In the summer of 2003 I took a week off work to join a guided mountaineering tour in the Alps.  The location was in the mountains surrounding one of the most picturesque villages in Switzerland – Saas Fee, "Die Perle der Alpen".  The town lies in the Oberwallis or Upper Valais region of the country, one valley over from Zermatt (think: Matterhorn).

I decided to go with an outfit called Hoehenfieber who I’d heard good things about from a few friends.  The two guides we had – Christian and Patrick – were fantastic, extremely competent and professional, and hey nice guys too.

Our first climb was a double whammy – two peaks in a day!  We would first climb Fletschhorn (3996m) before crossing a saddle and climbing a ridge up to Lagginhorn (4010m).  Urgh.  I had done a fair bit of training on weekends by doing a few hard hikes, but it sounded TOUGH.

Our first objective – Fletschhorn – viewed from the SAC hut at Hohsaas.

It was an early morning start and we were well up the mountain by dawn.  Unfortunately it was a little hazy and the views from the top weren’t that spectacular.  I also wasn’t in the mood for enjoying it as I got a cracking headache from the altitude – I hadn’t fully acclimatized.  Our route took us onto the glacier in the photo above, and then on to the left-hand ridge up to the summit.

Sunrise, with Saas Fee visible waaaaaay down there.

Guess who?

With Fletschhorn behind us, we descended down onto the glacier shown below and then up the rocky ridge to the summit of Lagginhorn.

One mountain down.  Next!

Crossing the bergschrund.

Best seat in the house…

On our way down from the summit back to the mountain hut, we were roped up and walking down the glacier when a fridge-sized boulder broke off the cliff above us and came bouncing (and yes, I mean bouncing!) down the glacier right at us!  It was a pretty scary moment and we all dived into a crevasse as it whistled right past us, missing me by just a couple of metres.

After a night in Saas Fee we went up the other side of the valley to the beautiful Mischabelhuette (at 3340m it’s one of the highest huts in Switzerland).  Our objective was a challenging climb up a narrow couloir to a ridge that would allow us to climb past the peaks of Hohberghorn and Stecknadelhorn to the summit of Nadelhorn (4327m).  Unfortunately due to record high temperatures, the ice was too soft and the permafrost was melting, loosening up all thr rock above us, so we weren’t able to ascend the couloir.  Instead we climbed to the summit of a local peak (Ulrichshorn, 3925m) and enjoyed the panoramic views.

Our original route was to take us along the ridge behind me from right to left and summit the mountain at the left.

Lenzspitz at left with Nadelhorn at right.  See those two specks on the ice wall at left?  Up near the top?  They’re climbers!