Mountaineering in great, alpine mountain ranges, trudging across crisp, vast glaciers, staying in mountain huts and conquering high summits has always been on my wish list. The draw of the Himalayas, its pointed peaks and huge, still growing glaciers has always fascinated me. I have always wanted to be a real mountaineer, someone who can just escape into the mountains for a month or two, my kit on my back, navigating never ending crevasses, trusting crampons to not let me slip into them and standing on the top of some of the highest mountains in the world. Unfortunately, I just don’t have the skills to do anything like this on my own.
But fear not! There are a ton of companies out there who, as long as you are fit and do have some mountain experience, will take you on high level treks. After a lot of internet searching, we decided to book a guided trek with KE Adventure. We booked on the Italian High Level Route which is a week long trek (6 days actual hiking) through the Swiss-Italian alps. It may not be the Himalayas but The Alps are just beautiful and somewhere we were used to going. As long as you’re fit and have some mountain experience, it isn’t too hard! The summits are long slogs but we didn’t come across anything technical. Besides, you have a guide with you to help out so it’s fine!
We spent a few days in Zermatt first of all, doing some hikes of our own and getting used to the difference in altitude before our trek. Finally the day had come, we met our group (only 5 of us!) and went to sleep, ready for what was to come.
Zermatt to the Gandegg Hut
After meeting everyone in our group the night before, we set off from Zermatt, taking the cable car up high above the lush valley floor, above walkers following well-worn paths and higher into the glistening snow capped mountains. At the top, we made a short walk to the Gandegg Hut at 3029m. The views from this hut are spectacular; the Matterhorn is to the west, the Breithorn with its rounded summit is to the north, the Monte Rosa to the east and the Weisshorn to the south. The hut used to be used as the base for the ascent up to the Breithorn but now there is another cable car that can take you much closer. The hut offered a warm welcome, good food and friendly chat but was much quieter than I thought it would be. Our group had a whole room to ourselves!
We spent the rest of the afternoon practising skills we might need on the nearby Theodul glacier. This included practising a self-arrest with an ice axe (in case you slip and slide down a slope), learning basic crampon techniques and how to help get people out of a glacier if they fall in! Yikes! We settled in that night, a room half empty with loads of space to spread all our kit out.
Summiting the Breithorn (4164m)
The next day we woke up and quickly set off back down the rocky path to the cable car. We travelled up to the top of the Klein Matterhorn at 3883m and headed straight up The Breithorn. This was a pretty simple trek up, but I was sweltering in the sunshine! My crampons gripped the snow and ice beneath me and we trudged, roped up one behind the other, along the clear path marked out by earlier climbers. The snow sparkled in the sunshine, the sky as blue as the ocean encircled the early morning sunshine. We reached the top and huge smiles of achievement appeared on our faces. The view from the top was something else. I‘ve spent a lot of time in the mountains skiing and hiking but this just felt different. The ridge that stretched out in front of us lead towards the clouds and the valley below. Tiny black dots moved carefully across the ridge, making their way to our current spot. Underneath the happiness in my mind, I could feel a slight pain creeping its way behind my eyes and around my head. Must be the heat I thought, I definitely hadn’t drank enough.
After ten minutes or so we descended the ridge towards to the col and followed this glacier all the way to Italy! We walked below huge seracs into the remote wilderness, passing only a handful of other people, all in a rush to escape the potential of a catastrophic serac collapse above us. As we walked and walked and walked, for hours and hours the heat bouncing off the freezing snow became unbearable. I had minimal layers on but couldn’t cool down, my headache had grown with a vengeance, and I couldn’t shift a sickly feeling in my stomach. Eventually, we reached the Rifugio d’Ayas at 3440m, our hut for the night. Nestled within the glacier, the views from this hut were a sight to behold. The view from the toilet even better! After a quick dinner, I reluctantly settled down to sleep, my headache pounding behind my eyes.
A long day
I’m a fan of early mornings but boy, was this an early start! I’m pretty sure the sun was only just starting to break through the clouds when we left the hut and started our descent further into Italy. It was a stunning walk down, scrambling down steep rock paths, passing ibex (wild mountain goats) basking in the warm summer sunshine while looking back up towards the glistening snow and glaciers where we had just come from.
We reached the bottom after a good few hours, but then started heading straight back up, up, up. We navigated across an immense, at times challenging boulder field and eventually we reached the top. Oh how the weather changed! The sunshine captured by grey, looming clouds and rain forcing us to quickly get into our full waterproof gear. The temperature dropped and thunder crackled above us. Eventually we reached a cable car which took us down to Stafal. A little village where we stopped for a delicious lunch – pizza and cake! We stocked up on supplies and surprise surprise took another cable car back up the other side of the valley to our next refuge hut: the Rifugio del Gabiet. Wonderful! Our own private room, running, hot water and showers. Heaven!
Summiting Pyramid Vincent (4125m)
More cable cars. I started to feel like a fraud. Here I was on a “trek” through the mountains but spending an awfully long time on cable cars. After my husband pointed out, “well, you could walk up if you want but it would probably take most of the day to get to the next point”, I quickly shut my mouth. Straight out the cable car, onto a glacier, the views were phenomenal once again. Lakes dotted along the valley and glaciers stretching their fingers as far as they could below us.
We headed up some fixed ropes and carried on straight up, past our refuge stop for the night to ascend Pyramid Vincent. At 4125m it was another long but simple, glacial trek. Although this didn’t feel so simple. My legs weakened underneath me, my breath became a lot heavier than normal. Was I hungry? I blocked out my thoughts, put my head down and trudged up behind the guide. That niggling feeling in my head returned, pains behind my eyes and a sudden thirst that wouldn’t go away. I was struggling. I didn’t want to be the weakest so I carried on, not enjoying a single moment. Pain searing through my legs, my bag feeling heavier and heavier, getting slower and slower, and the summit not seeming to get any closer. Our guide waved, “c’mon, we’re nearly there!” He was right; a mere 1 minute further and we were standing on the top of Pyramid Vincent (4215m).
I was thankful when we spent only a little time here, my headache was now verging on another migraine and I tried to ignore the sickness I could feel. Suddenly it hit me, this is twice now. Twice I’ve had these same feelings high up. At altitude. Was it altitude sickness? Surely not, we weren’t even that high! I kept quiet and followed the group back down. My future plans for the Himalayas whirling around my aching head. Our plan was to then traverse across and make a quick summit of Balmenhorn (4167m) but the black clouds were building again and we could hear booms of threatening thunder in the distance. Carrying metal ice axes, we made a sharpish exit back to the refuge just as the thunderstorm rolled in.
Now let me take a moment to tell you about the Rifugio Gnifetti (3547m), our hut for the night. This was a lively place, Mont Blanc had been closed due to poor weather so it was even busier with guides bringing their clients to different mountains instead. The food was amazing. The views were amazing. But oh my, the sheer volume of men walking around, naked as the day they were born, feet balanced on sinks, washing their danglers with water from the shared areas, was enough to make me want to wash my eyes with bleach. I can never un-see that. I couldn’t hack it. Holes in the floors as a toilet? No problem. Holes for toilets with people’s food in solid form smeared all around the hole? A big problem. Shared toilets? Not a problem. Shared toilets where men piss all over the drainage area? A big problem. Where do I stand? How do I squat down to do my business without your business touching me! What is wrong with you people!!?? I could have cried. In fact I did. I walked straight out to find my highly amused husband, told him that it was a stupid idea coming on this trek and finally went to sulk in my sleeping bag, squashed in a room with around 13 other blokes and their body odours. HELL.
A better day
Another early morning start, this time before the morning sun had even started to come up, but oh what a beautiful time to be awake in the high alpine summits! The moon glistened off the ice crystals and the snow crunched beneath our crampons. We headed up, retracing our steps from the day before. Soon, the sky started to change colour – in the distance Mont Blanc appeared as if a dominant giant watching down over the valley below. We followed each other, step by step, head torches lighting our path all the way up to the Monte Rosa group of peaks. It is the largest area above 4000m in the European Alps and what a treat for the eyes it is!
The weather was crystal clear, the wind a mere gentle breeze and as we reached the top of the Lisjoch Col, the views back down towards the Matterhorn were simply breath-taking. Never have I been somewhere in the mountains where I felt this small, this alone, this insignificant. Summits towered above us on both sides, glaring down on us as if to remind us to be careful, watch our step and take care.
It was a marvellous day, but tough. The col is never ending but beautiful. We traversed glaciers, retracing our route when we couldn’t find a way through and eventually made it to the Monte Rosa Hut at 2883m. The Monte Rosa hut is incredibly modern and apparently, almost self-sufficient in energy. Encased in aluminium, the sun beams reflect and create a beautiful reflection. It was pretty large and incredibly comfortable. The best part was undoubtedly the view down the glacier and towards the mighty Matterhorn.
We spent the evening looking out at the views, an incredible sunset over the Matterhorn and listened to amazing stories of the past from our mountain guide.
Goodbye
The final day had arrived and a bit of a lie in was granted. By 8am we had set off, down a steep path and across rocks to get down to the glacier. Crampons on. A trek along the glacier eventually leads you to the Gornergrat mountain railway. Well, I was shocked to remember that not everyone has huge backpacks, carries ice axes and wears clumpy walking boots around here. As we waited for the next train down, tourists spilled out over the area, filling the spaces like flood water in their flip flops, little summer dresses, shorts and high heels! Yep. Their faces were a treat, they gasped in awe at the views surrounding them, posed for Instagram worthy photos probably hash-tagged with #ihikedhere #whataview #exhausted #solucky when all they really did was get off the train and walk a few minutes. But good for them, people should appreciate the natural beauty of the mountains. A few stared at us and nodded, as if to say “you look knackered, what’s wrong with you?” With one last look behind us at the route we had taken down through the mountains, we jumped on the next train and sighed a sense of gratitude and relief as we sat down.
We had finished, and what a journey it was. That night, we shared our favourite memories over a fondue in a local restaurant, drank wine and beer in Zermatt and laughed until it was time for bed.
What a week.
If you enjoy hiking and love the idea of a higher altitude challenge I HIGHLY recommend KE Adventure Travel. Everything was smooth with them from start to finish and we had no problems at any point of our trip. Don’t worry about having a lack of alpine skills, this was a beginner trip and as long as you’re fit and used to long days then you’ll enjoy the challenge!
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