Monthly Archives: July 2016

July 4th

Itinerary:  Silvretta Hut – Scharte – Plattenjoch – Seetal Hut – Alp Sardasca (above Klosters)

Distance:  16,7 km
Temps:  7 hours 5 minutes (plus 1 hour 20 for the stops)
Vertical distance:  1120 m uphill; 1810 m downhill.

There was no guide available today to perhaps do the Gross Seehorn (which would have been very difficult given the amount of snow on the mountain and on the approach).  In fact, there is (soft) snow everywhere above 2400 m, except for the south-facing slopes.

So I left on my own at 6.30 a.m. to a linking col 400 m from the frontier called “Scharte” – not very original (Scharte means col)!  2689 m.  Down the other side (with a short cut) to the path to Plattenjoch, 2728 m, on the frontier this time.  I left some items behind a boulder on the way up to lighten my rucksack.

Unhurried descent to Alp Sardasca, from where a minibus (cheap at 4.45 p.m. if booked ahead) took me to Klosters for a train to Guarda, where I collected the car and found a place to sleep.

Photos:

1.  View from the hut at 6 in the morning
2.  At the Plattenjoch
3.  Luckily there was a bridge!

July 3rd

Itinerary:  Silvretta Hut – Signalhorn, 3207 m – Egghorn, 3147 m – Silvrettahorn, 3244 m – Rotflue, 3168 m – Rote Furka – Silvretta Hut

Distance:  12,2 km
Time:  round trip of 8 hours 40 minutes (of which the GPS indicated 2 hours 10 minutes for the stops – but some of this time was spent putting on and taking off crampons, roping up, taking photographs, etc)
Vertical distance:  1310 m uphill and downhill

Left the hut at 5.35 a.m. With guide David.  Fog at first but it cleared by 7.30 to become sunny, with low clouds in the valleys. Beautiful views all the rest of the day.

We managed a circuit of 4 summits on the frontier with all the connecting ridges.  Some interesting scrambling, steep slopes and knife-edge ridges of soft snow.  In all, a glorious day in the mountains!  Thank you David!

Only “negative” point, the boots did not dry out last night and with the wet snow we had wet feet all day.

David went down in the afternoon, leaving me on my own for another night in the hut.  Weather forecast is good for tomorrow.

Photos:

1  David on col below Signalhorn summit
2  Piz Buin (on right) from Signalhorn
3  Signalhorn from Silvrettahorn

July 2nd

Itinerary:  Wiesbadener Hut – Piz Buin, 3312 m – Fuorcla dal Cunfin –  Silvrettapass – Silvretta Hut

Distance:  13,5 km
Time:  5 hours 40 minutes (plus 1 hour 20 for the stops)
Vertical distance:  1080 m uphill, 1180 m downhill

Left at 6.30 a.m.  Some sun, but mainly overcast and windy.  Piz Buin summit around 11.10.  No view as all in the fog, but were able to telephone!

The first ascent of Piz Buin was on July 14th, 1865, exactly the same day as the first ascent of the Matterhorn!

A lot of soft snow still, which made the ascent slightly easier, but the approach and the traverse to the next hut more tedious. Good work by guide David, who broke the trail for the traverse.

Reached the hut at 1.30 p.m.  Sonia left us a bit later to go down to Klosters and return to our home in Grandvaux, to be ready to return to Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

No mobile phone network nor wi-fi at the last two huts.  Good network here at the Silvretta Hut, so I was able to update the blogs (in one language).

Photo:

With Sonia and David on the summit of Piz Buin

July 1st

Itinerary: Tuoi Hut – Fuorcla Vermunt – Dreiländerspitz, 3197 m – Wiesbadener Hut.

Distance: 9.4 km
Time: 4 hours 45 minutes (plus 1 hour 15 for the stops)
Vertical distance: 1010 m uphill, 820 m downhill.

As expected, the weather is quite good.  Some clouds and beautiful sea of fog in the valley.  Start at 6 a.m., summit at 10 a.m., at the hut at midday.  One advantage of having a guide is that one does not waste time finding the path and looking at the map and the GPS.

Good snow conditions, there were tracks and we did not need to put crampons.  A very nice climb successfully completed!

The Dreiländerspitz is the triple point shared by the three “countries” of the Grisons, Vorarlberg and the Tyrol. It is on the watershed between the Rhine and the Danube.

June 30th

We have arranged to meet a guide, David, this evening at the Tuoi Hut, the other side of the mountains.  The forecast of rain and the bad visibility preclude going there directly over the Jamjoch.  So:

Down to the car in Galtür, 8 km in 1 hour 30, partly in the rain.

Drive from Galtür to Guarda in the Lower Engadine, via Landeck, in 2 hours.  Rainy weather.

In the nice village of Guarda we have lunch at Hotel Meisser and take advantage of their wi-fi to update the blogs, send emails, etc.

Then we walk up to Chamonna (=Hut) Tuoi:  7,9 km, 680 m uphill and 20 m downhill, in 2 hours 5 minutes without stopping.  We arrive just before the next rain shower.  Later, the young guide David arrives.  We are the only guests at the hut!