Monta Rosa Tour In the heart of the Swiss Alps near the Italian border lies the town of Zermatt. While Zermatt is best known for the Matterhorn, the other great mountain that dominates the valley, Monta Rosa, has a much more relaxed, friendly character. At 4633m(15,150ft) Monta Rosa is the second highest peak in the Alps. It is a high glacier blanketed massif with many individual peaks rising above 4000m(13,080ft). The climbing is moderate snow and ice slopes, ridge traverses and glacier travel.
This
is a classic
high mountain tour that straddles the Swiss-Italian border, climbing
nine 4,000m (13,080 ft) peaks along the way. Well provisioned huts
allow us to take light packs with only our personal clothing. Lift
access at the start helps us gain much of the initial vertical, and
then we stay high on the glaciers for the remainder of the trip. We
often rise before dawn to get the best snow conditions and finish in
the early afternoon.
Day 1: Meet in Zermatt 1600m(5,230ft) and ride the lift to the Klein Matterhorn 3800m(12,426). While the north face of the Breithorn 4,164m (13,616ft) looks imposing from Zermat, we will climb the much easier southwest shoulder and then descend to the Val Ayas Hut 3,394m (11,098ft) in Italy. Sample Genepi, the local liqueur flavored with flowers that grow on the glacial moraines. Elevation gain: 350m(1,150ft), loss 750m(2,450ft). Day 2: We climb over Mt Castor 4228m (13,825ft) and descend to the Sella Hut 3,585m(11,700ft). The elegant snow arête to the summit of Castor is one of the more breathtaking parts of our tour. Elevation gain: 800m(2,600ft), loss: 650m(2,125ft)
Day 4: This is also a day of many summits. Climb the Ludwigshohe 4,341m(14,195ft), followed by Parrotspitze 4432m(14,493ft) and end the day on top of the Signalkuppe 4554m(14,892ft). We spend the night at the highest hut in Europe, the Margerita Hut 4554m(14,892ft). Enjoy the sunset from one of the greatest outlooks imaginable. Elevation gain: 1,200m(3,925ft) Day 5: Climb the Zumsteinspitze 4563m(14,921ft), descend 1700m(5,560ft) down the long, rugged Grenzgletcher, making the transition from a high snow covered neve to an icy valley glacier with many unique ice and rock formations. We will cross the border from Italy back into Switzerland. Stop for lunch at the Monta Rosa Hut then hike to the train station ride the remainder of the distance down to Zermatt. Elevation loss: 1700m(5,560ft). Dates:
July and September Includes:
Does not include:
Requirements: This tour requires good to excellent physical condition but no previous mountaineering experience. We will be wearing crampons for most of the day. Mountaineering skills will be taught during the tour. Most days will have a pre-dawn start and we will reach the hut in the early afternoon. Expect 3500-5000 feet of vertical uphill and downhill per day.
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You can experience sunrise and the first warming rays of the sun
while high on a mountain. Walk above a white ocean of clouds as
daytime heating brings the clouds boiling up from the low valleys of
Italy.
Day
3:
This is a day of many peaks that are a short climb from the high
glacier. We start the day by crossing the Passo del Nasso
4100m(13,407ft), and then climb the Corno Nero 4321m(14,130ft),
Balmhorn 4,215m(13,783ft) and Vincent-Pyramide 4,215(13,783ft).
Finally we descend to the Mantova Hut 3440m(11,250ft). Elevation
gain: 1,000m(3,270ft), loss: 800m(2,600ft).
