Jonny Wilson, a product designer at Liberty Mountain, shares some photos and stories from his recent trip to Italy and Switzerland.
My girlfriend Rosemary watches for cheap flights religiously and last spring $460 roundtrip flights to Milan popped up for September. We weren’t too sure what we would do out there but we weren’t about to let the opportunity pass, so we bought our tickets and procrastinated planning until the month before. Neither one of us was too psyched on Milan, but the Swiss and French Alps were in striking distance so Milan seemed like a good launch pad. We originally had some plans to climb a peak in western Switzerland and then head over into Chamonix, but had to change plans on the fly due to weather. Zermatt had the only good weather for the first 3 days so we drove up (and then drove back down to Tasch since Zermatt is a no drive zone, whoops) and found a place to crash on Airbnb. Zermatt is a beautiful mountain town situated near the base of the Matterhorn. It looks a lot like how you might expect Europe to be. Beautiful old huts, green hills, jagged exaggerated peaks, with the Matterhorn ruling the skyline high above any of it’s neighbors. If you can, get a place with a kitchen and save yourself $40 or $50 a day on eating out.
The matterhorn was usually hidden behind clouds, but we got a couple of good views throughout the next 3 days.
We found some climbs on the Rifflehorn and set out to do them. The Rifflehorn really isn’t that spectacular looking in comparison to it’s neighbors but it’s accessible (20 or 30 minutes of easy hiking to the base of the climb from the train station), offers some great views of the area, and has some spectacular quality rock on it.
This isn’t the actual approach, we hiked up this canyon with a glacier at the bottom after the climb. The approach comes from the right side and circles around the left side to the base of the climbing.
Looks like we’re going the right way.
We did the thermometer Couloir mostly 5.4-5.6 with a brief 5.8 crux. The top had some 9 or 10 pitches on it, but I quickly realized that I could link two at a time with some 10 or 15 meters of my 70 meter rope to spare. The higher up the climb we got, the better the climbing was. The last 2 pitches shoot up an easy crack system in a dihedral. Good stuff.
Some hoofed little buddies on the wall above me.
Climbing through the 5.8 crux.
This is a pretty tame climb. Perfect for a beginner or if you’re just looking for an Alp warmup climb. Given that the topo I had showed some 9 or 10 pitches, I was expecting the route to take 6 hours or so. We ended up finishing it in under 3. Weather was perfect and we didn’t see any other climbers the whole time. I was sure there would be a crowd given the weather and proximity to town. I guess most climbers probably go to Zermatt for one of the bigger alpine/mountaineering goals and not so much for these easy multi-pitches.
Rose’s selfie with the Matterhorn.
Walking over to the true summit marked by a 7 ft tall cross.
Mmmmm, European dirtbag lunch. My favorite.
Descent was pretty easy. You can usually down climb around the rappels if desired. We did two rappels and down climbed another one.
A few shots from our time in Chamonix:
GEAR:
Beal Opera 8.5mm 70 meter Rope: I love this rope. Super smooth to belay with, a lot lighter and less drag on those long pitches than the 9.7mm I usually use. This is my go to for alpine climbing.
Grivel Zen 30L: Good burly bag, a bit big for the Rifflehorn, better in true alpine environments where you may need space for boots and extra layers.
Singing Rock Onyx Harness: Works but the right side gear loop is too far back, I may have sized it too tight.
Set of Ceres II alpine draws: Love these draws, good for reducing rope drag.
Cypher Huevos: I think I place my Huevos more than cams on these types or routes.
BD Camalots: you don’t need a lot on this route since the Euros put bolts everywhere, even next to cracks. You could bring a set of .75-3 cams and be totally set on this climb.
BD Vapor Helmet: Damn thing cracked in transit and now I have to replace it. It’s light, but too fragile for my liking, will have a more durable helmet in the future.
Swiss dried salami: Mind your nutrition.
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