breithorn

Has anyone actually ascended the breithorn(4164 metres) from the klein matterhorn cable car? It looks so easy im thinking of hiring the gear locally and dragging one of my brothers up there. No crevasses (?)and only A 5 hour round trip so given setteled weather it looks relatively easy.Ive ascended mont Blanc and kili (with guides)and am going in september.Any advice?

I've done it in sept years ago, it was easy (1hr up from cable car, 30 mins down, although we actually started in zermatt). However, it is a glacier and does have some crevasses underneath it, and the stability of the snowbridges can be patchy in Sept. We observed plenty of people unroped but were ourselves roped.

Castor and Pollux are also pretty quick from there.

Might be better to go with A guide then?

Consider acclimitising beforehand. One hour going from 1800m to 3800m is going to be significant!

It's very straight forward, you might find it a bit exposed on one of the short summit snow ridges. You can do a bit of a circuit on the summit aswell ie. if you enter onto the summit from the ridge on the right, you can exit on the left (and then just drop back down onto the well trodden track you'll have just walked up).

I think most people rope up once leaving the pisted snow, but that's your call.

As John says, it's best to acclimatise beforehand, maybe by doing a walk to between 3000m and 3500m before. Saying that, we used it for acclimatisation a few years ago for the bigger Monte Rosa peaks. Most of us already knowing we could go straight to 4000m with little adverse effect. Unfortunately, one new guy was pole-axed for a few days by altitude effects, he's since discovered that he merely has to walk to 3000m by which time he's feeling nauseous. Because it's a fairly short walk (by alpine standards), you'd probably get away with not acclimatising, but you might suffer that afternoon and evening by the time your back down in Zermatt..

I'm also going to that area in September 5th-16th, so maybe we'll cross paths.

Thanks for the input peops.Getting excited already and have ideas for lots of walks in the zermatt/saas-fee areas,alas only one week so fingers crossed for good weather.

I did it solo late last summer, no probs with crevasses at all but it pays to keep eyes open. Maybe take a short rope & harnesses to link up with pals, if something goes wrong you won't be alone or far from help, just make sure you pick a good day.

Another good easy day out, with fantastic views, would be to catch the Gonergrat railway (terminal is in the square just near the Zermatt railway station, approx. £30 return) upto the Rotenboden station. You can walk down to the glacier and across a dry glacier (no need to rope up) and walk up to the Monte Rosa Hut. This will give you an alpine experience without any of the technical stuff.

The crevasses from the cable car are quite small but they are there so a rope would be advisable.

The important thing despite what Rory says is that you should never rely on other groups for your own safety. Thats like going into the mountains in the UK in full winter conditions with no ice axe and wearing a pair of jeans and thinking you'll be OK as there are other walkers around !

Survivor, you have got the wrong end of the stick.
The Breithorn is hardly a remote experience and help is close at hand, but that is no excuse to rely on it.
If you are properly equipped, leave early & pick a good day, which is easy to do there, the climb itself is no more dangerous than crossing the road.
Do you suggest that budding alpine climbers go and tackle a classic route in a remote part of the Andes or Himalaya where medical help is several days away. Is accessibility to rescue not something you would consider in a risk assessment?

Thanks for the input peops...Had been looking at the trip to the monte rosa hut but wasn,t sure if it was within my fairly limited glacier experience. I contacted the mountain guides in Zermatt and they suggested I use a guide,but I suppose they have a vested interest!
Probably look at hiring the gear locally and just going with my companions.
Anyone done the balcony route from Zermatt to saas-fee? Europaweg and grachen/saas-fee.

As far as the glacier walk to the Monte Rosa hut is concerned, you'd have to be pretty unlucky or stupid to fall into a cravass as the glacier will be completely bare and therefore the cravasses obvious. It's quite heavily cravassed in parts but if you hire campons and an ice axe and know how to use them, then you won't run the risk of a slip at any narrow parts (if there are any). In fact I'd probably recommend it as a good intro. to glacier walking. I think the route across the glacier is marked with posts, but I'm not sure (I'm trying to recall 10 years ago).

My only word of warning is that distances are deceptive in the alps, you'll see the hut from along way and think you'll get there in no time. From stepping onto the glacier, I'd allow 2 hours to the hut (possibly more). If your staying in the hut overnight then you've no worries about getting back in time for the train back down.