New route on a Zermatt mountain

Following a long hike from the Grand St. Bernard pass I now had reached Zermatt, where I met my climbing partner Christop Balz. This was July 1985, and for this summer we had planned to make a high base camp on a glacier for several days, to climb several mountains after just one approach. But before starting such a project, Christoph had the idea that we should begin with a small trip together, and when he proposed Unter Gabelhorn I was eager to go. So far I had not yet made any trips towards the Zmutt valley, and according to my map there would be a good view over this valley from Unter Gabelhorn. This was only going to be a short day trip, and as we planned to begin the long glacier trip early next morning, we bought the necessary food for the coming days before beginning the climb. This resulted in some additional weight in the rucksack, but this was only a good extra exercise.

Next