ALPINE CLASSICS
the Rimpfischhorn the year before. The moon was still bright and high in the sky above the Strahlhorn, and we walked along quietly without our headlamps. By moonlight we could make out the clear-cut hoof tracks of a few chamois in the firm surface of the snow.
The tracks were many kilometres out in the middle of the glacier heading towards the Allalinpass; we speculated as to which route they were heading for. We followed their tracks for a while, before bearing off further south. A light breeze flowed down the glacier keeping our faces cool. The movement came easily and, although there was a lot of glacier to traverse, the rhythm of kick and glide took on a meditative quality in the half-light. Sometime after four, the first glow of orange light formed over the Weissmeis to the east. It built steadily brighter until the crimson alpenglow crept down through the atmosphere and the sun finally touched the Rimpfischhorn just above us. Being at a higher elevation than the eastern horizon, we caught the sunrise earlier than I had expected. I raced up the last slopes to reach the Adlerpass at six and take some photos just as the sun caught the main body of the Matterhorn and the tops of the Dent Blanche and Breithorn. As we turned left and began skinning up the ridge from the Adlerpass, it became icy where the wind been rushing though and stripped the snow into hard sastrugi. We booted up a few hundred metres, threading along the serpentine line between the light and the shade. Far down the glacier, we could make out the two rope teams of snowshoers making steady progress in
Ben Tibbets works as an adventure photographer, artist and IFMGA mountain guide, specialising in remote and cold environments. Having studied Fine Art to a postgraduate level, he is obsessed with image making in wild places. He is currently working on a large- format photographic guidebook on the finest routes on the 4,000m peaks of the Alps.
Strahlhorn (4190m)
ESSENTIAL INFO
East Ridge Signalkuppe (4554m)
the morning light, their long shadows raking across the smooth snow. The ridge soon flattened out and we had skis back on and skinned up into the shade on the broad slope beneath the summit. With just 30 steps on foot, we reached the summit cross. The view to the south was spectacular: the ground dropping away down rock and glaciers all the way to the treeline in myriad misty valleys of northern Italy. The massive eastern wall of the Monte Rosa massif, one of the largest in the Alps, was glowing impressively in the morning light. After a short break, we put the skis on our rucksacks and carried on along the ridge past the summit cross and eastwards as the ridge tightened to a fine snow crest. As it narrowed, we moved briefly onto the northern flank and the snow was already softening in the sun. With no time pressure it was fun and easy scrambling and we made clean fresh tracks down the ridge despite it being over a week since the last snowfall. All too quickly, the ridge ended and dropped down a few rocky steps onto the broad eastern shoulder. It was about 8am and we sat down to have our lunch of sandwiches and dark chocolate. As it was late June, even at this early hour the snow was already beginning to loosen up in the sun as we put our skis back on and slid down the north east face. The first 200 metres are set at about 35 degrees and cross several huge crevasses. Thankfully these were well bridged and the snow grippy. We paused to look at the Weissmies and north far across the Rhone to the Oberland. We rode down the ridge line and, as it bent north-east, the snow transformed to soft corn all the way to the Fluchtpass. We opened up the pace along the long, easy slopes northwards across the Allalin glacier and, with a little skating, got all the way to the middle of the Hohlaub glacier before we slowed to a stop and put on skins for the last stretch back up to the hut. By 9:30, when we arrived at the hut it was already unpleasantly hot, so we picked up the few items we’d left and set off straight away to catch the Felskinn lift back down to the car.
WHEN: The easiest ski-touring conditions would be on stable transformed snow and well-covered spring glaciers. The approach is fast at night on refrozen snow and the steeper descent softens quickly in the morning sun to provide fun skiing. The rest of the ski descent is very low angle but passes quickly if the névé is still frozen. These conditions are often found from late March until late June but require a very early start in early summer. In other conditions, it is still an interesting objective, though the East Ridge traverse and steep ski should be avoided unless the snow is stable, crevasses well filled and visibility good.
GEAR: One axe, crampons, 30m rope, glacier travel and ski mountaineering gear.
APPROACH: From Saas Fee take the lifts to Felskinn. Traverse to Egginerjoch and then to the Britannia hut. In case of unstable snow take a longer low line from Egginerjoch away from the avalanche slopes of the Hinter Allalin. The Strahlhorn can also be traversed
62 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN.
from the Stockhorn / Gornergrat in the Zermatt valley, in which case climbing via the Adlerhorn makes a beautiful outing.
ROUTE: From the Britannia head south-west across the Hohlaubgletscher, then south across the following moraine and then follow the west side of the Allalingletscher all the way to the Adlerpass. In hard snow, it is best to climb the ridge from the Adlerpass south-east on foot until you gain the easier upper slopes of the North-West flank. Follow this to a short steep slope, usually climbed on foot to the summit (or traverse north and boot up the ridge to avoid the steeper slope).
DESCENT: Either reverse the ascent, or for the East Ridge traverse continue on foot scrambling east-south-east along a delicate ridge with several short rock steps leading down onto a broad shoulder at pt. 4,143m. Ski north down the steep slope (crevassed) to c.3,900m then follow the broad ridge north-east to the Fluchtpass. From here, ski north on fast and flowing terrain back to the line of ascent.
NEXT ISSUE: TRA VERSE OF THE DENT D’HERENS
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