UKC

Hello,

I'm off to the Alps for two weeks at the end of the month.

It would be nice to finish the trip by traversing the Matterhorn. Can anyone advice the best way to get to the Carrel Hut from Zermatt and how long it takes? Also is it possible to combine this with another short route, like the Breighthorn half traverse, if one gets the first lift and doesn't hang about?

Any other top tips would be great too.

Cheers, Tom

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Easy for you, Tom. First lift > Breithorn. Then walk down to Testa Grigia. Take lift down to Plan Maison and walk up to Abruzzi > Col de Lion and scramble up to the Carrel. Or you can walk down - go down the pistes to Testa Grigia then continue on down a bit and through the Theodule Pass. Follow the big nasty bulldozed pistes (there's actually a little path somewhere...) to pick up the track to Abruzzi.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:
Off up there last week in July also with the same itinerary. We going up the lift then something on Pollux before heading down as Jon suggests but stopping at the Abruzzi to chill. Short day up to the Carrel next day with some time for an afternoon recce if it all goes to plan.

In reply to jon:

Amazingly easy now – considering just how hard it was in the 'Golden Age' of the 1860s, when the pioneers went back and forth on foot from Breuil to Zermatt, thousands of feet, with no fuss whatever.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Yes, you're right, Gordon. I think Tom should do it all on foot, don't you?

In reply to jon:

Cheers Jon... I'm going on a summit bagging holiday, for various predictable reasons.

Any other good hills to do in that necks of the woods?

So far I've got my eyes on:

Dri Hornli Traverse
Portjengrat Traverse
Wiessmiss Traverse

S Ridge Dent Blance
Zinal Rohthorn
Italian Ridge on the Matterhorn

Allalinhorn - this looks like an easy short day?
Breighthorn... on the walk in to the Lion Ridge...

If I get all these done in a 2 week trip I'll be pretty psyched.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Try the Fletchorn-Lagginhorn traverse, using the "Topham" ridge rather than the glacier crossing to the Fletchorn-Lagginhorn.

In reply to jon:


I never climbed the Matterhorn, but if I had I think it would have been rather satisfying to have walked up and back (from the Hornli Hut) to Zermatt i.e. not used the cable car.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


Ah, you hopeless old romantic, Gordon!

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

That just sounds painful to me, but I do see what you mean...

TRip

Zinal Rothorn is mint, I just went up and down the north ridge but I reckon traversing up the north ridge and down the normal route would be even better, pics in my gallery too.

In reply to jon:

Well, you either enjoy walking in the mountains, and climbing mountains, or you don't. If it's a pain in the arse for you, why bother? Most of us enjoy it. (Some morons however think it's some kind of list-ticking exercise.)

In reply to LakesWinter:


Is mountain walking really painful for you? Are you very unfit, or something?

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:
Gordon, it was a very light hearted reply. I was joking!
I'm surprised you didn't realise that.

In reply to LakesWinter:


One of the beauties of the Zinal Rothorn, IIRC, was that you walked all the way from Zermatt and back. There was no cable car up that valley (and surely that's still the case?) I remember it being very satisfying.

In reply to jon:

OK, 'hopeless old romantic' is quite light hearted agreed. But you hadn't the guts to embrace my idea. You just said (feebly) 'I see what you mean'. Why not just say 'Great idea!' ?

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:
I don't understand the problem Gordon. I made a light hearted comment in reply to your post. Walking isn't a pain in the arse for me. It's what I do for a living. It would be a very strange career choice if it was.


I'm sorry, but I think that's out of order.

Edit: And just looking back I didn't say (feebly)' I see what you mean'. I said:


So somewhere you've got your lines crossed.

In reply to jon:

I've no idea what you're going on about. No problem at all!

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:
Extra effort of walking up equals more leg pain, anyhow I'm probably the only person for years who's walked all the way from zermatt up the breithorn with no lifts, so I'm ok with walking

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Speaking as someone who has actually done it, walking up to the Hornli is pretty grim. - cable cars, bulldozed pistes etc.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


In that case I suggest you read back through your ramblings of last night in reply to my comment about you being a hopeless old romantic - which is, I assure you, a term of endearment.

Do you actually deny having said:



And while we're about it, you should note that the 'I see what you mean' comment came from Lakes Winter and not from me and should therefore be directed at him.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

We walked down to Zermatt in the afternoon after doing the Hornli in the morning. Somehow it was very satisfying to stand in the main street of Zermatt, look up at the Matterhorn and realise that we had stood on top only a few hours earlier and had got all the way back under our steam.
Although we did feel rather out of place among the glittering, expensive shops of Zermatt. It was almost as though the folks who just came to visit zermatt for the view, looked down on this pair of worn out, sweaty, knackered climbers, for ruining the ambience of the place.

John

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Same for Dom. Some American friends we were dragging up there almost threatened to punch us when we told them that there was no hut and we would be sleeping in the foyer of the Dom cable car....

CB

PS: That is also why Randa is so much nicer and quieter than Zermatt. Zinalrothorn, Dom Täschhorn, Weisshorn all with 3000m elevation gain and NO LIFTS.

To the OP: When you are in the region you should definitely give the Dom a try, either via the normal route or the Festi ridge if conditions are right and you feel comfortable on PD+ ice slopes

In reply to cb294:

Tom is 'a', perhaps 'the' UKC legend in my eyes

I'm hope he'd be fine on PD+ ice slopes.

In reply to smithaldo:

Maybe should have looked at his profile first...

I just hestitate to unconditionally recommend the Festi ridge. Even it looks easy from the Festijoch, it is easy to get into trouble higher up when the blank ice comes through and you are not confident on that kind of terrain.

CB

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

To get back to your TRip Tom, the best outing I ever had in the Zermatt valley was the Rothorngrat from the Rothorn hut and descent to the Mountet hut via the N ridge. The next day we walked down almost to Zinal then up to the Tracuit hut and the next day traversed the Weisshorn via the Bishorn and the N ridge and down the E ridge to Randa. That particular week was made slightly more energetic by the fact that I did the Rothorngrat twice on consecutive days - but you can be excused that bit. The Rothorngrat is possibly the best ridge of its kind in the Pennine alps.

In reply to jon:

Thanks Jon. The Rothorngrat is top of the list. I'll leave doing it on consecutive days for a few years...

Any good sub 4000m peaks to learn to breath on?

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Well the classic one is the Mettelhorn above Trift. It's more a walkers' peak despite being just over 3400m. It's also conveniently on the way to the Rothorn hut, but the Rothorn itself maybe too early in your TRip? Then I suppose there's stuff like the Pointe de Zinal and Mont Durand but having done neither I can't really comment. I'm sure someone else has though... MG, I'd imagine.

In reply to jon:

Confirm. Did it as my third summit in my first season of climbing in 1962. I also did the Matterhorn but this was the one that made me proud of my start, having been 15 stone in June aged 28 doing the Rimpifischorn and capable of doing these two at the start of September. It was the beginning of a new life for me.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Good luck Tom, I'm doing the same 1st week in August. I had it in my head to take the cables to Klein Matterhorn then a short glacier traverse to the cable down to Plan Maison. Like you though I'm trying to dig out stuff on the internet to see whats best.

Let me know how you get on