ONE SLIP AWAY FROM DISASTER | Alpine Mountaineering in the Swiss Alps | Lagginhorn 4010m

In this video, we tackle Lagginhorn and Allalinhorn which both stand over 4000m. Our ascent of Lagginhorn began at the Weissmies Hut where we spent the night ready for a 4am start in the morning. After getting around 4 hours sleep, it was time for breakfast. Let me just say this, I’m not a fan of starting a hike at 4am but with these mountains, that’s what you have got to do. My body started to slowly wake up after about an hour of hiking. The route started with steep sections of rock you had to climb/scramble over until you reached the snow line. The last 500m was a steep section of snow/ice. One slip and you were in serious trouble. Every foot placement had to be perfect. We eventually reached the summit and just like Weissmies, the views were unbelievable. After sending the drone up into the air, it was time to make our way back down to the Weissmies Hut. We collected our things from the hut and headed back down the lift to the car park. We had a hotel booked in Saas-Fee that night before we tackled Allalinhorn the next day. Surprisingly, I felt really strong after doing Lagginhorn so I was looking forward to the rest of the week. However, my body had other ideas. As we started to make our way up to the summit of Allalinhorn the next day, it just felt like everything hit me all at once. The huge blister on my right foot put the nail in the coffin to be honest so I had to rest in order to dry it out. However, the blister wasn’t the only issue. I felt a huge surge of fatigue as well as headaches due to the altitude starting to creep in. All of this combined with not consuming enough calories and not getting enough sleep over the last 10 days had took it’s toll. Allalinhorn would normally have been pretty easy for me due to it only being around 600/700m ascent from the lift. However, with all the factors that I have just mentioned, it kicked my arse. The next couple of days were spent resting in the Britannia Hut. Scott felt really strong so he went and summited Strahlhorn with a couple of Dutch lads that we met in the hut. It looked like an absolute monster of a day. I spent a couple of days taking in the scenery around the hut before it was time to head to the airport to fly home. Overall, I think the trip was a massive success. I learned a LOT and met some really good people along the way. I definitely wouldn’t say I’m unfit because I’m used to carrying a heavy pack but I definitely need to be fitter for our next trip even though I would say I did well with the amount I did over the two weeks. Thanks to Scott for putting up with me and my farts for the 10 days. I look forward to our next trip. I hope you enjoyed watching and I’ll catch you on the next adventure.

#swissalps #switzerland #alpinism #mountaineering

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ATB Tom

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