Finished a fantastic week in Zermatt

However, we still have a day and half, to soak up all the good vibes this place has to offer! For me at least one more session riding lifts; I want to sample genepi the local liqueur; I need to pick up a souvenir and a present or two; not to mention one more sauna and hot tub soak!

As for the purely numerical look at the week, I logged 18.5 hours, on 49k (46k run and 3k ski), with just under 6000'. I also managed two stretching sessions, as well as three afternoons riding lifts, and one solid session skinning.

Morning shakeout, visit the English Church, the Matterhorn Museum, and riding lifts

A wonderful day. (Lenny's hip is giving him trouble so he is cutting back on hiking.) the fabulous weather continues with overnight lows in the low 20s and a high of around 40.

Reverend Charles Hudson's remains (he perished on the first ascent of the Matterhorn) are entombed beneath the church altar. And the rope that broke on that July day in 1865, is on display in the museum.

Moon setting, with the first sunlight on the Matterhorn

DAY 6 in Zermatt … beautiful weather continues for a semi-rest day

I had a decent hike this morning, out and back from the Champagne Bar.  Over the past decade, I have had many a good chat with the gal from Cuban, who runs the place, while I sip champagne and gaze at the north face of the Matterhorn. 

In the afternoon, I did a 40 minute walkabout checking out bookstores, as well as paintings-photographs-antique postcards-early mountaineering gear, at the alpine antiquarian shop.  Overall, I logged two hours of easy exercise with 585' of vertical ascent. 

Another good day hiking and skiing

As I crossed over these tracks on my hike I was reminded how integral the cog railway was to the development of tourism in the 19th century. This is doubly so for the development of winter tourism in the Alps.

Day four in Zermatt

A morning hike with Len from Riffleberg to Rotenboden. Great views, however it was hazy, and so pictures were not great. Every time I see this view I am reminded of the climbs I did in the 1970s on Liskamm and the Breithorn, and of the ski mountaineering in the early 1990s on Castor and Monte Rosa.

The afternoon was spent on an exploratory hike to burn off some calories. I did find Hinterdorfstrasse, the oldest street in Zermatt dating back 300 years (picture below),as well as an alpine antiquarian shop, with everything from cowbells, to old postcards, climbing gear from the early 1900s, and superb paintings and wonderful photographs.

Another spectacular day in the Valais

I spent a full morning with Lenny hiking from Blauherd to Fluhalp and back; with superb views and potato soup at the hut.

Not only Matterhorn views, but Zinalrothorn, Ober Gabelhorn, as well as the Weisshorn, but also the Adlerhorn, Strahlhorn, and Rimpfischhorn.

I finished the day riding lifts with my Skimo race gear for 1.5 hours.

Yesterday was my 90th day on snow



Another spectacular day in the Valais

I spent a full morning with Lenny hiking from Blauherd to Fluhalp and back; with superb views and potato soup at the hut.

Not only Matterhorn views, but Zinalrothorn, Ober Gabelhorn, as well as the Weisshorn, but also the Adlerhorn, Strahlhorn, and Rimpfischhorn.

I finished the day riding lifts with my Skimo race gear for 1.5 hours.

A good long day in Zermatt

Zermatt - Zmutt - Stafelalp - Furi - Zermatt … 15k, 4.5 hours, 2500', and a combine hike and uphill skin.  Spectacular views of the North Face of the Matterhorn. 

David Hochschartner (Hock)

View from the window: first morning sun on the mountain

Yesterday was the end of a long travel day - just under 26 hours - that got us to Zermatt. Despite the weariness, Len and I went out for an easy hour hike, and then struggled to keep the eyes open through dinner at Grampi's … one of our favorites.

I logged ten solid hours in the sack, and while I am still tired, I am definitely ready to get after it! Moreover, my stomach's grumbling in anticipation of the world's finest breakfast at the Zermatterhof.

Recovery, knee injections, and travel to Switzerland

So, the logged volume this past week was quite low: 11:20 hours, on 91k (74k bike, 7k ski, 7k run, 3k row), and just under 1000'.

However, we had a good flight to Zurich, and will catch a train to Zermatt in an hour, and will have time for an easy shakeout hike this afternoon … maybe even time for a sauna!

Blast From The Past … first trip to Denali

A watercolor that Selden painted from a 5x7 photo, circa late 1970s. Getting ready to head into "the valley of death" to check out the Cassin Ridge and the West Rib. Our last minute addition - Don - was pretty much a complete dud., so we went with the west rib. We had a stove blow up at 15,000' and had to down climb with minimal gear.

Two years later Mark and I climbed Denali in fast and light style. Mark was round trip from San Francisco in just under nine days. I stayed up on the glacier, waiting for Michael Franklin to arrive and do more climbing.

Super excited … on our way!

Waxing, packing, and squeezing in a last ski

Getting psyched for Zermatt and just did a quick re-read of the graphic novel about the PdG.

Weak buried depth-hoar layers make this a challenging avalanche season



MAJOR UPDATES On Alps DEADLY Avalanche - Over 100 Deaths, ALL Bodies Recovered youtu.be

A great day watching the IBU Cup biathlon races.

The men seemed to underperform, but to be honest it was windier than all get out, and with four shooting stages, and 45 seconds per miss, they all paid a big price on the shooting range. Conditions improved significantly for the women, and I think they all performed quite well, but Chloe Levins had the best shooting of the day - hitting 19 of 20 targets - and finished sixth overall.

I had a great time with Klink my college buddy, and he was the expedition photographer with multiple cameras.  Here he is at the end of the day putting his gear away, as we had a celebratory beer. 

Heading to Zermatt I am reminded of the Patrouille de Glaciers

Every other year - including this April - this classic ski mountaineering race will start out from Zermatt, head to Arolla, and on to Verbier.  It's been on my bucket list for awhile, but never found a partner, and now I am way past my prime. 

Guardians of the Glacier — The Journal journal.alpsandmeters.com

Behind the scenes in the 2026 Olympics … The Alpini

They prepped most of the alpine, Skimo, and nordic venues for the Olympic skiing events. 

Who Are The Alpini: Oldest Italian Mountain Military Troops allroadsleadtoitaly.com

A great Olympics … already looking forward to 2030 in France

On a related note, it was another good training week, heavy on using the exercise bike as I watched Olympic events.  This week I logged 16+ hours, on 197k (150k bike, 46k ski, and a 1k run), with 3200' vertical ascent.

Not since 1980 have our men won a hockey gold medal

An amazing game, and given the final two periods I did not believe we would win the overtime!

Next Sunday We Fly To Switzerland




GOAT … greatest of all time

Klaebo endures 50km, achieves historic 6-for-6 gold medal Games nbcolympics.com

Wonderful ski on 1980 Olympic Trails

Early in the morning I biked to the tune of the Olympic Biathlon 15k Mass Start, the headed out for a ski on the East Mountain loop.

I stopped at the high point to take a breather, and remember all the times Harry Eldridge cheered me on at races. Most memorable - but not particularly successful - was the 1986 Biathlon Team Trials when I was floundering in the steep new fallen powder on that steep pitch.

Do your sleep habits correlate with training injuries

Does Poor Sleep Really Cause Injuries? A New Study Takes a Deep Dive. outsideonline.com

First Skimo Olympic Medals

Switzerland's Marianne Fatton claims gold in ski mountaineering's Olympic debut nbcolympics.com

ANOTHER BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE

Yesterday was my 80th day on snow

It's been a great season so far!

Heading home with Stash

Thanks to ChatGPT a sunny day time picture from the back pasture was turned into a moonlight ski painting.

What do you do with those old chouinard ice hammers

If you are still climbing frozen waterfalls, you probably are using two short leash-less tools, which do not look at all, like the original chouinard 70cm piolet! However, those first generation alpine hammers, are incredibly handy clearing the massive ice buildup clogging my van's wheel-well.

On a different note, it was a good week of training. My log shows it to have been a bit heavy on the exercise bike, as that was where I was watching the Winter Olympics. That said, I logged just under 17 hours, on 190k (150k bike, 45k ski, 2k row, and 1k run), with 3000' vertical ascent.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: east ridge of the grand

In the mid-70s, my college buddy Murph, and I bivied part way up the east ridge of the Grand Teton.  It started raining that night and so we retreated the next day.  My next encounter with the east ridge was in the mid-80s when Michael Franklin and I attempted a winter ascent.  It snowed considerably during our bivy and we immediately went into retreat mode, thinking the east ridge snowfields might avalanche.

Over the years I have climbed the Exum Ridge many times - including the complete lower Exum - as well as the Petzoldt, Underhill, and North Ridge of the Grand. I will probably have to wait for my next reincarnation for another attempt on the East Ridge. 

More ski lessons for Dave

Ski lessons for my six year old grandson.

My son Jon was the expedition photographer.  This was just Dave's second time on skis. 

Putting Alpinist #91 and #92 with the rest of the collection …

When I realized there were still two articles I wanted to read, and they were both wonderful. The first by Bernadette McDonald remembering Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz, and the other by Christopher Elliott, about his solo climb of the Campanile Basso in the Brenta Dolomites.

This article is less about the Campanile Basso climb, and more about reflections on the nature of the moral imperatives climbers owe. Not just what do we owe in climbing ethics, to climbing community, but what do we owe to the nation, global communities, and humanity.

The focus is on three climbers from the 1920s-1940s, and their relationship to climbs on the Campanile Basso, but also to their reactions towards the spread of fascism. There is no mention of our current global trends, but one must guess it was in the back of his mind, when he wrote the article.

If you get a chance, check them out.

A short history of the evolution of skiing



A Very 'Brief' History of Skiing skimo.co

Just back from a wonderful ski

A beautiful sunset, and so nice to be able to ski until after 5pm. The big bonus - in addition to fabulous tracks - was that it was 29 degrees. That's the warmest it's been in almost a month!

February 18 … put it on your calendar

The 90 pound rucksack challenge in honor of the Tenth Mountain Division.