UKH

Matterhorn Monte Rosa Group

So we're at that time of year again where I'm starting to plan my next trip to the alps. Since facebooks 'alpine' conditions groups are just full of guides and trekking companies posting about the himalayas and are now a useless resource for the alps I thought I'd ask on here.

I heard there has been a fair amount of late season snow this year, particularly in the dolomites. This time last year the majority of it had melted away. How is it looking now in the Cervinia/Zermatt area? I'm hoping it will stay around a little longer than last year, or the year before when the rockfall was pretty bad.

Thanks for any Input

Olli

Excerpt from swiss avalanche report from yesterday "Numerous measurement stations register more snow than has ever been recorded before at this point of the season"

Thanks for the information. I'll be keeping an eye on how it develops over the season. 

There are always the Zermatt/Matterhorn webcams to look at. Here are two of them. It still looks quite snowy:

https://www.zermatt.ch/en/Webcams/Kirchbruecke

https://www.zermatt.ch/en/Webcams/Sunnegga-2-288-m

a young brit died on the Hörnli earlier this week. 

Sad news, my thoughts go out to his/her family. Dangerous game

https://www.lovevda.it/it

This is the link to the Val d'Aosta site (of which Cervinia is part). There are webcams and detailed weather forecasts and all in English if you need.

They opened the link between La Thuile and La Rosiere 10 days ago, normally it's just a case of scraping a bit of ice and then they have a ceremony. This year at the deepest it measured 7.5 metres!! It was about half that on the Gran St Bernardo. There is deep snow lying on the piste areas of La Thuile as well. This is not 'normal'.

I'm no big summer alpinist, but my Italian ski touring friends have stayed away from many areas this year because of unstable snow packs and high up hanging valleys much fuller than usual. 

The weather forecast is rain and lightning all week in the valley (and snow higher up), the zero˚ level is down to 2200 metres and then rises overnight to 3300m

I'm due there in mid July. Hmmm, might be heading further south.

Whatever you do, take lots of local advice and I'd listen to it very carefully

Thanks for some greater insight. It will be interesting to see if the excess snow consolidates with the thaw freeze or just becomes a dangerous mush.

Hi Everyone, 

I am planing to go for Matterhorn next weekend (long weekend). 

Is someone else trying to summit it? How bad is the weather/snow situation? 

I was in Val D'Isere last weekend training for our main Alps trip later this season.   There was lots of snow, starting about 2,100 metres.  Very soft and we were going up to our knees, thighs and on a couple of occassions necks in tthe snow.  There were a couple of ski tourers in the hut and, even, with skis, they had got stuck a couple of times.  But, given the warmth and how soft it was I don't know whether it will help much with rock fall, 

I emailed the Zermatters. Their reply:

"At the moment the trail to the hut is closed because the hut is also not open. There is a winter shelter where you can sleep. Just as an information there are only beds so you need to bring everything you need. Because of the bad weather from the last days there is a lot of fresh snow on the Hörnliridge. We don’t recommend to climb the Matterhorn at the moment.

You can climb Breithorn on foot or by ski and Castor or Pollux but only possible by skis."

Same situation here in the Bernese Alps - loads of fresh snow high up, and the unsettled weather's continuing.

There goes my trip to Saas Grund (wife's not a skier....),

CB

Just read a report by two Swiss climbers on gipfelbuch.ch; they climbed the Hörnli ridge on 24.06. and found good conditions. No crampons required until the Solvay Hut; above that some thin powder but no ice underneath. Some rockfall from high up coming down the east face, but none on or near the route.

Thanks for the information. I guess that the snow above the Solvay was slow going, I've heard it makes the ridge more difficult. 

Looks like there's almost no snow now below the shoulder.

https://www.zermatt.ch/Webcams/Berge-5/Untere-Riffelalp-2-111-m

I'm just back down from the Britannia hut. We climbed the Strahlhorn via the voie normale on Friday and the Allalinhorn via the Holaubgrat yesterday. Whilst it was very warm I thought the snow conditions were very good on the the ascent and the descent. I've seen it a lot worse at this time of year.  I can only speak for the area I was in of course.