UKC Logbook - 'Southwest (Italian or Lion) Ridge'

Skip over navigation

Many prefer the slightly harder climbing here to the chaos of the Hornli ridge.

Bich/Carrel Jul/1865.

Ticklists

Alpine Dreamz , A mix of routes to the summits of great Peaks in the Alps via standard'ish routes , Alps to do , Alps to do

Feedback Always Hide βeta

User	Date		Notes
Benzing Sherpa	3 Sep, 2023	Show βeta βeta: Don’t underestimate approach to Carrel hut if you choose to wander off route. Some lines seems solid but big blocks are loose. Nearly ended it all when I pulled off a jug, freefalling a couple of metres before landing bolt upright on a thin ledge, a few hundred metres of air beneath me. Stick to the path!	βeta?
Show beta βeta: Don’t underestimate approach to Carrel hut if you choose to wander off route. Some lines seems solid but big blocks are loose. Nearly ended it all when I pulled off a jug, freefalling a couple of metres before landing bolt upright on a thin ledge, a few hundred metres of air beneath me. Stick to the path!
Isaac_Blanc	7 Aug, 2023	Show βeta βeta: We left the van in the Plan Maison lift station car park, in Cervinia. Parking is free, even for multiple days. We took the last lift to Plan Maison, which goes at 16:20 and costs around 13 EUR each. From there, we walked ~1 hour to the Abruzzi Hut, which we had already booked. That cost around 90 EUR each for dinner, a bed and breakfast. AC reciprocal rights card not accepted. Lovely hut with really good food. The next day, we walked/climbed ~4 hours to the Carrel Hut, which is open but unguarded this season (summer 2023). We had contacted the hut guardian beforehand to check. From memory, it costs 30 EUR per person (may be wrong) and you pay via an honesty box in the hut. There is a stove with gas and pans for cooking, as well as a second stove and huge pot for melting snow. There is of course no running water and I suspect that, had it not snowed while we were there, we might have gotten quite thirsty. The hut also has lots of blankets but is very cold. After spending a day at the Carrel Hut to rest and acclimatise, we climbed the rest of the route and descended the Hornli. This took longer than expected so we ended up sleeping in the Solvay Hut at 4000m. This has blankets but no gas or water and is very small. Four of us shared a single bed and blanket. The hut is strictly only for emergencies, so in hindsite I suspect we should have noticed we were moving slowly earlier in the day and turned around. After a fairly sleepless night, we descended to the Hornli Hut and then on to the Schwarzsee lift station, arriving around 14:00. Here, we asked the lift staff how we could get back to Cervinia while spending as little as possible on lift passes. He put us on the Matterhorn Express lift to Trockener Steg, where they have a staffed ticket office who could advise properly. At the ticket office, we explained we needed single tickets to Cervinia and were sold these for ~78 EUR each. This included some discount because I have a SwissPass, so expect it to cost more if you don't. Note that you don't need to be Swiss to get the SwissPass, but you do need a Swiss address when you sign up (it can be your mate's). With our lift passes, we rode the lift to the Klein Matterhorn, then (I think) Testa Grigia, Laghi Cime Blanche, Plan Maison and then finally back into Cervinia. Note that all of this takes a while, so you should arrive at the Schwarzsee lift station in good time. We got there at 14:00. You wouldn't want the Italian lifts to close while you're still on the Swiss side.
Show beta βeta: We left the van in the Plan Maison lift station car park, in Cervinia. Parking is free, even for multiple days. We took the last lift to Plan Maison, which goes at 16:20 and costs around 13 EUR each. From there, we walked ~1 hour to the Abruzzi Hut, which we had already booked. That cost around 90 EUR each for dinner, a bed and breakfast. AC reciprocal rights card not accepted. Lovely hut with really good food. The next day, we walked/climbed ~4 hours to the Carrel Hut, which is open but unguarded this season (summer 2023). We had contacted the hut guardian beforehand to check. From memory, it costs 30 EUR per person (may be wrong) and you pay via an honesty box in the hut. There is a stove with gas and pans for cooking, as well as a second stove and huge pot for melting snow. There is of course no running water and I suspect that, had it not snowed while we were there, we might have gotten quite thirsty. The hut also has lots of blankets but is very cold. After spending a day at the Carrel Hut to rest and acclimatise, we climbed the rest of the route and descended the Hornli. This took longer than expected so we ended up sleeping in the Solvay Hut at 4000m. This has blankets but no gas or water and is very small. Four of us shared a single bed and blanket. The hut is strictly only for emergencies, so in hindsite I suspect we should have noticed we were moving slowly earlier in the day and turned around. After a fairly sleepless night, we descended to the Hornli Hut and then on to the Schwarzsee lift station, arriving around 14:00. Here, we asked the lift staff how we could get back to Cervinia while spending as little as possible on lift passes. He put us on the Matterhorn Express lift to Trockener Steg, where they have a staffed ticket office who could advise properly. At the ticket office, we explained we needed single tickets to Cervinia and were sold these for ~78 EUR each. This included some discount because I have a SwissPass, so expect it to cost more if you don't. Note that you don't need to be Swiss to get the SwissPass, but you do need a Swiss address when you sign up (it can be your mate's). With our lift passes, we rode the lift to the Klein Matterhorn, then (I think) Testa Grigia, Laghi Cime Blanche, Plan Maison and then finally back into Cervinia. Note that all of this takes a while, so you should arrive at the Schwarzsee lift station in good time. We got there at 14:00. You wouldn't want the Italian lifts to close while you're still on the Swiss side.
Webster	16 Jul, 2023	Show βeta βeta: There is no real need to take a rack, anywhere where you could place gear there is generally fixed gear anyway. just take draws and slings. take a longer than 30m rope if you plan to descend this way...	βeta?
Show beta βeta: There is no real need to take a rack, anywhere where you could place gear there is generally fixed gear anyway. just take draws and slings. take a longer than 30m rope if you plan to descend this way...
JacobHarmer	22 Aug, 2021	Show βeta βeta: Wow an amazing route but dam it was mentally tough, and the altitude got me. The climbing is relatively easy but there is quite a bit of proper climbing on trad gear and tonnes of scrambling with the most severe exposure you can imagine when you're just roped up. We did 5 hours up to the hut the first day, then set off at 4am and didn't get down to the village till 7pm as we missed the last cable cart. A stunning climb but not to be underestimated!	βeta?
Show beta βeta: Wow an amazing route but dam it was mentally tough, and the altitude got me. The climbing is relatively easy but there is quite a bit of proper climbing on trad gear and tonnes of scrambling with the most severe exposure you can imagine when you're just roped up. We did 5 hours up to the hut the first day, then set off at 4am and didn't get down to the village till 7pm as we missed the last cable cart. A stunning climb but not to be underestimated!
Rob_Morris1996	3 Nov, 2020	Show βeta βeta: 18/09/2020 (first day of bypass): The Jordan Ladder has been damaged by rockfall, with only part of it remaining. New shipping ropes have been affixed to its left, to bypass the ladder. This section is prone to rockfall, hence the guide/guardian recommended finishing ascending/descending it in entirety before 9am.	βeta?
Show beta βeta: 18/09/2020 (first day of bypass): The Jordan Ladder has been damaged by rockfall, with only part of it remaining. New shipping ropes have been affixed to its left, to bypass the ladder. This section is prone to rockfall, hence the guide/guardian recommended finishing ascending/descending it in entirety before 9am.
Gwinn512	27 Aug, 2020	Show βeta βeta: The Carrel hut has to be booked in advance since summer 2019, call the Cervinia guide office. Costs 30 EUR (as of 2020)	βeta?
Show beta βeta: The Carrel hut has to be booked in advance since summer 2019, call the Cervinia guide office. Costs 30 EUR (as of 2020)
ulastopka	15 May, 2020	Show βeta βeta: The aim to reach the top of Matterhorn from Carrel hut should be within 5 hours/less as the descending take much longer.	βeta?
Show beta βeta: The aim to reach the top of Matterhorn from Carrel hut should be within 5 hours/less as the descending take much longer.

Logged Ascents

118 users have logged this

93 users have this on their wishlist

Please Login to view more details on the logged ascents

Loading Notifications...