Page 10 - 2022 AMA Summer

GUESTWRITER
THE JODERHORN
AN ALPINE CLIMB BLENDED WITH NATURE
By Jim Langley
The Alps form one of the world’s great mountain ranges and remain an authentic natural playground at the heart of the densely populated European continent. This article blends my interests in both alpine climbing, geology and alpine flowers. The eye of a Jedi is needed to spot the tiny flowers that cover the alpine meadows and cliffs, especially on route to an exciting climb such as the Joderhorn. I’ve developed a technique over the years that combines a keen eye for wildlife, a quick pace and a steady hand – the trait of a good marksman!
The route we set out to climb is a classic, yet lesser known, rock route at the head of the Saas valley on the Montemoro pass on the Swiss-Italian border. The Joderhorn is a small peak at 3035m but from the summit its position gives excellent views of the huge east face of the Monte Rosa.
The Swiss side of the Joderhorn is not very impressive to look at and is composed
of loose rubble and scree fields. This makes it a convenient and straightforward descent route back to the Montemoro pass. It is only when you venture around to the Italian side, to the south, that you get a true feeling of the mountain's grandeur. Its southern face is composed of fine rock walls containing several rock climbs of varying difficulty and provides a true alpine feeling. We chose to climb the SE ridge, a great route on excellent rock with superb rock pitches up to grade 5a. The route is scarcely bolted and requires leader-placed protection. It’s a relatively short alpine route but its location ensures that you’re most certain to have it to yourself. This remoteness allowed for a close encounter with a charismatic and elegant lammergeier which soared effort- lessly past at eye level. Their beauty and grace will never cease to inspire awe and they become an ever-greater presence in the Alps due to a successful breeding and reintroduction programme since the 1980s.
Walking towards the Montemoro Pass
To access the Montemoro pass there are regular buses from Saas Grund and a car park for those driving. The road up the Saas valley comes to an end at Europe’s largest earth dam; the Mattmark dam at 2200m altitude. We chose to cycle as the Mattmark reservoir is over 3km long and a gravel track follows the shores of the lake on the western side (with a series of unlit tunnels) saving an hour’s walk in and relief for tired legs at the end of the day.
We left our bikes at the head of the reservoir and began to ascent through the gentle meadows of the Tälliboden valley. I was noticing tiny colourful plants in the alpine meadows and knew there would be some interesting species to look out for. Would my climbing buddies be happy to see them? Probably, but certainly not on the walk in. I’m inherently aware not to hold people up to distraction especially when we’re focussing on the objective
Saastal & Mattmark Reservoir
10 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER