Your first 4000m peak

hut-to-hut From Saas Fee to Zermatt with the climb of the Breithorn (4162 m)

This glacier trek is is a great start for your mountaineering career! The programme is meant for experienced (mountain) hikers, but on the safe rope of your vertified IFMGA mountainguide you will hike over glaciers between the mighty 4000M + peaks from Saas Fee to Zermatt. We overnight on our way alternatively in mountain huts and a mountain hotels, where a shower and private room can provide some extra comfort. At the end of the week we are well acclimatized and then we will climb the beautiful mountain high above Zermatt, the Breithorn 4162m.

The Valais Alps in Switzerland are known for their many beautiful four-thousand meter peaks. Nowhere else in the Alps will you find so many mountains above the magical 4000m border than here. In addition to the many technically heavy peaks, there are also a small number of technically easier peaks that are perfect for a taste of real mountaineering. The 4162m high Breithorn, close to the famous Matterhorn, is one of them.

We start the week comfortably at the Wellness Hostel in Saas Fee, where you choose to sleep in 4-person family rooms or in a double room (the latter upon supplement). For an additional fee you can use the extensive wellness facilities of the hotel, including a sauna landscape. The 25m indoor swimming pool with a view of the peaks around Saas Fee is however included in your stay. During the briefing on Sunday evening, you will be introduced to the guide and the program and gear for the coming week will be discussed.

On Monday morning we take the lift up to Langfluh (2867m). Since we spent the night in Saas Fee, the lift is free of charge. On the Saas Glacier, located next to the lift station, we do a training (hiking and climbing on crampons, handling rope and ice ax and crevasse exercise). Then we immediately put what we have learned into practice with the ascent of our first mountain top, the Feechopf (3887m). This day immediately serves as an extra acclimatization, because from Tuesday we sleep in mountain huts. After the training we descend for another comfortable night with wellness options in Saas Fee. We have the opportunity to have dinner in the evening in one of the many cozy restaurants in the car-free mountain village.

The alarm is set early on Tuesday morning because it will be a long, impressive and tough day, on which we make the crossing from the Saas Valley to the Matterdan. We take the very first Metro Alpin early in the morning and get off at Felskinn (2988m). From here we reach the Hohlaub Glacier through a tunnel. We pass the Britannia Hut and continue our way over beautiful glaciers to the Allalin Pass (3564m). From here we have a magnificent view of the Weisshorn (4505m). We traverse the south side of the Allalinhorn (4027 m) towards Alphubel. At the end of the Alphubel glacier at 3300 meters, we can take off the crampons and continue on a path to the Täschhütte (2701 m), where we spend the night.

On Wednesday we continue our way along the south side to the end of the Täschalp. For the ascent to the Pfulwe pass (3270 m) we first take a path and then the route runs over snowfields to the pass height. In good conditions we have plenty of time here to enjoy the magnificent view of the entire Monte Rosa massif and the Matterhorn. After a descent of about 2 ½ hours we reach the cozy mountain guesthouse of Fluhalp, where there are running water and showers. Overnight at the guesthouse.

In preparation for the last day, culminating in the Breithorn, on Thursday we have a hiking day around Zermatt via the Riffelalp (2299 m) and the Gornerschlucht to Furi and Furgg and on to the station Trockener Steg at 2939 m. lift from Furi to Trockener Steg. From here it is only another 20 minutes to the Gandegg hütte (3029 m), where we spend the night.

After a last night in a mountain hut and a breakfast we walk to Trockener Steg station and take the lift to the Klein Matterhorn at 3883 m. At the top we hike roped-up over the Breithorn plateau, after which we start the ascent over the glazed slope of the Breithorn, now back on crampons. Ultimately, we only have to overcome 300 vertical meters to reach the top of our first 4000 meters at 4162 meters. From here we can enjoy an unforgettable view of the Matterhorn, the Mont Blanc, the Gran Paradiso area with the Aosta Valley, the Po plain, in the distance the Monte Viso and Genoa and on the other side the Bernese Alps. After the descent to the Klein Matterhorn we take the lift back to Zermatt. After the walk through car-free Zermatt we look for a terrace with a view of the Breithorn. Beer and Pizza will taste good! By taxi (or by train and bus) we return to Saas Fee for one last night in the Wellness hostel. Goodbye to the guide.

This program is very varied, for a number of days we cross glaciers by rope and there are also stages where we walk on beaten mountain paths. A program for connoisseurs.

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