Category Archives: Climb and Trek

Queue ahead

Posted on Fri, 12 August, 2016 by

Straightforward mountains are popular mountains. And on a sunny summer’s day don’t expect to have the mountain to yourself. This is the traffic jam of roped parties taking aspirant climbers up the Allalinhorn, and this is quite possibly their first … Continue reading →

Posted in Black & White, Climb and Trek, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Grand Combin

Posted on Thu, 11 August, 2016 by

Today’s image was taken from around the midpoint of the nine or ten day backpacking Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt.  There are several ‘versions’ of the Haute Route (High Route in English). It started as a multi-day ski tour … Continue reading →

Posted in Climb and Trek | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

High in the Sky

Posted on Mon, 8 August, 2016 by

Nothing improves the look of a mountain in summer as much as a dusting of freshly fallen snow, as is evident in this image. And a little low lying cloud or mist drifting by adds a little to the mystique. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climb and Trek | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Line of Ascent

Posted on Wed, 27 May, 2015 by

Take one look at this long line of roped parties – akin to a traffic snarl-up – to understand why, on easy climbs in the Alps, I far prefer to climb solo. There’s nothing intrinsically difficult about this climb provided … Continue reading →

Posted in Black & White, Climb and Trek, Swiss Alps - Summer | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Crossing the Plateau du Trient, Mont Blanc Massif

Posted on Wed, 6 May, 2015 by

In the last few days I’ve finally got round to loading Nik software including the superb Silver Efex Pro 2 and having seen some of the results I don’t understand why it took me so long to take the plunge. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climb and Trek | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Base Camp Matterhorn

Posted on Thu, 7 August, 2014 by

Next year – 2015 – is the 150th anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Zermatt is already publicizing this special anniversary, and the preparations include a grand re-opening of a refurbished Hörnli Hut that is situated at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Climb and Trek, Swiss Alps - Summer | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Descending

Posted on Mon, 9 September, 2013 by

Ed Viesturs, the first American to summit all fourteen of the world’s eight thousand metre peaks wrote: ‘Getting to the top is optional, getting down is mandatory’. Anyone who climbs knows how easy it is to reach a summit and … Continue reading →

Posted in Black & White, Climb and Trek | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Allalinhorn re-visited

Posted on Thu, 1 August, 2013 by

Last summer I climbed the Allalinhorn fifty years after my first ascent, and I wrote about it in My Golden Mountain. Yesterday I soloed it again – in total my eighth ascent. The mountain looks the same but each year … Continue reading →

Posted in Climb and Trek, MountainScape | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Edward Whymper – a portrait of the climber as a young man

Posted on Wed, 13 February, 2013 by

Whymper’s name is indelibly intertwined with Zermatt and The Matterhorn as a result of his part in the tragic first ascent of the mountain in 1865. I have already written at length about Whymper and his links with Zermatt in … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and Scultpure, Climb and Trek | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Montagne de la Côte – in the steps of Balmat and Paccard

Posted on Wed, 19 December, 2012 by

Today’s Post follows the route taken by Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel Gabriel Paccard on the first day of their two-day first ascent of Mont Blanc on 7-8 August 1786. The route starts from the commune of Les Bossons about … Continue reading →

Posted in Climb and Trek, MountainScape, Walking in the Alps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments