Tour of the Finsteraarhorn
By Lucy Foster
My first multi-day ski tour was a fantastic hut to hut tour in the Bernesse Oberland. Setting off from Grinderwald up the iconic Jungfrau Railway to reach Jungfraujoch. From the hustle of Junfraujoch on skis into the wondrous, wild and isolated mountains to finally reach Blatten. On the journey we took in six amazing peaks, skiied four glaciers and stayed in three cosy alpine huts. There is so much I could share about this amazing experience. Different days stand out for different reasons but one that was special to me was my first 4000 m peak - Finsteraahorn.
Day one took us to the Finsteraarhorn Hut, a refuge below a magnificent iconic peak. One of the most isolated peaks in the Swiss alps and the highest peak in the Bernesse Alps. The mountain towers above the hut providing the perfect back drop. We arrived at the hut in a white out so I didn’t get my first glimpse of the mountain until the following morning and only a proper view after doing our first ski peak, Wysnollen. From the summit of Wysnollen we could see the extent of the glacier and rocky ridge leading to the perfect peak. I thought to myself, that peak needs to be climbed! But as this was my fist hut-to-hut I thought it wouldn’t be within my limits for this trip.
The next day we skied another fantastic peak Grosses Wannenhorn, this is known to have one of the best ski descents in the Swiss alps and did not disappoint! Grosses Wannenhorn is 3906 m, the closest I had been to reaching 4000 m. I mentioned this to the group and my ambition to summit Finisteraarhorn one day.
Over dinner that evening after three fantastic days on skis Finisteraahorn came up in conversation. Mike said…”lets do it!” I didn’t need convincing! We had a split in the group so the more eager/less sensible part of the group decided to make an early start and add the peak onto our forth day.
As the ski off the mountain came past the hut, we stripped down our bags to the minimum aiming for a fast and light summit bag. Dawn came, another beautiful sunrise over the stunning Fiescher Glacier. A bitter cold start so we were pleased for the brutal skin up the glacier from the hut. We gained height quickly following in the skin tracks of parties from the previous day. We were cautious and alert watching out for crevasses and seracs to navigate around on our ski back down. We navigated across the rock band at mid height and up the remaining snow slope to gain the rocky crest. At this point we took off our skis and left them at the base of the rocky ridge and swapped for crampons. This was now the terrain I feel most at home on; easy alpine ridge climbing. Moving together on a rope placing the occasional runner between us we gained height on the ridge heading towards the summit. The ground fell away dramatically down the north face reminding us to maintain steady footing. Soon the summit was reached. Wooooww! To be on top of the highest peak in the region with other 4000 m peaks poking out above the clouds was amazing. The view was vast and beautiful with the bright blue of the sky bouncing off the snow covered peaks. I’m not spiritual or religious but there is something special about being so high up and feeling so small and in awe of the awesomeness of the natural world. I also get an overwhelming sense of closeness to people I can no longer be physically close to and a sense of calm.
