UKH

I’m going to be in the Alps from the 19th July and am planning on climbing the Schaligrat and descending possibly the north ridge.  Has anyone climbed the Schaligrat this year and can offer some thoughts on the bivvy hut, conditions etc?  Thanks Jay

Not climbed it but was in the area over June and got a good look at it.

The route itself looked like it was in good condition and snow free. The main issue will be the approach. Almost all the winter snow cover is gone and the glaciers are looking dry. 

There was some fresh snow over the last week but i guess that will burn off quickly if there are anything like the temps we had.

Id expect that by late july with average weather, things will be very dry.

Good luck with your trip.

Can't help on present conditions, sorry. Which way are you going to approach the hut? I set off to traverse the Schallihorn to get to it one day but turned around about an hour from the Rothornhutte in threatening weather, but it seems the easiest approach to me. I've done the N ridge in ascent. It could be quite straightforward in descent as you would rappel all the hardest bits. I descended the E ridge and all the way to Randa, which was never ending. 

Thanks folks, the info is very useful, much appreciated.  I’m planning on reaching the Schaligrat bivvy via the Schalihorn and then descending the north ridge which I’ve been on before.  I’ll post back on here when I get out there and let you know what I find.  

Yes, please do report back. I remember the last section of snow ridge of the N ridge before the summit was quite exciting, with miles of exposure. Enjoy it and get some good photos.

Im on it now . Plan is to traverse schalihorn then up schaligrat and down North ridge to bishorn. Will let you know how the conditions are if I manage it 

Good Luck Jim, looking forward to hearing about a successful traverse!  Jay

I see you did it, well done! So how was it?

Yeah, I’m keen to know how you got on!

The climb was great. We've had settled high pressure in the Alps for the past week along with lots of sun no snowfall but quite a low (330ish) freezing level (and all looks to continue for at least a week) so all the rock is dry, the snow is in great condition in the mornings, but definately on the leaner side. 

The glacier approach to schalihorn was much more straightforward than I thought it would be - it's possible to spot a route around the worst crevasses from the ober alschorn before you descend. Theres then a 40-45 degree snow face to the summit. This was in great condition for us, but parts of it could become a icy in time. Then again there's many lines you could take up the face and it's probably only PD for this bit 

Schalihorn traverse was great scrambling. It is a little loose and complicated but good rock on the crest and it's mostly downhill so not tiring. Managed to avoid all abseils. 

The bivoauc hut can sleep 8 but looking at the book it's rarely visited. There's loads of gas there and some limited pasta etc. Snow 50m down to melt and we found a small stream. 

Snow for the Weisshorn N ridge was great likewise for the bishorn. There are 3 bolted abseil points on the grand gendarme too. 

Well done Jim and thanks for the info, very useful stuff!  Hopefully the conditions will still be good when I’m out there from next week.  Can’t wait to get on the Schaligrat!

And the climbing on the Schalligrat itself...?

It's very dry only bit of snow at the top. Rock is solid on the ridge. Less so if traversing below the crest, which we did in a couple of places. 

Only a couple of short pitches of IV, so technically straightforward for D rock. 

Thanks Jim!

Thanks for that. Currently near Zermat....

OK had to settle for East Ridge. Shattered!

Well done, Martin! I thought the E ridge was ace, continuously interesting. Did you do the descent in a one-er...?

Yes superb - perhaps best route ever

 Currently still at hut but about to go down. May expire en route.

Bonne descente!

Do you (or anyone) remember what you did at the Lochmatter Tower? My guide says turn it on the left but that looked horrible, so I went over which worked, albeit requiring more bending than I am used to.

No recollection at all, sorry. I was in descent and was just following crampon scratches. I remember the top snow slope and being relieved when I got to the rock. Then nothing till I got to the big swerve R at the bottom. Thinking phew, that's it, and carrying on down without going to the hut was, if I'm honest, a mistake...

Decided to climb the North Ridge of the Weisshorn due to two days of storms and uncertain about how the Schaligrat would fair.  Ascended and descended the north ridge in great conditions although the weather came in near the end of the Weisshorn so got lost in the maze of crevasses on the way back to the Tracuit.  Fantastic!!  

Sounds great!

Amazing how no snow reveals the true condition glaciers - not a single visible crevasse when I did the Bishorn.