Berner Oberland The Berner Oberland haute route has some of the most spectacular scenery in the European Alps. We will travel hut to hut with only light packs, being able to enjoy the skiing along the way. This is a high level ski tour about long ski descents and peak bagging. It is almost entirely on glaciers. There is not as much emphasis on having to make it to the next hut as other traverses in the Alps. Indeed we often spend two nights in the same hut to take advantage of the numerous skiing and climbing objectives. We stay on the high glaciers and do not descend to a low valley until the end of the tour when we drop 6000 feet to the small town of Munster. Many of the peaks that we climb are done as summer mountaineering objectives, the fast descent on skis makes them much more enjoyable in the spring.
From the north the Berner Oberland is dominated by three great peaks; the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. On the right the Jungfrau, the virgin pure and beautiful, is draped with white glaciers beckoning in the sun. On the other side of the range is the Eiger: the Ogre a giant that eats human flesh. It’s huge, rocky North Face towers above Grindelwald, dark imposing and feared. Local legend has it that the Monk was put in between to protect the Jungfrau from the Eiger. To start our trip we will ride the train, which tunnels up through the North Face of the Eiger. We can stop at a window and look out on eiger North Face of mountaineering legend. The train takes us to the saddle between the Monch and the Jungfrau (3464m) where we step out onto the glacier. Itinerary:
Day 1:
We meet in Grindelwald. Day 2: We ride the train up through the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch (3464m). From here we ski over the Louriohorn (3773m), down an 800m ski run and then up a short distance to the Hollandia Hut (3240m). Day 3: We climb the Abeni Flue (3962m) and then ski down to the Concordia Hut (2850m) Day 4: Climb the Gross Grunhorn (4043m) and return to the Concordia Hut. Day 5: We traverse to the Finsteraarhorn Hut (3048m) via the Grunlucke (3280m), possible climbing the Weisnollen (3594m) or other objective on the way. Day 6: Climb the Agassizhorn (3946m) or the Gross Wannenhorn (3905m) and return to the Finstereaarhorn Hut. Day 7: The big ski descent down to Munster, 6100 feet vertical! We skin up to the Galmilucke (3293m) and then the long run down to the Rhone valley and spring. Dates:
April 25 - May 1, 2010
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This
area of central Switzerland is a picturesque landscape of rolling
green hills and snow capped mountains. There is huge vertical
relief, up to 11,000 feet, between the peaks and the valleys.
We will be travelling from spring in the low valleys, to snow
on the high glaciers, then back down to spring again in a completely
different region of Switzerland.
We
will go over equipment for the trip. 
