jan71 - Recent messages

I have a quiet wish to head to Zermatt during my summer vacation (presumably second half of August) and first wander a bit on trekking paths around Zermatt, do some ascents on nearby easier accessible three-thousanders, and finally Breithorn tempts me. I have some experience with winter ascents in our mountains, of course not with glaciers.

I'm wondering if it's safe to attempt a solo "ascent" on Breithorn?

I already browsed the net a bit and the price for a guide, for one participant, if you're in a group (random) of 3-6 people, is around 150 Chf. Price isn't low, but that could somehow work, however it bothers me to ascend in a group. If e.g. we found three friends, then it's somehow acceptable to me, otherwise not. The vast majority of ascents in our mountains I did solo, also I don't have some mountain companion who would go with me to the mountains, somehow I'm used to always going alone.

That the starting point for the ascent is the upper station of the gondola "Klein Matterhorn" (for "modest" 99 Chf), I'm somehow digesting, but it seems to me that I'm capable of doing such an ascent solo, as long as there aren't too many objective dangers (glacier crevasses). Otherwise, it's like you can always turn back anytime if you judge you're not up to it, true though that once you're so far from home and so close to the goal, it might be hard to stay objective.

On the net I find various reports and accounts of ascents on Breithorn, from solo ones where they openly mock the guiding and clients on the rope, to those accounts that you simply can't go there alone, without protection.
So, if any of you has been there, your opinion: is it suitable to go solo on Breithorn or is walking on the glacier under Breithorn simply too dangerous and is a rope team necessary?

After a long time I set off again to Košutica along the hunting path. From the parking lot through the forest the path is almost entirely bare, from the pasture fence onwards the snow cover suddenly appears and thickens quickly. When we reach the border fence there's already quite a lot of snow. In the morning the snow was hard despite fairly high temperatures, excellent for walking. The path as part of the marked western route has some bare patches here and there but winter gear is of course mandatory.
Before the summit I avoided the left traverse and nasty gully and approached the summit ridge via the southern slope where there were already footprints of some predecessors. On the top I caught some nice views before the deterioration. On descent despite early hour on sunny spots it was already quite mushy.
Nice morning tour!

Yeah, this companion is already legendary there. I also enjoyed the pleasures of her company. But not too faithful, seems to give herself around

This one was on Čukla. Swallowtail?

Mountain Apollo near Vasi on a rock. There were two and they entertained me for quite some time with their presence

Western path is bare

Today I finally headed to Velika Planina on this path too, following Dr. Uršič's recipe. The tips and photos were very helpful. The path is really poorly visible on some sections, e.g. the crossing over the scree (pic 8) is completely buried, and behind the scree the trail is practically invisible. Well, you have to go by feel in zigzags uphill, almost right under the wall, then right towards the notch to the fixed rope. Behind the fixed rope that "slightly downhill" (pic 20) is a good 40m, then you need to cross the indistinctly vegetated gully, head diagonally right uphill before reaching the wall again (pic 21). Above this wall we reach a partially overgrown but still somewhat scenic balcony, above it a forested ridge full of fallen trees. Here too the path is a bit harder to follow, but here we just go up and when the terrain flattens a bit, then to the right, where we soon spot that cairn Dr. Uršič mentions. From there straight after a few dozen meters we reach the pasture fence. Despite a cloudy and foggy day, a nice morning hike that was today, due to locally quite wet terrain, at times a bit adrenaline-pumping.

Today in the spirit of the holiday "stations of the cross" to Koritni vrh.

Great tour!

Congratulations from me too! Two weeks ago I also walked this route myself, but only from Ljubelj to Kepa, then from Kepa I descended back to Koritnica and to Dovje. The third part of your route I hope to do soon.
But due to thick fog I went directly to Stol and skipped Vajnež and Struška, so I'll have to fix that

Super, guys!

Yeah, it'll hold. All the best Tinky and at least 20 more such mountain-rich years!

Fantastic!

Nice tour and description!

Really useful report!

I think the same. I don't deny anyone the "right" to visit mountains, but unfortunately now only on such paths can one find some solitude and peace from bustle, for which reason (at least I) go to the mountains at all. Of course for such paths, as @lijaneja said, one needs to mature too.