UKH

I’m lucky enough to be spending a few days in Zurich with work in early November, and I would love to make the most of the opportunity by bagging a summit whilst I’m there - the only problem is where!

I’m going to be travelling solo, so a route with VF gear would be ideal. Otherwise something reasonable to solo ie no glacier crossings etc and difficulty up to PD.

I understand that Switzerland shuts down for Nov, and most cable cars etc are closed which will clearly have an impact on route choice.

in terms location, something within 4hrs drive of Zurich would be ideal.

any help would be appreciated.

It will depend massively on weather and whether the first snow has arrived.

If no there hasn't been early snow high up and you get a settled spell you may get up something.

Switzerland doesn't really close as such, but Nov is probably the quietest time for tourism, so expect the major cable cars and hotels, restaurants in tourist areas to be closed down. 

But almost more likely is to go and do a bit of early season piste skiing - as quite a lot of ski resorts get open in Nov if they get the snowmaking started.

I used to work a lot in Zurich and managed quite a few solo add-on days as you describe. If you are lucky and as 9fingerjon has said, the first snows haven't arrived, then there are (relatively) low level VFs at Braunwald, Engelberg and Kandersteg.

However I think it's more likely it will be too cold and snowy, in which case you might consider a hike up Pilatus or Rigi mountains near Lake Luzern. Personally I'd use the public transport as it's super efficient and you can get pretty much anywhere easily from Zurich instead of wrestling the traffic. Also allows you to do a point to point hike.

For ski-ing - Engelberg upper slopes might be open and it's a straight shot in about 1.5 hours from ZH by train.

For bagging a summit with some VF, the Graustock by Engelberg comes to mind. But two expensive lifts to ride to get near it, with some extra hiking. Rather spectacular views of N side of Titlis, but I did not feel that I got a good ratio of interesting _climbing_ versus time + money of lift-riding and hiking.

If snow permits, a better summit with more interesting climbing along the way I felt was the Bergseeschijen on the SW side of the Salbit granite peaks. Mostly SE facing, so some hope of it not being covered with snow. Parking at Goscheneralp at the end of the asphalt road rising up west from near the N end of the Gotthard tunnel. I liked it enough so that I put detailed route descriptions on the main USA climbing website MountainProject.com (with USA difficulty ratings):

* http://www.mountainproject.com/route/115368107

* http://mountainproject.com/area/115362136

I reached the summit by climbing the East Arete up from the Bergseelucke pass, which I felt was fun on sound rock, I think likely within the PD range. Anyway the paint-marked normal route is just a few meters away, so I'll guess it's not that committing.

Along the way up to the Bergseelucke are three interesting VF sections ... two on the Krokodil towers and a new one on slabs below the Bergsee hut - (none of them in the 2005 English translation of the Iris Kurschner print guidebook (www.Rother.de).

The rock on Das Krokodil was fun + interesting. Since I was using a special Skylotec Skyrider VF kit, I felt comfortable working out all the moves "free" with hands + feet directly on the rock, clipping the cable only for Protection, not Aid. The new VF below the hut I could not climb all "free", but still lots of interesting moves to play with, enjoying the special security of the Skylotec Skyrider.

If you prefer it more in "story" form, this Trip Report also includes detailed info for some of the other lower-altitude VF around Engelberg + Kandersteg (as Jonathan Lagoe mentioned above).

* http://mountainproject.com/forum/topic/115372288

Ken

Thanks all fo the very helpful comments! I was thinking of hiring a car rather than taking public transport just because it seemed cheaper, but point taken about efficiency and not sitting in traffic.

I'm not concerned about avoiding (the right type of) early snow being reasonably competent with axe and crampons, would something like the SE ridge of the Monch be out of the question for the time of year?

Solo? No way.

CB

Why, out of interest?  I suppose the bulldozed track might not be there.

4 hours drive would get you almost anywhere in Switzerland.

Close to Zürich have you looked at Säntis in the Alpstein? There are some scrambly secured paths to the summit I think (I havent actually been up there).

I did the traverse of the Klein and Gross Mythen recently. Up the Haggenspitz and to the Klein Mythen was a good scramble, upto UIAA III I would guess (exposed in places, I overtook a couple of parties who were roped up).

First snow on the glaciers, but not yet stable bridges. Autumn and early winter is probably the worst time for solo glacier hikes. 

CB

In general I fully agree.  Just that particular route doesn't normally involve more than about 100m of glacier that isn't fully pisted. 

Already in November? 

CB

The piste is from the station to the Monchjoch hut normally.  Mostly for walking, not skiing. As above it may in fact not be there in November if the hut is shut.

The Breithorn from the Klein Matterhorn lift in Zermatt should be a fairly casual solo with good views. Was in the area last november and the crevasse risk to at least the nearest summit was nonexistent. There were also plenty of other people around, which is more than I can say for most other parts of the Monte Rosa, so route finding should be trivial. Castor and Pollux might also be casual if you have any ice climbing experience (would likely be very ice that time of year), but you'd want a partner for traversing the glacier. 

Thanks for this, I’ve taken your advice and booked myself in to a Zermatt hostel with eyes on the Breithorn for Thursday 8th Nov.

If anyone happens to be in the area let me know and I will take a harness, crevasse rescue kit etc just in case, or maybe meet someone in the hostel with a similar plan!

The last time I checked, the lift to Klein Matterhorn, was something like 65CHF, probably worth it for the tourists, but might not offer the same thrill for an experienced climber. :^)

I think it's actually 90CHF. It may be economical to get a swiss half fare card that will reduce train rides throughout switzerland by 50% and also applies to the klein matterhorn top station. The card is not cheap, but depending on your itinerary could end up saving you money over the course of your trip.

Note that the half fare card is probably not an economical way to ski. You buy the top station passes by the ride, whereas the ski passes are bought by the day and get you as many runs as you want, so as long as you make more than one run you'll likely be wanting the ski pass (which is not covered by the half fare card) despite needing to pay full value.