Day 1 (midday)

Three gondolas above Zermatt, the car disappears into an oblong granite slot in the peak of the Klein Matterhorn (small Matterhorn). A short shuffle amongst summer skiers and a 100m rock tunnel emerges onto an enormous sloping expanse of Bollé-testing white. The Breithorn plateau stretches out like a long white sandy beach where someone has pulled the plug out of the ocean and the tide receded all the way to rural Italy.

We head left from the tunnel following a high-tide contour. With Italy always beyond the downhill fall and the Briethorn ridge above us to the left, we stride 4 km along the softening snow and ice until the foot of Pollux. A rocky ridge-end rises directly off the snow plain. 150m of scrambling and a little rope-work bring us to the top of the red rock rise and the foot of a gentle S-curved ice arrete to the summit. An unexpected statue of a saintly lady sits atop the junction between rock and snow, wishing travellers like us a safe journey in the mountains. A short walk and Pollux’s 4092m peak delivers the first summit panorama of the Monte Rosa. In other directions most of the Swiss, Italian and French Alps are clear and dramatically visible, including Mont Blanc.

Haven taken in the view, its back to concentrating on placement of cramponed feet in the descent to rock. Back to bare boots, we climb down the approach ridge and step back onto the snow plateau again, downward toward the first hut of the trip: the Riffugio de Guida del Val d'Ayas over the Italian border. An easy day, we make the hut by mid-afternoon. At the hut we set about drying socks and boots on the precipitous handrails facing Italy and the lowering sun.

Day 2 (05:00)

Breakfast devoured by 05:30 and time to stumble into full dress by headlamp and head up the re-frozen snow. Retracing yesterday’s downhill steps in the opposite direction seems much tougher this early in the day but the changing colour of the sky before sunrise is an encouraging start to the views ahead. Furtive cloud over Castor keeps us cool despite the uphill slog. The peak’s face curves up into the cloud and we follow an ever-steepening zigzag trail, mindful that this weather may turn out for the worse. After two hours of uphill on snow and ice from gentle gradient to near-vertiginous, we step up over the minimal hardened cornice onto a narrow edge, just in the cloud. The cloud drifts in and away and in short glimpses of clear, reveals we are on a bridge between east and west peaks of Castor. Only about 200m between them, we choose west for a short break and to better view the higher east peak. The bridge ends in a softened point allowing a snack stop in relative safety and the morning cloud conveniently abates for an unfolding view, first toward the Matterhorn (west), then the remainder of Castor itself.

A less taxing climb along the ridge brings us to the highest point of Castor and a shelter from the wind behind the peak for a proper lunch-break with an assortment of fellow climbers.

The descent from Castor follows a gentler long snow ridge to a snow plateau at the base of Liskamm. From there a right turn descends steeply toward Italy. Near the base of the snow face we test fall-arrest techniques, much to the amusement of passing climbers who see two people violently dislodging each other’s balance via the rope between. Suitably practised and snow-covered we head down the long glacial slope to hut number two *******???, for a well-earned rest and more Italian-hut food.

Day 3 (05:00)

Another early start and back up the long glacial slope and onto the plateau of yesterday’s descent. As the sun nears the horizon of a perfectly clear day, we start an ascent onto the foot of the Liskamm approach on an exposed snow and ice ridge. Even this early, the wind is strong and raises the feeling of exposure to the steep drop on the mountain’s southern face. The climb to the top bears right onto another sharp-edged ridge quite well below the summit. After another hour, Liskamm’s dramatic summit ridge (max 4527m) extends out for 1500m in front of us, a sharp edge of snow with rock outcrops at odd intervals and near-symmetrical steep drops on both sides. At this altitude the wind strips snow crystals off the ridge like a fine plume of sea-spray. Progress along the ridge is slow with careful placement of feet on the ridge-top, at times no wider than two foot-prints. Two-thirds of the way along we find a sheltered drop to a rock slab with just enough space for a snack-break. With packs off, we munch fruit bars, chocolate, nuts and Swiss cheese and have time to savour magnificent clear views. Onto the descent and the ridge curves down to become a remarkable confluence of three 45 degree faces, one each side and one along the edge we walk down. At the bottom the ridge abruptly finishes in a near flat plateau of snow. We stop for a proper lunch in warm clear sunshine and in contrast to the summit, absolutely no wind.

The remainder of the day takes us up a long and exhausting approach from the 4100m plateau to the 4554m Signalkuppe, a peak upon which is tenuously perched the Refugio Regina Margherita. Whomever Queen Margherita was, she must have been both fit and had a good head for heights, to frequent what is the world’s highest serviced mountain hut. A few stairs along the side of the hut and we look down what must be a half-mile vertical drop from the handrail into the clouds below. Not a recommended haven for sleepwalkers. The altitude gives a less than capacity clientele, most choosing to stay for lunch and head back down, rather than sleep so high. We sleep high and enjoy the greater elbow-room in the dining area. Italian meal no.3 is consistently good and sets stock for the next day’s climbing fuel.

The Monte Rosa ridge peaks of Dufour and Nordend appear very close through the hut window, despite a drop to the glacial saddle between us. At 4609m, Nordend is the highest point in Switzerland, although our beds for the night are only 55m lower in altitude and in fact, a good 77m higher than the Matterhorn’s summit.

Day 4 (05:00)

These statistics are some consolation as a morning condition check confirms what the wind-buffeting through the night has been threatening: the weather is bad. After a sleep-in till first light we dress in everything we have and head out into a blizzard. By navigation we head onto the ice and take a right turn onto the Gren glacier, which should take us around 8km along and 2000m lower to the Gorner glacier. The 10 or 15m visibility and battering by ice and snow lasts until we lose around 500m of altitude, then assumes a dramatic change to calm. We hike the remainder with a hut lunch stop before crossing the Gorner and climbing a long gently inclined path to catch the Gornergrat cog-train to Zermatt. We can’t help but smile at how clean, dry and incongruous the tourists appear after the events of the last few days.