Untergrabelhorn

The day following the ascent of Pollux we went to the Trift Inn, some two hours above Zermatt, where we spent the night preparatory to climbing the Untergabelhorn. We started Monday morning, August 11, at 4 a. m., the lateness of the hour being due to the fact that the excursion, though an exceedingly interesting one, was to be short. The weather was all that could be desired and we selected for our route the east ridge, noted for the excellent rock climbing which it affords. A fine rock climb is one of the greatest joys known to the mountaineer and a most exhilarating form of exercise, bringing into play almost every muscle and part of the body, for the hands and feet are not alone sufficient in the ascent or descent of difficult rocks, and where either good hand or foot-hold is wanting one discovers how much can be done with the elbows, the knees, the shoulders and the back. Some of the very best rock climbing is found on „arêtes,“ or ridges, which almost always have their teeth, needles or pinnacles, sometimes termed „gendarmes,“ and these usually present interesting and perplexing problems by reason of the sharpness of their edges and the steepness of their sides, rendering it often as hard to cross as to turn or circumvent them. In the case of the Untergabelhorn the best of the climbing lasted, it is true, not much over an hour, but while it lasted it was most interesting and exciting and included crossing three needles. We were on the summit at 9.30, where we found ourselves surrounded on all sides by great peaks, so that the views were of the best in every direction. The Matterhorn, always impressive, seemed peculiarly so from this point. We remained on the summit a long time, for it was good to be there in such weather, and upon leaving proceeded leisurely to Zermatt by the usual route.

In a season of variable weather such as this, one must take at least some chances if anything is to be accomplished, and by starting for a hut in the rain one may be able to make the ascent in fine weather: for this may come next day and last only twenty-four hours. Tuesday, August 12, it rained hard, nor were conditions on Wednesday much better; but, believing that they must change shortly, we started Wednesday afternoon for the Schönbühl hut, up the Zmutt Glacier, intending to cross next day to Arolla via the Col d'Hérens and the Col de Bertol. Upon reaching the hut we found that we were not the only ones who were willing to gamble on the weather for the following day, four other parties having preceded us, all anxious to do something. The guides woke me at 3. It had cleared considerably during the night, but the air was unnaturally warm and there were threatening clouds. It was almost a foregone conclusion that the day would not be fine, but the passes selected, though lofty ones, did not belong to the very difficult class and we thought the weather would be at least good enough for their crossing. So we started at 4. Much soft snow had fallen, rendering the going laborious, but that was relatively unimportant; the real difficulty that we had to contend with was fog, the configuration of the Col d'Hérens and the intervening space between it and the Bertol being such that at least moderately clear weather was necessary for a safe crossing. We walked slowly toward the first pass, hoping that the fog would lift as the hours advanced. A slight improvement would have enabled us to make a dash and get across, but it did not come; instead there arose a furious snow storm accompanied by great cold and by 10 a. m. we realized, though then near the summit, that we could not return too soon to the lower levels. Only those who have experienced it can appreciate what bad weather means at great altitudes. We had a veritable taste of severe winter weather in mid-summer. In an hour after turning back we were out of the snow storm and reached Zermatt in due course in a heavy rain. Apparently several days of bad weather were in store for Zermatt, so I decided to take this opportunity to change my base of operations to Chamonix.