UKH

Hullo; this may be completely pitched wrongly or posted in the wrong place, so feel free to tell me to sling my hook! My girlfriend wants to strap on a set of crampons and go hike up some steepish things (nothing that involves anything above scottish I/II or requires two axes) and her parents live near Montreaux in Vaud.

I had a google, and couldn't find any websites dealing with such aspirations. She wants to get into more adventurous things, but starting small. Is there much walking, or climbing that can be done sans guide but with a bit of common sense and spikes for feet? She's a reasonably competent rock climber and hikes a lot, but just doesn't know the alps.

Maybe some day to couple-of-day glacier treks? Small summits? Ridgelines? Something that feels a little like an adventure but is reasonably safe and doesn't require an enormous amount of ropework.

Again, apologies for the bone question!

N

In reply to neuromancer:

I hasten to add that when I say crampons, I don't mean that they'd be needed for everything, but just that the routes might warrant a bit of frontpointing or french fun.

In reply to neuromancer: Head up to Les Diablerettes near Aigle and take the Glacier 3000 cable car up to Glacier de Tsanfleuron. Alternatively, you can drive down to Sion and up to the Col du Sanetsch and access said glacier from there. There are a couple of easy summits in the area. This is probably the nearest sizable glacier with good access.

From Montreux you are still in easy reach of the Swiss side of the Valais (Saas Fee, Zermatt, Arolla) or can get to the top end of the Chamonix Valley fairly easily where the Tour Glacier could be an option for some glacier trekking.