I mentioned that I'm not at my best with early starts. I'm even less at my best when the start is directly and steeply uphill - I just don't seem to get going. At least, that's how it was when we left the hut at 4.35, with the aim of the Finsteraarhorn by the normal route.
I was struggling right from the start. Chris and John set a moderate pace up the rocky path from the hut terrace, but I quickly fell behind. They waited where the path levels off at the site of the old hut, and we kept more or less together over the next section of less steep rock. Reaching the glacier we roped up, and as usual I took the lead to set a pace I was comfortable with.
We carried on steadily up the glacier across snow and ice patches, but although the conditions were fine I was finding it hard going. By the time we reached the small bergschrund below the rock rib which forms the SW ridge of the mountain and climbed the short distance to the col at 3636m (known as the Frühstückplatz, or Breakfast Ledge) we'd been going 2 hours and I was feeling pretty tired. By now we were last on the mountain.
Neither of the other two said anything, but we looked at the next section - a steep snow slope up to the Hugisattel, a col on the NW ridge at 4088m. "How long should it take?", I asked. We reckoned about an hour and a half to stay on guidebook time. "Can't do it", I said. "You go on, I'll go down. We've seen the route, and it's perfectly OK to solo while it's still freezing." I stayed to watch them set off, and then made my way back down.
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| Finsteraarhorn hut terrasse - Grosse Grünhorn behind |
Later, I was sitting on the hut terrace in the hot sunshine, keeping an eye on the path down. Chris came down first at a half run, too quick for me to get a photo as he passed through the stone columns which form a portal to the route. But I caught John a moment or two later. They'd done it - John's first alpine 4000er, and a good one - the highest peak in the Oberland. We had a beer to celebrate.
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| John's triumphal return |
| time | altitude(m) | |
|---|---|---|
| Finsteraarhorn hut | 0435 | 3048 |
| Frühstückplatz | 0635 | 3616 |
| Finsteraarhorn hut | 0815 | 3048 |
| Total height gain/loss (m) | +/- 568 | |
| Total time | 3h 40m | |
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Last updated 22 August 2002