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Weissmies (14.07.2009)
Written by hmsv1 (Hannah Vickers)
| Characteristic | Alpine trip |
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| Map |
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| Ascents | Weissmies (4,017m) | 14.07.2009 |
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Tuesday, 14th July 2009
Having a day trip to the Weissmies meant that we could carry relatively light rucksacks and there wasn’t too many things to have to think about packing. So at 6am, we bundled back into Anthony’s Audi and drove down to the Tamoil garage at Sion to meet Hannah, our other guide and also split up into 2 cars which would be a lot more comfortable for the journey up to Saas Grund. It was a dry, slightly overcast morning, which was getting gradually sunnier as we progressed further east and up the valley again. Saas Grund wasn’t particularly high up, and we were going to take the Hohe Saas gondolas up to the station at about 3100m, which would place us quite nicely for the ascent to the top of the Weissmies at 4027m. We left the Hohe Saas station about 20 minutes after jumping on at Saas Grund, and within 5 minutes were gearing up for the walk up the glacier – Anthony, Tobbe and Hanna on one rope and Dan, me and Hannah on another.
The initial part of the ascent took a gently-sloping route straight across the glacier and about ½ hour (or less) later we hit the sun-drenched steeper part of the route on the other side. I found it hard work slogging up the steep, softer snow in the hot conditions but it was only a short stretch to persevere with. At the top of that bit there was a nice fresh breeze blowing onto us as we hit the main ridge leading straight up to the summit, with a few patches of stagnant warm air here and there. By the time we were at the summit, an impressive blanket of cloud had already begun to form beneath us and it gave the summit ridge quite an atmospheric feel to it.
But we didn’t hang about at the top too long as it was windy and we cooled down quickly. I think we made it down in good time too, because shortly after reaching the Hohe Saas station, the skies turned a very dark shade of grey and the familiar sensation of wet drops falling on our faces returned! Just as well then that we could go inside, have some lunch and drink tea and coffee!
The drive back felt quite suffocating; back down in the bottom of the Rhone valley on our way back to Sion, the sun hit down on us hard. It was no cooler to have the car windows open and let in a blast of air than to have them closed. Fortunately, things could only get more comfortable again as we passed through Sion and started winding our way back up the mountainsides towards Evolene, at 1300moh. We had a slightly late dinner at 8pm, but as we had now decided to head for the Cosmiques hut for our ascent of Mont Blanc the next morning, we were having a late start the next day and could afford to sleep in a bit later too.
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