Day 1 - Zermatt to Gandegg Hut

Introductions first. We didn't call ourselves the Glacial Erratics until later, but here we are - four aspiring mountaineers and our guide.

Chris, Duncan and I had met after we'd booked this trip, but we'd not climbed together. We'd exchanged e-mails with Udai, and met him for the first time the day before we set off. He had been a client of Alan's in Scotland.

We had all been staying in Saas Grund, so the first morning we drove round from Saastal to Mattertal, left Alan's car in Täsch, and took a taxi into Zermatt. We walked through the town and took the gondola and cable car to Furgg.

From the cable car station at Furgg (2432m) the path to the Gandegg Hut (3029m) winds its way first up a vehicle track, then through a series of stony corries, passing under the Trockenersteg cable car. We lunched on the way and reached the hut in 2hr 10min.

Alan dragged us out of the comfort of the hut later in the afternoon for a first practice of roping-up and catching falls, but his efforts were thwarted by a thunderstorm which drove us back inside to watch the lightning through the thick mist.