My First Alpine Trip

By Katie Baldwin

I was fortunate to be able to come out to the Alps in August to meet my boyfriend for some alpine adventures. For a complete novice to Alpine climbing I am so very grateful for Gareth’s knowledge and experience (he’s been mountaineering and climbing for many years) and I wouldn’t suggest going off to try anything without someone who is experienced or hiring a guide. I’ve only really been climbing outside since January, despite climbing in gyms for a number of years.

Katie on the Cosmiques Arete

Thinking about how I could have been better prepared for this trip I would really recommend training a lot more, but because of lockdown and the climbing gyms closing I was not as prepared as I wanted to be and it really showed. Not really knowing what to expect, I presumed climbing in the alps would be the same as long multi-pitch routes in the UK. There were some similarities to this but I hadn’t previously encountered multiple abseils or any down climbing to the extent that is required in the Alps. Even just getting used to the uneven ground and scree is very different to the terrain we have. We were planning on going to north Wales to do some scrambling in preparation and sadly were unable to in lockdown but that would have helped with the down climbing and the level of exposure I was suddenly introduced to in the Alps. This would also have given me some experience of how to move quickly by climbing together and how different that is in terms of protection to a normal sport/trad route.

We started off with some Alpine rock climbing including Brunat-Perroux on the Aiguille de L’Index and Les Fontès de Jouvance on the Aiguille Pourrie and a few trail runs. Then by my first weekend we decided that we’d get up higher and into some cooler air away from the heat wave. So we headed up the Glacier Du Tour to bivvy and do my first alpine route. We got the lift and hiked up past the refuge to find a bivvy spot amongst a lot of other climbers, watched a beautiful sunset and woke early to a gorgeous clear sky. It was so beautiful to see all the stars and follow the headlights up to the start of the glacier. Gareth showed me how to put crampons on and we roped up and headed for the walk in. Having never been on a glacier before I was keen to take the easiest and safe option depending on conditions. So we did the North West ridge of the Tête Blanche which was an Alpine rock ridge, I changed into my climbing shoes for the second half of it as I’d developed some blisters but it was largely a nice easy scramble which we moved quickly together on. We summited very quickly to a beautiful view over the massif and then started making the descent. I couldn’t get over how much quicker walking out was compared to the long walk-in that morning we even made it down for a beer before the last lift! 

After a bit of time out of boots due to the painful blisters, the next alpine route we climbed was the Arête des Cosmiques, a very popular route, and there’s nothing better than getting the lift up to 3800m to start it! We walked down the ridge out of the lift station and along the glacier in glorious sunshine. Due to the heat the conditions were quite dry but we started climbing with our crampons still on. I really struggled with this even though I was on second and protected well the entire route. A guide suggested it would be quicker without them so I took the crampons off. This was definitely a personal choice and I’m sure you get used to climbing in crampons the more you wear them. There was just one section in the latter part of the route that was snow walking and using an axe for stability, it was fine without the crampons as it was well tracked. The final pitch culminated with climbing up a ladder onto the Aiguille du Midi station terrace much to the amusement of the masses of tourists who watch you climb the last part of the route. All in all it was a fab day! 

Gareth wanted to take me up to the Monte Rosa massif so off we went to try and bag a 4000m-er. Living in a van it made no sense for us to then pay for accommodation, so we pitched our tent in a nice bivvy spot below the Gnifetti refuge hut. Despite being the only people bivvy-ing, for the 3 nights we were there it was perfect. On the first day we walked up the glacier for what felt like forever. Not only was I not mountain fit but the altitude really kicked my butt! I’d never been that high before and was hoping that sleeping at nearly 3600m would have helped me acclimatise, but I still felt progressively more unfit as we got higher and higher! Despite running quite a lot at home I felt really unfit so in preparation for another trip, I would definitely have done more hikes and long runs over Dartmoor or the coastal path! We finally got the base of the Schwarzhorn (4322m) and this was the first time I was going to have to climb a steep icy slope. I got the hang of hitting the axe in at the right angle so it would stick, and Gareth showing me how best to climb the ice with my crampons. It was way more tiring than I was expecting and my arms ached by the time we got to the rock on the summit (I was probably gripping onto the axe way too hard as well as I was scared of slipping on the ice). There was a short scramble with a lot of exposure before we got to the summit Madonna statue. We’d seen two teams abseil off the anchor at the Madonna so decided that must be easiest way down. Our rope was slightly short so Gareth abseiled first and secured an ice screw so I could use that as my anchor point for the second abseil, he then down climbed to the bottom once I was safely off. All in all quite an exciting yet terrifying first 4000m summit! I was too knackered to try and do any others that day, so Gareth quickly summited the Ludwigshöhe and we headed back. This was lucky really as we got back to the tent just in time to escape a massive hail storm!

The following day we walked up the glacier again, and started the ascent of Parrotspitze. As we approached the summit ridge the wind really picked up and I didn’t feel secure, I felt I could easily get blown off with the gusts, so we turned back. I think as frustrating as turning back was, it was definitely the right decision, and knowing your limits and when to stop is an important skill to learn. Sadly there were no more attempts of any more 4000ers due to the wind.

It was definitely an incredible experience and I have no doubt that I will be back! The combination of not having trained at home during the lockdown, altitude and the conditions just exhausted me! We were also very cautious of the weather and as I was much slower than expected at the walk-ins we didn’t think it would be safe to be on the glacier much later in the day.

I think my biggest learning point from the trip is that mountain fitness is as important, if not more so than technical climbing strength. Although I run and climb both sport/trad at home, and I consider myself reasonably fit, I could definitely have done with a lot more specific mountain training.

“Katie’s Top Tips for your First Trip:
1. Make sure your boots fit!
2. Have realistic goals and be prepared to change these
3. Celebrate your achievements, don’t tell yourself you should be faster/fitter/better”

I am very grateful to Gareth for having joined me and encouraged me for my first 4000m summit (and for his patience teaching me). I loved every minute of being in the mountains and I’ve never felt so much serenity or been so overwhelmed by how beautiful the landscape was I was in the Monte Rosa massif and I have no doubt that we will be back.

I have been very inspired by my first trip in the Alps and I am looking forward to returning to the Alps in the future with the benefit of more training under my belt to explore further.