Blog Posts in Category: Switzerland

Panorama – Jegihorn

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing, Switzerland Short Link

After having a rest day following our ascent of the North Ridge of the Weissmies, we decided to make the most of a single day of good weather by heading to the Jegihorn to do some multi pitch sport climbing. We climbed a route called ‘Panorama’, which was a 10 pitch f5a. After a quick walk up to the crag we were pleased to find out that no one else was aiming for our route, everyone else was either heading for the classic Alpendurst or the via ferrata. From the route we had a great view of the Weissmies, including the long north ridge, and the Lagginhorn. Multipitch sport climbing with two people is very efficient and we made great time up the route, finishing the 10 pitches in under 2.5 hours. The main delay at belays was having to get our breath back as climbing at altitude is hard work! The climbing was initially fairly easy and broken with lots of easier ground, but the climbing just improved with height as the rock got steeper. There were some surprisingly tricky moves at points, which were made all the more exciting by. Read the full article…

North Ridge of the Weissmies

Alastair BegleyAlpinism, Switzerland Short Link

After an aborted attempt at the Rimpfischhorn due to conditions which were more similar to Scottish winter due to hill fog, a freezing wind and plenty of fresh snow with some dangerous windslab. We arrived back in the valley too late to start a long walk in to a hut which left our options fairly limited. In order to make the most of a brilliant weather window we decided to head up to the Hohsaas hut with the intention of having a look at the North Ridge of the Weissmies, although this was potentially a bit more optimistic due to the amount of snow around and not having any condition reports from the ridge. We woke up to a fantastic morning with cold air and a clear sky, this enabled us to make very quick progress up to the Lagginjoch. After the approaches to the Rimpfischhorn and the Aiguille d’Argentière it was great to have a short approach to a route, rather than a long slog. The sunrise over Italy was fantastic and provided some great light over the Saas mountains. It was a freezing morning and we initially started climbing. Read the full article…

Two weeks in the Valais Alps

Alastair BegleyAlpinism, Switzerland Short Link

I have just returned from my annual Alps trip, this year I headed to Saas Grund in the Swiss Alps with the Avon Mountaineering Club. It was an amazing but very tiring two weeks which involved eight peaks, 5 of which were above 4000m and I climbed my first two AD routes. In addition to the climbing we had plenty of enjoyment in the valley with a few meals out and a night out in Saas Fee. The peaks I climbed during the trip are: Stellihorn (3436m) A 14 pitch sport climb on the Jegihorn (3206m) Strahlhorn (4190m) Alphubel Traverse (4206m) Lagginhorn Traverse (4010m) Mittaghorn (3144m) A half traverse of the Breithorn (4164m) Nadelhorn (4327m) Stellihorn – North West Flank To get to the alps we decided to leave on Friday evening and drive through the night, this drive went very smoothly and we arrived at 11am after having only had a few hours sleep during the drive. Instead of relaxing at the campsite we decided that it would be a good idea to walk up to a bivi site to sleep up high while we were tired before climbing the. Read the full article…

Jegihorn Via Ferrata

Alastair BegleyScrambling, Switzerland Short Link

After three high mountain days we were all beginning to need a rest day but as there was only one more day of good weather forecast we decided to carry on and head up to the Jegihorn via ferrata, it is a rather special via ferrata as it climbs up to a summit of 3206m with stunning views of the Saastal mountain ranges on the ascent. The walk into the start of the via ferrata at 9am was unbelievably hot due to being sheltered from the breeze though thankfully once we arrived at the start of the route there was a breeze which reduced the temperature to a great level. The route was unlike most other via ferratas I have done as for the most part there was just a cable for protection while the climbing was scrambling on the rock and pulling on the cable which I have only encountered once before on a very hard via ferrata in Austria last year. This type of via ferrata is more fun, though it also creates more exposure due to it being harder scrambling than following metal rungs up the mountain,. Read the full article…