Briethorn summit with Bag and Rocky
A much needed rest day was in order and we passed the time in camp practising the required knots and reviewing the route we had planned for the following day. We planned to take the cable car up the Klien Matterhorn and walk to the summit of Briethorn mountain at 4164m. After this we intended to walk across to the Italian side of the mountain to sleep in a cabin at altitude, all in preparation for our main goal of climbing Mount Blanc the following week.
We woke early the next morning and took the train up to Zermatt, followed by the cable car up to Klien Matterhorn at 3800m. It felt a little like cheating, but the main purpose was acclimatisation rather than to tire ourselves out!
The route to the Briethorn summit was straight forward and on an unexposed snow field. To gain some experience walking together in the team we roped up and used the climb to practice maintaining the correct distances on the rope and establish a good walking pace.
Another view from Briethorn summit
Having not yet acclimatised the air felt thin and the pace was slow. Every time we sped up breath would get short and we would have to rest for a couple of minutes. As the climb got steeper, and we first needed to dig in with our crampons and balance with our ice axes, Rocky and I slowed down. Meanwhile Bag, seemingly unaffected by the altitude at this stage, remained fresh and was keen to up the pace – all being attached to the same rope this was impossible as Rocky and I could only keep up for a few minutes when Bag took the lead.
We settled into a pace suitable for everyone and after a couple of hours made it to the summit. The views looking back to the Matterhorn were spectacular and the weather perfect. It was good to bag our first peak but after a few minutes it was time to descend. The route off the summit was down a narrow ridge. Negotiating our way past some groups coming in the other direction required some careful shimmying and foot placement, it was nice to have the security of the rope!
We headed down towards the Italian hut, this would require crossing a small glacier and another few hours of walking. Progress downhill was fast but tough on the knees and legs, I had a slight discomfort in the ankle, but didn’t t think much of it. After we had descended to the level of the glacier we had to make a call whether to continue with the plan or retreat back down the cable car.
We had taken a lot longer than expected to reach this point and with Rocky tiring and my ankle hurting we decided to turn back. It was a little disappointing, especially for Bag who up to this point had shown no signs of any ill-effect from the altitude, but proved to be a great decision.
The route back to the cable car was a flat, easy 5km across the snow field but proved incredibly hard work. We had pushed way too much and way too high for our first day and we all of a sudden we were all feeling it. My pace slowed dramatically and as Bag passed fast I initially thought he was in a bad mood at having to turn back, but 100m later seeing him hunched over it turned out the altitude had finally hit him too and he was keen to get back asap.
Despite Rocky first suggesting turning back it seemed he was now in best shape as he encouraged us back to the cable car. My ankle had flared up and I was struggling to walk in the crampon, Once it was flat and the snow not too deep I took off the crampon which made walking a little easier.
After an incredibly slow trudge we made it back to the cable car and were pleased to be on our way quickly down the mountain. A coke and and ice cream had us feeling a little better, but by the time we got back to the tent I had a bad headache and went straight to bed.
Leaving the campsite in Zermatt heading for Chamonix with Bag.
We changed the plan slightly and decided that we would head straight to Chamonix. Bag and Rocky would drive whilst I was left with the daunting prospect of a 96 mile ride over the Alps to get there!
