After a night at an airport hotel, an hour and a half on a plane and several hours of train journeys I was finally at the door of the Hiking Sheep in Leysin, at the start of the ISM Student Alpine Week. Which would turn out to be one of most enjoyable weeks of my life.
Breakfast wasn't due till 7:30, but I was up by about 6:40. I figured I would just sit and gaze at the fantastic views that surround the comfortable balcony of the hostel. The glacier and higher snow covered mountains lay quiet in the distance whilst the 2000m rocky peaks, surrounding the valley, were gently catching the morning light with a forest of tree directly outside the balcony. It was strange, despite having arrived here the night before I felt so at home here. The stress and chaos, that can be found so easily back in England, wasn't around and I found myself only excited for what lay ahead today and over the rest of the week.
Once the others were up and we had all had a nice breakfast, Paolo took us over to the ISM base to collect any gear we didn't have. We then headed up the valley in Paolo's van to where we would be climbing, with Mont Blanc sitting on the horizon for the majority of the drive. When we got out it soon dawned on me that I hadn't brought my water bottle and it was at least 25 degrees C in the morning sun. This wasn't good coupled with me forgetting to bring sun cream along too. After drinking as much as I could get down myself from a tap in the village we headed up out of the valley to a gentle slab with many easy grade bolted routes up it. We all seemed to have a reasonable level of experience climbing so Paolo left us to do a few routes before taking us to the top of the crag to show us the art of abseiling with a prussik chord. It was here after clipping in that Paolo introduce the first rule of alpinism - "Don't Fall!". Throughout the week this rule seemed to make even more sense, a fall in an alpine situation doesn't always offer the same level of protection as it would in a climbing situation. After a few quick descents of the crag we moved on and after a pleasant lunch stop, we then arrived at the venue for the multi pitch. It was an easy angled 4b route called Dragons that we would be doing, which despite being very easy, was great terrain to practice multi-pitch techniques on. We split into two groups; Me, Tim and Lucy in one and Peter and Ariana in the other. Neither Tim or I had ever lead on multi-pitch routes before so Lucy took the lead on the first two pitches before I took the lead on the final two. Paolo soloed along side both teams with ease, ready to assist in setting up belays. I happened to be the first to reach the top, where the views were sensational. But my climbing shoes that I would normally have considered quite big were now agonisingly small as my feet swelled in the heat of the midday heat. I was happy to take them off.
We then walked down to our packs and Paolo demonstrated a few short-roping techniques before we went off to give it a try. This involves draping the rope over sticky out bits of rock whilst on the move. It is in this kind of situation where rule 1 comes into play. The rope is a last resort. Though it didn't matter as much on this kind of terrain as most the time, if a fall was possible it would have only lead to a drop of a few feet. Little did we know that the next time we used this technique it would be on an alpine ridge with a 500 metre below. We finished by about 4, and set off back down to the valley. Despite having scrounged bits of water off people throughout the day, I was still really thirsty and was glad to see the tap again once we were back down in the village. Another thing I had forgotten was my camera, which would have certainly been nice to have had in this beautiful environment. This forgetfulness was probably down to tiredness from the night before, I remember thinking "Rock Climbing...erh...Rock Shoes and a Harness". But each thing I had forgotten had a consequence, as I now had a dehydration headache, red skin and no photos. I made sure I was much more thorough in my packing throughout the rest of the week. I knew in a mountain environment I couldn't be this stupid.
When we arrived back we all went down into Leysin for a drink, it was time for me to make use of Switzerland's lower age restrictions on alcohol (not that I actually knew at that point). Different conversations popped up, the main being why 'Awkward Tim' (the left handed vegetarian who doesn't drink) thought cows were bad for the environment. So I have decided to do my bit for the environment and eat more beef, there for getting rid of them (though I'm told that this logic has its flaws). We then went back up to the Hiking Sheep in Ariana's very cool VW van (that can sleep 5 people). Tea was a cheesy source with an Italian version of a Yorkshire Pudding. Throughout the meal more political talk popped up and I began to smile and nod again, but this time understanding at least some of the conversation (though still rather little). It was then upstairs to pack as tomorrow we would be leaving the hiking sheep and heading up to the Moiry hut above the Moiry glacier.
Day 2
Breakfast was at the usual time of 7:30. We got plenty of food down us, then donned our boots and waited for Paolo. If you are reading this Rik the multi-tool already saved the day as Ariana's zip needed fixing on her Gaiters and it did the job straight away. We all then got in Paolo's van for the 2 hour drive up to the glacier that lay ahead. Broken up by an attempt to food shop at a Coop that didn't sell food, and then a successful shop at one that did. We parked at the foot of the glacier about 40 minutes later already at 2350m. We then walked into a perfect stop for lunch, looking over the glacier and on towards the 3565m peak of point de mourti, that we were due to climb the next day. The temperature still was at about 25 degrees. After lunch we strolled down to the glacier where we put on our crampons and practiced moving on this type of terrain. It felt a bit strange to me at first but by the end of the week walking in crampons over the glacier would come pretty naturally. We then practiced going up steeper ice by cutting handholds for the the hand that didn't have an ice axe in it. This got my thin gloves pretty wet and useless which was timed perfectly with a nice cold wind that started blowing down the glacier numbing my fingers. The mitts were out soon after to warm my hands back up. We then roped up and moved along the glacier. This was certainly the most exciting part of the day. Lead by Paulo we had to make our way around crevasses up to 2 metres wide at points; this was done by either finding a narrow point and jumping over it or finding the end of the crevasse and going around it. I was feeling much more confident in my crampons, but perhaps still a bit wobbly. This strangely seemed to add to the fun of it despite there being bottomless holes below us. In about half an hour we were off the glacier and onto safe ground, all keen to make our way up to the comfort of the hut as the rain started to drip down.
When I thought of a hut in the mountains I thought of the typical mountain bothy in the uk or perhaps at best a scruffy youth hostel if I was lucky. But no, it was like a hotel. Apart from the fact you were on bunk beds and you needed a sleeping bag liner, (which I didn't have) as the sheets don't get washed very often.
The Dining area had huge windows
on the sides looking out onto the glacier and the mountains directly outside the hut. And as for the balcony, it made my parents hotel room view in Lausanne look like a motorway service's. They also give you clogs that go up to size 12, yet they fitted my size 14 feet perfectly. And to top it all off tea was ready pretty soon. We all sat down ready. The food was delicious and plentiful, as there was a left overs trolley that people put the trays of food on, once they couldn't shove any more on to their plates. I became known as 'the terminator' by the end of the week; a name given to me by another ISM group for always clearing the trays of any left overs. We then went up to our room for a good nights sleep, as breakfast was at 5:30.
Day 3
I awoke at 4:30 to find the rest of the team having a lie in. So happily dozed of till 5:20 just ten minutes before breakfast. Water here cost around 8 francs a bottle so I made sure I
hydrated with plenty of hot chocolate at breakfast.
We then put our boots on and were out of the hut by 6:15 ready to start the walk up to the glacier. A start as early as this is important, as we needed to get back before the glacier started melting in the afternoon sun. It wasn't long before we arrived at the glacier. We put on our crampons, roped up and got our ice axes out. Before making our way over to the ridge of Point de Mourti. We stopped below the ridge to take the crampons off and it was here the alpine giant of Weisshorn came out of the clouds. With the help of our ice axes we gained the ridge, via a messy scramble up the flakey soil. It was here that rule 1 was critical, if someone fell of one side of the ridge with no protection from the surrounding rock, the person on the other end of the rope would have to jump off the other end to act as a counter weight. I took the lead for a while. Draping the rope over rocky spikes. In about 30 minutes time we were off the ridge and crampons were put on for the final bit of snow leading to the summit. Due to spending the night at 2850m, none of us seemed to notice the altitude, but we all seemed to be perhaps that bit slower than we would be at sea level. None the less we were soon on the summit of point de mourti at 3564 metres. This would be the highest mountain we would climb all week and the highest mountain I had climbed to date. The Madonna statue on the summit made a perfect anchor for our ropes, as we tried to get as many photos as we could before the cloud rolled in.
After a careful descent down the ridge, a slog across the glacier, and a walk back along the rocky path, we were now back at the hut in good time, where we had our lunch which consisted of: bread, salami, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber and mayonnaise. After lunch we then practiced crevasse rescue techniques in the safe environment of the hut. The Pole that held the swiss flag, was a perfect anchor point. After we had all rescued each other at least twice, we then went round the back of the hut where Paolo made good use of the ladders and balconies. He set up two ropes and demonstrated how to climb the rope with prussik loops. We then had a go, trying not to wake up a team of sleeping residents in the room of the balcony we were attached to. It was now 4:30 so Paolo called it a day and we all went inside to relax. After Dinner we all played a game. It was one that involved a secret mission you had to complete to gain points. The only problem was, it was written in the 3 swiss languages: French, Italian and German. And the problem was, different sections of it were written in different languages. But luckily we were a group full of multi linguists, so that wasn't a problem. Paolo is Italian but speaks French and obviously English, Lucy is English but her Dad is Italian so she speaks that too, as well as French and Chinese and probably a few others that never popped up, Ariana is originally from Andorra but speaks Spanish, French, English and another one which I can't pronounce. She also lives in Munich so can probably speak rather good German too. And finally Tim spoke German and quite a bit of French. As a group the language barrier was smashed into pieces. But Peter and I only spoke English, which didn't really contribute our indestructible force. In fact I felt quite pathetic having to get one of the other players to read my secret mission to me! Since I went to the Picos de Europa last year I have wondered about learning spanish, and now feel I perhaps should. After the game we all went to bed, I was certainly excited about Ice Climbing the next day.
Day 4
We were up at about 7:00 today. It felt like a lie in. I was quite excited the night before about the nice few bowls of hot chocolate I was planning to have in the morning. Unfortunately there wasn't any so it was tea I hydrated myself with instead. We then got ready and made our way down to the glacier. We roped up and moved across. It was this same section of glacier that I felt so unstable on the other day, crevasses were all over it and sure footedness was essential. Luckily by now moving across the glacier felt much more natural and I didn't even need to think about my walking style. It was the nicest day we'd had so far, as there were very few clouds and no wind. Just as we were making our way down a tricky section next to a crevasse Ariana slipped. I held my coil tight at the front, while Peter, who was at the back, started running in the other direction to tighten the rope and act as a counterweight. Luckily though it wasn't needed as there was a small ice wall sticking up above the lip of the drop. And Ariana was stopped by it almost straight away. We were perhaps a little more wary afterwards, but we still moved fast and efficiently. Ariana carried on as if it hadn't happened and even said that she was glad of the experience! Paolo soon found an ideal venue to set up some top ropes and practice our Ice Climbing technique. It consisted of 2 routes to start with, just to get used to the feel. Then we had a go at putting an ice screw in half way up one.
And Paulo then set up a final harder route on an overhang. I was first up. It was here that I really started to enjoy the climbing and got the feel of it. I even found my feet bridging over to another part of the wall and my body leaning into the ice, to take the weight off my arms. A bit of rock climbing technique was kicking in. After a slight slip that had me dangling on to the wall by one axe, I was up to what seemed to be near enough the top, of this makeshift climbing route. After I was lowered down, I went and sat out in the sun, to warm up my hands again, whilst the others had a go. The venue itself was pretty amazing so I made sure I got some pictures of it whilst I waited. It was then back up to the hut for lunch.
After Lunch we then set off to do a newly bolted multi-pitch route on the rock face behind the hut. It was a really nice afternoon with perfect views across the glacier. Unfortunately Ariana wasn't feeling well, as she had jolted her neck in her slip before, so she rested at the hut. Paolo would go up first leading one rope with Lucy seconding. This way Paolo could place gear in the rock where bolts were scarce. Then either myself, Tim or Pete would lead it again with two ropes and the two people seconding attached to an end each. Then the leader would bring up the two seconds, and the last one to come up would take all the quickdraws out as well as any gear Paulo had placed before hand. It's much simpler than it sounds! Tim lead the first two pitches really well (especially considering it was only his 2nd time leading a climb). Then Pete lead the 3rd pitch (with the crux) and I was due to lead the 4th and final summit pitch, only to find that at the top of the Pete's pitch, the route was only 3 pitches long! To be honest I was a bit relieved as my stomach wasn't feeling too good, due to the amount of white bread I'd had all week. We then went over towards a belay at the top, where we could abseil down the 100m face. This was a very cool end to the day. Paolo headed down first to the second belay station, while me, Tim and Lucy with Pete, who had quite a bit of experience at abseiling down sea cliffs, agreed to go last and help us set up if we needed it. We then made our way back down to the hut and chilled out before tea, after what had been a very enjoyable and leisurely day. The same game was played as last night, this time a lot quicker, now we didn't have to work out the rules. We then went to bed. Another Alpine start was needed for tomorrow.
Day 5
It was breakfast at 5:30 again, but this time the hot chocolate powder was there, so 2 bowls of hot chocolate were drunk. After Breakfast it was off, and we were out of the door by about 6:30 ready to climb Pigne de la le (3392m). Today was a perfect day for the summit; there were few clouds around and the sun was shining brightly. In only 40 minutes we were at the bottom of the ridge that lead to the top of mountain. Crampons so far had not been needed and still wouldn't be on the ridge. We had a quick rest to take photos and hydrate, before roping up and heading onto it.
We went fast, with everyone feeling much more confident in their heavy mountaineering boots. I was on the rope with Pete, and Lucy and Tim were on the rope behind. Paolo came up unroped. Ariana still wasn't feeling well so remained at the hut. No pitches where needed here, it was all simple short roping and it wasn't long before we were of the ridge below the summit. Crampons were put on to cross a last section of snow. The views were sensational. We could see as far as the Bernese Oberland and peaks such as Weisshorn and the Matterhorn were clearly visible. We all just chilled out on the top for about 10 minutes. I knew I wasn't going to see a view like this for quite a while, so I made sure I took as much in as possible.
We then made our way down the other side of the mountain, towards a slope that we would use to practice crevasse rescue on. This involved one of us throwing ourselves off the slope while the person roped behind, would stop the fall, make an anchor and then use a complicated system with prussiks to hoist them up. This is a vital skill to learn before you head onto glaciers. Particularly above the snow line, as many crevasses are completely covered in snow. This became more clear to us on the way back down to the hut. We had set off as the glacier was starting to melt, and holes were opening up around us. It was amazing how quickly your enviroment can go from safe to dangerous out here. We kept moving until we were off it onto the firm rock. All that was left now was a short walk back to the hut, Paolo shook all our hands before we set off. The course was over. On the way down a helicopter was out on a rescue. This was a final reminder of the dangers that are present at all times in mountain ranges like the alps. We were soon at the hut where we had a quick lunch before setting off back to the car park round the side of the glacier. But it wasn't over yet. As an extra activity Paolo very thoughtfully broke up the journey with a quick stop by a roadside crag for a climb or two. The rock was fantastic. And it was certainly a nice way to round up the week.
On the way back we dropped Lucy off at the station in Aigle before arriving at the Hiking Sheep shortly after. This place felt strangely like home. I certainly wouldn't have minded living here. We all had a well needed shower before saying goodbye to Ariana, who was setting off on a six hour drive back up to Munich. We then went down to make a brew. "Back to reality" said Tim. "Not quite, we're still up in the mountains." I replied. It wasn't until darkness came that I suddenly realised Tim was right. I had learned so much this week and had met some really nice people, but above all the being amongst the alpine peaks was what I would miss the most in the coming weeks. We headed down to the Lynx bar where we met up with Paolo to say thank you one last time for the fantastic week. The cheesy olympic ceremony was on the background. It was strange how it all seemed so unimportant in a place like Leysin. The mountains were what mattered here. TV, politics, even the olympics were all things that were much more essential in England once we were back to the routine of an urbanised life. But not out here. Paolo said goodbye before he left and then we too did the same. It was back up to the Hiking Sheep for bed.
We woke in the morning and after having breakfast Pete left and said goodbye. I waited around in the hostel until the train arrived. I then said goodbye to Tim wishing him the best for the next week he had planned on the Montarossa course. I made my way onto the cog train looking forward to spending the next week in Lucern with my parents. One of the participants on the ISM Summit and Trek week came on the train. We got talking, and soon he said excitedly "Oh, are you the Terminator?". Word had obviously gotten back to the ISM base about my large appetite. We were soon down in Aigle. There was Mum waiting patiently, while Dad rummaged around the storage area of the coach trying to get their bags out. Mum caught my eye I as I went over to meet them. "Hi......I've had an amazing time. How have you two been?" I looked up at the 2000 metre peaks surrounding the valley. It was funny. For the last few days I had been sleeping in a luxurious mountain hut higher up then any of them. Now they towered above me and the sun shone in my eyes just trying to get a glimpse of their tops. I truly was back to reality.
Thanks for reading,
Comments welcome as always....
My impressions of Switzerland so far were pretty good. The plane journey was certainly exciting, there wasn't much cloud about and the views were sensational even before we got towards the mountains. My head was constantly up against the window with my eyes scanning the horizon for alpine peaks (until the croissants came.... I kind of stopped looking then). After landing in Zurich and loading the luggage on to one of Switzerland's incredibly well designed trolleys that can go up and down escalators with as much luggage as you can fit on them, I was then shouted at by an airport assistant, who understood the laws of gravity far better than me, for trying to descend a busy escalator with what turned out to be far to many bags on the trolley. I then endured a 4 hour train journey to Lausanne. Where we had a change. After loading 5 heavy suitcases onto a train bound for Aigle, there was an announcement, that at the time we didn't understand, saying that the train wouldn't set off for a further 15 minutes due to technical problems. We thought the rumours of the Swiss' perfect punctuality must have been wrong, until all the Locals on the train (who were clearly not used to this kind of thing) groaned in unison and left the train out of principal, leaving us to follow them, assuming that the train must be delayed for at least a few hours. Luckily though Mum realised that Dad and her were staying at a hotel in Lausanne and we could leave our 80 kg of luggage there, rather than carry it on and off trains, all the way to Leysin. Only thing was, their hotel was at the top of a hill and the streets were cobbled to make it even worse! So 20 minutes later we arrived at the hotel where the view across Lake Geneva were absolutely stunning. I was a bit envious, but 2 days later I certainly wasn't. We then got the train to Aigle via Montreux where the rocky peaks surrounding us got even more magnificent. It was then up the cog railway to Leysin and to the Hiking Sheep where it all began.
We were rather unsure whether to head in or keep knocking. So we strolled in to find the owner and Tim one of course attendees in the kitchen. My parents had a quick brew before heading back down to there lovely hotel room in Lausanne. Tim and I sat down with our brews waiting for the others. Tea was due for 7 but it was about 6:40 and the other 3 hadn't showed up yet. But pretty soon Lucy and Ariana came through the door followed shortly by Peter and finally Paolo, our guide, who had come to meet us and run over what we would be doing this week. The first impressions of the course seemed good. The itinerary was much more laid back than expected, and I was already excited about doing some multi-pitch rock climbs the next day. Paulo then left us to our tea - Spaghetti Bolognese. Throughout tea the others had a nice long political conversation with the owner of the hostel, about immigration and governments. I took a back seat and pretended that I too watched the news and knew about world crisis by giving little agreeing nods and smiles, when I felt people might be on the verge realising my pretence. What I had gathered though was the nice welcoming feel of the Hiking Sheep, and what a nice bunch of people I was lucky enough to have on the course with me.
Day 1
Day 1
Breakfast wasn't due till 7:30, but I was up by about 6:40. I figured I would just sit and gaze at the fantastic views that surround the comfortable balcony of the hostel. The glacier and higher snow covered mountains lay quiet in the distance whilst the 2000m rocky peaks, surrounding the valley, were gently catching the morning light with a forest of tree directly outside the balcony. It was strange, despite having arrived here the night before I felt so at home here. The stress and chaos, that can be found so easily back in England, wasn't around and I found myself only excited for what lay ahead today and over the rest of the week.
 |
| A nice site to wake up to |
Once the others were up and we had all had a nice breakfast, Paolo took us over to the ISM base to collect any gear we didn't have. We then headed up the valley in Paolo's van to where we would be climbing, with Mont Blanc sitting on the horizon for the majority of the drive. When we got out it soon dawned on me that I hadn't brought my water bottle and it was at least 25 degrees C in the morning sun. This wasn't good coupled with me forgetting to bring sun cream along too. After drinking as much as I could get down myself from a tap in the village we headed up out of the valley to a gentle slab with many easy grade bolted routes up it. We all seemed to have a reasonable level of experience climbing so Paolo left us to do a few routes before taking us to the top of the crag to show us the art of abseiling with a prussik chord. It was here after clipping in that Paolo introduce the first rule of alpinism - "Don't Fall!". Throughout the week this rule seemed to make even more sense, a fall in an alpine situation doesn't always offer the same level of protection as it would in a climbing situation. After a few quick descents of the crag we moved on and after a pleasant lunch stop, we then arrived at the venue for the multi pitch. It was an easy angled 4b route called Dragons that we would be doing, which despite being very easy, was great terrain to practice multi-pitch techniques on. We split into two groups; Me, Tim and Lucy in one and Peter and Ariana in the other. Neither Tim or I had ever lead on multi-pitch routes before so Lucy took the lead on the first two pitches before I took the lead on the final two. Paolo soloed along side both teams with ease, ready to assist in setting up belays. I happened to be the first to reach the top, where the views were sensational. But my climbing shoes that I would normally have considered quite big were now agonisingly small as my feet swelled in the heat of the midday heat. I was happy to take them off.
We then walked down to our packs and Paolo demonstrated a few short-roping techniques before we went off to give it a try. This involves draping the rope over sticky out bits of rock whilst on the move. It is in this kind of situation where rule 1 comes into play. The rope is a last resort. Though it didn't matter as much on this kind of terrain as most the time, if a fall was possible it would have only lead to a drop of a few feet. Little did we know that the next time we used this technique it would be on an alpine ridge with a 500 metre below. We finished by about 4, and set off back down to the valley. Despite having scrounged bits of water off people throughout the day, I was still really thirsty and was glad to see the tap again once we were back down in the village. Another thing I had forgotten was my camera, which would have certainly been nice to have had in this beautiful environment. This forgetfulness was probably down to tiredness from the night before, I remember thinking "Rock Climbing...erh...Rock Shoes and a Harness". But each thing I had forgotten had a consequence, as I now had a dehydration headache, red skin and no photos. I made sure I was much more thorough in my packing throughout the rest of the week. I knew in a mountain environment I couldn't be this stupid.
 |
| Peter did take photos however, so here's one of me that I stole from his facebook page. |
Day 2
 |
| Lunch at the foot of the glacier |
The Dining area had huge windows
Day 3
I awoke at 4:30 to find the rest of the team having a lie in. So happily dozed of till 5:20 just ten minutes before breakfast. Water here cost around 8 francs a bottle so I made sure I
hydrated with plenty of hot chocolate at breakfast.
We then put our boots on and were out of the hut by 6:15 ready to start the walk up to the glacier. A start as early as this is important, as we needed to get back before the glacier started melting in the afternoon sun. It wasn't long before we arrived at the glacier. We put on our crampons, roped up and got our ice axes out. Before making our way over to the ridge of Point de Mourti. We stopped below the ridge to take the crampons off and it was here the alpine giant of Weisshorn came out of the clouds. With the help of our ice axes we gained the ridge, via a messy scramble up the flakey soil. It was here that rule 1 was critical, if someone fell of one side of the ridge with no protection from the surrounding rock, the person on the other end of the rope would have to jump off the other end to act as a counter weight. I took the lead for a while. Draping the rope over rocky spikes. In about 30 minutes time we were off the ridge and crampons were put on for the final bit of snow leading to the summit. Due to spending the night at 2850m, none of us seemed to notice the altitude, but we all seemed to be perhaps that bit slower than we would be at sea level. None the less we were soon on the summit of point de mourti at 3564 metres. This would be the highest mountain we would climb all week and the highest mountain I had climbed to date. The Madonna statue on the summit made a perfect anchor for our ropes, as we tried to get as many photos as we could before the cloud rolled in.After a careful descent down the ridge, a slog across the glacier, and a walk back along the rocky path, we were now back at the hut in good time, where we had our lunch which consisted of: bread, salami, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber and mayonnaise. After lunch we then practiced crevasse rescue techniques in the safe environment of the hut. The Pole that held the swiss flag, was a perfect anchor point. After we had all rescued each other at least twice, we then went round the back of the hut where Paolo made good use of the ladders and balconies. He set up two ropes and demonstrated how to climb the rope with prussik loops. We then had a go, trying not to wake up a team of sleeping residents in the room of the balcony we were attached to. It was now 4:30 so Paolo called it a day and we all went inside to relax. After Dinner we all played a game. It was one that involved a secret mission you had to complete to gain points. The only problem was, it was written in the 3 swiss languages: French, Italian and German. And the problem was, different sections of it were written in different languages. But luckily we were a group full of multi linguists, so that wasn't a problem. Paolo is Italian but speaks French and obviously English, Lucy is English but her Dad is Italian so she speaks that too, as well as French and Chinese and probably a few others that never popped up, Ariana is originally from Andorra but speaks Spanish, French, English and another one which I can't pronounce. She also lives in Munich so can probably speak rather good German too. And finally Tim spoke German and quite a bit of French. As a group the language barrier was smashed into pieces. But Peter and I only spoke English, which didn't really contribute our indestructible force. In fact I felt quite pathetic having to get one of the other players to read my secret mission to me! Since I went to the Picos de Europa last year I have wondered about learning spanish, and now feel I perhaps should. After the game we all went to bed, I was certainly excited about Ice Climbing the next day.
Day 4
We were up at about 7:00 today. It felt like a lie in. I was quite excited the night before about the nice few bowls of hot chocolate I was planning to have in the morning. Unfortunately there wasn't any so it was tea I hydrated myself with instead. We then got ready and made our way down to the glacier. We roped up and moved across. It was this same section of glacier that I felt so unstable on the other day, crevasses were all over it and sure footedness was essential. Luckily by now moving across the glacier felt much more natural and I didn't even need to think about my walking style. It was the nicest day we'd had so far, as there were very few clouds and no wind. Just as we were making our way down a tricky section next to a crevasse Ariana slipped. I held my coil tight at the front, while Peter, who was at the back, started running in the other direction to tighten the rope and act as a counterweight. Luckily though it wasn't needed as there was a small ice wall sticking up above the lip of the drop. And Ariana was stopped by it almost straight away. We were perhaps a little more wary afterwards, but we still moved fast and efficiently. Ariana carried on as if it hadn't happened and even said that she was glad of the experience! Paolo soon found an ideal venue to set up some top ropes and practice our Ice Climbing technique. It consisted of 2 routes to start with, just to get used to the feel. Then we had a go at putting an ice screw in half way up one.
And Paulo then set up a final harder route on an overhang. I was first up. It was here that I really started to enjoy the climbing and got the feel of it. I even found my feet bridging over to another part of the wall and my body leaning into the ice, to take the weight off my arms. A bit of rock climbing technique was kicking in. After a slight slip that had me dangling on to the wall by one axe, I was up to what seemed to be near enough the top, of this makeshift climbing route. After I was lowered down, I went and sat out in the sun, to warm up my hands again, whilst the others had a go. The venue itself was pretty amazing so I made sure I got some pictures of it whilst I waited. It was then back up to the hut for lunch.
 |
| Nature's Architecture |
Day 5
 |
| Weisshorn |
It was breakfast at 5:30 again, but this time the hot chocolate powder was there, so 2 bowls of hot chocolate were drunk. After Breakfast it was off, and we were out of the door by about 6:30 ready to climb Pigne de la le (3392m). Today was a perfect day for the summit; there were few clouds around and the sun was shining brightly. In only 40 minutes we were at the bottom of the ridge that lead to the top of mountain. Crampons so far had not been needed and still wouldn't be on the ridge. We had a quick rest to take photos and hydrate, before roping up and heading onto it.
We then made our way down the other side of the mountain, towards a slope that we would use to practice crevasse rescue on. This involved one of us throwing ourselves off the slope while the person roped behind, would stop the fall, make an anchor and then use a complicated system with prussiks to hoist them up. This is a vital skill to learn before you head onto glaciers. Particularly above the snow line, as many crevasses are completely covered in snow. This became more clear to us on the way back down to the hut. We had set off as the glacier was starting to melt, and holes were opening up around us. It was amazing how quickly your enviroment can go from safe to dangerous out here. We kept moving until we were off it onto the firm rock. All that was left now was a short walk back to the hut, Paolo shook all our hands before we set off. The course was over. On the way down a helicopter was out on a rescue. This was a final reminder of the dangers that are present at all times in mountain ranges like the alps. We were soon at the hut where we had a quick lunch before setting off back to the car park round the side of the glacier. But it wasn't over yet. As an extra activity Paolo very thoughtfully broke up the journey with a quick stop by a roadside crag for a climb or two. The rock was fantastic. And it was certainly a nice way to round up the week.
On the way back we dropped Lucy off at the station in Aigle before arriving at the Hiking Sheep shortly after. This place felt strangely like home. I certainly wouldn't have minded living here. We all had a well needed shower before saying goodbye to Ariana, who was setting off on a six hour drive back up to Munich. We then went down to make a brew. "Back to reality" said Tim. "Not quite, we're still up in the mountains." I replied. It wasn't until darkness came that I suddenly realised Tim was right. I had learned so much this week and had met some really nice people, but above all the being amongst the alpine peaks was what I would miss the most in the coming weeks. We headed down to the Lynx bar where we met up with Paolo to say thank you one last time for the fantastic week. The cheesy olympic ceremony was on the background. It was strange how it all seemed so unimportant in a place like Leysin. The mountains were what mattered here. TV, politics, even the olympics were all things that were much more essential in England once we were back to the routine of an urbanised life. But not out here. Paolo said goodbye before he left and then we too did the same. It was back up to the Hiking Sheep for bed.We woke in the morning and after having breakfast Pete left and said goodbye. I waited around in the hostel until the train arrived. I then said goodbye to Tim wishing him the best for the next week he had planned on the Montarossa course. I made my way onto the cog train looking forward to spending the next week in Lucern with my parents. One of the participants on the ISM Summit and Trek week came on the train. We got talking, and soon he said excitedly "Oh, are you the Terminator?". Word had obviously gotten back to the ISM base about my large appetite. We were soon down in Aigle. There was Mum waiting patiently, while Dad rummaged around the storage area of the coach trying to get their bags out. Mum caught my eye I as I went over to meet them. "Hi......I've had an amazing time. How have you two been?" I looked up at the 2000 metre peaks surrounding the valley. It was funny. For the last few days I had been sleeping in a luxurious mountain hut higher up then any of them. Now they towered above me and the sun shone in my eyes just trying to get a glimpse of their tops. I truly was back to reality.
Thanks for reading,
Comments welcome as always....
