Two days on Breithorn, Castor and Pollux with Maxime, Aurélien, Romain and Christian: familiar faces above 4,000 m, glacier heat and a cable car dash.
No rest! After crossing the Breithorn the day before, I’m setting out again with a new team on the trail to the 4,000-meter peaks. Once again, I know almost everyone on the team—in order of appearance: Maxime, Aurélien, Romain, and Christian. The weather forecast is looking great—this is shaping up to be a good one!
Day 1: Western and Central Breithorn and the traverse to Val d'Ayas
To warm up, today we’re heading over to the Val d’Ayas mountain hut via the West Breithorn and the Central Breithorn. That’s just how it is here—you climb a 4,000-meter peak just to “get to” the hut!
On the descent toward Val d'Ayas, the heat is scorching. The cumulus clouds rising overhead only make it feel even hotter. Combined with the altitude, it’s a explosive combination, and some of us are starting to really feel the effects. At the base of the 100-meter climb that allows us to bypass a serac before descending to the refuge, the day isn’t over yet... Did anyone secretly say a prayer to avoid this climb? We’ll never know. But in any case, a miracle happened: two local guides caught up with us and headed straight for the refuge, heading toward the serac wall... This plan smells like a trick! I catch up with one of my colleagues, who confirms there’s a shortcut. We exchange pleasantries. We follow right behind them!
The route is magnificent, winding through crevasses and seracs. Although it means spending a minute exposed to the seracs, we save a lot of energy and enjoy a beautiful glacier hike.
Castor and Pollux
We got up early today—before the ranger! First, a small group of us climbed up to Castor; Christian preferred to wait at the pass as the first light of day broke. We were the first—and only—ones up there for a good quarter of an hour. It’s nice to get up early!
We picked up Christian at the pass and set off up the slopes of Pollux, first through a snow couloir, then over easy rock and along the chains. Romain dropped out along the way, and we finished on the beautiful snowy ridge that climbs to the summit above La Madonne.
All that's left is to head back! The same grueling scenario as the day before unfolds, but this time there's no shortcut! Christian fights with all his might against the devastating effects of the altitude, and we arrive at the "large" cable car 15 minutes before it closes!
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