Ulysses Trust Expedition

Mountaineering Expedition 'Alpine Meet 2004', Switzerland, July 2004

Joint Services Mountaineering Association

Our experiences on the traverse of the Cullin Ridge only days previous prepared us well for attendance at the Joint Services Alpine Meet in Tasch, Switzerland. JSAM is an annual event bringing together the mountaineering associations of the three services. We were accommodated well in Attermenzen camp site, sporting excellent facilities and most of all an accurate weather forecast from Victor, the owner.

Ascent of the Dom NW ridge
Traversing off steep ice on the Dom NW ridge	Summit of the Dom 4545m.

Day one took us to the foot of the Weissmeis 4013m, to engage in some glacial and alpine mountain training. The staff of JSMTC provided some excellent tuition, including ice-axe self arrest and crevasse rescue. With training under our belt, and a growing sense of confidence we came down that evening and thumbed the pages of our Valais Alps East guidebook for a suitable acclimatisation climb and first alpine peak for three of us.

The mountain that we finally decided on was The Dom 4545m, the highest mountain totally inside Switzerland. After a tiring approach and a chat with the hut guardian we decided to tackle the NW Ridge. An early start was in order due to the fragility of the Glacier in the afternoon and the searing afternoon sun. We set off at 0330 hours in pitch dark, a string of at least twenty climbers in our wake. We headed up the glacier to the Festijoch, a rocky col allowing access to the main routes including our ridge. A short way up the ridge we encountered short ice fields requiring us to employ the use of ice screws and ice belays, undeterred we carried on, making good progress despite the poor conditions. Although tricky, once we reached the other side of the ice we were fairly pleased with our efforts, particularly as some of us had not previously climbed at this level. Some of the team started feeling the effects of the altitude, a mix of a nausea and headaches. Unfortunately there is little to be done bar descend, so to his credit, he just got on with the task in hand.

We ventured on weaving our way through hidden crevasses amidst incredible views, eventually leaving the ridge and joining the normal route. There was still 600m of height to climb in deep and exhausting snow under an unrelenting sun. Two hours later we made it to the windswept summit in freezing conditions; a small ridge with an iron cross surrounded by memorials, a rather unnerving sight. A quick photograph and we headed down following the normal route across the long glacier.

The Festijoch proved to be more of a challenge on the descent, due to the large amount of loose rock, so careful route finding was in order. We continued down the glacier admiring stunning views of the Weisshorn and Matterhorn finally reaching the valley base at about 2030 hours, 17 hours after leaving the hut.

With sore feet we planned our second alpine route. We searched for a slightly more technical mixed route that was achievable as a group of five. Our objective became the AD ridge on the Lagginhorn. The following day headed up to the Weissmies hut to our second peak, before long we were struck by the plague of our two weeks in Switzerland, the afternoon thunderstorms.

Although not a problem at valley base, the storms deposited a large amount of snow on the rock ridges making them near impossible to climb. We resorted to plan B, an ascent of a relatively easy 4000m peak, the Weismeiss 4013m . Although the ascent was not awe-inspiring, the views at the summit certainly were. We admired a cloud-covered Italy to the south and to the North the afternoon storm clouds gathered, forging a truly dramatic skyline.

The exposed Dri Hornli ridge

The remaining itinerary was to be dictated by the weather. Some of us managed to get in a rewarding low-level AD rock route - the Dri Hornli ridge. The ridge presented some tricky climbing moves along with knife-edge ridge in places. A highlight though was encountering a lost mountain goat that had strayed onto a cliff edge, who demonstrated down climbing abilities that Chris Bonnington would be proud of - thwarting certain death!

Towards the end of the second week the weather provided a two-day break and some of us put in an attempt on the Wiesshorn, a long, steep AD ridge. With the fatigue of a long route to the hut replaced by a hearty and filling evening meal, all the ingredients were in place for a solid attempt. But as the group were awoken for their 2am start, they were greeted by a cloud covered peak. They persisted, and began to ascend the demanding approach route to the ridge, a route that proved to be in the wrong condition, presenting waist-high snow in places! Agonisingly, the cloud cleared and the route up the ridge was visible, but vital time and momentum had been lost on the bad conditions. The group were forced to turn back and head down to the valley.

Our attendance at JSAM, although disappointing with the number of successful ascents, provided us with useful lessons and experience for future alpine expeditions. We gained an appreciation for the weather conditions, the mountaineering techniques required for a variety of terrain from glacier to rock ridge, and the physical demands of alpine peaks on the body. Our outcome was reflected by other members on JSAM, who faced similar setbacks posed the weather conditions. Overall, our experience was a real education in the demands and techniques of "alpinism".
OCdt Steven Palmer, LUOTC