody to be seen. The Alps were ours. Even the Trift Hotel, an hour up the trail was closed and deserted. Where just two months ago we stopped with friends for a big lunch, this day we sat outside and watched Ibex nap in the sun across the canyon.

Continuing on from Trift is where the glaciers come into view and the mountains go from rolling green and gold to stone and ice. Once alongside the glaciers the trail gains a moraine top and rises in endless switchbacks up to the hut which is perched at the confluence of two glaciers.

With the forecast for two days of sun, we were sure we would run into others at the hut, but two Germans descending our trail with climbing gear reported they were it, no one else above. In fact they had tried a north ridge of another 4000 meter peak only to be denied access due to heavy snow and dangerous conditions.

The Winter Room

As we neared the hut the skies closed, the clouds turned to black and the snow started to fall. We had all been looking forward to sitting in the sun but had to be happy with sitting on a bunk wrapped in old wool blankets. Dinner was bread, cheese and tuna – all cold. Luckily we found some tea bags and the propane tank was full.

There is not much to do in the mountains when the weather is bad, so we all crawled into our bunks and were sound asleep by 8:30. Wake up was set for 3:45 a.m.

I have been a climber for 23 years and have gone to bed countless times with an alpine climb to look forward to, yet still there is that sense of mild anxiety which comes from both excitement and nervousness about what is to come. Climbing is something we do to experience the mountains, but also something we do to get to know ourselves a little better.

Climbing the Zinalrothorn

Waking up in the darkness to go climbing is an odd sensation. Inside your bed it is warm and safe yet you know that in minutes you will enter a cold and unforgiving world. A peek out the window reveals clear skies brilliant with stars. Eat, drink, throw on your pack and turn on the headlamp… It is time to go outside.

To walk on a glacier for hours with only the immediate world in front of you provides for lots of time to think. Above is the black sky and all around you ice and stone. The ice snaps and groans, rocks move beneath your feet and your eyes forever scan the surface for holes or crevasses. To experience this is to experience what it is to be fragile, to be a tiny living thing in a very big world.

By the time the sun rises we are humbled, and at this point the mountains put on their show to remind us of why we come back time and time again. To stand on a steep alpine ridge and watch the first rays of the sun hit the mountaintops is simply sublime. Better yet is to have the Matterhorn as your neighbor and be able to witness its icy grey turn pink.

We timed our arrival to the first steep rock section to perfection. Leaving the glacier behind, where we could climb through the darkness, it was time to start up the rock, and for this section daylight would be helpful. The massive towering bulk of granite rises straight above the final snow ridge which terminates at the rock.

After climbing lots of loose rock in a shallow gully, we eventually gained a notch where the real climbing would start. So far we had not been able to remove our crampons as there was just enough snow and ice to keep things interesting. We opted to leave them on for the actual ridge as we would be on and off the ice and snow covered northwest side. The SW Ridge of the Zinalrothorn is a true classic, continually keeping the climber engaged and focused. To the right is a vertigo inducing 3000 meter drop sweeping out to the valley floor, to the left an expanse of glaciers and endless mountains.

Once on the summit all sides drop away to other ridges and open faces. In late September we were able to sit on top for 20 minutes in just long sleeve shirts with no wind and warm temps. The nature of the SW Ridge is that it is equally difficult in descent as it is in ascent. Reversing the ridge eventually brought us to the first of many rappels which would take us well onto the broken open terrain of the first rock face, and from there we could walk back to the snow ridge and begin the descent of the glaciers.

After having spent a perfect day climbing in the alps with my wife and a great friend, I am reminded even more of my love for being both an athlete and a photographer of mountain sports. To move amongst these massive peaks for 12 hours, feeling everything, talking, sharing and laughing with others who feel the same sense of awe for what we are fortunate enough to be able to do – this is what keeps us so happy.

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Interested in doing this route and seeking an English speaking Mountain Guide? Contact Alberto De Giuli