Matterhorn Extension climbs the Riffelhorn
Hello and greetings from Zermatt, Switzerland!
Yesterday, we departed Chamonix with two climbers and got aboard the European railway system and arrived in Zermatt, Switzerland in the evening. Still tired from our recent summit on Mont Blanc (Aug 14th), we had a quick dinner and went to bed in the hotel. Today we woke up with overcast skies, but that did not stop us from getting outside and climbing the Riffelhorn. We got to practice our fixed rope climbing and rock climbing skills in our boots. The Matterhorn was obscured all day by clouds but we got a couple glimpses when it came out.
Tomorrow we are planning on heading back up into the mountains and make a summit attempt on Polux and the Breithorn over the next two days. We will be spending tomorrow night at a mountain hut on the Italian/Swiss boarder.
Below are some photo’s from one of our climbers Manfred.
Ciao,
Jonathon
Picture captions
picture 1: IFMGA Guide, Jonathon Spitzer belaying Jeff up on the Riffelhorn above the glacier
picture 2: A view of the Monta Rosa group from the Riffelhorn. Monta Rosa is the tallest peak in Switzerland
picture 3: The Mighty Matterhorn poking out of the clouds
picture 4: Fixed rope practice to get ready for the Matterhorn
Mont Blanc #3 Summits!
Greeting from Chamonix!
Yesterday at around 7:30am, five of our climbers along with four IFMGA guides stood on the summit of Mont Blanc. It took climbers between 5.5-6.6 hours to reach the highest point in Western Europe. After reaching the summit we retraced our steps back to the Tete Rousse Hut where we ate omelets and had a good cold beer before walking down to Chamonix.
Last night we had a great dinner in downtown Chamonix celebrating our recent success. I would like to thank all the climbers for coming prepared and for being in excellent shape. In addition, I would like to thank our great group of guides that helped make yesterday so successful.
Tomorrow two of our climbers will continue on to the Matterhorn. We will be updating the cybercast from Zermatt in a few days.
Thanks for following our cybercast!
Jonathon Spitzer
IFMGA licensed mountain guide
Audio Post
Audio Post
Mont Blanc #3 at the Tete Rousse
Hello from the Tete Rousse hut!
We are up at the hut at just below 3200m. All team members are doing well and just finished a good hut meal. Tonight we had sausage and potatoes for dinner with a good sauce.
Tomorrow we are not going to climb due to the weather forecast. We are hopeful to make a summit attempt on Thursday.
We will update more from the hut tomorrow.
Thanks!
Jonathon Spitzer
IFMGA licensed mountain guide
We wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our second Matterhorn trip. The reason we returned to the Alps with AAI was because we think so highly of Jonathon Spitzer, Lee Lazzara and the rest of the team. We know Jonathon works hard behind the scenes to ensure that the trips are executed flawlessly. We want to make sure he knows that his attention to detail doesn’t go unnoticed.
