Alpine Odyssey

A while back I wrote a blog on the subject of satisfying my high altitude mountain needs in the Alps. Well, true to my word for once, I spent a fantastic week in the Italian Alps, climbing and trekking with a bunch of like-minded folk. With our two intrepid guides, Bertram and Jordi, I summitted Punta Gnifetti and got some hardcore exercises in crevasse rescuing, setting anchors and building very efficient pulley systems. I also spent a few days alone trekking in the hot hills above Stafal, eating pasta and drinking copious amounts of excellent Italian coffee.

Wandering around on my own for a few days I found myself being somewhat braver than I anticipated, taking on a few steep and quiet treks in the early part of the day and even engaging a local guide to do a bit of via ferrata one of the mornings, before succumbing to the heat of the day.

Early mornings were cold and afternoons hot, and these freeze-thaw conditions were certainly visible in the state of the glaciers and snow-bridges we had to cross - careful guiding necessary when descending - though this didn’t stop me going into a couple of holes. According to our guides the conditions we were experiencing were those usually prevalent in high summer - later in July and August. It was certainly clear that there would be little left of the glaciers we saw below 3000m in a few years.

Monterosa is a big ski area and it felt somewhat strange walking on or alongside what will be red and black slopes covered in snow in a matter of months. With one eye on this, with it’s relatively short transfer time from, it is certainly an area I will look at for a suture ski trip.

Fitness wise, I wasn’t at my best and would have benefitted from some more lower body work and perhaps a day or two acclimatisation in the area before heading off up to 4550m. I felt particularly nauseous on the ascent to Gnifetti, but failed to produce the vomit that I am sure would have given me the relief I sought. Like everything, it felt terrible at the time but passed once we got to the summit.

Next up from a ‘mountaineering’ perspective is a trip to the Norway in August. Definitely interested in returning to the Alps to do a few more 4000’ers (Spaghetti Tour maybe!) and maybe even some Winter mountaineering training for situations that I hope never to find myself in!