Page 25 - 2020 AMA Winter

Incomparable Granite on South Ridge Salbitschjen
a bivvi necessary, it becomes massive. 1500m of ascent up to the bivvi site below the glacier [coffee and cake was available at the hut, luckily!], then the following day a further 1500m of climbing, the same in descent, followed by another 1500m back down to the valley. Suffice to say it was brilliant, but we were absolutely knackered by the time we got down late the following afternoon. Phew.
Zermatt wasn’t that far away, so we headed over there and paid for a campsite with showers and washing machines and other such unheard of luxuries. Early the following morning, an expensive train, followed by an more expensive telepher-
ique took us up to the Little Matterhorn, and we galloped, roped-up, past the early hordes to be second on the steep snow and short ice pitch which led to the summit of Castor. A rapid descent in the even more rapidly thawing snow, and a double back along the approach brought us to the other twin; Pollux. This is a rock route, which is why we did it second [getting the hard early morning snow on Castor]. For one of the most climbed peaks in the Alps [it is the one of the easiest of the 4000ers], the route isn’t that obvious in places, but we soloed quickly up and down, collected our rope and packs and headed down to the refuge for tea and medals.
High on the South Ridge Gross Diamantstock
Fortified by Italian cooking, we set off in the dark the following morning for the Breithorn Traverse, collecting four more 4000ers before lunch. It would have been five, but the ice slopes up to the Roccia Nera were bare and stony this late in the season, so we missed it out. Strange tracks in the snow, glittering in the light of our headtorches, made us wonder if the lynx had made it this far in the Alps. The traverse was an exhilarating romp; rock pitches, ice and snow with stunning views on every side, and empty of people. We pitched some of it, but mostly we moved together or soloed. As we came to the summit of the Breithorn West, the clouds rolled in, and so did the crowds; ropes of
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